Volunteer stint: Eat chocolate!

Too bad we aren't in England. British researchers are looking for a particular kind of volunteer to eat a chocolate bar a day for a year!

You must be a woman with Type 2 diabetes. Half the women in the year-long study will eat a super-charged chocolate bar containing 30 grams of flavonoids found in soy, cocoa and other fruits and vegetables. The others will get chocolate without the active compounds. The researchers will look at whether the compounds help reduce blood pressure, cut cholesterol levels and improve the condition of arteries.

You never know when an unusual opportunity might appear. Maybe they'll do the study in the U.S. On second thought, I'd probably be in the control group. That's no fun. Jaimie Hall-Bruzenak

Three U.S. agenices on AARP National Employer Team

The AARP National Employer Team is made up of employers who recognize that older workers make up a very important part of the workforce. They want to hire older workers because they know that we bring leadership, experience, and skills to do the job. Three U.S. government agencies have recently joined the team. All state that they have seasonal and temporary positions.

• The Internal Reveue Service: PT/Seasonal positions- Clerks, Data transcribers, Contact representatives, Tax examiners.
  
• The Peace Corps: Domestic and overseas positions.
  
• The Small Business Administration, Office of Disaster Assistance (ODA): Provides affordable, timely and accessible financial assistance for the repair and rebuilding of non-farm, private sector disaster losses. Hires when disaster strikes.

An RV friend has gone through the process of being hired for temporary work for the ODA. She did say it took months to get her application in correctly and processed. She is finally eligible and waiting for her first call.

The federal government offers some nice benefits to seasonal and some temporary workers. Check out the AARP program and specifically the U.S. government agencies. Jaimie Hall-Bruzenak

Jaimie's 2nd edition of Support Your RV Lifestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road includes a chapter on getting seasonal work with the National Park Service, USDA Forest Service and other agencies. See RVBookstore.com

Layout of resume is important

I came across an excellent resource for workers on the RV road. It's Amazing Resumes: What Employers Want to See and How to Say It by Jim Bright, Ph.D. and Joanne Earl, Ph.D. The focus is on proven strategies based on psychological and human resources research.

They interviewed recruiters and hiring officials about what they dislike in a resume. Layout is one of the three main areas. Comments included statements like:

• Layout is terrible. Too difficult to make sense of the information
• Format annoying.
• No logic; difficult to follow.
• Too much information on the page. Text is very small, though information is good.
• Little reference to position description.

Often the layout and appearance can cause a candidate to be rejected even though they have good qualifications. Take time to study resumes and use them as models. Leave plenty of white space so the reader's eye is drawn to relevant points. Bullets and headings help the hiring official find what they are looking for without searching. Jaimie Hall-Bruzenak

For a sample resume and advice on preparing one, see Jaimie's 2nd edition of Support Your RV Lifestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, see RVBookstore.com

Have you wanted to be on stage?

SeaWorld in San Diego is holding auditions for costume characters to be part of a new production in the Sesame Street stage show. You need to be able to wear a full body character costume, lift 50 lbs and perform a 2-minute audition. They also hire stagehands and technicians.

If you've always wanted to perform or be part of a performance, this could be your opportunity! Jaimie Hall-Bruzenak

For other ideas for seasonal work and other costume character work, see Jaimie's 2nd edition of Support Your RV Lifestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, see RVBookstore.com

Temporary home includes 43,000 acres of marshes and prairies

This past winter, Glenn and Ann Moore lived at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf Coast of Texas. The refuge contains 43,000 acres of marshes and prairies. They traveled for more than a year before finding the refuge and deciding to volunteer. They are profiled at a news site, UpstateToday.com.

As volunteers they have been involved in several interesting wildlife projects plus some hard work. Fishing kept Glenn happy and provided many meals for the couple.

They'll be volunteering at refuges in North Carolina and New Hampshire this summer and return to Anahuac in the fall.

They decided to do this now rather than wait. What a life! Jaimie Hall-Bruzenak

For information on Jaimie's 2nd edition of Support Your RV Lifestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, see RVBookstore.com

State income taxes

Today taxes were due. Tax Freedom day is later this month- April 23- the day on which Americans have earned enough money to pay all their federal, state and local taxes for the year. It's three days earlier than last year.

Remember you need to file an income tax return in each state where you have earned income or a W-2. This is true even if you domicile is one of the no-income-tax-states: TX, SD, NV, FL, WA, AK, WY. The only way to avoid state income taxes is to work in a no-income-tax state AND be domiciled in a no-income-tax state.

If you work in a no-income-tax state (such as Texas) but are domiciled in a state with state income taxes, you will pay incomes taxes on your TX income to your domicile state. If you work in a state with income taxes and are domiciled in a state with income taxes, you'll pay taxes to the state where you earned it (such as Colorado), and you would get a credit for the taxes paid and not have to pay taxes on that same income again in your domicile.

Of course the federal government wants its money no matter where you earn your income.

I hope you got that straight in time to file today! Jaimie Hall-Bruzenak

For more information on the legal and financial implications of working on the RV road, see Jaimie's 2nd edition of Support Your RV Lifestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, see RVBookstore.com.

Writing on the road

I just noticed that Bess McBride, romance writer and seasonal worker, has a blog on this site. If you have dreamed of writing as you travel, check out her blog.

Just goes to show you, working on the RV road can help make your dreams come true. Jaimie

San Diego opportunities

San Diego has one of the most ideal climates. Picking up a free employment newspaper I spotted several opportunities. The drawback is finding a place to park your RV. The good part is that San Diego has an excellent trolley system. You could stay in one of the cities near the trolley lines (east and south) or north near the Coaster commuter train and get into San Diego easily.

• Hotel del Coronado (trolley or Coaster to downtown, then the Coronado ferry. A bicycle would make it fairly easy from the ferry.) They are hiring seasonal workers.
• Sea World has openings in most departments. A little more challenging to reach unless you stayed in the Mission Bay area.
• Campland on the Bay on Mission Bay. They also advertise in Workamper News. They are looking for help in several departments.
• Delivering telephone books.
• Two events: U.S. Open Golf Tournament in June and an Art Walk in Little Italy later this month. The second one is volunteer.
• Plus several temporary agencies are looking for people to fill a variety of jobs.

If this area appeals to you, you could find work. A place on the outskirts, perhaps a mobile home park, would be less expensive than parks closer to downtown. You might be commuting by trolley, train or bus but that's an adventure too. Each does allow bicycles (sometimes limited in number) so you could bring your bike along to get from mass transit to your job site. See this site for more information on bikes and mass transit. Jaimie Hall-Bruzenak

For information on Jaimie's 2nd edition of Support Your RV Lifestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, see RVBookstore.com

The risks of traveling full-time without health insurance

The Urban Institute recently published a study showing the effects of lack of health insurance on 25-64 year olds. From 2000 to 2006, about 137,000 adults died because of lack of health insurance. Other studies have shown that in the 55-64 age group, providing them with health insurance would have reduced deaths by around 25%.

According to Ron Pollack, executive director of the nonprofit group Families USA, "The uninsured often go without preventive care, or forego screenings and tests that could detect life-threatening illnesses." Families USA released the results on a state-by-state basis.

If you do not have health insurance, health fairs are one way to get basic blood tests and screenings done at a low cost. By doing a Google search for "Health fairs Illinois," for example, you can often find a schedule. In Arizona, Bashas Supermarket schedules screenings at their stores through out the state.

Because of our large deductible, my late husband Bill (who also did not like going to doctors) delayed checking out symptoms of intestinal gas and discomfort. His colon cancer was inoperable by the time he was diagnosed.

No doubt health care is expensive, but don't forego the basics. Take advantage of low-cost services and don't ignore unusual symptoms. Jaimie Hall-Bruzenak

For more information on finding health insurance and low-cost health care, see Jaimie's 2nd edition of Support Your RV Lifestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, see RVBookstore.com.

Rolling real estate office

A real estate broker in Spokane, WA has set up an RV as an office and uses it to take clients to look at properties. While enroute (with her husband or co-worker driving), Julie Anne Young uses her computer in the office area to allow clients to choose the properties they want to see. Wireless Internet keeps her connected and a TV screen shows the properties in larger size. The outside of the RV is a rolling advertisement for her business.(See article.)

This sort of setup could work for workers on the RV road who snowbird and spend at least one season in the same area each year. This would allow for deductibility of many expenses including much of the RV - or all, if used exclusively for business.

Maybe you can put your RV to a creative business use and thereby gain deductions on your tax return. Jaimie Hall-Bruzenak

For more information on operating a business on the road, see Jaimie's 2nd edition of Support Your RV Lifestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, see RVBookstore.com

Another kind of temporary work

In another free employment newspaper, an agency was advertising for in-store demonstrators. "Must be willing to engage shoppers in demonstrating products, promote brands, and distribute samples and brochures." Weekend work is required but it is part time.

This could be an idea for earning a few dollars for someone spending the winter in a metropolitan area. This agency, Sunflower Sales Pros, is a national staffing agency. In their MySpace.com ad it said they pay $20-30/hour.

It sounds like you have to prepare food, but they claim they have easy-to-follow directions. I wonder if you get to eat the leftovers! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

For information on Jaimie's 2nd edition of Support Your RV Lifestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, see RVBookstore.com