Traveling...

... NO... not me... again?

Only this time my employer has really ticked me off. I have been home from being out of the country less than two weeks. I was asked to travel to California on an "emergency" job. In my line of business, emergencies only mean that our customers aren't making enough money.

So I decide, "hey... why don't I leave early and take the family on a cross-country drive?" I tell dw and she loves the idea. In fact, she immediately begins making trip preparations. We all get excited about the idea; it is going to be a great deal of fun! Until the end of the day, when my boss tells me that the situation has gone "critical," which means "political" and that I must fly out Sunday; no family trip. Shot down. Ugh... unfortunately, this is the rule in my department, rather than the exception.

Dw was not happy with me. I don't know how to fix situations like this; I want to do what is expected of me at work because it pays the bills. Of course, I alos want to do what is right; to give one's best at all times is right. At the same time, I want to provide everything dw desires at all times; she means everything to me and she treats me like a king. It is definitely a quandry.

So here I am in Victorville, California. Happy. Joy. Tomorrow I get to go work on an asphalt plant.

CS OUT

Microwave

Okay, so dw cooked our microwave, right? I mean she literally cooked it. She typically uses the microwave's timer when doing other cooking, and this time was no different - except she mistakenly started the microwave instead of the timer. She walked off to do other things, only to return to a blank display and no response from the microwave. After some light dissasembly and troubleshooting, I determined that the unit was DOA, so we then needed a new box.

I do not say all this to inply that my wife did anything wrong; she made an honest mistake that I could easily have made myself. I must say, however, that she really made up for it! The new microwave we purchased was bought completely with money dw saved through the use of frugal spending and coupon-using! I am highly inpressed with her, and she is inspiring me to take more proactive steps in my life. I am trying to be more organized and to also be more helpful to dw in her daily routine. She works so hard and deserves any help she desires.

Here are some pics:

The dead microwave .

Mr. do-it-yourself in action, part I...

Part II...

Ta DA!! And look! It matches the stove! DW is AWESOME.

CS OUT

In Transit

Well, here I am in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. I'm currently at the airport, waiting to fly to Brisbane, Qeensland. This trip marks the end of the second of four phases involved in this journey.

I have to visit two more customers and then I'm on the big Qantas bird home. Just a few more days. Don't get me wrong; it's really neat over here. I just miss my family too much to be gone for more than a few days... and I'd like to be within three hours of my home time zone.

Okay, don't want to sound too whiny, so I'll quit for now.

CS OUT

My Aussie friends

One of the coolest things about traveling for work is meeting lots of people, some of whom are total goobers. I have been to Australia four times now, and I have established a friendship with just such a goober with whom I always have a good time. He is a combustion expert named Terry.

Terry and his wonderfully pleasant wife Lynne have always been a bright spot in my travels to the Great Down Under. I always enjoy spending time with them; they make time away from my home and family a bit more tolerable.

It's really great to know such wonderful people half-way around the world, literally.


Here's a pic of my cool Aussie (pronounced "Ozzie") friends:

Here's what we look like at work:

And here's why my friend is a goober:

Terry and Lynne are awesome people, and it is a true pleasure to know them.

CS OUT

Australia again...

Here I am, in Melbourne, Australia.

Again.

It is a beautiful place with lots of great people, but it's not home. I'm homesick on the second day here.

Okay, enough wish-wash.

More interesting anecdotes:

1) Aussies call McDonald's "Mackers," pronounced "Mack-uz."
2) Italians call Aussies, "Skip," based on an old Australian tv show about a kangaroo named "Skippy."

I'm sure I'll have more over the next couple of weeks.

CS

OUT

PS Shout out to my awesome wife and kids, whom I miss very, very much.