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It is hard being on the road over 200 nights a year...away from your family, isolated in many ways. It definitely isn't for everyone. This blogs represents the thoughts of just one such person. Read along and find out if the road is for you.
This is my new blogchalk:
United States, Georgia, Gainesville, Unity of Gainesville, English, John, Male, reading, RE Investing. :)
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Friday, November 01, 2002
At least it is Friday! No 1 Ago today. It is not that I don’t have the time. It just wasn’t that memorable a day 1 year ago.
Finally, the end to what seemingly has been a long and strange week. The funny thing is, what occurred this week wasn’t how I expected it to in the least. I can see why I am more comfortable on the road than I am when like this week, I worked locally. So that means, I drove to the client’s location about 35 miles away and came home each night. Normally, you would think that is a good thing, but I didn’t find any comfort in it at all.
I have got up 1.5 hours early every morning to review what I need to train the clients on that day. I thought I was past that, but with me having to learn the new software as I teach it, this is going to be part of my life when I am working close to home. Otherwise, I actually would do it the night before.
I guess I get frustrated by Julie talking out of both sides of her mouth. Let me ask a quick question here. Do all women operate by trying to promote guilt?
What do I mean by this? Well, whenever I am about to leave for the week, she makes me feel like a moron for going to work. She openly questions why I just don’t take a couple of days off or makes a comment like, “Why don’t you just tell Da Company not to schedule you 5 days a week? Don’t they know what it does to your personal life?” That is the start of it.
Then during the week, I dutifully call at least once a day (God help you if you don’t) and get to hear how much she misses me not being there and how she wishes I was home instead of on the road at the clients. More guilt. (Not to self: start changing that habit of calling daily!)
Of course when I do have a week at home like this one, what happens? She expects me to cook on Tuesday night (as she arrived home late after taking Artemus (the “best kitty in the world”) to the vet. (That whole issue ticks me off to begin with. Not because the cat needs to see the vet. But last Thursday night, she phoned me to say she was calling in with an excuse to take Friday off from work. She really just didn’t want to go because she was tired from just having took 2 weeks off. Her explanation to me was that she was worried about Artemus’ tail looking like it had been bit. Of course, when I got home on Friday evening, she had decided that he didn’t need to go after all [but she still took the day off from work])
But as usual, I digress. So I stop at the store and make a shrimp stir-fry for dinner when she finally saunters in around 7:30.
I got off work a little early on Wednesday, so I call her on the drive home. She is at the church and they have a special “to do” going on for Halloween. She asks, “I know you have a cold, but do you want to come over here?” I tell her I don’t want to go out more than I have to. I will be home soon she says. She finally arrives between 9:30 and 10.
Thursday afternoon has me calling and when I ask what is for dinner (dinnertime is always a “surprise” for her. I guess she doesn’t realize that it comes every day!) She indicates she is starved and wants to go out. No big deal. I arrive home and she is on the phone with her sister. Still no big deal. But after she completes her call, she plays games on the computer for another 40 minutes and doesn’t even acknowledge me till she is satisfied with her score. That does tick me off!
So maybe today is about my ranting a little to let off some steam. Sometimes I feel that is the only power I have. I know deep inside that is not true. Why is it I can tell business presidents that what they do is so screwed up and not think twice and yet when I have situations like this week, I don’t speak up more strongly? That is one good thing about this blogging business. At least I do get it off my chest.
I guess this is something else to put on my “renewal” list of re-inventing myself for the coming year. And this is the end of the week, one that happened with a payday, so I guess it isn't as bad as it could be.
posted by John Panico at 7:15 AM
Tuesday, October 29, 2002
What are we going to do about that now?
I am a little bit frustrated this morning. Why? I guess on several counts.
- I guess I a more used to being on the road when I blog than at home. I actually enjoy this blogging stuff, even if no one reads it (you do read it don’t you?) But since I am home working locally all week, my blogging time will be effected somewhat. I will feel like someone is looking over my shoulder or something. That is weird, because I will stand behind anything I said, but I still feel that way.
- I was looking at this little part time business that had the potential to be a little lucrative (It would have brought in $2k - $10K over the net with little work). But it is going to be more difficult to start than I may want to take on and the competition is already giving away the service in their pricing. I am not giving up on this just yet, but am also kicking in plan #2. The grand plan includes the coffee house, but I just don’t have the time at the moment. Better to put my energy elsewhere right now.
- I got pre-approved for a mortgage here in Georgia, but something about the mortgage guy is disconcerting. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there is something that bothers me about him. I should listen to my inner self about this. I am happy with my real estate agent though. He seems to not only understand the type of property I am looking for, but actually believes in the concept.
My house looks like a tornado hit it. I won’t say I am the neatest guy on the planet, but I like things to be in order. Well, right now, they are definitely not! I need to work on that.
How can you be energized in one moment and feel the depths of despair in the next one? I try to live in the moment, because that is all we have, but I do wonder sometimes. God, I have been manifesting pretty well lately, so I am letting the universe know that I need a partner in all areas of my life. Someone who will not only encourage me, but roll up their sleeves and get there with me. I do want someone who loves life, but is not afraid of the work involved in living on this plane. I don’t care if this is a business partner, or a more intimate one. I want to have changes made in my life and I look forward to seeing them come. Thanks for listening God.
posted by John Panico at 6:52 AM
Monday, October 28, 2002
Back to the grind…No 1 Ago today. I am just catching up.
In some ways it seems like eons since I have been blogging. On the other hand, since my last blog, life has once again become a blur. But a good blur overall!
To quickly catch up, I spend 8 days in Puerto Rico. Aside from almost breaking a couple of my fingers, the time off was welcome and the vacation went well overall.
Things didn’t start so well for the vacation as the hotel I was promised was not the hotel I actually stayed in. Not that the hotel was a dump, it wasn’t. But I was expecting from the travel agent a really grand place (Wyndham El Conquistador Hotel) and I got a decent place (Wyndham Condado Plaza). I was promised an ocean view and ended up only getting a bay view (and only after complaining) In fairness to the Condado folks, they were renovating the ocean view rooms.
Some of the things I did on the trip:
- Arecibo Observatory - site of the world's largest single-dish radio telescope. You may recognize it from the movies “Contact” and the James Bond flick Golden Eye.
- El Yunque (rhymes with junkie) Rainforest – interesting. I kept thinking about what explorers must have thought when they came upon this dense, highly lush vegetation. (I always wonder when I see sights like this what settlers were thinking and admire their tenacity and courage for going forward in the face of adversity. I know I wouldn’t have done it.)
- The Bioluminescent Tour – Hidden along the Caribbean coast is one of the most spectacular Bioluminescent Bays in the world! The mysterious blue-green light is created by microorganisms, which thrive in an environment uniquely suited to their needs. It was literally a magical experience! Fish flash by in dark water, and a swim is like floating through stardust. I will get the pictures back this weekend and post them if they came out. This is a must do and the highlight of my vacation! If you are in Puerto Rico, check out Hillbilly Tours. The site isn’t great, but his services are! We went on his bioluminescent tour on a night with a full moon. This was a killer experience and his rates are actually cheaper than anyone else’s.
Vacation over, I headed back home and missed my connecting flight in Miami. That caused a bit of a problem at Da Company since I was supposed to be at the customers on Thursday morning. But all worked well since I had Monday free and the client was relatively close. I drove to Chattanooga on Thursday evening, worked Friday and then drove back home. I will repeat it again as I work there on Monday.
Spoke with Deborah on Thursday. I have to say that she kind of depressed me with her conversation. Do I do that when I whine about Da Company here? If I do, shoot me. Of course, my complaints about Da Company are much more valid than hers (LOL). She complains that she didn’t get a hotel that provides breakfast free of charge (even though she still expenses the breakfast). Nevertheless, I do like her and she can always make me smile with some of the things she says.
I also spoke to Lynette on Thursday evening. I wish I could feel better about her mental state. I actually feel she is in denial about her situation. On the other hand (I seem to use that term a lot lately), she doesn’t want help from anyone and especially from me. So, if you are reading this, at least hold her in your thoughts and support her when possible. I still care for her well-being, but I don’t have the attachment that I once had for her. Still, I wish only the best for her.
My weekend was pretty full as well. Saturday morning I spent running network cabling at the church. This is turning out to be a pretty satisfying task. I didn’t volunteer for it, but I have enjoyed the work. At least this time I had some help. The previous times I had been working on networking the church, I have been doing it solo. Not because I wanted to, but because I was the only one who showed up. This time, I had 3 willing helpers and the time spent was fun.
Saturday evening, I went to see the Potluck Players perform their version of War of the Worlds. If you can get your mind back before CNN and instant news updates on TV and radio, you can actually understand the hysteria that this radio broadcast created. It was a lot of fun as they had the audience participate as well.
The extra hour gained on Saturday evening wasn’t much help for me. I still woke up and did the Sunday rituals that I so enjoy by myself. I really like the time I have on Sunday mornings of getting up, making some coffee, going out and buying a couple of papers, head back to the house, and have music going in the background as I read leisurely.
Overall, I guess vacation has done its part in re-charging my batteries. I feel rested both mentally and physically. It has also brought some clarity to other situations (where to buy a house, a business opportunity that I will be pursuing this week and long term goals with Da Company) in my life. The only thing that is depressing is comparing this year’s pay to last years. Yes, I did take a month off due to the surgery, but that should only hurt one month’s bonus. I figure I will probably make 10% less this year than last. Still not bad money, but I want to monitor Da Company closely to look for cracks in the dam.
Despite Lori’s assurances of filled schedules, I will have flown about 30% less this year than last. Last year I did over 130 flights on Delta alone. This year, I will be lucky to hit Platinum (100 flights).
This has been long enough.
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