Digital Nomadism

Ooooh - someone coined a phrase for what I'm contemplating.  Digital nomads are individuals that leverage digital technologies to perform their work duties, and more generally conduct their lifestyle in a nomadic manner (wikipedia). 

As the date for selling the house creeps ever nearer, we are taking care of a lot of tiresome details.  We are optimistic that the house sale & move will happen as planned.  Closing is set for the 25th of June.

I've been spending the last couple of weeks working (in the office about 2 days per week) and the remainder of the time relaxing, hanging out with Doris, eating John's most excellent cuisine.  I've gotten very lazy now that I am de-toxed from the work situation so ..... I am embracing my inner slug! 

Le Chef in the soon-to-be-ours condo kitchen(ette)

I have also been researching the possibility of earning a living online.  I am having difficulty, though, finding people that are accomplishing this by teaching college.  In a way, that's a good thing because I'll feel like a pioneer!  Distance education is the future for higher education. No doubt about it.  Maybe I can learn the ropes and eventually blog/write/present about this new way to teach.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I've applied to 3 nursing programs that have online adjunct openings.  These positions are part-time, contracted, term-to-term, and offer no benefits.  I've also applied to 2 nursing programs in another category entirely - as full or part-time but with permanent faculty status and benefits as well.  I'm leaning toward the latter category because looking for classes to teach every 6 - 12 weeks would get tiresome. 

One program has graduate students at 200 clinical sites across the U.S. and needs someone to do clinical site visits.  How cool to get paid mileage to travel.  Is this too good to be true?  I'll let you know!

I often think back to November when the tornado put an end to my travel plans that I had been making for over a year. I was so angry for so long!  Then when I didn't get the job I expected to eventually retire from, friends told me it would work out for the best. (That included some of you).   Frankly, I was skeptical.  But now, 2 months later, I'm daring to hope that everyone was right about that.

But for now, it's been a lot of fun exploring the suddenly wide-open possibilities for my teaching career!

Thanks for hanging in there with me ..... 

Home & Work

We are making some progress on the house we are selling.  We are still addressing the small issues found during the inspection.  Yuck!  I hate this home-maintenance stuff (as you well know).  Not only is it time-consuming and costly, it's pretty damn boring as well. 

Here's our new place.  Not a great photo, I know - I'll get some better when I get my photo equipment all in one place. 

My sis-in-law lives immediately to my right.  If I were to turn the lens that way, you would see her door and her sweet doggy, Tess.  But I didn't have permission so I won't. 

I followed-up with the school I applied to last week and, as I suspected, they are not hiring right now but will be in the future as their graduate program is growing fast.  I'll touch bases with them every 3 months.  I'm confident it will work out in the future.

So, I need to get busy.  I plan to apply at Phoenix and Excelsior - both with strong nursing programs with good reputations.

If any of you have experience with online teaching (especially on the road!), I would love to hear about it!

Moving Timeline

My 2 classes started today so that will keep me busy through August 1st for 2 - 4 days a week. I feel sad that this is my last time with these particular students but I have 5+ years of good memories stored up. And many years (I hope) of teaching ahead of me! 

I've been spending some of my free time trying to figure out how to create an office in the upstairs bedroom of this 2 BR, 2 BA condo.  (I'll be losing my home office next month and losing my campus office in August).  I think I can use an armoire to store all the equipment and office supplies.  The nice thing about this arrangement is that I can close the door at the end of the day to eliminate clutter.  Something like this:

Web Photo

I will also have a comfy armchair and ottoman in the same room to work from.  The same chair and ottoman that is in my campus office. 

I've also been thinking about how to configure a mobile office but I will probably start out with something like this:

If you have any tips for an office-on-wheels, please share! 

The house closing will happen in a few weeks.  The inspector found a few additional things that have to be fixed.  The day I write my last check to have work done on this 60-year-old house is a day I will celebrate!!! 

This week the 4 siblings will go through the condo and take the items they want that belonged to their parents (my in-laws).  We will likely donate everything else.   And John is meeting someone after work who is interested in our 16ft. canoe (and paddling gear). 

I will get with the consignment furniture folks the first week of June.  We have some beautiful pieces that are too nice to yard-sale.  The yard sale will happen in about 3 weeks.  Then the movers will vacate the rest of our stuff the 3rd week of June.

After that ..... I can concentrate on finalizing some online teaching prospects and finally finally getting that RV.   

Minimalism: Quantitative Proof

After the tornado, we had to move all our worldly belongings into a pod placed in our driveway.   Then we had to move it back in after the damage was repaired. 

No kidding - everything we own was in that container (except for the kitchen appliances). 

Now you can see why friends laugh when we say we are buying the condo so we can downsize. 

February 2012

A Little Progress

The home inspection took place today.  We have some annoying things we must take care of before the tentative closing on June 25th.  Right now I'm staying busy trying to figure out how to get 1500 sq. ft. of stuff in a 1100 sq. ft. condo.  People who know us laugh when we announce we are downsizing.

I start teaching tomorrow and am not looking forward to returning to the office.  I'm not angry, just ...... disgusted.   

But I'll focus on my wonderful students because that's the way it should be. 

The university I applied to for the full time location-bound tenure-track position called the other day.  The director asked if I was still interested and I didn't know what to say.  I guess my hesitation said it all.  I told her I would think about it.  I was tempted to tell her my scheme about working from the road instead but, you know how it is, one never knows how people are going to react or in which direction the conversation will lead.  With the exception of this blog, I'm keeping my plans to myself for now.    

I haven't heard back from Frontier University yet.  If I don't hear from them this week, I'll follow up next week.  I hope it works out but, if not, I have a fall-back plan with the online adjunct teaching.  Good options!

We Accept The Contract!

So we will be selling the house and buying my father-in-law's condo.  Provided that the sale goes through. 

We've been in our house for 12 years so the thought of moving/selling/donating stuff is daunting.  But I'm trying to focus on the end result.

Like how much $ we will save in housing expenses.  I figure we will save over $4K/year on operating costs alone - never mind the maintenance, insurance, and property taxes. 

And the fact that I won't have to write another $600 check for this and a $1200 check for that, all the while fuming about how much gasoline that money could buy. 

Still, as many of you who have been through the process know - it's scary stuff!

Better Blogger

It's evident that Blogger was overhauled during my hiatus and I gotta say, it's improved.  I haven't had any problems of late with publishing posts, signing in, or commenting on other blogs.  Have you noticed it's more operator-friendly?

We got an offer on the house.  It's a fair offer so the time has come for us to make a decision about condo vs. house (by 6 PM today in fact).  I'm having trouble with the choice and am very much on the fence.  I really believe if I knew what I was going to be doing for a living, the choice would come easier.  It's a terrible thing not to know your own mind. 

I gave the decision-making power to John today.  In 28 years of marriage, we've never done it that way but I seem paralyzed by indecision.  It's an odd sensation.  It's been almost 6 months (!) since the tornado and I don't think any more time or any more discussion will make a difference. 

He'll be home in about an hour to deliver the verdict.  I've got my Manhattan glass chillin'.  I'll let you know!

Meanwhile, I applied for a faculty position at the Frontier Nursing University.  This is a highly-regarded program that trains nurse-midwives and nurse practioners to work with the medically underserved. 

The nurses gave care to the inaccessible by making house calls on horseback. 

The program is large - they admit 600 students from around the world every year.  The teaching would be done online with a requirement that I visit the campus in Hyden, KY several times a year. 

I've been there before while researching an article in 1996 about the organization as a model of nurse-managed care.  I loved it - the school, the school's mission, the clinics staffed by nurses, and the location itself.  The small campus is nestled in the hollers of Kentucky - real "Coal Miner's Daughter" country. 

It's another option I'm looking at and I'm trying not to get too excited but ..... I'm kinda excited!