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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 too 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 |
| Playing Santa For An Afternoon Yesterday I was finally able to play Santa a little bit. In the past, I was so wrapped up with work that doing something like this never crossed my mind. I was determined to change my ways. I don't want any of my children, grandchildren, nor anyone else, to think of me as Mr. Scrooge. It all started when our local library had a book sale. Fit all you can in a provided paper bag and pay them $5. I found quite a few children's books too. Then I thought about Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Mysteries, those were gone early on though. Heck, I even wrapped presents, and made sure I had presents for my children, now adults. Despite the cold (it was in the 20's during the day), I drove to Decatur, about 40 miles away. I visited my daughter Brittany first. She is struggling to make ends meet right now, I think she always will. That's just her nature it seems. I hate to say it, but I didn't want to stay at her house too long. Not because I didn't want to see her or the children, but because with the health issues I have, I don't need to give them any kind of sickness, nor do I need to catch something from them. At least Brittany understands my reasoning. Next I visited my daughter Jami. I was able to spend more time with her because she has no children, nor does she want children. At each house, the cats came to me without being called. Did I smell of catnip?  I drove home in the dark, and was glad I had driven down when it was light out. I knew what the roads were like, I'd seen that there appeared to be no ice, and no black ice either, since I didn't see any reflections as I drove. It had been a good day though. The kind of day I needed this time of year. I arrived home tired & hungry. However, Kathy had fixed us Chicken & Noodles over Mashed Potatoes for dinner. Yummmmm. |
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