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 |  I travel the country on business, sometimes the world. Come see where I've been. |
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Talk about perks, my job has one of the best ones I can think of! I travel in the course of business, delivering classes for my employer. I am a Senior Training Specialist for Motorola Solutions, and teach classes on a wide variety of subjects centered around 2 way radio communications. I'm qualified to deliver approximately 30 different classes, but about half of those are 'Legacy' classes, and are not in demand anymore. My students are technicians, those who maintain, program, calibrate, and repair large 2-way radio systems. Some of these systems are statewide, and use TCP-IP networking to allow sites to communicate with others. Some are small, traditional type radio sites. The size doesn't matter, in each case the systems must be kept operational at all times, since many of them are Public Safety Systems. So I get to travel, sometimes frequently, 3-4 weeks in a row.... where am I this week? This probably won't have daily entries, but I will make entries when I get to go somewhere, and keep an updated list of coming trips. My schedule changes faster than the weather, so don't be too surprised to see me list an upcoming class, only to remark later on that it is cancelled, or delayed. Delays are fine of course, but a later date might mean that someone else gets to go instead of me,,, Well, here we go with this, let's see where it takes us.  Best Cultural And Regional Honorable Mention |
| Locale: Bloomington, Illinois Well, here I sit at home once again. Work has picked up for all of us. We have a backlog of classes to deliver, some that we need to complete after having completed the theory portion online, and it keeps piling up. Our management team is doing a fantastic job in supporting us. Both of our immediate managers are former instructors, and our Instructor manager still deliver classes when needed. This past week was same class I've delivered on line two or three time in recent memory. Remember, this is a pretty new class for me, and requires learning a new form of configuration software, as learning more about the Master Site and its software. After delivering it four times, I understand what needs to happen with this class. Even though I edited it/re-wrote it in March, it needs a complete tear-down and re-write. Our software changes, sometimes pretty fast, and you have to keep the course material current. That didn't happen with this class. So, while it's not a complete 'back to the drawing board' effort, it will be close. I have finally decided, or realized, what sequence the labs (Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet work) need to be done, and know that the current labs just won't fit the bill. With the help of a co-worker, we exported the necessary portions of the configuration software to a CSV file, and I will use those to generate the new labs. For me, the hardest part was deciding what order they should be completed. I've decided. Did I say work was picking up? Well, if I didn't, it has. Early this year I scheduled two weeks of PTO for myself (in October), so I can get home to New Mexico for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. If it is still scheduled. So I have those two weeks free. I have the week of July 4th free. Other than that, I'm teaching classes every week until Thanksgiving.. Even Labor Day week. This is VERY unusual for us. But it's not just me, all of us are scheduled the same way, we're all just as busy. But I love it. The second class in Washington DC has been delayed by the customer. Their Technicians want the class in person, their management wants it done remotely. The thing about technical classes, is you NEED that hands on time to learn how to do things. We'll see what the future holds, and when that class gets re-scheduled. In Closing I will spend the weekend at home here before teaching class from home next week. If I do end up getting to travel again, you'll be the first to know! Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE!  Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: Bloomington, Illinois Well, here I sit at home once again. I can't believe it's been three weeks since I posted an entry, but a lot has gone on at work. We are seeing some people leaving/retiring at work, and changes made to our delivery process, and the use of contractor end-user instructors. What that means is, our work load is more than doubling, but out instructional staff isn't. Gone are the days of us teaching a maximum of three weeks, with that fourth week being a mandatory week off. I have to say that I've never been a fan of that policy, mainly because of this thought process. I'm an instructor, I'm supposed to teach classes. There are those in the public school sector who do far more than I'm required to, and only get time off during the summer. Except, their time off is spent preparing for the next year, getting things in order, and maybe attending mandatory classes to further their education. So to me, I should be ready, willing, and able, to teach a class every week. Just MHO. Well, I get my wish, and as they say, be careful what you wish for. I had the entire month of March free, with no delivery. Add half of April to that. Since then, I've been pretty busy, (and I was pretty busy those weeks off too) teaching classes. I'll give you an idea of how things are changing. In the first two quarters of 2020, I delivered 59 days of training. That's right at the desired number of days per quarter that management wants us to deliver. Now as I say this next part, understand that my schedule can change on a moments notice, with classes at least 2 weeks to a month away being added or dropped. Right now though, I am scheduled for 56 days of delivery in the 3rd quarter alone! That's almost as much as I delivered from January through June! And no, while I know classes may come and go on my schedule, I don't think I will see less days scheduled. So if you wonder if I'm busy while still remaining home all this time, "Yes, I am." And I'm thrilled, while also asking myself, "What have I gotten myself into?" I am scheduled to go to Washington DC the week after July 4th, and again two weeks later. Those deliveries may become 'virtual' online deliveries, teaching the classes from home. I'm also scheduled to be in Los Angeles between those Washington DC classes, that too may become virtual. When I say virtual, what we do with the class, is teach all the theory we can, while also doing demonstrations on the equipment. At a later date, the students will have to come to either Schaumburg, or our Fort Lauderdale facility to perform the hands-on activities. The advantage for them though, is they can complete 2 or 3 classes (perhaps) in one week! The drawback is, how much time will have passed between their 'theory' portion, and actual hands-on portion. It remains to be seen. All of this is still a work in progress, for us, as well as our customers. We'll see what the future holds. In Closing I will spend the weekend at home here before teaching class from the next two weeks. If I do end up getting to travel again, you'll be the first to know! Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! Jim Dorrell |
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I then went to Taiwan for two weeks; but, although that was nice, it wasn't 'home'. 
