An exciting few weeks it has been!

First, my training in Oregon and the certification I acquired while I was there eating (😬). I had more training this week and there is orientation for the newbs. I got CPR/First Aid certified today.

I played in a fundraising softball game tonight and it was really a lot of fun. Money raised went to benefitting an Alzheimer’s charity. I got rotated into the game at LF for a few innings. I scored a run, caught a few fly balls for outs, and hit two singles for a batting average of, ahem, 1000%. I was happy with that since I have not played for 30 years. It was great exercise and I just might play in some of the local pick-up games.

I did take a tumble running, though, and my neck is not happy at all. Ibuprofen and herbal patches will hopefully help with the pain and stiffness. I hope that calms it down, but my back and neck are quite angry at the moment.

Tomorrow it’s one more orientation day then I catch an overnight flight really late to a stopover completely out of the way to change planes in the wee hours, and be in KC tomorrow morning to hopefully be there before Chelsea has her second baby! I had to come home early from tonight’s charity game so I could pack a bag since I need to leave tomorrow a little after work to get to SeaTac in plenty of time. One thing about a short trip, though. You can pack light!

I hear it has been blazing hot there so I am not looking forward to that at all. AT ALL, I say. I need to be there and I also need to get a quick visit with my dad and sister while I am there. I only have one day, since I need to come back home Saturday for work on Sunday.  Unfortunately I don’t have enough time built up to take off at this time. I want to get a longer weekend to be there and be able to buy it in advance to save some money. I am flying last-minute so it is not cheap at all as you can well imagine. I finally thought when I was buying the ticket last night “You know, what the hell. I am already spending money so why not spend a little more to get a bigger seat to sleep in (and I can choose it), free food, free booze, legroom, AND sit in the front of the plane. I am going first class.” So I did! I spoil myself when I travel and I make the best of it.

Hoping my days off next week will be normal. I am ready to get back on my schedule and into my routine. I want to make a few weekend excursions soon and I want to get those rolling. With all the stuff going on we have all had to adjust our schedules. Works pretty well for some – they are getting a 4-day weekend out of the deal!

I finally got my electric conversion done for the water heater. It works very well and I am totally impressed. The way my water heater is installed it was a pain to get the thermostat mounted on the back of it, then the double-sided tape with it would not stick so I used my trusty Lexel to hold it in place. That stuff is awesome and has come in very handy.

I cannot wait to try it out for real on a trip. I was actually surprised how well the gas on the water heater worked when I was out a few weeks ago. Of course I was trying to conserve it since running out of hot water in a shower sucks, and I even shut it off while it was still warm. The gas will recover quicker I would think, but the electric will keep it at 120 degrees constantly. I may try turning on the gas as well when I shower so it will last a bit longer. I will experiment with that – I can stand in a hot shower for a long time.

So a few more things off of the trailer list but still more to go. I have actually done quite a bit so far, but there is still a small leak up on top around the lights, but only when it is moving. I gotta get those fixed next, then the windows come out one at a time and get reinstalled with new sealer along with a new stove vent getting the same treatment.

So there’s today’s news.