Change is part of life - Part 2

 So to continue...

So after dumping the telecom tech gig, I got a help desk spot with a contractor for Eli Lilly(the drug manufacturer) and that worked pretty good for awhile.  Got to travel occasionally for work (Phoenix, Orlando, San Diego), and finished up with my AAS degree.  Then took a couple of months off then back to school to get my BS which I completed in mid-2009.  Once I got that I decided to take the plunge and go for my MSIT (masters in information technology.

So while busting balls to get my masters, I came upon an opportunity to do help desk for Wynn Resorts.  Great work environment, awesome benefits, and excellent pay.  So I went there and spent the next 11 years with them, some of the best time I had.  Managed to transfer to a network ops center (NOC) technician after about a year and a half for even more money.

Things were good up until my mom died in February 2012, and it got rocky for a bit, but managed to keep working, and was finally able to afford my own apartment and be truly free for awhile.  But even then, I was hitting some rough spots.  I've tried to wangle a spot in corporate cyber-security (think white-hat hacker) which paid about $80k, but after I interviewed with them (and got a great recommendation from one of the senior execs), it went to someone else completely.  Totally bummer moment.

At that point, I was beginning to get burned out, and by 2016 I was ready for a change.  So I decided to make one of my childhood dreams a reality.  I went to school and trained as an EMT and got hired on part time with a local ambulance company.  This helped out immensely as ti gave me something different to learn, and now that I was getting serious with Nicole, I began planning on upgrading my living arrangements (which I won't get into the various family drama right now, maybe another time).

So in March 2018 we signed a lease on a 2-bedroom (technically 3 bedrooms but the third was more a den so I made it my office/library), 2 bath duplex, and I thought things were really hitting my stride.

Then in short order, Nicole died due to sepsis in January 2020, then COVID-19 hit and body-slammed my work and my health.

So needless to say I really hit a dark moment in my life.

To be continued...hopefully later today