The 80s

I've just started reading for the umpteenth time the book, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. The book dwells on the 80s and as I read, I realized that a lot happened to me in that decade ...

1980: At this point, I'm pretty lonely because my sister has moved to southern CA and I'm between boyfriends. I have a part-time job at a hospital as a file clerk while I'm writing a thesis (for history MA) titled The History of the Ontological Argument, from Anselm to Whutehead (took me years to finally finish).

But more importantly, this was the year of Chuck Norris' The Octagon ;) Here's Chuck back in the day ...



That Chuck Norris movie inspired me to join a martial arts school, talking my mom into joining too. It was here that I met my future husband. Here's me at the dojo ...





1981: My sister and mom and grandma and I go to Hawaii on vacation. Here's us at the airport ...



And here's me with the Great Amida Buddha, Lahaina Jodo Mission, Maui ...



1982: I got married in the rose garden at a local park ...



1983: For a while, things seemed like they were going to be ok. I hadn't been able to find any job having to do with what I studied in college, and the eye disease diagnosis that I'd received just after graduating with my BA was looming, but I could still see well enough to act pretty normally and could still drive. And I really liked being married.

I got a full time job at the hospital, working in the surgery for the anesthesiologists. I even helped the husband get a job at the hospital too - day times we'd go to work, night times go to the martial arts school. Here's me in front of our first Christmas tree ...



1984: Of course it couldn't last. The ex had an affair and dumped me for the other person. The situation dragged on for quite a rime ... me figuring out what was going on, trying to repair things, moving for a couple of months to an apartment, moving to San Diego where my sister lived. I finally accepted nothing was going to fix the relationship - the ex just had no interest in doing that.

I tried to cheer up, went out with guy friends (saw The Terminator with someone named Rick) but it didn't work. On top of that, I had to see the ex almost every day at the hospital and at the martial arts school. I became so depressed that I considered suicide. I finally gave up and ...

1986: ... moved to Portland, Oregon, where my sister was then living. It took me a year and all my savings before I found another decent job, also at a hospital. I started feeling better. Here's me and my sister ...



1989: My job was alright, I had a work buddy I went to movies with, my apartment wasn't horrible. I thought maybe things were going to finally be ok.

But then my sister and her husband decided to move to Japan. I was incredibly lonely after they left. And my vision was getting worse - I couldn't drive anymore and there were things I couldn't see well enough to do at work - so I finally decided to quit and move to San Diego. I first flew back here to visit my mom and sent my stuff to San Diego by train.

My mom and I drove to San Diego. I hoped to find an apt and a job, but it was really expensive there and there didn't seem to be many jobs, much less jobs for a half blind person. When I went to collect my stuff at the train station, a lady asked me why I hadn't just brought everything by car ... I fell apart, breaking into tears. I gave up and came back here with my mom.

1990: I never left. I just felt too beaten up to keep trying to have a normal life. A stay car had three kittens in the garage and my mom said we could adopt them :) And despite my mom not being very happy about it, I decided I was here to stay, for better or worse.

Grendel and her babies ...



Goodbye to the 80s.