Lazaro "Larry" Gonzales:  

LIFE Born in San Jose in 1967 and just had my 47th birthday! (Where DOES all the time fly to?!!) Raised in the Bay Area. Still live in the city of Campbell. Had a loving Mom, Dad, Sis, Aunt, Grandparents, and family. They have all passed on, but their spirits remain. :-) Attended Liberty Baptist School until 1982, but never had the opportunity to finish high school there. (Wish I had, believe me.) After a few years lost in the public school system, I landed at Monte Vista Christian School in Watsonville. Did one year with them and then went on to college in 1985. Low on funds and family, I had planned a military career for myself. Had spent 6 years in the USAF Auxiliary - Civil Air Patrol. Unfortunately, a troubled physical exam got me out of uniform in too quick of a hurry. (Too bad... I think I would have been good at it.) Anyway, after college, I worked in the retail sales/services industry. Not bad, but not great. I wanted something with a purpose, I guess. God must have been paying attention because he hit me with an earthquake. The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake to be exact. That quake introduced me to the American Red Cross and I've been with them ever since. My trade is to help people in trouble. (I think my Mom and Dad would have approved.) UPDATE 01/01/04 Due to budget cuts, I was laid-off by the Red Cross 6 months ago. Looks like it's back to retail sales for now... UPDATE 04/19/05 Little has changed in the last 16 months. Still volunteering for the Red Cross. Still working in retail sales. Still job hunting. Glad I'm still alive. :-) UPDATE 07/09/09 I have not updated this profile in years! OK, on with the news... I spent 5 years in retail sales and sold everything from calendars to wristwatches to leather travel luggage. Made it to manager and then was laid off in 2008. I'm unemployed right now (Thank you, Mr. Global Recession *sigh*) and attending trade school. Training to be an accounting specialist. To all my friends, God bless you & your families and I hope we meet again someday soon. :-) UPDATE 07/08/2011 Double Ouch!! Well, I guess I am terrible at updating this profile. It's 2011 and I'm finally adding a line or two here. Graduated from trade school in September 2009 with a Certificate in Accounting and Office Technology. Hired by the U.S. Census Bureau as an Administrative Clerk for the 2010 Decennial Census. Worked for the Census Bureau for 9 months. Was assigned to the payroll, recruiting, training, and quality assurance functions. (Have you ever tried to do manual payroll for over 1,200 temporary employees, 24 hours a day?! It's NOT so easy, believe me.) The 2010 Census was completed by September 2010 and my office was closed and I was laid off again. (I'm getting REALLY good at this layoff thing...) Since October 2010 I have been job hunting, volunteering with the local county hospital's diabetes education program, studying my Civil War history (150th anniversary!), and trying to start a new Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in the city of Campbell. Did I mention job hunting?! Oh yeah, I did. :-) UPDATE 04/17/2012 Hey. an update within 9 months... how ab...Expand for more