California

Work From Anywhere (WFA) Blog: Week 3 from Palm Springs, CA

This week was strange. We didn’t finish the week in the same location that we started, I worked through an RV-rocking wind storm and it was the heaviest video call days that I’ve had yet. With that being said, I think we can still chalk it up to an overall win.

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We originally booked a site in Twentynine Palms, CA, but the resort didn’t meet our expectations (not family friendly, permanent trailers on the lot, dirt sites etc). So we booked another resort (Emerald Desert RV Resort) in Palm Springs (Family friendly, green grass, palm trees, etc). The interesting part about Twentynine Palms is that it is located in the desert and is relatively remote, but somehow I still had 180 mbps download speed (which is 3-4 times faster than the Wi-Fi in my house!). Now that I’m in Palm Springs, I’m back down to 40-50 mbps - which is fine for my needs, but I would have thought Palm Springs would have had better cell infrastructure. With that being said, there is a Marine Corps base in Twentynine Palms and the military probably wants a reliable connection. Internet speeds aside, the move went pretty smoothly and since I start so early in the day (5:30 AM), we had plenty of daylight to drive and get set up. I’m really getting the hang of taking down and setting up my cockpit office.

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The most eventful part of my week was definitely the wind. It was blowing at sustained speeds of up to 35 mph. According to a few quick Google searches, this is enough to cause entire trees to be in motion…which I can attest to. In fact, it was so strong that we couldn’t even drive to the second resort and were forced to stay put for another night in Twentynine Palms. I can vividly remember being on one video call, while the entire RV swayed back and forth. It seemed akin to being on a cruise ship during high seas. Good thing I don’t get sea sick. I use noise cancelling headphones and a digital background for my calls, so I’m not sure anyone on the other end even noticed the chaos.

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From a technology standpoint, the big battle this week has yet again been usage. I’ll keep it short, but with long video calls (three, four hour calls), I’ve really had to be cognizant of my usage. To combat it, I’ve generally turned off incoming video and/or my video when possible to reduce data being sent and received. The incoming video has been extremely important in these large meetings because Microsoft Teams is trying to send me 15-20 videos at once. In reality, I can only ever see 4-6 on my screen at any one time, so turning off the video periodically isn’t a big deal. With this strategy, I’ve limited my usage to 3.3 GB per day, which is incredible for the meetings I’ve had.

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I can’t believe I’ve been working on the road for three weeks. Its starting to become “normal” and much less stressful. And the best part is that it hasn’t impacted my job at all. In fact, I would argue it’s improved my perspective and rejuvenated me. This Sunday we head for San Diego and I’m really looking forward to finishing my work every day and walking to the beach…

Thanks for tuning in,

Kyle

Connection Gear:

30 GB usage Verizon Jetpack MIFI 8800L

30 GB usage 5G MIFI M2100

30 GB usage utilizing my iPhone as a hotspot on the “Get More Unlimited” plan

Current usage trend: 3.3 GB / work day

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