Counting down the days... it's hard to believe that two weeks from today I'll be boarding the Island Hopper (Air Mike flight 956) to begin my home leave back on the mainland. Bills paid, last-minute gifts purchased and took out my suitcases out of the closet to air them out and begin packing.
Thursday I'll be flying up to Roi to begin cross-training into the configuration auditor job with my co-worker. Mostly it'll be comparing microfiche aperture cards to scanned drawings in the drawing server repository; if the scan isn't up to snuff or missing, we rescan it. Eventually my co-worker's contract will end in November, unless he extends for a specific period or goes the 'rolling 90'. While the job market back in the mainland is getting a little better, I'm still a little leery of going back unless there are decent job opportunities at home. Because the auditor job requires unescorted entry into 'closed areas', I will probably be put in for processing for a SECRET security clearance. (I had one in the Air Force, and again about 12 years ago when I worked on a project to update floor and site plans for the Alternate Joint Communications Center in Raven Rock Mountain, Pennsylvania.)
There is also a possibility that my job may relocate to Huntsville, Alabama as the transition to the new remote operations center there ramps up. When that will happen, I don't know. It could be anywhere from a year or two down the road; if it is offered to me, I will seriously consider it, if the relocation package is right. Technical jobs appear to be easier to get in Huntsville than Las Vegas, where gaming and other service industries supporting the casino industry rule. I've visited Huntsville twice before; the first time in 1988 to attend and compete in the National Association of Rocketry's annual meet (NARAM-30), the second in 1999 to attend a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers course. I liked what I saw about the town back then.
Now to begin thinking of what to do after I return from home leave in August. I need to get up off my sorry ass and get motivated to take some college or technical courses to finish up my associate's degree. I also need to finish USAF Squadron Officer School by correspondence. I might save up some money and take scuba diving lessons; everyone I know who's a diver out here highly recommends it.
Huntsville offers a lot. I grew up about thirty miles from there. The job potential is still growing...it hasn't slacked off. The local housing market is actually interesting...if you look beyond 15 miles from the city ($100k-$150k will buy a 3-bedroom on five acres, built in the 1970s). Taxes are reasonable. Crime is not a big issue. The airport offers around twenty-five flights a day. There's a dozen lakes within an hour's drive if you want to fish. And there's plenty of civilization...if you want it....or quiet country-atmosphere as well. The negative? Hot and muggy in July and August...real hot.
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