This has been quite a week. Barack Obama has been re-elected President of the United States, Democrats in California picked up a super-majority in both the Assembly and Senate, gay marriage was approved in Washington so my friend can get married, and I was offered not one, but TWO jobs! I should have gone to Vegas.

After my three-and-a-half year forced retirement from the radio biz, I will be back to work tomorrow. I've been hired at KNCO (830 AM) in nearby Grass Valley as a full time news reporter and afternoon anchor. I was also offered a position at a station in Yuba City, but the Grass Valley deal was better, even though the town and the area are much smaller. Also, both stations are open to me returning to broadcast baseball this summer in Marysville. All of a sudden, everything is going my way, and I couldn't be happier. I just hope the lucky streak lasts.

Grass Valley and neighboring Nevada City are about 35 miles from Marysville. They are foothill communities that have their own personalities. I will get to learn all about that. The area can also get snow, too. As long as I don't have to drive in it, I'm good. For now I will commute, and after the first of the year, if I think it's too much, I might consider moving. One thing at a time.

A little twist to all this is that I will be working for the company that fired me in 2009. Nevada County Broadcasters owned KUBA in Yuba City when I was full time there, but since sold it. The economy in the foothills must be improving, though, because they are adding personnel. However, I'm also the “new guy” again, which means I'd be among the first to go if cuts are made. I can't control that, but one thing my “retirement” has taught me is to be prepared. I thought I was, but I won't let anything like this happen to me again. Not working can be fun at times, but the pay really sucks. There's no good benefits package either.

Now, though, the excitement is giving way to a little anxiety. Can't stay up til 2am anymore, but I'm sure Late Night with Jimmy Fallon will do just fine without me. Can't sleep til noon, either—something I will miss (I can still sleep late on weekends, but probably won't because there's less time to get other things done). As my mom put it, I'll have to become a “real person” again. I think I'm up for it.

Election wrap-up: I spent most of Tuesday night watching TV, and changing the channel back and forth between NBC and CNN. NBC was a little quicker to project winners, but CNN's Wolf Blitzer had a great explanation for why they didn't call certain red states like Georgia early. The network didn't do any exit polling there...Both networks had their masters of the map wall (CNN's Peter King and NBC's Chuck Todd). Information on what counties were critical to what states was important, but CNN seemed too obsessed with pie charts and demographic data. We were even being told the percentage of fathers voting for Obama. A little much... For Election Night, NBC temporarily changed the name of its Rockefeller Center headquarters to “Democracy Plaza”. That seems like overkill to me, and sounds like something you'd find in Russia or China.

Numbers game: Although the Presidential race was called in favor of Obama shortly after it was announced that he had won Ohio, that state did not put the incumbent over the top. In fact, if Mitt Romney had won both Ohio and Florida, he still would have lost the electoral vote 275-253. The Republican would have also needed either Virginia or Wisconsin to win the election. Iowa or Nevada (in addition to Ohio and Florida) would have created an electoral tie.

Locally: Yuba County Measure T, the 57-word question about preserving open space, was defeated by a narrow margin. Somehow those against it campaigned that its passage would mean jobs would be lost. I have no idea how, but that premise seemed to have worked... Measure V passed, so now the Yuba County School Board will have five members instead of seven. I don't care, but there are two jobs lost right there... There actually was a Measure U. It was a school bond in Wheatland, so I didn't get to vote on it. It was approved.

R74: The gay marriage referendum in Washington was leading 52 to 48 percent all night Tuesday, but no one would call it until late Wednesday afternoon, and the opposition finally conceded. The first date that same-sex couples will be allowed to marry is Sunday December 9. I've already been invited to a wedding on that day. Working on travel plans.

One sports note: Of all the great things that have happened this week, the Los Angeles Dodgers went and messed it up by hiring steroid user extraordinaire Mark McGwire as hitting coach. Stupid cheater.

Photo: Cartoon courtesy transitioning.org.