A new month means updates on everything so that my gentle followers can see where I am, where I have been, and where I may be going. Always a fun time, don't you think? So, here come the updates.

The work arena

Right now, I am in New Mexico, headed for Phoenix Arizona. I am just about nine days from hometime, and I am very much looking forward to it. It has been an interesting month at work. The facebook group has exploded with negative comments, and it is not good for the company. I have have some really good weeks, and some really bad weeks. But it is all balancing out. So we shall see what happens. We are still dealing with lots of small runs, but I have had two coast to coast runs, and that is decent. The trailer chase continues, and communications are lacking. We are assured that they are working on it.

The Photography thing

My 35mm camera finally crapped out on me this past month, and that was an annoyance. I was not ready to spend $1000 to replace it, even though I just bought one hell of a photography class. It is Murphy coming to call. Luckily, I was able to get it fixed by disassembling it and putting it back together. Thanks YouTube! So, with a bit of luck, there will be more pictures this month. The course that I bought includes a free subscription to some kind of processing and storage system, but I have not looked at that yet. I have about 300 or so pictures that I have to go through, and I have the potential coade for a Triumph Media photo gallery. It may or may not work, we should know this month.

School - the evil and the good

I am back in class for my Master's degree in criminal justice. I am just coming out of week one, and thus far, it is provocative. I like the instructor, Professor Jennifer Hacking. She is very engaging. I am not sure about my classmates yet. They are slow on the uptake, but this is the introduction course. I am rocking a 100% out of the gate, so we will see how things play out.

Colorado

For right now, the plans are moving forward. The home team is going through the house, and I join them when I am there. We communicate about the potential constantly, but things are mocing slow. Willow finally got her drivers' license and on hometime, we will discuss me leaving the jeep as a third vehicle. Willow bought a scooter, but she can't drive it. Luckily, Rowan has taken to it. I can see myself scooting around Trinidad with it, assuming I can ride it. Time will tell.

The creative edge

I am still working on the same three projects, plus a fourth. The fourth is a short story collaboration with myself and Jinn Erudite. She has the voice of a little girl, so I am writing a short story for her to read that is geared toward her voice. The political book is coming along slowly, and the Awakening is coming along. I finally got Ospiria and Lilith to come together out of the Garden, so things are looking up. The short story tome is stalled right now, too many things to choose from, but I give them all a bit of love every time that I can.

What's to come?

That is it for right now. I am not sure what Novemeber is going to bring. My mood is sullen right now, but I think that is time on the road. I am going to spend four days at home in a little over a week. The extra day is because I get to go see Wong and get my bi-annual updates done. I hope to accomplish a few things while I am home. The food plan from last time worked out quite well. I will run out of food about three days before I hit home, but it was planned that way and I will watch for good food on the road, and I always have soup and chili as a backup. And now, you are up to date.

Not much to say about today. I spent most of the day sleeping and hit the road the moment my timer was up. I was well rested and rolling hard. I made it into JW Logistics (actually on the 3rd) and they converted the live unload into a drop and hook because of staffing issues. I had to bobtail out, but my next load picks up in the Phoenix yard. So more to come.

a test image of the new gallery feature.

I am still rolling toward Texas. But the big thing for today is the new Gallery feature. It took me a while to figure out the code, but I will be using this in the new incoming pictures, as well as to create a new photo gallery with all my photography, past, present, future, and teh stuff that I have not put online yet. Be excited.

Time rolls

Once I drop in Temple, TX. I will probably roll around the NorthEast for a bit until it is time for hometime. I really have a lot to do when I hit home, I just can't remember what right now. But I am sure things will come together. I am looking forwad to getting home.

I almost forgot.

That image is clickable. You can click it and see the foll-sized version in a new screen. I intend to create a gallery with all my photoes. Hope you like them.

The optimizer is keeping me stacked back to back right now, and it is leaving little, if any, personal time. I ran through the night this morning, and got hit by an inspection, level 2, in New Mexico at the weigh station. No problem, but it took about a half an hour that I did not have. I pushed through all the way to Van Horn, TX and set down with only a few minutes left on my clock. Then it was a meal and sleep. It is grating on me, but it is almost time to head home.

Amusing

I listened to a bit of the news today. The next few days are going to be back-to-back runs, so things will be short, but this is worth a mention. The great and powerful ZUCK is going to rename facebook to Meta. I tried to think of any movie, series, book, or other work in which Meta is a good thing and does not cause problems. I could not find one. Interesting.

Toto and Dorothy may not have been in Kansas, but I am. I rolled hard toward Ottawa KS. But I am really getting tired at this point. I managed to get a bit done for school, but I am running behind. Tomorrow is another day. And I am going to have to do a break before I head home. Running 11 hours drive a day is eating up my time. But I should make 2500 miles for the week.

I was able to clear the Ottawa KS drop quickly and got a run out of St. Joseph MO for after my break. I remembered this run, but could not remember what I did not like about it. It was not until I had passed the point of annoyance that I remembered.

A wrong turn

The problem with the Clarion pickup is the location. The truck entrance is not programmed properly and it routes me onto town streets. By the time you realize it, you are in farm country with no place to turn around for about 10 miles. And that is what it took. I made it to the turn around in a corn field and got loaded up. It is batteries, and even though it is heavy, I was able to make it legal without issues.

A hard roll

The wrong turn and the slow pickup meant that I had to roll a lot harder than I anticipated. I tried to set down in Rend Lake, IL. but that was a nightmare. It was like a giant puzzle and there was no chance of turning into a spot. I did make it to Love's in Marion, IL. and got shut down. I got school all caught up and got some decent sleep. I am running very low on hours.

Today was a push push push. I started out the day by finalizing the week for school and then hit the road. I did not get enough sleep, but I was not bobble-heading, so that was good. I rolled right through to Georgia and hit the dock right on time. Right down to the minute. The security guard at the Autozone distribution center was brand new, and did not know what to do with incomming trucks. Since there was no one in receiving, he told me I had to come back in the morning. I am pushing time at this point because I am due home in just a few days and I could not afford this kind of delay. Thankfully, the yard mule saw me sitting there and addressed the problem. I dropped the trailer, grabbed and empty, and then it was time for a 34-hour break just West of Augusta in Tomson GA. Not a terrible place to shut down for a break. Tomorrow will be a reset day, and I have a lot of things to add to the blog. It should be interesting. Plus, it is time to start sorting photographs and set up the photo gallery. I should be home by the end of the week.

And now it is breaktime. I have worked my ass off for six days, and landed in Tomson GA. It has been all run run run with little down time to speak of. But that is okay, it is almost hometime and I get to see the family, pet the cats, and do the home thing.

A waste of a day

I am feeling downright lethargic. I have had some tummy troubles and all, but it was not that. I was just moody as hell. I am thinking that it is with home just around the corner, I am doing the homesick thing. But we shall see when I get there in a few days. Most of the day I just watched media and did a little bit of writing.

I finished up my break and headed over to Continential Tires in Sumpter GA, near Fort Shaw and picked up tires for Nissan, the final load before I head home. It was a long run, but it was good to be in motion again. I had my sites set on getting into Tennessee before I shut down, and I made it with a few hours to spare. Granted, it was late in the day, so I wound up setting down in a rest area, but that is okay, tomorrow will be the run to home.

A question

Okay, it should go in one of my rant boxes, but I want to make sure people think about this, and I know people stare past the rants. For longer than I can remember, there are a constant stream of news stories about how right-wing propaganda spewing "reporters" which are nothing more than talking heads, will ask, with a serious face, if Billy Joe, the latest flavor of Democrat leader, has a socialist agenda. Keeping in mind that the most expensive socialism in the United States is the bailouts of the Airline industry, auto industry, banking industry, etc. All owned primarily by members of the GOP. However, should a left wing talking head ask a potential leader from the Republican side about their Facist agenda, it is news? It just does not make sense.

The mad dash for home. I rolled out of the rest area near Dickson, TN. and made it into Nissan in Smyrna, TN. without issues. The mistry rain was a bit of a pain in the butt, and security at Nissan forgot to tell me to drop the trailer in the staging area before I headed into the office, but it worked out okay. I even grabbed an empty to take to Olive branch. I hit the yard about 400pm and turned the truck in for service, then I was homeward bound. All good.

All about Kyle

I was listening to NPR on the way home, and the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse contines. I just don't understand what is going on. Momma Kyle transported him across state lines at 17 years old, with a deadly weapon that he had no business having. There are pictures of him hanging with proud boys and flashing the "gang sign" of the group, and then he shoots three people, killing two of them. And the defense is saying that he feared for his life, so it is justified. The question is, that since he is such a clear and present danger, would it be okay to protect myself from him if I saw him in public? I mean, he is famous now for being a bit of a weanie, since he feels threatened by unarmed men. People say that I am "dangerous" beacuse of the way that I look, so he may feel threatened by me and take action. Knowing this, he may act on that fear. So you see where I am going..right? Of course, I am a bit more mentally stable than an irrational child, empowered by firearms. But that is just my opinion.

Today was, for the most part, a day of rest. The big thing that had to be done was a visit to Wong. However, the wife and I hit Walmart and Super Walmart early in the day and got most of the shopping done. I managed to find a storage solution for the computer, and now I can relax a bit. I have become very paranoid about losing data, and now I have a Terabyte external drive to story everything. The kicker is that it is tiny as hell and self powered. Kind of like a USB key on steriods. That will make life a lot easier.

Avoiding the news

The world is going crazy, so I made it a point not to go near the news today. Everyone is up in arms, again, over trivial stuff. It is like we are all coming to a head, but have no direction to point our aggrivation. Go figure. I think that this is a sign of the times.

The checkup

Everything went well with Wong. I have lost weight, my blood sugar and blood pressure are better than they have been in the past few years, and life is good. I spent a lot of the day just relaxing, and that is something that was overdue, so I will take it. I still have to catch up on school and work ahead a bit, but that is for tomorrow.

A splurge

As we come to the end of the year, I needed a new day planner. But I went a different way with it this year. Usually, I will just go cheap and easy. This time, I ordered a life planner with a lot of features. They say it will be here Saturday, but I will believe it when I see it. It would be nice though. It is one of those endless date ones, so it does not matter when I start to use it.

I was a homebody today. Still rocking a negative moodscape, but under much better control. I spent most of the day catching up on my list of things to do and got all but two of my cooking tasks done. Granted, that is not going to be enough, but I will figure that out once I get the other two done tomorrow morning.

A good movie

I have written about this before. But I have watched the movie "Leon, The Professional" several times. But I have never actually watched it. It has always been in the background as ambient noise. Today, I sat and watched it. This was the introduction of a young Natalie Portman playing opposite Jean Reno. It is a really good movie, and in her youth, Portman was a great actress. Amazing how she appears to have peaked at 12 years old. I can relate to both her character Mathilda and Renos' character Leon. If you like storyline, interesting and provocative characters, and psycho-drama, I highly recommend it.

The end of the year

On Monday when I head out, this will be the end of the year. I will be home again just aroud Christmas time, and it has been a pretty decent year, all things considered. I do not know what 2022 is going to bring, but if it is anything like 2021, I think it will be good.

School

This week has been light on school. I have to upload my two papers over the next two days to make sure I meet my attendance goals. It would suck to excel and then blow it on actually "being there". But I will take care of that tomorrow and Sunday.

The goal for today was to get everything done that needs to be done, so that I can take tomorrow as a full day of rest. I got the cooking complete and got the cover on the pool with the help of the girls. Most of the downloads are complete, and I got one of the two papers in. I have to do them across two days for attendance purposes.

Feeling the moody

I am still rocking a mood swing back and forth, like the pendulum from hell. But I have it mostly under control. Tomorrow, I will have to buckle down and make sure that everything is ready for work and then relax before I start back in. We should be hitting the holiday season. I noticed that our favored drivers are back on the bi-coastal runs, so that recifying of the situation and making it fair only seems to have worked for two weeks. We shall see what the next few weeks brings.

The new journal

My new journal came. And since the endless nature of the pages starts on Sunday, tomorrow will be the pefect time to start it up. Woo hoo. I really like it. It has quite a few features, and it has stickers. Woo hoo, I will girlfan on it, it has stickers. ROFL

Avoiding the news still

I maanged to avoid the news all day, and I stayed off social media. I am just way to mentally tired for all this crap going on. I think that I will try to stay out of it until the new year, and then I can asess things from there.

Today was a day of rest before I head back to the grind tomorrow. I finished up my cooking and got everything staged to go into the jeep. This hometime, with the help of the ladies, we got the cover on the pool and did a few other things. So I figured that a full down day would be good for me. I binge-watched "Squid Game" and that is a train wreck. The premise is cute, but the application of that premise is not. I actually found it disturbing, but I could not stop watching.

Data data everywhere

I finished up moving data for the next tour out and have everything that I need for class, and for entertainment. It will be a good run, no matter what. I am sure that it will start slow out of the gate, but we shall see what happens. I did get a pre-assignment before I went to bed, and assuming they have an empty trailer for me, I will be heading to Virgina. I watched a bit of the news, and it looks like there is snow already in the mid-west. So that is something to look forward to....NOT.

More news...

Rittenhouse. OYE VEY. The BOY crossed state lines, with a deadly weapon, underage, driven by his mother, and murdered two people. And his guilt is in question? Well, I will tell you what, the piss-ant felt threatened, so it gave him the right to MURDER two people? Does this mean that, if knowing his violent reactions, an American feels threated by him in the future, they can shoot him? Think about it folks. I hope that everyone involved in this pseudo-defense, steps on a lego. It makes me angry.

The new journal

I got my new journal and I have started to set it up. I really like it. It is callled a Legend Planner, and it is available on Amazon. If your life is out of control and you want to try to bring it into balance, I highly recommend it. Check it out!!!

At work, we have received numerous memos about returning to work on time. This is for after Home Time, off 10-hour breaks, and when returning from 34-hour resets. It has been pumped into our head that this is a key to success. But what about when that breaks down? I was scheduled back to work at 600am this morning, and and 545am, I sent a message that my truck was prepared and I was ready to work. However, I was sitting as a Bobtail in Olive Branch MS. without a trailer and with an active load that I was supposed to pick up at 1000am. Long story short, I finally let operations know that I was not going anywhere, because they had not located a trailer for me. This was at 300pm. I sat the entire day waiting to get the materials that I need to do my job. A full wasted day. Kaitlan said that she will put me in for layover pay, but that is not the solution. In order to service the drivers that we have on the road, we must have the equipment to do so. And this is not the case. I finally got notification around 500pm that there was a trailer 80 miles away in Indianola MS. at the dollar general. The ID started with a W, which is not one of our trailers, and the address they sent me was "On route 82 at the West end of town". HUH??? Not even an address? Just a road and a direction? I went to sleep.

Using my time

Back in March, I developed Angina and had to be admitted to Ballard Hospital for two days. It was not a pleasant experience. And I made it clear to the billing agent, at that time, that I had to receive any billing correspondence by email, text, or telephone, because of how infrequently I get home. The labs, radiology, specialists, all did this. But the hospital did not. I finally got around to contacting them after reviewing a nasty little threatening letter about collections. I spoke to Ms. Bowels and she informed me that the bill had been referred to Wakefield and associates. A quick call to them and they confirmed, on a recorded line, that the bill had NOT been reported to credit reporting agencies yet, and that a payment arrangement would stay that action. We set up the plan, and all is good. I have worked very hard on my credit, and to mess it up due to something like this would really piss me off.

The next few weeks

Employing my new journal, I have started to get things in order. I have Ballard (see above) on the list, and it has a checkmark by it. I have school on there, and wtih daily, weekly and monthly task lists, I think that it is going to work out. I have goals, plans, and rewards. I like it.

The Muse

The muse is biting me in my nads. I have my writing, and I am working on that daily. But now I have a mindworm for a photograph. But this will be different than anything that I have done thus far. It will be different because first I am going to take the photo using my tripod and 35mm camera, then I am going to drop it into photoshop and manipulate it using skills that I am learning in my photography course. I am pretty jazzed about it. But nope, no hints on the subject, other than it will be a selfie. I have 14 days until December gets here, and I hope to use it for my journal pic for next month.

This is going to be a work-heavy entry, because that is all that today was. Even though the morning started out pretty well, with updates to everything, once I got into motion, it was like the devil had his shit stick and was giving a stir to the pot. I will explain...

Way down south where bananas grow

Okay, bananas don't grow in Mississippi, but some NUTS do, and by that, I mean the drivers through the state. The company sent me to The Dollar General Distribution center in Indianola MS. It is a tight little town, with very little to offer other than the distribution center and a Walmart. There are quite a few suffering little businesses, but nothing else major. It is very much like a lot of the Southern MS towns that have been lost in the wake of the world. The problem is not with the town, but with getting to it in a truck. There are few direct major roads. So it wsa a backroad and farm road run. It took about three and a half hours to get there, especially dealing with the moving of farm implements. OYE.

It gets more interesting

I managed to retrieve a rental trailer from Dollar General, and Jamie of Freight called me to set up a run from Stuttgart AR. to Zaneville, OH. I hooked to the empty, got dispatch to Stuttgart, and was on my merry way. Then it happened. DriverTech rerouted me...back to Memphis, when I was less than an hour from pickup. They sent me back to Precision packaging to pick up booze for Virginia on a Coyote Logistics run. I turned around and headed back, hitting the dock with about 3.5 hours to go on my 14 hour clock. It took 90 minutes for them to load me. It actually took 15 minutes for them to load me, the rest of the time was playing grab-ass on the dock. Then it took them 90 minutes to print my BOL. Nope, you did not read that wrong. When I was done, I had less than 30 minutes on my clock, so it was a scurry like a cockroach to the Olive Branch yard and down for the night. Tomorrow is another day.

I only woke up with 90 minutes before I had to drive, but it gave me time to get my updates done, eat breakfast, do my Yoga, and get a bit of candle meditation in. I started the day well-balanced, which after the beginning of the week, is a very positive thing. Breakfast was strawberry oatmeal, onion bagel, pepper jack cheese, and coffee.

And away we go again

I am finally putting some miles in after a rough start. But I am really not feeling well. I just can't seem to get my wheels under me so to speak. I am already feeling like I should be heading home, and I am barely out of the gate. At least school is going well, even if I am running a bit behind. But not late, so that is good.

Tried the news

I turned on the news and could not get through more than about 10 minutes. I really think that we are heading into a negative scape in the world. And it just appears that people are ignoring things, unless they can say something negative. I can feel it in the people around me. Or maybe it is just my own reflection in the mirror of life?

Of course, I am back in the triangle. And I am not letting it piss me off yet. But it is going to get old very fast. I was able to get dropped in Elkton, VA and take a short break before I headed over to Lynchburg to pick up a High Value load. I aired on the side of caution and shut down at the shipper for the night. Everything right now is work then sleep then repeat. It is getting old. Not much to say. I did manage to get my journal done for school, so that is something.

I rolled as hard as I could and made it into Tobyhanna, PA to drop off. Of course, there were no empties. I set my PTA for 1000pm and started toward the Allentown PA terminal. I got about 30 minutes out when I got a message to pick up an empty right next door to where I had dropped. I could have continued to Allentown, but I turned around. I got the trailer, and was dispatched right away to my least favorite place. Tunkhannock, PA. I weighed the options and chose to set down in a rest area instead of heading into the shipper. There are two truck stops and about 15 parking spaces for big rigs in the area. Not a great choice, but the best one I think.

Weird dreams

I am having weird dreams. They include a duck. I have no idea what that means, but it is really getting on my nerves. I am going to have to look that up when I hit my 34-hour break which is going to be soon. I am running low on time, and I am not going to have any recap available. So there is that. I am hoping that I will be in a nice place to shut down. I really need to reset.

Updates coming

I know that I have been a bit lax on the posts, but there has really been nothing to say. Since I got out of Memphis, I have had little time for anything but drive and sleep. I am finally starting to feel a bit better, so that is a good thing. When I set down for my break, I will get updates in place about the new journal, the projects, the creative muse, and all that.

The trek continues. I have been rolling back to back since I got off hometime. I have barely had time to eat, let alone get anything else done. But things should be calming down here soon. I am stuck in the NorthEast triangle right now, and it is going on a week. Right now, I have a pre-assignment into Baltimore after I get dropped near Cincinnati, OH. That is going to be difficult because I will be in position to do my 34-hour break, and there is little in that area. I will have to go about 75 miles out to Hagarstown tomorrow morning to find a place to shut down. But that MAY put me in a position to do a Home Depot cross country, assuming things work out.

The food thing

I wanted to give a shout out to the wife. Thanks for helping out with the food this last hometime. Things are working out great, and I am pulling my food a day ahead, so thus far, plenty of meals, and all in the little oven. Tonight was BBQ before I rolled out. Woo hoo.

The mood

When I take my break, my focus is going to be on coming to center. The crap in the news, the annoyance of the zip-to-zip payment and loss of miles is really grating on me. I need to get things in order, get a plan together, and get my head in the right place. I really don't like this "whatever" attitude I have right now. I don't feel like writing, doing photography, or even playing the Sax. That is not good, but teh best way to avoid a trap is to know it is there. Right?

The next 72

As I said, my 34 should be coming. I have a checklist of things that I would like to get done, and that should put me into a better place, at least mentally. I work well with lists. So I have quite a bit to say, but I am going to seperate some of it out in the next few posts, adding trigger warnings so my more sensitive (and intelligent) followers can skip over the stuff like Rittenhouse, the Roe v. Wade Supreme court thing, and my op-eds. Not everyone needs those, but I have to put them here because I have predictions, and I want them here so I can look back later and say "told you so".

The Hippy Me

The Fatman in me

Getting my Harley On

Life in Neon

Feeling Devilish today

Too Serious

Recently, I have been told that I am too serious by a few people. Some of their opinions matter to me, others do not. But self reflection says that YES, I do take myself too seriously. So here we go. Thanks to Tora asking a favor, I tripped over Snapchat filters, and decided to have a bit of fun and do some silly things. And here they are. Hope you like them. But you ahve to admit, I look pretty cool as Harley Quinn

The frustrations of work

I don't know if I am on a 34-hour break, because I am sick and tired of begging for a response. Last night, I dropped at the Kroger DC in Woodlawn, OH, and they did not have an empty. They had a lot of trailers, but none of them are empty. This is mostly because they are using them as storage for product until they need it. A Capstone representative told me as much. Meanwhile, that is a bunch of trailers that are not available for drivers. I managed to set down at Love's about 30 miles from the drop, and then it was morning. I got notification 7 hours after I set down that I had a trailer reserved for me at Proctor and Gamble in Vandalia. Uh huh. Since Proctor and Gamble loads all trailers the moment they are empty, I doubted it. But I ama good little monkey, so off I went. If I had stayed put, I would have had a reset around 1000am tomorrow morning and had a fresh clock. But off to Vandalia. Eureka! No empty there, they load them as soon as they are empty, would could have ever known that??? So down the street to Love's in Springfield. And here I have sat, waiting for a resolution. It is really getting on my nerves, but I am trying to stay calm and relaxed.

Skip over this part

Skip this if you don't like drama! There is a lot going on in the world right now, and I am going to take some advice from Halsey. "Gonna jot it down and then get it out nd then I'll be on my way" from the song "You should be sad". Kyle Rittenhouse, the murderer. Not guilty on all charges, but that is because the judge removed the two actual legal actions that would have assured a conviction. The curfew, and the fact that the boy child was wandering around at 17 years old with an assult rifle, looking for trouble. This man-child was hunting and I predict that one day, someone is going to feel threatened by him, and things are going to get nasty. Of course, the internet has blown up about this about how this poor innocent boy was just doing his civic duty. Bull hockey! But at least he didn't rape an unconcious girl behind a dumpster. Yep, I went there, another Brock Turner, and the new darling of the Republican party. To the point where Don Jr. and a few others are offering him jobs and internships. Hope he, and the rest of them, step on a lego!
Then we have Representative Paul Gosar, the Republican from Arizona. He passes around a MEME of him KILLING Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and maiming President Joe Biden, and then claims to be in the likes of Alexander Hamilton, a founding father, when he is censured for his actions. And again, the right wing Republicans are defending him and singing his praises for his bravery. I will tell you what, AOC has to come face to face with this insignificant waste of oxygen in her duties on the hill. Under the new precedent set by Rittenhouse, I hope she does not feel threatened. Gosar should be removed from office. End of rant.
Tomorrow we may find out if the Supreme Court is going to act like a court, and uphold the laws in place by doing what 2/3 of Americans want, and backing off Roe v. Wade, or if they are going to act as if this country is under Sharia law, ruled by a book that less and less people believe in.
And the rant ends - You may continue to read now

Sorry just had to

I just had to get all that out and now I feel better. I won't put it on facebook or other social media, becase people are going nuts over this crap. The battle lines are being drawn, and it sucks the big donkey dong. But I am feeling much better now.

The promised updates.

Even though I may or may not be on my 34-hour break, here are the updates that I promised. Work is trying to kill me, running me into the ground, then making me sit and wait. The excused are old and overused, and we are losing more and more drivers, and they are being replaced by wet behind the ears, inexperienced drivers. I am sticking it out for school.
So there is school. I am almost done the first class toward the Criminal Justice Degree. It is going fine, but I do have a 12-15 page paper due in two weeks. I will be starting on that, probably today or tomorrow. And I did find out that Professor Jennifer Hacker will be teaching my next course as well. I like her, and we get along, so that works out.
The muse is alive and well, even thought I have kept her pretty much hog-tied and ball gagged for about a week. But she is loose now and I am back at it. Same three projects, The Awakening, Fixing America, and the Short Story Collection. Some minor news. I did finish the next to final edit of the short story "Sasaquan" and just for kicks, I sent it over to Jinn Erudite. She is going to try to read it for me. Supposedly, she has a little girl voice, and it should be fun. The story fits her personality, and it has cats in it. Grin.

The rest of the story

That is all for now. It is time for a meal and some relaxing. I may or may not roll out of here tonight, and I am doing my best to stay relaxed about the issue. See you in the funny papers.

This was a boring and exciting day at the same time. To quote Charlie Daniels, I was moving like my hair was on fire and my ass was catching. But it was all work. I rolled into the drop in Elliswood, MO, just outside of ST. Louis and got dropped without issues. Then I was dispatched over to Unilever on the other side of the city. I thought that I was okay on time with about three hours to drive, and about the same available on my 70. But that was not to be the case. I hit the shipper and hit shipper-hell. It took 2 hours and 30 minutes to get picked up. Their processing is horrible. But I got loaded and made a mad dash for the closests Love's, in Bridgeton, MO. I made it with under five minutes to spare and I was down for the next day and a half.

Time to rest

I have not been feeling all that well. I got the dude thing going on, and my tummy has been acting like it wants to take the train to the coast. So I made the choice to simply sit and do nothing and then go to bed. I watched Enders' Game and then hit the bunk. Tomorrow is update day. I will do my best to do a full update with everything that is going on. But for now...rest you weary wanderer.

I made it to safe haven in Bridgeton, MO and set down yesterday. I did some serious relaxing and got eight hours sleep. All a good start. Then today, I got up, got all the updates done, did class, and set up some goals. So all good so far.

Not too serious

PhotoCredit:Just a little fun through SnapChat
Original size is available upon request.

Back to being serious

Okay, so I had a little bit of fun. But I am done with that now. On to more serious things. Yeah, that's not going to happen. This is an update blog today, so it will be exciting! Or boring. It depends on your perspective.

The work update

The week has been frustrating, but it ended on a good note for the most part, if you can call it a week. I am basing that on pay schedules of course, not calendar weeks. I had a double trailer hunt, totaling about 40 hours during this week, and got $100 for the trouble. Good to know that I am worth about 2.12 an hour for when the company is unable to supply the required materials to their workforce. A bit salty about that one. But I still did manage to pull down a decent pay. And now I am headed out to California by Friday, so there is that. We shall see how that goes as it progresses.

The Creative muse

The muse is back, but I have a feeling that it is having a negative effect on my dream scapes. I have been having some really really odd dreams, but they are all out of context and have nothing to do with me. Or so it seems. I am working the Sax, working some drawing, playing with the camera, and working on the Awakening, Fixing America, and the short story book. I did send a copy of the cat girl story over to Jinn Erudite to read. I don't know if she will do it or not, but it is out there. For now, I am happy with the Muse and her attentions, but I have to buckle down and get some center and focus. The new journal is helping with that, but I need time. And time is fleeting, as we all know.

More to come

As I stated in the last line, time is fleeting, so I will do more updates as they become avialable. For now, time to get on down the road.

The Golden Coast

There is not much to say right now, because I am in a 1750 mile three day roll to the Golden Coast. They have my drop schedule set very tight and I have to roll-sleep-roll. Luckily, I am all caught up in school, and it looks like I am going to make it. I ended the day in Erick Oklahoma, about 1/3rd of the way to the drop. Tomorrow, I will shoot for Arizona, and as long as I can make St. Joseph, about 640 miles from here, I should be good. But I am already tired. I am having really weird dreams, and they are starting to get on my nerves.

The Christmas thing

Willow set up a site for the seceret santa. I took a few minutes and set mine up. It is kinda cute. When the hell did she grow up so much? Huh?

I ran hard and made it into Joseph City AZ. I remember this Love's now. I dont' like it. It is small and cramped and does not have a lot. They take up way too much floor space with an eating area for Chester's and Subway, and it compresses everything else. I was going to take a shower, but last time I was here I did that, and there was black mold. I will hold off another day. Tomorrow it is into Cali and whatever lay beyond.

The moodies

I usually don't get moody until the week before I head home, but it hit early this time. It make be because it is Thanksgiving and I would rather be home. We will see if it breaks after today. But at least I did not get stuck on a forced 34 this time and I am rolling. So there is that. I don't have a pre-plan out of Unilever yet, but here is hoping. On top of that, I am hoping for an empty trailer. Time will tell. It will be good to get a bit of downtime. I have been running back to back. By the time I drop tomorrow, I will be halfway through my 70.

And here comes the final leg of the journey. Since I have been with USX and then Variant, I have been in California about five times. Each time, it was a nightmare. This time, not so much. I rolled into Unilever early in the morning. Of course, the GPS took me to the wrong place, but I was able to correct that quicky. I hit the site with about two hours left on my drive time. And amazing! They had an empty trailer. I grabbed it and realized that I was only 15 minutes from the Fontana yard. So I headed over there for shutdown.

Productive AND Relaxing

I cooked my chicken and veggies with rice and then did some school. I watch the 1979 movie "Alien" the director's cut and worked on my master list a bit. I ended the day with a nice shower. The shower brought up some issues. I am in the Fontana Terminal for USX and I am really tired of my fellow drivers. When I hit the shower, it took me 10 minutes to clean it first because the previous driver had left one hell of a mess. Not only was there soap and water all over the place, but they obviously went shopping. They left hanger, tags, and wrapping all over the place. People really need to have respect for their fellow drivers. I know that we have a cleaning crew that cleans every morning, but it is just RUDE AS HELL to leave that kind of mess. The same was true in the sink area of the break room. Someone had left all kinds of food stuff in the sink. People just...

PhotoCredit: Christopher Klein
Location: Yuma, AZ

To rest or not to rest

I went to bed way too early last night, but I must have needed it. It was my intention to do a split sleep session, but that did not happen. I slept almost 10 hours. I am not concerned about it, unless that become a habit. Time will tell.

They mostly come at night....mostly

I took advantage of the extra time and rolled Aliens in the background while I got things done. I had a nice breakfast, popped my laundry in and FINISHED my data transfer project. All of the past 5 years of data is now all in one place, and it is on the backup drive. That is one hell of a feat. I have to talk to the wife about getting a second one of these drives. It would be excellent to hold the library, and then I would not have to pick and choose what I have with me.

The library thing

Right now, I have about 10 books in my routine. Some programming, some forensics, a few for the legal course that I am taking, and two art books. I am working through them slowly, and I am rolling a new Piers Anthony on my audiobooks. So it is all good for right now. But that is the next project. I have to get some kind of order to the library. I make sure that I read daily to keep the old brain in motion. But there are times.... yeah, I am sure you know what I mean.

Hey, Musey, I'm Home!

See what I did there? Lucy? Muse? I kill me. Anyway. The muse is back, and has been back. I continue to dance with Osparia and Lilth as they overcome the fall of man and bring the veil down. But more importantly, Sasaquan is finished! I mean fully finished. I have written it, re-written it, edited it, and I am not happy with it. It has been added to the short story collection with the thirteenth witch. Just about eleven more to go! The next project is "The End" a nice dystopian catastrophe with a bit of a twist. It is a bit longer than the others, but it is a leader story that has a bunch of sub-stories for later use. Thanks Stephen King for the idea. When it put Pennywise and the Walkin' dude in the Dark Tower series, it peaked my attentions. And I have another idea for a short that I may add to the new mix. It involves a house, a family, and mirrors. Tee Hee.

It's a school thing

Today is Saturday, and I have my posts and replies done, so I am about to enter the final week of this course. One more discussion group and a final paper. I pulled my case for the paper and I have been researching it. I don't think the paper will cause any problems. I am using the 1963 case of Gideon v. Wainwright which addresses the need for equal protection. It should be interesting.

The rest of the day

I rolled into San Diego and could see the Mexican border from the dock. And the dock was a dock from hell. I got in after a bit of trouble, but the driver after me didn't. He tore apart his truck getting in. I helped him after the first hit, but the damage was done. It took about three hours to get loaded up and back on the road. I rolled into Yuma, AZ and shut down in a very busy Love's.

The Imperial Dunes

On the way to Yuma, I passed through the Imperial Dunes, about 12 miles West of Yuma, in California. They are pretty cool. There were over 500 RV's with trailers attached and all kinds of dirt bikes, ATV's, and dune buggys. It looks like a lot of fun

The end of the day

This is a slow roll. I have until Monday morning to go about 550 miles. So I took some time to do a bit of photography. Above, you will see an example of that work. And there are plenty more, including one for the December blog. Now all that I have to do is a bit of editing. The one above is a close up, by remote, with a warming filter and sky enhancment.

PhotoCredit: Christopher Klein
Location:Arizona Rest Area

The picture is taken at the Arizona rest area in the middle of the state on I-10. It is a beautiful little place with some minor access to nature, but much of it is fenced off.

Oh Anthony, you bear

So, we will do the work thing first. I rolled nice and hard from Yuma, AZ all the way across Arizona and New Mexico to Exit Zero in Texas, Anthony, TX to be exact. I have stopped here three times before, and each time, I say NO NO NO. Mostly because they never have Iced Tea and they can't keep their internet connected. It is really annoying. I have reported the internet through the app, but they have not done anything about it. And it is not just me. On previous visits, I have talked to other drivers, and they all have the same issues. The WiFi shows as connected and stable, but it takes forever to load anything, and it drops off then comes back on. It is showing at 57bps. That is AOL speeds. ROFL.

So...what now?

I hit Anthony with 22 hours before my drop about a half an hour away. So I worked on my paper for school and set up the new week in the journal. Toward the end of the day, I transferred pictures that I took of me and the Sax on the way across Arizona. Now, I have about 30 pictures to choose from for my December sidebar pic. Good start. And I am playing with photoshop as well. You saw that yesterday.

A veiled threat

I have been meaning to put this up for a while. McAfee antivirus. When you get a computer, there is a good chance you will have a pre-installed one year antivirus. At the end of that year, of course, they will try to get you to buy it. You expect this. But you have to love McAfee. Every time you restart the computer after the expiration, you will get a RED box that says "hey there, your antivirus expires, ya think you want to renew this subscription or ACCEPT RISK". It is those last two words that are a veiled threat as advertising. This is a tactic that is used to make you see the extreme danger that you are in if you do not use their product. For this reason, and this reason alone, McAfee will never get a dime from me. I don't like threats, especially when they are done in this way. End of rant!

So, did you notice?

In the past couple of months, I have gotten quite a bit of feedback on my social media, the blog posts, and other aspects of my social interactions. I have been told by my peers, those that I have met in person and those that are virtual only, that I have become too serious and quite a bit mundane. I am trying to change both aspects, and I think that I am doing it. I am adding more substance, especially to this blog. I am also finally bringing in more pictures. This is my testimony on life, my way of viewing the world, for good or bad, right or wrong.

The Southern Route

Finally for today, I have spent the past couple of days rocking it through California, then down to the Mexico border and across the South. I noticed something. There are hundreds of RV parks, and as I was stuck in traffic passing by a few of them, I could see that they are long term lots. People living in RVs. Thousands of them from California, through Arizona, and into New Mexico. I never realized that was a thing. But I guess it is. In California, they are packed tight, and they spread out a bit, even with yards and pools, as you move East. I can't help but wonder if this is the new Tent cities or an image of the New Americana. Granted, a lot of these are transient, such as the KOA grounds, but some of these appear to be designed to be permanet. I could not find any statisicts on it. But it does make sense. As the housing market explodes outward, it may make more sense for some to live in recreational vehicles, especially on resorts that have the rest of what you may need. Interesting thought.

I did not fall in love with a Mexican girl, and if you don't know what the means, it is from the song "El Paso" by Marty Robbins. I can't come through here without thinking about that song. But to date, I have never had a positive experience coming through this part of the country. Something always goes very wrong to make me annoyed and frustrated. But that changed today. I left Anthony and got to the drop point about 30 minutes before they opened. I got into the dock and was unloaded quickly. Then of course, I had trailer problems. I was ready for the negative, but it was not that bad. Breakdown sent me over to Utility trailers about five miles away and I got checked in for service. Then I looked across the lot. Oh look at that, another trailer. I checked with Operations, it was not attached to anyone, and the shop said it has been done for days. I was in and out in under an hour, and ready to roll. Sadly, I had to set down at the El Paso Love's on I-10. Nasty little place, but they have made some serious improvements. So not a terrible day. I set down until my pickup in the evening, and then off to Dallas. Joy.

Interesting Reflections

Trigger Warning: Nasty comments: So, the Kyle thing with the teen protecting himself is now coming under fire from combat veterans. They explain that when you enter an aggression area with a weapon, you don't get to claim self-defense for anything that happens. I find this interesting because it puts the righteous right in a very precarious position. Do they back their new hero that was where he should not have been, or do they back those that have given mind, body, and soul, blood and bone for this country? I am enjoying sitting back and watching this.

Hey, Muse! Let's rock!

I may make a first quarter 2022 release with my short story book. It is coming together well. So far, the kitty girl story, the young witch story, and now the monster in the closet. All edited and ready to rock and roll. That puts me close to a quarter done. I hope the muse continue to feed me.

A looming break

I only have about 17 hours left on my 70 with no pending recaps. So when I hit Dallas in the morning, I may set down at the new Dallas terminal for 34 hours. I don't like Texas, but supposedly, the new terminal is walking distance to quite a few things. I will get my DOWN meal and finish up my paper and be done with my course. That will give me some time to set up the new course before it starts in about 7 days. They are back to back this term, that should be interesting.

PhotoCredit: Christopher Klein
Location:Arizona

I have wanted to have a new picture for the sidebar each month, but that has not happened. But it is going to happen for December. I finally had some time to get out my camera and tripod and do some editing. This photo is obviously modified, but I like the way it came out. And the main focus of the image is what will be used for the sidebar in December. And, since I am sure you can't wait to see the new month, here it is. December 2021

Ending the month well

The past few months have been the roller coaster from hell. Slow weeks, frustration, chasing trailers, the whole ball of wax. But the month is ending well. I rolled into Expeditors this morning and met with a very nice guard, only to be told that even though they have a dozen trailers on site, none were available. She even walked the yard, but could not find one. I was ready for a very bad time. I was running low on 11, 14, and 70 and scampered over to the new Dallas terminal to await my fate. I popped the brakes with less then a minute before going into violation. I got out of the truck and headed to check out the terminal, when a driver, pulling in, asked if I needed a trailer. And viola! I have an empty. But I am still running very short on time. By the end of the day, after some haggling back and forth, we agreed that I would pick up a Miller / Coors load first thing in the morning, head about three hours out of Fort Worth, and shut down for 34 hours. Everything comes together.

Ah, the Drivers

Since I was in Dallas for a bit more than 10 hours, I took a wander around the terminal. Not bad. It is a giant parking lot, modern facility, but still needs work. The hot water heater was down, so there are no showers, and the gym is just a treadmill. There is a pool table, and I might take advantage of that if I wake up early enough tomorrow. I hung outside with a few drivers discussing the foobles of the world. Most notably were Robert and Tori, young goth-like drivers from interesting pasts, and futures open to wonder. Fun people.

Oh, what's with the picture?

Okay, I will end the month with this. The picture above is my take on "The Walkin' Dude" from the book "The Stand" by Stephen King. In the book / movie, the Walkin' dude is named Flagg. He is actually supposed to be the dark one, or the devil, depending on whom you ask. So I tried to emulate my take on the dude, and that is it. I like the photo. The color, hue, saturation, and of course the sky, are all photoshopped. But it came out well, I think. And next month, the clipped down version will be used for the sidebar. See you then.