It's been a while since I last posted, been very busy. Nailing down who I'll consolidate my mortgage and some other debt, etc. with has been very timeconsuming. I can't stress enough to get more than three quotes. Out of six quotes, only two ended up being serious enough to warrant any further discussion. And of course, one of those didn't want to talk about APR, only the nominal interest rate. In their case the APR was four points higher than the nominal and two points higher than the competitor. So, just have to send in more forms and sweat out the final wait for the official rate, etc. The other thing I've been busy with was trying to make a transfer with the company I work for into a new job as a technical writer. It's something I've been interested in ever since I had to experience a corporate downsizing a few years back. I wasn't laid off, i.e, 'transitioned.' But, after that I kept an eye out for what else I could do. One thing I was surprised about was a person with a bachelor's degree in science could work for the U.S. Patent Office as a patent examiner. Unfortunately, I'd rather eat off my own leg than dwell on chemistry patents all day, every day. The other interesting idea was a bachelor's degree in science could be used to seek employment as a technical writer. An interesting and attractive idea to me. Very few people that didn't/couldn't go on for a Phd in chemistry can keep working in a lab for the rest of their career. Unfortunately, the company I work for is very traditional and staid. They don't feel people with undergraduate degrees are lifelong employees. As a result, you can only do whatever you've already been doing. It's very hard to do anything else, and the only option, a lot of times is to leave and seek greener pastures elsewhere. Especially since people still think of you as they did when you first started. Ridiculous, I know. One would think a technology company would want to retain employees. But the sad truth is, they could care less. They can always find someone in another country to do the job cheaper. Anyway... Finished reading an awesome book about submarines, Blind Man's Bluff, see link above. This book is a fascinating look at the Silent Service. True heroes, that risked their lives in secrecy to insure that our way of life would be preserved. Frightening, too, the descriptions of how close we came to nuclear war. Anyway, I highly recommend it, excellent reading!
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