Acknowledging Change

0 comments

Reflecting on the Journey

Hello everyone, I want to take a moment to acknowledge that I have not been consistent in updating this website. When my wife Onalea and I first started this journey, she was the one who took charge of the blog and information sharing, while I focused on maintaining my job at that time.

Embracing the Digital Nomad Lifestyle

A lot has changed in the past two years. Onalea tragically passed away on June 1st, 2022. Since then, I have been grappling with significant challenges, including being caught up in the recent round of tech layoffs and facing the impending loss of my remote job on March 27th, 2024. This period of uncertainty has led me to reevaluate my goals and aspirations.

Navigating the Future

With the rise of AI and my experience in living a nomadic lifestyle, I see a unique opportunity to design and implement tools for nomads while enhancing my technical skills. My plan for the next three months is to upskill, fill knowledge gaps, and acquire certifications to validate my expertise. Thank you for your ongoing support and understanding. Let’s navigate this journey together.

How to stay connected as digital nomads

0 comments

The ways we stay connected as digital nomads

During this holiday season and throughout the year staying connected with family, friends, and professional contacts is important to us. The way we communicate with others has definitely changed being on the road. Here are the top 5 ways we do it:

1. How to stay connected through video:

We like seeing our friends and family even when it’s not in person here are some of the technologies we use and what we like and dislike about them:

Facebook

This is Onalea’s favorite way to do video. We enjoy talking to friends and family through Facebook video call. It is our go to method when everyone wants to be on the phone. It is a quick and casual method with the biggest downside being that you have to login to Facebook. I know 80% of adults have Facebook but the app is so bulky and intrusive Michael avoids putting on his computer.

Zoom

This is our go to business/formal meeting. With Zoom you the ability to screen share, show a whiteboard and provide a multiple suite of business tools. The major con of this is it is designed for business and comes with a cost. You can connect via one on one at no charge or have multiple participants but only for 40 minutes before you are prompted to upgrade your account.

Discord

This is Michael’s favorite app to communicate through, it is free and not near as intrusive as Facebook. The ability to change name and join different groups offers privacy when necessary. Discord is mobile and computer friendly, however it is lacking some of the business tools zoom offers and does not have near the number of users as Facebook. It currently is used more for gaming but slowly coming into the mainstream with non-gamers.

2. How to stay connected through text:

Most of our communication now is text messages, whether it is via the phone or computer, text messages are our preferred method of random communication.

Email

Email is a major form of communication, and every person out there should strongly consider getting a real email address. What do I mean about a real email address? Michael’s is blog@ourworkingvacation.com. Onalea’s is help@evertwebsite.com. The pros are your data is not being sold. Your email is transportable. It also allows you to quickly portray you are tech savvy, people judge you by your email address. The biggest con is these do cost between 3 to 15 dollars a month depending on your plan.

Slack

This is an amazing business chat, Michael has used teams, AOL (yes, he is old), and other company-built apps, but Slack by far is his favorite. If you are lucky enough to work for a company that uses Slack you know how nice it is. Slack is now offering a new voice/video program which I have not used yet. If you have it please let comment and let us know how you like it.

Discord, yes again

Discord is a free app that works great for chat and video. You can quickly create rooms, join others and toggle between multiple conversations. It also works well both on a computer and phone. While more popular with gamers it is starting to make its way into the mainstream.

Facebook messenger

Michael refuses to use Facebook on the computer because the amount of content it gathers but he does use it on his phone. Onalea does have it installed on her computer to help run the business as it is a necessary evil to have.

SMS text through phone number

So, sending text message through your phone is out of date much like phone numbers. A phone number is like an IP address a series of numbers that no one can remember. In addition, 90% of calls/text that come through on number are telemarketers or scams. While the phone companies have done at best a half ass job of screening those, apps have been built from the ground up with AI that filters out all the junk.

3. How to stay connected through apps:

There are so many apps out there some of which allow some form of communication. A few we use are: 

Fitbit

Using a fitness app with others helps you keep motivated. With Fitbit there are challenges you can set up with others and there is a chat function within them.

Pokémon Go

This is a favorite for both of us! There is not a direct chat function, but you add people as friends and are able to send them gifts and they send you gifts back. If anyone wants to add us as a friend on Pokémon Go, please do! Onalea’s trainer code is 055772479666 and Michael’s is 038072896726, he is not on as much as Onalea. 

Snapchat

With is app you can share a photo, selfies and send a quick message. Snapchat is easy to use and there are some funny filters for your selfies!

4. How to stay connected through voice:

Any of the video ways above but turn off the camera or a simple phone call.

5. Other ways to stay connected:

Sometimes you may want to communicate, but not by a phone or computer here are some options for that:

Postcards

Even though snail mail is way old school it still has an eclectic charm. Onalea loves to send out postcards, people really enjoy receiving snail mail from our current location. If you would like to receive a postcard, please contact us with your address to let us know we can add you to the list.  

In-Person

When we are somewhere that we have family and/or friends we see what we can do to meet up with them. We’ve had a lot of fun to catching up with people we know or getting to know some family better. If you are interested in seeing us if we are in your area, please contact us. If you are visiting an area we are in please let us know if you want to meet up. Also, anyone that wants to join us on any leg of our journey let us know.

10 tips on your stay with family on vacation

0 comments

10 tips to make staying with family or friends an enjoyable working vacation.

Being able to visit friends and family is a major benefit of working remotely.  If clear boundaries and expectations are not set upfront your working vacation can turn into a working nightmare. Here are 10 tips to help keep your stay fun and productive. 

Keep your stay to a month or less

In our experience this is about the amount of time before you go from a welcomed house guest to an unwanted presence.

Explain what you need to work/live

How fast do you need your internet to be? What kind of office space do you need? How much privacy while working do you need? Would a toddler busting into the room mid meeting be a problem or a clever angle in your sales pitch?

Offer to pay

Look around on Airbnb to find a comparable stay, and offer to pay that. This offer lets them know that you appreciate you letting them stay, while showcasing that you do not wish to be a burden.

Stick to a schedule

Have a schedule and communicate this to your host so they know when you are working.

Invite them to spend time in their own house

Say “We are planning on staying in on Wednesday to cook dinner. Would you like to join us?“ This is a subtle way of saying even when we are here we don’t always need/want to hang out.

Be open to suggestions but do not ask them to be your tour guide

Before visiting make sure to plan ahead with a list of things you want to do. Share this list before you arrive, this lets them know what you like to do so they can make recommendations, while also letting them know you have your own agenda and won’t rely upon them for entertainment.

Have do not disturb guidelines

We use a hanger on a door to signal “Do Not Disturb”, but any clear signal is fine. The important thing is to discuss this beforehand. Say “I am going to put a hanger on the door to let you know when I am in a meeting so you don’t accidentally interrupt” not “You can’t come in.”

Its ok to say no

It is easy for your host to think “Oh good there is an extra set of hands around the house.” Help when you can of course, but don’t fall into the trap of becoming an unpaid handyperson.

Explain your job

They do not need the details, but some basic understanding is important. For example, throughout my day I have to juggle multiple tasks at a time. When I go to the kitchen, I am still thinking about all those tasks. If I stop and talk it breaks my concentration. You can also say I am expected to answer alarms in under a minute so if a ding goes off no matter what I must focus on that. A work day at home is still a work day and it’s important to have clear boundaries.

Be prepared to leave

If you feel like staying any longer could hurt your relationship, make up a reason and leave. The most important thing is maintaining your connection to your friends and family, make sure to prioritize creating space when necessary.

Bonus tip

Don’t forget to tell them any special dietary/health needs you have, this makes all the difference at family meals.

Traveling and working while covid is going on

0 comments

A lot of people ask us… Doesn’t covid scare you? The answer is yes but we take steps to mitigate our risk.

  1. Get vaccinated and the booster. We both are fully vaccinated, and we have our boosters with a different company than our original to hopefully get the most protection.
  2. Avoid indoors. We stay in climates that are warmer, we try and eat outside or in less crowded areas. We still take most our food to go or delivered.
  3. Wear your mask. We both have a comfortable mask and wear them on airplanes, shared transport, or in crowded areas.
  4. Avoid non vaccinated people. You can ask if the event that you go to requires proof of vaccination and avoid going to any event that affiliates with the anti-vaccine community.
  5. Wash up. We wash our hands more and always carry hand sanitizer with us. We also check the bathrooms first when going into a place. If there is no hot water, soap or paper towels we simply let the people know and leave before ordering.
  6. Be healthy. OK so you are going to get sick when traveling, between the new food new climate and new diseases you will get sick. Start taking daily vitamins start living healthy and get tested when you are not feeling good. In USA you can currently buy two tests for 20.00.

We have flown multiple airlines, traveled in high infection areas and in low infection areas and by following above we have not gotten covid. We also think with the treatment options available we should survive if we got infected. We must live life and from our travels it looks like most places are opening back up.

Traveling with a CPAP and Medicine

0 comments

CPAP

I have found the best way to get through airport security is to have the CPAP in its own bag with a luggage tag that says, “medical equipment”. I have never been questioned about it or have been stopped to have it searched, this is the tag I use. I also have a Drs note stating I need the equipment, some airlines state they need this, but I have yet to be asked for it. Most airlines will allow you to carry the CPAP bag on for no extra charge nor count it as your carry on or personal item, I suggest you check with the airline you are using before you go. In my opinion, the biggest pain in the rear about traveling with a CPAP is that I need distilled water for the humidifier. The weight of the distilled water is not something I want to add to my luggage, so it is a top priority on our list of things to get right away.

Medicine

I have this bag designed for medicine bottles and I have 4 weekly travel pill organizers. I love the bag because it has a lock and there is enough space for the weekly organizers to fit. The lock feature is very important to me because sometimes there are children living where we stay so knowing they cannot get into it gives me peace of mind. The weekly pill organizers are great because I can easily take a day out and it fits in my purse. I choose to buy 4 weeks’ worth for two reasons 1) I only need to take time to fill them every 4 weeks and 2) it helps me make sure I have enough refills.

My refills are sent to home base then I have someone send them to me. My refills are for 90 days and most of my meds were prescribed at different times so pills were arriving all the time. I worked with the fulfillment center for 6 months to try and get them all on the same 90-day cycle, a complete pain! I talked to so many people, I had to explain what I wanted done every time I called. There were misunderstandings on both sides until I was finally assigned a representative to speak with for each call. There was a lot of back and forth, but I was finally getting somewhere. I found out that the plan I’m on allows vacation overrides once a year, this would send me a full 90 days’ worth of the medicine and then the new renewal date would change accordingly. YAY! This is exactly what I needed! The rep I was working with spent time making sure everything was going to go as planned, but it turns out there are stipulations on the vacation override that she was not aware of. Ug! Turns out that the medicine could not have been filled within a certain timeframe before the vacation override request. I still don’t have all the meds on the same 90-day cycle, I have about half of them, so it is better than it was. With the coverage we have there is only allowance for vacation override every so often so when I am eligible for that again I will hopefully be able to get them all on the same cycle. I wish this was something I’d investigated before traveling full time was even a thought. I’m excited for the day all my meds are on the same cycle.

Why I travel with medical supplies

In March 2015 I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea. Since then, I have gone through tests and procedures, have been prescribed different medicines, and went through cardiac rehab a few times. With heart failure there are different medicine combos you may be put on and it can take a bit to get the right dose, but once you are on them and show improvement you are not taken off the medicine. The reason for this is that it’s impossible to know which drug or drug combinations may have made the improvement and you don’t want to go backwards in treatment! Most of my medications are taken for my heart related issues. My heart condition has improved so much since 2015 and I am so grateful for that! Then in 2021 I was diagnosed with breast cancer, luckily it was found very early, and the cancer was gone with surgery and radiation. The tumor was found to be hormone driven so I also have a medication to help breast cancer not return.

Written by Onalea

Fiverr

0 comments

Fiverr makes it is easy to start and make money as a free-lancer.

We first started out on Fiverr, which is a platform for freelancers to offer their services to customers worldwide and for customers to post something they need done for freelancers to apply for the job. The number of services offered are endless! Some include web design, writing, translation, graphic design, video editing, tutoring, and itinerary planning.

We use Fiverr to find customers for our website design and website maintenance business, Evert Website Help. When we first started on Fiverr, we had several gigs listed, but we are now down to 1. It takes a while to figure out what is really going to make you money with your skillset. The first mistake we made was to under charge for the services, which after doing some training on Fiverr, we found out everyone does this! Basically, you are competing with other sellers to get the customer and you want to build your stats, stars, and comments to gain more sales.

We have had success gaining sales, having repeat customers, and ongoing customers. Fiverr is a good place to start to build your portfolio and make some connections, but in the long run there are better places to advertise your work. We had a couple disputes on the work delivered and we felt Fiverr just went with “the customer is always right” theory rather than reading through all the interactions to find we did exactly as the customer wanted and were willing to get it right for them. A canceled order is a ding in your stats so we found it frustrating they didn’t take more time to review the dispute.

We have used Fiverr as customers to have our logo made for this site, we had a good experience and the seller delivered exactly what we wanted and within the timeframe agreed upon. We would use the service again.