Hw2 is working real hard in the office and getting her mind to working overtime. The computer system that is used to handle checking in, reservations and all that goes with that is complicated. She is a quick study though and learning hour by hour. She says that every situation is a new one, but she has found it to be interesting. She meets people well and enjoys helping others, so really she is in her element.
The things that I do in the maintenance end of this place require a lot less thinking but are still interesting. I like to be doing things, so I get to drive a cart and check on who is still here, read electric meters, lead new campers to their sites and help them get situated, clean the pools (we have three and one hot tub), lock or unlock the entire place, and soon begin to mow and use the weed eater. Then, of course, we are expected to fix things that go broke. This can be challenging. Yesterday, my fourth day, I picked up sticks left from storms, did some trimming of trees and bushes, and removed some dead bushes. I hear that we are getting a new John Deere mower to be used primarily around each of the sites. We also have a larger mower to be used on the open areas. That should all be fun. I really like the work so far and have decided that I no longer need to stay so closely to my diet, since this amount of active working keeps me from getting too fat. We celebrated with Culver fried chicken on Sunday and leftovers on Monday. I guess that is all the fried chicken for this year, but it was good. Happy travels.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Work Camping
Tomorrow we start being work campers at the Guadalupe RV Resort. HW2 has been shadowing for two days to begin to learn all of the myriad details of working in the office. We are really looking forward to this new experience. It will give us something to do as we will work for 3-4 days each week and have the other days off. We get paid an hourly wage and have our rent and electricity forgiven. I expect that when we finish getting trained that we will have a regular schedule and can plan how to use our free days. The training time is more constrained for a few weeks.
Work camping is utilized at most RV sites throughout the country and also at many state parks. We have met and talked with many work campers throughout the many years that we have traveled and all seem to really enjoy the experience. Many travel to different places each year and then get to really visit the new area as well as having reduced living expenses.
You will probably hear more about our work camping experience in this blog as we get used to this new idea. Happy travels.
Work camping is utilized at most RV sites throughout the country and also at many state parks. We have met and talked with many work campers throughout the many years that we have traveled and all seem to really enjoy the experience. Many travel to different places each year and then get to really visit the new area as well as having reduced living expenses.
You will probably hear more about our work camping experience in this blog as we get used to this new idea. Happy travels.
Things I like
As a kid we used to visit our Aunt Florence and I always thought that her door stop, which was an iron Boston Bull Terrier was very cool. Today you can buy a replica door stop or look in antique stores for the original. The original is much more expensive of course.
I also liked wearing my dad's loafer shoes. He wore size 12 shoes, so they were not exactly my size. I think he suspected that I wore them when I was in his office at our home but never said anything to me, that I remember. Now when my feet got to be size 12 also, I to this day enjoy loafer shoes, especially for dress up.
Mom had a suitcase with two snaps that closed the case. Inside was a compartment that could hold shoes and a fancy lining. When we were going someplace it was always fun to have her get out this suitcase and we could watch her work the snaps. In those days my brother and I had to share a black Gladstone case which was not nearly as cool.
Dad made a tool box out of wood to hold his many tools. When he worked for the Federal Land Bank, this box was used daily as he worked on fixing up houses. In later years he would go to the box to get a tool and then comment if it was not there. At one point he got very frustrated with not ever being able to find hammers and bought us a case which had several. These were soon dropped here and there by careless hands. I do not recommend mowing over a hammer left on the lawn. It is hard on the mowing machine and potentially dangerous too. I think that I liked tools from this time and have a hard time passing up any tool when in Home Depot or Lowe's. Can you really ever have enough tools?
I do not know exactly why I like some things and not others. But memories are made up of times past and things that caught our attention. What is your favorite thing from when you were a kid? Happy travels.
I also liked wearing my dad's loafer shoes. He wore size 12 shoes, so they were not exactly my size. I think he suspected that I wore them when I was in his office at our home but never said anything to me, that I remember. Now when my feet got to be size 12 also, I to this day enjoy loafer shoes, especially for dress up.
Mom had a suitcase with two snaps that closed the case. Inside was a compartment that could hold shoes and a fancy lining. When we were going someplace it was always fun to have her get out this suitcase and we could watch her work the snaps. In those days my brother and I had to share a black Gladstone case which was not nearly as cool.
Dad made a tool box out of wood to hold his many tools. When he worked for the Federal Land Bank, this box was used daily as he worked on fixing up houses. In later years he would go to the box to get a tool and then comment if it was not there. At one point he got very frustrated with not ever being able to find hammers and bought us a case which had several. These were soon dropped here and there by careless hands. I do not recommend mowing over a hammer left on the lawn. It is hard on the mowing machine and potentially dangerous too. I think that I liked tools from this time and have a hard time passing up any tool when in Home Depot or Lowe's. Can you really ever have enough tools?
I do not know exactly why I like some things and not others. But memories are made up of times past and things that caught our attention. What is your favorite thing from when you were a kid? Happy travels.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Colonoscopy
My friend Hollis sent this delightful commentary on a colonoscopy visit from an uncited author (sounds like Dave Barry to us). Enjoy!
"I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenterologist, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy. A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis. Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring, and patient manner. I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn't really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, quote: "HE"S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!"
I left Andy's office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a produce called "MoviPrep" which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America's enemies. I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous. Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation.
In accordance with my instructions, I didn't eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor. Then, in evening, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons.) Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser with just a hint of lemon. The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, "a loose, watery bowel movement may result." This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground. MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don't want to be too graphic here, but have you ever seen a space shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours literally confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet. After an action packed evening, I finally got to sleep.
The next morning, my wife drove me to the clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I was thinking, "What if I spurt on Andy?" How do you apologize to a friend for something like that? Flowers would not be enough. At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked. Then a nurse named Edie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Edie was very good, and I was already lying down. Edie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep. At first I was ticked off that I hadn't thought of this; but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.
When everything was ready, Edie wheeled me into the procedure room where Andy was waiting with a nurse and anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000 foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere. I was seriously nervous at this point. Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand. There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was "Dancing Queen" by ABBA. I remarked to Andy that, of all the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, "Dancing Queen"had to be the least appropriate. "You want me to turn it up?" said Andy, from somewhere behind me. "Ha, ha," I said. And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like.
I have no idea. Really! I slept through it. One moment, ABBA was yelling "Dancing Queen, feel the beat of the tambourine," and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood. Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt. I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that it was all over, and that my colon has passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ.
On the subject of colonoscopies:
Colonoscopies are no joke but the following comments heard during the exam are quite humorous. A physician claimed that these are actual comments made by his patients (predominately male) while he was performing their colonoscopies:
1. 'Take it easy, Doc. You're boldly going where no man has gone before!
2. 'Find Amelia Earhart yet?'
3. 'Can you hear me NOW?'
4. 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?'
5. 'You know, in Arkansas, we're now legally married.'
6. 'Any sign of the trapped miners, Chief?'
7. 'You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out...'
8. 'Hey! Now I know how a Muppet feels!'
9. 'If your hand doesn't fit, you must quit!'
10. 'Hey Doc, let me know if you find my dignity.'
11. 'You used to be an executive at Enron, didn't you?'
12. 'God, now I know why I am not gay.'
And the best one of all.
13. 'Could you write a note for my wife saying that my head is not up there?' "
Happy Travels.
"I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenterologist, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy. A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis. Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring, and patient manner. I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn't really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, quote: "HE"S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!"
I left Andy's office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a produce called "MoviPrep" which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America's enemies. I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous. Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation.
In accordance with my instructions, I didn't eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor. Then, in evening, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons.) Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser with just a hint of lemon. The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, "a loose, watery bowel movement may result." This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground. MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don't want to be too graphic here, but have you ever seen a space shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours literally confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet. After an action packed evening, I finally got to sleep.
The next morning, my wife drove me to the clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I was thinking, "What if I spurt on Andy?" How do you apologize to a friend for something like that? Flowers would not be enough. At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked. Then a nurse named Edie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Edie was very good, and I was already lying down. Edie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep. At first I was ticked off that I hadn't thought of this; but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.
When everything was ready, Edie wheeled me into the procedure room where Andy was waiting with a nurse and anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000 foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere. I was seriously nervous at this point. Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand. There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was "Dancing Queen" by ABBA. I remarked to Andy that, of all the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, "Dancing Queen"had to be the least appropriate. "You want me to turn it up?" said Andy, from somewhere behind me. "Ha, ha," I said. And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like.
I have no idea. Really! I slept through it. One moment, ABBA was yelling "Dancing Queen, feel the beat of the tambourine," and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood. Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt. I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that it was all over, and that my colon has passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ.
On the subject of colonoscopies:
Colonoscopies are no joke but the following comments heard during the exam are quite humorous. A physician claimed that these are actual comments made by his patients (predominately male) while he was performing their colonoscopies:
1. 'Take it easy, Doc. You're boldly going where no man has gone before!
2. 'Find Amelia Earhart yet?'
3. 'Can you hear me NOW?'
4. 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?'
5. 'You know, in Arkansas, we're now legally married.'
6. 'Any sign of the trapped miners, Chief?'
7. 'You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out...'
8. 'Hey! Now I know how a Muppet feels!'
9. 'If your hand doesn't fit, you must quit!'
10. 'Hey Doc, let me know if you find my dignity.'
11. 'You used to be an executive at Enron, didn't you?'
12. 'God, now I know why I am not gay.'
And the best one of all.
13. 'Could you write a note for my wife saying that my head is not up there?' "
Happy Travels.
Post 501
Wow, 500 posts completed so far. This reminds me when I was writing my doctoral dissertation and working for Barney Leigh at the North Central Accreditation Office in The University of Arizona. I would come into work, and Barney would ask if I had written anything on the dissertation. If the answer was, "No," then he would say I could not get to work until I had written something. That discipline to write each and every day seems to be still working for me here as I think of things to write in this blog. While I don't write every day, I try to. It is my modern attempt to keep a diary. When I retired in 1996, I decided to keep a daily diary, and I still have all of those but quit when this blog got started. Every once in awhile HW2 or I try to remember something, and we get into searching the diaries or the blog, and these records help greatly.
Yesterday we drove to Fredericksburg and met members of our Seekers group at the Wildseed Farm which has started a butterfly exhibit. It was cool and windy, but once in the enclosed exhibit we could see butterflies emerging from the pupa stage, flying about, and even get them to crawl onto a finger. T
here were many species, but the Zebra, Swallowtail, and Monarch butterflies were in abundance. I did learn that butterflies fly in the daytime, and moths fly at night.
Afterwards we all had lunch at the farm and just visited with each other. We got to know Marilyn and Harvey a bit more. She is a retired elementary and music teacher who later became a principal. Harvey worked for the Houston Space center and is a Ham Radio operator.
When we got back to Kerrville, we saw Don and found out that we start working here this week. That is a bit earlier than we had expected, but why not? HW2 starts to shadow the office ladies today, and I start with the men on Thursday. Happy travels.
Yesterday we drove to Fredericksburg and met members of our Seekers group at the Wildseed Farm which has started a butterfly exhibit. It was cool and windy, but once in the enclosed exhibit we could see butterflies emerging from the pupa stage, flying about, and even get them to crawl onto a finger. T
here were many species, but the Zebra, Swallowtail, and Monarch butterflies were in abundance. I did learn that butterflies fly in the daytime, and moths fly at night.
Afterwards we all had lunch at the farm and just visited with each other. We got to know Marilyn and Harvey a bit more. She is a retired elementary and music teacher who later became a principal. Harvey worked for the Houston Space center and is a Ham Radio operator.
When we got back to Kerrville, we saw Don and found out that we start working here this week. That is a bit earlier than we had expected, but why not? HW2 starts to shadow the office ladies today, and I start with the men on Thursday. Happy travels.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
A bit of rain
We have been in a drought here for many months. While we were in Omaha there were three days of rain and almost 4-5 inches of rain, which was desperately needed. This morning we awakened to a bit of rain. Good! We need all we can get.
Today I have been asked to do the first reading from Numbers about the problems that Moses had when he was leading the people of Israel out of Egypt. That will then be commented on by our minister. It is wonderful to be involved in the life of this church. It is nice to have found a church home here in Kerrville.
Yesterday I broke the frame of my glasses and felt fortunate to have a second pair that can be worn until I get these fixed. We may take a quick trip to San Antonio this afternoon to try to get these glasses fixed. That should keep us busy today. Happy travels.
Today I have been asked to do the first reading from Numbers about the problems that Moses had when he was leading the people of Israel out of Egypt. That will then be commented on by our minister. It is wonderful to be involved in the life of this church. It is nice to have found a church home here in Kerrville.
Yesterday I broke the frame of my glasses and felt fortunate to have a second pair that can be worn until I get these fixed. We may take a quick trip to San Antonio this afternoon to try to get these glasses fixed. That should keep us busy today. Happy travels.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Max is growing
Not seeing Max for two weeks was tough. But, we could not take him on the airplane, so, he had to go to a nearby kennel which we call puppy camp. On Thursday after almost completing the unloading of the truck, we went to get Max. They had given him a bath since he got very muddy during the three days of rain, which happened while we were gone. The folks at the kennel seem to look out for him and enjoy him, so they were sad to see him go home, but we promised to come visit.
Max was glad to get back to his normal surroundings and immediately went out for a good walk and enjoyed that everyone he met mentioned that he was growing like a weed. If you miss two weeks in a growing puppy's life, you can bet you will notice how much he has grown. At the kennel they mentioned how much he ate, too. Fortunately he is not fat, just growing.
We were glad to have our puppy home, and he was glad to be here. Happy travels.
Max was glad to get back to his normal surroundings and immediately went out for a good walk and enjoyed that everyone he met mentioned that he was growing like a weed. If you miss two weeks in a growing puppy's life, you can bet you will notice how much he has grown. At the kennel they mentioned how much he ate, too. Fortunately he is not fat, just growing.
We were glad to have our puppy home, and he was glad to be here. Happy travels.
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