I was a US Marine for a decade, first an infantryman then a combat correspondent. I tried civilian PR for a while but it didn't agree with me to say the least. Lost my job, and instead of looking for another I dove into teaching myself to program. A couple of years later I'm here being paid well to work on a project I enjoy and believe in. Couldn't be better.

edit: Should be said I'm not in the valley anymore, but may be back.