An open book journey of Christopher William Klein
Don't forget to check out the new PEACOCKING site AncientPathway.NET. January 1, 2023 Update. A new set of pictures is on the way if you want to take a look. This month, with the start of the new year, I have chosen to do a reflection on some of my favorites from 2022. Most of these have not been published yet. I offer you them raw and unedited, just to be a bit different.
An easy day since all that I had to do was sit on my butt in Cumberland, Maryland. I am off today and tomorrow, waiting to deliver on Tuesday and then rolling down to North Carolina. Fun times.
Oh wait, that is Monty Python. It should say that we should Bring in the new.... Sometimes I get confused. But either way, we are into a new year and the fun is starting. Because I did not have to work today, I took advantage and got the PhotoSite updated with some of my favorite pictures from the last year. There is nothing truly amazing there, but they are fun, random pictures. Then I caught up e-mail and started working on the list for the year. The first order of business was to schedule my next hometime, and double check my medication. I verified that I have one refill on all my important meds, and set myself a reminder to refill those the week before I head home. All good! Then it was time to clean the truck. By then, it was time for a small nap, which was nice and relaxing. I got back up, then it was time for school. The new course is out and there is a LOT that has to be done for day one, which takes place in just under 48 hours.
Sometimes I impart wisdom, sometimes I tell a stupid joke. Sometimes I will blurt out something off the wall, just for the hell of it. now, each day, I am going to try to include a tidbit of something interesting; something to make you think.
Day 1: Karma - The Ruling Law: The first law of Karma is simplistic in nature. What you put into the universe is going to come back to you. This is the standard law of Karma that most people know and understand. When you do good in this world, something good will come back to you. When you do bad in this world, something bad is going to come for you. Many follower of witchcraft in all of the forms believe in the three-fold or seven-fold karmatic law in which what you put in, good or bad, comes back to you either three or seven time. But don't mistake a religious or faith-based following for natural law. You can be sure that what you put in will come back to you in equal value. So try to do good things, and watch how your life changes.
I am nearing the end of my educational journey, so it is the time to step up my game. I have two things that I already do every day. I do my Criminal Justice through Arizona Global, and I do my French. I am adding one thing a month to that list so that I am learning something new every day. Some are new to me, and others are refresher courses.
I have materials on most of these, and I am setting a healthy curriculum that will allow me to master all these skills by the end of this year. As you have seen, I have gotten pretty good with Photoshop and things like Blender and Daz3D. I did find quite a few tutorials on building Blender and Daz3D materials from scratch. That is exciting because those things are expensive. So for January, I think that, because of the intensity of the Criminal Justice course, I am going to select Photoshop for this month. Most of that is just honing my skills and learning a few tricks.
I have a minor time suck that I keep close at hand. I play two games by Supercell on my tablet. They are BoomBeach and Clash of Clans. They are building and fighting games where you build up your defenses, attack other players, and just in general, progress through the game. They have been fun. However, I noticed that lately, the game matches me with players that are 10 or more levels above me, giving me almost no chance of winning. I figure that this might be a glitch, so I tossed an email over to the designers. They were quite blunt with their answers, If you want to win, perhaps you should PAY for the game. A novel concept, but quite rude. In short, you will be outmatched unless you pay them a monthly fee, about $20 per game. Interesting. My choice? I play it once a day, win or lose. Because the games are not worth $240 a year just for a distraction. I can appreciate their business model, but not at that price. See, not a terrible rant.
I have been running very heavy on the photos and artwork. You will notice that there is not one for today, but I did update the sidebar. I will do more when I have a chance. I just did not have time with some of the other things that I was doing.
The universe is already working against me this year, and it is only the first day of the year. My big goal for today was working on school. I finally got everything set up and I was ready to dig in. The problem is that there are two text books for the course, and one of them has a broken link in the course shell. That is not a good way to start, especially since I am supposed to read five chapters by Tuesday. I tried a few different ways to get the text, but no fire. I finally sent a message to the professor and gave up for the day. I will try again tomorrow and use other resources to answer the questions for the first week.
Since my plans for school got tossed into the dumpster, I broke into my 2023 lists and made sure that everythign was in order. One of my signficant plans is photography, but if you remember, my camera is on the fritz again. I took about three hours, while rolling The Hunger Games and repaired it again. It might hold this time. We shall see. I went through the lists, made sure that I had a solid plan, and updated the photo / art site. I also optimized the website upload programs so that it does not take hours to update each site. What should have been a very productive day turned into a waste of time, but I think that it was a well used waste of time. I will take it. Tomorrow is another day.
I am still down in Cumberland, MD. at the Love's because I can't deliver until Tuesday morning. But that is okay. I took the time to clean the truck and all, but that is the only work that I did. So it was a good day, at least from that perspective.
Day Two: Karma and Creation. A man will sit in a closet and pray to his god or goddess and never understand why that prayer will not be answered. A young lady will wish and dream about a better future while sitting in her room. But that is not how life works. Karma and creation require you to be an active participant in your life. It is okay to wish, hope, or pray for something. But once you have finished with your positive emotional and mental reinforcement, you have to go out and do something about it. Our life's positive (or negative) aspects do not happen by themselves; we need to make them happen. Be an actor within your life, and Karma will care for itself.
The focus for today, all of today, was school. This new course is intense. I am still a bit frustrated because I don't have access to one of my textbooks, so I have to make due. That is making things take a lot longer. But I am excelling at it, at least I think so. For the most part, I wrote my introduction, which included several course-related questions, and then I did the first of two discussions. It took hours. I still have another discussion, an assignment, and an interactive post. As I said, intense.
When my eyes were bugging out from school, it was time to shit gears. I fired up the old 2023 TODO list and started working through things, round-robin style. It was a bit slow going because I had to get into a routine, but it was not terrible. I ended the day watching The Good Place on Netflix. Today was not a terrible day, and I will take it. And I will be back at it first thing in the morning. So all good.
I had a decent start to the morning. I went into Love's to get my tea, and they tossed out the day-old melon, so I got to grab some for free. That was a nice change from my normal oranges, which were still very good. I got on the road on time and took the two-hour jaunt to Woodland, PA. That is one fun drive full of fog, mountains, and rain. I got to see Karma in full action. For about 20 miles, I had a car trying to pass me in the mountains. He was blowing his horn and blinking his lights, trying to get me to pull over onto the soft shoulder so that he could pass. When we finally hit the truck lane area, he zipped past me like his pants were on fire. I found him about 10 more miles down the road, the front of his car obliterated by the deer that he hit. Maybe he should have stayed behind me.
The DC in Woodland, PA, is decent. But it is spooky before sunrise. When you make the blind turn into the center, it is like being in a Stephen King novel. The fog was so thick that I could not see 10 feet in front of me and the guard shack, and the leading road was not well-lit. I did not see the shack until I was right on top of it. But they got me processed in, right on time, and I dropped my trailer in the dock to wait for them to do the unloading thing.
There is no rest for the weary. Ater six hours in the Walmart dock, it was over to Altoona, PA to get loaded. That was a lot easier and then I headed to Ruther Glen, VA. I fueled and was surprised to get a parking space that late in the day. It was pretty impressive.
Day Three: Humility. Everyone wants to change something. It may be as simple as a hairstyle, or to lose a few pounds, or as intricate as a new career path or a new relationship. And yesterday, we learned that to make these things come to pass, you must take an active part in your own life. However, before you can do that, you must face the situation with Humility. You must accept the world around you and yourself before you can bring about change. If you want to change your hair color, you must understand that something about your current hair color dissatisfies you. If you want to lose a few pounds, you must acknowledge that you have those extra ones. And if you want a new relationship, you must admit that you are unhappy with your current relationship state. Only through humility will karma reach out her hand and help you to your desires.
I did not expect to be in the Walmart Dock for six hour. They are usually a LOT better than that. But you take what you can get. I am running behind in school, but most of that is because of research. I still don't have access to one of my textbooks. I am sure that things will come together, but for now, it is just racing the clock, fighting with time, and doing what I can. I was going to cook some mock-cajun jumbala, but I did not have time. I got another discussion done for school, which leaves TWO more things to do for the week. I never run this far behind.
Today was a bit more smooth than the rest of the week. I was running about five hours behind when I hit Faquay-Varina, NC and they were not going to take me. But one of their other scheduled appointments did not show, so they got me in a dock. They had me unloaded in an hour, then it was over to Farmville, NC to pick up under 10,000 pounds to take up to Michigan. I have a bit of extra time on this which is going to work out well. I looked ahead and if I had continued past Mebane, NC, I would have been in a no-truckstop-zone for about three hours. I would have run out of time. I shut down in a Pilot because the Love's was full. It is going to cause problems getting out in the morning, but that is a problem for future Chris, and I will take it.
Day Four: Grow.This one is simplistic. When you change yourself, for good or for bad, your life changes, and so does the world around you. Make sure that your changes are positive, and the life that you walk and the world that you walk within, will change in a positive way as well.
I finally have access to my second, but primary, textbook in class. I have about five chapters to read. I started my memo, and I am almost caught up. But when I shut down for the day, I was extra tired. I checked things out, and it looks like the entire class is behind. I only have one person that I know in the class. Oye. So we are going to have some fun. Once I shut down, I ate dinner, started the memo, and then went off to bed. I am very tired. I am looking forward to the weekend. I don't know if I will get a load right out of Michigan for the weekend or if that will be the shutdown point. We shall see.
I have all kinds of plans for the new year, and I already have to play catch-up this week. I am unsure how the rest of the week is going to run, but I am not giving up on my 2023 plan. This weekend, when I shut down for my break, I will catch up everything that is behind. Yep, that will work.
The title is temperature. It was a routine day, but I rolled hard, within minutes of my driving clock, to make it to Angola, IN. I was going to shut down earlier, but as I rolled North toward Michigan, the snow started. I did not want to be caught on backroads, which took up about 200 miles today, in a snow storm. But I got into Angola, looked at my pre-assignment for tomorrow, and relaxed before heading to bed.
Day Five: Responsibility. It may sound obvious, but part of your karmatic path should be to take responsibility for your actions, and the reprecussions that come from those actions. This does not mean that you can never make mistakes, in fact, you are going to. It means that when you do make the mistakes, you own them, and do what you must to make it right. While this is part of the path of Karma, it is also part of being a good person.
Today was running hard, mostly on backroads, to make it into Indiana on my way to Michigan. My drop is right beside Lake Michigan, and I have to go a lot closer to pick up tomorrow, before I head into New England. It should be fun. But I pushed as hard as I could to limit what I have to drive tomorrow. It made me tired and grumpy, but I was able to get shut down and have a few extra hours before I had to go to sleep.
Some have asked when more is coming. So I had a little time today. I have been working hard with photoshop to master that program. It is a pain in the ass. Here is my latest attempt made from stock images and building blocks.
I call it wicked alone because it was an act of randomness, without a plan or design. I just started and this is what came out. When I looked at it, it gave me a feeling of being empty inside, but with overtones of something dark. Go figure.
I got some relaxation in, but I had to jump into school. I spent the rest of the day working the dicussions and projects, and I am all caught up. When I take my break this weekend, I will do my test and answer my peers, and that should have me all up-to-date. OYE
What a day. I got to my drop in Grand Rapids, and when I rolled around the corner to find TRANE, I almost cried. The dock was a 40' straight truck dock that faced a street. It took about 30 minutes to wiggle my 73 ' truck into it, and I was sticking out more than 3/4 of the way into the road. Oye. But I got unloaded, and I was on down the road. Over to New Era, MI., to pick up an entire truckload of Lima beans headed toward the New England Foodbank. Fun times.
As the sun went down, the temperature dropped, and the misty rain started. Not a good combination. I have to try to work in a 34-hour break before I drop this on Monday, it is going to be tight. I shut down in the Love's in Marshall, IN., with 736 miles to go. Tomorrow, I will peek ahead for a shutdown point. Fun times.
Day Six: Connection. All time, past, present, and future, are connected. They are a tightly woven tapestry of events that shape our world and our perspective of the world around us. So remember your past, live in the present, and strive for a better future.
I have been running back to back this week, which I admit is much better than the sitting on the butt thing that was happening for the past few weeks, but I have little time to breathe. And that is making me moody. I just can't seem to get a handle on things thus far this year. And I don't like that. I am behind on my master plan for 2023 and need a bit of time to catch up. Of course, I should be careful what I wish for. This run takes me into New England. There are not a lot of escape vectors from there, so this could get interesting. But we shall see.
I have been pushing through books lately. I finished Hideaway by Koontz and was slightly surprised by the climax's religious overtones. It did not catch me completely off guard, but I think it was weird for Koontz. Now I am on Chain of Command by Elizabeth Moon. I am almost done this serious, The Serrano Legacy and I think that I will be sad when it is gone. Since they released another season, I have been watching The Good Place. I have to say that I am not really impressed with the new storyline. However, it is a bit of a trainwreck.
I continue with my photoshop studies for this month. Today is a combination piece. The model is Jodi Taylor, but there is not really a way to identify her. This image uses about 10 different filters to take an image that is not viable for publication and change it to something tasteful. I like the way it came out.
I guess I am already into the weekend, but I am working into Saturday. I aim to make it to Mifflinville, PA, which will be about 200 miles from where I am heading. Not the greatest choice, but it will put me close enough and allow me to take my 34-hour break in at least pseudo-comfort. And then it is catch up time! Yeah
A jaunt from Mashall, IN. to Mifflinville, PA. putting me in range of my drop for Monday in Connecticut. I was able to roll at about 65 mph most of the way, except when the snow started up in Pennsylvania. Then I had to slow it down a bit. But I made it to the Love's in Mifflinville, got a parking space, and shut down until Monday morning.
Day Seven: The Karma of Focus. One of the great lies of the world is multi-tasking. you cannot do more than one thing at a time, and give them all the attention that they deserve as parts of your life. We cannot think more than one thing at a time, so to keep Karma in balance, give yourself fully to each part of your life and you will find the balance spreads outward.
I finally see the pattern of my bad dreams. When I get the grumpy cat mood, my dreams degrade into bad ones. The more grumpy I get, the worse the dreams get. Coincidence? I don't think so. We are seven days into the new year, and I feel rushed and unaccomplished all at the same time. But it gives me something to work on.
I rolled into Pennsylvania and shut down for 34 hours before I headed up to New England on Monday morning. I have a hell of a lot to do, and I hit the Love's to take a nap and then work through my stuff. But that did not happen. I tried to nap, but for three hours, nothing but phone calls every time I would drift off. I should have just turned the phone off. Pfft. But that is okay. I was too tired to do stuff, so I called today my half day of junk time. I watched the end of season three of The Good Place and ate dinner. I did a three-hour meditation, and the grumpy cat is purring for right now. If I can use tomorrow to knock out my list and play catchup, I think that I can slip that cat some catnip!
One thing I am behind is my 31 days of photoshop lessons. But I have been working hard on it. So I will show off a little bit. I hope you like them.
By today, I should have seven lessons done. But that did not happen. I have only worked on one lesson: how to take a regular picture and turn it into something else. The core is pulling in bits of photographs and creating composite art, as you see here. I am pretty impressed with it. And I was able to keep it PG. The original images were stock images of Jodi Taylor, Dolly Little, Lucy O'Hara, and Cher, of all people (I needed the hair for the black and white).
Since starting with the CHR division, I have been getting my weekends off, usually with extended time close to 60 hours. But not this week. I barely have enough time for a reset. So I shut down in Mifflinville, PA and relaxed.
Day Eight: HospitalityThe power of giving must not be underestimated. Our behavior should always match our thoughts and actions. When in doubt, give a little. It may be money, or a gift, or even time. But through giving, we receive from the Universe. But do not give with the expectation of receiving, that defeats the purpose. Give with purity and the universe will respond.
The twisted hand of fate always has a way of shaking up the party. I am tired and feeling a little stressed around the edges. I took most of the morning and part of the afternoon to catch up on school. It took long, and it was difficult, but it is caught up, and I even have a jump on next week. Then I cleaned the truck, and was exhausted. Then fate tossed her hand into the mix...
In my life, two people have cut me to the core, but that was long ago and quickly forgotten. The reasons do not matter. Edwin Outlaw and (poppa) Chris Walker. While logging into old accounts, I received a message from an account I have not touched in most than a decade, and this is where fate lent a bad. Both Edwin and Chris died unexpectedly since the new year. Isn't that interesting? I would never have come across this information if I was not deleting old accounts. I deleted the account, and moved on.
I deleted a slew of old accounts, popped on the final season of The Good Place and worked on photoshop, ancient, my writing, and resting. Not the greatest break, but I will take it.
Now this was the day from hell. I got out of PA and rolled into Wallingford, CT right on time. They got me unloaded quickly and I went down the road and sat in a rest area until I got a new assignment. As soon as I got it, my blood went cold. Yonkers, NY. That is just like going into downtown NYC, such as the Bronx. But I put on my big boy pants, and I was down the road. It was pretty much as bad as I thought that it was going to be. It took almost an hour to get into the shipper, and more than that to get out. And the distance is under five miles. The area is NOT made for trucks, and the hills are horrible. More than once, I thought that I was going to clip someone on a turn. But I made it in an our without incident.
There are two other things here. First was the co-pilot mapping software that tried to send me to a pilot. It sent me into the middle of a residential neighborhood. This happened two years ago, and it still is not corrected. The second thing is the pickup at the sugar warehouse. This warehouse is horrible. It is tight, crowded, and requires blind side backing with multiple obstacles. It sucks.
Day Nine: Here and Now. Just like with the Fool from the Tarot, you cannot be looking back while expecting to live in the present. You must concentrate on those things that are right in front of you, making changes when you can, and accepting those things that you cannot change.
Today and the next few days are going to be very limited on the personal side of things. It is going to be routine, wake, routine, work, sleep. I am heading into a back to back that is starting in PA, heading into NY, and ending in Texas. I will update what I can, when I can. But for the most part, things will be boring for a few days, probably until Friday.
I was up an in motion right on time. I had a bit of trouble getting into U.S. Sugar in Buffalo, NY because there are no directions, or streets, that lead into the facility. You have to cut through another company parking lot to get there. Isn't that fun? Even though I was there about 45 minutes early, I had to wait for four hours to get unloaded. Then it was out of Buffalo and over to Rochester, only 30 minutes late. And that was an automated facility. I did not see or talk to a single human being. The entire process was automated. It was very interesting. The only real thing that sucked about it was that it was an indoor dock in a very tight space. But it's all good, I was in an out of there in about two hours. I was running sleeper berth, so I hit the first service area that I found. And it was off to sleep. Party animal, eh?
Day Ten: Change: Things are going to happen that are good or bad. And they become a part of history. That history is going to repeat as long as you continue to have the same actions and reactions. In other words, history is going to repeat until we learn from it.
Okay, I am ready for hometime. I am tired. I have been running back to back this week, and while I love the miles, I am not getting time to breathe. But I will adjust. I am still sticking to routine, meditation, good sleep, proper food, Yoga, education and the daily stuff. But it is a press for time quite a bit. I am sure that if it keeps up this way, I will find a balance, but that is a long time coming.
I finished another book, Vetta's War: Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon. It was pretty good. It is by the same author as Serano's Legacy and I loved that series. We shall see. As for my writing, I am almost done editing Hello Pretty and it should be ready for the collection by the end of the month, just as planned. And of course, Lilith and the crew are coming along nicely since I listed to Laura and added some depths to my characters in The Awakening. Even with the rush rush rush, things are still on track. I am a bit behind in my photoshop studies, and that is why there are no new pictures, but I will catch that up this weekend.
I was up and in motion right on time from the Lancaster Service area. There was parking, but that was probably because the facility is under construction, and they don't have any amenities right now. Shrugs. But the day was okay, if not long as hell. I ran out of New York, Through PA and Ohio, and into Kentucky. I had a little trouble finding parking after I hit Louisville, but I found a spot in a rest area just to the south. I could have tried for Elizabethtown, KY., but this area really sucks for parking, so I took what I could get. That puts me about 770 miles from my 700 AM drop on Friday. Should not be a problem.
This run is not nearly as tight as I thought it was going to be, but I am running it hard anyway. As such, I combined my fuel stop with my 30-minute break. This meant stopping near Lodi, OH. What a clusterMug! I did my break and then got into line for fuel. There are eight islands, and seven of them were taken up by drivers in taking showers, or sitting down and eating and bullshitting. It was unbelievable. It is like the driver-common sense just was turned off for that site at 200 in the afternoon. It took a total of 90 minutes to get in and out of there. And tempers were rising. Surprisingly, I did not get upset, though I did get a bit frustrated. Hmmmm
Day Eleven: Patience: May people feel that it is a cop out, but good things really do come to those who wait. The best rewards come from the act of patience. An okay is beautiful, but to grow to full height takes decades. The same with people, the most beautiful people may take a long time to develop.
I was up an in motion with about 75 minutes between wake up and roll out. I worked the morning time well and got my entire routine, including a photoshop lesson done. I got into motion right as I hit my 10 hours, and I rolled hard into Kentucky. I shut down, at dinner, did a discussion for school, then it was off to sleep. I hope to wake up early enough tomorrow to get the second one done. Like I said the other day, borning days right now, but that should pick up soon.
I was up in plenty of time to do the morning thing before hitting the road. But the drive was anything but enjoyable. First, there was traveling South on I65 through Kentucky. The road is horrible. Some dips or bumps toss you all over the place every few hundred feet. More than once, it tossed me high enough that I could have lost control if I was not wearing my seatbelt. And then the same thing happened in Arkansas going across I30 out of Little Rock toward Texas. It made for an annoying jaunt. A 90-minute traffic jam just North of Little Rock put me behind, but I had a four-hour window, so it was all good. I made it into Malvern, AR., and shut down. I wanted to make it into Texas but did not want to push it too much. I have a pre-assignment from Hutchins, TX. into Jacksonville, FL starting tomorrow. And then we are into HOME WEEK. Yeah!
Day Twelve: Inspiration: The final aspect of Karma is of significance and inspiration. The rewards that come to us in this life result from the energy we put into the universe. However, the karmic rewards system is fragile; you cannot act to force rewards. The rewards will come to you, but you cannot see them as an expectation for doing good in the world. It is all about balance. And that is Karma.
First things first. 2022 was pretty rough on the human race. The year took many good people, and I think that 2023 may have said Hold my beer. In the past two days, we lost Jeff Beck and Lisa Marie Presley. That is not the best start of the year.
I was able to sneak in a few of my Photoshop lessons this evening, and here is the result. I am working on poster art, surrealism, and a few other techniques. I think that I like the way that my kitties came out, and just in time for TOMORROW, Friday the 13th. All praise to the kitties!
I really do like running hard like I have been, but it is starting to take its' toll on me. I am grumpy and snappy at those around me. But since there are not that many people around me, I guess it is okay, at least for now. But I should be home at the end of the coming week, and I am headed into the weekend so if I can get a handle on school, maybe I can find some time to relax.
Today was the way that things are supposed to run. Aside from about a 4 hour dwell between runs, everything went right. I will not even add for a change to that. I got into Commerce TX about half an hour ahead of time, and they got me right into the dock. I did not even have time to make a cup of coffee before they were telling me that they were done. My next run was out of Hastins, TX and there is a nasty little Love's right there. I scooted in and got a parking space and took a nap. I hit the dock about 45 minutes early for my pickup and they got me right in, loaded me up, and even with a very heavy load, had it perfectly balanced. I rolled hard, hitting the Lousiana state line just as it was time to shut down for the night. Tight schedule, but it worked out.
And that is the End: I hope that you have enjoyed the journey through my perspective of Karma. There has been quite a bit of positive feedback, so maybe I will do another series in the near future. Time will tell. For now, remember to put the positive into the universe and enjoy what that brings you.
This has been one hell of a week. As you can see above, the work week went well, but it has left precious little time for the ME side of things. I even had my first eve LATE assignment at school. When I shut down for the night, I turned in my memo and realized that it was due yesterday. Oye, that has never happened before. I just can't get into the swing of things. Yep, look at that, a minor burnout. I am hoping it is a mini and tomorrow when I shut down, I can use about an hour, catch up school for this week, prep next week, and then relax a bit.
Even with as hard as I have been running, I have been keeping up with most things. I have some serious updates to do, but time is pressing. I will be off for 34-hours later tomorrow, and I intend to do the full update thing. Woo hoo. Until then, see you in the funny papers.
A simple work day. I rolled out of Greenwood Louisiana and into Cottendale, FL., about 620 miles away. I am limited on time, but I have enough time for a 34-hour reset. So I pushed it, got into Love's and grabbed parking. Easy peasy.
With the Karma project finished, I am working on my next Tidbits of Wisdom. But I have no idea what form that is going to take. Most of you liked the Karma thing, and I am not sure if I want to continue with the metaphysics or move to something practical. I don't want people to get bored. I will probably start something new when I come back from hometime after next week.
The roll from Lousiana to Florida was a rough one. I was tired and the sun was in my eyes most of the trip. But I made it into Florida and got shut down. I started and finished Streams of Silver by Salvador. I really did not like it. But it is behind me now.
The day was pretty much boring. I shut down, at one hell of a dinner of Cod, carmelized onions with mushrooms, and broccoli rice. Then it was time for bed. Tomorrow is a day off, and I have a lot to do. Then it is setting up for the final week out before hometime.
Even though this was a day down with a 34-hour break, I had some work to do. I did a 100% inspection of the tractor and trailer and found nothing wrong. I don't know why I am being paranoid; I just was. Then it was cleaning time. It has been a long time since I did a super-duper clean on the truck, and I did not do one today. But I did the windows and the floors. But I had other things to do. Pfft.
I am trying to keep up with my artwork and trying to be not only creative but keeping things relevant. One of the most significant issues with my job is solitude and isolation. I may talk to one or two people in passing at truck stops or customers. But most of my time is spent alone. I try not to talk to myself, but that does not always work because I will hold dialogs with my fictitious characters from my writing. No, I have not gone cra-cra, I understand that both halves of the conversation are me, but it really helps the process. Weird huh? Anyway, the art for today represents the solitude that is digging at me right now. Tomorrow, maybe some more cats, or maybe a satisfied bird, ala-Willow (the daughter who likes satisfied birds).
The big part of the day was school. I started at 6:00 am and did not finish until 2:00 pm. That would have been for a final assignment. But nope, this was just week two. I had to catch up on all the discussion groups and the memorandum and do an annotated biography. Normally, the biography would not even be that big of a deal, but it took hours because of the assignment requirements. I have no idea how I did on it, but we will find out soon.
So, I had really big plans for January, but Variant has been driving me into the ground with little downtime (and I am not complaining), and the Homeland Security class is kicking my ass. So with half the month gone, I was well behind on my projects and such. Today, with a 34-hour break, I kicked it into high gear. I reviewed and caught up on 15 days' worth of photoshop tutorials. These are between 10 and 30 minutes each, so that is a pretty big deal. I did all six modules in my French course and scored a 100% across the board, which brought me up to date with 270 days of lessons. Impressed yet? Well, we are not done. I did six sax lessons, catching up to the week's end. I edited 56 files for Ancient, which comes CLOSE to catching me up. I read 150 pages in one-course text and 75 in the second one, and I took the self-check tests. Passed them all. But wait, there is more. I loaded up all THREE books that I am working on and edited half of Hello Pretty and all of the first chapter of The Awakening. Finally, I created the chapter-rough draft for Fixing America.
Before I settled in for the night, I got a new order from Variant. I will drop in Jacksonville, FL, in the morning, then head up to the Savannah, GA, area for Tuesday morning. I pick up sugar there and take it to Baltimore, then I pick it up nearby and take it to Northern Ohio, about 700 miles from home, dropping it off Friday at noon. I have no idea what will happen after that, but it is a good week for miles as long as they get me home. Once I had all that figured out, it was time to settle in and watch a movie. I chose The Nutty Professor and realized that my tastes have seriously changed. I used to find that movie funny. I don't anymore. But I started it, so I finished it, then it was off to bed. I am tired.
Today was an easy day. I hit the dock at Saddle Creek in Jacksonville right on time. They took a bit of time to get me unloaded, but as soon as I was clear, I had the next assignment picking up near Savannah and heading to Baltimore. I have until 11:15 am tomorrow to get there. So it was a slow 146-mile roll. I shut down early because there was a massive wreck on I-95, and it had traffic near my pickup, a mess. Since I had the time, I shut down and relaxed for the day. I was going to get some catfish, but it was like $19.00 a plate. I don't think so.
My daughter, Willow, said that she likes fluffy birds because they seem satisfied. It has been sticking in my head. What is the best way to get an earworm out of your head? Satisfy it. So that is what I did. Here are three well-fed birds. Ironically, for the models, I could not find plump birds. I had to fatten them up myself. Weird huh?
I rolled into Jacksonville and got unloaded in a reasonable amount of time. My next assignment is near Savannah, GA., but I-95 was closed right near my turn-off due to a serious accident. I shut down in Brunswick, GA. about 30 miles North of the Florida-Georgia state line. I grabbed a Salad and worked on some more catch-up of things. I double-checked my French and set up my new photoshop lessons. I did the bird pictures, which did not take that long, and then it was time to chill and do some meditation and music. My 34-hour reset was NOT relaxing, and I am a bit pensive about how they run me. I feel this will be another one of those times when I don't get home on time. Funny that they want me to hit my docks on time, but they don't get me home on time. Hmmm.
I finally caught up on my Homeland Security reading and fired up my two discussion questions for the week. They require a LOT of thought. The course is hard, the professor is a ball-buster, and my fellow students are as detailed with responses as I am. I am loving it!
OYE. I headed into Port Wentworth, GA, first thing this morning. I got there 45 minutes before my appointment and still hit the dock 10 minutes late. But that was because the line to get into the plant was horrible. Then it took about two hours to get me loaded up. I gross scaled legally at the plant, but they did not axle scale, so I had to hit the Pilot right down the road. Boy, that place is a mess as well. Horrible parking, even for only a few minutes. But I got in, adjusted my tandems, and was on down the road. Then I made a judgment call. I hit my fuel stop, which still had me with seven hours left to drive, but I shut down anyway. I was not feeling well and was not looking forward to fighting for parking. I think it will work out, but it will make tomorrow a potentially long day.
I got my butt up after a pretty good night of sleep and jumped right into getting things done. I am still playing catch up on things like my French and all, but I am getting closer to the medium ground between way behind and ahead. I did the work thing and then shut down early for the day. Of course, I got hot dogs for dinner so that I did not have to cook, and I jumped in the bunk. Of course, as soon as I lay down, my eyes popped open. So I got back up and cooked my pork chops for an early morning dinner/breakfast type of thing when I rolled out of here. It took four hours to get to sleep. Not good. I am seriously moody and need to get over it. I am very much ready to be home for a while at this point. I am glad that I have been out this long, but enough is enough. And I don't have a pre-plan yet, so who knows what will happen after I drop on Thursday. I will have some extra time tomorrow, so maybe I can play catch-up. We shall see.
I slept longer than I planned once I got to sleep. I had only 30 minutes before I could drive, but I got my butt into motion. I was accosted by a street preacher who wanted to save my soul, and he was quite aggressive. I was seriously not in the mood, and I kind of went vamp on him. I told him what I thought about his OPINION of the afterlife and his faith. I should have felt bad about the situation, but I didn't. Hmmm. Anyway, I got into motion and did nine hours, shutting down in Ruther Glen, VA. at the Love's. This is not the greatest place to shut down, but it beat trying for Baltimore. So it was down for the day with two hours until I reach my destination tomorrow.
So, I have military clearance. I do not hide that fact. I worked with nuclear weapons and guarded NATO sites when I served. That gives me a tiny leg-up when it comes to shippers. I can go onto restricted bases IF I have a TWIC card. Anyone with a TWIC card can; it is easier for me in some places. And CHR picks up from those places, but Variant does not. Until now. So it is highly recommended that I take my precious time off and my own money and get a TWIC card. I do not like dealing with the Navy. Pfft. We shall see what I do.
I am forcing myself out of my own comfort zone. Look, lots of colors, weird imagery, and unusual topic. I started with eyeballs, added an anime girl, and the rest just came naturally. I think that I like it.
I got to Ruther Glen, VA., and had plenty of time to make it all the way to Baltimore. But that would put me in a horrible place to shut down. So I chose to be 120 minutes from my drop for tomorrow morning. I figured that I would shut down, grab a cat nap until Laura called, then get up and accomplish things. That did not work out. Both Hector and David, two of my mentees, had problems. It took nearly 90 minutes to work that out, and by then, I had my second wind, so it was on to getting things done.
Okay, the title may be a little harsh. Hell isn't quite as bad as Baltimore. Sigh. It was an experience. I left out of Ruther Glen and rolled into Maryland. It should have taken about two and a half hours, but it took four to get there. Why? The Capitol Beltway of course. The traffic around that loop is horrible. And I am pretty sure you have to take a rude and ignorant test to drive it regularly. But I made it to Baltimore. Then the fun began. I followed my truck GPS and private GPS, and they had me go the same way. That was of course, the way that does not allow trucks, and with good reason. The turns were almost impossible. Sigh. But I finally found the receiver. But it was the WRONG receiver. Sugar goes to the backup warehouse about a mile away. It took 20 minutes to go that mile because they gave me bad directions and failed to mention that it had another name. But I found it and got unloaded. Then it was over to load up only a few miles away. That took almost four hours because the dock was backed up. I got loaded and headed toward Memphis. I pushed hard and got to about 600 miles to target before I shut down in a rest area in Virginia. Yes, I had to go BACK around the Capitol Beltway. Sigh and pfft.
The only thing I have to say on a personal level right now, is that I am concerned about the mental well-being of the self. Not horribly concerned, just a bit of a tickle. I have been positive and confident for so long, mostly thanks to Laura and all, that I did not notice the shreds of doubt sneaking past my defenses. It is disturbing. Will we make Colorado? Will I be able to get off the truck? Will the country wake up before we use up all the food and air? These things keep me awake at night. And they shouldn't. Things are going well, and I accept that, but there is still that thing right around the corner, just out of the corner of my eye.
So, I am in Virginia and I am heading home. At the end of the day, I was 600 miles from the terminal. As long as I play my cards right, I will be there tomorrow afternoon, and then will have to come back for a few hours on Monday to deliver. But that is okay. Cross your fingers and your toes, cause I am headed home!
Now this was one hell of a roll. From Christianburg, VA. all the way into the terminal at Olive Branch, MS. in a straight run to make it in for home time. And I made it with about 45 minutes to spare. It helps that it was a nice day and there was virtually no traffic. But I got into the yard and shut down. The terminal is a mess though. The parking lot looks like, well, Memphis, TN. with all the trash and junk around. People are parked horribly, and the inside of the terminal is not much better. I just hung out in the truck. Laura will be here in the morning to pick me up. Woo hoo.
I have found that my art is therapeutic. I can work through my problems or concerns by putting them to paper as it were. Granted, I don't know how well my digital skills will translate to paper, but we will find that out sooner or later. Fun times. For today, I am killing my negative mood, but in order to dispel the inner darkness and come to a place of light, I must embrace that darkness. And here is my mental image of walking into that place of foreboding.
I am back in Olive Branch, and after a long drive, I was going to do laundry and clean the truck and all. But that was not to be. The terminal just did not feel comfortable, and it is irking me off. But that is okay. I did my art and some studies and bunked down for the night. It is good to be home, but it really does not feel like home anymore. Since I had time, I did some serious meditation and some extra exercise. It helped to get my head into the right place. The negative mood that has been trying to overtake me has been quelled for now, and tomorrow, I will be at the house and be able to get some things taken care of. For right now, I hunkered down and watch the new series That 90's show which is cute. Then it was time for some sleep.
Work for today was cleaning the truck and moving my stuff out before heading home. I have to come back for a couple of hours on Monday, but other than that, it will be doing the stuff for coming back next week. Woo hoo.
The content here will be clear in the last paragraph for today. But I am trying to do art a day. Mostly because people have told me that they like the diversity, but also because I am doing my best to practice my photoshop. Today is not based on mood or likes and dislikes. It is based on my experience with a new game, described below, and trying my hand at the silhouette. It is very basic, drawing in non-descript library art of two different images, washed clear and then outlined and brought into silhouette. I like it.
As in Home again, home again. Laura picked me up right on time, and it was back to the house. I spent the first couple of hours just sitting on my butt. And I got to do Christmas in January. Fun things. Everything was excellent. I even got a drone from my secret Santa. I got binoculars, a first aid kit, something I have been sorely missing, and a bow for my violin. Granted, I got that before I left last time. I just have to figure out what I am going to do about the violin. I love trying to play it, but the one that I have sucks the big doobie. It is not made to be played, it is made to teach beginners how to handle the damn things. I will figure that out later. Willow made me a cute little thing; I can't remember what she calls them. Something like a squishymallow. It is really cute and has magnets to let you attach it to your shoulder like some kind of guardian. It is fun.
I built a little stone platform for the trash bin, and called an end to the doing the house thing. Laura and I hit Aldi's and knocked out some serious shopping for the truck and the house, then it was back to relax. We did Chinese for dinner and watched some TV. Nice day.
I like to take my few minutes a day and keep my games up to date. But they are boring after a while. I spend maybe 10 minutes a day setting everything up in a build or battle queue and that is that. Not the greatest use of time, but it is a distraction while I am on a dock or waiting for something like dinner to cook. Today, I found a new game, and it came with a few surprises. I am not sure how I feel about it. It is called Kiss of War and it is a build-and-battle game. You build up for your forces and attack surrounding bases, the basic BnB kind of game. But then there is the twist. You have your warriors and your commanders and other types of players down the line. The first thing that I noticed was that they all have Russian or Romanian accents. The second thing that I noticed is that they are all female. There is no option in the game to pick a male hero or warrior. The reason became evident as the game progressed. There are sub-games such as puzzles that you assemble to Tell the backstory and create the past storyline. Apparently, these elite warriors don't like men. The game is written from a female perspective with no male influence. Granted, you can tell that the authors were male because of the outfit options for the combat team. But the storyline, and thus far, how the two main characters came to meet and be special friends, no man could write that. When I found out that it was more of a storyline-game, I almost deleted it, but it is fascinating. I have to find out more of on the story. Hmmm.
Work today was prep for going back to work at the end of the week.
I guess that I could call this young lady Vienna if I wanted to go all TSO on you. Trans-Siberian as a song called Vienna about someone seen in a dream. In this case, it was in meditation. Something new, because as long as I can remember, I have never had an intruder in my meditation, at least no one I did not summon for a reason. In this case, it was a side-step during the meditation where I went from my happy mountain setting into a dark alley at dusk. I saw this young lady in a window of an old brownstone just looking out at me. To make the image, it is a composite of Lohan, Jolie, Jojovitch, and Ringwold. I just took all four of them and mushed them together to create a new person. Then I set it to Black and white and created an environment using random presets. Interesting.
I was up nice and early and feeling pretty good. It was a matter of getting organized. The day was all relaxation and date night with the wife at Capital Grille in Memphis. Dinner was excellent. This is not something that we could do all the time. It was expensive but well worth it. I had my first Martini in almost 30 years. Granted, it was a Cappuccino Martini, but it was very nice. The waiter, Dominick, was very versed in his trade and quite professional. The only thing that we did not like was the Lobster Mac-and-Cheese. It was salty and greasy. But my tenderloin and Laura's ribeye were wonderful. We did wild mushrooms and prosciutto wrapped around mozzarella for the table. We took our time and enjoyed ourselves. It was very nice. I got back to the house and I was exhausted.
There was not going to be a work entry today because, HELLO, I am on home time. But alas, work intrudes. I had to go into work for about 2 hours and do the drop for Barrett Distribution. It went well, but Memphis people, le'sigh. They are just nasty. Then, there was dealing with HR and Benefits. Jarad is still listed on the insurance, and it looks like it is going to take a lightning bolt from Mt. Olympus to get him removed. DHS from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania sent the cease and desist order for the garnishment, but not for the insurance. And dealing with the commonwealth is rough and time-consuming. Then, spur of the moment, Laura and I hit Walmart and finished up the truck shopping. Tomorrow, I will package up the rest of the proteins and I will be ready to roll.
I really enjoy virtual wanderings during meditation. This time, I did not concentrate on anything; I just let my mind drift. And this is a representation of what I found. Funny, I am not really a lake or pond type of person. I am more mountain and peaks. But it worked, and it was relaxing.
I got work out of the way first thing this morning, and the dock was fast enough that I did not have time to set up the things that I wanted in the truck. That is fine, and I should have time when I get back on board on Friday. I got home, had some family time, and then Laura and I hit Walmart. Not a terrible day. We had frozen pizza for dinner, and I was out like a light very early. Tomorrow is another day.
The only work for today was zoom meetings and meal prep. But thankfully, both of those things are out of the way and I don't have to worry about them again until next time home. An easy day.
I have been working on The Awakening. One of the pivotal moments of the beginning is when Lilith, who has been with Adam since she was created, finds out from Osparia that she can find pleasure outside of the masculine. I have been working on an image to represent this for a while. Opinions? Which is better? I like the detail in the first one, but it leaves little to the imagination. The second one has the mystery. Both images are composite images from stock materials modified and manipulated in Photoshop.
I am home. I am rested. I should be happy. But I am grumpy. Granted, that is because another tooth has decided that it did not like being in one piece, thus exposing a nerve. So it is making me kinda miserable. I was hoping that like a few other times, the nerve would just die and I could move on. But it does not look like that is going to happen. Laura pointed out that I should take care of it, because seven weeks on the road with no way to take care of it is probably a very bad idea. I will call in the morning and see what they can do.
I may have been a bit on the miserable side today, but I did get a few things done. I am caught up on almost everything except for photoshop. I read my chapters for school, got the truck meal prep finished, and started moving my audiobooks for the next run. So I am going to count today as a win. I have two days left home, and I need to get my butt into gear. That will include a visit to Dr. Hennessy if they can squeeze me in tomorrow. Sigh, I hate the dentist.
This movie was odd enough to get its' own section for mention here. It is called Big Bug and I watched it in French. It is a story about 2045 when everyone has all kinds of robots and a controlling robot tries to take over everything. It is odd, strange, and weird on several different levels from the interpersonal dynamic of the characters, so the sexual repression that is an overtone of the entire movie. It was funny as hell.
An easy work day. I sent my check-in messages to my mentees and did nothing else. Woo hoo for actually taking some time off on my time off. I took the time to do some more prep for Friday and I only have a few more things to do. Before the day ended, I was pre-assigned and dispatched on the run from Mississippi to Minnesota. It should be a nice way to end this week and start the next one.
First and foremost on my mind is my jaw. It hurts like a bugger! So I fired up photoshop and grabbed a line drawing of the French Quarter in Louisiana. I added a random character, in this case, it was just a random woman walking on a beach. I masked her out, modified the background to sepia, then back to full color with no transition. I did not want detail on the character, so first I took her to full black, but it clashed with the rest of the scene. I took her to ghost white. The final touch was adding a ribbon running diagonal and then turning it into a bit of a light show. I am digging this composite stuff!
So, I did not have a miracle while I was sleeping. I did not wake up with perfect teeth. Isn't that sad? In fact, on a 1-10 scale, the pain that was there when I woke up was blue. It's a joke, get it? Off the scale? Pfft. I thought it was funny. But I made an appointment with DentalCares and got to see the doc. He got me out of pain and told me that I had to see an oral surgeon because the root of the tooth goes into my nasal passage. But I am good for now.
The hardest thing about the extended pain was that once it was gone, it left me lethargic and feeling like I was hit by a truck. So I took the rest of the day and read my material for school. Tomorrow I have to do my discussions and a powerpoint before I go to bed. And then my mini-vacation will be done with.
Today was an easy-peasy day. All that I had to do was finish up the prep for work, and that was easy. I think that I am ready to get back on the truck tomorrow and see what I will see. I have to pick up in Mississippi in the afternoon tomorrow, and I have to fuel in Holly Springs, so that should work out well. The pickup is about 90 minutes from the yard, so I should have time to get to the truck, get everything set up, and get on the road without rushing. Once I pick up, it is about a 700 mile run. So I will head that way, and then run a bit more on Saturday to get close. I will probably have to sit for about a day up in Minnesota. Isn't that fun?
My tooth isn't hurting today. Thanks to Dr. Hennessy. I have to figure out what to do about the broken filling, but that is something for later. I really hate the dentist.
I was able to get all my reading done yesterday since moving hurt. That helped out and I was able to finish my two discussion groups done. I love this class, but I am still going to be happy when it is done. I finished converting my new audiobooks. Oye, going from fiction to non-fiction may be a bit difficult, but we shall see. I now have a library that includes History, Productivity, Education, Creativity, and about 50 other topics. It should be fun. I added that to some of the fiction that I have left, and I should be good for the next seven weeks. Then I got my two discussions done and took a nap.
After a nap and lunch, it was time to break into my assignment for the week while I was waiting for all the audio files to transfer. I know; I am just such a party animal. I did run into upload problems because of recent changes to the file system, so I had to find a replacement HTML editor and FTP program. The ones that I am using are 15-years out of date. Sigh. So I found CoffeeCup software. It is an all-in-one system that I used to use until I outgrew it. Now it is all grown up, and I was forced to buy it instead of using the free version because of the file limitations. I did not jump on the buy me cycle because there was misinformation within the software and on the site. When I clicked the upgrade button, the price doubled. And that is not acceptable. So I sent them a message and should hear back from them tomorrow.
Since this is my last day home, I did a few things around the house. I fixed the flag mount above the garage, changed the air conditioner filters, and then cleaned the ceiling fans. They really needed it. Then it was time to hunker down and finish up with school for the week, well, except for responses to the discussions, which I will do this weekend. It took about three hours to do my PowerPoint and I am done with week four. Just two more weeks to go and I am done with Homeland Security, which leaves two more classes plus my capstone. I am getting close.
Today was like some great movie or TV series. Unfortunately, by GREAT I am talking about either The Three Stooges or the Keystone Cops. I arrived at the truck in plenty of time and got everything set up before I had to head out. I hit the Love's in Holly Springs, got fuel, and checked everything. All good to go. Then I headed into Ripley, MS. to pick up at Oil-Dry, and that is when the fun began. They have big signs that tell you what to do and what not to do. And no one reads them. Hard Hats, Safety glasses, Staying in your truck, etc., are all ignored. And the young lady running the desk was not amused. Then I sat and watched someone try to back into an open-air dock for over an hour. He could not get it, which held everyone else up. But I finally got in, got loaded, and then was down the road. But then it was almost 120 miles of backroads all the way From Mississippi, through Tennessee, and into Missouri. Fun times. I shut down in a truck parking area in Marston, MO, for the night.
It is going to be almost two months before I am home again. I meditated on this when I did the morning meditation, and the image that came to my mind was what you see here. A lonely road. But not a sad road. Does that make sense?
I am trying to slip into a routine that I can follow. I am not sure how that is going to work. We shall see. I got the truck set up and did the work thing before I shut down in a truck parking area along I-55. It is a quiet little place. I am reading A.E. van Vogt right now and they are interesting stories from about the 1940's. I have never heard of him and I find the use of science in the stories amazing.
I had some trouble with the software I use to make the blogs, the sites, and I re-found Coffeecup. But there was a price problem when I went to buy it. I emailed them. They were very helpful. Not only did they give me what I finally paid for, but everything the company made. That was an interesting twist. When I shut down for the night, I downloaded that while I was cooking my fish. Yummy fish. Then it was off to be and some well-deserved sleep. Tomorrow is another day.
I was up an in motion within 15 minutes of my timer reset and then it was a long run into Wisconsin. I did not make it as far as I wanted to, but that was because of the weather. I got about halfway to where I was headed, and then Gaia decided that it would be fun to start dropping the white stuff on me. Of course, when it starts to snow, the entire planet makes an effort to forget how to drive. I did 200 miles with people doing 25 miles per hour in all three lanes. The sad thing is that the roads were, for the most part, clear. I made it to Love's in Poynette, WI., but it was a bit of a battle. I wanted to do about 100 more miles, but it was getting pretty bad. Time to shut down until Sunday night / Monday morning and then roll the last 150 miles. I am okay with the choice, but when I hit the Love's, I did not realize how tired I was. Food, then sleep.
I did two meditations today. One first thing in the morning and one after a nap when I shut down. But of them had intrusions by Lilith, so it reflected in my Photoshop project for today.
The morning went well. I had 90 minutes before pulling out, so I was able to do the morning thing. Sadly, when I shut down, I was beyond exhausted and did not even realize it until I shut down. So I shut down, at a dinner of sausage and tortellini, and took an extended nap. I am down until late tomorrow night or early Monday morning, so it is all good. The heater is acting up again, so that is a bit annoying.
I did my reading for school and realized that I only have one more week of reading for this course. I am going to be glad when this course is done with. I like the subject, but the work is intense. And then just two more classes plus the capstone and I am done with my final Master's degree. For my audio book experience today I finished up my A.E. van Vogt short stories. They are very advanced for when they were written. I don't know why I have never heard of this author before. Shrugs. On top of that, I rolled a bunch of non-fiction on things like the history of Henry Ford v. Ferrari and the battle for the La Mans racing experience, human reproduction, and even sales and marketing. I have about 1800 non-fiction books, mostly shorts, and I am going to listen to all of them, even if they are subjects that don't interest me. You never know what you may find.
So, my Sunday started early because it was very cold and I had to start the truck to get the heat in motion. But that is okay, I had some decent sleep and then I figured I would use the coldest part of the night to do the morning thing. I did the morning routine before midnight, and broke into catching up on my projects. I have another five Photoshop lessons to do before Tuesday, so I am going to knock those out before the sun comes up and get week four of school completed and out of the way. Even with the snow and the dangerous roads, I am counting this as a good day.
I just got back on the Truck Friday, but today, Sunday, I got to do a 34-hour reset in Wisconsin. I picked up at Oil-dry in Mississippi and don't deliver until tomorrow. So down I am. I guess it is a good thing because the snowstorm from last night left things quite icky. One thing that did get on my nerves is that I am getting a little tired of being treated like an irresponsible teenager that can't make good decisions. When the temperature goes below 19F, the truck will run and allow you to run the heat for the cab. But before that, you have to depend on the bunk heater, of which mine does not work. I have tried to have it fixed, and each time, they fix it and it breaks again on the first of second use. So when it is cold, I have to use other measures to stay warm. I know that this is a cost saving measure so that drivers don't just run their engines for fun, but they are a few, and drivers are many. They really need to re-think this process.
The grey skies and snow had me a bit moody. I tried to get out of it with meditation and exercise, but it did not work. Laura ordered my new camera for me, and even that did not help. But I am doing my best.
The early break is a bit annoying, I would rather be running. But instead, I am sitting in a Love's in Wisconsin, contemplating the world around me. But I did not sit on my ass this time. I finished week-four of school, and that leaves two to go. I previewed what I have to do for week five, and it should be decent. I changed up my audiobooks and added 10 more shorts for tomorrow, and I grabbed the three that I want to re-read because they have some interesting information on them. I have put Ask me about my uterus on my reading list because the story is interesting and I would like to hear the whole thing. Then, since it was still early, I worked on setting up my socials. I have read about 10 books at this point on marketing for publishers and authors, and the dominating theme is branding. You have to have your name out there and have a following before you publish so that you can get that initial wave. This is done through socials. I hate social media. I also went through all the CoffeeCup software that they sent me. Some interesting stuff, though I don't know how useful a lot of it will be. We shall see.
Once the stuff that I HAD to get done was out of the way, it was time for optional things. I popped on the Roku and started rolling Gothic Rock, which includes Evanescence, The Pretty Reckless, Halestorm, Bebe Rexah, among others, and fired up the learning, writing and creating stuff. I got Hello Pretty edited before the January 31, 2023 deadline, and chose The 13th Witch for the February project. I fired up the Sax, started working on the February website updates for Triumph and the Peacocking site. Of course, this meant configuring the new software BEFORE I had to use it next week. Getting ahead of myself for a change, ain't that interesting?
I had a good six-hour stint of working projects, and I did not fall into the old rut watching Netflix. So there is that. But I just spent the time running a round robin on the things on my list. I am going to count this as a good day.
It was 10F when I woke up. The water in my jug had started to freeze. Luckily, I had my heating blanket, because my heater crapped out once again. It works about 10% of the time. Oye. But I got up and in motion and made it into Winona, MN right on time. I was unloaded quickly and then headed over to my next pickup in Iowa. I had to go about 25 miles out of route to shut down for three hours because there is nothing in the Iowa area but farmland. I got loaded up, and then rolled on down the road running out my timer. I was tempted to shut down in the Iowa 80 truckstop, the largest truckstop in the world, but chose to continue on to Davenport. I was hoping to get into the Love's, but they were full, even at 3:00pm, so I hit the Flying J for the night. It was bitter cold, but the truck stayed running (finally). I was not able to sleep well because it was loud and annoying around me.
I was up around midnight and started to get into motion. The first thing that I found was a text from Laura that Rowan was down at Methodist Hospital with breathing problems. He has not had an asthma attack in a very long time. I would say close to a decade. But that all turned out fine and he was home early in the morning. No reason to go into what is going on because that is not my story to share.
I cannot say that I am handling things well right now. I feel like I have been out on the road for a month instead of just under a week. It has only been a few days at this point, and I just feel dragged down. I can't seem to get it under control, regardless of the meditation, exercise, or distractions I toss in my path. I guess I feel that I am waffling. I know that this is a sign of depression, but I really don't think that is it because my appetite is fine, I have the will to get things done, but not the drive. So I am pretty sure that is not it. I may just be in a slump and need a win to get things turned around. I am just not sure where that win is going to come from. Pfft.
Tomorrow is the last day of the month. I should be rolling South, and it will be time to do the updates. I am going to say this twice, once today and once tomorrow. I am updating the Peacock site, hopefully tomorrow, but it is not a big deal this month. Nothing really interesting or fun. I have been playing this war game called Kiss of War, and it has some very interesting and provocative avatars, and I took screenshots of them. That will be the February gallery. The game was obviously written by a man or men. But it has an excellent storyline and a lot to do in 15 minutes a day.
A nice, typical day. The way that I like them. I had to put about 500 miles behind me and head from Iowa, down to the Kentucky border. And it was a good time of day to drive. It was still bitter cold, but I was in the truck, so no big deal. I rolled, without event, into Memphis, IN., where I shut down at the Love's. I made the afternoon Mentor / Mentee Zoom meeting and then shut it all down for the day. It is back in the 30s for temperature, and tomorrow morning I drop in Louisville, then head on down to South Carolina.
I had a really cool idea for a new piece of art, but alas, Photoshop is not going to cooperate. It has a big update to do and I can't start it right now, so it will have to wait. Sorry.
January has come to an end and it is time for an update. So here we go folks, sit back and enjoy the ride.
The Awakening and beyond: I continue to work on the story and it is developing well. I am on track for publishing by the end of the year. I am also working Fixing America but not as intensley. However, I think that they are both coming along fine.
School: As of the end of January, I am almost done with my Homeland security class. I am only rolling a 94% which is an A, but still, it is not perfection. I think that I will get through it. :)
Alternate Education: I am still rocking my French every day and I did 30 days of Photoshop. The 30days course was a bit intense with a lot of information. I am going to roll through it a second time, but with a bit more time to do it over the next few months. I break into C++ tomorrow. That should be fun.
Colorado: Things just don't seem to be moving along fast enough for me. I know that we are making forward progress, but it seems very slow and it is getting on my nerves.
That pretty much closes out the month. We are going into February. I am a bit disappointed with the start of 2023, but I am still holding out hope for a good year. Time will tell. Time to get the new month set up, get the photo site updated, and I will see you on the flip-side