I think my search for a place has come to an end. The apartment broker found me a place to live which he claims is not that sensitive to credit ratings. For the moment, I won't second guess him. Instead I'll write the entry which is long overdue.

As you might remember from my last update in California, Arizona is struggling through a budget crisis. The reason is pretty simple: when the Legislature passed the budget resolution in June, it was based on revenue forecasts that turned out to be too optimistic. So the Governor decided to bridge this shortfall with the "1-2-3" strategy I talked about on September 19th. As you can imagine, the office these days is preoccupied with among other things...how to cut $100 million from the budget this year.

Usually though October means the start of budget preparation for next year. (Remember that the fiscal year in Arizona starts in July.) So we have those responsibilities too, but luckily Arizona is a bit less stressful than California. Nearly the entire state operates on a biennial system so agencies only submit a request for funds once every two years. The major players (like education, corrections, transportation)  are the exception. Being the new guy on the block, I only have agencies which are biennial. These are approved in the first session of the Legislature, which occur in odd-numbered years.

(Unlike like California, Arizona's Legislature is part time and usually adjourns by Independence Day, but does convene every year in January. Elections for both the Assembly and Senate are every two years.)

This explains why I got the job in the first place. Given that this is the "down year" the Office probably wanted to hire as many people as it could this year so that they could get a year of experience under their belt before "primetime" next year. What I didn't know is that I was actually the last out of four new hires.

It's also no secret which agencies are my responsibility. Many are the natural resource ones, like Agriculture and State Parks...so I couldn't be happier. Nevertheless, there's still plenty of work to do. Remember how I said all my agencies are biennial and not submitting a new base budget this year? Well the truth is each can request a "funding issue" as a supplemental request annually. And much of my work is to decide which funding issues to recommend to the Governor. Of course, I doubt I can offer more details than that until the Governor submits her Executive Budget Recommendation to the Legislature in January.

As you can imagine...once that happens...then the real fun begins...testifying to the Appropriations Committee under oath.

The biggest surprise isn't any of this though...but instead how formal the dress code is. (Not that it's a bad thing.) I'm in the midst of buying almost an entirely new wardrobe of shirts, ties, and slacks just to appear proper.

Believe it or not though, I'm enjoying myself immensely. While it's fairly stressful for a government job, it's actually pretty fun. We're always in the middle of the action and I think highly of all my coworkers both personally and professionally.

But my job is but one part of this relocation experience. So next time, I'll talk a little bit more about "Sonoran Living" in general.

Rest assured, I'm alive...and well. Work isn't particularly demanding right now...but I've been preoccupied with finding a place to live. Moreover, I'm not sure what about my work I can disclose..but there are a couple things I doubt will raise eyebrows. In any case, Stay tuned for now.

Er...I'd tell you about my bon voyage party except no one showed. Well more appropriately, some people did show...but even of the confirmed guests...many dug out at the last minute.

No matter though, because it's not like I will be around to kick anymore. Neverthless, all is well far as I can tell. I am going to visit a few potential roommate situations on Sunday. I also hope to get into town soon enough on Saturday to watch UCLA play. That's about as much as I can share right now...the rest remains unwritten....

Last winter was the driest ever recorded in Southern California. Because my job hunt was going poorly and seemed to coincide with the start of the rainy season, I postulated in an earlier post that I wondered which drought would end first. Um, well as far as me finding a job, I technically won...since monsoonal thunder isn't part of the annual precipitation forecast. But as for starting work, well one last surprise was had today...rain is in the forecast...cold water from the sky in September. Now that's  pretty unusual around these parts even in wet years.

But guess what, a new milestone has been reached. Today I got the phone call I never expected. The, "I'm sorry I would love to sit for your interview but I already got hired" call. The offending party was Maryland's Department of Legislative Services...which got my application about the same time as the Office I now work for did. But as you can see, those Arizonans are pretty prompt, aren't they? Okay, well not the ones that post roommate vacancies on Craigslist it seems...but all in good time I suppose.

Tooling around AZCentral.com, I saw tomorrow's blockbuster headline in the Arizona Republic: "Napolitano Acts to Close Budget Gap". Naturally I read the proposal to get an idea of what might  be talked about on Monday.

Responding to growing concerns about the slowing Arizona economy, Gov. Janet Napolitano on Wednesday unveiled a plan to close an estimated $600 million state budget shortfall.

It calls for $100 million in immediate spending cuts through imposing a hiring freeze on non-essential state employees, restricting travel and eliminating most overtime.

She hopes to avoid deeper cuts by pulling $200 million from the state's $700 million rainy-day fund. The last and potentially most contentious piece of her plan would use financing, rather than cash, to pay for $300 million in school construction. That would allow the state to spread payments over the coming decades, lessening the burden on this year's budget.

Just to review, 100+200+300=600. At this point though, I don't want to compromise my colleagues by venturing an opinion on this proposal. However, it's the non-mathematical part of the article that my friends and family will care about the most.

But the plan sets up a showdown between the Democratic governor and GOP-led Legislature, with lawmakers calling for deeper cuts and less budget gimmickry....

Some lawmakers want that work to begin as soon as possible. They're asking Napolitano to call lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session before the regular session begins in January. She thus far is reluctant to do that, saying the needed changes can be made early next year.

Yeah, so in the event I'm hard to get a hold of for say, the next calendar year, now you know what's going on. On the other hand, at least I know this job ain't going to be boring.

The air was mighty crisp today. After a long hot summer, suddenly I find myself in a new place. For example:

--> The Federal Reserve must know my loans are almost due. Speculation is rife that a rate cut is imminent...which is good news for yours truly. But of course the real reason for the rate cut is a sort of shell game being played out in economic circles these days.

--> Faced with no good options for housing in Arizona, I turned to Cragslist. While no one has responded positively yet, the selection appears better than I first thought.

--> Can I just say the Democrats might be losing their edge on universal health care? After hearing Hillary Clinton announced her plan today in Iowa...(where she is fighting off John Edwards like a man possessed)...I really don't see much to get excited about. All the candidates seem to focus on poor people getting cheap insurance to buy...not taking away the market mechanism for insurance all today. I doubt anyone who liked "Sicko" is going to find this much of an improvement. In fact, in kinda smells like what Mitt Romney proposed and signed into law in Massachusetts.

--> Cheminrinsky rehired as dean?!? Man, I'm leaving town just in time not to see his return to elite media whore status. (Just kidding, I like the guy and glad UC Irvine and Don "Money, Money, Money...Money" Bren saw the light.)

--> Leave it to my UCLA Bruins to shatter the PAC-10's dominance this season. Who knew Ben Olsen's return to Utah would sap his strength?

Update: 50 basis points! It's Christmas come early! This is going to save me a good deal of money when I apply for that consolidation. Thanks Chairman Bernanke!

I got an email earlier today from work asking me if I could please report no later than September 24th. To be fair, I am not exactly going to be busy then, but was having a hard time reconciling the law that forces Arizona drivers to immediately surrender their driver's license and title as soon as entering the state. Since the 24th is a Monday, that meant getting to AZ at least 5 days earlier. (The weekend, plus 3 days during the week to arrive, go to the DMV, and have one in reserve. But as luck would have it, the team is willing to let me go early one afternoon to resolve the problem.

And as far as moving goes, I probably have a good solution. I'll likely mail most of my stuff. I just don't know what the address will be yet. Carmen balked at the place I wanted to rent...but I now have very little time to find another abode.

Apparently I'm already making news. Well sorta, at least.

The Associated Press
Sept. 11, 2007 03:30 PM

PHOENIX - Governor Janet Napolitano says it's too early for the state to tighten its fiscal belt despite a projected budget shortfall due to below-expected tax collections.
Napolitano says she's already asked state agencies to identify ways they can reduce spending but that she hasn't ordered them to take any of those steps yet.
She says the state is only two months into its fiscal year and it's too early to say how the entire year will look. The new fiscal year began July 1, and legislative budget analysts say the state's $10.6 billion budget so far is short approximately $250 million of expected revenue.

It turns out that Napolitano is stalling because in part at least...my office is waiting for me to arrive to assign agencies. You can imagine, I'm not so full of myself as to try and injure the public good. But yeah, this is a first I must admit.

The job also clears up some other stuff. I now have an idea of what credit cards to get (based on which airline partners serve Phoenix). I am already thinking about vacations for the month off I get in the summer. And then there's this digital camera I want to buy...

Still, that's just to wet your appetite. Below are the photos my friend Noe took while we were in Phoenix. Or at least the ones that aren't too blurry.

Yesterday...all my troubles seemed so far away....

My efforts did not go unrewarded. About 7pm on Thursday, I received a phone call effectively ending my unemployment. I have to admit, my feelings about the interview did not betray the level of interest the panel had. Apparently, they decided very quickly I was their man. (Supposedly there were four finalists.)

So, you are wondering...who is this job with....

Answer: The Office of Strategic Planning and Budget for the Governor of Arizona. Yes, my life has definitely taken a turn for the ... better? I get to look forward to long hours, meager pay, and lots of hot, hot weather. But I also get good gubmit benefits, a cheaper standard of living, and a really neat job. Oh and I did mention I get to be in a pretty interesting place policy-wise?

Phoenix...or should I say...the Miami of the West...has plenty to commend it for young professionals. But add in a host of exciting events there this year...and I'm genuinely excited to be moving on in.

Now the only question is...if I can't talk about my frustration finding work...what will I fill the blog with...sexual escapades?