studying Archives

My traveling days are behind me for awhile I’m afraid. Even though my new job gives me 3 weeks vacation it will take awhile to “earn” the time. Plus all this running around from Alaska to Seattle and back again has taken a bite out of my travel reserve. It needs to be replenished.

The new company did reimburse me for my travel expenses when I went out for the company introduction but they don’t cover Pet Sitting costs any more than they would cover child sitting.

As you probably know the Northeast has been in the grip of a heat wave.

It is actually the 2nd heat wave of the summer. I was doing my practical training when the first one hit and driving home on RT 128 the AC in the car died. Of course it gave up the ghost when I was stopped in a 6 mile traffic jam in 90+ degrees and the sun beating down and not a whisper of a breeze. Needless to say the car went into the shop the next day and came out 3 days later with my wallet $700 lighter.

But, I could keep penguins happy in the car now and believe me, I was very thankful this past week when we had 6 days of 90+ weather and high, high humidity.

I told my Florida friends that we were experiencing the South Florida weather they get in August!

During all this I was studying harder than I’ve ever studied in my life. My new job requires that I have a real estate license. They hired me in good faith counting on me to get the license ASAP. I was hearing horror stories from everyone about the test and most people that had taken the “New, Revised and Tougher” Massachusetts exam had failed the first time. I would just die if I failed! OMG that was the stuff of nightmares for me so in a panic I spent every spare moment studying and taking practice exams.

On July 3rd I sat for the exam and to my great relief, Passed! So I am now a licensed real estate sales person in Massachusetts. YAY ME!

My whole mind and body gave a sigh of relief and I felt like I could look around and take stock of where I was for the first time since we’d left for Alaska in May.

My new duties let me work from home. Nice! I can save on gas and wear and tear on my old jalopy. I am also finding that I have a lot more time since I’m not spending hours commuting each day.

Although I am a “Night and Weekend” worker I am now working 8 hour shifts instead of 10 so I only have 2 days off in a row instead of 3, so mini vacations like I took last year are probably not an option, at least not right now.

So the bottom line is that I’m not sure what topics I’ll be covering until my next vacation. I hope little local jaunts and observations won’t be boring for anyone. As for my next vacation…well it’s just a germ of an idea …but I’m looking into Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

At this point it’s just an idea. I need to work out cost and logistics to see if it’s feasible. I’m still looking for a vacation that will let me get that icon bear or elk photo. So far the best vacation for wildlife has been the South Dakota vacation we took. I’m sure there will be more. I just have to find them. 🙂

Sorry I missed posting yesterday. I had an interview right in the middle of the day. I just couldn’t get myself settled enough to write and I didn’t want to jinx myself by talking about the interview before it was over.

The other excuse is that I need to buckle down again to finish the real estate licensing class. That’s four hours a day for 10 days not counting the additional studying. I’ve completed 8 hours and I’m working on the 3rd block of 4 hours. It would be nice if I could finish and get the test done before we leave for Alaska but it will be cutting it close.

I ‘m also staring at my home office that needs a major renovation and I haven’t taken even a baby step toward getting that done…ugh. I am feeling overwhelmed and I’m not even working. So much to do so little time.

Now you have my excuses so please bear with me over the next few weeks. I may be a bit “spotty” on my posts until we get back from Alaska but I know I’ll have tons to share from that.

Oh and speaking of Alaska I picked up our cruise documents and plane tickets. Other than confirming the dates were correct and that I had vouchers for everything I didn’t look at them too closely. Then I got an email from Princess Lines referring to changes. Again I glanced but didn’t look too closely. I had too many other things going on but my sister looked. She emailed me that we had a balcony room!

Well that got me moving and I looked it up. Sure enough. We were upgraded from an ocean view on the Baja deck to a Balcony on the Aloha deck. How cool is that!

I’m getting excited. Hard to believe it’s almost here!