www.chrisdarbro.com - Chris Darbro

Wow. 2006. just the thought of the number ‘2006′ is insane, even worse when ‘2007′ comes. time has moved by so fast, and will continue to, and not stop. what’ll it be like for new years in ‘2010′, or ‘2030′? that feels so weird to even imagine. maybe not so much for younger kids, but those of us who grew up in the 1970’s, 80’s, 90’s, it’s crazy.

I thought of somehow intertwining a ‘but, please, dont forget the sunscreen.’ joke in to this blog post, until I thought about it more and realized I think ive done that in the past. haha. This blog has come a long way though the years. I always find it interesting to compare my writing style in this blog to that of how I write when Im writing for a website, or writing a review of a product for a company, things like that. The ‘personal vs. professional’ as it were. I’ve found that I still write this blog the same way I do when I started it, back before blogging was popular: solely for myself. It’s always continued to be more of my personal journal that I accdentally left somewhere where people could read if they noticed it.

Well, on to the topic of this entry, 2006. been a crazy year. many ups, downs, in-betweens, etc. lost friends, gained new ones, lived a few places, seen many more, rearranging of my life and beliefs, and changes for the better. Even jobs have been crazy and interesting.

January found me finishing up my dream of working a minumum wage fast food job for the sake of being able to say ive done it before, been there done that, etc, because I never had, kinda skipped that whole thing luckily when I was younger. I didnt give it a week though and quit, I gave it a fair trial, starting in october of 2005. but, on the other hand I picked the place I wanted (subway, didnt want to chance ever getting sick and tired of an occasional big mac somewhere else, lol) and, to tell you truth, really enjoyed it. I was making 5.15/hr, and only getting maybe 22 hrs/wk if I was lucky. but boy did I have a blast, good coworkers, good customers, it was hectic sometimes, but I enjoyed it. got to eat fresh semi-healthy food (some of my sandwiches I made for myself were no where near as low as 6g of fat by the time I was done with them, haha), and even got to experiment and design some of my own new sandwiches and things too, which was rediculously fun. haha. seriously, ask me about some of my crazy sandwich recipes sometime, I’d be glad to share

February found me leaving subway to go get back into some…(I hesitate to say ‘real work’ here), but, it was more…well, a lot more busting my ass in a cubicle type environment, which I kinda am not the biggest fan of, I like jobs where I get to be social with people. I was so shy as a little kid, and still am often, so I enjoy social jobs, they help me break out of that more because im kinda forced to. But, I enjoyed it because I was working for the government, which was something I had wanted to try out for a long time. The hours werent the greatest though, I think my first week of work had me working a couple 6 or 8-hour days, and 3 10-hour days from 6pm to the wee hours of the morning. (usually 4:30 am…..yeah. sucked.) This whole time working at this job was a pretty slow time in my life, nothing too exciting going on.

In may or so I got an opportunity to go work my very first contract job with Diebold Election Systems, doing setup and security and such of the electronic voting machines for an upcoming election at the end of june. It was just a contract, but it was much better money, and an opportunity to do work that was more career oriented for what I wanted to do at the time, so I jumped on it. I had a lot of fun with that job, somedays were fast paced and hectic and long, others very simple, calm, and relaxed. and the social aspect was fulfilled being as I was working with the top county elected officals and such where I was too, albeit a more ‘professional’ kind of being social, if that makes sense, but they were all great fun people. Sometime during this job while I was living on my own some problems came up in my life, that almost killed me. but before the job was over I woke up to what was around me in my life, seeing things about myself or others that I didnt want to see before, and did what I had to do to rid those problems and people from my life.

Within a day or so of my contract ending at the end of june, I found myself having one of my trademark spontaneous moments, and so all within 24 hours, had hopped a plane to florida (btw, I dont recommend this ever, last second cross country flights are insanely expensive as I found out.), to meet some friends, chill out, relax, and have some fun, away from old friends, family, work, utah, everything. and it was awesome, I had such a blast, a great time I wont soon forget.

I came back in july, with a birthday coming up, as well as the fact that I was supposed to going down to vegas to work for a week or so at the end of the month, but also the realization of ‘ok, im back, no place to live, without a job, what’s next for me?’ and, after some pondering, seattle sounded like good times. I had friends up there, job market was rediculously great, I could have gone up there and probably been into a decent paying job somewhere within a week or so. so, I figured I’d do what I had to do in vegas, then drive to cali to visit some family I hadnt seen in a few years, then drive up the coast on an amazing drive up to seattle…

End of july and the beginning of august I was in vegas, having probably the most fun I had had in vegas in years. good times, good adventures, many good parties, no drama, new friends and contacts, it was great.

It was halfway through august, I had been staying at my dads a week or so when my heart strings were tugged on and pulled right back in to l.a. again. There were so many reasons for it, but above all, the bottom line was, I knew I had to stay. so seattle plans were abandoned, I moved in with my cousin, and began the search for a good job in los angeles. which, wasnt easy to do. Just about the time I was tapped out financially and starting to lose hope, opportunity reared its head and I was given an IT position at the Walt Disney TV Animation Studios. It was contract, but I was all for it, contracts usually have possibility of permanent hire, and Disney was an amazing place to work. some of the co workers werent great, but when I was around the animators, directors, etc, the people who really helped make the magic happen, I loved it.

My contract ended there and oct/nov I went to work somewhere else in Disney/ABC, the Jimmy Kimmel show. I was blown away by this opportunity and after a week on the job, loved it. I got along great with everyone
there, the pay was good, the job was a blast, and had some great perks.

And here we are…December. crazy month. Working a new job with an IT Consulting firm in venice, my cousin’s lease ended on his apartment and he’s going elsewhere, so I have to find a new place, but Im here in utah, back home, relaxing, visiting my fam for the first time in 5 or 6 months, it’s nice. I head back to l.a. in 2007, to see where my adventures take me next. the road wont be easy, but im committed to it.
So, 2006. wow. Im not sure what my resolutions for 07 will be, but I at least tackled some of mine for 06. One of the being to visit some new places, which I did, got to see florida, georgia, and texas, and I loved it.

So, here’s looking forward to 07, and if anyone’s reading this, I wish you a great 2007 as well.

Twas the night before CHRIStmas, and here in the house,
I used my laptop to check myspace, no need for a mouse.

I looked at my top 8, chosen with care,
but always heard complaints of who wasnt there.

I’m with my family, but without a bed,
but it’s all ok, because they ensure I’m well fed.

And so here I sit, writing this little rap,
thinking of the journey I made home, without even a map.

It was a long drive, from los angeles to salt lake,
Not taking the 14 was probably my greatest mistake.

I drove from morning to night, on my journey in stride,
Because I always enjoy the long scenic drive.

From the sun of l.a. to utah’s fallen snow,
my christmas wont be complete without some nice warm cocoa.

In addition to the hot chocolate, there’s candy and cakes,
this will surely be a cavity-inducing nice christmas break.

The house is well decorated, for all the world to see,
including the sight, of our great christmas tree.

It’s nice to be home, with family and friends,
I can only hope this fun time wont soon end.

I hope you enjoyed my christmas poem, just let me finish it right,
Happy Holidays to you all, and to all, a good night.

-Christopher D