On this date in 1998 Tasha and I were married, we’re not married any longer but beings as we have no other date to celebrate as our own we’ve readopted this one as our continuing anniversary. So while not entirely true, it is mostly true that this is our 11th anniversary. Happy anniversary to us. It’s been a wild ride, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Ain’t love grand. We went out for Mexican, then we came home and she went to bed. I think she’s got the flu, she prefers to think not so much. Whatever it is the symptoms are different from what I have been suffering most of this past week, so I’ll probably get it next. Yeah me.

Did I mention that my iPod Nano got stolen out of my van? I can’t remember and I’m too lazy to look it up. Whatever the case, I’ve been looking for a replacement. I considered just getting another Nano, but that seemed lame. I toyed with the idea of getting a Archos 5 Internet Tablet, that would be sweet, but I’d want the big 500 gig one and the price is a bit more than I can swallow. Doug keeps praising his iPod Touch, but I can’t bring myself to get one. However, my Verizon plan has been up since September and I haven’t replaced my phone… Do you know where this is going? I decided to get a phone that would serve as a media player. I went and got myself a Motorola Droid.

I don’t get excited about phones, cameras, GPS gadgets, or mp3 players, but I gotta say this thing is pretty sweet. It does all of those things. It says, “droid,” more than maybe you’d like, but I expect I can shut that off. It’s got a 16 GB microSD card in it, so it’ll hold as much stuff as my old Nano, but it does way more than my old phone and my iPod together. I think it’ll be a good deal despite the additional charges that Verizon get’s for signing me up for the email service. Oh well, what do you do. I already put a couple audio books on it. I’m as giddy as a school boy.

Not much writing last night, though I did do some editing and I’m feeling better about what I’ve gotten so far. No writing at all tonight, so I’m going to take the weekend to get myself up to where I need to be. I think that means something like 13,336 words by Sunday night. It’s alot, and it may be more than I can do to catch up all at once, but I think I can take a good-sized chunk out of my deficit and put myself back on track. Like I said, doing the little bit of editing last night made me realize some of the bits that I needed to flesh out a bit more. What I was writing read more like a verbose outline than a story. So we’ll fix that and get Joshua Hale back in the action and get this party started.

In other news, I got the approval for my vacation. We’re going to Florida at the end of this month.

Spent today in bed. Sick. It started with a scratchy throat yesterday around noon and progressed steadily to a full blown cold. I slept until 2:30 this afternoon, got up long enough to take a phone call and write a blog post. I’m sure it’s not the flu. The symptoms are all wrong. This is just a cold. Congestion, congestion, and more congestion. I’m off to bed. Later.

I spent far too much time working on the exterior lighting at one of my branches today. What I thought was going to be maybe an hour ended up taking all day; and I get to go back with parts tomorrow. Such fun. Kinda screwed my plan for the day and subsequently my plan for the rest of the month. Now I’m going to have to scramble around tomorrow to get everything done.

NaNoWriMo is right around the corner. Sunday will be the first day of actually writing the novel. I feel pretty good about the notes I’ve got and the outline I’ve put together. There are holes. Holes in character. Holes in the story. But they’re good holes. The kind of holes that I expect to be able to fill easily as I write and get a better handle on the story, characters, and relationships within the novel. Like I said, I feel good about what I’ve got and I think this is going to be a good story.

Jay and I have the bye in our Madden league. Denis played the Rams tonight and lost. They beat me a couple weeks back. They played like superstars in both games, which is great for a team that is 0-7 in the real world. Between both our games the Rams grabbed a total of 8 interceptions. I think the AI online is being handled by a supercomputer. It’s maddening because I’ve been tweaking my settings to duplicate the AI performance online and I can’t seem to do it. Makes practicing a little difficult. Okay Kevin, play your game so we can roll the week and go face-to-face, Packers vs. Lions.

All I’ll say is that the pills have taken effect. The pain is lessening. I’ve had to make frequent stops today. And I don’t want to eat anything. Thank god for modern medicine.

I’m getting everyone up to speed because I’m a slacker. I could put all this in one post, but that defeats the purpose of using this to keep track of my life… Soooo…. the next few posts are backdated. You’ve been warned

Took the day off work. A sick day, personal day, comp. day, whatever you want to call it. I was a little worried about getting paid for the day, what with the whole freeze on unapplied time through the first of November. But sometimes you gotta take a chance.

I slept.

Later.

I signed Tasha and myself up for the 1st Steps Class at Silver Bullet Firearms. It’s a class that’ll introduce us to the basics of pistol safety and shooting over a period of 3 hours and 40 rounds of ammunition. Tasha is a bit nervous about it, but I figure if I can do it so can she. And who knows, she may actually like it. The bad part is that the class size is limited to 4, and that means we’re not scheduled to have our lesson until the 24th of September.

Did I mention that Tasha got laid off on Friday? I don’t think I did. The good news is that she got a position in another group, same company, that’ll keep her there another three months. So far she likes this group better than her previous group, has more to do, and enjoys it more. Rumors already floating to her that they’re trying to find her a permanent position… I told her not to get her hopes up because we’ve heard that before from these Amway folks. Anyway, no lapse in her paycheck so she’s happy about that.

I was hoping that we’d be on vacation this week or next. But a combination of Tasha not being jobless and my job suspending all PTO until mid November kinda put the kabash on that idea.

I’m starting to think that my cold may in fact be allergies. Never had ‘em as a kid, seem to be growing into them over the past couple years.

It’s fantasy football time again, been a few years since I’ve actually done this, and this time around I’m going to put up the cash and join my brother’s league. Chances of me winning anything are poor, but I’m hoping to have some fun. The draft is Saturday. That’ll give me an excuse to ride the Triumph out to Fenton and back. I’ll let you know how that draft turns out… I’m completely unprepared.

I think I’m going to make arrangements to visit my folks on Sunday. I’d like to have them out to see the place, but I don’t know if they’ll be wanting to make that drive for a visit. Guess I’ll call tomorrow and find out what they want to do.

I finished listening to A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett. I also read the book he wrote about the pig… can’t remember what it was called. The writing isn’t bad. And I actually enjoyed the story in this one (not so much the pig book). It’s a fun tale and makes me want to gypsy around the tropics. But I just feel like he’s getting published because he’s famous. Maybe I’m just jealous. Love his music.

Tonight I lost three more Xbox Live matches in Fight Night Round 4. So much fun. I may switch to the button punch settings, because I am obviously not getting the thumbstick punching.  Last night I played Rock Band 2. Picked up a couple new Tom Petty songs and had to try them out which led to other songs which led to, well, you get the idea. So rather than write blogs or work on my fiction or even just sit down and read; I played games the last couple nights. I’m so lame. Later.

Looks like it’s really going to happen; I’m going home. I pick up my replacement tomorrow at 1:10 pm. He’s coming in from Texas and rumor has it that he’s going to stay until the position is filled, which means I won’t be back. I’m okay with that. Vacations are fun (I think… it’s been a lot of years… can’t really remember) but living in a hotel is the pits.

My plane leaves at 7:25 am, a crazy time of the morning given the early arrival time… I’m not accustom to being anywhere at 6:30 in the morning. But I’ll be home before noon. Can’t beat that. There’ll be a little bit of the weekend left to enjoy before heading back to work.

I’m watching a show about houseboats in Tennessee on the Travel Channel. And while I don’t have any desire to live in that particular state, the idea that they have the largest houseboating market does kind of infer that there’d be bargains there and the idea of living on a houseboat does appeal to me. Or rather living on a boat appeals to me, a houseboat is not really what I have in mind and I’m looking for more water than what a lake provides. Ahh…. Daydreaming, nothing like it in the world.

I know these have been boring posts. I apologize. But at least you’re getting posts. That’s something.

Honey, I’m coming home. Later.

Thank you, to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. Wasn’t the best or worst birthday I ever had, but not bad considering. Forty-one…. Yeesh… just 28 years until retirement, give or take one or two.

Usually, I buy myself something. But this year I haven’t found anything I want. Or rather, I don’t want to buy myself anything and then have to put it on a plane to get it home J. Maybe when I get back home… I’ve got a few things in mind. Word on the street is that’ll be Saturday. I haven’t seen an airline reservation yet, so I’m not really convinced.

Anyway, I thought I was going to have more to say tonight but I’m beat. I spent the second day in a row putting out fires in two states. Thanks again for the birthday wishes. Later.

On Friday I talked to the fellow who was hired for this area, probably about 3:30pm. We decided it would be best for him to meet me here at the hotel at 8:30am and go from here.

This morning he called me at 8:10am and wanted to let me know that he wasn’t going to take the position. A better offer came in.

Okay… Thanks… Fuck! I know where this is heading. Chances of me being on that Wednesday morning flight back to Michigan just got a lot slimmer. I find it hard to believe that he got a job offer in the window I described above, but that’s neither here nor there. My issue is that I’m ready to go home and this makes that unlikely.

I talked to my boss and let him know what was going on. He made noises about finding somebody to fill in for me. But as of this afternoon there have been no takers. He’s got a couple more guys to go, so says he. We’ll see how that all works out. I fully expect that I’ll be here through Sunday. And I expect that they’ll be asking me to stay another week. I do not want this mind you; it’s just what I’m expecting. If this position paid better I might even consider taking it myself. But it’s not union and the pay scale isn’t even where I started at. So it really isn’t an option for me. Too bad, I kinda like Florida.

I slept like crap last night.

I have failed to get a stable version of City of Heroes to play on my laptop in the 4+ weeks I’ve been away from home. It freaks out the graphics card on my laptop and crashes after 10-30 minutes of play. So I’ve done a lot of aimless surfing on the internet and watched more TV than I have in 20-years. And as an added bonus, only about a third of the stuff that I thought I’d put on my iPod actually transferred. On the plus side I did chat with my buddy Joel on IM for the first time in months this weekend.

Really, that’s about all I have for you tonight. Later.

I’m in Tallahassee, FL, have been since the 2^nd and will be until either the 19^th or 20^th. I was in Columbus, GA from July 13^th to the 26^th. Both trips for work.  So I was home for 6-days, five of which were spent rushing around trying to get the month’s end work done. So I feel like I haven’t really been home for a month. It’s not a good feeling. I miss my place, my girlfriend, and my pets. Living in a hotel is the pits.

I really thought that with these trips, and the relative isolation, I’d do more blogging and maybe even some writing. But that hasn’t happened. I feel very out of my space. In Georgia, the hotel internet was flakey and about as fast as a dial-up connection. Here in Florida I have a better connection, but I had none for the first week as I had the hotel and guest services working to get the internet working. I think it finally came up solidly on Saturday afternoon. But it’s not wireless and the chair I’m sitting in has a broken height adjustment and sits too damn low for comfortable typing. I’m just full of complaints tonight. Sorry.

Georgia was interesting for the simple fact that I realized that the area I was talking about in my Thane novel, the rural Atlanta area, wasn’t at all what I thought it was like. So I’ve got to make some minor changes to that. Good to know. I was covering an area from Columbus to Augusta, so I saw a lot more of the state than I expected too.  And now that I’m in Tallahassee my route includes Albany, Tifton, Moultrie, Thomasville, and the surrounding areas… so I’m seeing even more of Georgia. And it’s given me some new ideas.

I’m not anywhere near the part of Florida that I envisioned myself. But I’ve made it to the Gulf and seen places that I could see myself living. You know, I’ve determined that it’s the sound of the ocean that does it for me. But I don’t think I can pull myself away from this union goodness that is my job anytime soon. It gives me something to shoot for. But I’m going to have to slim down again if I’m planning on living here… it’s too hot here for a fat man.

So I’m feeling very out of place and as such any ideas of productivity have flown out the window. Ah well, at least I got this post done. Later.

Tasha dropped me at the airport this morning after a bland, uninspired, overly priced breakfast at New Beginnings restaurant. There were hugs and kisses and I Love You’s all around and then I was off on my big adventure.

The trip from Grand Rapids to Atlanta was uneventful. The plane was small, 50-passengers and over sold at that so two folks had to find another ride. Rather than being an intimate feeling of snug comfort, It was rather like riding on a city bus with a bad suspension; not that horrible jarring feeling you get in turbulence, but a steady shirk, jerk, and rattle that makes you think perhaps it’s time to put this particular plane out to pasture. The guy next to me was small and got the window. He kept to himself and either dozed or read during the two hour trip, which was fine with me because it meant that I got the aisle, a little extra room to spread out, and nobody chatted me up while I was trying to read.

Atlanta airport is big, that was my first impression having never been there before. I mean, fuck, they’ve got their own train between concourses. My 2-hour layover was extended as my plane was late and let me write this post, grab a snack, and read some more. So the 1:42:00 drive (according to GoogleMaps) from the Atlanta airport to the hotel room is looking more like 2½ hours waiting for a plane and then 45-minutes on said plane followed by however long it takes to drive from the airport to the hotel. I should get there in time for dinner. I love travel.

Had to run, they changed my departure gate twice before the plane actually arrived. Then we sat waiting to take off for what seemed like forever. The actual flight was only about 30-minutes but it was still 5:30 by the time I got to Columbus, forty-five minutes late. But I’m here at last.

The ExtendedStay America Hotel I’m in is okay. I’m on the second floor with a view of the entrance roof and parking lot. But there is a microwave, stove, and refrigerator if’n I decide not to take advantage of the two meals a day that JLL is providing me. The place has laundry facilities and wi-fi (it’s slow, but invaluable). So tomorrow I’ll hit the town and get some impressions of the place. As it stands my impressions are, looks like everyplace else, only warmer.

Here’s a bummer, the van here doesn’t have an AUX port for my ipod… good thing I loaded it up with audio books. Sigh.

I’ve been away for awhile. Well, not really away, just not blogging. I have reasons. Not good reasons, but reasons. Or more accurately they’re excuses. Whatever, I’m here now.

My boys came and stayed with us for two weeks (6/21 – 7/3). It was great to see them and spend some time with them. It’s been too long. We went canoeing and go-carting and saw the transformers movie and just hung out playing Xbox, it was a nice visit.

The boys went home and Karin moved in (7/3). Yeah, I know, but I don’t think you can ever be sure they’re out for good until they’re at least 30 and she’s only 19. The plan is to get her back on a path to success and I think maybe she’s ready to do that.

This weekend I had three service calls that I was supposed to take care of; my brother wants a radiator in his bathroom, my sister has a broken air conditioner, and my buddy Gary just bought a new place and wants me to check out his furnace. Also, another friend of mine, Morme, is in town and visiting so I was scheduled to go to Kevin’s and hang out with the guys… None of that is going to happen. Instead I’m getting myself ready to go to Columbus, GA for a week. It’s a work trip not a vacation. Seems that they still haven’t found a technician to take care of that area and it’s my turn to spend a week down there working the tickets. It’s a change in the routine and maybe it’ll be fun. I’ll be back on Sunday with a report.

One big bonus for this trip is that I’ll finally make it to Georgia  and be able to do the research for my Thane novel that I never got around too; the second half of the book takes place in Georgia. I’ll be in Columbus rather than Atlanta, but they’re not that far apart and I can get a feel for the landscape and folks. Hopefully, I’ll come back with some good stuff to tighten-up and improve that section of the book.

Ignore that progress bar on the side there, it’s just a test. The writing is at a dead stop. I know why but I haven’t done anything about it yet. I have been devouring audio books of late, but my actual reading is also at a stop. I picked up a couple books for this trip and I’ll be taking my laptop so maybe I can get myself back in the saddle. No promises.

I’ve got a few other things to blog about, some that I’ll probably back-date, some that I’ll tackle during those hours in Georgia when I’m not working, and probably some that I’m thinking about that won’t actually come to pass. Such is the way of things. But whatever can you do. I’m going to try and push myself back into the saddle and get myself out of this rut that I’m in. I’m not depressed or distraught, but I sure as hell am stuck in neutral and not doing anything about it. So here’s hoping I can change that. Later.