I travel the country on business, sometimes the world. Come see where I've been. |
Talk about perks, my job has one of the best ones I can think of! I travel in the course of business, delivering classes for my employer. I am a Senior Training Specialist for Motorola Solutions, and teach classes on a wide variety of subjects centered around 2 way radio communications. I'm qualified to deliver approximately 30 different classes, but about half of those are 'Legacy' classes, and are not in demand anymore. My students are technicians, those who maintain, program, calibrate, and repair 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 get to travel, sometimes frequently, 3-4 weeks in a row.... where am I this week? This probably won't have daily entries, but I will make entries when I get to go somewhere, and keep an updated list of coming trips. My schedule changes faster than the weather, so don't be too surprised to see me list an upcoming class, only to remark later on that it is cancelled, or delayed. Delays are fine of course, but a later date might mean that someone else gets to go instead of me,,, Well, here we go with this, let's see where it takes us. |
Bloomington, Illinois Thank God for small favors! After a pretty exhausting schedule in February and March, I finally spent a week at home! Since February 11, I've now had 2.5 weeks at home, with a Saturday 'visit' here and there. It wouldn't be so bad if the classes were in the same time zone, but that was far from the case. Starting the week of February 11, I was in Dover New Hampshire, Hillsboro Oregon, Frederick Maryland (flew from Hillsboro directly to Frederick), Hillsboro Oregon, FOUR days at home, Bangkok Thailand for 2 weeks, a week of no delivery so I rested all i could, Dover New Hampshire, and St. Johns Newfoundland. Yeah, it was very tiring for this old man. But I survived and was able to spend the entire week at home. No, I wasn't idle, I prepped for a class I will deliver in July (more on that in a minute) ,and reviewed the course materials for my next 2 classes. I accomplished what I wanted to get done, that was my goal all week, Did I work 8 hours a day? Nope, but like I said, I accomplished what I needed to do. This class in July will be at Fort Bragg. This is a small system, one that few customers purchase. The class itself hasn't been delivered in 10 years too! As a result, I spent a bit of time reviewing the course materials and ensuring they are up-to-date, writing hands-on activities as needed. Things like that. I also napped whenever I could or wanted to. Tuesday was a day that concerned me a bit, and made me realize jusat how exhausted I was from the time zone shifts. Essentially I was dead to the world. I had Zero energy when it came to doing the simplest of tasks. The rest of the week was fine though, so I have to ask, "Was Tuesday an Aberration? Was it a day that was different than the rest for some reason? Or was it a reminder that I'm not so young anymore?" It was both. In 2021, I learned to pay attention to my body, and listen to what it was saying. So I rested more than I thought I should, and feel much better about things now. Am I all set to go? No way. I will take things as they come and pace myself all I can. My upcoming schedule, as of now: Week of: April 29: Los Angeles May 6: Fort Lauderdale May13: Fort Lauderdale May 20: San Francisco May 27: Schaumburg Illinois June 3: Vacation! June 10: Vacation! June 17: Tennessee June24: St. Johns Newfoundland That's all for now, the time at home was so relaxing and refreshing. A short entry today as a result.. Til next time, keep on writing, most of all, keep on loving those special people in your life! Sum1 |