Jumping for joy

Posted on May 9, 2013May 9, 2013 by Dusty Roads

I promised I’d keep everyone up to date on my job search.

I have great news! Today I received an offer of employment and I accepted. I won’t go into detail about the company because it’s my policy to keep things like that confidential so that I don’t run afoul of any company rules or restrictions. My former employer was quite strict about that and often monitored blogs and Facebook. But I will say that the total package… benefits, vacation, salary comes close to matching or exceeding the perks I had at my previous employer.

That means I will be able to keep on exploring “dusty roads” around me. I can see another visit to Florida in my future. I was thinking about Crystal Springs but there are lots of other places too. Yellowstone and Yosemite, California, Oregon and Washington, those remaining “A” states to name just a few.

I really want to go to Costa Rico too and on a safari in South Africa so lots of places to go and things to see. Yay! And I’ll keep sharing those adventures along with the mundane day to day challenges with you, my friends and internet neighbors.

Nothing to See Here

Posted on April 24, 2013April 24, 2013 by Dusty Roads

I stole the title from the phrase Office Barbrady (a South Park Character) always says. “Move along…Nothing too see here”.

It’s been really busy. I never thought I’d be unemployed and complaining that I was too busy to prepare a proper post but there it is. I’m in the middle of 2 online courses. One is about travel writing through a continuing ed web site and the other is the Mass. Real Estate salesman license prep. (40 hours). I also had 2 interviews in 2 weeks, both phone interviews and attended an all day seminar on resume writing.

I think I’ve spent close to 40 hours sitting in the Unemployment Office trying to get that straightened out. Seems my former company didn’t properly report the terms of my layoff. I finally heard from the investigator yesterday.

In between I’ve been setting up Cobra so I’ll have insurance, transferring my homeowners and auto insurance to direct bill from payroll deduction and trying to get my severance from my former employer. After all, I can’t activate Cobra without sending in my premium and with no unemployment or severance coming in I’m not sure where the company expects I get it from. Long days on the phone when I’m not at the Unemployment Office but that finally paid off yesterday too.

And finally I’m trying to move furniture, paint walls and sort through all the stuff that came home with me from the office. I feel like it’s a never ending chore but I really want it done in case I land a work- from- home job. I need a neat, organized work space.

So that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. I need a day off! And what better day to take than a Wednesday…a mid week break. So this is all there is today. Be back soon.

Tale of a Lost Passport

Posted on April 4, 2013April 4, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Driving home the other day I had a sudden thought…Where is my passport? As I thought about it I became more and more nervous. By the time I actually reached the house I was in a full blown panic.

I last used the passport on my cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. I knew I had the passport when I got home because I’d seen it but where?

While I was on the cruise and then in Florida I kept the passport in the folder I carry on each trip with all the print outs, tickets, guide books, attractions, reciepts and maps. I have a separate folder for this Alaska Cruise. I’ve found that doing it this way organizes not only my travel documents but my thoughts and helps me squeeze in as much as I can on these trips because who knows if I will ever “pass that way again”.

When I get home this folder combines with my notes and photos to provide the basis for my tales of my trips which I share here so that those of you interested in a location can have the benefit of my experiences or mis-adventures, as the case may be. 🙂

Well, as I was writing my posts for Florida and the Everglades I remembered seeing the passport and thinking I should put it away where it belonged. But I am the world’s best procrastinator and didn’t remember doing that.

Baby Alligator

Now at home and in a panic I checked all the places I usually keep the passport when not traveling and even some I don’t usually use. Nothing. I pulled out my luggage and checked all the pockets and linings…nope… nothing.

Finally I went though the pockets of my photo vests, coats, jackets and pants. Those were a real long shot but I was hoping. Still nothing.

I’m sure by now you are asking yourself why I didn’t look in the folder. Well, that’s because as I was cleaning off my desk a few days before I looked at the huge folder and thought “I don’t want to save all this stuff. It takes up too much room in my file cabinet” so I did something I normally don’t do…I threw out my folder with notes, and maps and travel documents. In the process I threw out the passport. 🙁

I raced to the post office where they calmed my fears and said they could expedite a replacement and have it in 2 weeks. Of course it would cost me…what doesn’t these days..so now the search was on for my birth certificate…last seen 7 years ago when I applied for the passport. Lets just say it’s in a safe place.

It was looking more and more like I would have to drive to upstate NY for another certified copy of my birth certificate. So that was my plan for Monday but Sunday as I was doing routine house work I emptied the small trash can under my desk. As I tipped the can I spotted a manila folder! What’s this? Could it be? OMG it’s the Cozumel/Florida folder.
My hand was shaking as I pulled the precious folder out. The first quick flip through yielded nothing, a big fat goose egg so I took the folder to my desk and spread it out. I went through everything one piece of paper at a time and there it was. A bit battered and bent but intact.

I can now share this cautionary story because all’s well that ends well but I did have quite a few days of stress over this silly mistake!

The Final Countdown Begins

Posted on March 27, 2013March 27, 2013 by Dusty Roads

My last day at work is Saturday. By Saturday night the office will be closed . Relocated to another location north of Boston. I won’t be going. The extra cost of the commute, time involved and wear and tear on my old car put it out of reach. I’m sure something will come along and if I can find a local position I’ll save $200/mo. just on gas.

But through Saturday I am working 10 hours days so I am not sure how much time I will have to post anything interesting. If time allows I may repost some of my popular posts from the past. The equivalent of a TV rerun. 🙂 But I promise I will be back and posting on a regular schedule soon.

My blog has become a part of me and I would not be able to leave it behind but I also want to be sure that the content stays interesting and I don’t think I will be able to do that over the next couple of days. So if I am not here for a couple of days, fear not…I will catch you on the flip side.

Home Again

Posted on January 28, 2013January 28, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Wow ..I’m finally home. I left Fort Lauderdale at 12:45 this morning and finally made it home at 10:55 pm! 2 happy cats greeted me. Smokey hasn’t stopped purring since I came in the door and Rocky is just beside himself..not even interested in eating…just right in my face LOL. I guess they missed me.

And what a pleasure to have fast internet again! I’m already planning the stories and pictures I’ll be able to share now. But it’s late and I still need to unpack but watch for those posts to start sometime tomorrow.