PhotoCredit: Christopher Klein

Location: Arizona Brake Check Station on I-10 East

Early Morning

This is not really the entry for the first of December because it is going up at 5:00 in the monring. There will be more later. But I could not resist putting the picture of the phone booth up. It is real, and it works. Amazing. I have it in color, and I removed an object from the ground because truckers are nasty people and leave stuff laying around for other people to deal with. But it is a nice jump backin time.

On with the day

I would like to say that it was a wonderful day, but that is not actually the case. Don't get me wrong, it was not terrible, just annoying as hell. I got out of the Dallas Terminal just as planned and headed over to Miller. I hit the gate nine minutes early, and since they are really sticklers for time, that was perfect. Too bad the product was not ready. I had to bop on over to the (extremely nasty) Love's in Fort Worth and sit for two hours. I got back into the gate just in time, and guess what? The product is not ready. Long story short, they checked me in and I sat for a total of eight hours with about a dozen other drivers. I was the most un-annoyed of the entire group. But that is normal.

Update Time

The Work Thing: Thinsg have finally popped into a groove. Though I am in a 34 reset right now, I am on a load heading out to Delaware. As long as I don't get stuck in teh NorthEast triangle, things should continue to be good until hometime on December 24. Time will tell.
The Photo Thing: I have all my photographs in one place after quite a bit of work. Now it is going through, getting them into a database, creating an originals copy, and then getting a set into Photoshop to make some minor modifications. Some things look better in Black and White, or Sepia, and others look better with some other mods. It is a long term project and you, my gentle followers, will get to see the results as they happen.
The Music Thing: I am finally back to a daily routine with the Saxophone, and I think that I am getting pretty good. But it is a long time until I am ready to blow in front of an audience.
The education thing: As you may know, I have started my third and final Master's degree in Criminal Justice with a specialization in Criminal Justice. Many have asked why the weird combintion of degrees. Consider an executive of a company that has a lot of employees and heavey technical components. To have a person with a background in computer programming, computer forensics for security use, business organization and legal studies would be a boon to the company. By having the ablity to draw on three types of organizational processes, I can protect the company and move the company forward at the same time. It makes sense if you think about it. While doing this final degree, I also have courses on Udemy, Zenva, MIT OpenCourseware, and Khan that I am rolling. Plus a few master classes in Photoshop, HTML5/CSS3, and Ethical Hacking. I keep three of them rolling at all times. Busy boy.
The Art thing: I have my drawing media with me and I am working on a few interesting little projects. I don't know if they will come out or not. But if they do, you will see them.
The Writing Thing: I am still working on the novel, "Fixing America" and I have a few chapters done. I am also working on "The Awakening" and I am finally out of the garden, and Osparia just told Lilith that Eve is damned by her actions in the garden. Lilith is torn between being very happy and very sad. The last project is as yet, unnamed. It is a collection of short stories, mostly horror. I have four of them complete and I am hoping that I will be able to get this book together in the first quarter of 2022. I have added the 13th witch, The kitty story, Hello Pretty, and one other. Currently, I am adding "the End" to the mix and then we will see where we go from there.

That's enough for now

I think that is enough of the updates for now. As you can see, I am a very busy person, but it takes away from being either bored or lonely on the road. I do intend to add a CSS/HTML response box to blog when I get around to it. I had a lot of positive impact on the "Walkin' dude' picture on social media, and I am hoping to make it so that you can response on the blog, for good or bad. But I do not know when I will get around to that. Time is fleeting.

Today was a down day sitting in the Dallas, TX terminal. I spent most of it getting my final paper for school done and watching a couple of movies. I could have grabbed the van and gone wandering, but I decided to do the hermit thing. I think ti worked out well.

I got some relaxation in and it was time to get back on the road. The past two days have been pretty much mundane, which is the say that I like it. But now it is time to get back to work. And it was an overnight run ending in Olive Branch, MS. Not a terrible drive, so there is that.

Arkansas idiots

There was an incident with a proud boy in Palestine, AR. But he did not have the stomach to follow through, so it was a non-event. I am just really tired of people lately.

New reading...

I am reading a series of 10 audiobooks by an author I never heard of before and they are on dark psychology. I did not realize when I loaded them, that this is trying to put a positive spin on manipulation, hypnosis, mind control and other negative aspects of psychological control. Where the topic is very interesting, the author writes like a child. As this is a negative statement, I will not add the name, or the title of the books here. Positive things only folks, positive only. Well, unless it is an op-ed.

Here comes the reading

I gained access to the new class, and it is going to be one hell of a six weeks. Part of the class is current events in relation to the judiciary. That is current events folks, which requires me to read the paper daily. And I had just weened myself off of the news. OYE. But I have access to the Commercial Appeal and LA times now. So it should be interesting. I will try to keep it out of here, unless it is compelling.

PhotoCredit: Images: Original Publicist: Modifications: Christopher klein

Okay, what's up with the stars? We have Elvira (Cassandra Peterson), Bree Olson, and Lucy O'Hara (Daily) from left to right. This just me playing with photoshop and originally, I was using pictures of the wife. However, I wanted to make sure that she saw that I could use artistic license without being sleezy first. Peterson is a start of stage and screen, Bree is a retired pornographic actor, and Lucy is a cammy girl. And I think that I captured each one without being nasty. Pfft.

As you can see

I rolling East right now, but it is a slow roll. I am in Bulls gap TN at the end of the day, and have about 30 hours to go another 550 miles. But that is okay. Sometimes a slow roll is just what we need. As you can see above, it got me to take a bit more of my photography classes while my two legal coures reset themselves. Can you tell that I am on filters right now? Pretty cool huh

Tired but dealing

I dont' know what it is right now. I am very tired, and it is a bone weary tired, not just a working too hard type of tired. I think that I can feel the year in her death throws. I don't know if I get this way every year but if I do, it is not in my journals. Hmmm.

The near future

I am headed into Delaware for Monday. I don't know where I am going after that. I am not sure that I want to know, but I will find out soon. I am torn between wanting a North East Puddle jumper, an a bi-coastal. We will see how the dice land.

Today was a pretty easy day. A 10-hour roll into North East, MD. That is the name of the place, not a general location. I set down in a Flying J just about 30 minutes short of my drop tomorrow morning. And when I did, I had 23 hours before the drop. So it was a good meal of steak with onions and mushrooms and a movie. I finished up my class and started to read the 600 pages for teh next class. And I did some work on Ancient. All in all, a relaxing day.

A bit moody

The moody continues, but I am dealing, so that is something. I really hate the downtime. But what can you do? I am just not liking this tour out. I heard from Keely, and she is heading into Wisconsin, which is in the middle of some major snow and ice storms.

I woke to the sounds of thunder. But it was only in my dreams. Or it was the truck next to me banging on his load making sure it was still tied in place before he pulled out. I was in NorthEast Maryland in a Flying J, an experience I do not want to relive anytime soon. Yesterday, I tried to go to Denny's and they were a bunch of butts. This morning, I had to pay for coffee, some breakfast sandwiches, and ICE. Yep, they charged me for Ice. I needed ice because their tea machine squirted out some sugar water, with no tea in it, and it was very unpleasant. So I grabbed a Gold Peak and an ice cup. I paid $14.00 for what would have cost me about $3.00 at Love's. And now you know why I use Love's. Well, that and the fact that the Premium Wi-Fi at Flying J is nice and strong, but the free version fails to connect 10 times, before it connects up, then drops off about 90 seconds later. Oye.

The Morning Whoa's

Nope, I did not spell that wrong. I mean WHOA. I got up early, got coffee and a meal, did the morning thing and headed to New Castle, DE. to arrive about 15 minutes ahead of time. I wound up being about five minutes late, because I exited 295 onto Cherry Street, following the trusty ole GPS and was about to make a left turn into the business complex, when I saw the NO TRUCKS sign. A mistake in the GPS? Nah, can't happen. I went around the five mile block, and came in from the business park in the other direction, the way that I should have been coming in. So when I saw that the GPS was going to take me down into a very tight residential area to get to my target, I said "WHOA!". But it all worked out. I was supposed to be there at 900am Eastern, and when I got there five minutes late, by the time I checked in, the truck in my dock was about to move. Worked out just fine.

A reflection on the news.

Shootings. Everyone is shooting everyone. Every day for a week, the Memphis News has told a tail of how someone shot someone else. I think that it may be time that we admit that there isa problem. I don't feel that this a 2nd amendment issue. I think that it is more of a punishment issue. Yes, you kill someone with a gun, you are going to spend the next 40 years of your life contemplating four walls in a very small place. But you know what? If we were to fire up OLD SPARKY and start executing these people for being asses, I bet that would be a deterrant. And it does not come down to having a policy, it comes down to using it. You kill someone, you visit the chair for a bit of spark and smoke. I am tired of the news, and it is only getting worse. And this is not limited to Memphis. There are enough people dying of Covid, and Cancer, and acts of nature, we do not need to spend time killing one another.
~rant over

To err is human...

...to really screw things up takes a computer. I have said that for a long time. The optimizer has been playing give-and-take with me for the past day, setting me up to go here and there until it finally decided. The problem is that it decided on Kraft in Dover, DE. Not a problem, easy enough to get in and out of. Except my pickup was 8 hours after my drop. I asked Ops if I could hit the dock early. Before they could respond, I was there, confirmed, and in the dock. So it's all good. Granted, it is a notiously slow dock, but at least I got into it.

I busted my tailbone to make it from Maryland into Ohio. I hit the receiver and they even had an empty trailer available. I was going to head out to Etna, OH to shut down for 10, but nope, I got an immeditate dispatch from Baltimore, OH, right down the road. I was very tight on time, and I was told to do my best. You know, I could have done my best, except that things have to mess with me. Both DriverTech and my personal GPS would not send me in any other way than on restricted roads. I got trapped, first in the town, then in the surrounding farmland. Luckily, a nice Baltimore Officer, that has obviously seen this happen before, helped me get to safe-haven. He even pulled out a local map and showed me the proper way in. But by then, I was out of time. So down for the night in, you guessed it, Etna. I was going to do school before bed, but I was just not feeling it. Off to sleep I go. Tomorrow is another day.

I woke up a little after 100am. Which was good. Today, I had to get school done, so I jumped right into that. There is snow on the ground, which makes driving a bit rough. But that is for sunup. We will see what comes later today.

Hard running

This was kind of annoying. I busted my butt to move south into Georgia, and got into a bit of a scrap with Operations. When I was about an hour North of the Georiga line, I let Ops know that I would hit the reciever at 900am tomorrow morning. They snapped back that the delivery had already been delayed once, and it HAD to be there today. They missed the update that reset it for tomorrow. I tried to explain, but it took more than an hour for them to figure it out. I wound up rolling into the Tunnel Hill Terminal with under 30 minutes on my 11 hour timer. But it all got figured out. Joy.

A personal thing...

I will not give details here, but I will point out that Gaia is sitting on my shoulder makign sure that I keep my ass in line. I hit a situation where I was unsure if I should tell the wife about a phone call. It was nothing ground shaking, but it could have led to negative life impact. I considered, only briefly, withholding this information. But in the end, I decided not to make choices for her. I called her, relayed the information, and got past it. BUT, when I went to cook my dinner, my microwave decided to commit hari-kari. Cold chicken and veggies. Sigh. I am sure it is not related, but it is still one of those situations that makes you go "Hmmmm".

Ahhh sleep

And then the day came to an end, and off to sleep I went. I did not even need the heater, so it was a decent night.

I hit the ground running and got into the dock just as I said I was. It had to be one of the fastest docks I have been in for a very long time. From bump to clear was under 10 minutes. I sent my empty call, and was immediately dispatched again. 2 hours to a pickup, and then 10 hours up to Kentucky. But since I only had 8 hours left, that did not work. I checked the pickup and delivery times, and there was no way to sneak in a 34-break. I let Operations know, they pulled the load, and I headed to the Love's in Madison, GA for a break. On the way, I snuck into Walmart and got a replacement microwave. I took a quick nap, and then spent the rest of the day cleaning the truck and doing school. At least mostly. I did get a full sized HOT STUFF pizzay from Godfathers. So that is a yummy advantage.

Funny political news.

I have been listening to my news, my podcasts, and other outlets, and someone finally figured it out. There is an anti-vaccine movement by, mostly, the right wing. And we have more than 750,000 dead in the United States. Many of these are the unvaccinated. And according to MOST news outlets, about 80% of those in hospitals, under critical care, are unvaccinated. Hello!!! These are VOTERS. Biden won by a very small margin. I wonder if the right can afford a hit of that many missing voters. I have a feeling that 2024 is going to be interesting. But see the next RANT...

Today was productive, but it could have been much better. The entire day was filled with fog, rain, and a dreary overcast. It sucked the energy right out of me. It was a fight just to keep in motion, but I managed it for most of the day. However, it did not do well for the mood, even though I stayed in the sleeper and kept the curtains closed.

Work Drama

There was a little bit of work drama, but it is not worth going into, so you just get this little line about it. It was a bit of oye, followed by a lot of Vey.

The News

I did my news thing today, and it did not send me off into a rant, so we will count that as a good thing. I have to do this for school, but it did not bother me too much today. Ironically, I get to go into the policies of a Congressperson next week. So Blackburn is going to be a target for me. She is only the low hanging fruit of the state. So pfft on her.

Weird dreams

I have changed up my sleeping tracts, because I have been having some really weird dreams. They are just way off the wall. Mostly, I am eating meals with people in a very lavish setting. Significant people are Rose McGowen, Stephen King, and Nell Campbell (Columbia in the Rocky Horror Picture Show). Weirdness, when you consider that I have not thought of Rose or Nell in years. King, I read all the time, but the others. And there is no conversation, or imagery, just a meal. I would check on my sanity, but I am not even sure where to start with this one. And as for dream analysis, nada. Might just have to suck it up and accept it as my ID brain going for walks.

The Ancient Project

I am almost done the framework of the Ancient Pathway project. Granted, I still have to add the databases, but it is coming along.

What's next?

A micro-run into Tennessee, just about 135 miles, and then who knows. I am under two weeks from home at this point, so we shall see what comes along. I did hold an Email conversation with "tony" one of our new administrators. We are going to be scheduling a weekly conversation about ongoing issues. He is onboard to deal with some driver interactions. We shall see if this is like the previous people in this position that came in like gangbusters, then found out that handling some of these issues with drivers is like herding cats. But let's give him a chance...hmmm?

Still foggy as I started the new journey last night around 1000pm. I hit Proctor and Gamble in Union City, GA and the pickup was like clockwork. Even scaled out well, so no issues there. The problem was that I picked up late by almost six hours, and had only 135 miles to go. The load did not have to be in Cleveland, TN until 600am, and it is a live unload appointment. Yes, that is, if I had picked up just at the END of the pickup window, 12 hours to go 120 miles, with no early drop off available. The ironic thing is that we got an email / social media message from the Gods on High that said basically "if you are not making your miles, this is why" and listed things like long breaks, long resets, not returning from hometime on time, etc. I can't tell if they are willfully ignorant, or if they just don't know. But very soon, I am going to find out. To top it off, I started doing the calculations, and it looks like on the puddle jumpers, I lose about 10% of my miles due to the zip-to-zip paymen structure. A driver that actually makes their miles, loses close to 13,000 miles in unpaid drive time a year. That means that all drivers, making their miles, are working 5.2 WEEKS a year for free. Or a loss of $7540.00 a year, based on per-diem. The canned answer is "You are making good money, don't rock the boat", but you know, that is 10% of the miles. I wonder if they would be okay with drivers retaining 10% of the prodcut being delivered. Or selling 10% of the fuel that they put on their fuel cards. Or being safe all but 10% of the time. It goes both ways. I am going to bring this up when I talk to the new guy next week and see what he says.

Hey Musey!

So, I was talking to a few people in my trucking groups, and they read a few things from teh website. One of them suggested that I write a book on trucking for the novice and vereran driver alike. I did not give it a second thought until it got more than 500 likes, and about 100 responses that said "I would buy that" based on the tips and tricks that I put in the group all the time. So, sigh, a new project. But for now, ONLY when writers block hits me on the other projects, which right now, is not the case. The muse is on me like a 2 year old on a chocolate bar. But I think that is a good thing.

The end of the day

I did not sleep well, and I am running micro-runs that are pissing me off. I am in a very negative head-space and having a bit of a problem getting out of it. I really need to figure out what to do about the dude-problems, because they are causing continues pains, and that makes it difficult to deal with the mental aspects of the world. It does not help that some of my more intelligent friends seem to have taken dumb-dumb pills. Brian, for instance, has gone far right and is now doing the Biden Conspiracy thing and pushing it just a little too far to justify his not wearing a mask and carrying a gun to protect his family. I am getting really tired of this right-wing crap. I can't believe that these intelligent people have no problem with these "leaders", quite literally, making it so that they can override the will of the people if they don't win. sigh. I will revisit this when I am not so mentally tainted. :)

The final insult

I headed out to Westrock in Murfreesboro, TN to pick up a pre-loaded trailer. I was already four hours late because of bad planning on the part of the optimizer. Lucky I was. When I got there at 1000pm, the product was not ready. And would not be ready for a "few more hours". I napped while I waited, and you can see the rest of this tomorrow...

Why things fail

The entry for today is going to be a bit borning, but it is something that is on my mind, so I am going to get it out and then move on down the road, pun intended. Variant is supposed to be the wave of the future for trucking, putting the driver back in control. It was a good dream, but it is really failing at this point. They still have a chance to recover, but it will require hard choices on the part of management, and I am not sure that they are up to the task. Time will tell. I spent 15 hours waiting at a shipper for them to finish making the product to drag it 260 miles. If experience is any proof, they will deny the detention, but you never know. One of the biggest complaints that I hear, other than favoritism for some golden-children, is unpaid time in the form of long dock times and unpaid miles due to zip-to-zip routing and payment. These are two signficant issues in logistics, and they are two that simply are not addressed under the new model. It has put me in a very negative headspace, and I am having a lot of problems reconciling it. If it was not for the Full-Ride program, I would be moving on to something else at this point. Which helps me understand why we are losing so many good drivers. They are being made promises that the company simply cannot or will not deliver on. I am supposed to talk to the new guy, "Tony" later this week. I am going to address these issues with him. But this is not the first time that they have been brought up, so I am not exactly excited about the possiblities.

Wow, my mood is really doing its' best to dig deep into the hole of negative momentum. And now, I am headed down to Tampa, Florida. One of my most favoritists places on errffff. All sarcasm intended.

The mundania of the day

It was a hard running, but productive day. I started out and ran hard into the Walmart DC in Harrisonville, MO. I had to call in a trailer because it had a bent DOT bumper, but according to Breakdown, it was not a problem, so onto the road I went. I hit St. Josephs back to back and was ready to wait to load. When I got there, there was a Variant Bobtail sitting there, then me, and another Variant behind me. But you know what? The trucking gods were with me. My trailer was pre-loaded, even though it was supposed to be a live load. I was in and out of there in about 30 minutes and made it all the way back to Boonville, shutting down in the Love's. Not a terrible day.

The personal aspects

All work and no play makes Chris....yeah, no...
When I shut down, I grabbeda shower and got to feeling human again. That was nice. Dinner was a Salad from Love's and some Bar-B-Que. Not a terrible day all things considered. I settled in, watched a Once Upon A time, and then was off to the land of Morpheous. I really need to get school and a few other things done, but I was really really tired. Tomrrow is another day.

I am downward bound and heading toward Tampa. I am rolling tired, but I made it to where I wanted to and set down in Tunnel Hill. I missed hitting the company store by about 15 minutes. And that appears to be a theme. Ain't that fun?

Almost done

I am running low on hours, and I will have to take another 34 hour break soon. But that is okay, I am about 10 days from home as well. so that is something. But to be honest, I am not in the mood to write today, so I will end here and hope for a better tomorrow.

Things are doing a bit better today even though I am in Florida now, and running short on food. I have about nine days on the road left, and five meals left. I will see if I can stretch those out and see what happens. I managed to make it all the way to Bushnell, FL, at the last Love's before I hit Tampa. That puts me about an hour away for tomorrow morning. But then things got iffy.

Damn you technology

Technology is trying to annoy me, and it is working. I set down, and it was more than three hours before I could get two two pages of discussion groups done. Everything was taking so long to load, and that was after a two hour Windows update. They really should ask you if you are ready for those damn things. But then, while I was running through things, I managed to fix my Microsoft Expression. That has been broken all year. But it is working now, or at least I think it is. We will see if this updates or not.

Ahh Florida - you evil....

I have never made it a secret that I do not like Florida. The weather, the drivers, the people in general. Even the water. You can taste the difference in everything. It does not make me a happy panda. I will be very glad when I get out of here. Of course, I hit the Love's in Bushnell and get approached by a person to talk about the lord. The irony is that they were wearing a Tee-shirt with an AK-47 on it, 2nd amendment quote on the back, and handing out literature on both GOD and guns. Remind me again, what is the purpose of a gun? Pretty sure that they are meant to KILL. Isn't there a commandment against that? So I had to ask how many people Christ killed protecting himself. The look on his face... precious.

Relaxation time

I had some extra time because I am very early, so I got school caught up, updated the computer, and fixed Expression (I think). I listened to some music, and did one of my PhotoShop lessons. All in all, a relaxing evening, as long as I stayed in the cab.

Between going to Florida and some work issues, it has been a harrowing three days. So instead of backdating the blogs, I am going to combine the three days, since they were mostly uneventful. I have been running the East Coast. Down into Florida, and then back of to PA, and I should be there tomorrow. Then I get to sit for two days until the delivery is due at 1000am on Tuesday morning. Okay, so I can get a reset it ...right? I know that is what you are thinking. The only problem with that is that on the same run, I set down in Dillon, SC. for ...you guessed it, 34 hours. So on this run, there is a total of 80 hours that I get to sit on my butt. And this is what a lot of people are complaining about when it comes to the company. The optimizer, doesn't.

A school update

I start into Christmas break on Tuesday and then I am off until the new year. If I am smart, I would work ahead and finish up the course while I have time. But we will see if I am smart or not. Time will tell. Thus far, this course in Criminal Justice is rough. Lots of brain thinking required. Snicker. I like it. Not really learning too much in new stuff, but applying what I already know, so that is something good.

Here comes Santa

In all theory, I should be home on Friday this week. I drop in Eastern PA on Tuesday morning, and that puts me about 1000 miles from home. I can make it as long as they load me out in that direction. We shall see. At this point, I am pensive but hopeful.

What about dem projects homie?

Everythign is coming along. I had a bit of annoyance and depression over the suicidal microwave. While at Westrock, the back road was so bad that the strap broke on my microwave and it jumped to its' death. But I replaced it, so it is all good. I am still working on the short stories and two novels, and I am still doing the Sax thing. I am working on Ancient and it is coming along nicely. Almost done with the framework, then it is down to the databases. Joy. Oh, and the pictures of course. Speaking of which, I am gobblng down the Photoshop course. I have some wonderful ideas, but I have to take the time to do them. Well well well, and here I am going to be sitting on my butt for two days. The gods provide

I pulled hard the 550 miles into Pennsylvania and shut down for 42+ hours about 30 miles from my Tuesday drop. I am not happy about this run at all, but there is little that I can do about it. In total, I will have more than 75 hours of downtime on a 900 mile run. Sigh.

School continues

I made a small boo boo in my second discussion group and used a wrong citiation. I had to re-write it, but I think that I got it in on time. Then I got my responses done and started my paper for the week. Easy peasy.

Tired as hell

This roll and wait is grating on me. I am sleeping way too much, very little meditation and exercise, or other interests. Not a good thing. I feel lethargia and a bit of gumpy coming and going. I have to get out of this before I come back from my Yule break.

Yep, I am pretty sure it was Styx, back in the 1980s, that did "Too much time on my hands". And I can relate to that right now. On this run, I have lost almost 75 hours of potential paid time. And it has me a bit grumpy. Add to that being in a box (my truck) for all that time, and it makes for a Grumpy Chris. I don't think that I am Grinch Grumpy, but I am close. Things are just getting on my nerves that shouldn't. Luckily, I have stayed away from the melee of social media for the duration, so I don't think that I have made too many new enemies. Ah, the pleasures of being me.

Using my time

I have been in Mifflinsburg, PA for the last 45ish hours, and I can post that now, because by the time this goes up, I will be pushing my break and heading to my final. I could not really do updates for the past few days about what is going on with work because I have been on what is considered a "high value product" load. And there are restrictions on those loads. Of course, I can't tell people where I am or what I am carrying because they will come and hit me over the head and take my stuff. Will that happen? Unlikely, but it never hurts to be safe. But it really sucks. I can't leave the truck for more than a very limited amount of time, so I was unable to wander for a good meal, or even take a walk to the river, within my field of vision, to take a few pictures. See where the grumpy comes in?
But I did take advantage of the time. I binge watched "Carnival Row" while I was working on Ancient. I finished both. The show is pretty cool, and I hope that they make a season two, even though after the final episode, I am not sure where they could go with the storyline. And I finished the core of Ancient. Now all that I have to do is get the databases into place and that is ready to roll. Pretty cool. I tried to meditate and exercise, but that just was not happening. However, I did not sleep the time away, so that is good. I did about 20 lessons on photoshop and I am getting pretty good. There will be examples, with any luck, come the new year.

What about Lilith and Ospiria

I am still having trouble with pinning down the name of Ospiria, the leader of the Fae and savior of Lilith and her brood. I just can't decide on a spelling and pronounciation. It is getting on my nerves. But I will get there. I re-read the garden exile encounter and was not fully happy with it, so I did about five hours of editing. It is better now, but not perfect.

What's to come?

Right now, I am pre-assigned into Virginia. That is not the answer that I was looking for. Time is really tight, and I have this terrible feeling that I will not be getting home on time. It is going to get on my nerves. Oh look, it is a nerve thing. A lot of things are getting on my nerves right now. But I am trying to take things one day at a time. I will get home, I am just not sure when that is going to be.

I now that things have been a bit borning lately, but that is because my life has been work and sleep. And today was a hell day. It was not Hell, it was not Frogtown, but it was Dupont, and that was an experience. I hit Watsontown, PA without problems, but then I headed over to Richmond VA to go to Dupont. That place is a city. And I am being literal, not exaggerating. The place covers a few square miles, and I was in the dark and in the rain. The map they give you to get to the docks is sketchy at best. Long story short, I wound up driving on a sidewalk and did not even realize it until I was almost at the end, which of course, is where the hairpin turn is. Sigh. But I got in there, got loaded in about 90 minutes, but then I was running short on time. So I headed out and grabbed the first safe-haven I could find. A rest area. Not the greatest place to shut down, but I was down and got some sleep. I have not been feeling that great, so it was a good time to be asleep.

The Irony

I have been feeling mentally blah for a few days. I put this off to missing home. But the irony is not lost on me. The area I have been traveling through is the area of my exodus more than 40 years ago. I passed right by my old house, Alex's house, and the bar where I met the Mayflower driver that was instrumental in me getting away from Silver Springs all those years ago. Way too many memories. Things best forgoteen and allowed to die a slow and painful death deep within the echos of my mind.

The season is upon us and things are ramping down for the year. I was able to get into West Virginina and loaded right into Proctor and Gamble in Vandalia, OH. Boy they are a mess right now. They are running 3 lanes, 6 trucks deep, at the entrance. But they only have two or three people working at any given time. And they are not happy at all. It took me more than 90 minutes to get in and out of there. But, on the plus side, running VERY low on time, I hit the PG scale and the load was perfectly balanced. I rolled into the Springfield Terminal with minutes to spare on both my 11 and my 14. But I made it in, had my last decent meal on the truck, and then shut down. I watched an episode of "Picard" and was off to sleep. Fun times.

Home tomorrow?

Right now, things are really iffy. One little snag and I am not going to make it. I have to run into Walmart in Hopkinsville, KY. I have been there a couple of times. They are sometimes really good other times really bad, so time will tell.

Oh the lost bag

I lot a backpack. I think it happened when I cleaned the truck. Thankfully everything can be replaced, and I removed my camera and voice recorder during the process, so I will live. But it is still pissing me off. It is going to be nice to get home.

I popped my break as soon as my timer reset. I managed to grab a shower, but breakfast was toast. Not the greatest energy for an 11 hour run. But run I did. I scooted right in to Kentucky and managed to get dropped at the Walmart DC with only minor issues. Their lot is full full full. I had to go back to the guardshack when my area was full and get permission to drop in a restricted zone. Then it was a mad dash for home.

That mad dash

Nope, toast is not a good breakfast. I was getting hangry and not doing really well, so I took the back way across Kentucky into Tennessee and into Jackson. It would have been faster to go across I40, but I made the right choice. I stopped at TA just West of Jackson and grabbed food. It sucked. But it was food. Then it was the end of the mad dash into Olive Branch and home.

Technology will kill me

I got home, unpacked the jeep, and sat down. What do I find? Dead hard drive on the main computer. OYE! But it did not piss me off, so there is that. I grabbed the spare, but that is going to take a long time tomorrow to get set up. I will deal. Other than that, it was time for some well deserved sleep and home time. Willow is a trip. She was all decked out in Christmas Garb. Love my crazy daughter. But tomrrow is another day and we shall see what it brings.

i am finally home, and I had an entire day off to do as I will. I chose to sit on my butt, but it is well deserved. Laura had to work, but when she got homne, it was present time. I think that this year is really a success. The kids, for the most part, got practical and wanted gifts, That is always a good thing. The wife is happy, the kids are happy, I am happy. My secret Samta got me two book, one on my wish list (The art of war) and one not (a book of unusual things). The daughter got me a full hippy outfit, complete with hemp hoodie, rawhide toe sandshoes, and floppy hat. The son got me a 3d printer. And the wife got me 23andme and art supplies. When it comes to Christmas, I am usually a minimalist, but this year...hot damn! Of course there will be pictures coming, I am just not sure when.

Moody still

A good day, but I am still moody. I am actually dreading going back to work, and that is very much unlike me. If is like I cannot get my wheels spinning. I have a lot to do before I head back and I just don't want to do any of it. I am putting it off to the end of year duldrums, but I a not sure.

Well, not really. Most of the morning and mid-afternoon was spent finishing up the truck cooking. I have a pretty good menu for this trip. I have to start keeping a list of what works and what doesn't and how well. I am pretty open about what goes on the next five week. I will only be out this next time for five weeks, because we are trying to make vacation happen so that I can take a week and work on th house. And, it looks like that is going to happen.

Really? Relax?

Yep, that is exactly what I did. I did not have the coconuts to fire up the 3D printer, it intimidates me. But I am sure that it will be that way until I get used to it. I watched some innane series stuff and just spent the day in ignorance of the world outside. Pretty awesome actually. For dinner, we had a mountain of Chinese food, and it was much better this time than the past few times. I guess they finally have their act together. All in all, a nice day.

It is really taking a long time to get this mindscape cleared out. It is like a bad penny, it keeps turning up. But I buckled in today and got things into motion. I double-checked the food situation for the truck, it is all good. I moved all my media, photoshop tutorials and the two missing Dark Towner books to portable media. And I printed a waving cat and a pentagram with the 3D printer. Pictures will come when I decide if I want to paint them or not. I did find out that the Ender-3 printer will connect to the computer, so if I load the software onto the laptop, I can design while I am on the road and then print while I am home. We shall see. I have to go back to school in a week.

Watch out world

First thing this morning, I did my 23andme sample and that is on the way to the processor. I have only ever had the information from Dad about being German / Romanian. So now I will know. Ain't that fun? Since the only animosity that I carry is against people with a serious lack of common sense, and that is not an ancestry trait, I really don't care what I am, but I want to know. And now I will.

Strings

I tightened up all the loose strings and I think that I am ready to roll out. I made a last minute choice to roll on up to the truck with most of the stuff and get that situated, so that will make tomorrow all that much easier. Avante!

Henry the Fifth said it, according to the great scribe, the illustrious William. But I repeat it here. The meaning to me is that when all is said and done, we must forge onward on the path that the gods have put before us. And for me, right now, that is down into Florida. The phrase is fitting.

The day

A special thank you to Rowan for taking the old man to work, even though he was not feeling well. But through his actions, I can leave the jeep at the house and the girls can get it repaired, and then there will be an extra form of transportation there, should they need it. Woo hoo. Anything that makes life a bit easier now days, and that should. I was able to get to the truck. Yesterday, I dropped a majority of my goods in the cab and got them sorted. The theory was that I would wind up sitting all day today, as per usual, and be able to get all the things squared away. But that did not happpen. I had barely gotten into the truck when I got a DOUBLE dispatch. First they gave me an empty trailer sitting right behind me, that actually was empty, and then they asked me instead, to deliver a local Dollar Tree load about 7 miles away. I grabbed the loaded trailer and was sitting at Dollar Tree in Olive Branch, MS. within 30 minutes of being ready. Of course, I will have all kinds of time since the Dollar Tree DC is always a mess. So I will get things put together then. Right? Nope, the DC was still a mess, but they had me in a dock and unloaded in an hour. Then it was right off again to West Memphis, AR to Awesome Distribution. They took about 30 minutes to load me. Oye, rush rush, but it is better than sitting on my butt.

Failed planning

I know the route from Memphis to Tampa, so no biggie. Right? Yeah, not the case, because apparently, the "best" route is going about 300 miles across Alabama on a cross-cut side road that goes through as many small towns as possible. Where I was planning on about a seven hour drive, it turned into 10. I made it all the way over to Albany GA, about 200 miles beyond where I planned, before I shut down in a Love's with under 30 minutes to spare. But I made good time.

The mood of things

The home time did not improve my mood. I still feel like I am spinning my wheels in things. I am pretty happy that I don't have school right now, because my concentation is null. But I am working on that. I did get some pretty cool 3D things printed, and I may paint them with what I have on the truck, but we shall see. I have a lot to do, I just have to get it into order. I did get my last two Dark Tower books formatted, so I have been listening to King the whole way down here, and I am working on my shorts, and my novels. So at least that is helping a bit. But I am already tired, and that does not bode well for the next few weeks. I have to get my mind (and body) into a positive place.

Everytime I come down here, I say the same thing. I dislike Florida. But we all do what we have to do, right? I rolled hard from Georgia to Ocala FL and hit Dollar Tree with plenty of time. And with that, I was very lucky, because first I could not find the distribution center, because the maps, and even my own GPS did not have a listing for the new facility. With no signage on teh main road, it was rough to find. But that was only half the problem. The second half is something that the company is dealing with a lot. The guard would not give out one of the 20+ empty trailers that they had on site. This is an ongoing problem. And to be honest, this is why I could not be an executive with this company, because my answer to the issue would be that if the company did not want to honor the one-in-one-out rule, and tell drivers that if they want an empty trailer, that the should schedule a live-unload, then that site does not need a trailer pool. If we pulled all of our trailers, and forced the centers into live-only mode, they would quickly realize how problematic that would be.

The resolution

I managed to get a trailer about two hours later, but on the first try. It was from AMazon, easy in, easy out. And then I was off to Palm Coast. Due to the delay, I could not make the pickup appointment, but OPS got everything reset for tomorrow morning. It only causeda bout a 15 hour delay, but I can deal with it.

Using the time

I am still trying to get my mind back into order. When I lost my bag last run, I lost my list of lists which was a notebook with about 20 pages of things to do, things done, etc. It has me a bit out of sorts, so I started trying to re-write it. It is a long road, but I am getting there. I am just trying to remember what titles were on the pages, let alone the line-items

The end of the day

I managed to get over to Ormand Beach, FL, and shut down about 15 miles from the shipper. I will be in there 700am EST tomorrow morning and then I will be Northbound. I did make it into a Love's and took the last parking space. But for almost an hour, I played traffic control and helped some drivers in and out of spots. I have been driving for about 13 years, and I will have problems with a spot now and then, but some of these drivers, OYE. They don't have the basics down. Especially PAM today. I watched for about 20 minutes as he pulled up then backed up, again and again, doing the exact same thing each time.

The next few days

I pick up at 0700am tomorrow morning and I drop off, 800 miles away, after 900am on the 31st. So it will be a slow roll. I am not going to bitch about it. I should be able to get my 2500 miles this week as long as they don't play games. I am live processing on both ends here in Florida and up in West Virgina, and I havea 202 series trailer, one of the new ones. I am hoping for a few really good runs so I can get out of this rut. I only got 1400 miles this last week, but I guess that is okay with more than three days home. And it was worth it.

For a very short preamble, I skipped yesterday for the blog, because aside from escaping Florida, the day was uneventful. Not a problem on the roads, not a problem with people, not a problem at all. The most drama free day of the year, and of course, it comes three days before the end. But I will take it. And thus, since I always try to recap near the end of December, we come to today. Just a simple run from Orangeburg, GA. to Toms Brook, VA, and shut down about an hour from my drop, with 21 hours to spare. Ain't life grand. So here comes the updates. Grab your panties and hit the shanties...it's gonna be a wild ride.

The Work Update

I will get the work stuff out of the way first, because it has been a decent year, even with the constant drama. It has been a bit annoying and frustrating with things like the trailer chases and other minor issues. But all-in-all, I can't really complain. The money is there, the bills are paid, and thanks to Laura managing the funds, we are well on our way to our goals. They may actually be in sight. But time will tell. Variant continues to morph and grow, and only the ongoing process will tell what the company is, or is not, going to become. There have been some shakeups in management, but right now, the dust is settling. The year is ending with Keely being accepted on an intial basis to Varient, and with a bit of luck, she will be getting her truck in a week or two. Ncie way to start the year. So we forge onward and we will see what 2022 brings.

The Home Front

If you have been following this blog all year, then you know that Laura keeps the home fires burning. Things have been pretty good all year, with little drama, and that is always a good thing. She is doing well, the kids are doing well, and the cats still fight, but they keep it to a low roar. So all is good. We are prepping the house for Sale to get the move to Colorado done when we can. In the first quarter of 2022, I will be taking a week off work and working projects through the house. And all things are in motion. When you consider the constant world-crisis, I think that we have it good.

The Creative Update

I did not meet my 2021 goals for Saxophone, art, writing, or anything else. But then again, they may have been a bit over the top. I am re-writing them a bit more modestly for 2022. But the Awakening is coming along, the short stories are coming together, and my political tome even has a few things in it. Without the looming orange dude, it is not nearly as important to me, and I can have a bit more fun with it. With the addition of some new tools, thanks to the wife, my art is improving, and I am even working some photography and 3d modeling for the 3D printer. So, even though I did not meet goals, I am counting it as a win. One thing that did surpass my goals is Ancient. I have on my goal-list to have the core of Ancient done my May of 2022, and I finished that about 3 weeks ago. Now I am down to the databases, and about a gizillion pictures to add. But that will come with time.

Health

I continue to progress with my health issues, and my back does not hurt every day anymore. I have my vaccine and booster, and thus far, I have not come down with Covid. We have had a few scares, but not of them amounted to anything. Laura got me a 23+me for Christmas, and I am waiting for the results of that. Fun times. If things continue to improve, and we get to the Colorado Mountain air, I think that things will continue to get better.

Learning is fun

I now have a Bachelor's degree, and two Master's degrees. I am working on a third Master's degree and then I am done, except for my private studies. I bought a Photoshop course, and I have about 200 classes on Zenva, Udemy, and a few others that I work on a daily basis. I am reading the Art of War, and about 100 PDF books. I should be done with my education right about the time that we are figuring to on the Colorado move. Even though to be honest, I don't think that I will ever truly be done. I like to learn too much.

The documentation of my life

Finally, I continue to backlog this blog, for those that are interested. I have thousands of pictures going into a gallery, and decades of blogs to get into place. You will see the notice here when those things go up.

A final word

That is 2021 in a nutshell. I thank everyone that follows this and hope that you will continue. I know that, based on the web statistics, that there are about 200 of you, but I only know who a few of you are. With the new year, I am going to see if I can ehnance the page for feedback, and I will post my social media again so anyone that wants to can comment. 2021 was a really good year, and I am hoping that 2022 will be even better.
Love and light to all that deserve it, and double to those that don't

I don't know why, but the death of Betty White today seems fitting to the world around us. This year has passed so quickly and I have watched those around me morph into creatures that are so far from what I saw as their nature that it is mind-boggling. I think of some of those that I have considered friends for a long time, people that I have followed and watched through their lives, and they are nothing like what they used to be. Normally, this would be considered growth, but I a not sure if that is what it is, because they are now hateful, hard, and argumentative when faced with truth. And as such, I have started to cut them out of my life. I have reduced my social network by more than 75% over the past few months. And I am doing this for me. The world is changing, or as Stephen King would say in the "Dark Tower", it is moving on.

Resolution

I have never been one for resolutions on New Years Day. I make changes to my life as they are required, and usually to better myself. At least now. Many years ago, that may not have been true. But it is now. But this year, I think that I am going to make the resolution to follow part of the Wiccan Rede and "Speak little and listen much", especially at work. This past year, I have done my best to make suggestions and observations to those in charge. Sadly, those that would listen, and actually wanted to make changes, have been removed from the company. From an outside view, the core executives are surrounding themselves with YES men that want to support the vision of the company as they see it, instead of looking at the core-mission statement and working toward that goal. If suggestions or observations do not fit into the puzzle as they see it, then it is rejected or ignored. Will this work? I don't know, but it is a good view that this may cause the V-team to crash and burn, becoming a mimick of USXI. Which is exactly what they did not want to happen. But when the core is working against the objectives that they have put forth, then there is little that can be done. So my resolution is to remain silent, sit back and watch without getting involved. Never try to teach a pig to dance, it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

The end of the year

The end of the work year sucked. I rolled into Orgill for my 900am appointment right on time. Only to find out that they are closed for the holiday. I rolled to the Shippensburg Terminal, wasted close to an hour in the "inspection lane" to be told that everything is fine. Well, since I do a good pre-trip, that was a given. Then I grabbed a trailer to head out to Mott's about 40 miles away. Pulled up to the site, only to find out that they are closed until the second of January, for the holiday. Of course, this delivery MUST be done by 200pm today. So I rushed for nothing. I reported the issue, and that I was going to head back to the terminal and shut down for the day. Enough was enough for one day.

A final thought

2021 is gone now. It came in and went out just as fast. The world moves on past it and we are in to a shining new year. We are facing record COVID-19 infections and record denials of a problem. All we can do is out own parts and raise our voices to any god that may turn a weary ear toward us.