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.

  

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

Howl...

Where did Jimmy end up? The Saigon Hilton?

How is the job, Jimmy R. Cutlar?

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.

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.

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.

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.

I could spell Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania already, without having looked. Why? Because I am a studly little hound.

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.