Training Underway..

Today was our first full day of training. Good day...lots of info. By 3:00 I was starting to feel like my eyes were glazing over but as soon as I walked out into the bright sunshine and warm temps, I got my second wind. We came home and have been working on our homework. Our first assignment will be in Lakehills, Texas....a pretty area some of our classmates told us. We've got a long ways to go and a lot of info to digest before we leave here but it's going well.

The weather today was awesome ! Warm temps in the 70's but a nice breeze. Last night, when we finished our introductory meeting, we took Boomer out for a walk. We were hoping to get some exercise in but he proceeded to drag me (literally) to the large K9 park across the campground from where we are. As we learned upon getting closer to the park, there was a very large dog playing in there with his owner. "Tony" looked like a small horse. His owner told us he's part Great Dane (the horse part) and black lab. Wow, is he big ! Boomer and Tony had such a good time chasing each other around the park. The more fatigued that Boomer got, after a lap around the park, he'd dart under the picnic table where Linda and I were sitting. He knew that Tony couldn't get under there. Sneaky little devil but it worked. It would give him enough of a break till Tony wandered away and then he'd sneak up on him again. By the time we came back to the rig, both dogs were thoroughly exhausted !

My mom called tonight and said that she had gotten 10" of snow last Sunday and 8" more yesterday. Ughhh...feel so sorry for her as she is truly getting cabin fever with all of the snow and not being able to get out. Luckily my brothers come and plow her out but she said they are calling for another storm on Monday and she's supposed to go to a doctor's appointment that day. Maybe it will pass her by this time. Spring can't come soon enough to folks in the Northeast...too much snow ! I really hated to tell her what the temps were here when she asked. Well, off to bed. More training tomorrow....

We Made it...

Well we made it to Montgomery, Texas ! We left on Sunday morning and arrived this afternoon. On the way we stayed Monday and Tuesday evening in Lafayette, LA so we could visit our friends Bobbie and Jim. We met them, in 2008, when we worked in Coffeyville, Kansas for Amazon. We've stayed in touch over the years and intercepted each other, when our paths would cross in some part of the country. They are spending a month at Betty's RV park in Abbeville, Louisiana and they are having a ball there. They came up to our rig on Tuesday, got caught up on what we've been up to and had lunch. After lunch we followed them back to their park so we could see their new rig. They have a Heartland Landmark 5th wheel that they purchased a few months ago. Wow, is it nice ! Such a great open floor plan and nice workmanship throughout. We're so happy that they found a rig that works better for them as full timers.

We were at Betty's RV park as happy hour started and all of the campers gather under the pavilion. Folks bring something to munch on and their favorite beverage. Then the fun begins....We left our friends to get back to our rig and get things ready for us to pull out in the morning. It was so great to spend time with Bobbie and Jim ! We also got to meet Bobbie and Jim's friends that they are hanging out with. What a great bunch of folks ! Just what the doctor ordered...

We only had a four hour drive to get to Montgomery today. On Monday as we were driving the personal coaches of some of the NASCAR drivers and the trucks hauling their race cars would pass us on I-10. Sunday's race had been in Daytona so now they are headed to Phoenix for the next race. It was a lot of fun to watch them go by. When Linda would see another one coming up in her rear view mirror, she'd say "Oh, here comes another one !" I was able to get the camera out and snap pictures of the car haulers but didn't get any of the personal coaches. By the time I figured out what they were, they had blown by us. I wonder if they drive straight through of if they stop to rest somewhere. In Jeff Gordon's truck,it looked like a husband/wife team in the truck so we were wondering if they trade off driving or if they stop somewhere. We were hoping to see them next to us at our campground but no such luck.

The Lake Conroe KOA where we are doing our training is a great campground ! Great pull through sites, complete with a fire pit, concrete site and patio and picnic table. Indoor heated pool, hot tub, two K-9 dog parks, lots of indoor and outdoor games, meeting spaces, etc. It's a beautiful place so we're really going to enjoy our time here even though our days will be spent in class, learning our new job. Our first activity is an hour long meeting tomorrow afternoon and then full blown training begins Friday morning. I have some things I want to do on the rig tomorrow, plus some laundry and check out the local area. We'll keep you posted on what we see and do as the week unfolds.

As you can see from the weather info, it's warm here. Saw on some of the bank thermometers, as we were driving today, that it was around 80 degrees. Supposed to be pretty much those same temps for the foreseeable  future so we're loving it ! Thinking of our family and friends back home where it's not very warm and a bit on the nasty side.

Getting Excited....

We gave our notice on Thursday to our boss that we've accepted another job. Linda and I have been hanging in with this job since last April but we're both very happy to be getting back on the road.  We never imagined, when we took it last year how negative seniors can be (let's make that downright bitchy), along with demanding, childish and manipulative. If you had told us that last year, I would have thought you were crazy. The floating managers, that we worked with here, said that our community has the worst residents out of the 13 communities in our region and I think that is a pretty accurate assessment. There are a few we'll miss but there are about a dozen of them who complain about everything on a daily basis and do whatever they can to make waves or try to call the shots. They don't want to follow any rules...they want to do as they please, regardless of how it impacts anyone else. Add to that the personnel issues of call offs by employees....A week hasn't gone by with everyone showing up for their shifts as they should and when someone calls off, we have to do the work whether it be housekeeping, serving, cooking  (that was my job on Wednesday for dinner and supper) or dish washing. On top of this, corporate keeps adding more forms, greater expectations for more move-ins and more things that have to get done in a week's time and only two people per shift to get it done. We had planned on taking this job long enough to pay off some things and we did get the truck paid off so that is good. We also got all of our medical stuff taken care of so we are good to go !

So, on to the new job. We will be working for a company that does maps for campgrounds. We sell the ads that go in the color guides. I've been the sales and marketing person here and in my previous jobs so I'll be the one to do the selling and Linda will do the bookwork. We know it will be hard work but we've talked to several others that work for the company and they love it. We can set our own work schedule to work as little or as much as we want (we want to work all year long with some time off at holiday time) and we get two weeks free in each campground where we are working. It brings together the best of everything that we love about being on the road...no long term commitment per an area, make enough money to pay our bills, get home when we need or want to for family stuff and stay in campgrounds where you meet the greatest people ! Our timing coming on board seems to be great as there have been about eleven couples who have retired or quit for medical reasons so there is more work than there are workers at this point in time. We leave here on Sunday, February 20th to go to Montgomery, Texas for our training. We'll be there till March 4th or 5th and then head out to our first assignment. We've told the company that we'll work anywhere in the country and another cool thing....we won't be required to go anywhere where it's snowy or bad weather. (I wasn't relishing going to a place like Maine to do any jobs until summer time and as it turns out, we don't have to.) We'll be training with two other couples in Texas.

Getting things done around here before we go. Boomer went to the vet and groomer yesterday. His heart murmur has disappeared (yippee !) and he looks wonderful with his shaved coat. We go to the masseuse this Friday to use our Groupon coupons good for reflexology and a massage (ahhhhh) and also will get new tires on the RV. Dentist and chiropractor appointments will round out what we need to do before leaving the area. We've been sorting and discarding stuff but have been living with very few items that we actually brought down from the rig. All of the furniture here belongs to the community so all we have to take with us is our clothes and personal items. We have a couple of pots in the kitchen, a few plates and silverware and our table from the rig. It's a neat feeling to think that in a matter of about an hour, you could leave someplace. Gives one a sense of freedom from possessions ! Throw our clothes in an IKEA bag and we are outta here....

We'll keep everyone posted as things proceed. Hoping to meet up with our friends down the road....

Winding Down With Training

We go into work today at 11:30 so we took Boomer to the dog park this morning to get some exercise before being cooped up all day. When we first arrived there were no other dogs in the park. After about 20 minutes some others started arriving. Usually most of the dogs that have been there don't seem to like to play or run...they just meander about doing their "business". A German Shepherd, named Abby, came with another beagle type dog (and of course their owner) and she was very playful with Boomer. They ran and chased each other all over the park. It was great to see Boomer get to run full tilt and get some much needed exercise. We are now back at Lighthouse Pointe for our last full day of training. We'll work till close tonight and will learn how to close the kitchen. Yesterday we learned how to do payroll so tonight we'll probably check everyone's time once they've finished their shift and approve it on the system. Tomorrow will be a short day....open at 6:30 a.m. and only work till lunch. Then we'll pack the car and head out for Winston-Salem...right after lunch. So many of the residents have come up to us and told us how happy they've been to have us here and they hope that we'll come back to visit. One lady even said that she'd love to come down to see us but she doesn't drive. I told her that maybe she could team up with someone else and they could make it a "road trip". Everyone has been wonderful...we will really miss them !

Another Tiring Day...

The last two days were spent in the kitchen, prepping and doing dishes. Hard work! I've found muscles I haven't used in a while. Today was equally hard...we worked with the housekeepers cleaning the residents rooms. Reminded me of my college days when I had to do a stint, in Best Western's housekeeping dept., for my hospitality degree. Similar structured system of cleaning that lets us get a studio apt cleaned in 20 min, a one bedroom apt.in 30 minutes and a two bedroom apt.in 40 minutes. These skills can be utilized in everyday life, cleaning on our own. The four ladies that are the housekeepers are also the breakfast and lunch servers in the dining room. They have a non-stop day of work...five days a week ! Tomorrow Linda and I will help them again. There are a couple of rooms that are vacant and need to be "deep cleaned" to get them ready for new residents. I started one of the rooms today, scrubbing the kitchenette area. Tomorrow Linda and I will work together to clean several residents rooms and then deep clean one vacant room. The draperies are really neat that they use in the rooms. They are washed, on the gentle cycle, for 10 minutes and then they are hung while they are damp. They dry and look wonderful again....voila'. The draperies get done once a year as well as shampooing the carpets in each of the resident's rooms. Everything is maintained so immaculately here....

Our big spring event is this Saturday. Linda and I will be working on the grill, cooking burgers and hotdogs. There will be games like horseshoes, etc. and the indoor yard sale where proceeds will benefit MDA. There will be tours of the facility going on and lots of fun things to do. Anyone that tours a Holiday facility anytime before June 30 can sign up to win "Rent for Life"....

When we finish this week, we'll be half way done with our training...yippee !!

Yowie, do our feet/bodies hurt !

Well our new work week started today at 11:00 and we were assigned to the prep cook. We prepped some vegetables, diced some ham and did a few odds and ends. Once we had those tasks finished up (right after lunch) then we were told to clean....walls, ventilation grates, the wall behind the cooking line, etc. So we spent about 5 hours doing some heavy duty cleaning today....not sure what that was supposed to teach us. I know that the regional chef is coming this week to do his inspection so I guess the chef here figured he had a couple extra hands to get ready for the inspection. We also had the health inspector in today. We had an excellent inspection.

Tomorrow we start at 6:00 a.m. and we work with the dishwasher. The day should go by pretty quickly. Thursday we work with the housekeepers. Hopefully our umph won't git up and go before we can make it to Thursday. Gotta go....I need to put my feet over my head to try and get them to stop throbbing..

BEEP BEEP Bingo.....

View from our living room here in Virginia....

Training is going well. We watched a whole lot of videos, have helped serve lunch, bussed tables and today I worked with one of the managers waiting on a group of 18 women there for a business lunch. One of the residents passed away on Thursday so this afternoon was the service, which took the managers out of the building. That left us with the co-managers and they were tied up with other things so we had to oversee the bingo game. The bingo game was in the same room where the business luncheon was so we had to bus the tables, tear down...reset the room in time for the game at 2:00. Just as we started the game, (I called the numbers and Linda sat with the residents, poised to jump up and check the winning card)the fire alarm went off. These are really loud alarms with strobe lights. Do you know how hard it is to call out bingo numbers when these are going off every minute or two ? I-24...BEEP BEEP BEEP....O-75...BEEP BEEP BEEP....Turns out the fire department was there to check the alarm system which entails checking that the alarm, in every single room (we have 115 of them) activates when set off. Oh brother !! So for an hour and a half, the alarms were going off. Linda and I had a great time with the ladies though.....first time we've ever called a bingo game. This time they were playing for "funny money". There are all different types of bingo that are played here.

We're really enjoying the residents and the info we're learning. The residents are so great and just hearing them saying "thank you" after the game was worth a million bucks. They knew that everyone else was busy and couldn't run their game but they were so appreciative that Linda and I made it happen for them. We were happy to do it !

Today our day started at 6:30. We learned how to open the building and get the coffee ready for the early birds. Then we went back to our room till the day really starts at 7:30....just before breakfast. We finished up at 3:30 and now we don't go in until 11:30 tomorrow. We'll work till close tomorrow (around 7:30 or so) and lock up the building at 9. The days go by so quickly....so much of the day is spent eating and being in the dining room with the residents...LOL..We'll get into more of the administrative work over the coming weeks. We're excited to learn all of it !

Training in Virginia..

We left Winston-Salem after breakfast on Friday to make the drive to Chesapeake, VA to Lighthouse Point for our management training. We have been told we'll be here for six weeks. We arrived here a little before 3 p.m. and got our stuff moved up to the room. This facility is almost completely occupied so I think we are in the last room they have left to rent. It's a large room on the front corner of the property...overlooking the entrance. Weather getting here yesterday was gorgeous. We had all the windows down so the warm breezes could blow through the car.

Last night we went out to dinner with Linda's daughters Laurie and Stephanie and Laurie's husband and two kids. We went to a great Mexican restaurant...the food was very good.

After dinner we went to a frozen yogurt bar where they had a kazillion different toppings to put on the yogurt. Linda and I shared strawberry yogurt that I had topped with fresh strawberries, chocolate chips, hot fudge and hot caramel. Yum !! Went back to Laurie's house long enough to see the kids off to bed and then we returned to our facility. (We are only 10 miles from their house)

This morning we had breakfast in the dining room with the residents. We met Helen and Rudy, the co-managers here. They seem like super nice people and I'm sure we'll be working with them quite a bit while we are here. We're still not sure if we start our training tomorrow or Monday. Rudy is going to try and find that out and let us know. More later....

Little Bit Crazy......

I don't think we'll ever try and train three people at the same time again. It is too crazy. I worked with the new assistant manager today while Linda started with the new managers. I think she'll be good ONCE she catches on to things and stops overthinking everything..just go with it, will ya. Don't ask why it couldn't be done a different way and blah blah....just do it the way we show you to do it and when you get really good, if you want to re-invent the mouse trap, be our guest. LOL...Oh brother....

The new managers did great. They have common sense.... a trait that is necessary for this work. When all else fails and you aren't quite sure what you should do, if you have a smidgen of common sense, you probably can figure out the next step. They both have it. Hallelujah !! Tomorrow is the assistant's last day of training....make it or break it day. Linda told her she has to "run the site" by herself...Linda will be there but will take a hands off approach and only intervene if she has to. We'll see how long before that happens.

Tomorrow will be one of the warmest days this week....projected to be 36. Wow ! By the weekend, temps will fall into the 20's again. Luckily I got our fresh water tank filled yesterday on the second attempt. Seems the copper water line, coming from inside the building didn't want to thaw out until in the afternoon, after soaking in some of the sun's rays. And that's even with the water lines wrapped in foam insulation. I think the wind has just been too brutal around here lately and the line froze where it passes through the cinder black wall. Luckily I was able to get the tank filled up so we'll have enough for the remainder of the week and our trip south.

Saturday will be the last day of training for the new managers and their "make it or break it" day. We'll get the rig put together to pull out (slides put in, etc.)while they work the site. That way we'll be right outside the door where they can call us if they need to or just holler out the door. They will be fine. They are so excited to get this job and are really looking forward to moving here. During this week of training they are driving from home (Cherry Hill, NJ) which takes them 1 hr- 45 min each way. Makes for a very long day !! They will be happy to see Sunday arrive when they can move into the apartment and call it "home" and we'll be happy to be outa here.

New Managers Starting...

Linda has been training a new assistant manager since Saturday. She's a little slower at digesting things than she came across in her interview. During five days of training, with all there is to learn, it's not feasible to totally digest every single detail of something. A person has to take the info in and process it in its totality, otherwise it will drive you crazy. There is so much to learn and only five days with us, as her trainers, to take most of it in. I think she'll be alright in end. Tomorrow I will work with her on the outside stuff while starts the first day of training with the new managers. Tuesday and Wednesday will be a little awkward due to the overlap in trying to train three people at once. Luckily, Jason has been in this business before so I think he will be a quick study and will probably be ready to work on his own in a couple of days so it will give us more time to "solidify" some points with the assistant manager. We want them all to be on solid footing by the time we leave here Sunday. Busy days ahead....

Nothing Special....

Training is winding down for our new asst. mgr and he's doing an awesome job ! Tomorrow is his last day of training so he will run the office while Linda and I do other things...close enough if he has a problem but otherwise he needs to figure things out on his own. He has sort of been doing that for the last day or so as he opens by himself, with very little help from Linda and he has closing down pat...and everything in between. Today I worked with him on the "outside" stuff...location of timers, knowledge on the facility, how to clean, etc.

The background check is underway on the new management couple....we can start our count down to the time when we'll be leaving here. Yeeha !!

Good News....

The couple that I had deemed my #1 pick to be the management team here had their second interview today and Peggy also thought they were great and a perfect pick for here. First thing Monday I will fax their paperwork to the corporate office and the background check can begin. Hooray !!!! I think this couple will do a wonderful job here and both of them have a great background of experiences to aid them in their work here. We are looking forward to getting them started with their training. This will occur after our new assistant manager has completed his training and he should totally be up to speed by then and a great help to them. He started work today and did an amazing job ! Linda would show him once how to do something and he'd remember how to do it when it came time to do it a second time. Pretty impressive...When I asked him how he was liking it so far he said that he loved it and it's just the type of job he's been looking for. Sounds like we have a winner on our hands.

Rainy and very windy today....supposed to warm up to low 60's tomorrow. Linda works tomorrow to continue her training with "Peter". I will go in to do the lock report and get them off to a good start and then I will be off the rest of the day. Hoping for a nice day..

Auction...

Had our auction on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.Just a little before 10 a.m. that morning we got a call from the North Brunswick site that they needed help with their auction because their assistant manager didn't come in. I asked them how far away from us they were (cause we had no idea) and she said about 28 minutes. I asked her what time her auction was and she said 10:30....holy cow !Told them I'd jump in the car and be right there. I got there with 5 minutes to spare but the VP was still going through the files to see who should be sold and whose unit would be held out of the auction. North Brunswick's units are primarily drive up units which means they are outside. Well, Thursday morning it was cold, windy and rainy...not a great day to hold an outside auction. They had 30 some units and it took us about an hour to get through them. Once I finished up there, I headed back to our unit since our auction would be starting in about an hour. Grabbed a quick bite to eat and finished eating in time for the first bidders to start arriving and checking in. They have to give us a $100 deposit to participate, then they get a bidder's book. If they don't buy anything then they get their $100 back. If they do buy any units, we keep the deposit until they have cleaned out all of the units. That way we ensure that they don't leave any junk behind. The one exception is if the bidders have a resale permit, making them tax exempt, then they don't have to give us a deposit.

We wound up having 16 units go up for auction. Our company is really great at giving people ample time and opportunities to pay their bills before resorting to auctioning off their units. We started with 56 units on our list....some paid...and some were held to give them more time. Units went for anywhere from $1 to $400. I was talking to one of the bidders yesterday, while he was loading up items he had purchased. I asked him what he does with the items he buys. He said he sells at flea markets, e-bay, craig's list and auction houses. He said that you used to be able to make good money doing this but it has gotten harder. The stuff you think you'll get good money for doesn't and the items you think are junk sometimes bring in good money. Hard to predict, he said....I think so many more people are doing this nowadays too that maybe the market has been diluted by so much competition. He said he once paid $12,000 for a 10 x 10 unit...wow ! He took an incoming phone call before I could ask him what he bid on (or what he thought might have been in the unit) and whether it paid off for him or not. Didn't get the chance to ask him but it sure had my curiosity piqued.Most of the units have now been cleared out by the bidders. One guy has a washing machine to get yet and he'll do that Sunday. Tomorrow I will try to "trash out" several of the units that didn't receive any bids. There is a 10 x 10 unit that is packed with stuff, and (2) 5 x 10's that I will try to fill our dumpster with. There are 2 huge drive up units that are 10 x 20 or 25's that we'll need to wait for the 20 yard roll off. One unit has office furniture in it and the other has alot of twigs and bags of god knows what. I hope we are gone before that one needs to be trashed out. Might need a Hazmat suit for that one....

Tomorrow our new assistant starts his training. Hope that goes well and that he sticks with it. He will train for 5 days with us before going on his own. Tomorrow the couple that I have as my #1 pick to be the management team here goes for their second interview at another Mini U. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this other manager concurs with my selection so we can get started with their background checks and move them closer to getting hired.

In weather news, the remnants of storm Ida...now a nor'easter is moving up the coast and we are having very windy, rainy weather tonight. Supposed to have more of the same tomorrow. I feel bad for the Pop Warner football players out on the field behind our rig...they are getting blasted with wind and rain for their practice tonight. Not a night fit for man nor beast out there....

Almost Done...

We've finished up our training at the Whippany,NJ site. Peggy and Roger have been awesome trainers and great hosts for us while we've been here. It was an exhausting week...our heads are filled with all the info we learned and we've got all kinds of manuals and notes with us to help us when we get to a site to do things on our own. (We also have Roger and Peggy's cell phone numbers :) We are sad to be leaving our new friends but we need to be in Woodbridge, VA for more training on Tuesday and Wednesday. There we will learn about renting Penske trucks.

We will pack the rig up tonight and head out early in the morning. We have 5 hours to drive tomorrow till we get to the campground in Dumfries, VA where we will be staying tomorrow night. We may also have to stay there on Tuesday and Wednesday night because we're not sure that we can make the turn into the Woodbridge facility with our big rig. They said they have difficulty getting in with their 26' box trucks so it sounds a little tight. I've made "just in case" reservations in case we have to stay more nights at the same campground.

Family Fun

We arrived at Linda's brother's house around 5 p.m. on Saturday. The party was in full swing with all the family there.Boomer was such a good boy. He got lots of luvin' over the weekend from everyone there. He was on surveillance, making sure that none of the kids dropped their food and made a mess.... I got a nice picture of Linda with her brothers and sisters. Brother John stayed behind in Chambersburg....he's not much of a traveler. Roy (Linda's brother)and Kathie's back yard makes such a great place for everyone to hang out. A large beautiful yard....a great pool for the kids to swim and play in...and plenty of places for people to sleep. We were able to park right at the curb out front of their house. Linda's sister and husband had their large pop-up camper at the top of the driveway and Roy and Kathie had their pop-up just behind the fence in the back yard...Family members came from far and wide to be together over the weekend. Some left on Sunday...others stayed till Wednesday...we left today so we could get set up at our training site and be ready to start work tomorrow. We left about late morning and made our way to Whippany, NJ. When we arrived at the Mini U location, we had a great location to put the rig but our power cord wasn't long enough to reach over to where the electrical room is. Peggy and Roger called a nearby place where they were able to get an extension cord one other time for an RV'er but they didn't have what we needed. Linda and I ended up driving 1.5 hours away to Lakewood to a Camping World store to buy a 30' extension for our 50 amp cord. Since getting back, we're beat and ready to get a good night's sleep before work. Peggy and Roger have two black labs...Duke and Lobo. Boomer has found two new chums to run with here in the enclosed compound. Peggy and I took them all out tonight and let them run around the property a bit. We are all looking forward to our week here with the Moss family.