Human Resources Management

In some ways, I feel like I've worked at the HRM office for years. I know the lingo, processes, and a lot of the people. And the people I don't know, I've found connections to. Emily's boss' boss' boss came into my cubicle the other day looking to talk to the Director. Robin (a man) wasn't available so Art sat down and we started to talk. Turns out he worked at the Olympic National Forest in the mid-1970's so we spent 15 minutes talking about all the people we both knew.

My boss is great - I now have a "work" Ron and a "home" Ron. My "work" Ron and I seem well-suited to each other. We're both pretty low-key. He was impressed on my first day when he asked me to set up a conference call with some Washington Office folks. He told me to call CJ Black (the assistant back there) and I said, "I know CJ". He looked at me and I explained that when CJ changed jobs a few years back, I came in behind her as a detailer.

The biggest problem is that the building is 3 stories of cubicles (the important folks have offices around the perimeter of each floor). You can wander around forever and not find the person you are looking for! I figure that if I can find my cubicle, I'm doing good.

The drive to New Mexico

We had a wonderful drive to New Mexico. The first day was a long one. The first 100 miles were rainy, rainy, rainy. Ron said it was Washington saying "get out of here". Once we hit Portland, the weather cleared up and we had sunny skies. There was snow on the sides of the roads in the Blue Mountains but nothing on the highway. Our first night was spent just outside Twin Falls, Idaho. We stayed at the Wingate by Wyndham and I'd recommend it.

The next day we drove to Moab, Utah. The best moment of the trip was a side trip to Manti, Utah. I'd always wanted to see the temple where Mom and Dad were sealed (the Salt Lake City Temple was closed so they went with Aunt Margaret and Uncle Red to Manti). It's a beautiful temple on the side of a hill. There were two weddings going on that day so there were lots of people and lots of cameras. There was no time to do a session but I wish I had gone inside. Mom told me that Lila Willis' great-grandfather built the spiral staircase that reaches to the top floor of the temple.

From Moab, it was on to Los Lunas, New Mexico. The last 30 miles are on the old Route 66. Emily had a "Welcome Home" sign on her garage and a "Welcome Mom and Dad" sign above our bedroom door. Laura actually beat us to New Mexico. She had planned on coming down for Thanksgiving even before we knew about our move. So we will all be together for Thanksgiving.