It never fails.  I’ve been working in the news business for about seven years now (I write for a TV station’s website) and I know that the first hot day we get I’ll be writing a story about dumb people nearly drowning themselves.

On Thursday, with temperatures in the high 80s, it was four guys who decided to go rafting on the Sandy River without their life vests on.  Why no life vests?  They told our reporter they didn’t think it was a big deal… that they could just throw them on if they got into trouble.

So what happens?  Their raft capsizes, in the ensuing chaos they don’t have time to get their life vests on and they nearly drown in the freezing cold Sandy River.  Read the story…

While it’s bad news for the RV industry, I’m hoping it’s good news for us.  Maybe RV lots will be clamoring for our business and maybe we’ll be able to get a smokin’ deal on a new motorhome.  Wishful thinking?  We’ll see.

Article - RV Disaster - The recreational-vehicle industry is the newest casualty of the economic slump

The mercury’s expected to hit 88 degrees on Thursday and 94 degrees on Friday, according to KATU Meteorologist Rod Hill (a.k.a. my co-worker at the news station). Hmm… I wonder if my boss would buy my story if I called in sick. Uh… probably not.

But wait, it’s going to be 90 on Saturday and 83 on Sunday… my days off! Woo hoo! I’m getting my shades ready!

The top 10 reasons that I want to become a full-timer… Scott’s list may be different but since he’s relegated all the blog writing duties to me (composing an e-mail is a chore for him), I get my say. 

1. The travel. Visiting some great places.
2. The adventure. What will happen along the way?  What’s around the bend?
3. The freedom. Enough said. 
4. Slowing down.  If I keep going at the rate I’m going, the stress is going to kill me… literally.  I need a slower pace. 
5. My work environment sucks.  The newsroom is loud. My chair is uncomfortable.  There are no windows.  There is no color (the newsroom was redone recently, but all in gray… how depressing).
6. Working in peace.   I’m tired of breaking news, nasty phone calls from viewers, 50 zillion interruptions that don’t allow me to do what I want to do and my computer dinging me with news alerts and reminders every five minutes.
7. City traffic.  People who tailgate me, cut me off and flip me off when they perceive I have done them wrong are really getting on my nerves.
8. I want order.  My house is cluttered and it’s driving me absolutely mad.  Somehow I think living in a small space will force us to be neater. 
9. I crave change.  I’ve always been that way.  Just ask Scott how many times I’ve moved the furniture in the livingroom.
10. The coolness of it. I’m not going to lie… it’s a great feeling to have people tell you how cool they think this all is and how they wish they could do it.

Will we really be able to make this happen?  Is our credit good enough to get financing on a motorhome?  Will the house sell? Will my work come through on their promise so I can start full-timing?  Will we find a good home for our big dog, Susie?  Will we drive each other mad living in a confined space?  Will Scott’s business survive us being on the road? Will we be able to afford the gas?

Ok… I’ll shut up now.