Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[mysty]

WOW JP!  That trip sounds awesome!  Excellent work with the planning and organization!

[Lois R]

Hi JP, it all sounds pretty amazing

[jpalbny]

6 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi JP, it all sounds pretty amazing

 

10 hours ago, mysty said:

WOW JP!  That trip sounds awesome!  Excellent work with the planning and organization!

 

We are really happy that we could make all of that work out. The only thing I might have tried differently was to book all 3 legs from Albany to Kiev on a single ticket through Air France (instead of the first two legs through Delta and the third on a separate ticket).

 

I am thinking that the gate agent in Albany could probably interline our luggage on the AF flight so we don't have to pick it up in Paris and recheck it to Kiev. That would involve going through passport control twice in one day... Entering the Schengen Zone to go to baggage claim, then exiting for the Kiev flight. It might be our shortest Europe trip ever, though... 😉 We have enough time in between flights to make it work either way.

 

Interlining is a cool trick. The last time I needed to do it, we were flying to Lanai and I used it to get out of paying a baggage fee on the little Island Air puddle jumper we took from Honolulu to Kauai. The Albany Delta agent was able to append the Island Air flight onto our baggage routing tag once I gave her the ticket, and we checked the bag in Albany and next saw it in Lanai many hours later. Those were the days.

 

I don't think they consistently do it any more unless it's a partner airline, so hopefully the AF codeshare will make it work. A bit of a gray zone because it's only an AF codeshare. The actual operator is Ukraine International Airways. We shall see!

Edited December 20, 2018 by jpalbny

[mysty]

Good luck with the interlining JP!  I'm sure it will be a trip to remember!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[Lois R]

Hi friends, I have some fun news...…..we got Christmas bonuses yesterday and yes, I will buy my own presents too LOL

 

JP, when is this trip? I must have missed it somewhere in the previous postings.

 

 

[jpalbny]

Lois, Ukraine is in May. The South America trip for Chris's birthday is next month. It is a lot to keep track of!

 

Congratulations on the Christmas bonus! Enjoy whatever you buy. 😄

 

Only one more day before the sun reverses and the days start getting longer. It's not very noticeable at first but I think that once we get back from South America the difference will be more obvious.

 

I did some sunrise/sunset calculations for the South America trip. The sun rises in Torres del Paine a few minutes before 6:00 and doesn't set until 10:00! Very excited to see some daylight!

 

Also, by a stroke of dumb luck, we timed our visit to the Atacama Desert to perfectly coincide with the new moon. So there should be perfectly dark skies, in one of the premiere stargazing destinations on the planet. Excited to see what the skies look like there!

[mysty]

2 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

Also, by a stroke of dumb luck, we timed our visit to the Atacama Desert to perfectly coincide with the new moon. So there should be perfectly dark skies, in one of the premiere stargazing destinations on the planet. Excited to see what the skies look like there!

JP that sounds like a magical experience!  Savour it!

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, jpalbny said:

I did some sunrise/sunset calculations for the South America trip. The sun rises in Torres del Paine a few minutes before 6:00 and doesn't set until 10:00! Very excited to see some daylight!

You probably saw my pics of Torres del Paine in Nov 2017, so I hope you get the weather that we had.  Living in the mountains like we do, it's rare for any range to take my breath away.  Torres del Paine did and I'll never forget it.  Destination of a lifetime!

[silkismom]

I don't know about others, but I don't like the new CC, with the old version I could just look at my "name" and find new things that I was following, also within each cruise line I could see which things I was looking at before--if this all makes any sense. Now I don't know where anything is. What can I say, I'm an old former blond. Or can't you even say that anymore??

[jpalbny]

Stumblefoot, I don't remember your pix, sorry! But I'd like to see them! Where are they?

 

Silkismom, if you click on the tab marked "activity" above, there is an option to look at "content I posted in" which should give you what you are looking for. You can bookmark that page and start there if you want. It's not terrible but it takes a minute to log in each time you open CC. So you have to wait after opening the page to see your threads listed.

[tgh]

The Paine massif is certainly special ,as is Atacama, enjoy jp.

I camped at Explora both locations. 

Atacama was an exceptional stay , Patagonia just so so and a victim of it's success , one assumes 

Some of my maternal family spread out from Poland through Ukraine

A great uncle was farming there 100 years or so ago , sadly no surviving lines have been found.

 

Compliments of the Season to all Coolers both current and retired…  

 

[Lois R]

7 hours ago, silkismom said:

I don't know about others, but I don't like the new CC, with the old version I could just look at my "name" and find new things that I was following, also within each cruise line I could see which things I was looking at before--if this all makes any sense. Now I don't know where anything is. What can I say, I'm an old former blond. Or can't you even say that anymore??

 

That is how I felt for a few weeks after the changeover but I guess I have gotten used to it now.  The activity stream is helpful to find threads you are active on.....

[Lois R]

Hi everyone, I need to buy a printer and scanner......hopefully one of the folks at Best Buy can help. I will bring my laptop with me (it is an HP) and I know I will find something but I just hope I will be able to figure out how to use it LOL

[mysty]

25 minutes ago, tgh said:

Compliments of the Season to all Coolers both current and retired…  

 

 

And best wishes of the season to you tgh!

[silkismom]

Thank you, that helps a lot

 

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Seasonal Greetings to all Coolers ...and happy and safe travels to all travellers.  Continued funny funnies M .... 🙂

 

We’re just doing the square root of nothing and have a few trips planned.  Singapore in a coupke of weeks and two trips to Vienna for our birthdays and the Christmas Markets in December.  I guess we will find other things to do.  

 

We continue to gravitate our daily eatings  to very simple and unfussy food.  I’ve made a large vat of The Broth of God made with some lovely corn fed free range chickens and far too much soffritto and with some veg gyozo and I’ve made some bread that no one has probably actually baked but it would have been what ancient French might have eaten if they could .  90% Canadian high protein white flour with the rest made from dark rye and khorosan flour with a poolish starter.  We’re having some more bread tonight with some Italian salami.   All with French butter.  I don’t understand why but such things  make us happier than  stuff. 

 

 

[mysty]

Looks delicious J!  The delightful aromas are wafting across the pond!

[Lois R]

Hi friends, I got some really shocking news today...…..my position is being dissolved and the company wants me to go work at HQ.  I have been in the same place for 28 years and had no clue whatsoever this was coming...……...they want me to work in the "Corporate Credit Dept" I am still trying to process

all of this and what it means.  

Yes, it is the same company but I am in the "branch".....our HQ is a few hundred yards away (across the parking lot) so same distance from home but a totally different thing...…..I called my sister and she said they could have dissolved my job and said "bye" which I guess is true...….that they still want me with the company.  But I am still in shock...…..it will be a lateral move.

No more or less $$$.  I was called into a meeting this morning for almost an hour.  The company is making changes and consolidating quite a few things from the branch level to the corporate level.  They did compliment my work and the VP of Credit was there along with my boss.  They said they could have

hired someone from the outside but I was told they have always been happy with my work and other things about changes overall with the company.  Just really floored about it and right now I am not really happy.

 

It must be true what they say....getting older makes it very hard to change...…..

 

Thanks for listening to my venting.

[mysty]

 

3 minutes ago, Lois R said:

They did compliment my work but I am still shocked………..

 

 

Lois,  sit with the shock for a while.  once you deal with the shock I think you will recognize that this change is much better than being let go.  You have a job, no real relocation required, new possibilities, potentially new friends.  Go in with an open mind and I think you will find it will not be as bad as you are perhaps imagining.  Change is constant......rolling with the changes instead of fighting them is the way to stay relatively sane.  Best wishes!

[Lois R]

Hi Mysty, thanks for the kind words. I know you are probably right but I honestly can't believe they are doing this.....after all these years,  they are getting rid of my job...……...I think I need a glass of wine.

 

Oh, I already know most of the people in HQ and 2 of them who I will be working with...…...

[jpalbny]

Lois, sorry to hear the bad part of your news but there is a lot of positive news in there too. I hope the move works out for you, and that it's better than you expected! All change is hard.

Edited December 21, 2018 by jpalbny

[mysty]

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

 I know you are probably right but I honestly can't believe they are doing this.....after all these years,  they are getting rid of my job...……...I think I need a glass of wine.

 

Lois don't take this personally!  This is about getting rid of the function not the person.  It isn't about you or your performance.  The company obviously feels that it is important for the health of the company to restructure.  That is better than letting it continue as it did historically if the historical way of doing things is no longer working.  They are keeping YOU.  It is the job function they are trimming.

[Lois R]

Thank you JP and Mysty.  I am glad we are off for the next 4 days. We are closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so I won't be going to back to work till Wednesday.  Oh, the new one will probably start mid to late January.