Thursday, August 2, 2007
I'm fine
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Along the Avenue of the Saints
So, Wednesday afternoon I finally hit the road in the wobbling Budget truck, pulling the Toyota, with two stoned cats in their carriers stacked on top of each other in the passenger seat. Let me revise that … one stoned cat and one unnerved cat. The dose I had given Orion (the 8 year-old boy) wasn't enough to knock him out, so he cried a lot while Roxie (the 4 year-old girl that I still call "the kitten" because she's such a tiny little thing) slept peacefully. It took several more doses and about 4 hours to get Orion relaxed and sleeping.
The goal had been to get as far as Cedar Rapids before stopping for the night, then finishing up the drive into Eagan on Thursday arriving before the rental office was to close at 6 p.m. No such luck. About 50 miles or so north of St. Louis it was dark, I was getting tired, and I wasn't thrilled about driving that Budget monstrosity on state highways at night. I'd seen signs that Hannibal wasn't too much further north, so I decided I'd stop there for the night. The trick was finding a place to sleep that allowed pets. The problem was solved by a call (gotta love cell phones) to a friend back in Memphis who could do some quick online research for me (thanks again, Ryan). He found a Howard Johnson's motel right on my path that would accept my two cats (and even accept me). Rather than call for a reservation, I figured that they'd either have a room, or wouldn't. If they didn't I'd cross that bridge then.
So, with the street address of the hotel in hand, I drove into Hannibal … and drove … and drove. One of my big pet peeves is how so few building have a legible street number posted on them. Eventually I found that I'd passed my target and never seen HoJo (and how could you miss that color combo?). Rather than disturb Ryan again I used my handy cell phone to get the motel's phone number via Google and text messaging (a great FREE way to get directory assistance and other info). Fortunately they were still listed as HoJo, but had changed their name. The desk clerk told me what to look for and I retraced my steps.
As I arrived at the motel (sadly, their name escapes me now) the desk clerk came outside to greet me and help me find a place to park my miniature wagon train. The motel was "interesting." It had a small restaurant that included a drive-thru window where you could get coffee and donuts to go. Multiple two-story buildings snaked around a couple of acres. It had a large indoor pool that was closed for the night. My room was … seedy. 1950's plywood paneled walls, etc. The bedspread in this non-smoking room was riddled with cigarette burns. But it was a place to sleep and I'm grateful for that.
I set up food, water and litter box for the cats and sprayed the room with Feline Facial Hormone spray that is supposed to help keep the cats relaxed (I'd also used it in the cab of the truck before loading them up). Once the room was fully prepped I brought the cats in and opened their carriers. They were curious, but cautious. I climbed into bed, read for a little while then slept.
In the morning there was evidence that the food, water and litter had all been used, so I felt good about that. With my laptop in hand I made a quick visit to the lobby to use their wifi to check email, etc., getting a couple of donuts and coffee at the same time. Back in the room, I was packing up to depart, Orion was not to be found. It turned out that he had climbed inside the wooden frame on which the bed was sitting. I had to lift up the mattress with one hand and grab him with the other.
Cats re-drugged (this time I knew how much to dose Orion) we were on our way north again … but not necessarily on the right highway.
More on that "detour" in a future installment.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Further adventures in moving
Okay, so in my last post I forgot some of the interesting details about getting the truck packed … like the delay getting the first truck replaced for a second truck because of a little mishap less than 15 minutes after picking it up.
While I was at Budget getting the truck there was a really nasty, if brief, storm that hit town. I'd been worried about the weather forecast and had feared that we'd have to pack the truck in the rain. Fortunately the rain came and went pretty quickly and there wasn't much more than drizzle while I was driving the truck home.
Well, as I'm tooling down Southern a branch had been loosened by the storm from a tree and it smacked into the passenger side mirror shattering the glass. Yeah, okay, it was the truck that smacked into the branch not the branch into the truck … I should have been more careful. There was no way I'd be able to drive the truck in that condition. It was spooky enough just driving it back to Budget to exchange it for another truck because I couldn't see anything on the right side of the truck. Trying to change into the right hand lane was an adventure in blind faith.
I got the replacement truck (not quite as nice and new as the first one) and we maneuvered it around in the drive so that the ramp could go directly onto my front porch. That made things SO much easier. So, an hour or so behind schedule, the fun began. Friends carrying out boxes while I was going through a lot of the last-minute stuff and making a feeble attempt to coordinate what would get packed and what would stay behind to get stored. We started with just a few folks who didn't have to work 9-5 jobs that day, but by 6 we had a sizeable crew and those that had been working through the afternoon got to take a bit of a break with the arrival of fresh recruits. Cheryl did a great job making a run for food to get us all fed and Rob got the job of going back to Budget to pick up the dolly and packing blankets that we'd forgotten to move from the first truck to the replacement (not that either of them got used much thanks to Matt's excellent coordination of the packing).
Again, I can't thank the "Get John Out of Town" team enough!
So, on the road. The biggest thing to mention is how the truck would scare the living daylights out of me when it would start rocking left and right. Something (bumps in the road? wind?) would start the truck oscillating to the point where the top of the truck was shifting at least 2 feet left and right. Slowing down helped a little but still wouldn't stop it fast enough to keep me from going into a panic. There were times that even slowing to 35 MPG didn't stop the wobble. Eventually I deduced that concrete pavement aggravated the problem. The regularly spaced expansion joints in the pavement created small bumps that seemed to be a trigger the wobble. When I was driving on asphalt pavement the problem rarely occurred. Weird. I also, some time on the 2nd day, discovered that if I jerked the steering wheel left and right with just small little irregular bursts it helped throw off the oscillation and ended the wobble faster than just slowing down.
I called several friends to ask them about the wobble and they didn't seem too concerned, so I just pressed on, but brother it was spooky!
Knowing what a gas-guzzler the truck would be I was constantly on the lookout for cheap gas. There wasn't any. The prices kept getting higher and higher the further I went north. I started with about $2.99 in Memphis and it was $3.29 by the time I got to Minneapolis.
I had I-55 all the way to just outside St. Louis then it shifted to state highways. Fortunately some years ago they put some serious effort into these highways naming the route "Avenue of the Saints" … connecting St. Louis with St. Paul. It even has it's own web site: http://www.avenueofthesaints.com/. Almost all of it was 4 lanes and much of it "limited access" so there weren't concerns about stop lights, etc.
The goal that first night had been to get to Cedar Rapids, IA and spend the night there, leaving just a few hours to complete the drive into Eagan Friday morning.
"The best laid plans of mice." (Note that's the entire sentence; a nod to HHGTTG.)
Stay tuned for the next installment and my, um, unintentional detour and adventures in hotel living with cats.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Packing up 23 years of stuff
Okay, so, I'd been offered and accepted the job … going through more than a little emotional turmoil in the process.
We'd set a tentative starting date of May 7. It was an ambitious goal. I had a lot to do to get my various Memphis clients settled to the point where I'd feel comfortable leaving town, not to mention dealing with all the stuff accumulated after living almost 23 years under the same roof. A LOT of stuff!!
To top things off, I had one of the biggest, most critical computer programming projects I'd ever done due on April 21 … a project that could not be delayed or afford any room for error because it involved live television. Maybe I'll write more on that later, but for now I'll not digress.
Eventually it became obvious that I wouldn't be able to make the May 7 start date and keep my sanity (or not have to return to Memphis in June to finish moving). So my future boss graciously extended my start date to May 21. With that date as my target I determined that I'd leave Memphis on Wednesday, May 16.
I arranged to rent the moving truck starting Tuesday, May 15. I sent out a call to my friends to join me for a "pack the truck" party Tuesday afternoon/evening with the goal of being done by 8 p.m. when we'd move the party to The Vault for my regular habit of Showtune Tuesday; www.funshowtunes.com (I had to get in that last night of showtunes).
I gotta say, my friends and family really REALLY came through for me and I can't thank the whole gang enough for their help. David, Rob, Matt, Skip, Cheryl, James and his adorable "other" Matt, Ryan, Daniel and my parents (who spent a weekend packing up my kitchen) … THANK YOU!!!
We had the worst of it on the truck by 8 and that night at The Vault was a real blast (very bittersweet for me to see such a great crowd there my last night).
Wednesday morning the hard-core gang finished the last of the packing.
After a bit of an adventure getting my car onto the tow dolly (no, Ryan, no problems from my clutch … yet), I finally hit the road about 2 on Wednesday … only two hours after my goal … not bad. The cats were drugged (more on that later) and I was headed toward I-55.
Stay tuned for the adventure on the road.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
In the beginning ...
Somehow I wound up in Minnesota!
Since being unceremoniously removed from my beloved Memphis Zoo I’ve been working as a Technology Consultant specializing in nonprofit organizations. While I enjoyed the work and the freedom it gave me, I’m not very entrepreneurial so my overall income wasn’t quite making ends meet on a regular basis. So I’d been keeping my eyes open for just the right job with just the right company to return to “normal” employment.
Through an odd series of events that job just happens to be in suburban Minneapolis/St. Paul. Eagan to be specific. I’m working for the International Species Information System (ISIS). You can check them out at www.isis.org. In a nutshell, ISIS maintains a database tracking every animal in just about every zoo/aquarium around the world.
I was already quite familiar with them from my days at the Zoo. Back in October of 2006 (or so) they had a job posted on their help desk. I sent an application. They contacted me and told me that it was a very entry level position that didn’t pay much so we agreed that it wasn’t the job for me. But in February they contacted me about a Network Administrator position. I applied … and waited … and waited. Quite a bit of time passed before they contacted me again and asked if I was still interested and, if so, what my salary expectations might be.
I responded that I was still quite interested and let them know that, while I didn’t come cheaply, that they’d be sure to get their money’s worth out of me. Then I waited … and waited … and waited.
Just as I was getting ready to spend in week in Washington, DC attending a conference, ISIS asked me to fly to Minnesota for an interview. Unfortunately the date they wanted conflicted with the conference so we eventually re-scheduled for the Tuesday and Wednesday right after the Sunday I returned from DC. I was to fly in Tuesday afternoon, spend the night, then have my interview Wednesday morning and fly back Wednesday afternoon.
The flight was exhausting, taking almost 8 hours transferring planes in Atlanta and making a stop in Chicago. When I arrived in Minneapolis I realized that I’d left my cell phone at home. I was to call the ISIS office when I landed and they would send someone to pick me up (their offices are only a bout 15 minutes from the airport). Well, the payphones in the airport refused to recognize the ISIS phone number as being valid. I tried all kinds of things. Called every help number listed on the phone. It was driving me mad. Finally, after battling their phones for almost an hour, I bought a long distance calling card for $10 from a machine. That let me dial an 800 number which then let me connect with the ISIS offices.
I was promptly delivered to my hotel … nice room with a separate living room, microwave, fridge, etc. The hotel shuttle was available to take me to the nearby Mall of America, so I spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening wandering around that huge mall. I was pretty bored there after about an hour. It’s just another mall with pretty much the same stores you get in any mall. This one just happens to have an amusement park in the middle of it.
On the trip back to the hotel I kept seeing strange things out the window. Sure enough, it was starting to snow! This was the 2nd week of April, mind you. By morning there was a full 2” of snow on the ground and it was still falling.
Wednesday morning the hotel shuttle was to deliver me and several others from the hotel to the ISIS offices. We arrived at ISIS about 8:30 but my interview wasn’t scheduled until 10, so I sat in on the meeting that the others (a group of zoo veterinarians) were attending about how to streamline the data entry process for the new ZIMS software that ISIS is developing. It was a rush to hear “zoo talk” again.
The interview went well, though I had to point outside the window and note that the city was not doing of good job of marketing itself to me at the moment. After the interview I rejoined the vets for lunch. About the time lunch was ending I was taken aside and offered the job … paying 10% more than I’d asked for. I think they really wanted me and it was the sort of offer I just couldn’t refuse.
On the plane back to Memphis I was starting to freak out at what it all meant. Pulling up my Memphis roots was going to be a major change in my life. It was then that I decided to view this not as a permanent change, but a 2 year extended “job out of town.” I wouldn’t sell my house. Memphis would still be “home.” I’d just be living and working elsewhere on a long-term project. I have no doubt that mentally accepting that “compromise” position kept me from having a full-scale nervous breakdown. It doesn't lessen my commitment to the job. Anyone who knows me know I live and breathe my work. But that "just visiting" mentality will get me through lots of potential anxiety and attacks of homesickness.
To top things off, I knew that moving would be an expensive proposition and ISIS, being a nonprofit organization, wasn’t offering any funding for my relocation. Finding the money for apartment deposits, moving truck, etc. was going to be a daunting task.
By the time I got home I was an emotional basket case. I knew that I had to make this change in my life, but I also knew it was going to be a MAJOR challenge.
Opening the mail that had arrived in my absence, I found a card from my mother. A distant relative had passed away a couple of months before (she was quite a feisty lady who was going full steam ahead at age 97 up until just a few days before her passing). She had left my parents some money in her will and they had decided to pass that money on to my brother, my sister and myself. It was a sizeable check that would relieve all the financial stress of the move. Well, I lost it. I sat there for 5 minutes blubbering. This is the first time that I’ve ever felt that I’d really received a “sign from above.” Moving to Minnesota was going to be THE right thing to do. I just had to find the guts to make it all happen.