Colorado

In lieu of rewriting a post on my cool Colorado stuff - you can see it all on my BFF's blog. Enjoy the pics!

Click here!

From the "Mile High City" to the "City of Brotherly Love"

I left for Philadelphia last week for another conference, this one being much better than all previously attended... While many good things occurred on this trip, it wasn't without Murphy's Law.

For instance, here is a short list of of craptastic events (we'll get this out of the way first, then on to good stuff and pictures!)
1. I dropped my uniform hat in the toilet (it tucks under your belt; you loosen your belt before taking your hat out from under it, it falls to the floor - or whatever stops it first.)
2. I had Bronchitis the entire time - hacking until I hyperventilate and continuously have to run out of conference events.
3. During the huge formal dinner event, I had run out while the General was speaking and coughed until I threw up outside the hotel in my formal uniform.
4. I somehow lost my cell phone the morning I flew out. I didn't get to the airport with it, but I did see it that morning - so it's either in the hotel (which they didn't find) or in the cab I took - can't tell you even what cab company it was... So, if you get a phone call saying you were in my phone book on my cell - it's mine!

Okay, on to the cool stuff -

We were fortunate enough to be staying in the historical district, which allowed for us to do walking tours and such in the evenings since none of us had cars.

(My room)

(The view from my room)

(The Liberty Bell...this shirt looks like a maternity shirt!)


(Independence Square - where the Declaration of Independence was read publicly for the first time. That is Liberty Hall, where it was signed and Washington was inaugurated for his second term as the first president of the new free nation).

Note: I have some really cool pictures from our group inside Independence Hall, but they are on the boss' camera - so I'll add those when I get them.


(The Betsy Ross house where she sewed the first American Flag)


(Carpenter's Hall: "The Birthplace of the American Identity"
The meeting place where it was decided that America was going to become independent and congressed passed bans on slave imports/trades, which was the first major step to ending slavery in the US.)


(The Delaware River - New Jersey on the other side)


(The Washington Memorial in Washington Square: This was once a Potter's Field and then became a mass grave for soldiers and those who died of Yellow Fever.)


(Closer view of the memorial with the tomb of the unknown soldier)


(Click on the picture for a larger view to read the wall inscriptions)


(The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for the Revolutionary War: There are thousands of unknown soldiers buried in mass graves amongst the grounds of Washington Square.)


(A foot stone along the memorial path)


(And because no Philly tour is complete without a Philly Cheese Steak...it was tasty)

And my little tour ended with me getting caught in a huge rain/hail storm. I had planned to walk over the bridge over the Delaware into NJ...so I had to backtrack about eight blocks to get to a bridge. There I sat for about half an hour before realizing it was only getting worse with no end in sight, pretty late and I was a female alone in an unfamiliar area, I still had Bronchitis and was cold/wet, and I might as well just go ahead and run the rest of the way back to the hotel and take a hot shower.

(Siting under the bridge: That is my hotel ahead, but there is a big fence that runs down another 4 blocks)


(Another stop along the way in a bus stop booth when it started hailing - fortunately, I had a cami on under my thin light-colored shirt!)

Other stuff that happened:
1. I was invited to dinner with another female who didn't know anyone at the conference. Little did I know she was the General's personnelist and that some of the staff was having dinner with the General. (she wanted someone near her rank with her...we were the two junior's there). So I had a 3 hr dinner with the General and his wife along with 6 of his staff members. I got to sit across from him and have a very lengthy conversation...he loves fellow Texans! (Sorry, I didn't have my camera ready as it would have been really awkward, though I did take a small pic on my phone cam, which is...somewhere). I really admire this man - and am HONORED to serve under his command.

2. There are three alumni from my college within the organization; myself, one much higher ranking than I, and one that is about 3 years behind me. The higher ranking one, whom I will refer to as "Col," has mentored and kept up with me via e-mail for a little over 2 years... We finally got to meet in person.

(Me and the Col at the formal dinner the last night - Her uniforms are TBD as she is in the middle of a PCS from the Desert to another overseas location...sucks).

3. I was informed I am an annual award winner for the entire command and will be competing in my respective category for the entire Air Force!

So, now I'm back in my little hotel room in Colorado. Four more months here and then back to home for awhile...

OKC to Chicago...and on to Denver, by way of Kansas

Well, it's been awhile since I have posted anything. And while some may say that no excuse it the world will cover my lack of posting for my audience of maybe four, let me offer some insight.

I had to go to a weekend conference, come back on Sunday night, and then leave Tuesday morning for a 10-hr drive to Colorado. And the week before? We'll, my brother-in-law was installing central air/heat in my house and I was helping after my last day of work on Tuesday...(I'll write a quick blog on that later).

(Roxy knows when I start packing, that I will be gone awhile - her passive-aggressive way of telling me she's not happy, or at least plans to go with me...which she did to Colorado, not Chicago)

Last weekend I had to go to a conference in Chicago. I flew out Friday afternoon (got delayed and stuck at the airport for 5 hrs) and instead of getting into Chicago at 7:30 pm, I got to the airport about 12:30 am, had to track down a shuttle to my hotel, and check in. Unfortunately, though I had a reservation, they didn't have a room available...so after a while, I was given a nice handicapped room. I think I crawled into bed around 1:45 am - and since I got there too late to register for the conference, I had to be at the morning registration at 6:30 am, showered and in uniform. I have never slept so good as I did in this "miracle bed." And the view was amazing from my 35th floor room.

(The view by day)

(and by night)

The conference was less than amazing - I took a few naps, drew an elaborate mosaic on my 5-page notepad I got with my $23 non-refundable conference fee...(still really irritated about this whole last minute, nothing on paper, cash conference fee.) Anyway, Saturday night some of us who were in the same training class in GA, met up and did the quick Chicago touristy thing.

We headed out to a local hot spot for dinner, took a group photo on "The Magnificent Mile," and then decided to hit the John Hancock Center (they let us in free) to see the view of Chicago from the observatory. The amazing view spans up to 80 miles and 4 states. I'm not sure how many floors it is, but I know we went to the 96th floor to check out the bar/restaurant with the live music. And since the tallest tower in Chicago is the Sears Tower at 110 stories, it's between 97 and 109...

(This is looking down on skyscrapers...)

(And it just keeps going...)

(And you could see the Sears Tower - the one with the pink lights)

So the girls decided to "shoot down" Chicago instead of paying a dollar to view it...(and yes we were sober, and cheap).

(Wendi [not my sis] and I apparently had 50 cals - and I was "lobbing it")

(Taken in front of the green screen at the observatory...notice it's magically daylight now)

Then I got home Sunday afternoon, after flying standby on a 4pm flight instead of my scheduled 8:50pm flight - yea!) . Monday I unpacked and repacked; Tuesday I trucked out on my 10-hr drive to CO. I've only been here since Tues night, so this will be brief - more to come later.

(My home for the next few months)

(You can kinda see the mountains - it's been real cloudy this week)

(The living room/office area - and Roxy)

(The office/kitchen/door area)

(My king size bed in it's own little room with the bathroom - notice all my clothes not put away - I had NO hangers...store trip #1 of 4 this week)

(The bathroom area)

So now you see where I have been lately - and where I will be camping out for a while. If you happen to come through Colorado this summer - shoot me line. I've got a king bed and couch that folds out into a queen in a separate room...

Unemployed...(sigh)

This week finds me unemployed - no-notice - that's what happens when you work kinda contract labor type stuff... One day they decide they can't afford labor and you're the one that gets cut - no notice, no benefits, no severance...

Except the crappy part of this was that I had about 3 months notice, but they stated they had gotten approval to extend me though November 2008...then they didn't follow through with the funding and told me two days after my "contract" had expired - so yeah, they owe me for a couple of days of work.

Now I'm job hunting (insert crappy tone of voice here). I applied for yet another position this morning - resume #11 sent out.

(sigh) What do I want to be when I grow up?

I've learned from my previous jobs that the things I thought I would really want to do when I was younger, I still have a desire to do (see #1 and 2 below). And the career paths I've developed as I've gotten older, I find to be unsatisfying, though they pay more. I've never been one to want a job just because it's "higher paying," but it seems that is what society tells you to do.

Of course there is a natural progression of career paths I can take from the experience gained in my current job, but I don't like the "benefits" and "benefits" are supposed to be "beneficial" right?

I don't know exactly what I want, but I do know that I don't want:
1. A 24-hour on-call schedule and an "electronic leash" (aka: company phone). When I leave work, I want to LEAVE work.
2. A job that does not pay overtime for regularly required 12-14 hour days
3. A job that involves weekends or shifts
4. A job that "requires" you to be away from home regularly
5. A job that "requires" you to move every 3-7 years

I think I might want to:
1. Teach/coach high school (everyone tells me this is ridiculous, though I think some are called)
2. Work in Health/Wellness/Fitness
3. Work for myself (doing what? I don't know).

Things I have been told that I will not consider:
1. Counseling
2. Police Officer

Things I said when I was younger, but also no longer consider:
1. Veterinarian (Didn't every kid say that?) I think I starting using this when people laughed at my #3...
2. A truck driver
3. American Gladiator (though they are making a come back)