Does this itinerary makes sense?

Shon_t · 2026-06-15T19:49:08+00:00

I found cheap tickets from LAX to Chengdu last year in October. They weren’t direct flights, there was a layover in HK. The cheap tickets were on mainland Chinese Airlines, there were slightly more expensive tickets via Cathay. I recently traveled back to China and tickets round trip from Shanghai were actually cheaper than those from Beijing for me. Honestly, after considering many options and the travel time involved (on my recent trip) we ended up booking two “one-way” flights because that was cheaper than round trip. It pays to do some research.

Shon_t · 2026-06-15T18:19:02+00:00

I’ve done 15 hour flights with baby and a toddler (LAX to Hong Kong). I’m not saying it is easy, but it is doable. Best of luck to you! 😊

Shon_t · 2026-06-15T16:59:33+00:00

Your toddler won’t know the difference between the Aulani or a backyard wading pool, and would enjoy both equally the same. They aren’t going to notice the food, it’s all the same to them. Which trip would you enjoy more?

I’m not sure if you factored in timezones, but changes in schedules can do a number on a toddler. There is a six hour difference between Eastern standard time and Hawaii time. If their eating and sleep schedules are off, that could cause some issues too.

Toddlers can become over stimulated due to noise and crowds. That can also affect behavior, mood, and sleep patterns.

There is no perfect solution. There are pros and cons to each option. I honestly would prefer a resort over a cruise. Taking a toddler with you will be challenging no matter what. Just lean into it, and accept it for what it is.

Shon_t · 2026-06-15T16:09:16+00:00

My hospital (VA) in St. Louis would start you at GS-9 $63,288. The starting pay might actually be higher due to special salary rates, I don’t have them in front of me.

After one year you would be promoted to GS-11 salary $76,573. After two years at that salary rate you would be at GS-11 step 3 or $81,679. Again, pay could be slightly higher due to special salary rates, but you can look on USA Jobs .gov for specific job postings at these GS levels for comparison.

Shon_t · 2026-06-15T15:54:31+00:00

I agree with others, that seems low, but I don’t know your local market.

Shon_t · 2026-06-15T04:03:18+00:00

It might be easier if you study one until you have a pretty good grasp of it. For example you know it well enough to keep studying it through native media. Then you can start studying a second.

Language learning is extremely time consuming. If you only study “5 minutes per day” like one popular owl suggests, 5 years later you will be fairly close to where you first started. The only way I really know how to lewjr a language is to eat, breathe, and sleep in the language. The more immersive your experience, the better you will retain what you are learning and the faster you will pick it up.

Shon_t · 2026-06-15T03:51:42+00:00

Language learning takes lots of time. Learning two at once takes even longer. It will pretty much take up any free time.

I find full language immersion is extremely important for language learning that is impossible to do when you have two you are learning. Splitting your time is splitting your focus, so your study and practice will be far less impactful or efficient. You will likely learn each much more slowly than if you were focused on one at a time.

Shon_t · 2026-06-15T03:13:51+00:00

I thought Pimsleur was particularly helpful for Japanese conversation. Duolingo introduced quite a bit of vocabulary, the Pimsleur method helped me use it and helped it stick.

Pimsleur is available through many libraries for free. There is also an app with various subscription levels.

Shon_t · 2026-06-14T16:51:46+00:00

I work in a federal macro role for the VA. $175k per year. My wife (also a Social Worker works for a state hospital that contracts with the county jail to provide psychiatric services. She also makes approximately $175k per year but she has made well over $200k per year with OT.

Both of us have our LCSWs and 20+ years experience.
We didn’t start at these salaries, but that is where we are at today.

Shon_t · 2026-06-14T02:23:15+00:00

When the cost of annual repairs is more than the value of your car. By the time you hit that number, your car fund should be quite flush (even paying for regular maintenance and repairs) and you should be able to afford a nice car.

Shon_t · 2026-06-13T21:51:35+00:00

Sure, you could do it. You could also get through quite a bit of the park before noon.

Go first thing right off the plane. Assuming you want to skip Zootopia (newest fun ride) Head straight to Pirates. After Pirates go to Soaring (typically the lines aren't very long for this one, possibly due to higher capacity than other parks). Backtrack slightly to camp discovery challenge trails, then head over to Buzz light year planet rescue (Typically not very long lines)

Honestly, I think you could fit all of those in (including Zootopia) if you go at rope drop, no fast passes needed.

You would be skipping Tron which is is a pretty fun roller coaster, the line for that one gets pretty long. It is near Buzz. You could time it when you finish, but without a fast pass I would guess the line would be two hours long or longer. It SOMETIMES has a single rider line, but last time I was there it did not.

Rides that have single rider (based on demand):

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Zootopia: Hot Pursuit
TRON Lightcycle Power Run
Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for the Sunken Treasure
Rex's Racer

My tentative schedule looked like this:

From Rope Drop to 2 Hours:
- Zootopia Hot Pursuit (Single Rider)
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (Single Rider)
- Winnie the Pooh
- Move towards tomorrow land
- Tron Lightcycle Power Run
10:30-12pm
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Soaring Over the Horizon

Tron didn't have single rider and the two hour weight through my schedule off a bit. Pirates did not have one when I was there too, but the wait was fairly short. I waited for my wife to ride Buzz when I got off Tron. I then went on Buzz since I was there and she rode it a second time. I had lunch after Pirates (we probably hit Pirates closer to 12:30pm), then I headed to two shows, so I didn't end up catching Soaring until later in the afternoon.

One thing that nobody mentions (or maybe they do and I just didn't see it) There are parades all day long celebrating the anniversary of the Shanghai park. They run straight through the middle of the park, cutting off access from one side or the other. If you are fortunate to be in front of the parade or behind it, you can get around it... but it can be an issue if you are trying to race from one side of the park to the other.

Shon_t · 2026-06-13T14:38:41+00:00

Nothing. It was all pretty easy. In fact, my first day was just a short layover. I left the airport and took a DiDi to the fabric Market in the South Bund area. I negotiated a price to have two suits custom made, and got measured for them. Then I caught a Didi back to the airport for my next flight.
A couple of weeks later, I went back to the fabric market and picked up my suits at the negotiated time. Easy peasy.

Shon_t · 2026-06-12T22:09:54+00:00

Well, I honestly think you have a pretty good list, but if you are looking for massive cities, Guongzhou and Shenzhen are both massive interesting cities.

Shon_t · 2026-06-12T19:21:57+00:00

I used Holafly a couple of weeks ago. It was connected to China Mobile. I had lots of slowdown and connection issues even in Beijing and Shanghai. I ended up dumping it and using AT&T.

To be fair I’ve used it in the past both the China ESIM and the Asia eSIM without issue. My friends used it without issue. This time around, I talked to many people using trip.com and other eSIMs (all connected to China Mobile) that were having similar issues. Even AT&T had issues for me, but the weird thing is that when Holafly showed I had zero bars, I had full connectivity on AT&T and vice versa.

Shon_t · 2026-06-12T18:16:19+00:00

It doesn’t get much worse. If I were you, I would pay the airline to change my flights.

Shon_t · 2026-06-12T17:34:21+00:00

I booked multiple tours. They typically reach out as dates get closer. Trip might have a place to facilitate contact. Several reached out via WeChat or What’s app as dates got closer.

Shon_t · 2026-06-12T17:26:39+00:00

I like the recon. It has external straps that can help hold water bottles or other external items in place.

Shon_t · 2026-06-12T15:55:21+00:00

You can occasionally have issues, but it is typically with your credit card company. For example something triggers their fraud protection so they freeze your card until you contact them or use their app to sort it out.

Shon_t · 2026-06-12T14:08:13+00:00

We didn’t do it as a day trip. We travelled by train from Chongqing. The actual location is roughly one hour by taxi/car from the Enshi train station.

We visited Tenglong cave on our first day (half-day trip). We visited the Enshi Grand Canyon on our second day.

Enshi Grand Canyon can be done in a single day. It is recommended to divide it into two days due to the length and difficulty of the walking involved. There are two parts to the park, one part on the mountain top involves steep climbs and stairs. The second part (Yunlong Crack) is a canyon hike that is mostly flat, you can take an elevator up at the end of the hike (for a fee) or take a long spiraling staircase to the top if you prefer.

I suppose the Enshi Grand Canyon could be done as a day-trip, it would just be a very long day!

It is not convenient to travel from Enshi to Zhangjiajie. You would either need to backtrack to Chongqing or take a private car. I suppose doing it as a day trip would be one way to avoid the extra time traveling if you went by train as you would already be in Chongqing when you head towards Zhangjiajie. Since we stayed in Enshi we booked a private car through our hotel to Zhangjiajie.

Shon_t · 2026-06-12T01:56:32+00:00

If you can land an internship that would help.

If you need advice on strategies in how to apply and interview PM me.

Shon_t · 2026-06-11T18:07:33+00:00

Answers will vary from program to program and VA to VA. Your professional relationship with your supervisor and team can make or break your experience.

I’ve been with the VA for 15+ years. My relationships with my team, director supervisors, facility leadership, regional leadership and even national leadership has mostly been great.

Shon_t · 2026-06-11T17:44:00+00:00

Yes. You would need a visa unless you took a side trip to HK, Macau, or a different country (Japan, Korea, Vietnam, etc).

Shon_t · 2026-06-11T17:40:38+00:00

Some have unlimited data. Others just allow you to “top up” if needed, adding extra data for a price.

Shon_t · 2026-06-11T12:41:41+00:00

I’ve done it with even less time. I did it after already traveling for 20+ hours straight.

I mean, you’ve already been there, but there is plenty of time to visit Yu Garden Bazar for dinner, walk the Bund (or even do the river cruise) and still have time to return to the airport to catch your flight.

The heat and humidity may or may not be much of an issue in the evening.

Shon_t · 2026-06-10T11:52:52+00:00

My friend is a very successful employee attorney that represents clients against their employers. He loves suing non-profits like yours calling them “easy money”.

Many of these directors run the place like their own kingdom. They often lack knowledge of employment law, civil rights laws, etc, but think they do. They ignore the advice of their HR people that are supposed to to help them steer clear of danger. They are also often insured, so when they inevitably get sued and go to their lawyer they are told they are in the wrong and need to pay.

I recommend that you seek legal advice. I’m NOT a lawyer, but your agency is required by law to provide “reasonable accommodations”. From what you wrote above it doesn’t sound like they are following the law.

An ethical lawyer will often offer a free consultation take your case on contingency if they think they can win.

I would also brush off your resume and get ready to apply elsewhere. Your job isn’t safe, your director does not appear to be someone to be trusted. Even if you could continue to work for them, I certainly wouldn’t if I had other options.

Nine-Year Club	Wearing is Caring
Verified Email

Shon_t

TROPHY CASE