Stories's Log
This log represents the Life and Times of the Las Vegas Dude.
<< 09/2007 < 08/2008 Calendar 10/2008 > 09/2009 >>Sign InView Other Logs
Sun 
09/14/2008 20:09:59
 Jim  We are riding the snake
Its a train and its going 60 mph..
Our track ends after 40 million miles, where our ride takes us off the side of a mountain in the clouds.
We know it ends, but we don't care. On our ride, we can look out the window at all of the beautiful things.
We can't become a part of them because our train won't stop.
But we can love all that we see.
And it is beautiful.
Thu 
09/11/2008 21:28:53
 SanDiego  Pittsburgh - Downtown
Tue 
09/09/2008 20:41:46
 jim  North Hills Park - 1 mile away
Tue 
09/09/2008 16:59:10
 jim  NorthPark,PA
Sun 
09/07/2008 13:45:04
 jim  Pittsburgh-PA-RideTheDuck
Sat 
09/06/2008 16:31:26
 jim  Station Square
  
Fri 
09/05/2008 22:23:55
 jim  Pittsburgh at Night
Mon 
09/01/2008 06:19:50
 Guest  ...Apartment Hunting
Hey Buddy So Pittsburgh is a good deal! you will have to go see ya steelers game while you are in Pitt It was good to see you last week, we will have to hook up in Cincy soon BTW i couldn't remember my password and the site is broke when i ask it to email me it doesn't work Your friend Chez
Mon 
09/01/2008 06:19:50
 SAE   (Reply).Apartment Hunting
Howl...

Where did Jimmy end up? The Saigon Hilton?

How is the job, Jimmy R. Cutlar?
Sat 
08/30/2008 20:58:03
 jim  The best of Kentuckiana
Fri 
08/29/2008 18:37:20
 jim  4th Street Live
Tue 
08/26/2008 18:11:29
 jim  Vegas,NV-Gabriel Sonny
Mon 
08/25/2008 10:45:19
 jim  Vegas,NV-Gabriel,CanneryEast
Sat 
08/23/2008 21:19:48
 jim  Vegas,NV-4703 Kitchen
Fri 
08/22/2008 18:13:34
 jim  Taxes are so confusing
I finally did my taxes for 2007. It wasn't so bad.
Now I'm faced with half a year of pure income, no taxes taken out.
Ahhhh, but what happens at the end of next year.
If my recruiter fills out my 1099-Misc for Florida, I save $5,000 in state taxes.
If my recruiter fills out my 1099-Misc for Pennsylvania, I pay $5,000 to Pennsylvania.
Ouch and/or Hmmm.
Once again, its not what you did, its what people say you did that counts.
Thu 
08/21/2008 12:01:24
 jim  Vegas,NV-Cannery-BeckysHaircut
Mon 
08/18/2008 18:43:14
 jim  Vegas,NV-JoesCrabShack-Becky,Jim,Sonny
Sat 
08/16/2008 14:07:46
 jim  Vegas,NV-TahoeVillage
Sat 
08/16/2008 13:53:11
 jim  Vegas,NV-TahoeVillage
Sat 
08/16/2008 13:48:42
 jim  Vegas,NV-TahoeVillage
Sat 
08/16/2008 13:22:38
 jim  LakeTahoe,NV-Casinos
Sat 
08/16/2008 13:07:01
 jim  LakeTahoe,NV-View of Carson City
Sat 
08/16/2008 13:03:32
 jim  LakeTahoe,NV-Lake
Sat 
08/16/2008 12:29:32
 jim  Vegas,NV-Tahoe
Sat 
08/16/2008 11:45:14
 jim  CarsonCity,NV-Capitol
Sat 
08/16/2008 11:08:04
 jim  Reno,NV-Downtown
Sat 
08/16/2008 10:55:56
 jim  Reno,NV-CircusCircus
Sat 
08/16/2008 10:29:50
 jim  Reno,NV-CircusCircus,Becky,Hooker
Sat 
08/16/2008 08:37:59
 jim  The Seattle Trip Summary
We drove a total of 2700 miles in one week. It was all about getting unemployment. Washington requires you to call from a local phone. Its been suggested that I could have simply had someone there call unemployment, then get me into a 3-way conversation, and mute their phone. Well, that would have worked, but, it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun.
I saw a whale surface on the ocean, just before I got a job via cell phone.
Sat 
08/16/2008 07:41:21
 jim  What if I did not take this trip ?
I keep wondering what would have happened if I didn't go to Washington to get on unemployment. I wasn't getting paid from my other contracts. I spent over $10k in San Diego for lodging. Anyway, things were looking pretty grim and I started looking at other income alternatives before the trip. One of them was a work-from-home contract. I was also going to get certified for Asp, Html, and Sql (which I should still do).
I did learn that getting unemployment compensation is ridiculous for an interstate contractor.
The demands are too high. Everything seems to be set up on a state-by-state basis and each state has its own set of rules. I'd much rather save the 6% of my income that I've been paying out to unemployment insurance. It cost me $1k to go to Washington to call from a local phone. I've spent $6k on unemployment insurance in the last year, and for what ?
One thing, the unemployment insurance people said
and I still can't get over this, is that I'm not activelly seeking work by placing my resume on Dice or Monster. To the unemployment people, that isn't looking for work. They want to know about the applications I've filled out and I don't fill out applications. I talk to recruiters and sign contracts. I only sign one contract per job. I have little control over where I'll be working next.
Fri 
08/15/2008 20:24:56
 jim  Vegas,NV-CircusCircus
Fri 
08/15/2008 14:00:00
 jim  Reno, Nv - Circus Circus
We took off at 2 am from Coos Bay.
I couldn't sleep a full night in that motel. I think someone was dealing drugs from one of the rooms there.
I think night driving is best when your not taking the scenic routes.
We got to Reno at about 2 pm.
Surprisingly, Circus Circus still had empty rooms available. We ate at their buffet, which was excellent, for about $35 for two people. I couldn't stay awake.
Fri 
08/15/2008 07:54:24
 jim  Reno,NV-I95-ToReno
Fri 
08/15/2008 01:45:41
 jim  Pittsburgh PA, here we come!!!
I got the contract 5 minutes after seeing a whale off the Oregon coast.
What are the odds of that? Once again, getting a contract has surprised me. I had an interview a couple of hours earlier in Toledo, Washington. I was thoroughly exhausted from driving across the country.
So, now, we'll be coming back to Vegas, just to load for another cross country trip.
About Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh once produced half of the nation's steel, with over 500,000 people working in over 1,000 factories and mills. After WWII, the city went through a clean air renaissance. The steel industry and the mills fell after the 80's and it's economic base shifted to tourism, services, and high technology. It now has a population of about 330,000. BTW - Try spelling Pittsburgh Pennsylvania some time without a reference.
Fri 
08/15/2008 01:45:41
 SAE   (Reply).Pittsburgh PA, here we come!!!
I could spell Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania already, without having looked. Why? Because I am a studly little hound.
Fri 
08/15/2008 01:44:33
 jim  Hwy 101 on the Oregon coast
We had a flat, I saw a whale, and I got a contract.
The Oregon coast is most definitely the most beautiful country side I've seen. 
It's just too bad that most of their economy seems to center around logging, and gaming. 
We're staying in a really dumpy hotel in Coos Bay right now.
Coos Bay was a hot spot at one time.
Now its become another floundering relic of the American industrial revolution. It's sad that so many of our products are made in China. Human rights seems to have taken a dump in the last decade.
Hopefully, we'll be in Reno, NV by 6 pm tommorrow.
Then we'll be headed back home to pack for our next adventure.
Thu 
08/14/2008 17:24:28
 jim  CoosBay,OR-Marina,Downtown

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