Saturday, January 18, 2020

Miss Serendipity has made herself known once again......

6:29 am - Saturday - January 18th - Ramona, CA - 32° F, 92% humidity, wind 3 mph out of the east......clear, chilly with a forecast high today of 69° F.

When you have lived the vagabond lifestyle as long as we have you come to understand, and even embrace that every endeavor has its season.  After all we move from one seasonal job to another most of the time, and if not to a new seasonal job to a neat boondocking location, or traveling across country changing views ever day, or two.  You become more aware of the temporary nature of life in general, and of your life specifically.  We have wheels on our home, and can change our view without going through escrow, so no situation, or job feels permanent, or indefinite.  Next Friday is January 24th, and will mark our 9 month anniversary.....just enough time to have conceived, and birthed a baby.  Well, our 'baby'.....our job......has reached its birth day, and as of 1 pm on the 24th we will find ourselves once again jobless.  We received that news from Rich and Marnie, who were acting at the owners' direction, at 1 pm as we were 'punching the clock' for the day.  

The owners (not Rich and Marnie) needed to reduce payroll more dramatically than they originally thought back when they reduced everyone's hours a few months ago, so TLE and I along with one other employee have been given our walking papers by them, not Marie and Rich.....it's okay, really.  We had both been feeling a little restless, and ready to change our view for a month, or so, but had resolved to finish out our commitment to Rich and Marnie.  As we told them Friday, we would work for them anywhere, and hope to in the future.  They have been great managers, and have become good friends.

So, there is a season to everything in life, and our season here at RORVR is coming to an end next week.  What is next?  Most, if not all of the local workamper related winter jobs have been filled.  We'll spend some time looking for a job to fill in the 2+ month gap until we depart for Alaska, and collect unemployment in the interim.  Neither of us have ever filed for, or collected unemployment......ever.....so this will be a new experience.  I'll write more in the coming days about our Jello plans, and what Miss Serendipity is whispering to us.

So, what did I do Friday?  Since it was still raining when we arrived at the office for the beginning of our shift I returned to my list of indoor jobs Rich had given me a week, or so ago.  The bunk beds in three of the rental cabins needed to be repainted, so I spent most of my shift preparing wood surfaces for painting.  As is most often the case it takes 2-3 times longer to prepare to paint than it does to actually apply the paint.  After talking with Rich and Marnie at the end of our shift we headed home......there was a little bit of sadness since we have loved working and living here, and loved the people with whom we work, but on the other hand we are excited about what comes next.

Since I had received the new high voltage fuse box for the VW I set about removing the old one, and replacing it with the new one.......




.....it took me about 90 minutes beginning (2:30 pm) to end (4 pm) to complete the R & R, but in the end the VW started right up, and the battery is charging properly.  As you can see, I used a Sharpie to write 1,2,3 & 4 on the red wires to be sure I didn't cross up their order.  My temporary fix has worked all week with no dash lights randomly appearing, so I am 95% sure the old high voltage fuse box with the burnt terminal was the culprit.  

Since it was just 4 pm I suggested to TLE that we light the propane fire pit, and sit by the fire for an hour, or so before I grilled our salmon dinner, and she readily consented.  We do our best talking, and brainstorming sitting by the fire.....of course, a good cigar, and a couple fingers of Scotch always seems to aid the process.....:-).

So, there you have it....what comes next will unfold over the next week....stay tuned, and thank you for stopping by!


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2 comments:

  1. Well dang....a bummer to be so close to finishing up your time there to having to leave in a week. You are getting so many things done there that obviously needed to be done and upgraded. As you say this vagabond life is not guaranteed, just as we sometimes make our own exits earlier than planned due to circumstances. I know you guys will land on your feet with something or collect your unemployment and spend the extra time exploring, riding your bike and planning for Alaska. Wishing you both well 😁

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  2. Ckarke, I believe cable 1 has a case of the green meanies (Corrosion on copper under insulation and connectors) .If my eyes are correct, it should be replaced, not cleaned, nor recrimped. It will cause high resistance and hi heat.

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