Renovation Done

Just finished up the reno inside the rig. Here's a pic of how it was when I bought it four years ago.

Notice how narrow the aisle is. And here's how it look now.

The dinette table  has been gone for a long time and I had book bins piled up there. The edge of the carpet shows where the couch used to be. Now I have a counter and chair and it's six inches narrower than the couch used to be, and it doesn't stick out past the fridge (lower right). That white blob is my computer. The scanner is up there, too, and the radio and a sundries box, etc.

The next picture shows the book bins neatly stacked under the counter, still accessible but visually out of the way. I put the printer down there, too, as it took up more real estate on the counter than I wanted it to and I don't need it every day.

The wood box at the bottom is over the wheelwell. You can see the tension rods, one between the bins and one next to the chair; the L-brackets are good but the counter is two feet wide and I needed some more support towards the aisle. They work great.

Anyhow, I'm thrilled at my extra space and ease of moving around and lack of visual clutter. At the moment, the couch seat is in the old dinette area (the new seating area) because the cushions I made weren't comfortable enough. Eventually I'll do something "official" about that, but it'll do for now.

I hate heat. Hooray for A/C and for my new arrangement, now that I'm holed up in the rig more often to stay comfortable.

Shrug

Well, I'm assuming that I didn't get the admin/concierge job. Here's the timeline: Two weeks ago on Thursday, I interviewed. The CEO Peter Krull told me he'd chosen six people to interview, which he would be done doing last Thursday as week ago. Then he would take a few days and then choose two people for a second interview, including lunch with his wife. As it's been over a week since he finished interviewing and I haven't heard anything, I guess I wasn't one of the two.

It seems rude not to have gotten a phone call or an email to update me. After all, he was only dealing with six people in total.

Shrug.

Dads et al

From left:

Harland J Harris, my father
David Stonewall Orrell, my great-grandfather
Amelia Lindig Orrell, my great-grandmother
Sylvia Hall Harris my mother
unknown man, probably grandfather's brother
William Anson MacDonald, my grandfather

pic is probably taken by Evelyn Orrell Hall MacDonald, my grandmother.

Taken about 1941-42 in eastern N.C., maybe Wilmington, Carolina Beach, or St. Pauls, or somewhere in between. Note Harland's rank as sergeant -- he wound up the war as a Master Sergeant, 82nd Airborne, having come through North Africa, Anzio, and D-Day as a glider pilot. He received both a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. I met him when I was two (Mom was pregnant when he went overseas), and he died when I was three (1946) of bulbar polio. My brother was born about a month after his death.

Papa Orrell didn't serve because his birthdate was just after the Civil War and he was too old for WW I. Born in Deltaville VA circa 1870; died in Carolina Beach in the 1960s (I think). Locomotive engineer.

Bill MacDonald served in WW I but I have no info on where. Born in Rex NC circa 1890; died in the VA Hospital in Fayetteville NC in the 1960s. Master mechanic.

And here's my brother, father of three. His S.O. is big in the dahlia world in SF CA, hence the flowers. Born in Madison WI 1946. Electronics quality assurance.

So these are the men of influence in my life that I'm thinking about today.

Next hope

Last Thursday, I interviewed for a job that I think would really be challenging and exhausting and fun. It's for a "socially responsible investment" company in an admin asst/concierge position. The company's really small (about six people) and scattered all over; only the head guy lives here. The position is also virtual, which means I'd get to work at home on my computer on my schedule. Of course, there'd be  some time constraints as part of the job is dealing with the clients and making and keeping them happy. And do database stuff. And help set up social events. And all and sundry.

I was one of six he chose to interview. Today is the last day he'll be interviewing and then he'll mull it over and choose two for further assessment, which will include an extensive personality assessment test and a lunch with him and his wife (who's a PhD in biology) to check for further compatibility. And then there'll be a six-month trial. Phew. But it's part-time (he says) and it pays really well. I should hear by Monday whether yea or nay on advancing.

I looked online and found the test he mentioned (he's very impressed with it): DISC Drive Influence Steadiness Compliance. It's very expensive so I couldn't take the original, but I found some ripoffs and tried a couple out. One result was in this order: Influence Steadiness Drive Compliance, so I like to have influence, am steady and reliable, moderately driven for dominance, and not very compliant (heh). Another ripoff comes up with a single result: Master of Mazes, with a long paragraph about the meaning. All very interesting.

Now all I need is to be one of the two and then blow the other out of the water.

Other than that, not much is going on. I've acquired the stuff to make my cushions and will be doing that soon. Then get Josh over here with his skillsaw, remove the couch, put up the counter, and I have a new interior.

Went out about 1 am last night to go grocery shopping. Not going out to dinner tonight so no need to have the car. Beautiful night, little traffic, few people -- lovely.