Erik D. Jones’s Blog

When the wintry winds are blowing,
And the snow is starting in to fall,
Then my eyes turn [northward],
Knowing that’s the place
I love the best of all.
[San Francisco], I’ve been blue,
Since I’ve been away from you,
I can’t wait ’til I get going,
Even now I’m starting in to call:

[San Francisco] here I come,
Right back where I started from,
Where bowers of flowers bloom in the sun,
Each morning at dawning
Birdies sing an’ ev’rything:
A sun-kiss’d miss said, “don’t be late,”
That’s why I can hardly wait,
Open up that Golden Gate,
[San Francisco] here I come!!

Adapted from the song “California Here I Come”
Recorded by Al Jolson

Yessirreee!! You heard it correctly! I am heading back to San Francisco permanently. I have accepted a position with a startup company in Silicon Valley as the company’s Tech Czar (the official title I foolishly coined in conversations with the management). I will be disposing of my existing apartments in San Francisco and Laguna Beach and consolidating into a single 2 bedroom loft in SOMA (south of Market area for you non-SF-ites).

I will truly miss the sweeping ocean view, the sound of the ocean and most of all my friends that I’ve made over the past year and a half since I moved to Laguna. While I can’t rule out one day returning to live in one of the most beautiful towns I have ever seen (and certainly ever lived in), it may not be for quite some time.

Some of you may be wondering about my switch from being President of Jacobian Engineering to TC of a technology company in the Valley. The long and short is that I have had a very successful two years and while business is booming and I have more work than I can handle, this is a unique opportunity that presented itself quite unexpectedly. I believe this will bring new challenges and further my growth as a technologist and business person.

I can’t possibly capture all of my thinking and rationale in this blog, but what I can say is that I have met two very bright stars who are leading this new technology venture. And my intuition tells me that this endeavor could lead to many more interesting opportunities in the future. It will also reunite me with a former colleague of mine whom I worked with many years ago while I attended U.C. Davis.

I had been working at Aerojet in Folsom, CA as the project engineer in charge of testing for avionics on the Abort Control Motor (ACM) on the Orion space program. (Yikes that was a mouthful!) And I have absolutely loved every minute of it. I know that AJ and I have gotten along well and that my tenure there would last well into next year. But factoring into my consideration of this new job in the Valley is location. It’s better for Brian and I to be together in San Francisco rather than juggling a split location or even a full relocation to Sacramento. (Those of you close to me know quite well what I think of Sacramento)

So here we go… Brian and I are off to San Francsico. I will be moving in the first two weeks of June and Brian will move up once he’s wrapped up school and work around mid-August. And then insert your favorite “happily ever after” phrase here.. lol

Goodbye SoCal. It was fun being fabulous while it lasted. But I happily embrace the mediocrity of being a San Franciscan once more!