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 |  I travel the country on business, sometimes the world. Come see where I've been. |
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Talk about perks, my job has one of the best ones I can think of! I travel in the course of business, delivering classes for my employer. I am a Senior Training Specialist for Motorola Solutions, and teach classes on a wide variety of subjects centered around 2 way radio communications. I'm qualified to deliver approximately 30 different classes, but about half of those are 'Legacy' classes, and are not in demand anymore. My students are technicians, those who maintain, program, calibrate, and repair large 2-way radio systems. Some of these systems are statewide, and use TCP-IP networking to allow sites to communicate with others. Some are small, traditional type radio sites. The size doesn't matter, in each case the systems must be kept operational at all times, since many of them are Public Safety Systems. So I get to travel, sometimes frequently, 3-4 weeks in a row.... where am I this week? This probably won't have daily entries, but I will make entries when I get to go somewhere, and keep an updated list of coming trips. My schedule changes faster than the weather, so don't be too surprised to see me list an upcoming class, only to remark later on that it is cancelled, or delayed. Delays are fine of course, but a later date might mean that someone else gets to go instead of me,,, Well, here we go with this, let's see where it takes us.  Best Cultural And Regional Honorable Mention |
Relaxing At Home 2/16 Well, I haven't delivered a class since mid-January, and sort of feel left out at work. Then again, I've done more than my fair share for the past 10-12 years when it comes to class deliveries. I deserve this break, at least in my opinion. We have worked on unpacking the kitchen boxes, though vrery slowly. I will not take the reins here, and unpack everything. You know what will happen or be said if I do. I have no desire to cause issues here at home. That's not something I do. As you might guess, we didn't head to Virginia this week. We could have made it, I know that. But he is scheduled to be shown in a show the weekend of 3/21, so it was decided we';d leave him there another month. It's not what either of us wanted, but being shown is something she wants. She longs for the ego thing of having a 'champion' again. And yes, he does have champion blood in him, but does not have that piece of paper that is so important to her. Dog shows? They are not something I have done in the past, nor do I approve of them. To me, a dog show is like people posing themselves to show off their muscles. The dogs are 'Stacked' to show off their lines and such, they are not in a natural pose at that point. It's a wasie of time and money, but that's only my opinion. And despite all that, we'll be attending the Akita National Show this fall in Springfield Missouril. I'm getting used to not traveling now, but my next trip is a week away, when I will go to Houston, Texas for a week. That will be my last time flying for work, any flying done after that will be at my expense. My schedule is winding down, I only have two and a half months left before the big day. I would love to have a nice BBQ and invite everyone to it, but I realize few would show. Heck, I'd have a hard time getting co-workers to show up because they'll either be traveling, or not want to come to Bloomington (a 2-3 hour drive from the Chicago area. It's okay, we'll still have a BBQ, it just might be the two of us attending is all.  My schedule thru retirement. Week of: Feb 24: Houston, Tx March 3: Work From Home March 10: Vacation March 17: Cross Train A Co-Worker or Co-Workers March 24: Tioga County - Tentative - It might be a Virtual Class, taught from home March 31: Schaumburg April 7: Schaumburg Aporil 14: Schaumburg April 21: Work From Home April 28: Work From Home, Close out all Motorola stuff, return laptop, etc. Friday May 2nd will be my last day of employment. I have no idea if I'll work in some job, that remains to be seen. Right now I'm leaning towards not working at all..... Jim Dorrell |
Working From Home 2/12 BTW, it's hard to call it working from home when I'm really on vacation this week and next. I'm beginning to feel a little unloved at work though. I have not taught a class since the week of January 13th. This is mainly due to customers cancelling classes, not just mine, but others as well. The difference for everyone else though is, they're not retiring, I am. You'd think that would be a welcome break, and it is. I'm just so used to coming and going that it's odd, that's all. I might as well get used to it though, this is how retirement will be, for the most part. I am still unsure if I want to be an adjunct instructor though. I'm retiring because the travel is wearing me out. Why? Multiple Myeloma can cause fatigue, and the meds I take to combat that can also cause fatigue. A Double Whammy there. Like I've always said, 'If you can't stand the heat in the kitchen, get out!' It's been a quiet week for us. Everything that could be done before the countertop is installed has been done. So no contractors around at all, though we do both love Scott and Mike. They are a pleasure to have around. Where are we now though. Appliances are in place, but the dishwasher is not installed. It's water-line is not connected, nor is the electrical connected. Yes, I could do both of those tasks, I've done them before. But we're paying Scott to do those types of things (Mike works for Scott, in case you're wondering), so I'll leave that to the professionals. While I can do it, I'm not a professional at it, and I want this whole remodel work to be done professionally. Our task? Unpack the boxes that we packed to clear out the kitchen, get things set up for normal usage. Get everything ready to go once the countertops are in place. A different company will be doing that, so we wait. We were told it would be at least 2 weeks from the time the measurements were done. Week one will be completed as of Friday. We'll see, huh! We were planning on travelng to Virginia Beach this week and next to 'retrieve' our male Akita. Have you seen the weather though? Yeah, we've decided to put that off for a month, and hope for better weather in March. Again, we'll see what the future holds. I for one can't wait to get him back in our lives.  |
Kitchen Updfate 2/5 Monday was a busy day at the house. The flooring was put down, and I have to say it's beautiful. Yesterday work was started on putting the cabinets in place. Everything is going so good it's almost scary. Here's where we sit tonight. The cabinets have been placed, temporary plywood is installed in place of the counter tops. Friday (2/7) the appliances will be delivered, and the company installing the countertop will measure to install it. That is built at their facility and brought here in one piece. Or so I'm told. But that will be at least a week delay in getting it done. It couldn't be done earlier because the cabinets have to be in place in order to properly measure the countertop area. The still a lot of molding and trim work to be done, that will occur after the countertop is in place. What do you think? |
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Although, I hope you've got a portable table set up for prep while you wait for counters or a microwave for those frozen meals.
