Tag Archives: Kalifornia

Life in Reno, so far

I’m driving 700 miles a week, and that’s just for work, not including the driving around adventures on my days off. My home is 200 miles from my job, and my dad’s house is 50 miles from work. That’s a lot of driving.

But I think it’s worth it. My “Monday” morning commute (Reno to Pittsburg on Thursday morning) is 200 miles and takes about 3.5 hours, sometimes 4 hours depending on traffic in Sacramento. I wake up at 6am and hustle to get out of Reno as fast as I can, because my shift starts at 11am and I want to give myself plenty of time to not be late.

I’m lucky to have a 4×10 shift. I work Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And then I have three days in a row off: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. So the long commutes work for me.

So I spend three nights a week in Hayward at my dad’s house, which is pretty great. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night when I get off work at 9:30pm I drive from Pittsburg to Hayward, about 50 miles. I usually stop at The Bistro on B St for a pint of Pliny. Then I sleep in my old bed in my old bedroom and get a good night’s sleep. I wake up extra early in the morning so I’ll have over an hour to sit with my dad and drink coffee and talk about whatever he wants to talk about. Then I jump in the shower, get ready, and leave for work. On Sunday nights, when my work week has ended, at 9:30pm I leave Pittsburg and drive 200 miles back to my home in Reno–which takes less than 3 hours and there is never any traffic. I get home around 12:30am and sometimes I’ll stop for a burger and a beer at one of the many 24hr sports bars in my neighborhood.

When I wake up on Monday morning my weekend has begun and I’m already in the mountains.

Eventually I’ll have to get a job up here. But honestly I’m not looking TOO hard. I have it pretty good. My job in the Bay Area pays a decent wage and I have really great benefits. I have nice, long, 3 day weekends every week. I get to spend at least an hour with my dad three mornings a week. I get to stop at my favorite pub and enjoy a pint of my favorite IPA three nights a week. A three hour drive back to Reno on Sunday is a piece of cake to a seasoned road traveler like myself. And when I wake up on Monday morning I have three full days in my playground–I’m already here!

Today I woke up to see that it snowed overnight, and all the local mountains have a beautiful dusting of snow. And I’m reminded of why we did such a crazy thing (like leave the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia).

Life is good.

Potpourri

So I’m applying for jobs in Denver. My company has a big tech presence in that area, and I’ll have lots of opportunities to grow and move up in the organization. I’m excited about the possibilities.

I’ve been wanting to escape from the People’s Republik of Kaliforniastan for a really long time. Finally, I’m fed up with this state enough to really take serious steps towards employment in another state.

I’ve been exploring the wonders of grapes lately. I like wine but I can’t really get into it. Port and brandy and cognac on the other hand…

I think my favorite cognac so far is Remy Martin VSOP. Hennessey is good, but I don’t think I’ll be buying it again.

I’ve only just scratched the surface of ports. Right now there is a bottle of 10 year old Graham’s tawny on my desk. Delicious.

Been spending less time on FaceBook and more time on Google+ lately. My entire online presence is mostly on Google’s services, so I’ve been migrating in the direction of Google+. Tired of the ongoing invasions of privacy with FaceBook–G+ seems to play nicer. So look for me on Google+

It’s late January and the weather has been nice lately with sunny skies and highs in the upper 60s. My thoughts are consumed by fly fishing. Season opens in just 3 months. I’ve got my fancy new Tilley Hat ready. I just need to pick up some felt-bottom wading shoes and I’m set!

It’s been ten years since I quit smoking and I still get cravings, several times a week. It’s still hard to resist. Sigh.

I still don’t want a BlackBerry mobile phone.

Started new shift this month. I’m still on a 4×10 schedule. I get off work at 11:30pm and my days off are Monday Tuesday Wednesday. Yes, I have three days off in a row every week. It’s glorious. I never want to go back to working 5 days a week ever again.

“Liberty and justice for all” means EVERYONE–even people you don’t like or agree with.