A Conversaton with Elizabeth
1998
Journeys

From:          LARRY M. MIXSON
To:            Elizabeth
Date:          2/18/98 4:00pm
Subject:       Re[2]: Journeys

Wow! I often wondered what happened to you after that day we crossed paths at UCF. Several months after that I tried to look you up but only found that you had gone to USF. I did get a short note from you sometime later, I believe it was in response to my grad. announcement. Here is my tale:

I had been working as a freelance software contractor for about 10 years in Melbourne when the tax laws where changed and companies would no longer hire independent contractors. I then took a job at a small startup company in Melbourne and worked there for about a year before they went chapter 11 and laid me off[1]. Several years before I met Julie at work, fell in "love" and got married. Julie also had six year old daughter which I adopted. Julie was originally from the Washington DC area and had moved to Florida to escape the cold but after being in Florida for a number of years decided she really did not like it. Being laid off with few job prospects in Florida I decided to look for jobs in the DC area and very quickly had two offers which I accepted one and moved to Reston VA. Julie stayed behind for the first year because she was working on her BA degree at UCF and our daughter was a senior in high school. I really took to the DC area, new exciting, lots of things to do, etc. A year later Julie moved up and took a job also in the computer industry. The company I started with initially was great but after about 3 years it got bought by a British company and things went downhill. During this time Julie quit her job and got a job at the same company I was with. In the fifth year, the longest I had ever been with a single company, they shut the division down and once again I got laid off. It was not a big deal as they gave us two months notice and I had no trouble finding another job. Julie, working at the same company also go laid off but she decided that computer work was not for here and she went back to school to get her masters in social work in preparation to do mental health therapy. Our daughter was in college. Once again my new job started out quite well but after about a year the company got bought by another company and things went downhill. I then started looking again and found the job I am currently at, Bell Atlantic Video Services (BVS). BVS had great plans to go into the video business competing against the cable TV companies but after about a year they put off all their plans until at least the year 2001. As a result I have had very little to do for the past 6 months but look for a new job which I accepted today to start in mid March. Julie did get her MSW and now is a therapist with the county emergency services. Our daughter finished her BS, got accepted into Vet school and graduated last year. It still feels strange to have people call the house asking for Doctor Mixson. Having been married now for 17 years it sometimes seems like just a few short years and other times like forever. Like all long term relationships we have had our ups and downs at times coming to breaking it off. A couple of years ago we did a couples workshop and then followed it up with a year of therapy and it really helped. It much improved our communication and the relationship.

Yes I do considerable reading. Of course there are the usual dozen or so professional journals and magazines. The home stuff Newsweek, Smithsonian Mag., National Geographic and others. I also read the Washington Post every morning, my mornings don't feel complete with out it. I typically am reading a novel at most times, still mostly SciFi but occasionally something else. I read the Accidental Tourist last week. I had gone to the library book sale and picked up a stack of books. I saw the Accidental Tourist and having never read it before picked it up. I have read much about the Everest disaster from several magazine articles, news articles, web articles and the "Into Thin Air" made for TV movie. I not sure I could make it through the book now.

Enough for now, Larry

[1] That was not quite correct. I did get laid off, but they did not go into chapter 11. See story A Single Line of Code.

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