Sunday, May 15, 2011

Big news and awful Internet connections

A big Welcome to Alan McMillan, our newest follower!  Thanks for joining us, Alan - things are starting to really move quickly now, and I'm glad you're along for the ride!

I’m having a heck of a time with this new Samsung 4G card from Verizon. Since I received it I’ve had really spotty connections.  It constantly shuts off, and after five calls to Verizon yesterday, they are sending me a new one, which will arrive Tuesday.  I’m hoping the problem is with the unit itself, and after Tuesday it will be smooth sailing.

I cancelled my cable TV and Internet service weeks ago, so am now using only my computer and the 4G card for TV, which is really frustrating, since it shuts off every five minutes or so. 

I’m typing this post on Word, and will do a quick cut/past into Blogger and post it.  Hopefully I’ll have a connection long enough to do that.  

I did find out, though, in one of my Verizon calls yesterday, that Santee, where I’ll be staying in my RV park, DOES HAVE 4G!  Yeaaaaah!  This 3G is slower than cable Internet, but the 4G is just as fast, and I’m going to be happy to have the 4G for sure.

Last night I was so frustrated, I packed Katie and my computer in the car a drove up the street to Starbucks, bought a coffee, and watched two of my TV shows on ch131.com in my car.  I’m having really bad withdrawal from TV watching and computer surfing.  I don’t have very many TV shows that I like to watch, but geeez, I’d like to see a couple of them.

So, my big news is that I am being laid off; my last day of work is June 2!  I have 11 more days of work before I’m done.  Forever.   

No.  More.  Working. 

I had a long talk with my boss (my son) on Wednesday and he would really like to reduce the staff by one person, and since I’m not planning to work beyond December, he wanted to know if I could afford to leave sooner.  With unemployment, I definitely could, especially since I won’t have my condo too much longer (I hope).  It kind of seems like everything is working out for me to get into my plan sooner than expected.  If I still had my condo with a renter, I would want to work through December for the extra security of the six months of full time paychecks and to see if the renter was stable, but…  Now I don’t have to worry about it. So that’s what we’re going to do.   

He had me type of a list of all my duties so he could determine which ones he’ll give the two office employees that will be left.  He will still give me special projects as they come up that I can do from The Palms, and hopefully that income will extend my unemployment a bit.  He’s also working on another possible income stream for me.  It may not be in place until next year, but if it works out it will be a good income producer for me and something I love to do – all computer related.  So, about the time I finish unemployment, or before, I may have a good income stream in place.  In the mean time, I plan to check into all the links I’ve been collecting for writing, editing, researching, etc. that I can do from the road using my computer.  I really enjoy that kind of work, and hope to be able to still access some opportunities in those areas.  

No photos today – I’m not going to frustrate myself further with trying to upload and lose them. (Besides, there’s not much going on.)

Katie and I visited The Palms yesterday.  I needed a deep bowl to microwave an artichoke. I have NOTHING here at the house to cook with.  I don’t have any pots – they all went in the Estate Sale.  I have only two pans, and they are both at The Palms.  There was a pretty good size bowl, though, in the set of storage containers I got a Costco, and I brought it home and it worked perfectly.  

On Friday I got more storage containers for The Palms.  They had four drawer plastic storage containers, similar to what I already had in my craft room for mostly quilting things, but the ones I had were too wide to fit into my one large closet in The Palms.  On Friday I found narrower ones, and got two. I won’t have enough hanging space, so I’ll use those for Lingerie, Tanks, Tees, Turtlenecks, etc. Each drawer will hold one thing, and it will be very organized and easy, and the things that need to be hung, will have room.  My label maker is going to be busy!

I also got more racks for the kitchen cupboard, to double the storage areas.  I put them all in and re-arranged things, so now I have lots more room, and it’s more organized.  I also need a few more containers for overhead cupboards.  What I have in the cupboards so far fits fine, but when I open them after driving, things fall out and I’m trying to catch them before they hit me.  I need some containers that aren’t tall, just enough to hold everything in place.  It will be easier to find things, too, if I just have to take the whole thing out, or slide it partway out.  Then I can label the outside of the container and see at a glance what’s inside. 

I want to get a nesting set of pots for The Palms.  I remember reading in someone’s blog about some they bought at an RV Rally.  I  think you can also get them on-line.  They looked nice, and she loved them. Said she was sorry she hadn’t invested in a set much sooner. They were kind of pricey, though.  If anyone knows what I’m talking about, can you leave me a comment?  I did a search yesterday, but with the connection problems I was having, I couldn’t find anything that sounded like what she had. I think they are, maybe, specifically made for RV and boat use.  The pots and pans nest and the handles folded or came off for storage.

It’s grey and damp outside, with a little rain.  But the sun is starting to poke out a little.  We may drive down to a free internet location again and watch a Netflix movie.    

From Me and My Dog, have a great Sunday, everyone! : )

17 comments:

  1. Funny how things can work out. No need to worry over it just "make a new plan Stan". Loving the life of living in the RV. Keep posting. Enjoy.

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  2. When we had our 5th wheel we cut 3" baseboard a bit larger than the opening of the cupboard. While we traveled we stood them up inside and that stopped stuff from falling out when we opened the doors later on. I would thing a person could cut a larger piece of thin plywood, stand it up while traveling and slide it under the goodies in the cupboard while stationary. Might work for you. Might work better than storage bins since they could slide out too.

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  3. This is sort of funky, BUT i used the top of a shoe box to put spices and loose things in the cupboard. (not too tall)That worked great! Kept things in place, also packed it tight with things that fit so there was no jiggling around :)

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  4. What great news, getting laid off! No, I mean it, really, it is great timing for you. Congrats on your full time adventure. It's been fun watching your progress.

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  5. I can relate to TV withdrawal. I don't watch much TV but what I do watch I miss when in the coach. My external antennae may pick up one or two stations but that's it. I just can't see getting satellite right now. So, I stay on the Internet a lot. Didn't know about ch131.com. There is also watchmovies.com but I already have lots of DVDs to watch. I want to watch regular TV in real time on my computer and that is not yet possible. Maybe soon.

    So... June 2nd is your day of liberation. That really is BIG NEWS.

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  6. Congratulations on your impending unemployment! I know you'll get the internet thing worked out.

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  7. Generally being laid off isn't a good thing, but with your plans it could be great.

    I remember when I WANTED to leave teaching and then I was laid off, it was great because I was able to get unemployment for almost a year. It gave me time to do my own art work!

    f you find out about the pans, please post the information. They sound like a good idea.

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  8. I'm glad things are working out for you - you can't imagine how nice it is to be retired and not have to think about going to work!

    As for TV, I quit cold turkey when I began RVing full time and still don't have a TV. Now that I've stayed in a couple of motels and tried to watch it I find I can't stand it any more.

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  9. Same thing happened to Alan -- he was laid off in December '09 and we started our fulltime adventure and have never looked back! Congratulations!

    Marilyn

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  10. I saw these at Camping World and thought they might be something you were looking for. They are pricey! http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/magma-stainless-steel-nesting-rv-cookware-7-pc/56578
    Good Luck on your adventures!!!
    Diane

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  11. usually being laid off is a bad thing but it sounds like all the pieces are falling into place for you!!!

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  12. Wow, great news!!! It's all falling into place. See you down the road!

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  13. June 2 my B-day! your Liberation day! Congrats!! I have enjoyed watching your progress i can only hope mine will go as smoothly..enjoy!

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  14. Sounds like everything is working out very well. Soon you'll be off on your big adventure.

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  15. I googled "nesting pots" and found some really nice sets. Galleyware and cusinart both have very complete looking sets. When you think price, you have to consider how much you will be using them and how much you enjoy cooking or not. If you like to cook, then a quality pot or pan is very important and you will balance out the "priceyness" in no time by cooking your own good food instead of eating out.

    Sounds like you bought some food storage containers from Costco, so your all set for conserving leftovers for multiple meals.

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  16. There is a good selection of possibilities at reasonable prices at

    http://www.campmor.com/gear/kitchen/cookware.shtml

    I have been ordering from Campmor for as long as I can remember. They are very reliable.

    Virtual hugs,

    Judie

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  17. They were Magma pots and I'm pretty sure Amazon has them...good luck!

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