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 |  I travel the country on business, sometimes the world. Come see where I've been. |
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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.  Best Cultural And Regional Honorable Mention |
| Locale: Washington, DC Week of: 10/24/22 This past week was spent in Washington, DC, working with the U.S. Secret Service. This sounds like a 'Wow!' moment in some ways, but it was really 'just another class'. The difference of course, was where I was, and the significance of the customer. Yes, the class was held in the Secret Service Headquarters. No, I didn't meet anyone that the Secret Service guards. Yes, we had a conference room for the class. It was small, pretty small. The class itself went very well. The subject matter was relatively new to them since everything in their new system was IP based. Their RF knowledge was sound, so talking about that part was easy, everyone had the chance to display their RF knowledge as we discussed system operation. The IP part is how their new system is connected, so pretty new to most of the students. The second half of the class concentrated on small device they had little to no knowledge of. We spent Thursday and Friday configuring it, and discussing how it fits in their system. The highlight for me was the small gift shop downstairs. On Monday, the manager went down and purchased two challenge coins, two lanyards, and two mouse pads, all with Secret Service labels on them,and gave them to me. Later, I went there and added two more Secret Service challenge coins, a shot glass, and a nice bag that will be used to hold the cables and necessary adapters I take with me to every class. This started out as a small zip-lock bag years ago, and is not a small carry-on bag for my flights! I will give one of the Challenge Coins to a good friend of mine, and maybe one of the lanyards to another friend. Obviously I will keep one of the lanyards for my use (work badge hanging from it), but I am not use what to do with the second one. We will eventually use the mouse pads, it's too soon to do a lot since I leave for Schaumburg tomorrow. Maybe I will give one of the lanyards to my best friend at work. I also had the pleasure of learning to ride the small electric scooters around the city. We have a partnership with Uber. We download the Ubre Ap and add our corporate card to it. We then use it in large cities that we don't rent a car in, like Fort Lauderdale and Washington DC. For less than $30, I rode one to and from work the last two- three days (it was close enough to walk), and to/from restaurants at night. I also snapped a couple of photos. Photo's From Visit:  Sunset at The City Park  I served with this man (Dan Maloney) on the USS Alabama. He was chosen as the model for this statue. The sculptor snapped a photo as Dan exited his car and automatically flipped his collar up to shield his neck on this cold, windy, winter day. He then shoved his hands in his pockets, and that's when the sculptor snapped the photo. It was then used as the model that the sculptor worked with in creating this statue. Noteworthy Restaurants: Oyamel Cocina Mexicana https://tfgmenus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20221002_OYL_MainMenu-1.pdf I have to confess that this was my second choice that night. My first choice will not be listed here, but they had no available tables, I couldn't even sit at the bar! So I dined here, and loved it. For an appetizer I had Ceviche Verde. Mediterranean Bass marinated in lime juice with avocado and tomatillo. My dinner was Camarones al mojo de ajo negro. Wild caught Gulf Coast white shrimp sautéed with shallots, árbol chile, poblano pepper, lime and sweet aged black garlic, served with a side of Spanish Rice. Compared to most places (which serve you far too much really), the dinner seemed to be on the small side. But it wasn't. It was perfectly sized if you ask me, especially when I poured the Shrimp (Camarones) over the rice. Farmers & Distillers https://farmersanddistillers.com/menu/lunch-dinner/ This was a nice place to eat, but the portion sizes were large, (as mentioned above). For an appetizer I had Pickled Vegetables Pickled Carrots and Cucumbers. Excellent, except the Cucumbers were a little squishy. My meal was Drunken Beef & Chicken. Mushrooms, Bok Choy, Napa Cabbage, Bean Sprouts, & Sesame Seeds. Umaya Izakawa https://www.umayadc.com/menu-landing/ I was in the mood for Sushi this night, so I satisfied that urge by dining here. My appetizer was Tuna Tataki Seared Tuna Sashimi served with Ponzu Sauce. This was very good though it was shaped a bit like something from a shallow tin can. It was actually molded in that shape is all. I also had Shrimp Shumai, six smallish shrimp rolls served with an excellent dipping sauce. My dinner was the Volcano Roll. Baked Scallops, Tobiko, Shrimp Tempura, Kanikama Crabmeat Mix, Spicy Aioli, Avocado, Soy Reduction. Everything was excellent, though it was a little hard to separate the pieces of the Sushi Roll. I wasn't complaining though.... In Closing The next two weeks will be find me in Schaumburg delivering out two networking classes. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: Bloomington, Illinois Week of: 10/3/22 through 10/17/22 After a long period of travel and very little at home time, I am home. Three weeks in a row! Whatever will I do with my time? I will tell you in a minute... Late last year, I scheduled two weeks of vacation in October 2022. My plan was to go to Albuquerque during this period for the annual Balloon Fiesta. As I am fond of saying, "Sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men.... " Yeah, I didn't plan things really well, if at all. Let me explain. A couple of things were not considered in my planning. My schedule. Being so dang busy with classes that at times I didn't know if I was coming or going. Add in other things that I never considered, like my High School class holding a 50th reunion a month before the Balloon Fiesta. Doctor's appointments scheduled during this time, some I couldn't change or cancel. The Akita National Specialty Dog Show two weeks before the Balloon Fiesta. It all added up to me remaining at home instead of going to New Mexico. Sure, we made it to the Dog Show, but that too was tiring. Let's look at how tiring this became for me. Week of 29 August: Three day class in Schaumburg. Drive there Monday the 29th, home on Thursday afternoon, 9/1. On 9/2, fly to Albuquerque for my 50th class reunion. Scheduled to arrive at 8:30 pm, arrived at 12:45 am due to flight delays (weather) On 9/3, attend my high school class 50th reunion. Dead tired still, but there was no way I'd miss that. On 9/4 fly home, arrive home two hours late, again due to weather On 9/6 fly to Buffalo for a three day class. Fly home on Friday 9/9, finally arriving home on time, 9:45 pm. On 9/11 fly to San Francisco for a class in Sacramento. Return home on 9/16 on a red-eye flight from San Francisco. Of course I couldn't sleep on the plane, so was awake all night. Arrived home at 11:15 am Saturday. On 9/12, began the drive to Virginia Beach for the Akita National Dog Show, Arrived there on 9/13, late afternoon. It took me until Wednesday to start to feel like myself after all this. On 9/23 began the drive home. We had to leave Friday because yours truly had a flight to Dallas on Sunday! On the way, we stopped briefly to drop off a bottle of Moonshine with Robert Waltz  that I'd picked up on the drive to Virginia Beach.On 9/25, flew to Dallas early Sunday, and home on Friday 9/30. For once there were no flight delays!  It was at that point that my two weeks of vacation started, and as I thought, I was not in the mood to travel once again. Having thought ahead and realizing this, the plans to go to Albuquerque were cancelled well ahead of time. I've been relaxing at home ever since. This third week of being home is because the customer I was going to teach this week could not support the class. Since it was too late to schedule a different class for me, I get to remain home.Since my vacation was changed to a 'Staycation', I had no problem working from home. The nice thing about doing this, is that I can work as much, or as little, as I needed or wanted to. I have 2 classes coming up that needed the course materials tailored for the delivery. One is next week, in Washington DC. The other is still waiting to be scheduled. I spent the better part of 50 hours going through the materials to tailor them for these customers. This tailored class in Washington DC will be very similar to the class I'll be delivering later, so I was able to solve two problems at the same time. Those course materials are finally ready to be used, so the rest of this week will be spent tailoring a third course for a class in Kentucky, but that's not until April 2023! I prefer to front load things and be ready for changes, so I will work all I can to prepare for a class six months away. You might wonder about schedule changes, and what happens if the class moves to another instructor. It's simple, I will share those files with him. Besides, there's only three of us who are qualified to deliver this class, one of us can't travel due to having the same Cancer I have, so that leaves only two of us who could deliver it. That other instructor who can travel is my immediate supervisor, and he has a schedule as full as mine, so it's doubtful the class would move to someone else. If it does, it's fine... Life is good, it's always good if you ask me. I don't mind being busy, I love to travel, and being this busy removes any concern about job security. It's nice to be needed, I think we can all agree on that. Being needed this badly is nice, as long as you don't let the travel tire you too much. Tire too much by poor planning on my part that is, because I am my own travel counselor. Except for International travel. Then we get American Express involved. Speaking of International Travel.... the Training Department is in the process of finalizing a quote for a series of International classes. This is not too unusual really, but this time the customer will need us there for about a MONTH! Can you imagine being overseas for a month? Since it would be at least a month overseas, the 'boss' has asked for volunteers who are willing to spend a month there. But where? How about spending a month in Mongolia? Of course I volunteered! Now to wait and see if that is placed on my schedule. Only time will tell.... In Closing I am home this week, enjoying my free time. Sunday I will fly to Washington DC for a class, and of course, it's a Federal Customer. I won't broadcast it here for a couple of reasons, but I will be teaching the class about 3-4 blocks from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. No, I will not be meeting or seeing any politicians. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE!  Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: Irving, Texas Week of: 9/26/22 This week finds me in Irving, Texas for a week long class. The customer was a company partner, the students were from various locations in Texas, North Carolina, Alabama, and more. It was a fun class in some ways, a tiresome class in others. I think you know what i mean. This was a Networking class, most of the students had very little Networking experience. One student was much more experienced than the rest, he became my assistant during the hands-on exercises. This can be very good really, because instead of having to monitor all three groups, I could monitor/help two, while he worked with his group. The one thing you have to be careful of though, is that he doesn't become the instructor, and that the students don't look to him for answers. This didn't happen at all, he was content to help, he answered questions at times, but never tried to be the instructor. My hotel. Uggh. Despite being a Hilton brand hotel, the one I checked in on Sunday was not one a business traveler would want to stay at. It was a Tru by Hilton, and in my humble opinion, was a step above a Motel 6, but far below what I've come to expect with a Hilton Brand Hotel. Yes, I'm spoiled. My room was on the small side, that was okay. There were no drawers to place your personal clothing items in, there was no closet to hang things in, just a bar that jutted out from the wall and bent upwards to connect to the ceiling. This was above the small refrigerator in the room. I didn't really like that, but I could live with it. The TV could not be moved, it was mounted to the wall, parallel with the wall, and could not be rotated. The only place you could really see the TV and watch it, was from the bed. I don't know about you, but I get in bed and the next thing I know, it's hours later. Yep, I fall asleep, and fall asleep quickly. Did I mention that the room was on the small side, with just enough room around the bed to walk? Being the only person in the room, that wasn't a big issue. Believe it or not, the biggest issue I had with the hotel in general, was that there was NO COFFEE maker in the room. Are you listening Quilli ☕  ? Can you believe that? No coffee maker in the room! The only way to enjoy early morning coffee was to go to the lobby breakfast area and get it. Another issue for me was that there was no restaurants I'd enjoy dining at nearby. I mean fairly close, I don't mind driving some distance, but in a city like Dallas, I'd rather find restaurant close to the hotel. Don't get me wrong, obviously there were nice restaurants all around me, I just couldn't find several that I'd enjoy visiting during the week. Needless to say, I spent one night (Sunday) in that hotel, checked out and went to a Home2Suites by Hilton Monday afternoon. Its disadvantage was that it was a 30 minute drive to and from work. The advantages? Better room, much more suited to a business traveler, and a lot of dining option very close by. I enjoyed that hotel much more, and Tru by Hilton is off my list as a viable place to stay from now on.Noteworthy Restaurants: So, about those restaurants.... Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen https://pappadeaux.com/menu/ I worked at a Pappadeaux in Arlington Heights Illinois, and left there about the time I joined WDC, so I knew how the food was prepared, I knew it's quality too. I enjoyed their Texas Redfish Pontchatrain. This was Pan-grilled redfish, lump crab, shrimp, brown-butter wine sauce, with dirty rice. I really wanted their Greek Salad, but it was far too much for me. I should have gotten it for lunch on Tuesday. Sanabels Mediterranean https://www.ubereats.com/store/sanabels-mediterranean/vBB9GcRfQvaM5IhCffXFlQ I do enjoy Mediterranean food at times, and felt like it this night. For an appetizer, I chose their Dolmas. I've long wanted to try this, but hadn't yet. Tonight was the night. Domas - Hand rolled grape leaves, stuffed with rice, tomatoes, onions, and parsley marinated with lemon juice and olive oil. The filling seemed to resemble meat, not what the menu describes, still, it was very good. For dinner, I chose their Kabob Sampler, and had the Lamb Kabob, Kufta Shish Kabob, and Shrimp Kabob. It was excellent, just what I was craving that night. La Fisheria https://www.facebook.com/lafisheriarestaurant/menu?referrer=PAGE_ATTACHMENT Their menu page link is broken, but you can find them on Facebook using the link I'm providing. I went there for Seafood, so why did I end up ordering their Brochete de Rib-Eye Y Camaron? Just look at the photo on their menu. Sixth row down, middle item. Yummm. Was far too much for me, I could have had 2 or 3 of you with me and we'd all end up full. My only 'complaint' about this place, is that the music was very loud. If I'd had someone with me, we'd have to yell to each other to be heard. Either that, or text on our phones, something I refuse to do while dining out. Cantina Laredo https://www.cantinalaredo.com/menus/view/?place=cantina-laredo-14&menutype=main I chose their Queso y Guacamole Combinación for an Appetizer. Chili con Queso and guacamole with diced tomato and queso fresco. For the meal, I chose RELLENO DE CAMARONES. Shrimp, monterey jack, vegetable and mushroom stuffed roasted green chili, with avocado, roasted red pepper and poblano sauce, on charred street corn and cilantro lime rice. Bombshells http://4bombshells.com/menu.aspx First off, this is not the type of restaurant I would choose to dine at. But one of my students is the son of the man who was my mentor at Motorola. I mentioned him in my notebook I'm sure. He retired from Motorola in July 2020, and died from cancer July 2021. John wanted to have dinner with me one night, so we chose Thursday. We picked this place, and it wasn't until we'd commited ourselves (we could have backed out of course) that we learned it was a bit like Tilted Kilt, Hooters, Twin Peaks, and the like. You get the idea I hope. We decided to still go there because of one appetizer, their WMD's (most of their menu items are named after some kind of weapon). We get there, order our drinks, and the WMD's. The server takes our order and returns moments later to tell us they are out of WMD's for the night. We settled for Bomb Poppers. Bacon Wrapped, Jalapeno Stuffed Shrimp, with grilled onion and mushrooms, topped with Cheddar Cheese and their Swet n Spicy BBQ Sauce. For dinner, I just had a burger, which though it was very big, was very good. Still, I wouldn't dine here again if given my choice, only because it's not the kind of place I would frequent. The same goes for La Fisheria, the music was just too loud for me to frequent the establishment. In Closing The next two, probably three weeks will find me at home on vacation (staycation) again. I will go to Schaumburg on Monday the 10th to make cables that will connect two of the devices on our small K Core. After that, I can do all the configuration from home. That 3rd week was supposed to be a class in New Jersey, but the customer has to complete instructor led online training, and did not attend as scheduled. Since my class with this was all hands-on activities, the online portion has to be completed before my class, and since that was not completed,nor can it be completed in time for my class, it's been cancelled Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! Jim Dorrell |
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Although, I hope you've got a portable table set up for prep while you wait for counters or a microwave for those frozen meals.
is better than suspended upside down in the 'void'. 
