Prelude

Yes, you heard it right! I have been taken on board as a bicycle tour guide in the sunny Loire Valley of France this summer. Now, let's go back to the beginning to get ourselves aligned.....

Once upon a time I had a full-time job, well, really several, but the most recent being in Tokushima, Japan. I decided to jump ship, or yacht as it was known to those in the know, & returned back home to the "good ole' USA". I had no future lined up, so my dad helped me out, & I ended up working with him most of the last year, doing construction in south NJ.



Here's a pic of one of the fences he installed, as well as the one in the background the year before.






And a house we put new vinyl siding on. It had to be the hottest days of the summer when we were working there.






Moving along, I hooked up with ETS, the company that creates standardized tests for myriad purposes. if you've ever been through the US schooling system, you've probably taken one of their tests. My duties amount to being a scorewhore - I listen to audio responses from international candidates trying to get accepted to 'merican universities. I was doing this for a month or so when I got a note from Boomer: "Quit yer bitching & apply for this job!" with a link to a job posting - Le Vieux Moulin, a home-based bicycle touring center in France was in search of a French-speaking bike tour guide for the summer.

I was planning on trying to stick around the states & get myself grounded again, sending time with the fam, chasing the 'merican dream; however, biking, France, wine, cheese with pay....so, I haphazardly slapped together a resume & sent it off, expecting to be forgotten. Lo & behold, I get a note the next day from the owner asking for an interview. We chat for a while. I hear nothing for two days & decide to forget it, when I get another call from Steve, wanting to speak again b/c he had a few mo' questions for me. Excitement comes over me as I ring him back. Well, 1st question is "So, do you want the job?". Duuuhh, yeah!!

So y'all, I'm going back to France to 'work' from May 9-September 25 thanks to my bud Boomer. Props & kudos & thanks & all that mushy stuff.



I'm now making a list & checking it 15 times, and trying to study up on the area I'll be in so I don't look like a complete a@* when the 1st group arrives. Just blew a wad of money on an mp3 player so I can rock the funky beats over yonder.