OK. I guess that’s a little overstating it. I’m not really unemployed. The job is over and the contract is up; I can’t sign up for unemployment because I’m making too much money – from my pension.
Students at a nuclear power plant simulator – photo rendered as a painting.
This was my second contract since I retired a little over three years ago. Both have been for about 6 months and both have been doing part of the job that I used to do before I retired – teaching license operator candidates in the classroom and in the simulator.
The class did well in the simulator operational exams administered by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week. The last day of the operational exams was Thursday, which was also my last day on the job. I had my box packed and was out the door by a little after 6 PM.
I suppose it will take a little time to get back into the swing of not working.
I think I’ll be up to speed by sometime Monday morning. 
I’ve got quite a lot of work to do around our place this spring, summer, and fall. Of course, we’ll get a little bit of traveling in, too.
Then, sometime in January, it looks like I’ll probably be back at work. That’s about the time the next class should be at the point where I’ll be needed – if they allocate the funds, which I think is quite likely.
I’ve worked a total of about 13 1/2 months out of the last 36 – and when I do work, it’s doing something I know well and get satisfaction from.
I’ve been working quite a number of hours in the simulator the last few weeks.
One of the requirements for reactor operators is that they demonstrate the ability to start up the reactor. Each candidate practiced the reactor startup 5 times and then had a startup where he or she is evaluated by someone from Operations management.
So that’s a total of 6 startups for each student. There are 12 students, so, over the last few weeks, there have been 72 startups for training or evaluation — and I was there for every one of them. Total time in the simulator for this was about 84 hours over a 4 week period — about 20 hours a week. And that doesn’t include the several startups that I did to verify the scenario I was using and to establish the conditions for the evaluations.
This week, I am working in the simulator from about 4 PM to midnight every day, providing support and guidance for a crew of students who are shutting the plant down and cooling to “cold iron.” Once that’s done, they’ll be doing a heatup to normal operating condition, with a startup and power escalation to as high in power as we can get before the end of the shift on Friday.
I’ll certainly be ready for a rest when the weekend rolls around.
On Wednesday, another retiree — who I’ve known for over 25 years — went back to work on contract, the same day that I did. He’s working in another part of the training organization from the one I’m working in.
It just so happens, though, that his son is an “in-house” employee in that same organization.
Since he has been contracted to work primarily in a support role, there may be times that he’ll be providing support for his son.
He told me today that he didn’t have problem with doing whatever they needed for him to do, but that his son might have a little bit of a problem telling his dad what he wanted done.
It’s back to work I go — I think.
We should know something soon as the proposed date to start is June 1st.
The contract schedule will be a little different from last time. I’ll be working about 6 weeks and will then have about 6 to 8 weeks off while the class is involved in activities that do not require my “expertise.” The entire contract for me will be 6 months of actual work.
During the 6 to 8 weeks that I am off — assuming the funding for the contract is actually approved — we’ll be traveling out in the western mountain states. We had originally planned that trip for July and August, so it’ll be a little delayed, unless the funding is not approved.
I really do enjoy the work that I’ll be doing under the contract. It’s the best part of the job that I had before I retired.
The job will help us keep from dipping into our savings for the duration of the contract and we’ll try to pay down a debt or two so that the pension and other income will stretch further when I’m not working.
Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, it’s off to work I go…, probably…, maybe.
We’re leaving Harper’s Ferry this morning, heading for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
I’ve finally succumbed to a cold — first one this season of any consequence.
The good news is that I won’t be passing it on to anyone at work because I’m not at work — for now.
I was hired as a contractor to work through the first week of March. Then the students went to the plant to support the other unit’s refueling outage. I’ll go back to work about the 8th or 9th of April — the week before classes pick up again. My last day was supposed to be Friday, but that turned into a snow day.
The snow is all gone. Living about 500 feet above the river valley, when we have frozen precipitation, we generally get a bit more than many of the surrounding areas and it usually lasts a little longer. But, still, it’s Arkansas and March, so the snow didn’t stay around long.
I’ve taken about a 5 day break from reading e-mail and looking at blogs… I’ll get back to it. Just taking a bit of a break.
During the last couple of weeks, I’ve been looking at, and downloading, a lot of images associated with the Depression years and the dust bowl. I read a book called “The Worst Hard Time” and found a copy of the old Government propaganda documentary “The Plow that Broke the Plains.” With all of that as a starting point, I picked up a copy of Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.”
I read quite a bit — and I used to read a whole lot more — but I’ve never been one to get into the great classics of literature. This time, though, having spent some time getting to know the background, this book is an easy and interesting read. I’ve never tried to read it before, that I know of, and I think I would know since the protagonist’s last name, Joad, is so close to mine. (Did I really just use the word protagonist?)
It’s been 3 days now of getting up early to go to the fitness center before going to work. The fitness center opens at 5 A.M. and normal working hours begin at 7 A.M. This morning I was at the gym about 10 minutes after it opened.
Tonight, I was sitting in the living room reading and the next thing I know, two hours have passed — I’ve been sleeping. I guess I’ve grown accustomed to a bit more sleep over the last 12 months. I could go to the fitness center after work, but I prefer going in the morning when it is less crowded. On days where I’m in the simulator with the class in the late afternoon and evening, I’ll be going later in the morning.
I’ve spent most of the last couple of days reading procedures. I’ve got two “instructor refamiliarization guides” to complete before I can resume teaching. One is for general instructor and the other is for simulator instructor. Needless to say, the reading is pretty dry — make that very dry!
My first scheduled class to teach is Monday, February 11th.
(Note: The control room in the photograph is from Shippingport Nuclear Power Plant, one of the early plants, no longer in operation.)
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