I’d been with Sun/Oracle for over twenty years. More than that if you count the year I spent as a contractor, and the summer before that as an intern. I had three distinct concentrations during that period; technical writer, quality assurance, and quality engineering. QE was the longest job I’ve ever had… well over ten years.

But, this post isn’t so much about my work history as it is about transitions that I’ve been through. There have been major ones… from joining the Coast Guard and moving to New York, leaving the Coast Guard, leaving New York, getting married, getting divorced, shutting down my life in the US, building it up again here in Beijing, getting married again, having Chong Chong, and into the various milestones associated with leaving my job at Oracle… last day in the office, last day of work, last day of employment.

Most of the transitions I’ve been through have been painful. Or, I’ve gone through them somewhat dazed. Physically there, but part of mind stuck in a what-the-fuck-is-happening-to-me mode.

This time, it is much different. I’m now in a period, which started in January, and will probably go through August, that is chockablock full of transitions. And, they are transitions that are going well. Although things haven’t gone exactly to plan, I’m finding that, well, we’re getting what we need.

Right now, I am laying in my bed after eating dinner prepared by our Ayi, me having just tumbled around with Chong Chong, who is now with Shanshan in the living room calling me (Ba Ba! Chong Chong! I respond. Ba Ba! He yells, and so we go), as fireworks and firecrackers continue to go off during the 15 days of Spring Festival that currently engulfs the country.

By August, if all goes well, Shanshan, Chong Chong, Leo (our dog), and Xiao Mao (our cat) will be living in a house in the San Jose area.

On Wednesday, part of the transition occurs with movers packing-up the things that we’ll be taking to the US and putting them into storage. On the Monday after that, I’ll head back to Santa Clara to work for a month before coming back to move the rest of the family there.

I’ll keep the blog updated as the transitions continue.