In July 2008, following either a gallant or foolhardy effort to become a private investigator, I decided to resume my job search in Information Technology, not in Tampa Florida as orignally planned; but in New York City. These pictures chronical my move from Tampa to New York City Queens in September. I will avenge the first impulsive dream that crumbled, with the second, that will succeed (cue That Girl/Rhoda/or some other person-moves-to-NYC sitcom theme song! - and, hey, why aren't there any cool "DUDE gonna make it in NYC" theme songs anyway!?).
Starting out, this is all the stuff I need to take, sell, or throw away.
A kick-off salute received from one of the alarm companies my employing company served. I worked with these folks many times on the phone and will miss that regular 5 PM call!
Punching out of the alarm company for the very last time. Digicom is the best little alarm monitoring company in the South! I did a killer portal system for them while there and will continue to maintain it long into the future! I'll miss you Susan, Frannie, Barb, Dan, Bob, and the rest of the Digi-crew!
Moving things out meant archiving or deleting old computer files. In going through the various disk files, I came across a backup of several of my old online bulletin boards. Bulletin boards (referred to as "BBSes") were little dialup services similar to AOL, but much easier to setup and run by individuals. All pre-internet and web, of course. Here's a screenshot from "Hue and Cry Online", one of the several titles which I ran in or around 1995. I touted Hue and Cry as a crimefighting BBS which I saw as complimenting my work toward a BA degree in Criminology and, perhaps, performing a public service. Heh-heh, cute.
Another shot of a Hue and Cry Online screen.
My bedroom and blog publishing command center, all cleaned out. Except for the cat who was clearly curious about all the moving activity around her.
Here's everything from the livingroom packed neatly into my hatchback. In a few minutes I'll be on my way to Ellenton to wrap things up with family, and from there, to Queens New York. What I didn't know, as I took that shot, is that there is an important bird cage bottom that my mother is counting on which should therefore be included in that payload. But it isn't. It is in fact tucked away inside behind a couch and will therefore be the reason I will need to make a trip back to Tampa 24 hours later. Little do I know.
Another shot of the same!
My co-pilot is ready at the helm!
On the way out to I-75, I couldn't help but stop by the campus of USF for one last gander. USF was the reason for me coming to Tampa in 1992, and, I worked there between 1998 and 2006. Ironically they have a street there called USF Apple. So here I am standing at the intersection of USF Apple, on my way to the Big Apple.
Heh-heh, the old administration building.
The USF campus's beautiful fountain. I used to eat lunches there as an employee. USF has one of the most beautiful landscapes anywhere for a university of its scale.
One thing USF didn't have when I was a student or an employee was this new student center (they had one, of course, but it didn't compare to this). The new student center is the other reason I wanted to make sure I visited the campus before I left. I was not disappointed as the new building is gigantic, majestic, and world-class. Think airport-huge and probably nearly as complex on the inside. I decided to have a parting salad there.
This is a shot of me standing outside the new USF student center. This would have been the very last picture of me in Tampa had it not been for the fact I was forced to make an emergency return trip to Tampa the next day in order to pick up a forgotten bird cage bottom for my mother.
This is the last picture of me in Tampa, standing outside the old house I'd been living in for the previous year and a half since leaving USF. It has quite a bit of charm, no? Let's see if I can do any better in New York City.
