A catch-all, catch-up post
There are 1,132 posts filed in Checking In (this is page 60 of 114).
I’ve been glad that one thing hasn’t gotten derailed by my job situation, and that is the talk I’m giving Friday to a fifth-grade class on Global Positioning System. While I’m no expert on GPS, I can tell the students how I used GPS in the Navy and some basic information on how it works.
I’m really looking forward to it!
The biggest thing I’d change about my new job would be its hours. I’m really going to miss the opportunity to walk Hallie to school. It’s a special time between me and her that I have to give up if I need to be in RTP by 8 o’clock.
Since I won’t be starting the new job until next week (as I alluded to before), at least I have one more week to enjoy this special treat.
Remember the trouble I had with filing my unemployment insurance claim? Tonight the N.C. ESC’s website is non-functional again.
Since I didn’t work last week (and won’t work this week as my start date has been moved back a week), I’m looking to spend my 30 seconds filling out the ESC’s five question form so I can get paid. Ain’t happening so far.
This is yet another troubling sign for North Carolina’s economy.
Here’s the error message I get (when I get an error message):
CICS.XFAPIN.1 error ‘800a0837’
(2103) The connect request failed. IP Address: 207.192.50.90, Port: 3020, Error description: Connection timed out
/include/login/gLoginCode.asp, line 74
Update 5 Jan 12:30 PM: WRAL has an update. Seems “too many people” were accessing the site. Also, I just successfully filed my claim. Looks like the site is still being hammered, though.
We got home a little before 8 PM after a smooth trip from Virginia. Everyone seemed to enjoy the ride. Even Rocket didn’t complain much about being cooped up in the back of the car.
We borrowed a Thule roof-mount cargo container from Kelly’s parents to haul our stuff back. It worked very well! I think its great to have extra storage for the car when we need it and to be able to remove it when we don’t.
Speaking of cars, we may spend time tomorrow looking at cars. We may finally become a two-car family again. If we don’t find what we need right away, our neighbors have graciously agreed to let us borrow their extra car.
And for those who are wondering, I’m cooking up a post on my uncle’s funeral. I wrote a good bit of it last night but I don’t want to post it until I get it right. Perhaps sometime tomorrow it will appear.
We’re heading home today after a few fun days with Kelly’s parents and the Naylors. Then it will be a typical weekend before everyone gets back to the school/work routine.
I may or may not be starting Monday at $WORK, depending on how far my paperwork has made it through the staffing office. I hope to find out sometime this weekend if I’m on or not yet. Something to look forward to, anyway!
Happy New Year to everyone. The year 2009 promises to be interesting, if nothing else.
I got back home around 5 PM yesterday: good time for the trip distance. I took over 100 pictures but haven’t had any time to do anything with them.
Today we hit the road for Kelly’s parents’ home for the next few days. In a spare moment I hope to post them (and burn a few promised CDs).
In a few I’ll be joining my parents and brother for a road trip to South Carolina to my uncle’s funeral. Look for a post tonight (if I’m not too beat).
I accepted the job offer today for the six-month contract with the Large Network Storage Company. Provided the paperwork gets done I’ll be heading off to work January 5th.
While it isn’t my dream job, necessarily, it does offer interesting challenges and opportunities for growth. And in this bleak job market, I’m happy to have found something (and so soon).
My friend Scott invited me out today for a ride on the Raleigh greenways. We rode from my house up to Optimist Park and back, covering over 19 miles in two and a half hours. Not all of that was riding, though, as we took a break at the Optimist end and stopped to talk to some people along the way.
It felt so good to be riding again! I’ve neglected my bike since I lost my downtown job and this was the first serious ride since. I’ve been wearing a stupid grin all day.
Imagine me getting into shape enough to ride in a charity ride like the MS 150 or Tour De Cure: two events I’ve only volunteered with but never ridden. I should be able to do one or the other in 2009, right?
