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The trials and tribuations...
I am sitting on an airplane to Puerto Vallarta next to my grandparents; my uncles and their families in the rows behind us. The effort to get this far seems Herculean on my part, so it is with much relief that I finally am almost there. I am not sure when i will be able to post this, but I have time to finally put some of this down.
It is hard to say where it all starts, so I will include some background for those who don't already know the details. Currently, in addition to some unemployment, I am doing a combination of freelance and temp assignments since being laid off in May. This has been, for the most part, a good thing, and has made work much more rewarding, and a lot less stress for me. October was great, and I was pleased to work with a couple of great clients that had me back several times. November, on the other hand, all the work seemed to dry up for me. On top of that, due to a minor error on my part, my unemployment claim forms were stuck in bureaucratic limbo, which meant no money from them until it was all sorted out. Add to that, hosting Thanksgiving dinner, and having to dip into my dwindling long term savings to afford food for the masses.
So, along comes December, and work seems to be coming from me from all directions. One company, which is made-up of colleagues of mine from my previous job, now on their own, had a project that they felt would take-up the whole first week of the month. I did not receive the files until that Friday, and even then, it was just the template. Over the course of the following week, I was fed pieces of the document to lay out. The only problem with this was that the other two clients I like to work with through the temp agency both wanted me to work most of that week. The layout kept getting second fiddle to jobs that needed me on-site during business hours. But with the little sleep I have been able to get with the neck/shoulder pain I have been suffering, and the tail end of this cold (or whatever it is) it was hard to concentrate on yet another document.
That my family holiday trip was coming up seemed so far away that it was hard to imagine it was less than a week away with all the stuff still that needed to be done.
I ended up keeping the social commitment to attend Dickens faire on Saturday, and even managed to find a way not to drive my car. It turned out to be a real good thing that I was able to rustle up a friend who was willing to drive me all the way to my car instead of just to a BART station as originally planned though. When we got there to get my car, the front passenger side window had been smashed-in. The first question most people ask is if they stole anything, and so far, from what I can tell, the answer is no! Stuff was riffled though in the glove box, but other than that, the change was still in the cup holder and even the place where I have some dollar bills was not touched. Now mind you, it is 10 PM and pouring rain once we get there, and all that AAA will do is tow it within 5 miles (I live 2.2 miles away, as it turns out). None of the glass shops will fix it on a Sunday, and I am leaving Monday afternoon to stay at my grandparents house the night before we fly out. Dealing with getting my car home, and the window covered up to last a day and a half of raining took the rest of the night, of course, leaving no time to squeeze in a little work. Sigh....
Sunday dawns with the flare-up of my sore neck and my friend returning with my wallet, which was left in his car (good thing he had decided to stay at a local friend's house instead of drive home to Stockton that night). While there he worked on my poor neck for a while, which was a good thing as I was feeling even more stress as my time was starting to dwindle and yet get more and more complicated. Phone calls were made, and a Monday morning glass repair is scheduled, which at least is one less thing to worry about.
After a late breakfast, I settled down to get some work done. I was actually making some progress when the power went off. What I thought might have been a breaker going, turned out to be a neighborhood wide black-out. Good thing I had been working on a laptop, so I didn't loose any work, but the battery would not last as long as I needed to work, and there was no internet without power. I was able to borrow my housemate's car and head down to a cafe with wireless, and get some work done there, which was probably a better place to work anyway (although it did nothing for my laundry, which was sitting in washer still).
OK, so where is this going? This might have only been a few days, but it feels like a lot more to me, and I really would not want to relive it, thanks. So, give me a chance to get it out of my system so I can go enjoy my vacation.
I still do not even get the final document to layout until later Sunday, and Monday is the deadline.
And I have not even packed yet!!!
I brought my laptop with me when I brought the car in for the repair, and went back to the cafe to get more work done. I manage to get enough of it done by noon, when my car is ready. At home I pack, rushing around trying to remember all the little thing I wanted to remember, and figure out how to distribute it all throughout my bags. I am bringing my laptop because I know I will need to work more on the document after dinner that night before they can send it to the client. Since I am loaning my car to a friend while I am away, I go and pick him up and we drive down to Palo Alto to meet my grandma for dinner. As I am unloading the bags from the car, I remember something I forgot to pack.
Yes, you guessed it, my passport. After all the gentle nagging from my grandma for everyone to remember their passports, and all the trouble I went through to make sure I had renewed mine in time, I left it at home! Well, here is the good thing. Because I did not leave until the next morning, I still had time to drive home, look for my passport, and anything else I forgot (oh yeah, my antibiotics! oops) and get back to my grandparent's place just before midnight.
OK, but that was when I was going to do that work on the corrections for the layout! Well, I can sleep on the plane, right? After a fitful attempt at sleep, I got up and went through the document with a fine eye. I had been unable to download the changes, but had heard what type they were, and hope I was able to figure enough of it out myself.
I think I managed about an hours worth of sleep before my grandmother woke me to get ready to leave. Only problem was that I had not been able to figure out how to get access to the internet there and was running out of time. There should be something like that at the airport, to which my grandfather agrees, and we set-off to SFO, bags in hand. We got there with enough time to check (through a long line) and get through security (short line). Only, something I was wearing set the metal detector off (a silver an d amber necklace!?), and I had to get patted down before they would let me through. I took it in good humor, and my family waited patiently for me, but I was counting the minutes.
After attempting to get internet access in the Red Carpet Club (sure, there is dial-up) I finally was told that there is wireless through T-Mobile, but I would have to get an account, however they do have day passes.
Get this: I am at the airport, about 10 minutes from boarding, and I had to:
a) sign-up for a T-Mobile 60-minute airtime pass ($6, on credit card) and
b) pay for Fetch (the ftp software) since my demo ran out ($25, on credit card)
c) before I was able to upload the files to the ftp site (took 5 times before the address was typed in right) just as they are calling for boarding.
Ahhhhh!
Later I will see if I can get some photos up of this fabulous place we are staying.
Oh, and as you may have guessed, it turns out to have DSL, so send me those photos after all.
It is hard to say where it all starts, so I will include some background for those who don't already know the details. Currently, in addition to some unemployment, I am doing a combination of freelance and temp assignments since being laid off in May. This has been, for the most part, a good thing, and has made work much more rewarding, and a lot less stress for me. October was great, and I was pleased to work with a couple of great clients that had me back several times. November, on the other hand, all the work seemed to dry up for me. On top of that, due to a minor error on my part, my unemployment claim forms were stuck in bureaucratic limbo, which meant no money from them until it was all sorted out. Add to that, hosting Thanksgiving dinner, and having to dip into my dwindling long term savings to afford food for the masses.
So, along comes December, and work seems to be coming from me from all directions. One company, which is made-up of colleagues of mine from my previous job, now on their own, had a project that they felt would take-up the whole first week of the month. I did not receive the files until that Friday, and even then, it was just the template. Over the course of the following week, I was fed pieces of the document to lay out. The only problem with this was that the other two clients I like to work with through the temp agency both wanted me to work most of that week. The layout kept getting second fiddle to jobs that needed me on-site during business hours. But with the little sleep I have been able to get with the neck/shoulder pain I have been suffering, and the tail end of this cold (or whatever it is) it was hard to concentrate on yet another document.
That my family holiday trip was coming up seemed so far away that it was hard to imagine it was less than a week away with all the stuff still that needed to be done.
I ended up keeping the social commitment to attend Dickens faire on Saturday, and even managed to find a way not to drive my car. It turned out to be a real good thing that I was able to rustle up a friend who was willing to drive me all the way to my car instead of just to a BART station as originally planned though. When we got there to get my car, the front passenger side window had been smashed-in. The first question most people ask is if they stole anything, and so far, from what I can tell, the answer is no! Stuff was riffled though in the glove box, but other than that, the change was still in the cup holder and even the place where I have some dollar bills was not touched. Now mind you, it is 10 PM and pouring rain once we get there, and all that AAA will do is tow it within 5 miles (I live 2.2 miles away, as it turns out). None of the glass shops will fix it on a Sunday, and I am leaving Monday afternoon to stay at my grandparents house the night before we fly out. Dealing with getting my car home, and the window covered up to last a day and a half of raining took the rest of the night, of course, leaving no time to squeeze in a little work. Sigh....
Sunday dawns with the flare-up of my sore neck and my friend returning with my wallet, which was left in his car (good thing he had decided to stay at a local friend's house instead of drive home to Stockton that night). While there he worked on my poor neck for a while, which was a good thing as I was feeling even more stress as my time was starting to dwindle and yet get more and more complicated. Phone calls were made, and a Monday morning glass repair is scheduled, which at least is one less thing to worry about.
After a late breakfast, I settled down to get some work done. I was actually making some progress when the power went off. What I thought might have been a breaker going, turned out to be a neighborhood wide black-out. Good thing I had been working on a laptop, so I didn't loose any work, but the battery would not last as long as I needed to work, and there was no internet without power. I was able to borrow my housemate's car and head down to a cafe with wireless, and get some work done there, which was probably a better place to work anyway (although it did nothing for my laundry, which was sitting in washer still).
OK, so where is this going? This might have only been a few days, but it feels like a lot more to me, and I really would not want to relive it, thanks. So, give me a chance to get it out of my system so I can go enjoy my vacation.
I still do not even get the final document to layout until later Sunday, and Monday is the deadline.
And I have not even packed yet!!!
I brought my laptop with me when I brought the car in for the repair, and went back to the cafe to get more work done. I manage to get enough of it done by noon, when my car is ready. At home I pack, rushing around trying to remember all the little thing I wanted to remember, and figure out how to distribute it all throughout my bags. I am bringing my laptop because I know I will need to work more on the document after dinner that night before they can send it to the client. Since I am loaning my car to a friend while I am away, I go and pick him up and we drive down to Palo Alto to meet my grandma for dinner. As I am unloading the bags from the car, I remember something I forgot to pack.
Yes, you guessed it, my passport. After all the gentle nagging from my grandma for everyone to remember their passports, and all the trouble I went through to make sure I had renewed mine in time, I left it at home! Well, here is the good thing. Because I did not leave until the next morning, I still had time to drive home, look for my passport, and anything else I forgot (oh yeah, my antibiotics! oops) and get back to my grandparent's place just before midnight.
OK, but that was when I was going to do that work on the corrections for the layout! Well, I can sleep on the plane, right? After a fitful attempt at sleep, I got up and went through the document with a fine eye. I had been unable to download the changes, but had heard what type they were, and hope I was able to figure enough of it out myself.
I think I managed about an hours worth of sleep before my grandmother woke me to get ready to leave. Only problem was that I had not been able to figure out how to get access to the internet there and was running out of time. There should be something like that at the airport, to which my grandfather agrees, and we set-off to SFO, bags in hand. We got there with enough time to check (through a long line) and get through security (short line). Only, something I was wearing set the metal detector off (a silver an d amber necklace!?), and I had to get patted down before they would let me through. I took it in good humor, and my family waited patiently for me, but I was counting the minutes.
After attempting to get internet access in the Red Carpet Club (sure, there is dial-up) I finally was told that there is wireless through T-Mobile, but I would have to get an account, however they do have day passes.
Get this: I am at the airport, about 10 minutes from boarding, and I had to:
a) sign-up for a T-Mobile 60-minute airtime pass ($6, on credit card) and
b) pay for Fetch (the ftp software) since my demo ran out ($25, on credit card)
c) before I was able to upload the files to the ftp site (took 5 times before the address was typed in right) just as they are calling for boarding.
Ahhhhh!
Later I will see if I can get some photos up of this fabulous place we are staying.
Oh, and as you may have guessed, it turns out to have DSL, so send me those photos after all.