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 Being Retired now, I thought that it was time for a new name to this Blog |
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Talk about perks, my career had one of the best I can think of! I traveled in the course of business, delivering classes for my employer. I was a Senior Training Specialist for Motorola Solutions, and taught classes on a wide variety of subjects centered around 2-way radio communications. I knew that when the time arrived that I would retire, and I have. I've always said that if you can't stand the heat in the kitchen, get out! I can't handle the heat anymore. I was qualified to deliver approximately 32 different classes, but about half of those were 'Legacy' classes, and were not in demand anymore. My students were technicians, those who maintained, programmed, calibrated, and repaired 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 traveled, sometimes frequently, 3-4 weeks in a row.... where have I been? Some of the places I've been (I can't list them all here, the list would be toio long) are pretty interesting. 1. Hawaii - Four times, Oahu, Maui (twice), and the Big Island 2. BangkokThailand, twice 3. Frankfurt Germany, twice 4. Algiers, Algeria 5. Melbourne Australia 6. Bismarck North Dakota, Summer & Winter 7. Los Angeles, Too many times to count 8. Washington DC, Too many times to count 9. Seattle three or four times 10. Texas, all over the state 11. Florida, all over the state 12. New Mexico, HOME! Several times  Best Cultural And Regional Honorable Mention |
| Yep, after that short (again, NOT) drive to (and from) the Great Lakes Naval Station yesterday, today is a mandatory rest day. I woke this morning aching all over, and as tired as could be. This, despite getting about 10 hours of rest last night! It is a reminder of why I decided to retire too. I asked my wife if this is how I was after a trip (in the last 6-9 months only), her comment was "Yep." I did call my buddy Ariel this morning. He said that if I wanted to still teach classes, that maybe I would be better off teaching Virtual Classes (Online classes) only. The thing is, I have no desire to teach! But I will gladly help my former co-workers (free of charge). Shaking my head over that. The reason I'd help them if/when asked, is that I know they are strapped right now, delivering & traveling more now that I'm not part of them. Learning classes that I delivered all this time, with no one else qualified to deliver them. I am considering going to work at our local library part time (11 hours a week) at ~$16/hour). I think what I made when I left Motorola, and realize the difference in money, it amazes me. Thankfully, we don't need that money, I just need to stay active. |
A LONG Drive Today Wow, shades of 'Working For Motorola again'! We left this morning at 8:30, heading to Chicago, or really, to the Great Lakes Naval Station (Navy Exchange Pharmacy really). Why? We needed to get my wife's Diabetic Medication from the Pharmacy there, rather than pay what she paid in the past, about $300-$400 for a month's supply. We managed to pick up a 3-month supply and paid nothing money wise, but 20+ years of my life in actuality. However, we didn't get back home until almost 5pm! It was a nice trip (NOT!), though littered with road construction delays and the like. Plus, for some reason, I haven't slept well the last 2 nights and drove home in an almost Zombie like state. As a result, I almost immediately crashed for over 4 hours after getting home, and just woke about 30 minutes ago. We shouldn't have gone really, I was too tired, but the medication was definitely needed by the weekend, so I chose to make the drive/trip. My original idea was to see my best friend from Motorola, but you know how the 'Best Laid Plans Of Mice & Men' can go. We weren't back near Motorola until almost 2 and my friend Ariel was stuck in afternoon meetings. On a much more less important thought, the afternoon rush hour traffic would soon start, and with my fatigue being such an issue, it would be a good idea to avoid the traffic. And we did manage to get out of Dodge before traffic picked up. I had spoken with Ariel earlier, we knew we probably would not be able to meet, but still.... He's about the only person I go out of my way to see when I'm up there, so that's always a thought. Oh well, maybe next time. |
| Believe me, you don't know want to know this, but I'm going to say it anyway. And, this is a Rant, my apologies. My Prescription Insurance battle with Accredo continues. I received a text this morning to call ACCREDO. BTW, if you have them as your provider for medications you can't get at CVS or Wal-Greens, tell your doctor or Insurance Company that you wish to use a different company. Anyway, despite having a Prior Authorization approved, ACCREDO told me this morning that I have no Prescription Insurance., So I asked the obvious question. "How can a Prior Authorization (those have to go to the Insurance Company as far as I know) if I don't have Prescription Insurance. I've had issues with Accredo in the past, mainly about billing, because they kept billing the wrong insurance (Tri-Care, that insurance they said I don't have), and other things. One time it took me 7 tries to straighten them out. I also explained that I have Tri-Care 4 Life, and will have it until the day I die! That didn't seem to be something she was/is aware of, nor did she seem to care. I asked to be transferred to their Tri-Care desk, I had to request that 3 times before I was transferred. I think (HUGE emphasis on think) it's straightened out now, they better hope so. Another 45 minutes on the phone with them. I should start billing them for my time. Rant Over. |
Prescription Insurance Issues Well, it appears that I've been terribly naive about my prescription insurance. Don't get me wrong, everything's been good, all covered so far, but I'm learning what's really been happening as each day passes. Allow me to explain what I'm talking about please. As some of you might know, I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2021, and started Chemo-therapy in June. I've been taking the Oral Chemo Drug Revlimid for 4 years now, Cigna has covered it this entire time. I've also have Tri-Care 4 Life as a result of my Military Service. So it too was being billed, or so I thought. I take Revlimid for three weeks, then a week off the medication, and repeat. As I said, I've been doing this for 4 years now. Also as many of you know, I retired from Motorola on May 2nd, but was still covered by Cigna through the end of May. As fate would have it, I had Revlimid refilled just before the end of May. Well, last week was my 'week off' Revlimid, and as always, I called Accredo On-Line Pharmacy to get the Revlimid filled again. Yes, this is an online Pharmacy, you cannot get a Chemo Drug refilled at CVS or Walgreens, or other neighborhood Pharmacies. Last week I learned that Accredo had to 'straighten out' the Insurance, essentially drop Cigna and make the DoD (Tri-Care) my only pharmacy insurance. I was told it would take until late this week for that to happen. I had a hard time wrapping my head around that thought, but I did just let it go. Today I received a text from Accredo that my prescription was ready for refill, so I called them about it. Easier said than done. Their records showed I had NO Prescription Insurance. I told the young lady that that was impossible, I have Tri-Care for Life until I leave God's Green Earth. To make this already lengthy entry a bit shorter, she had their Tri-Care department join the call. And it turns out that Tri-Care has never been billed for my Prescription Coverage. Tri-Care should have been payingt whatever Cigna didn't pay, for 48 months, at $16,000 a month! (At least I've never paid a penny for this, my portion has always been Zero). The one good thing here, is that this isn't my problem, it's not something I need to get cleared up. BUT, to get Tri-Care to cover my prescription, I need a 'Prior Authorization'. My main thought is, I told them in 2021 that I had Cigna as my primary pharmacy coverage, and Tri-Care as the Secondary. Why is it that 48 months later, they are just getting a Prior Authorization set up? Why wasn't I informed about a Prior Authorization needed last week? I'm just shaking my head over this. And of course, I was supposed to start taking Revlimid last Saturday. Today is the fifth day I haven't taken it, and it will likely be 2-3 more days before everything is straightened out. Monday? I'm not making any bets on that. Thank God I'm in Remission and am okay, as far as I know. Yep, this is our wonderful Medical System that takes such wonderful care of us all. |
Our Dogs Food This might be a short entry, we'll see. Our two dogs (a 16 year old Schipperke, and a 5 year old Akita) eat a natural diet. For example, this morning I served them raw meat and bones consisting of, a Duck Wing, Pheasant Necks, Chicken & and chunks of a fish called Scad. OF course Buddy (our Akita, about 100 lbs) gets larger pieces and more of them, than Suzi (our 16 year old Schipperke, about 13 lbs). It's a little scary, and almost awesome to hear them crunch the bones. Yes, they get the meat, bones and all. Raw bones are fine for them; after all wild dogs don't eat cooked meat! We don't feed them cooked bones though. Those are brittle and can choke them, but raw bones are ductile, and can be chewed easily. I often wonder how strong their jaws (and bite) must be. We spent four hours today cooking a little bit of Chicken & bones, pork bones & meat, and A LOT of coarsely chopped carrots, broccoli, and asparagus in our pressure cooker. Once the pressure cooker shut down, we separated the bones from the veggies nd threw them in the trash. I used a fork to crush the veggies together. After letting everything cool, their dinner was raw ground meat mixed with those veggies and a bit of broth, plus a couple of whole carrots. We do not feed them dry food, dog food (we call it kibble). That stuff has so many ingredients that do nothing for them, much of it not good for them at all. Feeding them dry food like that can cause Torsion (basically their stomach twists around the tubes that enter or exit it, causing trapped gas). This can lead to death or emergency surgery. When we travel, we feed as little of that possible, and only after it has been soaked in warm water for at least a minute). Torsion doesn't always happen, but it can. Buddy's Breeder just had one of her dogs experience it. A feast fit for a King/Queen, and those two ate like pigs. If we stuck to a human diet like that, we'd be a lot healthier. But you know we snack a little a lot. Such is the life of our dogs, the same food every day. |
Brian Wilson & BBC Music Last night I posted a small tribute of sorts to Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys Legend who passed yesterday. Tonight I found this completely by accident, and just had to share with you all. This is his song, God Only Knows. Maybe you're wondering who some of these people are, because I recognized very few of them. To see the list in more detail, visit  |
Wait, this is a Father's Day present? My other half, my better half, whatever her title is, found a Belgian Waffle Maker on Ebay the other night, and felt we need one. She ordered it; it arrived yesterday. This morning she asked me if I'd make waffles for breakfast. I thought, "No big deal, I can make waffles." Except I didn't have a recipe for them, and only a foggy idea of how to make them. Still, I wasn't worried. As it turns out, there were several recipes in the documentation that came with it. It's one of those vertical waffle makers. You latch it shut, power it on by turning the control to the desired setting (I ended up selecting #4), and pour your batter in the top. The batter seems to boil as the waffle cooks. It can get a bit messy at times too. But I have to say, those waffles were very tasty. You guessed it too. I made the mess, I cleaned it up, I don't mind that one bit either! This afternoon was lunch at a food truck, 'On The Hook Fish n Chips'. The Fish n Chips were good, though the filets were not breaded with a true New England breading. Still, all-in-all, pretty good. During the short drive there, I mentioned the Waffle Maker, and how she ordered it, but I ended up making the waffles and cleaning the mess. That's when she said, "Well, it is a Father's Day Gift!" That was news to me. Again, I'm easy going, so I didn't mind. Tonight, dinner was again, yep, you guessed it. A Food Truck. Cousin's Maine Lobster. Excellent stuff there. We went to each Food Truck because we both love the Fish n Chips & Lobster. She loves to cook, and does a very good job in deciding what to make for the night. So it isn't that she didn't want to cook, it's just that 2 food trucks we love were in town the same day! My muse is still on vacation it seems, so this is about all you'll see me write, at least for now. The biggest problem is, it seems I've forgotten how to write, and hit someone emotionally. Only time will tell there. Y'all keep writing, keep loving those who love you, and take care of you. While you're at it, take care of yourselves! And Write! JD |
Work & Travel Memories I first thought that I'd create a list of my five favorite destinations, but in thinking about it, there's no way I can do that. Why? Because there are so many variables that had an effect on each trip. My trips were all 'Corporate' in nature, I had to use a Corporate Travel site in booking everything. That means I didn't really get to experience life as a local, nor as a tourist. It was something 'in-between'. So I will write about some of the special places/things I was able to experience while traveling. First & foremost, the people I met during my travels, particularly members of WDC. I managed to meet Annette   , Amay  , Jeff  , Kåre เลียม Enga   , Carol St.Ann 👓  , Yellow Rose  , Schnujo's Doing Homework  . QueenOwl ~ A New Day Dawns , Legerdemain  , 🌻 pwheeler ~ love joy peace  , Robert Waltz  , and 🌖 HuntersMoon  . (I sure hope I didn't leave anyone out!) Each meeting with them was special for one reason or another. As far as Non-WDC Members go, when you think that my class size averaged about 9-10 students, I would have met somewhere around 7000 people during those travels.When thinking about destinations alone, I've been very lucky. I'm so lucky, yet at the same time, I'm a little jealous of Kåre เลียม Enga & Schnujo's Doing Homework . Why? Because they traveled (or still travel) for pleasure, and were able to live as a local. I'm not so jealous of everywhere they have been though, because I've been to quite a few places myself. I lived in Hawaii for nine Years during my Navy Career, but have been lucky enough to get back there four times while working for Motorola. Other significant destinations were Algiers Algeria, Halifax Nova Scotia, Bismarck North Dakota, the Puget Sound area of Washington State, Melbourne Australia, Kuwait, Calgary Alberta, Most Major Metropolitan Areas in the States, St. John's Newfoundland, St. John New Brunswick, and so many more. I've been in every Canadian Province that borders the United States, and I've visited every state in our country. For someone who likes to travel, it was a great career. However, I did miss completing a goal of sorts. I thought it would be great to deliver a class of some type in all 50 states. I didn't quite make that, I delivered a class in 43 states. The missed states were Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Idaho, Mississippi, & Utah. I've been to those states, I just didn't deliver a class there. A bonus though (if you want to call it a bonus), is that I delivered a class on every continent except South America. Oh well, I'm sure I'll live.There is so much more I could recount here, but I'm afraid I'd bore you all to death, if I haven't done so already. Things change, life moves on, as we all have. Now, I have all those memories, as do you of your lives. If you leave a comment about this entry, tell me about your favorite memory! Til next time, love everyone, and write! |
Random Thoughts During our recent trip to Gulfport Mississippi via a stop in Tennessee and Alabama, I saw a lot of road signs that really made me wonder. Examples: 1 'Uneven Lanes': Uneven, Hmmmm, that means odd lanes. I didn't see any lanes that looked odd, nor did I see any lanes numbered, 'Lane 1, Lane 3, etc' If you have Uneven Lanes, that means you're going to have Even Lanes. I never saw any of them either. (indent}2. 'End Construction': These signs aren't working. Instead of Ending Construction, it's getting worse. I saw many areas with signs that said 'End Construction'. I wonder if there's an Epidemic going on? 3. In a restaurant I saw a sign that read, 'Sanitary Restrooms'. That made me wonder if there were 'Unsanitary Restrooms' around. 4. I saw a truck carrying liquid with a sign that read 'Not For Human Consumption'. I really wondered what that tank held! My mind sometimes goes out on a tangent on its own. That's how those odd stories or poems are created. You know, something like "The Land Of Ons"  , "What I Saw" , or maybe "Emoticon Love Poem" , or even "Emoticon Fun" . Then there are times where I challenge myself, or my wife challenges me to write a certain type of poem. Such as a Rhyming Loop Poem, "Atone" , or a Shape Poem, such as "Candle" , or one of my favorites, "Hourglass" . There's no telling what you can write if you just relax and ask a simple question. What If? "What If?" . As Theodore Geisl (Dr. Suess) said in a book title, "Oh, The Places You'll Go! (In your mind at least)Your mind is a wonderful thing. Use it, see what unusual poem or story you can write! |
Yesterday 6/3/25, And Retirement I had an appointment with our 'Pain Doctor' (His office is really called The Therapeutic Spine And Pain Center), I just call him the Pain Doctor. The appointment was at 1pm, and while we were a couple of minutes late, it didn't hold things up. Y'all know what doctor offices are like, but this day was a bit extreme. We sat in the office and were not called for at least 10 minutes. That's okay in my book. Once we were in the room, she took my vitals and said the doctor would be right with us. Thirty minutes later and still no sign of the doctor. I had already said that if he wasn't seeing me by 1:45, we would leave. Sure enough, 1:45 arrives, so we get up to leave. I opened the door, and who's there? You guessed it. Dr. Carmichael. To make this long story shorter, I will be referred to a Spinal Surgeon for evaluation. Now about retirement. Before I retired, I was not provided any guidance on what needed to be done, what benefits (other than the 401K and the like), things to check & do. I've slowly gotten about everything done. When I was hired, we filled out a lot of forms. One of them was designating a beneficiary of my pension, should I pass away. Of course my now ex-wife was my beneficiary for everything. I knew enough to change my 401K beneficiary, but there's a different website that manages my meager pension. I do mean meager. I spent just over 20 years in the Navy, and 24 years at Motorola Solutions. My military retirement is about 8 times more than the retirement I receive from Motorola! Shaking My Head (SMH) over that. It took 'jumping through hoops to get my pension beneficiary changed. I've been getting calls from Aptia365 for a few days now. Since they are part of Motorola's insurance plan, I was kind of annoyed, I only have Medicare and Tri-Care For Life now after all. A call came in today that I couldn't take, but I decided to call them back. It's a good thing I did. It turns out that Motorola provides a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) Free Of Charge. It's not a lot, far less than $1000, but still.... I will receive an e-mail in the next 2-3 days about this, telling me how to set the account up. It's an Annual amount, and has no expiration. I have this benefit until I am no longer on God's Green Earth. I still feel a Checklist of sorts should be provided to anyone retiring, so a person can ensure they have completed all the items needed when retiring. I will be sending my former manager a note about things that should be completed by a pre-retiree when someone decides to retire. Hopefully that will help. |
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