hey @jakedduck1 , I remember you asked me recently why did I move from Silicon Valley? I'm thinking of those days back then, wondering myself, and the reason was this:

I survived the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, but sat in traffic too much, I was totaly burned out from the traffic by 1991
In 1991, I lived in Alameda county, and this fire, this sealed it for me, I was done with California:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_firestorm_of_1991
I lived just south of Oakland obviously, and I'd had enough. I remember thinking to myself "what? I have a fancy Master's degree on the way, and then sit in traffic to work my job, and then have my home burn to the ground? I don't think so!"

And so I moved back to Iowa.

where were you for the Oakland fires in 1991? do you remember that?

This is my gift to me this holiday, is finding peace with this decision that I made as a young person way back when. It's an important gift, this decision often haunts me. What kind of life altering decisions have you had to make?