Leap Year Day 2016

Greetings, and welcome to Leap Year Day for 2016.  Most of the time it comes around only once every four years.  There are exceptions.  The year 1900 didn't have one and neither will 2100.  Year 2000 did, as that the rule is that the century year has to be divisible by 400 before it qualifies for a 29th of February.

Anyway, as of one week, I have been in the new job.  It's working out well so far though I'll be glad when the training is behind me and I'm doing some real work.  I have sat in on two meetings and been able to provide engineering input.  The tradecraft of engineering itself doesn't change all that much from company to company, but processes defined by work instructions can and will contain a different recipe, if you will, as for getting something done.  There are still change orders and design reviews, but technical requirements and specifications are developed differently and we have a different set of standards that we have to abide to.

I am still somewhat overwhelmed by all of this.  My new employer has been rated as one of the best 100 companies in the world to work for, which is a vast improvement over having to leave two of the worst 100 companies in the world to work for.   I am transitioning back to a 9/80 work schedule, which means every other Friday off, which helps the work-life balance.  I am learning a great deal about the specialized medical devices that we develop and manufacture, and even though I am no longer a satellite engineer or developing test requirements for circuit cards, I am now part of the global war on cancer, and I think what I'm doing is very important.  I have this eagerness to delve right into things and to move the company forward.  I am in the capacity of a contractor, but I hope this leads to a long term job. 

I still get the occasional nightmare that I'm back in Las Vegas.  I hated the place, and still do, and it may be a while before I am back.  That could be next year sometime as that Sheila and I really did enjoy exploring the small towns of Nevada, and I'd really like to see Rhyolite again.

One other note, and this is getting us back to the topic of February 29th.  My father-in-law had his birthday today, which is something he doesn't get to have as much as most of the rest of us do.  We were over there earlier this evening for a celebration. 

That's all I have for now.  I owe a phone call that's long overdue, and I also want to turn in early.

The Move from Nevada is Completely Complete

The move is now finished!  The credit card billing addresses were finally updated; the electricity to the apartment is now shut off, and this morning I visited the Motor Vehicle Department to register the truck back into Arizona, and once again there is an Arizona plate on the rear (Arizona does not issue a front plate).

When I first moved here in 1999, I couldn't wait to get the California plates off the truck.  I went in one morning to re-register, and they made me surrender the back plate (they let me keep the front) and I went to get the driver license taken care of in another visit.

Nevada also made me surrender the back plate when I registered the truck there in December 2014.  It was faded from years of exposure from the desert sun so it wasn't collectible, in my opinion.  To my surprise, MVD didn't want the Nevada plates, but offered to have them destroyed if I wanted.  I wanted to keep both of them to add to my license plate collection, and they will be eventually displayed in my garage (I rotate the display frequently) and I'm glad to be adding a new Nevada design to the collection.

The Nevada common plate currently in use is a decent design, and looked good on the truck, and in one way I regret that it's no longer there.  There is no shame in having a Nevada plate on your vehicle like there would be if you had a California plate.  Of course, the commemorative Las Vegas plate that is offered by Nevada advertises that you live in Trashcan and like it, and I'm not sure that it's a good thing if you drive a vehicle adorned like that out of Clark County. 

In other news, the background check on me is now done, and I report to my new employer this coming Monday at 8:00 AM.  The commute is the only drawback, however I'm good friends with two of the managers of Quik Trip, and one of them delights in distributing $2 bills for me.  I've been a fan of the $2 bill for several years, and now that I'm back in the Old Pueblo I'll be ordering straps of these from my Wells Fargo branch.  I'll see if I can get Eisenhower dollars since he likes those as well.  It's free advertising for his store and he's told me on occasion that his customers get a kick out of the "odd" money.

Tomorrow morning there is one more visit to MVD to get my title updated (I'm adding Sheila to it), after which I finally get to goof off a little.  I'm having lunch with Tim O, who is one of the first friends that I made in Arizona.  I've also got a lot of yardwork to do, and I plan on getting some of that in as well.

It's really great to be home.  There are a few more people I need to reconnect with. 

You *can* go home again!

Time to Catch Up!

This month has been something of a whirlwind.  On Wednesday the 3rd I went in for an onsite interview at the medical device firm, and faced two panel interviews.  The first panel was on the friendly side and the second one was a little more tough.  I have done panel interviews before, and while I personally don't like them it's not like you have a choice when you need to find some work.  I must have acquitted myself well, as that the very next day I learned that I had landed the job, and I accepted the offer on the spot.  The tentative start date is the 22nd, which meant that I had to make one more quick trip to Las Vegas to empty out the apartment.

Sheila was able to come with me on this one, and she was a great help.  We arrived on the afternoon of 9th, spent a good chunk of the 10th cleaning it out and getting ready to hand it over to the leasing office, and we were back in Tucson on the evening of the 11th.  Both of us were dog tired the next few days, but the important thing is, is that I am back in Tucson, I will be returning to the workforce sooner rather than later (thanks to the intervention of the Good Lord), and I have my hands full unpacking and re-arranging things.  The house is crowded and I've been busy going thru boxes and closets and downsizing.  There's also been plenty of yardwork and much more plenty of that to do, but I'm overwhelmed in a good sense as that I have finally returned home, and am no longer in Trashcan......excuse me........Las Vegas.

I could write some more about what's been on my mind from all of this, but I feel the need to finish processing the move and getting control of the yard. 

It's really good to be home.