There was some question yesterday whether our schedule should allow us to finish up at 3 PM at Arcadia, or have to work until 8 PM. There shouldn't have been any question since last week we worked until 3 PM the Sunday we traveled to El Cajon, so why not do the same this week? The problem is that Terri is trying to switch us back to the regular co-managers schedule and she gets confused about what hours we work on certain days. The way it shapes up now, we work the next 2 days here at El Cajon, have off on Wednesday, work Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and have Sunday and Monday off. That would have us back on the normal co-managers schedule.
As a result of the new schedule, we made reservations at the campground in Menifee to arrive on Wednesday, and we will set up the rig to leave on the space through Monday. Even though we will not be there on Friday and Saturday, it will only be sitting empty for the 2 days.
We had a real shocker when we went back to work yesterday morning. One of the healthiest women at Arcadia passed away on Friday while we were off. We took it pretty hard. She used to sit at the table next to us during meals and took total care of her almost invalid husband. She never used a walker or any assistance at all, was active and a picture of good health. Evidently, she went into the hospital Friday with some sort of internal infection and she had a fatal reaction to some medication she was given. We're sure that the family will be suing the hospital over this one. As her husband needs almost total care, he will most certainly be moving out to go to a higher care facility. You just never know when your time comes.
We arrived at El Cajon last night in time to have supper during the normal meal hours and we were greeted by the residents with smiles and welcome back gestures. It's nice to have a cheerful welcome back to a community where we have only spent a couple days. We hope the next 2 days are as nice as the ones we spent last week and we can leave with some positive memories of the Springs of El Cajon...
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
More Sitting Out
Another 2 day break bit the dust. We sat out and enjoyed the nice weather once more and didn't think much about work at all. It sure is nice to just relax and people watch in the campground. Along with that, it is the time of year when all the ducks and, especially the geese, march around the campground with their new families:
It brought back memories of sitting outside at our home in WA on Lake Tuck at this time each year and watching all the new chicks learning from their moms. It always amazed us how the instincts of these animals take over their every movement.
Another activity that we squeezed into the day was to take a short drive down the road in Hemet to view a 55+ Del Webb housing development, called Solera. It had all the nice amenities of the typical Del Webb communities except for the golf courses. The homes were a real bargain as you might guess. We looked at spec homes of the 2 models we liked and they were $234K (2100 S.F.) and $204K (1700 S.F.). The sales agent also said that financing was now at less than 4 % which made it an even better bargain. These were highly upgraded homes and ready to move-in. And - these were homes in Southern California where real estate is more expensive. We are sure that there are other homes available in today's market that are even better deals than these. What a difference a few years makes.
All in all, it was a great 2 days. We also stopped into the office at the campground to get information on annual sites. That is an attractive alternative to placing your rig in storage and moving it back and forth each time you want to use it. It is really only an option though if you are certain you will be in this area for the 1 year period - that probably would not be the case for us. Even though this area is convenient to most of the Communities in Southern California, there is always the chance we could be moved too far away to make it work. In the meantime, we'll just enjoy the program as we have it set up for the time being...
It brought back memories of sitting outside at our home in WA on Lake Tuck at this time each year and watching all the new chicks learning from their moms. It always amazed us how the instincts of these animals take over their every movement.
Another activity that we squeezed into the day was to take a short drive down the road in Hemet to view a 55+ Del Webb housing development, called Solera. It had all the nice amenities of the typical Del Webb communities except for the golf courses. The homes were a real bargain as you might guess. We looked at spec homes of the 2 models we liked and they were $234K (2100 S.F.) and $204K (1700 S.F.). The sales agent also said that financing was now at less than 4 % which made it an even better bargain. These were highly upgraded homes and ready to move-in. And - these were homes in Southern California where real estate is more expensive. We are sure that there are other homes available in today's market that are even better deals than these. What a difference a few years makes.
All in all, it was a great 2 days. We also stopped into the office at the campground to get information on annual sites. That is an attractive alternative to placing your rig in storage and moving it back and forth each time you want to use it. It is really only an option though if you are certain you will be in this area for the 1 year period - that probably would not be the case for us. Even though this area is convenient to most of the Communities in Southern California, there is always the chance we could be moved too far away to make it work. In the meantime, we'll just enjoy the program as we have it set up for the time being...
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Sitting Out
Just as we had planned the day, we did mostly nothing but sitting out in the sun and reading our magazines and books. It was a little cool most of the day - temps in the high 60's - so we had to sit in the sun for the most part:
Today is expected to be lots warmer so it shouldn't matter where we sit. We need to leave a bit earlier today so that we can get some things done at the apartment before we start work again tomorrow. So, instead of staying until around 5 PM, we will probably leave around 1 or 2 to make sure we have time left to do everything.
We sent an email to the couple in Florida that was responsible for our finding this job - Tee and Larry - and they are feeling exactly as we feel - if it weren't for the insurance and benefits, they would be gone! The sales is just as intense where they are and they have the same conference calls and meetings that waste time and take away from caring for the residents. They have some health issues that when they are fixed, they will be finding other jobs.
This company has to learn the hard way. They are constantly advertising and hiring managers because of the high turnover. If they would just realize that it will never change with the pressure they place on us they would get some seniority from managers and save lots of money in the process.
Oh, well. We will just keep plodding along, one day at a time and just enjoy our days off...
Today is expected to be lots warmer so it shouldn't matter where we sit. We need to leave a bit earlier today so that we can get some things done at the apartment before we start work again tomorrow. So, instead of staying until around 5 PM, we will probably leave around 1 or 2 to make sure we have time left to do everything.
We sent an email to the couple in Florida that was responsible for our finding this job - Tee and Larry - and they are feeling exactly as we feel - if it weren't for the insurance and benefits, they would be gone! The sales is just as intense where they are and they have the same conference calls and meetings that waste time and take away from caring for the residents. They have some health issues that when they are fixed, they will be finding other jobs.
This company has to learn the hard way. They are constantly advertising and hiring managers because of the high turnover. If they would just realize that it will never change with the pressure they place on us they would get some seniority from managers and save lots of money in the process.
Oh, well. We will just keep plodding along, one day at a time and just enjoy our days off...
Friday, April 27, 2012
Getting Out of Dodge
Just as we expected, the heat was turned up - way up - on sales yesterday for the end of month push. There was very little else done during our hours on duty except for conference calls discussing "hot" leads and meetings to discuss them some more. There is so much productive time wasted with that stuff it's disgusting. The residents are the ones who pay the price since our office doors are closed through all those calls and meetings.
There was one ecall yesterday that occurred just before lunch. The new resident that was having a (welcoming) party for her friends in the private dining room suffered what appeared to be a heart attack (in her apartment) just before the luncheon began. She was taken to the hospital and ended up missing the time with her family and friends that came for the occasion. It was probably just too much excitement for her.
We "got out of Dodge" shortly after our quitting time at 3 PM. Josie could have spent more time in the office working with Terri, but we have learned that if we don't leave on time, Terri will let you work another few hours beyond your quitting time and not say a word to you about running past your schedule.
The rain finally quit in the afternoon just before we left. It brought some cool temperatures but it is suppose to warm up today. I took these shots this morning of our space:
There was one ecall yesterday that occurred just before lunch. The new resident that was having a (welcoming) party for her friends in the private dining room suffered what appeared to be a heart attack (in her apartment) just before the luncheon began. She was taken to the hospital and ended up missing the time with her family and friends that came for the occasion. It was probably just too much excitement for her.
We "got out of Dodge" shortly after our quitting time at 3 PM. Josie could have spent more time in the office working with Terri, but we have learned that if we don't leave on time, Terri will let you work another few hours beyond your quitting time and not say a word to you about running past your schedule.
The rain finally quit in the afternoon just before we left. It brought some cool temperatures but it is suppose to warm up today. I took these shots this morning of our space:
and the view behind us:
It's another very good, private site.
We were both tired last night after we arrived and didn't do anything except catch up on a couple taped shows we had and went to bed early. We talked briefly about visiting a casino and dismissed that idea in a hurry. Our goal when we come here is to just relax and wind down from the work week. We will definitely enjoy this time and be ready for another trip to El Cajon this coming week...
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Set Up and Ready
It was an easy trip to Menifee to take the fifth wheel out of storage, set up and return home in time for work at 11 AM. It was starting to rain a little bit while we were setting up but we were glad that we beat the worst part of the storm. The main thing is that our refrigerator is turned on and the satellite dish is up, tuned in, and ready to go for today. We have been fortunate to get spaces in the same general area each week - so far - which back up to the canal and are close to the clubhouse and the conveniences at the preserve. All that is left is to put in the final 8 hours of work so we can return and enjoy the time.
The forecast was for heavy rain late yesterday afternoon and through the night last night. It is suppose to stop and clear up by this afternoon, so we'll see. Right now, the forecast is right on.
We really don't like working the time that all 6 managers are on duty. The office becomes so crowded and loud with all the activity. It will never be a natural environment and I try, as much as possible, to get away and make phone calls in the quiet privacy of our apartment. Josie stays and answers the phone and does her operations routine during those hours and it really takes a toll. We are now looking forward to those temporary assignment duties we have been getting recently that provide us with a nice change of pace and more normal work environments.
There is so much emphasis and time spent on sales activity that the residents are almost ignored. It is a shame that they are the reason we have jobs here and relatively little attention is paid to their needs. We understand that it is important to keep the communities filled with residents, but without happy residents, the sales become secondary. Almost all of the Communities are struggling to increase occupancy rates as they deal with move-outs. To be fair, some of the move-outs are for higher care requirements, but some are a result of the constantly changing management as a result of the intense sales pressure. I guess we don't know enough about the industry to be able to say there is a right way and a wrong way to run the business.
We're reaching the end of another month, so we expect that sales pressure to take another step up over the next 5 days...
The forecast was for heavy rain late yesterday afternoon and through the night last night. It is suppose to stop and clear up by this afternoon, so we'll see. Right now, the forecast is right on.
We really don't like working the time that all 6 managers are on duty. The office becomes so crowded and loud with all the activity. It will never be a natural environment and I try, as much as possible, to get away and make phone calls in the quiet privacy of our apartment. Josie stays and answers the phone and does her operations routine during those hours and it really takes a toll. We are now looking forward to those temporary assignment duties we have been getting recently that provide us with a nice change of pace and more normal work environments.
There is so much emphasis and time spent on sales activity that the residents are almost ignored. It is a shame that they are the reason we have jobs here and relatively little attention is paid to their needs. We understand that it is important to keep the communities filled with residents, but without happy residents, the sales become secondary. Almost all of the Communities are struggling to increase occupancy rates as they deal with move-outs. To be fair, some of the move-outs are for higher care requirements, but some are a result of the constantly changing management as a result of the intense sales pressure. I guess we don't know enough about the industry to be able to say there is a right way and a wrong way to run the business.
We're reaching the end of another month, so we expect that sales pressure to take another step up over the next 5 days...
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
More on the Springs at El Cajon
Our second day at the Springs at El Cajon was very busy as there were some different activities for us to complete. It wasn't without incident though. We had an emergency to deal with in the kitchen when the soux chef cut his finger with a new knife and we had to do the paperwork for him to take to the hospital for stitches. The paperwork included forms for drug testing and for the attending Physician to complete, and paperwork for short term disability in case he couldn't work. We got that done and even though it wasn't pleasant, it was a new learning experience for us.
We did the normal Community stuff like coffee and tea service at the meals and I made calls to prospects while Josie got involved in handling housekeeping issues. The net of the 2 day experience was very positive and the managers are anxious for us to return next Monday and Tuesday for our second stint there. That is always a good sign when they want you to come back. Before leaving last night to return to Arcadia Place, we took some photos of the Community. Beginning with the front entry:
and these shots of the beautiful courtyard that is in the center of the complex:
Every Community has it's unique differences that make them nice places to live.
The managers allowed us to leave a little early last night so that we could go and pull out our fifth wheel from the storage space and place into a campsite this morning before returning to work at 11 AM. We are rushing around to get ready to leave and get that done so that we will be ready to go on Thursday afternoon when we leave work at 3 PM. With that, we will cut this entry a little short and get on the road to Menifee...
We did the normal Community stuff like coffee and tea service at the meals and I made calls to prospects while Josie got involved in handling housekeeping issues. The net of the 2 day experience was very positive and the managers are anxious for us to return next Monday and Tuesday for our second stint there. That is always a good sign when they want you to come back. Before leaving last night to return to Arcadia Place, we took some photos of the Community. Beginning with the front entry:
and these shots of the beautiful courtyard that is in the center of the complex:
Every Community has it's unique differences that make them nice places to live.
The managers allowed us to leave a little early last night so that we could go and pull out our fifth wheel from the storage space and place into a campsite this morning before returning to work at 11 AM. We are rushing around to get ready to leave and get that done so that we will be ready to go on Thursday afternoon when we leave work at 3 PM. With that, we will cut this entry a little short and get on the road to Menifee...
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Community Differences
We knew that there would be some differences in the way the other Communities performed their daily tasks. It was no surprise when the differences became obvious yesterday. First of all, El Cajon doesn't start work until 7:30 AM vs 7 AM at Arcadia. They also end their day at 7 PM instead of 8 PM that we are used to. We like those changes. Other differences are more subtle and really are a result of the managers' personal preference. An example is the record keeping they have at the meals. A log book is kept at the table where the managers sit that keeps track of the meal count, service end times and number of paid guests at each meal. We haven't seen any of that so far.
One of the managers here, Larry, is a trainer and the person who visited us at Arcadia early on to give us a couple days of training. He sat with us yesterday for about an hour to review some other areas that we needed some exposure to, such as budget and P & L considerations. He told us that we are on the radar screen for the Region and are probably the next co-manager couple to be placed in a Community as Managers somewhere. Randy, our Regional Director, has indicated to us on several occasions that he wanted to move us into a Community as Managers as quickly as possible. I guess that time is nearing reality.
I spent most of the rest of the time making calls to the prospect base that they have here and Josie did some inventory for Housekeeping and worked on other operations duties. It was an interesting day. We had ecall duty during the night last night and, fortunately, there were no calls. We were told that ecalls are rare here and we can see that the resident population here seems to be healthier and younger than the residents at Arcadia Place.
We won't be able to take our fifth wheel out of storage a day early this week because we are too far south to make the trip to Menifee, set up and get back to Arcadia by our 11 AM start time on Wednesday. So, we will have to set up on Thursday afternoon when we get off at 3 PM to begin our 2 days off. The only real problem with doing it that way is we don't get a chance to turn on the refrigerator a day early so that it is nice and cold when we arrive for our regular time off. Otherwise, there is no real difference.
We're getting close to the end of another month which means the temperature gets turned up at the communities to close more sales. We're prepared to handle that extra pressure but it doesn't make for very pleasant work environments during that time. We just take it one day at a time...
One of the managers here, Larry, is a trainer and the person who visited us at Arcadia early on to give us a couple days of training. He sat with us yesterday for about an hour to review some other areas that we needed some exposure to, such as budget and P & L considerations. He told us that we are on the radar screen for the Region and are probably the next co-manager couple to be placed in a Community as Managers somewhere. Randy, our Regional Director, has indicated to us on several occasions that he wanted to move us into a Community as Managers as quickly as possible. I guess that time is nearing reality.
I spent most of the rest of the time making calls to the prospect base that they have here and Josie did some inventory for Housekeeping and worked on other operations duties. It was an interesting day. We had ecall duty during the night last night and, fortunately, there were no calls. We were told that ecalls are rare here and we can see that the resident population here seems to be healthier and younger than the residents at Arcadia Place.
We won't be able to take our fifth wheel out of storage a day early this week because we are too far south to make the trip to Menifee, set up and get back to Arcadia by our 11 AM start time on Wednesday. So, we will have to set up on Thursday afternoon when we get off at 3 PM to begin our 2 days off. The only real problem with doing it that way is we don't get a chance to turn on the refrigerator a day early so that it is nice and cold when we arrive for our regular time off. Otherwise, there is no real difference.
We're getting close to the end of another month which means the temperature gets turned up at the communities to close more sales. We're prepared to handle that extra pressure but it doesn't make for very pleasant work environments during that time. We just take it one day at a time...
Monday, April 23, 2012
Springs of El Cajon
It was super busy at work yesterday with 9 tours scheduled and a brunch special event. We didn't get any move-ins but we moved some people closer to signing that will eventually become residents.
We left work nearly an hour after our scheduled end of day and didn't get on the road to the Springs of El Cajon until 5 PM. It wasn't a very long drive - less than an hour - but it was also Sunday and there wasn't much traffic.
We arrived at the office and met Elizabeth - one of the co-managers - and then Kathy - one of the managers. They gave us the key to our apartment and introduced us to the kitchen staff since they were beginning the coffee and tea service for the super meal. We unloaded our bags in the room and headed out for a meal of our own.
At first we thought it would be great if we could eat at the local Souplantation. We drove the mile or so to get there and the line was out the door so we changed our plans. There was another of our favorite restaurants nearby - Olive Garden - so we drove another half mile to the small mall where it was located. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot we saw this nice looking Mexican restaurant - Casa De Pico:
We looked at each other and decided to give a try. It was a different kind of place with a separate entrance for the patio area:
It was very nice as you can see below:
We ordered our dinners and had enjoyed a Margarita while waiting:
It was an excellent meal and the prices were very reasonable so we were glad we discovered this unique Mexican restaurant.
Our 2 days at this community begin this morning at 7:30 AM. Our apartment is far away from the office area and there are no ecall warning devices in the apartment so we will have to rely on the beepers for notification if there is an ecall while we are on duty tonight. Our 2 days here are followed by another "floating" couple coming in for training on Wednesday morning so we head back to Vista at that time. We get to do the same thing next week while the co-managers take their vacation.
We are looking forward to another good experience in yet another one of our Holiday Retirement communities...
We left work nearly an hour after our scheduled end of day and didn't get on the road to the Springs of El Cajon until 5 PM. It wasn't a very long drive - less than an hour - but it was also Sunday and there wasn't much traffic.
We arrived at the office and met Elizabeth - one of the co-managers - and then Kathy - one of the managers. They gave us the key to our apartment and introduced us to the kitchen staff since they were beginning the coffee and tea service for the super meal. We unloaded our bags in the room and headed out for a meal of our own.
At first we thought it would be great if we could eat at the local Souplantation. We drove the mile or so to get there and the line was out the door so we changed our plans. There was another of our favorite restaurants nearby - Olive Garden - so we drove another half mile to the small mall where it was located. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot we saw this nice looking Mexican restaurant - Casa De Pico:
We looked at each other and decided to give a try. It was a different kind of place with a separate entrance for the patio area:
It was very nice as you can see below:
We ordered our dinners and had enjoyed a Margarita while waiting:
It was an excellent meal and the prices were very reasonable so we were glad we discovered this unique Mexican restaurant.
Our 2 days at this community begin this morning at 7:30 AM. Our apartment is far away from the office area and there are no ecall warning devices in the apartment so we will have to rely on the beepers for notification if there is an ecall while we are on duty tonight. Our 2 days here are followed by another "floating" couple coming in for training on Wednesday morning so we head back to Vista at that time. We get to do the same thing next week while the co-managers take their vacation.
We are looking forward to another good experience in yet another one of our Holiday Retirement communities...
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Getting Hot
The skies were crystal clear and it warmed up quickly yesterday. The high was in the mid 90's and was a perfect day for taking a dip in the pool. After a good breakfast and reading the morning paper outside, we did just that:
It was around noon by the time we got to the pool and it was already filling up with families. We stayed for less than 2 hours as we decided to get out of the hot sun before we got some serious sunburn. Besides that, we both wanted to go to Fantastic Sam's for haircuts before we left.
The day was again very relaxing and we enjoyed the time off from work. We had everything packed up and the rig put back in storage by 5:30 and we were on our way back to Vista. The change in temperature was dramatic. The marine layer was starting to move in by the time we arrived home at around 6:15 and it was 63 degrees outside.
Today is another transition day for us as we work from 7 AM until around 3 PM when we head to El Cajon for our 2 day stint at the Springs of El Cajon Community. It appears that we will be working with one of the managers there for the 2 days that the co-managers have off. It is a different arrangement there as one of the managers is a trainer that spends much of his time traveling to other communities to train new co-managers. The other difference is that the co-managers have Monday and Tuesday off which is very different from the normal days of Sunday and Monday. Each community has the flexibility to schedule days off any way they wish. The only requirement is that nobody can work more than 5 straight days. So, our next time off will begin Thursday at 3 PM, the same as this past week.
We're set to go after this nice 2 day break we had...
It was around noon by the time we got to the pool and it was already filling up with families. We stayed for less than 2 hours as we decided to get out of the hot sun before we got some serious sunburn. Besides that, we both wanted to go to Fantastic Sam's for haircuts before we left.
The day was again very relaxing and we enjoyed the time off from work. We had everything packed up and the rig put back in storage by 5:30 and we were on our way back to Vista. The change in temperature was dramatic. The marine layer was starting to move in by the time we arrived home at around 6:15 and it was 63 degrees outside.
Today is another transition day for us as we work from 7 AM until around 3 PM when we head to El Cajon for our 2 day stint at the Springs of El Cajon Community. It appears that we will be working with one of the managers there for the 2 days that the co-managers have off. It is a different arrangement there as one of the managers is a trainer that spends much of his time traveling to other communities to train new co-managers. The other difference is that the co-managers have Monday and Tuesday off which is very different from the normal days of Sunday and Monday. Each community has the flexibility to schedule days off any way they wish. The only requirement is that nobody can work more than 5 straight days. So, our next time off will begin Thursday at 3 PM, the same as this past week.
We're set to go after this nice 2 day break we had...
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Just Relaxing
We finally had a great weather day and nothing planned except to relax and enjoy doing nothing. Except for a short trip to Home Depot to pick up a couple light bulbs for the fifth wheel, we stayed at home the whole day. Our breakfast was outside at the picnic table and we sat in our loungers and read most of the time. It was so nice that we put out our second awning on the door side for the first time in many months:
and then enjoyed the view at the rear of our rig:
We get to enjoy another day of the same today. The day will be a little shorter though as we need to head back to Vista tonight to get ready for work again tomorrow morning at 7 AM. The plan may include a dip in the pool today, and possibly a little workout in the fitness room - we don't want to get too crazy about this though.
The move to this TT preserve was a good idea so far. We may even do the same next week where we come up on our short day during the week and pull the rig out of storage and set it up on a site to be ready for our days off. The refrigerator is cold and the A/C on low keeps the rig nice and cool for when we come back.
It sure is nice having these mini vacations on our days off...
and then enjoyed the view at the rear of our rig:
We get to enjoy another day of the same today. The day will be a little shorter though as we need to head back to Vista tonight to get ready for work again tomorrow morning at 7 AM. The plan may include a dip in the pool today, and possibly a little workout in the fitness room - we don't want to get too crazy about this though.
The move to this TT preserve was a good idea so far. We may even do the same next week where we come up on our short day during the week and pull the rig out of storage and set it up on a site to be ready for our days off. The refrigerator is cold and the A/C on low keeps the rig nice and cool for when we come back.
It sure is nice having these mini vacations on our days off...
Friday, April 20, 2012
One More Casino
It was 3:30 when we finally got off work and got ready to leave for Menifee to begin our 2 days off. While traveling north to our destination, we thought it would be nice to begin our free time with some relaxation at a casino. Our GPS said there was one that was only about 20 miles northeast of us at San Jacinto.
We stopped at the fifth wheel and unloaded the couple of items we brought with us, plus some food, and then headed out for the Soboba Casino:
They advertised 2,020 slots and they were probably right. After signing up and getting our Players Club card - about the 30th in our growing collection of casino cards from around the country - we walked around looking for the easy mark. Alas, there was none. We played for almost 3 hours but, in the end, they got our money. While winning several medium size jackpots, we never hit the big one to make it a profitable night. That's OK. We don't start with much and when it's gone, we leave. It's the enjoyment we get while playing and anticipating hitting the big one.
The day has dawned beautiful and warm and we already set up the picnic table for our outdoor breakfast this morning. The Ranger just dropped off our newspaper for the day, so I'm going to head outside and get started...
We stopped at the fifth wheel and unloaded the couple of items we brought with us, plus some food, and then headed out for the Soboba Casino:
They advertised 2,020 slots and they were probably right. After signing up and getting our Players Club card - about the 30th in our growing collection of casino cards from around the country - we walked around looking for the easy mark. Alas, there was none. We played for almost 3 hours but, in the end, they got our money. While winning several medium size jackpots, we never hit the big one to make it a profitable night. That's OK. We don't start with much and when it's gone, we leave. It's the enjoyment we get while playing and anticipating hitting the big one.
The day has dawned beautiful and warm and we already set up the picnic table for our outdoor breakfast this morning. The Ranger just dropped off our newspaper for the day, so I'm going to head outside and get started...
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Camping and Work
We had a nice, leisurely morning yesterday at the campground. The paper was delivered at around 8:00 and we watched the Today show while having coffee and a big breakfast. The fact that we didn't start work until 11 AM gave us plenty of time to enjoy the morning before heading out shortly after 9 AM.
Our arrival at the apartment at 10 AM still gave us lots of time to get changed and ready for work. It was a typical day at work with all six managers bumping into each other in the office. We don't see any way that we all can be working at the same time, especially when it's meal time and all six of us hang out at the same table which is only suited for four comfortably. It's a good thing that we will be getting assignments away from the "jam" occasionally.
There were no ecalls last night and we had restful sleep to prepare us for our last day of work today which ends at 3 PM. Following work, it's off to Menifee once again for our free time which we always look forward to. This time though, we expect beautiful weather the whole time through Saturday.
There are several chores that we have lined up for the fifth wheel. I need to fix several items - new light bulbs, re-hanging a couple curtains, repairing a faucet and washing the outside among other small projects. Josie still has some closet organizing to do so we will have lots to do to occupy our spare time. The main thing is to get some quality time outside to take advantage of the weather. It will be in the 80's each day, with clear skies.
It's been almost 4 months now since we started at Holiday Retirement. There have been times that we felt like calling it quits, but we are focused on our goal to make it work for at least one year...
Our arrival at the apartment at 10 AM still gave us lots of time to get changed and ready for work. It was a typical day at work with all six managers bumping into each other in the office. We don't see any way that we all can be working at the same time, especially when it's meal time and all six of us hang out at the same table which is only suited for four comfortably. It's a good thing that we will be getting assignments away from the "jam" occasionally.
There were no ecalls last night and we had restful sleep to prepare us for our last day of work today which ends at 3 PM. Following work, it's off to Menifee once again for our free time which we always look forward to. This time though, we expect beautiful weather the whole time through Saturday.
There are several chores that we have lined up for the fifth wheel. I need to fix several items - new light bulbs, re-hanging a couple curtains, repairing a faucet and washing the outside among other small projects. Josie still has some closet organizing to do so we will have lots to do to occupy our spare time. The main thing is to get some quality time outside to take advantage of the weather. It will be in the 80's each day, with clear skies.
It's been almost 4 months now since we started at Holiday Retirement. There have been times that we felt like calling it quits, but we are focused on our goal to make it work for at least one year...
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Transition Day
It was a day of transition yesterday where we went from Bridgecreek in West Covina back to our home community in Vista. There were some last minute duties - performing the last coffee and tea service for our last meal there - and we packed and said our farewells to Arlan and Eileen, the Managers. Josie took a couple of parting shots of the Community, such as the coffee bar in the dining room which is nicer than ours at Arcadia:
and the entry/foyer area which is very nice:
We left at approximately 9:30 and headed to Menifee to set up our fifth wheel. It was interesting to see all the snow that was in the mountains as we traveled south from West Covina:
It was certainly cold on our days off and this really shows how cold it really was during the rain storm we had in Menifee last Friday. The snow level was very low for this time of the year.
We had many nice site choices as Tuesday is a great day to arrive at any campground. Most of the people that were scheduled to leave over the weekend were all gone by Tuesday AM. This is the shot of our site that we will have until late Saturday afternoon:
After setting up our rig, we traveled the final 50 miles to Vista and went back to work for the rest of the afternoon until 3:30 PM when we left to go back to our Fifth wheel (again) until this morning. This time we drove the Jeep to save some gas. It is very convenient to have it set up less than an hour away and it makes it easy to get to during breaks in our work schedule.
All of the people we saw at Arcadia after we arrived back ran up to us like we had been gone for weeks and hugged us and shook our hands to welcome us back. It made us feel like we really are making a difference at this community.
We are now getting ready to leave here and head back to work which starts at 11 AM for us today. Our schedule has us working (on duty) straight through until 3 PM tomorrow afternoon when we can return to this nice location and enjoy a couple days of "sunny" relaxation...
and the entry/foyer area which is very nice:
We left at approximately 9:30 and headed to Menifee to set up our fifth wheel. It was interesting to see all the snow that was in the mountains as we traveled south from West Covina:
It was certainly cold on our days off and this really shows how cold it really was during the rain storm we had in Menifee last Friday. The snow level was very low for this time of the year.
We had many nice site choices as Tuesday is a great day to arrive at any campground. Most of the people that were scheduled to leave over the weekend were all gone by Tuesday AM. This is the shot of our site that we will have until late Saturday afternoon:
After setting up our rig, we traveled the final 50 miles to Vista and went back to work for the rest of the afternoon until 3:30 PM when we left to go back to our Fifth wheel (again) until this morning. This time we drove the Jeep to save some gas. It is very convenient to have it set up less than an hour away and it makes it easy to get to during breaks in our work schedule.
All of the people we saw at Arcadia after we arrived back ran up to us like we had been gone for weeks and hugged us and shook our hands to welcome us back. It made us feel like we really are making a difference at this community.
We are now getting ready to leave here and head back to work which starts at 11 AM for us today. Our schedule has us working (on duty) straight through until 3 PM tomorrow afternoon when we can return to this nice location and enjoy a couple days of "sunny" relaxation...
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Final Day at Bridgecreek
It was another uneventful day at Bridgecreek - except for 1 ecall false alarm. Shortly after our dinner meal (lunch) we had an alert from a resident that accidentally "bumped" his emergency cord and didn't realize it. That's the best kind of ecall.
It was also our next to last day as we leave this morning - probably around 11 AM or so, and head back to Arcadia Place in Vista. We were informed by our Regional Director that we would return to Arcadia and spend April 23-24, and April 30-May 1 at another community in El Cajon - The Springs of El Cajon. We will perform the same "floater" functions there as we performed here in West Covina. It is interesting getting different views and experiences at these different communities. With the experience we had here, we can appreciate some of our own benefits at Arcadia Place - for example, better food. We have been disappointed with the meals we've had here and are grateful that our kitchen staff in Vista is very good.
Since we will pass by Menifee on the way back, we made reservations at the TT Preserve for today through Saturday. We will take the fifth wheel out of the storage area and set it up on a site so that it will be ready for us on our days off this Thursday afternoon through Saturday night. After giving more thought to that strategy, we decided we probably could set up the rig on a site and keep it there for 3 week stretches, since that is the amount of time we can reserve a single stay. They don't like having empty RV's sitting on sites, but it will only be vacant for a few days between each use. We may try it that way and just take it off the space and back into the storage area for our 1 week between reservations.
It will be nice to get back to our familiar territory and our apartment. We've missed a few things during our stay here, not the least of which is our HD TV and the convenience of having our own furniture. It appears that the weather is going to cooperate for the next week or so and we are looking forward to spending some quality time outdoors this weekend...
It was also our next to last day as we leave this morning - probably around 11 AM or so, and head back to Arcadia Place in Vista. We were informed by our Regional Director that we would return to Arcadia and spend April 23-24, and April 30-May 1 at another community in El Cajon - The Springs of El Cajon. We will perform the same "floater" functions there as we performed here in West Covina. It is interesting getting different views and experiences at these different communities. With the experience we had here, we can appreciate some of our own benefits at Arcadia Place - for example, better food. We have been disappointed with the meals we've had here and are grateful that our kitchen staff in Vista is very good.
Since we will pass by Menifee on the way back, we made reservations at the TT Preserve for today through Saturday. We will take the fifth wheel out of the storage area and set it up on a site so that it will be ready for us on our days off this Thursday afternoon through Saturday night. After giving more thought to that strategy, we decided we probably could set up the rig on a site and keep it there for 3 week stretches, since that is the amount of time we can reserve a single stay. They don't like having empty RV's sitting on sites, but it will only be vacant for a few days between each use. We may try it that way and just take it off the space and back into the storage area for our 1 week between reservations.
It will be nice to get back to our familiar territory and our apartment. We've missed a few things during our stay here, not the least of which is our HD TV and the convenience of having our own furniture. It appears that the weather is going to cooperate for the next week or so and we are looking forward to spending some quality time outdoors this weekend...
Monday, April 16, 2012
Long Solo Day
Our first of 2 full days of working solo in the office at Bridgecreek was long and mostly boring. Neither of us has the passwords to get onto the local versions of the applications we normally work with, like A/R, Deposits and Petty Cash for Josie, and the Payroll system for me. I was able to do my normal sales calls though since Arlan, the manager here, gave me his pass code to get into the local version of the sales data base. The best part though was that there were no ecalls. We are nervous about locating the apartment that has a problem in the case of an ecall. The building is constructed with lots of turns and bends in the hallways, plus 3 different levels in the building split by the dining room. We have a schematic of the building, but in an emergency, it may take some extra time to locate the source of the problem.
The way the schedule is laid out here, we have almost 3 full days of coverage. Starting with 7 PM on Saturday night, we work straight through to 3 PM on Tuesday. That includes all the ecall times during the night hours. Essentially, we are married to the building for 68 straight hours! The Managers do have an advantage, besides the extra money they make. However, the Managers have to take the heat when the sales lag, so there is that trade off.
We sent an email to our Regional Director yesterday afternoon to try to find out where we are headed, and when we will leave here. No response has been received yet, so he is probably trying to finalize his plan. We originally heard we would be going to the community in Palmdale for 2 weeks, but we have to wait and see. So far, the reaction to our being here has been positive.
Another big difference here is that the kitchen staff relies a lot more on help from the managers. We had no part in busing and/or serving at Arcadia Place, but the managers here have set a dangerous precedent by helping the kitchen staff in those areas. We have helped somewhat but it is sad to us to see the kitchen staff taking their time to complete their tasks because they have become dependent on that help. That's what this "floating" assignment does for us - it allows us to see how different the communities run their daily operations. Some of the different things are positive, and some are negative. It will be nice if we can take all the positive stuff and implement it someplace where we have that option.
Finally, the weather has turned beautiful, and we have to work for 4 more days...
The way the schedule is laid out here, we have almost 3 full days of coverage. Starting with 7 PM on Saturday night, we work straight through to 3 PM on Tuesday. That includes all the ecall times during the night hours. Essentially, we are married to the building for 68 straight hours! The Managers do have an advantage, besides the extra money they make. However, the Managers have to take the heat when the sales lag, so there is that trade off.
We sent an email to our Regional Director yesterday afternoon to try to find out where we are headed, and when we will leave here. No response has been received yet, so he is probably trying to finalize his plan. We originally heard we would be going to the community in Palmdale for 2 weeks, but we have to wait and see. So far, the reaction to our being here has been positive.
Another big difference here is that the kitchen staff relies a lot more on help from the managers. We had no part in busing and/or serving at Arcadia Place, but the managers here have set a dangerous precedent by helping the kitchen staff in those areas. We have helped somewhat but it is sad to us to see the kitchen staff taking their time to complete their tasks because they have become dependent on that help. That's what this "floating" assignment does for us - it allows us to see how different the communities run their daily operations. Some of the different things are positive, and some are negative. It will be nice if we can take all the positive stuff and implement it someplace where we have that option.
Finally, the weather has turned beautiful, and we have to work for 4 more days...
Sunday, April 15, 2012
More Lousy Weather
Even though the day started like it was going to be nice, it became cloudy and breezy and was another day we couldn't enjoy the outdoors. Our 2 days off became 2 days similar to what we would expect somewhere up north where the winters last forever. It's the roll of the dice, I guess. The forecast now is for the next 5 days to be sunny and warm - sure, we have to work the next 5 days.
We tried to stretch the day as best we could. Josie did some reorganizing of closets and I sat and read the paper and watched TV. There were several shows we taped while parked at the Happy Trails campground in January and haven't seen because we had to go to training for 2 weeks of that month. We had also taped lots of movies and we got caught up on a couple of those.
It was close to 5 PM by the time we packed up and moved the rig back into the storage space. We arrived back at West Covina at 6 PM and went into the office to chat with the managers about the next 2 days we will be working solo. It is a bit different here as our schedule involves working some time on our day off. We had to do the closing last night and had ecall duty all night. Fortunately, it was a quiet night.
We still have not heard anything about our next assignment. If we don't hear anything by tomorrow, we will send an email to the Regional Director to get some idea of what our schedule will be for the next 2 weeks or so. The jury is still out on whether this "floating" phase of our job is going to work out for us...
We tried to stretch the day as best we could. Josie did some reorganizing of closets and I sat and read the paper and watched TV. There were several shows we taped while parked at the Happy Trails campground in January and haven't seen because we had to go to training for 2 weeks of that month. We had also taped lots of movies and we got caught up on a couple of those.
It was close to 5 PM by the time we packed up and moved the rig back into the storage space. We arrived back at West Covina at 6 PM and went into the office to chat with the managers about the next 2 days we will be working solo. It is a bit different here as our schedule involves working some time on our day off. We had to do the closing last night and had ecall duty all night. Fortunately, it was a quiet night.
We still have not heard anything about our next assignment. If we don't hear anything by tomorrow, we will send an email to the Regional Director to get some idea of what our schedule will be for the next 2 weeks or so. The jury is still out on whether this "floating" phase of our job is going to work out for us...
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Heavy Rain Day
With the rain in the forecast we were hoping it would come later in the day. It came rather early and rained all day. We watched a couple of the shows we had taped while traveling here in January but hadn't yet seen, and then decided to take a drive - to the casino. Since there was no sun to sit outside and enjoy, it was decided we could spend some "quality" time inside the casino. The Pala casino is only about 22 miles from here so it was an easy trip.
We played the slots for a couple hours and left at 4:30 when our money ran out. We each had won some small jackpots to keep us going, but in the end, the casino ruled.
After a short stop at the Target Superstore down the street to pick up a few items, we came back to more rain. The ducks obviously enjoyed the day:
That 2nd picture was taken from our window during a rare sun break. There weren't many, that's for sure. Not only was it a wet day, but the temperature probably never got out of the 50's the whole day.
Today is another day. The sun is shining and we may get to sit out and enjoy some nice weather before leaving this afternoon to be back on duty by 7 PM tonight.
We are probably going to receive some direction in the next couple days as to where we are headed from West Covina. The initial indication was the Community in Palmdale, but we'll wait and see. So far, this "floating" assignment hasn't been bad and we like the idea of seeing how other communities compare to Arcadia Place...
We played the slots for a couple hours and left at 4:30 when our money ran out. We each had won some small jackpots to keep us going, but in the end, the casino ruled.
After a short stop at the Target Superstore down the street to pick up a few items, we came back to more rain. The ducks obviously enjoyed the day:
That 2nd picture was taken from our window during a rare sun break. There weren't many, that's for sure. Not only was it a wet day, but the temperature probably never got out of the 50's the whole day.
Today is another day. The sun is shining and we may get to sit out and enjoy some nice weather before leaving this afternoon to be back on duty by 7 PM tonight.
We are probably going to receive some direction in the next couple days as to where we are headed from West Covina. The initial indication was the Community in Palmdale, but we'll wait and see. So far, this "floating" assignment hasn't been bad and we like the idea of seeing how other communities compare to Arcadia Place...
Friday, April 13, 2012
Short Work Week
Our day was a relatively short one yesterday. We worked from 7 AM till 3 PM and it was an uneventful day, which is always good. Our schedule while we are here is the one that provides Friday and Saturday off which is the normal managers' schedule. As long as we are involved in this "floating" manager program, we will probably be switching back and forth, depending on the community where we work. Any 2 days off during the week, no matter where they fall, is fine with us.
Just as we were preparing to leave for Menifee, we took these shots of the beautiful colors outside of our apartment at Bridgecreek:
The whole complex is colorful with all the flower beds and trees in bloom.
As planned for our days off, we drove to Menifee last night (about an hour away) and pulled out our fifth wheel from the storage space and set up on site #82, which backs onto the canal here at Wilderness Lakes:
It is a large site, with this view in the rear:
The canal meanders throughout the campground and there is free fishing with a catch limit of 5 fish per day. The canal is stocked yearly and the main catch is catfish.
Our time here for the next 2 days should be very relaxing and we are keeping our eye on the weather forecast which has some rain in the area. This location makes it very easy and inexpensive to use this getaway each time we have some days off from work. It is very close to other attractions in Hemet, Temecula and Julian if we decide to go, but our priority is to just kick back and enjoy the free time...
Just as we were preparing to leave for Menifee, we took these shots of the beautiful colors outside of our apartment at Bridgecreek:
The whole complex is colorful with all the flower beds and trees in bloom.
As planned for our days off, we drove to Menifee last night (about an hour away) and pulled out our fifth wheel from the storage space and set up on site #82, which backs onto the canal here at Wilderness Lakes:
It is a large site, with this view in the rear:
The canal meanders throughout the campground and there is free fishing with a catch limit of 5 fish per day. The canal is stocked yearly and the main catch is catfish.
Our time here for the next 2 days should be very relaxing and we are keeping our eye on the weather forecast which has some rain in the area. This location makes it very easy and inexpensive to use this getaway each time we have some days off from work. It is very close to other attractions in Hemet, Temecula and Julian if we decide to go, but our priority is to just kick back and enjoy the free time...
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Community Differences
We think that part of the reason the co-managers were being promoted and moved to another community is the fact there was very little communication between the management couples that are here. The departing co-manager (Dave), and the one that was surprised when we arrived, gave us some instructions on opening and closing when we did the "tour" the night we arrived. The manager (Arlan) gave us totally different instructions yesterday AM and we liked those instructions better. He instructed us to close at 7:30-8 PM (vs 9-9:30 from Dave) and open the doors in the morning around 7 AM (vs 5 AM from Dave). The biggest differences are in the food and the residents.
Without a doubt, the food is inferior here than at Arcadia Place. Josie and I both had a hard time enjoying any of the food we had on our first day here. An example is the split pea and ham soup we were served last night - it contained garlic - UGH! One of the residents even commented to us that the food was "lousy" here, and she wished she could afford to move out.
The other major difference to us are the residents themselves. They seem to be more nasty here and we think that might be a result of both the food and the numerous management changes they've had here. At any rate, we will be happy to move on to a different community next week.
Since there are no alarms in the guest rooms for ecalls, the maintenance manager installed 2 baby monitors in our apartment so we would hear alarms in the office if there was an emergency. Even though we tested them yesterday, we were thankful there wasn't an ecall during the night last night.
We made the reservation to stay at the TT campground tonight and tomorrow in Menifee, and will leave work today at 3 PM to go and set up for our 2 days off. It is kind of nice to have our 2 days off on Friday and Saturday this week instead of our usual Sunday and Monday. At this point, we are also glad we changed the location for storing and using our fifth wheel from the San Diego area to Menifee. It is only about an hour from here.
It's about time to go and unlock the doors and open up for business before heading out this afternoon...
Without a doubt, the food is inferior here than at Arcadia Place. Josie and I both had a hard time enjoying any of the food we had on our first day here. An example is the split pea and ham soup we were served last night - it contained garlic - UGH! One of the residents even commented to us that the food was "lousy" here, and she wished she could afford to move out.
The other major difference to us are the residents themselves. They seem to be more nasty here and we think that might be a result of both the food and the numerous management changes they've had here. At any rate, we will be happy to move on to a different community next week.
Since there are no alarms in the guest rooms for ecalls, the maintenance manager installed 2 baby monitors in our apartment so we would hear alarms in the office if there was an emergency. Even though we tested them yesterday, we were thankful there wasn't an ecall during the night last night.
We made the reservation to stay at the TT campground tonight and tomorrow in Menifee, and will leave work today at 3 PM to go and set up for our 2 days off. It is kind of nice to have our 2 days off on Friday and Saturday this week instead of our usual Sunday and Monday. At this point, we are also glad we changed the location for storing and using our fifth wheel from the San Diego area to Menifee. It is only about an hour from here.
It's about time to go and unlock the doors and open up for business before heading out this afternoon...
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Bridgecreek in West Covina
When we went into work at 11 AM yesterday, we informed Terri and Charlie that we wanted to leave by around 3 PM so that we could arrive in West Covina before all the rush hour traffic. Of course, we got busy and couldn't break away until 4:30, and we still had to pack our things. It was 5:15 PM by the time we got on the road for the 85 mile drive. It wasn't as bad as we thought it would be and we arrived at Bridgecreek at about 7 PM.
We were met by the co-managers that were on duty - the ones being promoted to managers and leaving for another community tomorrow. They took us on a tour of the community and it was remarkably similar to ours. Even to the detail of having the dining room on the second floor. This building is 30 years old though vs the 25 year old building at Arcadia Place. Our guest apartment is a different story. It is a 2 BR with only 3 chairs, a lamp and a TV in the living room, and a bed and makeshift night stand in one of the bedrooms and a chair and dresser in the second bedroom. Not even a table - anywhere in the apartment. The co-managers located a card table for us to use and that is all we have. It's hard to believe that anybody could gain a positive impression by staying in this apartment. I took 2 shots of the Bridgecreek Community this AM:
You can see our truck parked outside our door on the right, and also that it rained overnight. Below is the shuttle bus that is used here for the residents:
Just as we finished up on our tour last night, the Manager stopped by. It seems that they (he and his wife) have been on vacation for the last week and his wife went to visit family while he stayed here. Strange. It will be interesting to find out what is going on here.
We had some bad news during our tour when Josie received a call that her brother, Angel, died in Puerto Rico. Of course, we are sorry that we didn't make the trip to Puerto Rico in January, but it just wasn't possible. The call was from her sister Pauline and she indicated that their other brother, Louie, is doing well from his stroke he had last year.
Our day doesn't begin until 11 AM this morning which is when the manager asked us to come into the office. Had we known we weren't needed until 11 AM, we could have driven up here this morning. Nah, we would have done ecall duty last night at Arcadia if we had done that...
We were met by the co-managers that were on duty - the ones being promoted to managers and leaving for another community tomorrow. They took us on a tour of the community and it was remarkably similar to ours. Even to the detail of having the dining room on the second floor. This building is 30 years old though vs the 25 year old building at Arcadia Place. Our guest apartment is a different story. It is a 2 BR with only 3 chairs, a lamp and a TV in the living room, and a bed and makeshift night stand in one of the bedrooms and a chair and dresser in the second bedroom. Not even a table - anywhere in the apartment. The co-managers located a card table for us to use and that is all we have. It's hard to believe that anybody could gain a positive impression by staying in this apartment. I took 2 shots of the Bridgecreek Community this AM:
You can see our truck parked outside our door on the right, and also that it rained overnight. Below is the shuttle bus that is used here for the residents:
Just as we finished up on our tour last night, the Manager stopped by. It seems that they (he and his wife) have been on vacation for the last week and his wife went to visit family while he stayed here. Strange. It will be interesting to find out what is going on here.
We had some bad news during our tour when Josie received a call that her brother, Angel, died in Puerto Rico. Of course, we are sorry that we didn't make the trip to Puerto Rico in January, but it just wasn't possible. The call was from her sister Pauline and she indicated that their other brother, Louie, is doing well from his stroke he had last year.
Our day doesn't begin until 11 AM this morning which is when the manager asked us to come into the office. Had we known we weren't needed until 11 AM, we could have driven up here this morning. Nah, we would have done ecall duty last night at Arcadia if we had done that...
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Relaxing in Menifee
It was such a joy to be relaxing in our fifth wheel at the campground yesterday. It was really tough getting things together to leave yesterday afternoon. We got our storage spot at the Preserve and backed the rig into the space at around 3:30 PM. We did nothing except walk around the campground, stop in the store for an ice cream treat and then sit in our loungers outside for the whole day. This will be a welcome change from the stress and pace of working all week. Without knowing our exact schedule at Bridgecreek, we think we will be back to the campground on our days off on Sunday and Monday of next week.
The last 2 days were a good reminder of the way we feel when we are camping and traveling in our fifth wheel. We looked at each other when it was time to leave and we asked if we really wanted to go back to work at Holiday Retirement or go back to our workamping lifestyle. It is definitely food for thought.
We arrived home again at 5 PM and started preparations for our week away beginning tomorrow afternoon.
Our schedule today will be from 11 AM until sometime in the afternoon - probably around 3 PM, when we will leave for West Covina. We would like to arrive there in time to visit with the managers to discuss our schedule and duties for the next week. We also need to get settled into our temporary living quarters for the next week.
These next 3 weeks will be a real test for us as far as determining whether we want to continue under this new format or move on to a less stressful mode of living...
The last 2 days were a good reminder of the way we feel when we are camping and traveling in our fifth wheel. We looked at each other when it was time to leave and we asked if we really wanted to go back to work at Holiday Retirement or go back to our workamping lifestyle. It is definitely food for thought.
We arrived home again at 5 PM and started preparations for our week away beginning tomorrow afternoon.
Our schedule today will be from 11 AM until sometime in the afternoon - probably around 3 PM, when we will leave for West Covina. We would like to arrive there in time to visit with the managers to discuss our schedule and duties for the next week. We also need to get settled into our temporary living quarters for the next week.
These next 3 weeks will be a real test for us as far as determining whether we want to continue under this new format or move on to a less stressful mode of living...
Monday, April 9, 2012
Wilderness Lakes Preserve
Our Easter Sunday started with church at the Presbyterian church next door that we attended last week on Palm Sunday. It was again a very nice service complete with the bells choir and the overhead projector that was in sync with the whole service. There was an Easter egg hunt following the service, but we opted to leave to get ready for our trip to Menifee.
Before leaving to pick up the fifth wheel, we sent an email to Randy, our Regional Director, to get more detail on our temporary assignment. We will be spending at least 1 week at the Community (Bridgecreek) in West Covina, and he indicated we may be going to another Community from there, Rancho Vista, which is located in Palmdale. We will be "floaters" at those communities and just filling in for managers that will be leaving for various reasons. It sounds like Randy's plan for us has been launched. We aren't sure how much we will like this arrangement, but we are hoping that it works out for us.
We picked up the fifth wheel and drove the 50+ miles to Menifee. We set up in a nice space:
and decided to make a trip to the grocery store to get some basic stuff for our "empty" refrigerator. But before that, we wanted to try a new casino in the area - the Pala - which we had never been to before. It was about 25 miles from us and was a nice casino. We didn't win any big jackpots, but I used the money I won - equal to my original stake - and bought a buffet dinner at the casino. It was outstanding and rivaled the one we had at the other casino near Vista. We had lobster, crab, lamb and just about everything else you can imagine. There is no chance to lose weight here. It was a fun time and we will probably return since we liked the machines there.
It is a short day today as we place the rig in the storage unit here until we return on our next days off. We aren't sure yet what our schedule will be at Bridgecreek, but Randy indicated that we should be done there by the 17th. Our only day working at Arcadia Place this week will be tomorrow, beginning at 11 AM, and we expect to leave early for our trip to West Covina. Until tomorrow...
Before leaving to pick up the fifth wheel, we sent an email to Randy, our Regional Director, to get more detail on our temporary assignment. We will be spending at least 1 week at the Community (Bridgecreek) in West Covina, and he indicated we may be going to another Community from there, Rancho Vista, which is located in Palmdale. We will be "floaters" at those communities and just filling in for managers that will be leaving for various reasons. It sounds like Randy's plan for us has been launched. We aren't sure how much we will like this arrangement, but we are hoping that it works out for us.
We picked up the fifth wheel and drove the 50+ miles to Menifee. We set up in a nice space:
and decided to make a trip to the grocery store to get some basic stuff for our "empty" refrigerator. But before that, we wanted to try a new casino in the area - the Pala - which we had never been to before. It was about 25 miles from us and was a nice casino. We didn't win any big jackpots, but I used the money I won - equal to my original stake - and bought a buffet dinner at the casino. It was outstanding and rivaled the one we had at the other casino near Vista. We had lobster, crab, lamb and just about everything else you can imagine. There is no chance to lose weight here. It was a fun time and we will probably return since we liked the machines there.
It is a short day today as we place the rig in the storage unit here until we return on our next days off. We aren't sure yet what our schedule will be at Bridgecreek, but Randy indicated that we should be done there by the 17th. Our only day working at Arcadia Place this week will be tomorrow, beginning at 11 AM, and we expect to leave early for our trip to West Covina. Until tomorrow...
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Made it Through the Week
Yesterday was filled mostly with making sales calls on the telephone for me, and Josie doing office work. We still have not received an email from anybody outlining our assignment in West Covina this week, and we are really disappointed in the lack of professionalism in the way this has been handled. Here we are, embarking on a 3 week assignment in another community and nobody has formalized the activity in any way. All that has happened is we have been informed, verbally, that it will take place. This will be a critical 3 weeks for us as we hope to discover what life is like "outside" our little world here at Arcadia Place.
Josie received a call from one of our classmates at training in OR and told her that the one couple we trained with that was thrown into managers jobs right off the bat in Salem have turned in their notice and are leaving the company. The stress has obviously been too much for them. It didn't seem like a good idea to us anyway that they would start off as Community Managers instead of Co-managers like the rest of us. It is tough enough being Co-managers.
The really good news we received was from Patty who sent us results of the NIKE Football SPARQ Combine held in Chicago for high school football players. As you can see, Austin finished 4th out of over 900 kids at the Combine. We are very proud of him. He is on his way to a nice football scholarship somewhere.
Today is the day we move our fifth wheel from storage to the Thousand Trails Preserve in Menifee, CA. The first activity though, will be to go to church on this Easter Sunday at the church we went to last weekend on Palm Sunday. It was a very nice service last week and we expect the same today. There is an Easter egg hunt between services today, but we will leave so that we can get a head start going north with our rig...
Josie received a call from one of our classmates at training in OR and told her that the one couple we trained with that was thrown into managers jobs right off the bat in Salem have turned in their notice and are leaving the company. The stress has obviously been too much for them. It didn't seem like a good idea to us anyway that they would start off as Community Managers instead of Co-managers like the rest of us. It is tough enough being Co-managers.
The really good news we received was from Patty who sent us results of the NIKE Football SPARQ Combine held in Chicago for high school football players. As you can see, Austin finished 4th out of over 900 kids at the Combine. We are very proud of him. He is on his way to a nice football scholarship somewhere.
Today is the day we move our fifth wheel from storage to the Thousand Trails Preserve in Menifee, CA. The first activity though, will be to go to church on this Easter Sunday at the church we went to last weekend on Palm Sunday. It was a very nice service last week and we expect the same today. There is an Easter egg hunt between services today, but we will leave so that we can get a head start going north with our rig...
HAPPY EASTER !!!
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Two Incidents
It was a solo day for us yesterday in the office and everything went smoothly - until the end of the day. Just as we were about to lock up everything at 8 PM, we had an ecall alert. One of our newer residents couldn't get her air conditioner to come on. We've told people over and over to never pull the ecall cord unless it was an emergency, but she didn't have the use of her phone and didn't have any other way to contact us for help. It turned out that she just didn't have the thermostat low enough on the unit to kick-on.
The second incident occurred after closing at a few minutes after 9 PM when we received a phone call from a resident almost above us that he had a flood in his apartment. We rushed upstairs and discovered that the water had been left running in his bathroom sink, with the stopper down, and the water was everywhere - all over his bathroom floor and into the living room onto the carpet. He was watching TV with his lady friend and never noticed the water until it came into the living room. We grabbed a bucket and mop from the kitchen and Josie found a wet/dry vac in the maintenance room and we had it all cleared up within about 45 minutes. Just another "normal" night of on-duty calls.
With our managers being off and the Regional Director attending meetings at the home office in Salem, OR, we have heard nothing more on our "scheduled" trip to West Covina next Wednesday. We expect to have all the details today when these managers all get back to work.
Our Easter weekend is pretty much scheduled. Tomorrow AM we will go to church followed by a trip to the storage unit to pick up the fifth wheel and haul it to Menifee, CA, where the Thousand Trails Preserve - Wilderness Lakes - is located. It will be the first visit with our rig since we arrived in January and we are anxious to see how it has survived the long dry spell.
One more day today - a long one - and then it's 2 days off beginning at 7 AM tomorrow...
The second incident occurred after closing at a few minutes after 9 PM when we received a phone call from a resident almost above us that he had a flood in his apartment. We rushed upstairs and discovered that the water had been left running in his bathroom sink, with the stopper down, and the water was everywhere - all over his bathroom floor and into the living room onto the carpet. He was watching TV with his lady friend and never noticed the water until it came into the living room. We grabbed a bucket and mop from the kitchen and Josie found a wet/dry vac in the maintenance room and we had it all cleared up within about 45 minutes. Just another "normal" night of on-duty calls.
With our managers being off and the Regional Director attending meetings at the home office in Salem, OR, we have heard nothing more on our "scheduled" trip to West Covina next Wednesday. We expect to have all the details today when these managers all get back to work.
Our Easter weekend is pretty much scheduled. Tomorrow AM we will go to church followed by a trip to the storage unit to pick up the fifth wheel and haul it to Menifee, CA, where the Thousand Trails Preserve - Wilderness Lakes - is located. It will be the first visit with our rig since we arrived in January and we are anxious to see how it has survived the long dry spell.
One more day today - a long one - and then it's 2 days off beginning at 7 AM tomorrow...
Friday, April 6, 2012
More Prep for Temporary Assignment
As part of our preparations in the event that we leave for a temporary assignment next week, we changed the lock on our rear entry door. All of the managers have master keys for the apartments, including ours. The rear lock was changed when we moved into our apartment in January since the master didn't work on that lock. However, we changed it again so that we would have the only keys to our apartment. The front door is already unique in that we have the only keys. We don't want people accessing our apartment while we are gone, plain and simple. The thought went through our minds that if, for any reason, the managers wanted to show our apartment to the new co-manager couple as an option for them to have if our assignment becomes more than temporary. We feel more comfortable knowing that no one can enter except us.
We haven't gotten any more details on the assignment as our Regional Director, Randy, is at the home office attending meetings from Wednesday through today. It's hard for us to make any more preparations until we hear for sure what the plan is for our assignment. It's disturbing that we haven't heard anything, officially as yet, about the task. In the meantime, we just do our jobs as before.
Another move we made yesterday was to send an email to the owners of the campground in Creede, CO. to officially inform them that we couldn't make it there this summer. That was a situation that we were looking forward to if there was a change in our plans to stay here. We're planning to "bite the bullet" and stay here as long as we can to make some good money. By doing that, it will take some pressure off in the future. If we do change our minds, we feel there are other opportunities that we can research and pick up where we left off on our workamping adventure. Every time we go to the fifth wheel for something, we both comment on how we miss our "home". Once we move it to a Thousand Trails Preserve, we can still spend some relaxing time in it, away from everything...
We haven't gotten any more details on the assignment as our Regional Director, Randy, is at the home office attending meetings from Wednesday through today. It's hard for us to make any more preparations until we hear for sure what the plan is for our assignment. It's disturbing that we haven't heard anything, officially as yet, about the task. In the meantime, we just do our jobs as before.
Another move we made yesterday was to send an email to the owners of the campground in Creede, CO. to officially inform them that we couldn't make it there this summer. That was a situation that we were looking forward to if there was a change in our plans to stay here. We're planning to "bite the bullet" and stay here as long as we can to make some good money. By doing that, it will take some pressure off in the future. If we do change our minds, we feel there are other opportunities that we can research and pick up where we left off on our workamping adventure. Every time we go to the fifth wheel for something, we both comment on how we miss our "home". Once we move it to a Thousand Trails Preserve, we can still spend some relaxing time in it, away from everything...
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Temporary Assignment
When we started working here in January, our Regional Director, Randy, indicated that he had some plans for us. They included travel to other Communities to fill in as managers - temporarily - while the regular managers had to leave for whatever reasons - vacations, sick leave, leaves of absences, etc. We received word yesterday just before leaving at 3 PM that we would be leaving for 3 weeks to work at a sister community in West Covina, CA.
That community is actually worse off than ours as far as occupancy. We know nothing more about the assignment as the email was sent to our managers, Terri and Charlie, and we don't know the details yet, except we are to begin our assignment next Wednesday. It surprises us that we weren't copied on that email since it involves us. Terri said she would summarize the assignment in an email to Randy and copy us.
That could have an impact on us in other ways. For starters, we decided to change our location for storing the fifth wheel. Instead of taking it to Pio Pico in Jamul, CA, near San Diego, we will move it to the northern preserve, Wilderness Lakes, in Menifee, CA, near Hemet. It wasn't our first choice but it is a lot closer to all the sister communities that are north of us. That location is mid-way between Vista and West Covina.
We went to the local storage facility yesterday following work to pay through next Saturday and make some preparations, so we will be moving the fifth wheel on Easter Sunday.
Terri has said to us that there is something going on at that community, and for us to be prepared to be asked if we would like to remain there, either as Co-managers or Managers. I guess we'll find out very soon. In some ways we like the idea of getting experience at other communities, but on the other hand, we don't like the idea of being away from our home here and leaving the apartment vacant. We were told by many of the experienced managers that this company can change its mind overnight and we guess this is an example.
Hopefully, we will have more information today as we start our long stretch of on-duty hours which will take us up to Sunday morning...
That community is actually worse off than ours as far as occupancy. We know nothing more about the assignment as the email was sent to our managers, Terri and Charlie, and we don't know the details yet, except we are to begin our assignment next Wednesday. It surprises us that we weren't copied on that email since it involves us. Terri said she would summarize the assignment in an email to Randy and copy us.
That could have an impact on us in other ways. For starters, we decided to change our location for storing the fifth wheel. Instead of taking it to Pio Pico in Jamul, CA, near San Diego, we will move it to the northern preserve, Wilderness Lakes, in Menifee, CA, near Hemet. It wasn't our first choice but it is a lot closer to all the sister communities that are north of us. That location is mid-way between Vista and West Covina.
We went to the local storage facility yesterday following work to pay through next Saturday and make some preparations, so we will be moving the fifth wheel on Easter Sunday.
Terri has said to us that there is something going on at that community, and for us to be prepared to be asked if we would like to remain there, either as Co-managers or Managers. I guess we'll find out very soon. In some ways we like the idea of getting experience at other communities, but on the other hand, we don't like the idea of being away from our home here and leaving the apartment vacant. We were told by many of the experienced managers that this company can change its mind overnight and we guess this is an example.
Hopefully, we will have more information today as we start our long stretch of on-duty hours which will take us up to Sunday morning...
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
More Move-Outs
First of all, yesterday and last night were a rare stretch without any ecalls. It seems like there has been at least one of those every 24 hours. One of the residents that we have had ecalls for and was always a concern for us - Woody - has moved out. He was the resident that had the apartment above us and was the one that Josie heard yelling for help a couple weeks ago after he fell next to his bed. He came up to us in his wheelchair one day last week and informed us he thought he had a small stroke as he was seeing double and his legs were feeling weak. It turned out that it was a small stroke and his family decided to move him out for a higher level of care. For 95 years old, he was getting along pretty well.
Another resident that we have had a few ecalls for - Gus and Nellie Hernandez - are also moving out for higher care. They are the couple that has their daughters staying with them off and on all the time to assist with their daily care. They can barely walk and are both in their 90's. It is sad to see these people leave as their lives are nearing the end of the journey. The apartments of these folks are filled with photos of their families and the days when they led vibrant lives.
The effect of these unscheduled move-outs is that our occupancy rate has slipped below 80% again. It makes it doubly tough to catch up when you need to obtain move-ins just to stay even. That is part of the nature of this business.
Except for another sales conference call that wasted another hour and a half, yesterday was uneventful. The sales pressure is definitely felt to a lesser degree in the early part of each month. It steadily builds though as each day passes during the new month. Today is a short day - we are off at 3 PM - so it's a bit easier to get started knowing that our brief mid week break is near...
Another resident that we have had a few ecalls for - Gus and Nellie Hernandez - are also moving out for higher care. They are the couple that has their daughters staying with them off and on all the time to assist with their daily care. They can barely walk and are both in their 90's. It is sad to see these people leave as their lives are nearing the end of the journey. The apartments of these folks are filled with photos of their families and the days when they led vibrant lives.
The effect of these unscheduled move-outs is that our occupancy rate has slipped below 80% again. It makes it doubly tough to catch up when you need to obtain move-ins just to stay even. That is part of the nature of this business.
Except for another sales conference call that wasted another hour and a half, yesterday was uneventful. The sales pressure is definitely felt to a lesser degree in the early part of each month. It steadily builds though as each day passes during the new month. Today is a short day - we are off at 3 PM - so it's a bit easier to get started knowing that our brief mid week break is near...
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Researching Tax Options
This is the first time that I can remember that we owe income taxes. Usually, there is enough withheld each year that we don't have to write a check to IRS, but this year was an exception. Because we don't have the mortgage and our expenses were lower last year, the deductions didn't amount to as much as in years past. As a result, we are looking at the tax deadline in a couple weeks and we still haven't finished ours yet. Usually, when we get refunds, we have it submitted in early February. We took a trip to our bank to discuss investment accounts and then to H & R Block to make sure we understood the tax implications for various options. The net of all this is that we can minimize the tax liability but we still owe some money.
The rest of the day we just did things around the apartment. Josie did laundry - mostly bedding from our fifth wheel to get ready for use again - and I did more work on our taxes and other accounts. It was such a nice day that we wished we had scheduled something to do outside. It was in the high 70's and clear the whole day. We're sure that there will be many more of those kind of days coming up.
I have another appointment with my Audiologist this morning to get the new hearing aids. These are the ones that are at the top of the range of hearing aids and will be upgraded at no charge. I'm sure there would have been a charge if I didn't mention that I wanted to downgrade and get some money back from the ones she originally sold to me. I hope these perform better.
It's also back to work today and we start the cycle all over again. It's too bad that the time seems to go so fast on our days off...
The rest of the day we just did things around the apartment. Josie did laundry - mostly bedding from our fifth wheel to get ready for use again - and I did more work on our taxes and other accounts. It was such a nice day that we wished we had scheduled something to do outside. It was in the high 70's and clear the whole day. We're sure that there will be many more of those kind of days coming up.
I have another appointment with my Audiologist this morning to get the new hearing aids. These are the ones that are at the top of the range of hearing aids and will be upgraded at no charge. I'm sure there would have been a charge if I didn't mention that I wanted to downgrade and get some money back from the ones she originally sold to me. I hope these perform better.
It's also back to work today and we start the cycle all over again. It's too bad that the time seems to go so fast on our days off...
Monday, April 2, 2012
Palm Sunday 2012
Since it was Palm Sunday yesterday, we thought we would try one of the local churches. The Presbyterian church is almost within walking distance and it has been years since we attended one of those services. It was an excellent choice as the service was one that was very unique to us.
This church - Grace Presbyterian Church - had two services. The first one, and also called the Traditional service , started at 9 AM and the second service, which was called the Contemporary service, started at 10:30 AM. We can't imagine what the second service was like, but the first one was about as contemporary as you can get. The Pastor was very interactive with his wireless microphone and there was a screen that projected the whole service - words to all the passages, and hymns, and even a video about Jesus' journey into Jerusalem with the donkey.
There was Communion which was performed while the congregation stayed in their pews - a procedure that we had forgotten is unique to the Presbyterian Communion services.
Following the service was a "parade" on the patio behind the church. The parade depicted Jesus' entry into Jerusalem:
He then gave a mini sermon to the children who were gathered around him:
That was complete with biblical characters portrayed by other members of the congregation:
It was a wonderful service and experience and we will most likely return to this church for services that we attend while here in Vista.
Following church, we traveled to two of the Thousand Trails Preserves that we wanted to check out for storing and basing our fifth wheel for days that we have off. The first one - Oaksanita Springs - was in the hills east of San Diego and about 1.5 hours from our community. It was very nice, but it wasn't "big-rig friendly". In other words, the roads were narrow and some of the turns were very sharp and some of the sites were located on top of steep inclines. Our conclusion was that we would pass on this one.
The second Preserve - Pio Pico - is another preserve located in the foothills just southeast of San Diego. It is about 1.25 hours from Vista and was exceptionally nice. There is plenty of storage space and the sites are a nice size and will probably be our choice for moving our fifth wheel. There is a special on now for monthly storage - $65 vs $167 where we now have it located. Combined with the money we save by camping for free when we are off vs paying for other private campgrounds, it's a no-brainer for making the move. We just pull it out of storage, set it up on a site and place it back in storage before heading home. We will move the rig to this location next weekend - probably. Our only hesitation is that it is in the opposite direction from all of the other communities if we get transferred for any reason. It is definitely better than the other option up north near Hemet, and will be cooler in the summer months. We'll see what happens with that.
Nothing is planned for today except some local errands and enjoying our last full day off this week...
This church - Grace Presbyterian Church - had two services. The first one, and also called the Traditional service , started at 9 AM and the second service, which was called the Contemporary service, started at 10:30 AM. We can't imagine what the second service was like, but the first one was about as contemporary as you can get. The Pastor was very interactive with his wireless microphone and there was a screen that projected the whole service - words to all the passages, and hymns, and even a video about Jesus' journey into Jerusalem with the donkey.
There was Communion which was performed while the congregation stayed in their pews - a procedure that we had forgotten is unique to the Presbyterian Communion services.
Following the service was a "parade" on the patio behind the church. The parade depicted Jesus' entry into Jerusalem:
He then gave a mini sermon to the children who were gathered around him:
That was complete with biblical characters portrayed by other members of the congregation:
It was a wonderful service and experience and we will most likely return to this church for services that we attend while here in Vista.
Following church, we traveled to two of the Thousand Trails Preserves that we wanted to check out for storing and basing our fifth wheel for days that we have off. The first one - Oaksanita Springs - was in the hills east of San Diego and about 1.5 hours from our community. It was very nice, but it wasn't "big-rig friendly". In other words, the roads were narrow and some of the turns were very sharp and some of the sites were located on top of steep inclines. Our conclusion was that we would pass on this one.
The second Preserve - Pio Pico - is another preserve located in the foothills just southeast of San Diego. It is about 1.25 hours from Vista and was exceptionally nice. There is plenty of storage space and the sites are a nice size and will probably be our choice for moving our fifth wheel. There is a special on now for monthly storage - $65 vs $167 where we now have it located. Combined with the money we save by camping for free when we are off vs paying for other private campgrounds, it's a no-brainer for making the move. We just pull it out of storage, set it up on a site and place it back in storage before heading home. We will move the rig to this location next weekend - probably. Our only hesitation is that it is in the opposite direction from all of the other communities if we get transferred for any reason. It is definitely better than the other option up north near Hemet, and will be cooler in the summer months. We'll see what happens with that.
Nothing is planned for today except some local errands and enjoying our last full day off this week...
Sunday, April 1, 2012
So Much for Sleeping In
We had visions of sleeping in awhile this morning after such a hectic week. Not a chance. At 6:05 the ecall alarm sounded and we were up and at it again. We had ecall duty until 7 AM this morning and we missed the changeover by less than an hour. This is one area of our jobs that we detest. Even though we aren't in the office working, we are technically still on the job until the ecall duty expires. Essentially, from 11 AM on Thursday, we are "on duty" for 68 straight hours.
This ecall was from the same guy last week who couldn't urinate. This time, his "bag" was full and he wanted to know what time his care giver was coming in to empty it. His care giver arrived while Josie was writing the notes into the journal in the office.
We finished the month at our 80% occupancy goal. April will be more of a challenge since we had 3 notices yesterday from people that are moving out. There are various reasons for these move outs, and none of them are because they are unhappy with our Community. All but one of those is a financial decision as a result of increasing rents over the years. These people are on fixed incomes and they all have annual rent increases built into their leases. The other one is a result of special dietary needs that cannot be met here through the normal menu items.
Our plan today is to visit one of the other Thousand Trails preserves to see if it might be nicer than the one up north of here. This one is just east of San Diego and is the 3rd of the three that are within an hour or so of our location here at Vista. We may end up just moving it tomorrow if it works out. The sooner we move it, the sooner we begin saving the high storage fee where it is now located. I hope we can get the trip in before the snow gets too deep outside....April Fools!
This ecall was from the same guy last week who couldn't urinate. This time, his "bag" was full and he wanted to know what time his care giver was coming in to empty it. His care giver arrived while Josie was writing the notes into the journal in the office.
We finished the month at our 80% occupancy goal. April will be more of a challenge since we had 3 notices yesterday from people that are moving out. There are various reasons for these move outs, and none of them are because they are unhappy with our Community. All but one of those is a financial decision as a result of increasing rents over the years. These people are on fixed incomes and they all have annual rent increases built into their leases. The other one is a result of special dietary needs that cannot be met here through the normal menu items.
Our plan today is to visit one of the other Thousand Trails preserves to see if it might be nicer than the one up north of here. This one is just east of San Diego and is the 3rd of the three that are within an hour or so of our location here at Vista. We may end up just moving it tomorrow if it works out. The sooner we move it, the sooner we begin saving the high storage fee where it is now located. I hope we can get the trip in before the snow gets too deep outside....April Fools!
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