Quick update from training class...

It's been a while since I posted, mostly because we have been very busy here at our Response Technology training class. I suppose I should have mentioned to everyone that this was likely to happen -- the seemingly abrupt end to postings last week apparently concerned some folks.

In any case, all is fine and we are still here in Austin. We are parked at the Red Cross technology maintenance center, where there is, conveniently, a 50-amp power outlet. I'm not going to post the map link, even though the address of the maintenance center isn't all that hard to find on the net. We have been here since last Saturday -- I moved Odyssey directly here from my last digs over by Lowe's, then borrowed a Red Cross rental car to pick Louise up at the airport.

Class started first thing Sunday morning, and ends tomorrow afternoon, making for a full seven days. We have generally started at 8:30 every morning, and regular instruction has ended sometime after 5pm, after which we have been involved in various evening social activities with the other students. Generally, we have headed right to bed after arriving back here each evening.

Last night was the big exception: Louise headed downtown with some of the other students for Austin's famous "First Thursday" event, while I and ten other students sat through the amateur radio Technician Class License exam. All eleven of us passed, so yours truly is now a licensed ham.

Today our US mail also caught up with us here, and we learned that we are being audited by the IRS for the first time in our lives. We will need to call the examiner first thing Monday, since we are already late: the letter, mailed on March 15th, requested we reply by March 30th. I am guessing that the whole life-on-the-road thing is just too weird for the IRS and sets off all sorts of audit flags, so I am not too surprised.

In other news, one of our fellow students was dismissed this afternoon because they absolutely needed to deploy someone to the tornadoes in Tennessee. This prompted us to look at the maps -- it looks as if they missed all the folks we know in that state, but they did hit some areas we've traveled through. Our hearts go out to those affected by all the tornadoes.

As I have posted here earlier, we are scheduled to be trained on the ECRV's in Gridley, California in another week (the principle reason we were not deployed to the tornadoes ourselves). In order to be there on time with a relatively comfortable driving schedule, we will leave here first thing Sunday morning and proceed directly to Gridley via the most direct route, with a planned arrival a week from tomorrow. I don't expect to get another chance to post while we are here, so you will next hear from us somewhere en-route.