Wednesday, March 23, 2011

New Job Update


Stolt Tank Container, originally uploaded by fleandca.
Everything is going well, but I'm exhausted. I have to be at work by 8:30. If I leave at 7, I'll be 10 to 15 minutes late. If I leave at 6:30, I'll be 30 minutes to an hour early. Better early than late, so 6:30 it is...I can always stop for breakfast if there's nothing to do at work.

I have picked out a beautiful new apartment near my new job. It will cost me $1800 to buy out of my current lease, but with gas prices going up that may be a bargain.

I'm probably not going to blog too much about my job. I will tell you guys that I'm working in the export industry again. I have 13 years experience with a containership company, on the carrier side. Now I'm learning about the NVOCC side of the business, working for a tankcontainer company. What is an NVOCC? This blog explains it pretty well: http://shippinginsouthafrica.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/who-is-an-nvocc-operator-and-difference-between-a-freight-forwarder-and-nvocc/.

The pic is of a tankcontainer, but it's not one of ours. (I'm not sure if I want to name my employer, in case I've got any stalkers out there. ) They are not the tanker trucks you see carrying fuel to the gas stations, but 20' seaworthy tanks boxed in a frame so they can be loaded onto containerships..

I'm loving being back in the industry, but don't have much time to do anything else right now. I wish I could visit all of your blogs. I miss you guys.  I do have a travel post to write, and more weekend trips planned. Maybe this will have to become a travel blog - updated weekly - until I move. 

Monday, March 7, 2011

Back to Work

Today was my first day at my new job.  I received an offer for the full salary I was asking.  Woohoo!  I'm driving an hour and a half each way for now.  Yes, my dear readers, I am still in Houston after an hour and a half of driving.  We're roughly the size of the state of Rhode Island.  Then there's Houston's habit of annexing adjacent communities...whether they like it or not...all around NASA is Webster, Seabrook, Nassau Bay...but NASA is in Houston...it's confusing for me and I live here...I wonder what visitors think...  

(Texans measure distance in hours and minutes, by the way.  I'm 5 minutes from the grocery store, 30 minutes from downtown, an hour and a half from work, and 2 hours from the beach.  San Antonio is 3 hours away, El Paso 10 hours, and California 2 days.)  

My new job is near NASA, in the Clear Lake area.  The plan is to move to Clear Lake in a few months, after my daughter graduates.  I've already priced a few apartments, and I should be able to find something for much less than I'm paying now.  I'll miss living in The Woodlands, but it is a little on the expensive side.      

I'm so excited!  I'm also exhausted.  I feel like I'm rambling and babbling.  I'll get used to my new schedule and post something a little more coherent soon.