Home Owner Warrenty Follies

One of the perks added to the house that we recently purchased in Leesburg was a home buyer's warranty from 2-10.  This type of warranty protection is often added by the seller to entice buyers, hopefully engendering confidence and a higher transaction price.

In our case, we asked for a warranty to be added to the deal as the price was being negotiated.  It seemed like a good idea costing us essentially nothing and offering a promise to fix major components of the house that could go belly up shortly after we moved in.

1983: Graduation -- Where Are The Jobs?

This is the second of my career posts, it focuses on my attempt to start my working career with a Bachelor of Science degree, double majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy (I think they were having a two-fer on the word "and").

Setting the Stage

The job market back in 1983 was rough across the country, even worse in Western Pennsylvania with the coal and steel industries in collapse and layoffs everywhere.  I wanted to work near where I grew up, I liked the area, the people, and I wasn't a huge fan of change.

Fortunately, I thought, I had chosen a top-notch school, Carnegie-Mellon University, an in demand major, engineering. I had grades to be proud of, graduating with University Honors (meaning my GPA qualified me to complete an undergraduate research project with a mini and I mean mini thesis), and I had plenty of resume stuffers in the form of President of Fraternity, Buggy designer, sports (intramural though they were).  I even had some work experience.  I thought I had ticked all the boxes and my search should be productive.

1996: Taking America Off Line

This is the first, of what I expect will be many trips in the way back machine to some of my significant career experiences, things I did that worked out and likely some that didn't.  I'll try to address both what happened and what I was able to learn as a result.

This is based on my recollection of events.  I have almost certainly, unintentionally, edited events in my memory, I'm trying to be accurate, but memories can be shifty at time.  Ultimately, its my blog and my story, so I'll apologize ahead of time for any errors, but I'm not going to worry about it (much).

2014: July Health Crisis

This past Friday (7/25) my coughing jags and mild fever got to annoying for my very patient wife, she told me I needed to go the doctor.  While it didn't seem too serious to me, I certainly didn't feel well and if Linda wants someone to go the doctor, they certainly should.

First Doctor Visit, 7/25

Dr. Harding had picked this Friday to get an early start on his vacation, so I got a same day appointment with another doctor in the Town Center Family Medicine practice. As I ran down my symptoms, fatigue, no endurance, persistent headache (the kind where it seems someone is driving a nail ever deeper), fever (100-101.5°F), general aches, and joint pain in my hip, I realized I was describing the flu minus nausea, which according to WebMD is a good summary of the symptoms of walking pneumonia.