JSber

I realize this is an old post, but I was reading through out of interest and this caught my eye. Different agencies and facilities ARE different, and I happen to work at one that prohibits things like accessing personal email, streaming music (for example from YouTube), and similar on our unclassified computers. Not only would a CD player never be allowed into our facility, they wouldn’t allow the CDs to come in either. This isn’t the SCIF; this is for the entirety of the unclassified workspace in our building. It DOES drive me nuts that I miss calls from my son’s school, from doctor’s offices, etc. during the day when I’m at the office. I provide everyone with both phone numbers to reach me at (personal and work), but I can’t even count the number of times I’ve left work at the end of the day only to find missed calls and voicemails on my personal cell phone about things that are actually important and that I should have learned about hours earlier. But that’s just one reason why I wish I worked from home more often. I commute 2.5 hrs per day for my job, and 80% of what I do could be done at home (I do prefer to have meetings in person). Ideally, I’d work from home 2-3 days per week if it were permitted. I am more focused, more efficient, and more productive when I work at home, not to mention I work more hours because I get back the time I otherwise spend commuting. I love my job, but it’s definitely not for everyone. The hiring and clearance hassles are merely the tip of the iceberg, and the lack of access to my phone and inability to work remotely more often are mere annoyances compared to everything else. We make it very clear to people we interview the restrictions they’ll have to deal with, etc. Some decline job offers citing those restrictions, and I don’t blame them. It’s not a matter of work ethic; many of them have PhDs (which are tough to get without work ethic!). It’s simply that they can go somewhere else and make the same or more money, and at the same time have a lot more flexibility and work-life balance. If I wasn’t already so devoted to my field and my job I’d probably do the same. 🙂

Darn, seeing those photos makes me wish we’d made it over to Cove Beach when we were on CocoCay last week! I saw it on the map but we never made it there.

We just did this, and for us it was most economical to Uber. We paid about $55 for the Uber from the airport to the terminal midday on a holiday Monday, and about $80 for the return trip on a Saturday morning. With three people, both were cheaper than we would have paid for a shuttle. We had no problem getting the Uber at the airport right away, though it took a bit longer to get the Uber from the terminal (probably 15 minutes in total to find the driver and for him to arrive).

I am late coming back to reply to this, but wanted to thank you all for your responses re my son’s footwear. 🙂 I did end up finding him a new pair of dress shoes that fit well and are comfortable. We also now have some new slip-on boat shoes that he can wear with the back-up pants (khaki “joggers”) if needed. So footwear is good to go!

Thank you for this, as it sets up my (probably dumb) dress code question perfectly… Kids’ shoes at dinner. We will be taking our first cruise in January, and while I have nicer pants (khakis) and shirts (button-downs, polos) for my 10 year old son, trying to find dressier shoes to fit his wide feet is ALWAYS a problem. I’ve bought and returned 3-4 pairs in the past year, have one pair that hurts his feet (had to have them for a funeral), and have ordered him another pair to try… but seriously, is it an issue if he just wears his plain gray sneakers for the MDR and Chops?

Same (though my upcoming cruise will be my first). I definitely don’t drink enough to make the deluxe package worth it, but I would probably buy a less expensive package that was only wine, beer and soda since I would enjoy having a couple glasses of wine on most days (it’s vacation!!). Without a package though, I’m less likely to order as much by the glass.

Thank you very much!

Ah, ok, thank you!!

Is there only one type of internet package? I seem to recall reading that there are two types - one slow and one fast - but in my cruise planner I only see one type (surf + stream) offered for purchase.