Oxymorons For Dummies

Now then, my faithful readers, this is the final version of a true story. I’ve worked for a company that has a huge niche software market for several years. I also have a home office from which I take care of daily business when not on the road. I have a pretty ugly travel schedule these days, and I can’t really give you an exact estimate of my annual trips, but I’ve spent a small fortune in expenses. It was nothing much, based upon the initial results, to say the least. I’ve also had some ill health these days, but I’m terribly pleased with the fact that I’m better now. It’s almost exactly eight hours before I have to get back on the road again, and since I don’t want this post to be completely unfinished, I’ll leave you with some friendly advice -- always remember not to be redundant by repeating yourself. Same difference, don’t you think? If not, you’ve clearly misunderstood the whole meaning of this post. Good grief! See ya.

Back To Basics

I was doing some light reading a little while ago, and I found a personal item which caused me to reflect on the last few years. A combination of factors led me to take another job which not only consumed my time and life, but caused a rift within my personal life. I've been avoiding any kind of personal life because of a series incidents that happened a little over three years ago, which also caused a rift within my family. I recently read an article in one of the airline magazines that dealt with the topic of overwork and over-scheduling of our children and ourselves. Well, I don't have any kids that I know about, but I do agree that we do seem to define ourselves to some degree by the work that we do. Sometimes, we forget that our jobs are just that -- our jobs. It was about three years ago when I stopped having that life separate from work, and it was so gradual to me that I never really noticed or believed it. Hey, it happened, and it's time that I did something about it. Now, all I need is an "I told you so" from my friend Jon, and this posting will be complete. In the last several weeks, I have been slowly starting to get my life back, and I never really understood the full reason why until today. It's about time, isn't it? See ya.

Stuck In The Seventies

Greetings, gentle readers. Returning to the mundane events of my life at home, I decided that it was time to finish up my scanner project for the year 1978. I returned from dinner with Jon and Lulu tonight, and Jon had mentioned that he was six during that time. Hey, I wasn't much older than that. Yet, I have papers and other things from 1978 that I am trying to scan into my computer and then throw away. You see, I still have the paperwork explosion as I mentioned earlier. It's amazing that I haven't left the 1970's yet in my scanner project. I'm hoping that I get into the 80's soon. Hey, remember the 80's? See ya.

Rezoning Issues

It all started this morning when I entered that other dimension. You know, that dimension not of sight or sound, but of mind. I entered the Twilight Zone this morning. I'm staying in North Carolina for a few days, but I popped up to Connecticut for the day. This has been a surreal day, as I traveled without checked luggage for the first time in quite a while. Dateline: Downtown Hartford. I entered a food court that was completely empty in the middle of the day. In fact, at 3pm, there is no place to get any food in Downtown Hartford whatsoever. Restaurants are locked, food courts are closed, and hot dog vendors raced away. In some strange twist of fate, I actually knew where I was going on the highways. How weird! When I returned to Durham, I swear I heard someone in my room, and my key didn't work. So, I returned to the front desk, and changed my key. When I got in, I could hear the TV going until I opened the door, and there was dead silence, inside and outside the room. So, unless my room is haunted, I guess this has all been a strange coincidence. Maybe I've only been in the Flashlight Zone, a smaller, and more affordable version of the aforementioned Twilight Zone. See ya.

Need A Lift?

Otis Elevator Company opened their doors 140 years ago today. As I have a deep appreciation for elevators (especially the "up" kind), I thought it would be appropriate to say happy anniversary. After all, Otis brought us not only elevators, but escalators and moving sidewalks. I make use of all of those conveyances regularly, and my feet are most appreciative. Ok, it's really time for me to get back on the road again, before I start talking about chewing gum or sweatsocks. I'm off to Indianapolis tomorrow, and then it's onward to Durham once again, where I hope to take several elevators, escalators, and moving sidewalks. Anyway, back to the mess of paperwork that's still on the floor. I never really stayed up late last night to take care of it. I must be getting old. I can't seem to stay up until 4am any more. Oh, well. Until next time. See ya.

It All Started With A Haircut

So, back the mundane events of my life. It all started when I decided to get a haircut the other day. You can tell that I've been grounded for too many days when I start to think about hairstyles. Actually, I haven't changed my hairstyle since I was four or five years old, so if you knew me back then, well you could still identify me by the hair. After that, I had a few meetings and a lot of phone calls. I decided to sign up for some volunteer work once again. It's been at least three or four years since I've done some community work, so I guess it's about time that I started again. After that, I decided that I really needed to play "catch up" with my editorials. I've never really been ahead of the game, but I just started some of my spastic writings for next month's column at my Road Warrior site. Now, I'm in the process of working through that mess that I call my desk. The paperwork expansion extended itself onto my floor and to the other end of the room. After that, the scanner project continues -- 1970's, here I come. You see, it all started with a haircut. I get less and less motivated when my hair gets longer. I can't seem to explain that. I must be making up for some sort of loss when the hair gets cut. Oh well, it sounds like I'll be busy for the rest of the night. See ya.

Once Again, There's No Stopping Me Now . . .

My Road Warrior site is ready to go, and I just changed the DNS settings successfully, so within the next couple of days, I should be back in business. Just like the last time I wrote something using this title, I have another big laundry day. I've got a lot of expenses and other mail to catch up tonight. Also, I just moved some furniture around to make it a little easier to access my printer and position my air cooling devices. Then I can get back to the scanner project, as I move forward within the 1970's. Welcome back to my readers at the Road Warrior site! As I said earlier, there's no stopping me now! See ya.

All Patriots Please Rise . . .

. . . because today is Constitution Day. Yep, 216 years ago today, the Constitution of the United States was signed. Granted, ratification did not occur by the states for some months afterword, but we recognize today as the anniversary. We've come a long way since then. Many laws and documents have come forth to speak of our rights. Earlier, the Declaration of Independence protects our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I'm not going to take you on a walk throughout history, but it helps to remember these things every so often. It would be tragic if these rights were abrogated or forgotten. One of the rights guaranteed by our consitution gives us the right to free speech, a right to which I exercise regularly in all of my editorials. So, as I mentioned before, the rantings will continue. All patriots, please rise. See ya.

The Ironic Foreshadowing

In the 80’s, there was a popular comic strip by political satirist Berkeley Breathed called Bloom County. Remember it? You know, Opus the Penguin and Bill the Cat? Oh, come on, it wasn’t that long ago. Well, anyway, toward the end of the line for the strip, one of the characters was contemplating a sense of permanence. That’s kind of how I feel these days. I’ve got that same sense of permanence going forward. Yes, everything is that wonderfully stable in the job market these days. Yes, I’m dabbling in some ironic foreshadowing. Or at least, I’m hopeful about that. We’ll all find out soon enough. As always, though, the rantings will continue. See ya.

Risky Business

Risks are important in everyday life. I've often contemplated why I had been so risk averse in earlier years. I've changed quite a bit in the last few years, probably in reaction to the fact that the world has changed also. I think it has something to do with the fact that I have taken quite a few more risks in life. Being a human target on various airlines these days just adds to all of the excitement. After all, I have quite a few more things that I'd like to accomplish before I get too much older. I'll write more about those wonderful risks in that book that I need to finish, which will be coming soon on that other website of mine. Hmmm, I think I also need to dust off my copy of Risk to see if the green guys can capture the Northern Territories from the orange guys. See ya.

The Forms Of Things Unknown

No, I'm not talking about the Outer Limits classic from the 60's about the murdered blackmailer, although it was a really good episode. I'm talking about something a bit more real than that. Ever try to get your property, taxes, and other life issues in order? Oh, the mountains of forms that you have to fill out. Believe it! In everyday life, there are so many stupid forms out there that request all sorts of information from us. I mean, really... Why does the supermarket need to know my t-shirt size? Why does the bank want to know what I do for leisure activities? Why do the airlines want to know my shoe size? I'm filling out some forms right now. I've got financial information forms for the bank, and other forms that I'm working on for my taxes. I wonder if I should put a footnote in there to tell them that I'd enjoy a side of fries with that. See ya.

The Buggy Whip Syndrome

I'm still in the running for another career change, but I'm still not getting my hopes up, even as my company went through yet another bunch of firings today. After all, it's closing in on the end of the quarter. What better time to fire people, right? *Sarcastic grin* Anyway, it continues onward, just like the movie Other People's Money. We're just pawns in the larger game at the moment. If you don't know what my title means, rent the movie. It's worth watching. I've got to take care of a lot of personal stuff this weekend, before I embark on the next Flight of The Road Warrior, so I will sign off for now. See ya.

And So I Returned . . .

I just got back home, and it's been one of those hectic travel weeks, but I'll leave those rants to my other blog (if I can ever get it back up and running). I've got a lot of stuff to do in the morning. It's after midnight, as usual, and I'm just starting the work that I have for my personal life. It never ends, does it? I'm still considering a career change, but I'm not strongly pursuing it yet. It all depends on what happens in the next few weeks. I've stopped working full days on Sundays, and stopped working on holidays also. My next visit is to San Diego on Monday afternoon, so I've got yet another free weekend. I've got to get a life. See ya.

Laundry Daze

Well, I'm off again. Insanity is no excuse, to be sure. Ha! Anyhow, I've got an early flight to Baton Rouge, but I've got almost four hours in Dallas, so it's going to take all day to get there. I think I arrive close to 9pm, even though I leave at 8am. Bummer! Anyway, one more round of laundry tonight and I've caught up. Five loads of laundry in two days sure doesn't sound like a thrilling holiday weekend, but I guess it could be worse. I had a few meetings with a contractor, and another set of interviews for cleaning crews and other workers to get bids for one of my projects. The usual boring stuff. I'm glad to be back in the field tomorrow. It's got to be more productive for me than watching a Law & Order marathon on TNT today. On the road again for me. See ya.