First things first

We will start this month out with the kitty from previous posts. This is because this month, I shall be the cat. You will note that I also changed my intorduction picture on the right sidebar. It has already been a rough month, and we are only on day one, but I am honest with you, as I am with myself. I may look a bit bedragled right now, but things will get better.

The September Breakdown

I have about three hours of recordings on my voice recorder. My brain has been scattered for the past month and I really have to bring it together. Work has been really off, my writing has been non-existent, and my other pursuits have suffered. As this is the old birth month, it is time to tighten things up. So, that being said....

Bringing things together.

All in all, I have a total of three novels that I am working. They are in different genres so that I can jump from one to another when I get stuck. Thus far, it is working. Two of them are described in the right-sidebar. The third is a secret because I am playing with it. I have also pulled 13 short stories that I have bits and pieces of, and I am fleshing those out. I don't kow which project will come together first, but whichever one does, that will be my primary focus after this month. Yeah, that sounds good. I have my Sax out, and I have my educational materials (since I am not back in school yet) and I am doing well with my time, for now. I am hoping it will stay that way.

Work for today

I actually had a decent day until the end. I ran hard, more than 10 hours, and made it to the drop in Oklahoma, even though all my technology said I was not going to. I ran into a bit of a hiccup when Big Lots did not have an empty trailer, even though they actually had a few. They were all reserved for pre-loading, and they were actually short. So now drop-and-swap. But I haded over to Colbert and shut down at Love's instead of on the Big Lots site like I was going to. And I am very happy that I did. Laura called me and let me know that I got a letter from Homeland Security (the DOT) that said that my medical certification was NOT attached like it was supposed to be. The LP that did the exam filed it, I watched her, but it never made it over. So I get to deal with that in the morning. But for now, sitting bobtail in Colbert OK, I don't have a valid CDL - I can't move until this is resolved. So down for the night, watching the movie D.E.B.S. and trying to stay balanced.

The return of the photographs

PhotoCredit: Christopher Klein

Pictures are back

Laura and I have different tastes in photography. So once in a while, I will go against my broad, distant shot desires and get up close and personal. I thinnk that these ones came out pretty well. I hope she likes them. As a side note, as of this month, I am keeping the unedited originals of the blog photos. I really was a decent photographer a very long time ago, so maybe I can be that way again.

So, where are we in the drama?

Drama it is. I have some harsh words for both Variant and for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. First for Variant. Once the issue with the trailers is resolved, the company MUST turn an eye to the safety department. They are, for all accounts, useless. Their phone manner is unprofessional, the information that they provide, when they do, is useless, and they seem to have no other purpose than to call people and put them on probation for this or that. Time to clean house Variant, time to clean house.
Now, as for the TN Department of Safety and Homeland Security. I am positive that this has nothing to do with Governor Bill Lee, but we will toss him a little blame anyway. This government run agency SUCKS beyond compare. I know that is a bit out of character for me, but nothing else really fits, as I shall explain in the next paragraph.

So, what's the suckage?

Mistakes have been made, people have been blamed, but that and $5.25 will get you a Starbucks coffee. We just have to deal. On August 16, 2021, I had my annual physical performed, and sat there while the Nurse practitioner entered the information into the TDOT database. All was good. That was until the day before yesterday when TDOT sent me a letter saying that they did not receive the information that was entered through their software into their system. What does this mean? They downgraded my license and I cannot drive a commerical vehicle until it is resolved. That's okay, I carry a copy of the certification on me, and I have access to an electronic copy. Easy peasy...right? Yeah, not so much. I placed a call to the government run agency at 0800am and after 5 minutes, was told that no agents were available and I had to leave a message and they would get back to me "shortly". As of 5:00pm, no call had been returned. I did forward a copy of the information through the email system, but they say that may take 10 days to process. For what has been called an "essential worker", I don't feel essential. In fact, I can undertand at least one of the reasons that so many are leaving the industry. So folks, if you don't have toilet paper, fuel, or bacon, maybe it is time to vote in someone that will revamp this archaic and power hungry division of the government that exists only as a control measure to feel important to themselves and harrass the working American. Rant over.

So, did I waste the day?

The answer is no, I did not. Though I was sitting and redialing TDOT all day, that does not mean that I can't multi-task. I went back and forth working on the rebuild of Ancient and working on my writing. And it was quite productive, or at least I think so. I formatted the paranormal section and I am working on adding the pages, while I continue to edit the Treemom herbal database. I still have about 350 files to add there, but they are coming along. But the writing, that was productive. I FINISHED the editing of "The Thirteenth Witch" and I am finally happy with the final copy and it is now part of the book of short stories. I see that as a major accomplishment. The next story on deck for that project is "The End" about a young witch that sees the end of the world coming and gathers her friends to try to survive. I also added about helf a chapter to "Fixing America", based of course, on the TDOT issues. Art imitates life. Finally, I even gave Osparia a bit of a tickle. I think that I finally got the prolog of the exodus of Lilith from Eden down - and her meeting with the Fae. Progress

PhotoCredit: Artist Unknown

Not so bad, so bad

I was up an in motion early, and I got in some good yoga and meditation to prepar for battle with the Tenessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, AKA the TN-DOT to get the issues with my license resolved. It was surpisingly easy. I spoke to Naomi, who explained that recently, she has pretty much been a one person show for phones, call-backs, and incoming email. I did not ask why. But she took my information, got it attached, and I was able to log into the DOT and verify that I am legal again.

Ahhh meetings

I was able to make both the Ambassador meeting and the Roger meeting. I love the team enthusiasm for putting butts in seats, but lets face it, if you can't provide a product that is worth-while, then you are not going to keep those butts there. Some drivers are going back to back from Ohio to California, while others are puttering along in a specific area, fighting for every mile. And there are advantages and disadvantages to both modes. It is annoying. They also postponed the trip to Cancun due to COVID. So they re-opened the contests until December 15. Oye.

The Saga Continues

All red tape taped. All calls made. All meetings attended. Time to get back to work...right? Yeah, NO. I let operations know that I was ready to roll. I heard crickets. I let them know again, they responded that I was still showing as suspended. That's okay, four wasted hours, but still time. A quick call to Safety, and speaking with Kat, and she verified my license and lifted the suspension. Or so I thought. As of 6:00pm, I was still listed as suspended, and we are heading into a holiday weekend. I will not get pissed, I will not get pissed.

What's up with the picture?

Duh! The season is here. Pumpkin spice is in the air (yuck) and I am already seeing some seasonal decor going up. I really miss halloween at home.

Finally on the move again

The picture that I have chosen for the sidebar this month is doing as intended. Since I have to look at my negative-space self everytime I update the blog, it gives me incentive to rise above teh situation. And today is no exception. I was able to get my license cleared yesterday, but that was only the first step. By the end of Friday, yesterday, I had the issue resolved, communicated with Safety, and that should have been that. I set my Potential Time Available for first thing in the morning today, and then waited. First thing this morning, still nothing, so a quick message to Operations. Their answer? Sorry, you are still under suspension. It took until noon to get it fixed, but I am finally rolling again.

Southbound and down

I let operations know that I would take a terminal transfer run out of Irving if need be, as long as it gets me rolling. And they took me up on that, plus a stack. I headed into Irving to get a load for tomrrow morning over to Chewy, but it has me a little apprehensive, it is a drop and hook. I hope they have an empty trailer available. After that, I am stacked to pick up by noon, headed toward Denver CO! Yeah, new home state! I really hope that things work out that way. But time will tell.

A negative space note

Irving TX. Terminal. That should say it right there. And I will NOT comment on the quality of the people, just the terminal itself. It is being moved, so there is little or no upkeep being done at this point. Not the greatest place to shut down, even for a 10 hour break.

PhotoCredit: Christopher Klein

Location: Wichata Falls, TX

Oops

First of all, sorry for the misformatting for the past week. I missed a closing tag, and it tossed thigns a bit out of whack. All fixed now.

The Waterpark

I don't know what this trigger was, but sitting in Wichita Falls TX staring off into the distance and seeing the kiddies playing in the waterpark sent me into a bit of a negative spiral. I work between 6-8 weeks at a time, back to back, with breaks on the road, away from home and family, and that is pretty much all that I feel that I am doing. I am living to work instead of working to live. Just a passing thought, but I have a feeling it may be a seed. Sigh.

And work goes on...

Today did not go as planned. I took a "last mile" load out of Irving because those are usually live-unloads and they get you trailer. They snuck me with this one though, it was a drop and hook at Chewy and they did not have any empties. So I went on a 90 mile, 4 hour seach for a trailer. The first place they sent me to, the trailer was still loaded, the second one, it was not there. The third place, there was a trailer, but it was squezzed in a hell of a tight yard. I got it out, but it was a bit of a bear. I got picked up over at P and G and headed toward Denver. I made it to Wichata Falls TX. I would have liked to go further, but I was really tired and irritated.

Project update time.

Ancient Pathway: I am about halfway done reformatting the herbology database (thanks Laura) and I am working on that slowly. I have started the Ghost and Haunting database, and that should be done shortly.
"The Awakening" Osparia has brought Lilith before her. The offer has not been made yet, but I bet you the Fae are going to take in Lil and her brood.
The Shorts I really need to come up with a name for this collection. I have "the End" in the editor and I am going through it. That will be story two. About 11 more to go.
"fixing America": I am thinking that I need a better name for this as well. I have begun to rework the introduction to better reflect my snark. I think it is coming along well. I have the chapters designed and all I have to do is add the meat to the bones.

The back way round...

Today was all work, a very long run, from Texas, through Oklahoma, then into Colorado. The catch was that I wandered about 500 miles up 287, which mostly a backroad. But it was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. About every 30 or so miles, I would hit a small town and speeds would drop. But I made it to I-70, then into the Denver area, with little problems. The problems came when I hit my shut-down point in Bennett, CO, just outside of Denver. I hit there about noon, local time, which means there are all kinds of open spaces for parking...right? Yeah, not so much. There was no parking at all. Trucks were double and triple stacked all over the place. Running short on time, and with few options, I headed deeper into Denver. Flying J, Saap Brothers, Travel America - all full mid-day. Not the greatest area for trucking. I wound up setting down on an accessway behind a mall.

What tomorrow brings

This is the end of the pay week today, and my first run for next week is going to be a short terminal transfer from our Voyager storage facility in Denver to Loveland, right up the road. It is only 51 miles, and I will have almost 24 hours to get it there. But I am not going to complain about that one, because now that we are out of the Holiday, I am going to take a 25 mile jaunt back up to Bennett and see if I can get into that Love's. The drop yard is 24 hours, and it is a pre-load I am picking up, so I can take my time. I am going to try to get a shower, some good coffee, and restock my freezer and fridge items.

Waste of time

Stuck behind a mall, I could have used the extra time for something productive. What I did instead was watch the last two episodes of the Doctor Who that I have with me. That makes me all caught up. I have heard that Jodi Whitaker is moving on from the series, and they left the last season with a cliff-hanger. I am curious to see what they do with it. I really wish that they would spin off to the Doctor's daughter from about season 3. But we shall see. I do not like Jodi as the character or the current companions. You can see the writing style difference with the new writers. But since they are about to move on, we will see what they do with it, assuming it continues.

PhotoCredit: Christopher Klein

Location: Loveland, CO

Once again for the wife. Some close up pictures of daisies found by the side of the road while I was waiting on hold for Operations. Hello Laura! From our new home State!

Northern Colorado

Okay, not nearly as far North as you can get in the state, but close enough. Romping around the Denver area, at least as a truck driver, is not a positive experience. There simply is not enough parking. But that is true all over the United States. But the people are friendly and that helps a lot.

Bump in the road.

Things were really ramping up to go well. And I did get close to my 2500 miles for the work week. I would have probably made it, until I hit the bump. The first part of the bump was the delivery to Costco. I got there about 30 minutes ahead of time, and was sent to the staging area. But this place is effecient. They were moving trucks in and out like mad. But they were also running behind, so I did not get into a dock until about 90 minutes after my appointment. Total time on site was about four hours. There this is a driverTech issue. It is taking me between 15 and 90 minutes to get information across the unit. I knew where I was going because of Roger and headed that way, but another delay getting the actual dispatch. I picked up a trailer, previously refused, out of the Voyager yard in Denver. This load was previously rejected by the Walmart / Sam's DC in Loveland. I headed back that way. I was rejected again because I had no resolution and no new drop number. I popped on down to the closest Love's for some fresh coffee, a shower, some Tacos and some sleep. I also got my laundry done, so that is something. I let Operations know my status, and hopefully, things will work out before I get up in the morning. We shall see.

PhotoCredit: Christopher Klein

Location: Bennett, CO

I could...

I could go on with the harrowing mess that was my day. But today, I am not going to do that. This will be short and to the point. Truckers are a brotherhood of sorts, even though it is not stated outright usually. We have each others' backs. Today, I finished my day in the Love's in Bennett, CO and got some groceries. As I was settling in for the night, a police officer showed up. He sat for an hour. Then emergency teams showed up, broke the window of an R.E. Garrison tractor with attached reefer, and faced a fear that all truckers have. A driver died in his bunk. According to the forensic investigator, it appears to have happened one or two days ago. The Reefer was off and warm, the contents of the trailer spoiling. After six hours, they removed the remains. My part in the saga was providing information on the 2018 Freightliner and APU. I was amazed that when it was obvious what happened, the trucks around the area drew their curtains. Not much of a brotherhood when one of us falls. Perhaps it is too close to facing our fears. But that is just my opinion.
I had about a dozen pictures of the incident, but I kept only the two above, and they only exist here. The originals have been deleted. The above photos are the professionals that took care of the falling driver. They were respectful, professional, and compassionate. And that is all that I have to say on the subject.

Almost lost it.

Today was rough. I got a dispatch to run a final mile load out of the Voyager yard up to Costco. Easy peasy. Or it would have been if the CSR/Broker, would have set the appointment. So there was no way for them to get me in today. I took the extra steps and talked to the guardshack, and they can get me in first thing in the morning. I had two choices, return to Bennett CO, 18 miles up the road, or head back to Voyager for the night. I chose Bennett. Wrong answer. After hours of waiting, I was told to drop the load back at Voyager and they would find me an empty. Never a good answer right now.

Time passages

This is where the system breaks. Originally, I was resigned to take an extended break and deliver to Peyton in Fountain, CO on the 11th. They gave me the last mile load, then returned that one to the yard. Then it took three hours before I finally chatted with Logan and voiced my displeasure. This has been building for a while. After a long dialog, I was sent to UPS about five miles away, and what did I find? THREE trailers, all empty, sitting there waiting. I could have been rolling three hours ealier and not had a service failure on the kitty litter. To top it off, I talked to three drivers in chat, all of whom do not want to be named, that want to know why there are certain drivers that never have trailer issues and are always running bi-coastal runs. This is a question that I cannot answer, but I know who they are talking about. The answer is, sadly, they are those that chum up to management and never rock the boat. It is favoritism, but that happens everywhere. I considered broaching the subject, but I already have a lot of irons in the fire, and I am not going to take on that dragon. I cannot be a kiss ass, it is not in my nature. I told Logan, after he tried to toss money at me, that I am making a decent living, it is the job and the reputation that is important. Not sure if they will get the message or not.

End of the day

I got my trailer and made it about an hour from my pickup. Tomorrow is another day, and they open at 700am. We shall see how the weekend starts out.

The world spins, regardless of if we want it to or not.

I could...

I could scream, or whatever. I managed to get a trailer after kicking and screaming, but this is getting silly. I have been run around Colorado for more than two days and accomplished nothing. I can understand why we are losing drivers.
But anyway, I finally got a trailer, with only a few hours left on my timer, and the Kitty litter place closed, so I headed up I-25 and shut down for the night in Love's. I am on my way out of Colorado, and it makes me sad. But at least I am in motion again.

A bit of the world.

So, Biden went a bit militant with the American people. He is issuing executive orders and mandates for the American people to protect themselves. And of course, the right wing is fighting against this. Read that again, the GOP is actually fighting for the right to allow themselves to die. Of course, some people may see that as a problem that will solve itself.

Sorry for the shortness

I have a lot more on the old grey matter, but alas, I am short on time, so those nuggets of wisdom will have to wait. I am headed into Georgia, and whatever lay ahead.

~Question: "What qualifies you to write this book?"

~Answer: "Nothing at all. But that does not seem to matter anymore."

~Christopher Klein: Fixing America (prerelease)

Something old, something new

Nah, we are not doing a marriage thing. I already have the perfect wife. I just don't think that I tell her enough. The old thing, mentioned in the header, is another week of drudging at the beginning, and then a mad push at the end. But that is old hat. The something new, is that I have added a quote at the beginning of each day, starting today, and we will see if that lasts. These quotes will mostly be from my current writing. in this case, that quote is from the introduction of "Fixing America and building a better world" that will hopefully be released within the next year. I was going to give a quote from Osparia from "the Awakening", but as I have not built that story up to you folks yet, it would not make sense. But it is coming.

So, what fresh hell?

I am writing you from not-so-beautiful Ina, IL., at the Love's. I have been here before, and it is better than Effingham, or Marion. But not great. The biggest problem is that they have very strong internet, but no one can access it. It tries to connect, but can't. The IT department for Love's resets it all the time, and it works for a little while, but then stops. Sounds like they may have a hardware issue, but that is okay, it is on my list.

Running South

I started back in Wyoming, and I have to be in Newnan, GA. by 1000am Easter tomorrow morning. I picked up 15 hours late due to the trailer chase and failed drops, and I am running very tight. I am 500 miles away and can drive at 0045am, so it is going to be very close. I already pre-warned operations that if things go perfect, I will probably be about 45 minutes late. We shall see. When I hit there, I will have about 5 hours left on my 70, running recaps, and I have to find a place to set down near Atlanta. I could head over to Ellenwood I guess, but we shall see.

Home home on the range

I put in for my hometime for the first of October, but it has not been approved yet. It is before the blitz starts, so I don't think it will be a problem. And then my next hometime will be mid November. That is going to be sticky, but it is medical, so it is going to have to work out, if it wants to or not. I am ready to get home. On my next 34, it is time to inventory the truck, tighten up the shopping list, and figure out what meals I want to make. I am pretty sure that with the King's Sooper run in Colorado, I have enough food to last the next 20 days. But I am going to double check.

What's up?

I have not done a status in a while, so here it is.
Exercise and meditation: I am in a routine now. I have only missed two days in the past week, and that is a major improvement. Though I am stuck on three Yoga poses, because I need time to study the rest.
Music: Sax is a daily thing now. I am going to need reeds by the new year. Sigh.
The Muse: I am working three books at least every other day in rotation. Fixing America, A short story collection, and The awakening. I finally got past the writer block on Eve exiting Eden, so the story is progressing.
Reading (Audiobook): I am on "Devil's Right Hand" by Lilith Moon. it is on my nerves because she is doing way too much flashback to previous stories, and the main character, Dante Valentine, is becoming very annoying with self-doubt in pretty much every paragraph. But I am sticking it out.
Reading (physical): Quantum Buddhism by Mahajrya Bodhana Sutra. Weird book, but interesting.
The project Trilogy: 1. Putting that PDF journal that I purchased into an actual program. 2. Colorado planning. 3. Journal backdating (this is taking forever). And of course, daily additions to the Ancient rebuild.
Watching: Currently, "True Blood" from the beginning.

Book Quote: From the Unnamed Short Collection

~"Hello Pretty!"

~Quoting the Monster in the closet - or was it?

~Christopher Klein: Short Story Collection

A tired Day

This was a simple but tiring day. I rolled into Pet Smart, fast unload, then a quick run over to Home Depot in Locust Grove GA and down in Love's in Macon GA. I did not have internet, but I was able to get some rest.

I know that this is a short and lazy post, but the day is uneventful, and I like it that way sometimes.

Book Quote: From the Unnamed Short Collection

~"You know me, I am not on drugs! I am high on life!"

~Terri: from the 13th Witch

~Christopher Klein: Short Story Collection

What's that smell?

Oh, that is just Florida. There are three states that I truly dislike driving in. Georgia, Florida, and New Jersey. And I am bouncing back and forth between the two. I am sure that it is coincidence, but I rarely enter Florida without something bad happening, and today is no exception.

Of course, I woke up late. I slept for nine hours, and that is very unlike me. But I took it in stride, thanks Gaia that I had an apple and an orange to eat along the way and set out on my trek into the plywood state. Sorry, the sunshine state. I let Macon wide-awake and pushed South with very little issues, until the final mile. That is when the fun began. The first part of the problem is that my DriverTech GPS took me down a dead end road right to a driveway that was tight and built for straight trucks. To top it off, it was a multi-company warehouse system and the company that I was delivering to was not listed anywhere. I sent a message to OPs but they had to reach out to the CSR. So I started banging on doors. I found the client, under a name not even close to what I was given, and then started the quest of putting my 53' trailer into a 45' dock with obstacles to the right, the left and in front. I did not hit one of them. However, because of the way that I had to Jack-knife into the dock, I damaged my break-away air farings. So, while sitting there, I called breakdown, talked to accidents and claims, and then while I was at it, called breakdown back about the screw that my tire picked up. OYE.

It gets more interesting. The unnamed client took a while to unload because their dock is down to three workers, out of ten, and they don't have a forklift. You got it. Hand unload of a bunch of heavy stuff. Fun times. But I got out of there, and was sent to Snider fleet services. Let the nightmare continue. The service bay required me to blindside back, from a two lane road, into a crowded parking lot, around a corner. Florida is testing me. It took three hours to get the tire replaced because I had to wait for two other trucks to get out of the way first. Variant nickle and dimed it. I requested to be sent to loves, about 15 minutes away, but Snider was a "few dollars" cheaper. So waste three hours to save a few bucks? I guess the driver does not come first. A chink in the armor.

The saga continues, but better.

Boo boo reported, Tire fixed, time to play the game and see if I can manage time. Only three hours remaining on my 14 for the day and into Margo Landscaping to pick up some fire glass. A nice heavy load eh? Margo was fast and professional and loaded the trailer perfectly. I made it over to the Love's in Baldwin FL. and scaled and shut down for the "night". Before midnight, I was able to get a meal, some sleep and a shower, so all is good. But keep reading

A chink in the armor

If you look at a FedEX truck, your eyes will glance over the FedEX writing on the side. But if you look carefully, you will notie that the words actually include an Arrow facing forward. You never notice it, until now. Now that you see it, you cannot ever unsee it. Each time you see a one of these, your eyes will go right to the arrow. Something like that happened today. For month, the corporate heads have been talking the talk that the company is rebuilding logistics to a driver-centric model. Many competing companies have accused us of just being USX 2.0. Which, of course, we deny because of the corporate line. Today, the announcement was made that we accept drivers with six months experience, and we are bringing them in with a $2500 transition incentive, at $.58 a mile per-diem (with experience of course- not at the six-month level). This is the USX model. And this cannot be unseen.

Business Ethics - The puddle jumper

My final note for today before I head up to Atlanta and then back to Florida. If I were to pre-trip and post-trip my truck five out of six times, that would be a bad thing. If I were to drive safely and professionally five out of six days, that would be unprofessional. If I were to use my fuel card to fuel my truck five times, and then sell a sixth usage of my card to another driver, that would be unethical. But how is it ethical for the company to fail to pay 1/6 of my miles? Let me explain. Before we had all this technology, actual people had to sit down and figure out the miles involved in logistics. It was not practical to calculate out door-step to door-step mileage using an atlas and maps. So logistics used what is known as zip-to-zip processing. This goes from the center of one zipcode to the center of another zipcode. And that is how billing and payment is decided. This archaic and outated method is still used today, even with GPS technology and automated routing. Why? Probably because it always works in the favor of the company. When running 1000 miles, a 20-30 mile loss is, not okay, but accepted. Howver, on short runs, this equates to a loss of around 1/6th of the miles. On the runs that I am on right now, I am being paid 279 miles for a 319 mile trip. And since my pickup in Florida was in the same vast city, I work for free for 20 of the miles. Total loss over two days? 100 miles, or $58. Granted, this is logistics, so over two days, I will get paid around 600 miles, for about 20 hours of on-duty availablity. That comes out to about $17.40 an hour. Truck drivers are making close to what entry level positions are currently hiring at with rates. And companies wonder why they are having problems hiring.

A positive spin

I am employed, and I work hard. I am making decent money, but as with the FedEX example, the chink in the armor is visible and cannot be unseen. I am content, but no longer have the fight in me to rage against the machine. I will take what I can get and roll with my professionalism intact. I cannot suck up like some people do to get back-to-back bi-coastal runs, and I cannot use questional ethics to lie and cheat my way to the top like some ambassadors with the company do. I will not cut corners or become slack. It is just not me. I think that somewhere down teh line, I have become an honest, moral, and ethical person. Wonder how that happened? I am looking at you Laura! Who would have thunk it? Amazing what a good woman can do isn't it?

Quick addendum

As I was about to upload this, I received notification that my next load to Florida was cancelled. So who knows where I am heading to next? And my miles for the week will be 2300, not 2000 as I previously calculated. Things are looking up.

Book Quote: From the Unnamed Short Collection

~"I am not going to lead you because I am not a witch!"

~Jenette from "the Thirteenth Witch"

~Christopher Klein: Short Story Collection

A bit of extra rest.

Okay, I am not actually going to see Halsey, but she does call herself a Hurricane, and I am heading into Lousiana where the current tropical storm has reached Hurricane levels. But it sounds more fun to go see the pop star, so I will roll with it to amuse myself.

Amazing perspective

I have had a rough few weeks, and it amazing how a little perspective can bring things into light. I talked to Tina in safety today, and they are going to deem my broken clips on my farings as an avoidable accident. No fines, penalties, or even probation, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. And in the future, I will not go out of my way to wiggle into docks. If they are not built for my truck, then there is nothing that I can do, I will communicate with Ops and they will have to make other arrangements. For almost two years, I have wiggled into places that we should not be delivering to, but no more. Then I got to talk to Lori in driver engagement. We went over the days in Colorado, the zip-to-zip, and school. She jumped on school while I was on the phone with her and assures me that Julie McGee is all over it and it will be handled. I let her know that she was part of a bakers' dozen that has made that promise, but we shall see. But our coversation did help out.

I am prepping for my overnight run, and then I am going to run out of my 70 hours sometime in the next day or two. I looked ahead and I am going into the devestation zone of Ida, and I will be near New Orleans. Maybe a nice conversation with Papa Legaba. Time will tell. But as it stands, I will probably break down there, or at least nearby.

It's a sax thing

I gave my first autograph today. It was hot, I did not feel like running the truck so I went beside my cab and was doing a bit of noodling. This is not the first time, but it is the first time, after a bit of improve jazz, that someone came up and asked me for an autograph. Made me feel kinda weird. But fun is fun. I like to noodle.

Book Quote: From the Unnamed Short Collection

~"Live your life wild and free; let no man tame you..."

~Sasaquan from "Sasaquan"

~Christopher Klein: Short Story Collection

Running hard but otherwise okay

I got to take a little extra time down while sitting in the pouring rain. I am loaded up and headed to Louisiana for an early morning offload then a 34-hour reset. I think I am hitting the wall, because I got an 18 hour break headed in and managed to sleep well over 8 of it before I headed back on the road at midnight.

Book Quote: From the Unnamed Short Collection

~"As I watched those blazing eyes, I regained my senses and plunged back to the safety of my bed, pulling the covers tightly over my head, eyes clenched in terror and stayed that way until the heat of the sun could be felt through my covers."

~Facing the Monster for the first time in "Hello Pretty"

~Christopher Klein: Short Story Collection

Easy and down

Right now, I am just West of Lake Charles Louisiana at the Love's in Vinton. At first, I was going to set down in Lake Charles, but there were some serious issues going on at the Love's there, so I headed here. It may work out well for me though, because if my preassignment holds, I will be heading over to San Antonio TX and heading back to Georgia. By setting down here, I am about 30 miles closer to my pickup. So the gods may be watching over me. Time will tell. There is a lot of time between now and the pickup, so things can change many times before then.

An interesting call: Ancient Pathway

So, I get a call from New Mexico, a gentleman ordered some mushroom spores from the Ancient Pathway shop and the confirmation link in the response email was broken. This is interesting because I have the Ancient Pathway shop offline, and I don't sell mushroom spores. Turns out that it was from a website with a similar name. I spent a little time with the gentleman and helped him best I could. I gave him the information to follow me here on Triumph Media and we held a nice conversation. Interesting how things work out isn't it?

A new process or habit.

So, since I am on a 34-hour reset, I have some time. The past few times, I have been really lazy. I have gotten a few things done, but most of it has been spent staring off into spae or binging garbage. I am going to try to get into the same habit of what I do when I go on home-time. During my normal days, I am keeping a list of things that I want to get done. And one of those things is doing an update on what is going on with some of the projects that I have going on. And in this case, answering some questions that I have been getting by text, email, and chat. So here are the updates to what is going on.

The updates, hold on to your bootys!

The Work Front.
The past week has been a bit of a pain in the butt. I am not sure if I like the changes that have been coming into the company. The pay-rate for experienced drivers remains at $0.58 a mile with per-diem, which is a bit lower than some of our competitors. However, Variant makes up for this with the optimizer, which appears to be working properly again. The optimizer does exactly what the name implies. It depends on technology to maximize the miles of each driver. This is something that can be done by human staff, but not with the same efficiency. I feel that it makes up for the lower per-mile rate. On thing that has come to light, brought up by myself and now quite a few others, is the zip-to-zip pay structure. This old technology works in favor of the company and removes a few paid miles from most loads. This is used by most companies out there, but people are starting to take notice and discussing it. What is most concerning is a notification this week that Variant now accepts drivers with only six-months of tractor trailer experience. This works against the original stated model. If these were the only considerations, I would probably seek alternate employment. The thing that tips the scale for Variant is the "Full Ride" education program. Until yesterday, this scale-tipper was in question because for 73 days I could not get an answer to the status of my Master's in Business Organziation with project management. Thanks to Lori, that is no resolved, and Kat of Arizona Global has me set up to get into the October 26 course in Criminal Justice, my final degree. more on this below.

The Educational Front
There are two reasons that I stay with Variant when you consider the things that go wrong. The first is that Operations is usually able to resolve things, but it creates great friction and stress. But the second one is the Full Ride program. Lately, I have been in a battle to finalize my degree in Business Organziation so that I can move on to my final Master's in criminal justics, with a concentraton on homeland security. That issue is finally, hopefully resolved, thanks to Lori Duckworth in Operations. She was able to get hold of Julie McGee and get the missing information to process the payment. It should resolve in about 5-7 days. Fingers crossed.
So what's up with the degrees? There is actually a method behind my madness. I have almost 20 years of experience in business, everything from food service, medical, and logistics. I currently hold a BS in Computer Information Systems, programming, with a specialization in project management. A Master's in Computer Information Systems with a specialization in forensics, and a Master's in Business Organziation with a specialization in project management. Yeah, I doubled up on the project management, but the Strayer program left me a little empty. I feel much better now. The final degree is in Criminal Justice with Homeland Security. Once complete, I will be 58 years old, and it will time to get off the road and start driving a desk. The combination of degrees should make me viable to any number of companies, especially in executive management. The skills from the FOUR degrees are cross applicable to many different scenarios.

Let's be creative

I have a few projects going on, and since I began to put my book quotes at the top, I have gotten quite a few questions, so I will answer all those here in one fell swoop. The writing projects, which I work on daily at this point, are as follows:
Fixing America and Building a Better World
If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I am politically left, but at the same time, I feel that married gay couples should be able to protect their legal weed fields with their handguns. In other words, I am a wise ass. In this tome, I go after everything from mega-churches to Trumpism, and everything in between. A serious subject taken from the point of view of a sarcastic comedian. Without giving you the entire table of contents, I touch on such subjects as the second amendment, abortion, church and state, government regulations, and about a hard dozen other topics. It really is a good read.
The Awakening
The awakening starts with the Garden of Eden and the expulsion and replacement of Lilith with Eve. When Lilith is sent, with her brood, to the wildernes to die, they are taken in by Osparia, the leader of the magical creatures of Earth. Immortals, the Fae remove themself, and Lilith and most of her brood from the Earthly plane. In modern times, the veil between Earth and that exisitence is breaking down. When two unsuspecting young people inherit..... well...you have to buy it to find out.
Short Story Collection I have a lot of short stories. But they are very raw, and in many cases, unfinished. I have pulled about 300 pages of these and I am editing them to be included in a book of short stories. Of course, the 13th witch and Hello pretty are in there. But I am including SARA, Calling The Old Gods, Brian, Diary of a Madman, Sasaquan, Future Podcast, and many others.
So? Timeframe? I am working on all three of these at the same time, a writing taboo. But it makes me comfortable, so I stick my toungue out in your general direction. My timeframe for moving to Colorado, is about 20 months. Of course, the wife has some say in this, so this is just my perspective right now. As such, I want to publich all three of these by this time next year, that will offer just short of a year to see if I am simply a writer, or an actual author.

Because I haven't....

I have not done a rant, a Colorado update, or a memory since late last month. So with the closing section, I will do all three. Fun times!

Book Quote: From Jazzman

~"The jazzman looked at me and smiled a grin of release as he held out his Saxophone."

~Jazzman

~Christopher Klein: Ancient Steel Flames -Available on Amazon

And thus I rest

Tomorrow is my birthday. Because I will be putting the peddle to the floor running first to Fort Worth, then to Atlanta, I chose to take today as my birthday. But I chose to do something different. I took a page out of the book of Laura and just did nothing by whatever came to mind. In this case, it was a bit of a binge of Lucifer and a lot of meditation and relaxation. Since I was 15 years old, I would get depressed for the month of my birthday. Over the past few years, that length has gotten a lot shorter, and now it just hit the day before. I anticipate that it will go away before tomorrow is over, at least I hope so. So today was a nothing day, and I am okay with that.

Book Quote: My insight

~"The modern human being is a construct. We are constructed by our experiences, our environment, and the way we interact with our family, siblings and peers."

~Section: Introduction

~Christopher Klein: Fixing America and building a better world.

Back on the road

This will be a short entry because it is my birthday, I am back on the road, and the screaming blue meanies have a hold of me. Don't worry my friends, they get me every year, usually for much longer, they should clear out in a day or so and I will be back to my same old grumpy self.

A typical day

I headed almost 350 miles for my pickup in Fort Worth. That seemed like a very long empty run, but I would never question our great and powerful Optimizer overload. I got into the dock about 90 minutes early and they took me, loading me right away. I was out of there about 15 minutes after my actual appointment and headed East. I set down in Van, TX and got a birthday Pizza from GodFather Pizza and relaxed. Not a terrible birthday, all things considered.

Book Quote:

~"I had become a monster of my own creation"

~Section: Forced Exodus

~Christopher Klein: Authorized Autobiography.

Looking for Peaches

There is not a lot to say about today other than the old mental state caused by information overload. But that is below. It was a hard run, non-stop, rolling across Texas all the way into Georgia. I did this to get close to my final drop tomorrow morning just outside Atltanta. I made it to Waco GA, about 55 miles out of Atlanta, with 30 minutes to spare. So that worked out well. I am very moody, but trying to get over it. Once I shut down, I binged watched the end of the Netflix series, "Lucifer". Not a terrible ending. I won't issue any spoilers, but I liked it.

The rule of three

The first temptation: 15 years old
When I was in high school, my friend Mike had an interesting job that made himn a few hundred dollars a day. He invited me to his house, where he was surrounded by half-dressed cheerleader types, and had all kinds of electronics, games, and other high dollar items. He sold poison to our classmates. He invited me into the inner circle, where i could have what he had. I was a rebel, but even back then, I had a small and insignficant moral compass. I declined his offer. The irony is that I took my girlfriend at the time to the "party" and she stayed behind while I left. She was with Mike a few days later. His answer was "You snooze, you lose Bruh!" Mike died in prizon about 10 years ago, and Joann got her head together, but not until after a lot of heartache and life-agony. I could have had a lot of money, but what would it have cost me?

The second temptation: After German
When I got back from Germany, it took me about a year to get back on my feet. I lived on the streets, was depressed, and generally a negative influence on the world. Once I got my head together, got a job, got a place to live, and had my life not back on track, but at least heading that way, I hooked up with my old high-school crew. I became part of the Young Republican Movement in New Jersey and at one meeting, my tight friends had a scheme that would make millions. But in doing so, it would take advantage of the elderly, the gullible, and those that were stupid enough to not understand the contracts. This was well before House flipping and short-sales, but related to those. There were nine of us. I chose to walk away. Last I checked, six of he remaining eight were dead, one was in jail, and one was in locations unknown. I don't know if they ever made their riches, but I can see the types of people they turned out to be.

The last temptation
Without going into detail because I know who follows this, I stand my ground a final time. I will not be drawn into negative space, and I will not sell my morals for money. It is as simple as that. Thanks to my wife, I no longer see myself as a negative impact on the world around me. I gauge my actions and make sure that what I do, how I act, and how I react is in-line with my much stedier moral compass of middle age. I can't sell out my scruples, or tell lies, just to get ahead. Others do, and they are able to prosper. But that is just not me. I believe in Karma, and many find that silly. But I have to do me. I could not be rich if I could not look at myself in the mirror everyday. Silly? Perhaps. But I wake up with myself everyday, and though I may get moody now and then, I generally like myself.

Book Quote:

~"Look at me child. That is the least I can offer you for your sacrifice"

~Stort Story: The First Vampire (Title Pending)

~Christopher Klein: Short Story Collection

Ah to be annoyed.

Work first. I managed to get into the dock right on time and the unload was a bit slow, but I would still have had time to pick up the Last mile load from Ellenwood and make it to the reciever. That was until they forced me through the inspection lane at the terminal. Because their techs had nothing to do, I got pulled to fix the four clips that I damaged on my faring extenders. How long can it take to replace four clips? The answer to that is five and a half hours. It irked me off a bit, but I have made the choice that I will no longer let things get to me. I took it in stride, shut down for the day and realized that tomorrow is another day. I am very proud of myself.

The Journal Project

I took a bit of the downtime to start building the journal project. I have a PDF file that I purchased, which was supposed to be a program, and since they insist that it is a program, and it does not contain a copyright ANYWHERE, I have added that information to my previous Witch and Author journal project. So I started going through it, scrubbing good information from mundane or silly information. I have to figure out if I am going to write it in Java or C++. They both have their advantages. For right now, I am only writing it for PC, but as the project progresses, I will probably make a mobile entry mode for the actual journal, and the reminders, and a stripped down version for tablets. But that is all up in the air.

A purge

I also took some time to go through all my bookmarks and links and got ride of about 20% of them. That is a bit of an accomplishment. I have to go back through soon and reassess those that I kept, and go from there. Then, just because I was on a roll, I logged into YouTube and removed all but three of my subscriptions. That was more than 400 deletions. I kept a writing one, and an ambiant music subscription. I can't remember what the their one was. Finally, I went through my download files and killed all the old stuff that I downloaded on a whim. No more pictures of Vin Desiel, Rory from Lucifer, Xena and Gabby, Sean Connery, or Halsey. All gone, POOF. It's almost like I am preparing for a MOVE TO COLORADO. Snicker. I have to say it at least 10 times a day, because when you repeat things, they come to be.

Tomorrow is another day

When I rested my weary head for the day, with only 1800 miles for the week, I did not have an active dispatch. I guess I will find out what is going to happen when I get up in the morning.

Book Quote:

~"My father is whom?"

~Stort Story: Accidental Satan

~Christopher Klein: Short Story Collection

New information

I really should pay attention to the world around me. I learned two new pieces of information today that I should have known already. First, that I can use the sleeper berth split to extend my 14 hour work time. All I have to do is go in the sleeper for three hours, and poof, there are an extra three hours. This works if I have a signficant amount of times between runs, or if I am in very long docks, assuming I can hit the sleeper. The second one surprised me. For no reason that I can think of, I hooked up my TV antenna to the TV in the truck, and set it to SCAN mode. I will be damned if the thing did not find 26 channels. And while most of them are mundane like the local news, weather, and informercial central, it does pick up court TV, crime TV and SCC, which I don't know, but has a crime drama on it. Interesting.

Double dock, one from hell, one not so much.

First I had to do that last mile delivery. Easy peasy, in and out. Big area to turn around, even for being just outside of Atlanta. Not terrible. Then I hit the hell dock at Orion in South Carolina. This is a nighmare of a dock. It is overcrowded, tightly scheduled, and way too small for the trucks that they are putting into it. I was able to slip into my dock with no problems because of some openings in the storage area, and a broken/unused dock next to me, but if I had to go between two other trucks, I think that I would have refused the pickup. It is simply not safe. But I did not have to deal with that scenario, so no worries.

Adding to the writing project

I write daily now. One of the shorts, the political satire, or the Awakening. I keep them all in my head at once, no small feat if you think about it. But I hit blocks now and then. So I pulled ALL my writing. I am writing a Blurb, synopsis, and outline for each one, but ONLY when I hit writer's block. I tried it today, and it cleared out the cobwebs. I was supposed to continue with end of the Eden / Veil scene with Osparia and Eve, but I could not bring it together. So I did a blurb for "Accidental Satan", which is why you see the quote above. As soon as I did, Eve was talking to me again. Woo hoo

Rain Rain...what a pain

This is the third day of almost rain. Once in a while it will come down, but mostly it has just been misty drizzle. It is tiring and depressing. Common Lilth, Talk to Momma nature and tell her to bring it or let it go!

The Joy of being me.

Finally today, I made the commitment to just let things go. I refuse to get upset about things anymore. And I intend to stick to that. Gaia, of course, wants to test that theory, so here comes the aforementioned rain/drizzle, a nasty dock, and rude people. But you know what? Not a tickle of the old "piss me off". Now, is that a sign of stablity or psychosis? Not sure yet, but we shall see.

Book Quote:

~"Alaelie wanders though the new landscape, appalled by the lack of power that she has"

~Stort Story: Alaelie

~Christopher Klein: Short Story Collection

First things first

The tests continue from the universe. It was a hard running day from Piedmont SC. to Ellenwood GA. And you know, I really don't have a lot of faith in our shop team. In the course of normal events, the inverter in the truck decided that it wanted to take the train. But since I was shut down in Ellenwood, I figured I could go in and at least talk to a technician and figure out what happened. Apparently, only one person in the shop knows anything about the power systems on the grey trucks. HUH??? We have 1200 of these trucks and only one person knows how to repair them? I was flaberghasted.

The state of me

All things considered, I took things in stride. I let operations know what was going on and that it was my choice to roll on down the road and get it repaired on home-time next week. I am not happy about losing the food, but at least it was closer to the end of the tour than the beginning. I will figure something out.

Book Quote:

~"This book will IRK off a lot of people. I am shooting for 99%."

~Novel

~Christopher Klein: Novel - KISS

Well, look at me go

I will just pop this in there without foreplay or grease. I fixed my inverter. I was able to reset it and it should hold until I hit hometime on the first, so there is that. I did lose all but about five meals, but I will figure something out. Just a few more days.

The mood striketh

I am rocking a negative mood. I don't like to be negative, but I am not in control of the mood train. It may be that I am rolling hard, but not showing enough for it, or it may be that home is calling and that answer is still a few days away. I am not sure. But exercise and Yoga and all help, as does meditation, but not nearly as much as they used to. Perhaps things will come together. Tomorrow is another day

Book Quote:

~"She wakes up to find many changes including that she is a cat."

~Short Story: Unnamed

~Christopher Klein: Short Story Collection

Circles?

I am traveling in circles. Or am I? I ended the day in Vinton LA. where I was the other night. But this time, I am down for 34 hours. I did not see that coming. The day started poorly with me waking up almost an hour late. But I got the Home Depot drop done, and they had plenty of empty trailers. Then it was over to get loaded at Palmer in Pasadena TX just North of Houston. A bit of a snafu here, because they wanted the name of the broker for the load. First time I have been asked that question, and of course, we did not have the answer. It took about an hour, but I got into the dock and loaded. Good dock. They were fast and professional, and loaded the freight perfectly. I hit deer park TX and scaled, ind it was right on. Then I started heading toward Georgia. I made it into Vinton, LA and shut down, and it will be 34 hours. I am running low on 70, and even with this unexpected break, I can make my drop on time. Good times.

Interesting news

As most people know, I am a predictive futurist. I see patterns and potential outcomes. I am right about half the time, which is not bad, but not great. Word came down from on high at Variant that until the end of the year, drivers will be paid an additional $0.04 for each mile driven when the driver goes more than 2400 miles a week. Now, this sounds like a good incentive, except that only about half of that is under the contol of the driver. There are issues like a lack of trailers, long docks, and short runs, all of which impact the ability to meet this goal. I kept my mouth shut for now on this, but I am going to sit back and see what kind of waves this causes. There are some drivers that consistantly get runs that are over 1000 miles, and some that only run very short runs in the NorthEast area. I see the potential for some serious strife here. I rarely take a break longer than 10 hour and only take resets when forced to by the law, and still I break the 2400 barrier only about half the time. I am curious to see how this plays out. But you can be sure that I will be vocal as trailer hunts, long docks and short runs come into play.

The world is weird

This should go under a rant, but for now, I am going to just put it here and see what happens. Today, Cyber Ninjas reported the findings of the Arizona audit. To no surprise, there was no wide-spread voter fraud. In fact, the Six Million dollar audit showed that there were some minor mistakes, and that Biden won by a greater margin than originally identified. To top it off, we are facing another government shutdown due to funding. In 2017, the Democrats rallied together and supported the leaders of all three sections of government, backing the GOP bills to keep the country open. The GOP of course, said "look at us, look at us" and crisis was averted. Now, in 2021, we face the same peril, with the Democrats in control. Did the GOP Rally? Nope, Mitch and his conspiritors would rather let the people of America starve, and the country to lose face, and credit rating, rather than rally for the people. So I say this here, in writing, for the world to see. The Republicans can no longer be called the GOP, or Grand old party, because they are enemies of the people. They are passing widespread laws to drive down those that are black and brown, they are destroying this country in their attempt to seize power, and they are a plague, a cancer, to the American people. We are coming to a breaking point, and I see bad things for this country if they don't pull up their big boy panties and do the right thing. The trump cult is erroding America society, and if things don't change, it could get bad. But there is one thing, an elephant in the room, that people are missing. Many of those that say "no vaccines, no masks" are dying. But who are these people? How many of the 600K+ that have passed beyond the veil would have voted republican? I can't wait until one of the talking heads figures this out. 2024 may be an interesting election year.

The break

As I am on an unexpected 34 break, I came in without plans. I am in a Love's with a laundry and close to the building, so I have some serious internet. But what do I want ot do for teh next 15 hours? I honestly don't know, you may have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

Book Quote:

~"It is either the front or the back of a ship..."

~Short Story: Jupiter

~Christopher Klein: Short Story Collection

Conversations with the unseen

When on my 34-Hour breaks, it is often difficult to find ways to fill the time without spirialing into a pit of depression or bordom. Usually the latter. I will usually enhance my yoga and exercise routine, binge something that I have wanted to watch, or lose myself in music or movies. This time, I took a page from the (literal) book of creative writing. Once I had taken care of the personal stuff like cleaning the truck, personal care, exercise, yoga and meditation, I sat down and held a conversation, for almost the entire day, with a series of friends. Where these done by skype or facetime? Nah. Perhaps a conference call? Nope, wrong again. These were in place, in the cab of my truck, and there were dozens of them. But don't worry, we practiced social distancing and all wore masks.

Okay, I will explain

This could go into a memory bubble, but it fits more with the daily dialog. When I was very young, living just outside of Pittsburg PA., I had to take a bus to school. In classic ME fashion, I would sit at the back of the bus with my only two friends, Kim Donnely and Cynthia Carpaw. The ride took about 90 minutes from when I was picked up, and to pass the time, the three of us would lose ourselves in fantasy. We would create worlds, and people, and scenarios. Living fantasy life 90 minutes at a time. We created dozens of worlds and hundreds of people. One of those adventures eventually turned into "The Thirteenth Witch" my first short story. So today, I breathed life back into that practice. On the bus, the characters would take on lives of their own, and we would interact with them, the imaginations of three travelers getting them into and out of trouble. So today, I sat with Sylvester Tan, the owner of a very interesting shop in downtown Memphis, Osparia, the queen of the Fae, William, companion to the two adventurous lesbians transplanted from Detroit to the plains of Wyoming, and even Adam, the first man, about his feelings of Lilith escaping the bonds of death due his arrogance in the Garden of Eden. I did this for close to 8 hours, voice recorder in hand, and then spent the rest of the day transcribing those ideas, people, scenarios and thoughts into 114 short stories and 8 novels. The rest of the time, I spent beginning to write the synopsis' and outlines of these stories. In 15 hours, I achieved more in my writing adventures than in the past two years. I feel accomplished.

An interesting thought

I bug my lovely wife. Every chance I get, I work our pending Colorado move into the conversation. I have no doubt that it gets on her nerves. But she puts up with me, for now. But though most of my comments are plucky and made in jest, today taught me a lesson. When left to my own thoughts, and I can move them away from politics, the fate of the world, and the curiosities of a devolving world, my inner muse rises to the top. I wonder what could happen if I was on the side of a mountain with a dedicated creative space. Hmmm. We are on an 18 or so month plan for moving to Colorado, and I have to make sure to add this dedicated space to the plans. Even if it is just a meditation hut.

The coming week

It is almost home-time. In the early morning, I should be heading out of Vinton and toward Georgia. With a bit of luck, I should be in Atlanta first thing Monday morning, and then the optimizer should start moving me toward home. I am very much looking forward to getting back to Bartlett. My supplies are running low, I am tired, and I am missing home. It is ironic that I am starting out the new bonus pay schedule with a 72 hour break. I will not hit the goal the first week, but I am not willing to give up that time, or even cut it short. I am curious to see how things run. I have to see what I can do about rolling a few weeks of recap runs to maximize time, and I will be starting back to school about a month from today. Fun times ahead.

A final note

I have to try to remember to talk to the wife while I am home. I am very tired of looking at the September selfie on this page. I want something interesting for October, and I considered pulling one of the old Wicked Ways photos, but I think that I want something a bit more MUCH. I just can't figure out what. I will take the camera home and see if I can figure something out.

Book Quote:

~"She Launched herself into the night, hand outstreched...."

~Novel: Currently unnamed

~Christopher Klein: Unnamed Novel

Reset - Reboot

It was a decent day. I started out with a hard roll toward Georgia, took a quick break along the way and managed to make it to about three and a half hours from my goal before I shut down. I did not really think that I was tired until I shut down, but I got Subway and was in the bunk within an hour. That worked out well, because I woke a bit before midnight, and that gave me enough time to get my Yoga, meditation, and exercise in and then grab a shower before heading out early in the morning to hit the dock right on time. I pulled a rabbit out of the hat ont his one. 1000 miles, a 34 reset, and still hit the dock on time. I impress myself sometimes.

The short story collection.

After a lot of consideration, I am chosing to do something weird. I have about 140+ short stories in the works. They are in different phases of development, but they are different genre, from science fiction and horror, to outright girlie romance. I am going to flesh them out and estimate the lengths, then tossing caution to the wind, I am going to do a hodge-podge colleciton of different styles. To the best of my knowledge, this has never been done by a yet unknown author. It is like a pu pu platter of writing. I think it will be interesting. We sill see if my followers agree. Only time will tell

Conflict

The world is in conflict. And where this is not really anything new, it is coming to a head. It is like we are all heading toward a popping point, and it is on everything from government issues to personal issues. People are tense. They are arguing about everything. I am used to seeing this on social media, but I am seeing it in life as well. Little arguments break out in Love's all the time over silly things. I really hope this resolves soon.

PhotoCredit: Christopher Klein

Book Quote:

~"Don't be afraid of the world, embrace it"

~Novel: Effective Living (self-help)

~Christopher Klein: Effective Living

A decent start

Up and about, personal details tended, a quick, hot shower, and on down the road into Greensboro GA. I was able to slip around Atlanta with little trouble, and that was a bit of a surprise. However, as things often do, the good fell hard into a spirial of negativity. I was able to get unloaded quickly and efficiently and was reassigned to pick up in Greensboro at 100pm. That gave me a four hour wait. I checked with Operations to see if I could pick up early - and a big old yes was sitting there waiting for me. Too bad the load wasn't. I talked to the dock master and they don't even have all the materials for the run. Turns out that the load will not be ready until the 30th, three days from now. I did not let it get me down though. I could either go to Ellenwood to the South, or North to Commerce GA. I chose Commerce because I was not in the mood to deal with the terminal. The downside is that there are no truck comms at the Love's there. But it will all work out.

The negative natures

Okay, the big, nasty photograph above. I apologize for the quality, it was taken with my phone, in haste and I did not edit it. That is a picture of a road train. A company, truck movers, moves tractors from their build point to their final destination. I snapped this picture to send to Operations as a point of business protocol, and posted it to social media. I was met wtih a torrent of negative backlash that stunned me. Now, I understand that people (in this case truck movers) just have a job to do, however, there are business standards in place. Those that became hostile on social media defended the actions, saying that this is "normal". And that may be the case. However, business standards show that you never mix your competitors. In this case, it is Variant, JB Hunt and U.S. Foods. USF is not a competitor, they are a dedicated company, but JBH IS. You would think that the contractual arrangements with the distributor, assumed to be Freightliner, would exclude movement of tractors in line with competitors. At least a project manager or business manager would have thought of this. The answer from Operations was "that is weird". The answer from social media was "what the hell are you complaining about?". So, the theory is this. Do you put COKE in a Pepsi machine? Of course you don't. Do you run visual advertising in a Love's Travel center for Pilot? Nope. But since everyone wants to take sides, I will address my Xtain audience. How would you feel about an advertisment for a local PAGAN festival in your weekly handout from the Catholic church???
~Drops mic (and the subject)

The attitude

I am tired of people. I am ready to run out the clock and do the retirement thing in Colorado. I do intend to be a consultant, but with the way that my characters are talking to me now, I may be a consultant as a hobbiest. I may actually finally make some headway on these books. Woo hoo.

I have made the choice to take the last three days of September off to regroup my thoughts. I will be headed home and begin the blog again on October 1, 2021