Tag: travel pt

Home Sweet Hotel

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Welp, we live in a hotel. This should be interesting.

If you missed the previous post, here is what you need to know…Will’s contract was unexpectedly terminated five weeks into his assignment. In the two weeks that followed he accepted a new contract for nine weeks, we moved out of our rental, and set up shop in an extended stay hotel.

It’s been a little over a week since we moved into our new digs in the Twin Cities, and so far so good. However, we have found that there are significant challenges to hotel living, particularly cramming our lives into 540 sq. feet.

Currently, we are staying in a one-bedroom “suite”. All that really means is that there’s a door, albeit an important one, to the bedroom and bathroom. Amenities include a little kitchenette with a fridge/freezer combo, microwave, and a two-burner stove. The kitchenette also includes the basic utensils, dishes, pots and pans, and most importantly, a wine opener. Certainly more than adequate for a hotel stay, but somewhat lacking for a 9-week residency.

I’ll admit the kitchen is the hardest thing for me to get used to. I absolutely hate that we don’t have an oven and most of our meals come out of the microwave. Wife fail. But we are making it work and really, 9-weeks of lean cuisines can’t kill you, right? RIGHT!?

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Where the magic happens a.k.a. where the cat sleeps all day

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Living room and office space. Complete with coffee table/tote full of clothes.

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Kitchenette with state of the art microwave and non-functioning dishwasher. #blessed

Even with the teeny tiny living space, we’ve been pretty happy with our experience so far. There’s definitely a downside to hotel living, but some of the perks are pretty great too. A few of our favorites being:

  • Breakfast every morning
  • Dinner or snacks every Monday – Wednesday night
  • Free coffee ALL DAY (I have abused this privilege with abandon)
  • Housekeeping and linen swap 2X a week
  • Indoor pool and hot-tub (key for a cold MN winter)
  • Coin-op laundry on site (granted $4/load is not cheap and requires a lot of quarters)
  • Dog run area

The other great thing about the hotel is the location. We are right on the edge of Minneapolis/St. Paul and close to area attractions and hotspots. We haven’t had a chance to do much exploring yet, but we’re hoping to maximize the next 7 weeks and take advantage of everything the Twin Cities have to offer.

Hopefully, we’ll have plenty of adventures to report back soon!

Stay tuned…

 

Surprise!

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Things have been progressing along nicely since we settled in to our new Minnesota digs. So far we’ve had two major snowstorms, freezing rain, and a few days of 20 below zero. Pretty much par for the course ‘round these parts.

Will has been enjoying his first assignment and has started to find his groove. But of course, just when we think things are settling down…SURPRISE, they hired someone else. Neat-o.

Before we get into it, here’s a little background info: As a traveler, Will is contracted for 13 weeks with this specific facility. They have been looking for a full-time PT for some time, but without anyone to fill the position, they opted to hire travelers to fill the need. Will is not the first traveler they hired, but apparently, will be the last for a while.

Contractually, the facility had to give two-weeks notice of termination, so the bomb was dropped last Friday. Excellent way to start the weekend, right? He will finish out the remaining two weeks in his current position and then the new person will take over.

Obviously, this leaves us in quite the pickle.

One of our biggest concerns is that we really don’t want to start the 13 weeks over again. Not that we don’t love being in Minnesota (in winter), but we signed on to this lifestyle to see the country and experience different places. Starting a new 13-week assignment in late February would essential put us here for almost 6 months. Deal breaker.

On the bright side, Will’s recruiter was on the ball immediately. He let her know the situation Friday afternoon and by Monday morning she had submitted his application for several new contracts. Fast-forward to Wednesday and he’s done three different interviews with three different facilities, all ranging in start date and location.

We got some promising news that one of the facilities would be willing to honor an 8 or 9 week contract – essentially the time Will has left from his original contract. And, it starts in two weeks so there would be no gap in-between.

Fingers crossed this works itself out. It sounds promising right now, but as we are quickly learning, nothing is for certain.

Until next time….