Travel Jobs Return

The phone rings, and though I rarely answer it these days, I see an out of state area code and pick it up. A recruiter; Jenny, is calling "Gary I have lots of exciting positions in the ICU for you", she says excitedly.

Jenny begins to explain that during the summer she had less than 200 positions available and it was the worst she had ever seen in her career. I think most experienced travel nurses can attest to this as well. Now, things have changed and she has over 1000 positions to fill.

I explain to her that during the summer I had locked in an additional three months in San Diego to wait out the work slowdown. Jenny thinks that was smart; I tell her there are worse places to enjoy the holidays than San Diego. She laughs and agrees.

A second recruiter calls the next day and tells me basically the same thing; lots of needs for travelers. Out of several travelers I started with in San Diego most of them ended up taking permanent work in the area. For some it was the location that helped make up their mind to stay, but for many it was the lack of travel alternatives.

I think it is important for travelers and those interested in travel to reflect back on this past summer and take away some lessons.

The sky isn't falling. I heard this a lot from new travelers who thought the travel industry was over and finished with. I don't these new people understood travel, as travelers can actually save money for hospitals when used correctly. We provide short term staffing needs for when hospitals need us the most, without the expense of additional year round staffing.

Nothing stays the same. There is a good because there was a bad, how else can we judge how one time is better than another? This season of over-staffing helped cull travelers that were not prepared, as well as prevent those from entering who were not ready for the commitment travel requires.

Travelers are appreciated again. Nothing like working short on staffing for a hardy welcome to a traveler there to help out.

It pays to save. Having gone through a tough time serves as a reminder for travelers that there is no such thing as guaranteed work, and more than any profession, a traveler needs to have that six month savings in place.

So I plan to remain in Southern California for the holidays and will be looking for a new location in January. I am not concerned where we go or when we will find out. The weather is too good not to miss out here.

An Ode to Coffee

Good coffee in the morning, rich, robust, and black;
a tall cup filled, and a pot with no lack.

My mouth does welcome it's taste;
my body greets its warmth, as I lean back in my chair for there is no haste.

No; this morning I have no rush, no agenda, or plan;
simply to soak up morning sun rays; and later fry eggs in a pan.

Oh, this cup of coffee greets me well;
it's steam rises and is delicious the aroma does tell.

From bean to grinder and pot to cup;
today has not started till I finish this up.

Why Blog?

The other day I met an employee of Google. Boy did that make my day! We talked about phones, androids, chrome browsers, and servers, and the future in general. He asked me why I was interested in the Google phone number and I sounded like a salesman with a great pitch as I listed off reasons to own one. Hope I get the invite soon.

When sharing our conversation with a coworker I was asked why I would want to blog?

A peculiar question to me, none the less I will give her an answer, but only as a blog response.

I travel because I enjoy seeing new locations and of course a brave attempt at avoiding cold winters. Though I have another journey as well, the one called life; for no matter where I travel, I find that I am always there. So to avoid the stumbles along the way I think it best to take notes, hence the blog .

Too often in life our mistakes are destined to repeat themselves. Blogging is an effort to straighten out the tangle of choices and help prevent them from reoccurring. The effort it requires to sit and consider what has been going on in my life and present an orderly and written account helps me keep a focus on what is important. Yet, even more importantly it has been helping me focus on releasing those things that are unimportant.

Katherine Hepburn was once asked how she was able to live such a successful life and she responded saying, "Elimination. I simply got rid of anyone and anything that really didn't matter one bit to me. You know, dead weight, excess baggage, that sort of thing."

At first the elimination process began with material things, and believe me, when traveling; less is more. I learned that the more I got rid of things the more free and released I felt. Now, my focus on elimination is on habits and wasted time.

I have some time wasters that I am currently working on. Will I feel just as free after releasing them as I did material stuff? Time will tell. One thing is for certain, I should have more available time to complete those things which are important to me.

Blogging about this helps me feel accountable, as I am sure someone is reading it, and if not; at least it helps me have a reference point to come back and visit and see how I have progressed. I remember the first time I was looking for an assignment, and wonder if the next experience will go better than the last one. What kind of obstacles will Mary and I overcome to get there? All these things can be kept as a record and useful notes.

That is why I blog.

Deliberate Travel

Sunset in La Jolla

I recently had eight days off in a row and was asked by several people where are you going? Not what are you going to do, but most people thought we had to go somewhere to do something. I even fell for the idea for a day, dreaming of a few days in Vegas or returning home to see family and friends.

Then I came across two words for travelers; Slow…Down.

Upon seeing these two words I remembered the whole point of traveling for Mary and me which was to live like a local from afar. Another way of putting it is deliberate travel, which I define as just not relocating to different sites but discovering and allocating time to enjoy where we are.

This rules out travel as just a tourist trying to cram every site before a week's end, deliberate travel makes sure to view the colors of a sunset and the tastes of a favorite local diner.

Deliberate travel takes a second look at things of interest and requires us to improvise during the day. Deliberate travel helps us learn not to worry when we don't know where our next assignment might be; those worries are for people strapped to the demands and restraints of keeping up a home and schedule.

We remembered we came to San Diego to enjoy this area, so why spend a few days away when there is so much here?

We kayaked in La Jolla with leopard sharks and sea lions, bicycled in the gas lamp district and Little Italy, we saw beautiful sunsets, and yes you may have guessed; we made time for afternoon naps.

When living in a permanent home in Missouri, we had schedules, we were efficient, and there was always a point to our efforts.

On assignment, there is no point, no need for a schedule, and no rush to complete a list. The priority on my days off is to enjoy the day.

People ask me if the pay is good for travel nursing, completely missing the real point of traveling…Time. The time off is great!

Getting interested?