I have Gremlins....really

Ok, I own a 98 VW Golf Gl Hatchback.
I have electrical problems, for starters, when I start the car its like playing the lotto. Ok, if I lose the lotto I Dont get head lights or Air Conditioning. If I win the Lotto my car works fine. In other words when I start her up I either have everything or I dont have head lights or A/C.
If I dont have either I turn the car off and restart, I continue this process until everything works. This really is annoying at night because now I've had my lights go off while driving and had to hold the brights on manually just to see. I figure this is a complicated problem with the electrical system and have yet to come up with any solutions shy of taking it to the shop. Any help or insight would be appreciated.

Sounds like a bad ignition switch to me.

I don't know about the Mk3's, but when things like that start happening in the Mk4's, I'd check for coolant migration. Look for a connector on the coolant tank, disconnect it and see if it's wet inside. If so, you have major problems with coolant getting into the wiring harness. Check out "coolant migration" on www.vwvortex.com or www.tdiclub.com .