I travel the country on business, sometimes the world. Come see where I've been. |
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. |
Locale: Los Angeles, Ca Week of: 7/24/2023 The week of 7/24 found me in Los Angeles for the third time this year. The customer is the same one I've taught before, so I was able to see students from a previous class. This always makes the class flow smoother because we all knew each other. The one I didn't know was about my age, we got along well. The class flowed smoothly with only one issue that couldn't be corrected. The week before the class our PM was informed that the system would be under going acceptance testing, and we wouldn't be able to use the spares we were going to use. This meant that everything involving software was show-n-tell. I arranged access to the Conventional System in our training lab located in Schaumburg. We tried letting one of the students use the software, but that's harder than it sounds, and VERY slow. It ended up with me doing all the software programming / demonstration, which as you can imagine is not the best way to teach a technical course. We still made it work. The thing is, I could have done this from home then. Still, not a problem. I am not a fan of large city's. Thankfully this class, like all the others I've taught to this customer is not in downtown LA, it's out in one of the Eastern Suburbs. Montebello. It was still busy everywhere I went, but things could have been worse. On Friday I decided to be a tourist and visited the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum. After that my plan was to return the Rental Car, catch the shuttle bus to the LAX, then the hotel shuttle to the Hilton for the night. Sometimes the best laid plans go awry. The details of what happened is in "Note: I didn't post in [Link To Item #2177903] la...". I will spend the next few weeks allowing the wounds from that mishap to heal. Noteworthy Restaurants: Crabby's Seafood & More https://digitalmenunow.com/wp-content/uploads/menu-crabbys-2023.pdf I've dined at several Mexican Restaurants in this area. I have to say I think this one is best of them. I intentionally ordered too much so I'd have leftovers for lunch the next day. This worked out well for me, it was as good the next day as it was fresh. Next week I will be in a small town by the name of Penn Yan, NY. The customer is Yates County, Penn Yan is the county seat. This will be a bit of a challenge too, since the two people attending the class are not technicians. The challenge will be delivering subjects that they need to know. I realize that all my planning & modification of course materials will likely be out the window. It will be a bit like having a prepared speech, only to throw it out once you get on stage. Until next time, be good to those you love, spoil them, and write! Jim Dorrell |
Locale: Cheyenne, Wy Week of: 6/19/2023 The week of 6/19 found me in Cheyenne, Wy for 3 days. I was in Cheyenne about 19 years ago with a different customer and really looked forward to returning. The class this week is one I've delivered many times, but I still needed to know how their system is constructed and how the sites interact. When you deliver a class to a customer with a statewide system like this, the students are from all over the state. Each site is a little different though, and often you are teaching students whose sites operated in different frequency bands. That wasn't an issue in this case, but it's something you have to consider no matter what. After arriving Monday afternoon, I met the PM for dinner at a local place that is very nice. We dined at Wyoming's Rib & Chop house. He had eaten there many times because as the PM, he is needed to be present at various times. Since I'm writing this entry so late, I don't recall exactly what I had. Here's their menu though for you to review if you like. https://ribandchophouse.com/menu/main-menu/?utm_source=GMB&utm_medium=organic&ut... I will say one thing though. I love Cajun food, but I could not find it in myself to order any kind of Cajun food in Wyoming! Based on what we each chose to have and it's quality, we might have been okay having some Boudin, or Jambalaya. I just couldn't see having that in Wyoming. In looking over their menu, I'm pretty sure I had their Western Burger. What I remember about it though, is that it was outstanding. One of the best burgers I've had in a while. I like Cheyenne, it's a very nice town. Then again, I love most places I've visited in the Western US. I prefer the western area of the United States over the East Coast. The main reason is the people! You see this a lot in the smaller cities and towns, on both coasts really. It's just more prevalent in the western area. The people. What about them? They seem to be more in touch with life in general. More earthy? More in tune with nature? Perhaps. Either way, I love the west more. I could live in Cheyenne, but the winters might be a bit too cold for my liking. Life should be so tough, huh. In Closing The weeks of 6 /26 through 7/10 will find me at home. Wow! Three weeks at home, my longest time at home this year. I will deliver an online class the week before and week after 7/4. Looking forward to a relaxing time,. Until next time, be good to those you love, spoil them, and write! Jim Dorrell |
Locale: Frankfort, Ky, Little Rock Arkansas, and Gretna Louisiana Week of: 4/24 & 5/1/2023 Wow, I missed posting about mt last week in Frankfort? I guess this post will cover the last two weeks. The week of 4/24 was a busy week for me. I was in Frankfort once again for the third and final time. I've been with the Kentucky Emergency Management team all three weeks, but the group is really a small one made up of the Kentucky National Guard. All three classes went well, the Chief of the National Guard retired on Friday, so we finished class on Thursday to accommodate their schedule. This worked well because I was able to get home Thursday afternoon and pick up Mama and our young Akita so we could get to Jackson Tennessee for a 'Fast Cat' run. Fast Cat is where your dog runs 100 yards and is timed. Points are earned for each run, the dog earns a ribbon at prescribed point values. Our young Akita Buddy has earned one ribbon, and is about half way to the next one. The week of May 1st I was in two locations delivering a one day class. It's a new class, and there wasn't that much new to it really. The materials were edited to allow the topic to be delivered in one day. Still, it would have been nice to receive the files earlier than 4 am on Monday 5/1. There was no way I could review the stuff, so I delivered that class 'Cold Turkey'. The only problem I had was scheduling my time so the class didn't seem 'Out of Kilter' to the students. It wasn't bad, but it could have been better. I delivered that one-day class in Little Rock Monday, and never got to meet LegendaryMask❤️ . I know she's having some issues right now, so maybe it was for the best. Still, after all this time, it would have been nice to meet her finally. Tuesday I drove from Little Rock to New Orleans. Well, actually Gretna, very close where I was in 2005 the week after Hurricane Katrina. That class (the same as the one I delivered on Monday) went a lot smoother, mainly because I knew the flow now, knew what to do when if you will. Thursday I drove from the New Orleans area to our home in Bloomington Illinois. We left about 8 am, and arrived home at 11 pm. It was a very tiring day, but I had Friday to get a little R&R before this week's class. Right now I am in New York City (Queens) delivering a class, and will be back here in a month. Like I said in a Newsfeed post though, life is good. In Closing I will fly to Brooklyn Monday for a 2-day class, then have a week and a half off before meeting with co-workers the week of Memorial Day. Until next time, be good to those you love, spoil them, and write! Jim Dorrell Jim Dorrell |