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Well, it’s officially 2005. Let’s hope it’s better than 2004 was.
Two thousand and four started out okay. Galaxynet had just finished building its new Internet Cafe, and celebrated by having an Open House with the local Chamber of Commerce. By the beginning of 2004, I had been working for Galaxynet for nearly 7 years. The addition of an Internet Cafe was a big deal. There were at least four new employees, and management “reorganized,” (for lack of a better word).
By the end of the first month of 2004, the year had turned to shit. On January 26, my Dad wound up in a Casa Grande, AZ hospital. In addition to End-Stage Renal Disease and dialysis every other day, he was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis (MG), a nuero-muscular nerve disorder. Things weren’t good. He was placed in a medically-induced coma, and air-lifted to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix in early February.
By February 7, I was on an airplane from Seattle heading to Phoenix to help take care of Dad’s house. I spent nearly two weeks in Arizona, paying Dad’s bills, talking with doctors and nurses, and driving the hour each way to visit Dad in the hospital. By the time I left Arizona, Dad was getting better and stronger. But he still had rehabilitation to go through. It was early April before he left the Hospital in Phoenix and got back to his home.
On leap day, Februay 29, 2004, my paternal grandmother passed away. I was really saddened by this news, but knew her health wasn’t the greatest. I had been talking to her while in Arizona with my Dad, and struggled with a decision to inform her that her remaining son was in the hospital. I eventually told her Dad was in the hospital, but only after I knew he was out of his medically-induced coma and would be okay. It’s my opinion the old girl just gave up. She lost her husband of 40 years in July 1979, her first son in January 1998, and I don’t think she wanted to survive her entire family. Telling my Dad that his mother passed away while he was in the hospital was probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do.
Back in Washington, work had become a hostile place to work. Management, in my opinion, was micro-managing the cafe part of the business. Since I was in charge of Technical Support, the front counter, and the public computers (in addition to my duties as Network Administrator), I was almost always in the cafe. The new cafe manager and the employees were really unhappy with the way things were being run from “upstairs.” By late April, the cafe manager had resigned, and “upstairs” had taken over managing the cafe. Everyone seemed to be butting heads, and in my opinion, that spelled the beginning of the end.
In mid-May, I didn’t see any way I could resolve the differences between management and myself, so I started weighing my options. My best friends worked for a competing ISP, and told me that I should appy for a position. I did, and was offered a position working in the Hosting department. I was asked to not burn any bridges… to be mature and leave Galaxynet on good terms. I agreed.
I spent about 3 days writing my letter of resignation. It was a very dificult process, but after sharing my rough drafts with Tina, my friends, and my Dad, I was assured it was a great letter. I submitted it to Thom on May 25, 2004.
Things were quite cold at Galaxynet for the remainder of the week. By Friday, May 28, my keys to Galaxynet were confiscated. This wasn’t a good sign. I had given my last day as June 5, but taking my keys away after 3 days just told me I was being shut out. I was told that the girls behind the cafe counter would have copies of the keys so I could get into my office. I found this to be untrue.
On Saturday, May 29, 2004, I went to Galaxynet with a friend to gather my personal belongings from the office. The office was locked. There was no key with the girls behind the cafe counter. So, I made a poor judgement call. I forcibly opened the door to my office, putting a small hole in the hollow door just above the knob. I was able to get my belongings, but when management found out I broke into my own office, they called the police. I was arrested and charged with Malicious Mischief in the Third Degree.
Through July and August, I appeared in court, defending my actions. Since it became their word against mine, and my attorney thought that a trial by Jury would be bad, I plead guilty on September 8, 2004. My sentence was 365 days in jail, with 365 days suspended, $5,000 fine, with $4,700 suspended, and $305 in restitution for damages to the door. But, since Galaxynet put a stop payment on my last paycheck, and sent a letter saying that my final paycheck would be adjusted to cover damages to the door, a hearing was set for 6 months from September 8 for restitution. So, I’m on unsupervised probation until September 8, 2005. If I stay out of trouble, the charges should be expunged… at least that’s what the Judge said.
By the end of July, Galaxynet couldn’t manage the Cafe and the ISP customers on their own, and sold the customer base to the company I started working for after I left Galaxynet. It was bittersweet. On one hand, I hated seeing Galaxynet fall apart. I worked for seven years with two different owners to keep Galaxynet alive in the face of emerging technology and competition. But on the other hand, their failure to keep the company a viable ISP without my skills only puncuated the fact it was my efforts that kept Galaxynet going.
During all the court appearance bullshit, my Dad suffered an exacerbation of his MG. By mid-August, he was back in the Casa Grande hospital. He wasn’t as critical as he was in February, but once he was stable enough to be transported, he was moved to a long-term care facility in Mesa, AZ. While the MG wasn’t as bad as it was in February, his health was going downhill. His vision was gone, only being able to see for 20 minutes or so in the morning, before being completely blind for the rest of the day.
There was no way I could go to Arizona this time. I didn’t have the money, nor could I take any vacation time from work. I had only started in early June, and hadn’t accumulated any vacation time. A couple of my Dad’s close friends really helped out, getting a power of attorney to handle my Dad’s finances and taking care of things for him while he’s in the hopital. Mary and Michelle are angels, and I appreciate all their help more than they know.
The rest of 2004 was fairly uneventful. I did have some car troubles in September, and got a used 1979 Ford LTD from a friend. That car also suffered some troubles after six weeks or so, so I had to figure out how to get my 1968 Mustang back on the road. It needs a tuneup, but the ‘Stang is working again.
The start of Autumn brings illness. Two years ago, I had bronchial pnuemonia that I never really got over. Eventhough I had antibiotics and an inhaler, each winter since I’ve been stricken with a respitory problem that causes me shortness of breath. This year is no different. I’ll be going back to a doctor again as soon as my new medical insurance kicks in at work, because I’m still dealing with this respitory problem.
As 2005 begins, my father is still in the hospital since August 2004. I really hope he gets stronger soon, but I afraid he’s not going to be able to return to his beloved house in the desert if he’s blind.
So, fuck you, 2004… and let’s hope 2005 is a far better year.
