I decided to actually get out of this house and do something this weekend. Since I'm living in Vallejo, CA, I figured it would be a good idea to check out the local sites. So, I went down to the Vallejo waterfront and drove around Mare Island.

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Well, I made it. I've rented a house, bought a car, and spent more money on the little things than I wanted to. Used cars in this country are more expensive than I remember. And the miles! My goodness do the folks in California put some miles on their cars. Luckily, I found a 1998 Saturn SC2 with 90,000 miles on it. The nation-wide average is 15,000 miles a year. The California average is 20,000. This Saturn is not only below the California average, but also the nation-wide average.

Lucky? Maybe. As is usual when buying a used car, after I bought it, I noticed a funny little noise coming from the car when changing from reverse to drive (and only from reverse to drive). Could be nothing, could be bad. I'm going to get it checked out soon. It never does it while driving. I only hear it when starting to move in drive directly after backing out of the garage or a parking space.

I did look up the car's history online. That's a nice new thing the internet has brought to everyone (VIN reports). This Saturn had one owner and no major or minor accidents. That's wonderful!

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I've accepted employment with a small DoD contractor doing business in Fairfield, California. The pay is good and the area seems quite lovely. My wife is excited about being so close to San Francisco (probably a 30 minute drive -- she can get her "elegance" there) while I am somewhat leery. I'm more excited about the many national parks in the area. I'm also excited about getting my family to a cleaner environment. The Northeastern Bay Area has a good record for clean air and it's a dry climate. Great for my daughter's and wife's asthma! Should help mine too (although I barely have it anymore).

I'm not exactly certain what my responsbilities will be in the new job, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. I believe I'll be the lead network engineer as I'm told I will report directly to the IT Manager. We'll see...

For those that care, wish me luck and if you're ever in the Vallejo/Fairfield area, look me up.