[Rhonda R]

Hi,
GOIN HOME! Yeah, I’m so excited! Sitting in the Amsterdam hotel right now. I could explore Amsterdam for a bit, but really have no desire to. Check out of the apartment went well. Got my internet equipment returned ok. Cancelled water ok. Last thing to deal with is taxes. Still do not have any tax documentation from Holland. Will have to check on that Wednesday. Still haven’t resolved issues with last year’s tax return with the US. Need that for a special form Canada wanted filled out 4 months ago. Getting really nervous and stressed about that. I HATE tax season! Not that I mind paying taxes. It’s just such a horrendous pain. So many complications, so much work. Will be glad when that’s all over! My least favorite time of year!!!

But I’m GOIN HOME! Yippee! I will celebrate and dance as soon as I get in my door! Contract did come through 1 1/2 hour before the end of my last day. Got it signed. It seems to be a good contract. Rest of this week will be on-boarding and other stuff. But I can FINALLY relax, feel at home and get on with my life! I’m SOOOOOOO happy!

Smiles,
Rhonda

[Rhonda R]

Hi,
Well, it’s my last weekend here. Was thinking of going to a town 2 1/2 hours away. Supposed to be the Venice of Holland, but it’s cold and weather questionable. Plus I’m out of energy and motivation. Heat has been at 20% since Wednesday. Went to the office Wednesday and Thursday (6:30 a.m. to 7 P.m.) and crawled into bed when I got back, so didn’t really confirm what was happening till yesterday morning. Radiators performing at maybe 20%. Even with the main radiator on full force the house was only mid 50s yesterday. Left heat on last night, which I never do, and it’s still only mid 50s today. So glad to be leaving Monday!!!! They said they’d said someone to look at it but no one showed up and it’s still not working.

Today started sunny, then rained, now looking maybe sunny, but clouds looming to the north. So not sue what I’ll do today. Being totally lazy. But I’m feeling very disconnected from here anyway. Mostly packed…… too much packed as I’ll have to repack Sunday and maybe a bit Monday morning. Stressful time. In transition. Will be SOOOOOOO glad to be home. My heart and mind is already at home. Deb emailed me and said she’d meet me at gate 3. I know she’s looking forward to having me home. We have same interests. So we do have fun together.

So looking forward to get to socializing again. Had a couple guys on Silver Singles send me a smile, so will renew and contact them when I get home. Will contact Mike, a gentleman I met at a meetup at Christmas, and let him know I’m home and see if he will be coming to another meetup. Feeling like a different person, so looking forward to socializing again! And kayaking, hiking, camping…… here I come!

Smiles,
Rhonda

[Rhonda R]

Hi, Spyce,
Wow. That’s opposite side of the country from where you are now. How was your trip? Did you get caught in the snow storm? I hear upstate NY is very pretty, especially in the fall. And some mountains? Kind of mountains? Cool you get to get a good deal in a growing town. Hope it all goes well. If you rent it out hope you get good renters. Looking forward to hearing about it once you get back.

Thank you, Spyce. Yes, I will feel a little more stable and solid once I get home. I’ve got some things I want to do with the house. MAYBE put in a full bath downstairs and turn the upstairs bath into a half bath with a shower and put in a kitchen pantry in the other half of the tub area. Will have to see how much that will cost. Get some new blinds on the windows upstairs. Thermal blinds to keep out the heat in the summer and keep the heat in during the winter. Want to get some flowers for the back deck. Go snow shoeing (we got 8″ new snow) and hopefully get a ski trip in. Will be spending time in the mountains. Get back involved in some meetup groups. Get my deck put back together to have friends over for bbq’s. Want to get involved with some volunteering. Not sure where or how yet. Want to start going to the dog park and taking pics. See if I can build a bit of a pet photography business. Also there’s a bike park near my place. Could go take action shots of the kids on their bikes. Hopefully get a social life going and have a few dates…… My kayaks are calling and itching to get out on the water once the weather warms up. Little Boy Blue (my car) is chompin’ at the bit to get out to Ya Ha Tinda and the trunk road and do some car camping. Hope to head up to Jasper come early June. So many things to do!

Enjoy your trip! Was it this last weekend you went or this coming weekend?
Smiles,
Rhonda

[Rhonda R]

Hi, Spyce,

So cool! I forgot. Where did you grow up? So neat you’ll be buying a house there. You said it will be an investment…. will you be renting it out or putting it up as an air b-n-b so it’s available when you want to visit? Hope all goes well for you on your trip! Looking forward to hearing how it goes and how you like your new house!

I am really glad I squeezed in that last trip to Austria. So I’ve knocked off three places on my bucket list I’ve wanted to visit – Switzerland, Austria and Norway. Didn’t make it to Sweden, but Norway’s close enough. Oh, I don’t know if you’re comfortable sharing an email, but if you are, I’ll send some pics of Austria.

LOL. You voiced exactly what I’ve been feeling – like my life has been on hold for the last 5 years while I’ve been away from home. Those are the exact words I’ve been thinking…. my life’s been on hold. I’m way ready to get on with my life now. I do need that feeling of “being at home”, being connected to where I am. I haven’t had that feeling or that connection in the places I’ve been, so really looking forward to being home and feeling like me again. Like you, my emotional, social and spiritual needs aren’t completely met when I’m away from home. But as hard as this experience has been, it’s been good and I’m glad I’ve had it. I feel like I’m going home a bit more confident and somehow different and stronger.

Smiles,
Rhonda

[Rhonda R]

Hi, Spyce and Heidi,

Thank you. Yes, I am thoroughly enjoying my trip to Innsbruck. Love it. And still haven’t wrapped my head around the fact I’m going home for good. Still doesn’t seem real. But I’m very, very happy about going home!

Just got back from my “winter hike”. The Alps are PHENOMENAL!!!! I LOVE Austria and Innsbruck. Surprise, surprise. Ha Ha.

One thing about traveling is you meet a lot of people. I was sitting at the airport and two young men were sitting across from me. I finally asked where they were from as they were speaking very good American English. One was from Costa Rica and one from Brazil. Both programmers working in The Netherlands. They seemed very happy to talk with me. Said my English was easier to understand. They had practiced snow boarding at an indoor sports park in The Netherlands and were off on an adventure to try it for real. Then I finally spoke to the girl sitting next to me on the plane. She seemed very offish so didn’t talk with her for quite a while. Then I noticed she had a bag from Hudson… an airport store throughout Canada and the US so asked if she was coming in from the States. She was happy to find someone who spoke English and we talked the rest of the way in to Innsbruck. Poor girl. She had been traveling for over 24 hours and in Atlanta they made her check her carry on. She had transferred in Amsterdam so wasn’t sure her carry-on had made it. When we got off the plane we could see them unloading the luggage. She thought she saw her big suitcase, so that made her happy. She gave me a quick hug when we parted.

Getting on the bus to come to the hotel I panicked. Ha. My google maps had defaulted to car rather than public transit. A very nice gentleman who spoke limited English did help me figure out I was on the right bus and told me where to get off and how to read the TVs in the bus that showed the stops. So made it to my hotel ok.

So today I went on my Get Your Guide winter hike. They didn’t bother to tell me it was a ski resort. They said only to bring comfortable shoes. No guide. They also didn’t say anything about having to email my voucher to the cable car ticket place. No maps of the trails. I was totally on my own. Got off where I thought I was supposed to. Couldn’t see any trails. Saw a couple get off with snow shoes so asked if they spoke English. The lady did. She offered to let me use her poles as I would have to cross the slope. I declined, so she advised I go on to the top where there were trails that were flatter. I did. Absolutely PHENOMENAL view from the top. I did see a trail that looked fairly level and walked it for a ways. Then it started heading down hill. I went down a little ways. But the last few days have been warm and the snow melted during the day then froze at night so it was icy. I was debating if I should go further when I ran into the same couple coming up the trail. The lady gave me her poles as she had on snow shoes and we walked together back to the cable car stop. She was happy to have someone to talk English with and practice her English. She showed me a trail that went to the top of the mountain, so I headed up that. Got up to another icy spot (A lot of skiers put on skins and walk to the top then ski down that trail, but it’s marked for snow shoeing and walking as well. But the skiing makes the trail packed, slippery and icy). There was a lady coming down the mountain and stopped me. She could see I just had on hiking shoes. She INSISTED I take her cleats and poles. I kept saying No, but she insisted and told me to leave them at the restaurant at the top of the cable car. She had to go take her kids to swim lessons. She said she would stop at the restaurant and let them know I would be by to drop them off. Also suggested maybe I could leave them in the restroom there. I felt really guilty taking them, but she kept insisting. So I finally did and went the rest of the way to the top. What a difference those cleats made! Gorgeous, phenomenal hike. I felt like I was on top of the world when I reached the top. AWESOME view! Got back to the restaurant and it was extremely busy. Skiers and it was some kind of holiday so a small band in native Austrian dress came through about the time I got there. The waiter, who had also served me in the morning, was very unfriendly and rude. Told me to leave if I wasn’t going to buy a drink. I could see I wasn’t going to get to talk with anyone there so left the poles and cleats in the bathroom. There were shelves there. I put them on the top shelf out of site but left enough hanging over so if someone was looking for them, they would see them. All I can do is pray she will be able to find them. I feel very badly. I wish I had asked her for her email or address and I could have dropped them by her house or emailed her and told her where I left them. But the hike was phenomenal. I am so grateful to both those people or I would not have had the experience I did.

Now I just need to go find a restaurant. I’m starved. It’s almost 60 out today, at least here at my hotel. Colder up on the mountain. The first lady works for the weather service. She said every 5 or 6 years they have a warm February.

Hope you’re enjoying your day!
Smiles,
Rhonda

[Rhonda R]

Hi, Heidi,
Yay! I made it to my hotel. Always stressful trying to navigate busses in a totally foreign place! I thought I had missed my stop. Fortunately found a kind man who spoke a little English and he showed me I was ok and told me what stop to get off at. Fortunately had 10 min or so to find the other stop for my next bus. So tomorrow will be easier. Trip to the zoo tomorrow. Looking forward to it. Saturday a “trolly” ride to the top of a mountain then some hiking. Alps here are GORGEOUS!!!!! It was interesting. Flew in through a valley for 20 min or so. There were mountain peaks at the same level as my window. Will tell you more about the trip later. Right now gotta get some sleep.
Smiles,
Rhonda

[Rhonda R]

Hi,
My depression is gone! Yippee! I’ve got my Skype back! I’ll have to give God the praise for that. I prayed about it. Skype always starts when I boot up and of course it always told me something was wrong. So I tried again. This time it reverted back to the original ways of getting verification. So I tried logging into my hotmail account, which I didn’t think I had any more and also thought that since it is Microsoft I’d have the same problems logging in. I got right in. So then I could get the code to get into Skype! Yippee!!!!!! I’m so happy! Now to get my Canada subscription working again…….. It said it took my money so we’ll see.

Can’t believe I’ll be on the plane two weeks from tomorrow. Haven’t even started to pack. Mainly because the landlord is coming in Wednesday and I didn’t really have a place to put a half-packed suitcase. Plus I have to pack the small suitcase for my trip to Austria this weekend. Plus it’s going to only take me maybe 3 hours to pack. So will wait till I get back from Austria.

Weather is looking better for my trip. Partly cloudy with 24% chance rain. In the low 50s. Should be good. Can’t believe its middle of February. Daffodils are blooming Dutchmen’s Britches are blooming. Saw a shrub in full bloom Saturday. Storks are back and claimed their nest again. Feels more like mid to late March.

Smiles,
Rhonda

[Rhonda R]

Well, looks like I’ve lost my Skype account after something like 15 years. I should have waited till I got back to Canada and had my phone back. I said I didn’t have my two ways of contacting me (phone and hotmail account). My hotmail was cancelled because I never used it. I had no clue they would ask me 1001 stupid questions. Twice now I’ve tried to send in their form but their autobot keeps deciding I’m not sending enough info. Name, date of birth, is not enough. And of course the other questions are so …. where did you sign up for Skype? ????? I’m supposed to remember something from over 15 years ago? Have you bought other Microsoft stuff? How much was it, including tax? What credit card did you use…. ??????? INSANE!!!!!!! So STUPID! Who have you emailed in the last 3 weeks? No one I don’t use Microsoft email. Two phone numbers you’ve called recently. ??? What the hey? I’ll wait till I get home and try to sign up for a new Skype account, meaning I now won’t be able to update my auto insurance to me being the primary driver till after I get home. This is SOOOOOOOOO STUPID!!!!!!!!!!

[Rhonda R]

I’m SOOOOOO MAD! I cleared my cache a week or so ago. Still using Skype and my microsoft accounts. Went to renew a subscription in Skype and it asked me to sign in. Wanted to verify my account, FINALLY got it to send to an alternative email, then it wanted a TON of extra information. Where did I sign up for Skype ?????? that was well over 10 years ago. Who have I called recently on Skype? What other Microsoft products do I have. My goodness, you would have thought I was trying to log into some national security site. What they ???????? Now I can’t even use Skype to call my kids. Internet “security” has gone way too far!!!!!! Have no clue what I’m going to do. I’ve had to sign back into Microsoft before but never had this amount of problem. It SUCKS!!!! And of course, there’s no place to call or contact for help. GRRRRRRRR

[Rhonda R]

Hi, Heidi,
I’m not sure what my stomach problems are from. I have a zero water filter pitcher so filter the water. I suspect it’s something I’m eating. Stomach felt better today. Did not eat my usual muesli cereal this morning and no coffee. No salad last night, which over here is more cabbage and less lettuce. My stomach was fine when I was home at Christmas so expecting the same when I get home.

So had a small miracle Friday. I had snail mailed my deregistration to Rotterdam Wednesday from work in The Hague since I had problems with my digid. My phone rang Friday afternoon. Usually I don’t answer calls I don’t recognize but something told me to answer this one. I’m glad I did. It was a very nice lady from Rotterdam saying they had got my deregistration but I had forgotten to send an ID pic with it. So she stayed on the phone while she emailed me and I sent back a pic of my passport. They needed to match signatures. She stayed on the phone till she got it and told me they matched and everything was good. That’s a relief. So now I still have to call TD Insurance and get me back as the primary driver on my car as I’ve put my neighbor on as primary driver so it doesn’t sit for weeks/months at a time. Then I have to get a month’s pre-pay subscription for my phone so I’ll have phone service when I get home till I can pick a permanent plan. When I get to Amsterdam the 27th I have to cancel my water and my train subscription. Then I think I’m good.

Had a good day Wednesday. Vicky has a co-worker named Herman. They are both expediters (purchasers) and go to lunch together. She was at a vendor Wednesday so I asked Herman if I could sit next to him in Vicky’s desk Wednesday. (Open desks at the office and you have to book a desk when you want one. People on the HHI project come in Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s and the floor wing where we are at is full both days) So he said yes. Goofy me had put the clip on the strap in my backpack that holds the laptop in place backwards so the part that you push down to release it was on the bottom, not the top. I struggled with it for a bit then gave up and went and got some coffee. When I came back Herman offered to help. He got it free in just a minute. Then at lunch time I was on a call and he motioned to me that it was lunch time and to come with him. I told him I’d be down in a few minutes. So got off the phone and went to the cafeteria. He was at a round table waiting for me and mentioned he remembered I prefer round tables. It was just him and me and we had a really nice conversation. Once we got back to our desks I just spontaneously thanked him for lunch and said I enjoyed the company. He said he also enjoyed the company. When he left at the end of the day he was all smiles and said he’d see me next week. I realized, you know, he’s kind of cute and really nice. Always smiling. He’s the one that told me about Innsbruck and I needed to go there.

Also went and talked for a minute or so with Andre, the HR person working on my contract. He said it’s moving along but slower than he expected. I explained I’d be in a world of hurt if it wasn’t in place when I leave as Bob is gone and I need to be working and covering while he’s gone. Andre said not to worry, it should be in place before I leave. I told him, Ok, if you’re not worried, I’ll try not to panic. He laughed and put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to worry.

Walked 19 kilometers today. It was 11 this morning, walking to the metro then walking Nesselande lake with Vicky, then this afternoon I walked around Kralingse Plas, 8 k. I looked out at the lake and I didn’t see Kralingse Plas, I saw Glenmore, my loved reservoir close to my house in Calgary. So looking forward to getting home!

Hope you’re enjoying a wonderful day! How’s your mom doing?
Smiles,
Rhonda

[Rhonda R]

Thank you, Heidi,I
Yes, it seems strange that I’ll be leaving in less than three weeks. It will feel strange to go to bus station for the last time.

I’m SOOOOOOO frustrated! Applied for a digid… a Netherlands govermental login ID to get to government sites. Need that to deregister from Rotterdam on line. Got my code in the mail today and of course the site would not take my user name and password. So I reapplied with the exact same user name and password but now have to wait three business days to get the code again. I detest government IDs. Got the code at home for Canada. I wonder if it’s expired. Can’t get into the US as I forgot my password and to reset my password I have to two=step authenticate with the phone and I can’t set up the authentication because I can’t log in. Round and round in circles I got. I sent probably 15 emails to their support and got no where. If this Dutch one doesn’t work this time I’ll have to try with a new user name. Sucks. I did send in a paper dregistration so have a backup. But if I have to file taxes I need the digid for that. So frustrating!!!!!

Yeah, we’ll see what happens with my job. I do plan on spending time at the dog parks on Sundays and evenings during the summer. I could also see if some of the souvenir shops in Banff would like some mugs or calendars, etc with pics. And may check into Etsy again.

Really hoping to socialize a lot more, too! Maybe I’ll get lucky and get a few dates. That would be fun. 🙂

Am looking forward to getting home. Having stomach/digestive problems again, just like I had for the last five months before I went home for the holidays.

Smiles,
Rhonda

[Rhonda R]

Heidi,
LOL. I can be a confusing person sometimes, huh? I probably won’t look for other work. But it depends on what happens with the new person who takes Bridget’s place. Tamie kind of scared me. She’s turned down my offer to be the backup person. She’s turned down my offer to be of assistance. She’s also said they want to manage Smart Completions like they manage other corporate software and I don’t think that’s going to work well. But neither she nor her boss have any understanding of the software and how it functions or what it does, and I’m not sure they care. I’m afraid they will tie my hands and take away some permissions and rights and I won’t be able to do my job. If that happens, yes, I will definitely look for work. I’ve talked with Bob about it and he’s backing me up and says if they do try to take away permissions and rights, he will escalate it and fight for me, so we’ll see. I haven’t known Worley upper management to listen to anyone, though.

Well, our sunshine is gone now. Gotten colder and the clouds moved in and my apartment didn’t warm up at all today. Freezing cold and the radiator is totally inefficient and ineffective. Plus it has to heat half the house (the upper 4 feet) before I’ll even start to feel the heat. I will be SOOOOOOOOOOO glad to get home! 2 1/2 more weeks! Can’t believe it!

Smiles,
Rhonda

[Rhonda R]

Hi, Heidi,
LOL. Not all of OR and WA are rainy. Just the west coast. Once you get east of the Cascades, it’s not near as rainy. In fact, the majority of both WA and OR are semi-arid and almost desert. LOL. I know. I lived in Walla Walla for 15 years. Central OR is absolutely gorgeous, as is eastern OR in the Wallowas. Called the American Alps, and for good reason.

Yeah, I don’t know how I managed to get rain on 90% of my trips. We’ll hope it’s only local showers or the forecast changes totally. My Friday tour is at the zoo so there should be some indoor places there if it does rain. I’ll enjoy it in spite of the rain.

Dunno what I’ll do when I get home. I’m counting on my contract going through and being in place on time. Andre keeps telling me it will be. New contract will be for a year again. Who knows. Maybe I’ll retire after than and maybe I’ll work another year. Will cross those bridges when I get to them.

And thanks for the sunshine. Actually got it. Today was sunny. Got back to my apartment and thought I had accidentally left the heat on. It was quite a bit warmer than I thought it would be. No heat on. Both radiators that I use were cold. But the south wall is 90% windows so let in a lot of sun.

Have an AWESOME day today!
Smiles,
Rhonda

[Rhonda R]

Hi, Heidi,
How is your weekend going? Still in that deep freeze?

I’M SO GRUMPY!!!!!! Grrrrr. Just looked at the weather for Innsbruck, Austria for my trip. Mid 40s and RAINING!!!! Can you believe it! Weekend before is sunny and wonderful (but was double the cost). I can’t believe it. EVERY! EVERY! trip I’ve gone on while here it’s been forecast rain. Zernes…. fortunately it only rained one afternooon, Geneva – totally soaked me the day I went to Mont Blanc, Brussels – rained Saturday, cloudy Sunday, Norway – clouds and rain. You’d think at least ONE trip I’d have good weather!!! Friday I’m taking the “tram” up to the zoo. It’s an alpine themed zoo and that’s my only opportunity to see alpine wildlife. Cheating, I know, but I know I won’t see anything in the wild. Saturday I booked a cable car to the top of a mountain and was to do some hiking. I’m going to pray the weather will change. I REALLY want to see the Alps. It’s like 48% chance of rain. 🙁 🙁 sob I can’t believe it will be in the 40s and raining in the Alps in February. Insane.

Can’t believe I’ll be going home 3 weeks from Tuesday! Wow! Contract still not done, but I was told it should be in place before I leave. Tamie has been cold and has turned down my offer to assist and help since I turned down that global position. I’m not at all impressed. I will may start job hunting once I get home and try to leave Worley. Worley isn’t the company Jacobs is. Jacobs was much better to work for. Almost all Jacobs people have left Worley….. or should I say have been pushed out.

Things are going well for my move. Ziggo (internet/phone/TV) cancelled and have a way to return the equipment, all other contracts closed except water and train which I can’t close till day of, so will do that from the hotel on the 27th. Will turn in my deregistration from Rotterdam this week. Have a tax accountant lined up and I think he will do well for me. Changed my hotel in Amsterdam so now I have one I KNOW has a true shuttle (I’ve seen it at the airport), not a public transit bus they claim as a shuttle. So as far as I can tell right now, things are going relatively smoothly. Bank account I can leave open for a couple months then I can close it through my app, so that’s good. So really, really looking forward to being HOME!

Enjoy your day!
Smiles,
Rhonda

[Rhonda R]

Hi, Heidi,
Oh, I am so sick. Went on a sunset sailing tour tonight. Sunset was very pretty but the swells were large and the boat smaller than what I’m used to. It pitched and swayed. I did ok going out, but coming back I didn’t fare so well. Got off the boat and found the nearest garbage can and lost my lunch. Then had to take the subway for 45 minutes…. more swaying motion. I’m headed to bed with a sinus headache. Cancelled my sunset catamaran tour for tomorrow night. Barcelona coast line isn’t that exciting and I don’t think my stomach can handle another trip on the water. Will take the time to see some of the sites in town.

Good night,
Rhonca

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