Tag Archives: traffic

Be careful What You Wish for

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Now I’m not saying I’m psychic or anything..psycotic maybe…but if you recall as 2012 was wrapping up I posted about The End of a Cycle/ New Beginnings. In that post I said I had a feeling things were going to change for me in 2013.
Well it didn’t take long for the first shoe to drop. I would have had my 10th year anniversary at my job this year on May 12. I just wanted to make it until then at which time I was planning to review my “options’.

I found out yesterday that I should start reviewing my options now. I’m not going to make it to my 10th anniversary. My company is moving my department to another office north of Boston. Everyone is welcome to keep their jobs and work from the new office or they can take a severance package. There’s no increase in pay for the move. For me it would require a 1/2 hour- 45 minute drive (depending on traffic) just to get to the “T”. If I choose to drive all the way it would be at least 1.5 hours each way and that’s on a good day. I worked in that office before and most days it was 2+ hours.
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Between the time and the additional cost taking their offer to move isn’t an option. So that means that on April 1 (April Fool’s Day) I will join the ranks of the unemployed.

On the good side I’ll be old enough to draw social security. I will also be eligible for unemployment and there will be some sort of severance. I’m not sure how much.

Now before everybody gasps and offers condolences let me tell you that I am actually very excited about this.
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I used to enjoy my job but changes in the structure in recent years had me increasingly dissatisfied. I stayed because of the economy, my age and mostly because I really like the people I work with. As conditions deteriorated I knew we were all in it together. Now that I know my time is coming to an end I’m excited to look for new opportunities.

I have been dabbling with the photography so the first thing I have to do is get serious about it. I intend to use some of the “down time” to build up my “stock” (photos) portfolio and see if I can get that producing some income.

I’d love to see my photo cards take off.
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Sales have been sluggish but I’m not real good at promoting myself. I know the people who receive the cards love them and the people who have sent them are all repeat customers so I just have to get the word out more. Maybe now I’ll have time for some craft shows. Any suggestions on low-cost advertising are welcome. Chime in
www.dustyroadsphotos.etsy.com
www.dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com
And of course, feel free to become a valued customer. 🙂

The same thing applies to my pet photography and portrait line.

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I need to get my name out there. Once again the key is advertising especially in the highly competitive market we’re in. Everybody has a phone or camera phone and everybody considers themselves a pro. I need a niche.

I was recently “flirting” with another company about a “work from home” position. I’ll see if I can get that back on track. I also noticed that a number of companies that have “in store ” photo studios are hiring as well as several “photo Processing Labs”.

Then there’s freelance work.
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I have had 1 photo published and I’ve been encouraged to write travel articles and try to sell those. In fact at one point a major newspaper suggested I report on New England Travel. I didn’t do anything with it at the time but maybe it’s time to revisit these opportunities.

Relocating is not an option because my home has not rebounded enough to sell and staying here is cheaper than renting.

So the bottom line is that change is in the wind and I suspect it will be a busy , challenging and exciting time. Have any of you been through a layoff or career change later in life? I’d love to hear what kind of experience you had.

On the Road to New York

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It was time to hit the road to upstate New York. I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for a year, ever since my niece-in-law posted a picture on Facebook. This event is the 40th Anniversary Adirondack Balloon Festival. 40 years tells me it will be a BIG DEAl.

I’ve never been to a hot air balloon festival. I’ve seen hot air balloons, even rode in a tethered one in Atlanta, Ga. and I saw hot air balloons on one of my trips to Sedona, AZ. as they drifted over the high desert.

Drfting over the high desert. AZ 2008

Now I was heading to my old stomping grounds in Upstate New York for the biggest Hot Air Balloon Festival on the East Coast. To give you a timeline it’s Thursday, September 20 and the opening ceremonies are tonight at 5pm at Crandall Park in Glens Falls, NY.

I got a late start. It seemed like every time I turned around I spotted something that needed doing before I could leave so instead of a 10 am start I didn’t get on the road until almost 12:00.

I was making pretty good time until I got to the halfway point, Springfield Ma. The Big E is in town. The Big E stands for Eastern States Exposition and is the biggest fair in Massachusetts. To add to the traffic going to the Big E there was road work. Only one lane of traffic was moving. It was close to 45 minutes just getting through that section. ETA for Albany was now 4:30…rush hour. Making the opening ceremony was not looking good.

I put the time issue on the back burner and just settled in for the drive. It was pretty uneventful. Even the traffic in Albany was light for a rush hour. I did miss the opening ceremony at Crandall Park. I arrived at my sister’s house in Gansevoort, NY at about 5:30. Once the car was unloaded we dealt with the question of dinner.

The Peppermill Restaurant in South Glens Falls was the winner and we headed over there for open-faced Roast Turkey sandwiches…yummm .

Open Faced Turkey and Gravy Sandwich

Back at the house we reviewed the Balloon festival schedule. Usually there are early morning launches and then again in the afternoon. To our surprise there was no morning launch on Friday. That means we don’t have to get up early and will have the morning and afternoon to do whatever we come up with! Nice.

A Murphy’s Law kind of day

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Well here I am heading back up north to Maine. Twice in one season! Actually this trip was planned before JR suggested we go to Bar Harbor and Acadia. This trip is a totally “working” vacation. By that I mean I am heading  north to take photos that I hope will be good enough to sell.

Twice each year the lighthouse at Cape Neddick is adorned with white lights, outlining the houses and tower. The first event is known as “Christmas in July” and the second is the Annual Lighting of the Nubble at Christmas time in December. When I heard about that I thought WOW…that would be really cool to take pictures of and it will be a lot nicer in July than December with the cold winds blowing off the ocean. You see, I am a wimpy photographer. I wonder if there’d be a market for “Diary of a Wimpy Photographer”? Just joking.

Another iconic lighthouse that I keep hearing about is Pemaquid Lighthouse so I thought I could set up a little trip that would let me take in both locations.

I checked mapquest for locations of each  lighthouse and of course, they are nowhere near each other . I decided to compromise by staying in a location mid way between the two…Portland.

A search of motels through Hotels .com snagged me a good deal at the Super 8 in Westbrook, a suburb of Portland. This was all done weeks before I planned to go so the motel was all paid for. I only had to worry about gas, meals and any extras I might want to do.

It seemed like everything that could go wrong did on the morning of my departure. I finally threw my hands in the air and said I’m done, I’m out of here. So what if the kitchen floor didn’t get mopped . It will still be there when I get home. I put all my stuff from my messy desk in a pile, tossed some treats to the cats and ran before I got side tracked with something more that screamed for my attention.

As I went out the door I realized I didn’t have the power cord for my laptop and the battery was dead…see what I mean? The power cord was at the office in Plymouth so I decided to detour to the office and then head up RT 3 through Boston to pick up RT 95 N. On the way I would stop at Ritz Camera in Hingham (It’s right off one of the exits on RT 3) and pick up some pictures I’d ordered so I wouldn’t have to stop there when I came home.

Well the power cord was quick enough. I got in and out with minimal explanation and in less than 10 minutes. Next stop Ritz Camera.

Now you have to understand that I love the Ritz Camera Store in Hingham. I think every one of the people who work there are great and I recommend them every chance I get. I can see huge improvements in my pictures with their guidance and support so I am not being critical when I tell you what happened next. I share this only as an example of how my day was going.

First I had a terrible time finding a parking spot. The store is in a mall but it felt like the whole mall was slammed. When I got into the store it was wall to wall with people. All of the picture kiosks were taken and every associate was helping customers. They all waved but they are used to me “hanging out” so there was no urgency on their part to get to me. Besides , I should wait my turn. Finally one  person broke free long enough to ask me if I wanted help. While they were looking for the pictures I ordered  another associate called out that they weren’t ready. Could I wait an hour? They were really backed up!

I told them no I was leaving for Maine and I’d get them on the way back. Well now everyone wanted to know where in Maine, what pictures did I plan to take and so on. I finally got out and back on the road. The pictures will be waiting for me on my return but guess what…a fender bender had traffic at a stand- still and I wasn’t even in Boston!

Eventually I got through the traffic jam and maybe since traffic was so slow south of the city, it made for pretty clear sailing through Boston proper. I made good time the rest of the way arriving in Portland about an hour after I planned, 3pm instead of 2pm. Not bad considering.

The Super 8 was right off the highway. Perfect! The desk clerk was really nice and friendly. The motel was undergoing some renovation but they still had a pool, offered a continental breakfast and had fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies right there when I came in! Fresh coffee was brewing all day.

The room was nice too. It was fairly large with a king sized bed right at the end of the hall so it was pretty quiet. Only one other room near me.

I picked up some maps of the area tossed my suitcase down, grabbed the camera  and headed out to explore a little and find someplace for dinner. My “working” vacation was officially underway.