IronOnline Bash 01
Jay Foreman's Bash Report

As some of you might know (Chris, Og, Laree, etc), the Bay Area high tech market has taken a huge hit over the past year. Although I was never a dot-commer, the entire high tech sector had taken a beating, myself included. As a private contractor, my business had dropped off tremendously, to the point at which I was virtually unemployed for nearly 3 months. On top of this, my girlfriend Barbara, who was a practicing dentist in NYC before moving here to San Francisco, is unable to practice in the state of California until she passes her state dental board exams at the end of Sept. Needless to say, the past several months have been very hard on us.

When the Bomber Bash had finally arrived 2 weeks ago, we welcomed the chance to get out of the city, head down to Santa Cruz, and enjoy some great company and nice weather. From the moment we arrived at Dave's World Gym, we were welcomed by a gym staff member and headed into the interior of the gym to hear all the speakers.

For me, it was 2 hours of learning and excitement, for Barbara, well, some things went over her head. After the talk, we proceeded out to the BBQ for a feast, and that is where I had the opportunity to meet tons of new people, and spent a fantastic afternoon with new friends. It was particularly special for her and I, being that we were 75 miles from SF, but a million miles away from our worries. The Drapers were wonderful hosts -- two of the finest individuals I've ever met. I know that I've thanked Dave and Laree already, but I will thank them once more....thank you for providing us with an opportunity to get away from our lives for a while, and affording us the chance to meet some fantastic people. The people down in Santa Cruz are tops, and I can't wait to take another drive down there some time in the near future.

There is a silver lining to my employment story: The following weekend, I received a call from an individual from Hotwire.com, an on- line travel service. I interviewed the following day, and received a 3 month contract that afternoon, with a possibility of full-time employment! Strange world -- everyone is being canned from dot-coms, and I get hired by one! It happens to be a great organization with a great group of people (sorry to make this sound like a plug for Hotwire!).

Anyway, for I greatly look forward to the 2002 Bash in Vegas, and of course, the union of marriage between Og and Fay.

Jay Foreman

Click here to go to the next Bash page