3/7/2015: Of the Iditarod and CDL

Big day today! A very big day.

Today is the start of the Iditarod Race, the last great race, pitting man and dog against the elements as they cross 1,000 miles or so across flatland, rivers, and mountain ranges, ending about two weeks from now in Nome, Alaska.

This year is a big change from years past. Because of the very light snow pack and warm weather Alaska has had this winter, the ceremonial start will be held in Anchorage, as always, using trucked-in snow to cover the downtown streets, but the official start will not be held in Willow, as it usually is.

Instead, the dog teams will relocate father into the Interior, to Fairbanks for the start. Even there, the route has changed because the ice on the river is not nearly thick enough or stable enough to support dog team weights.

And they say the climate hasn't changed. Heck, there was even talk about relocating the Iditarod to the East Coast, starting in Boston! After all, they have all the snow.

Oh. And my license suspension ends today. Good.

3/2/2015: Baha'i Nineteen Day Fast, Day 1

I do not plan on making a daily entry about my experiences during this Fast, but anyone reading will understand that fasting is a religious experience, not just a physical refreshing of the physical body. Considering that my CDL suspension ends in less than one week - Saturday, March 7, to be exact - and I absolutely need to go back to work driving - my debtors have been very patient, but their patience is running a bit thin, and my available credit has now run out. I am hoping to attract spiritual bounties, at least in the form of a high-paying, stable job driving a truck again over the road.

If not...

Well, let's not go there. The purpose of the Fast is to cleanse the reed of my soul so beautiful sounds can come out.

2/12/2015: Random Thoughts

I'm about half way through February, on my way to March 7, the Day The Suspension Ends. Then all I have to do is find $125. And a job.

I started watching Breaking Bad on Netflix. So far, I have no opinion whether I like it or not.

I though finding "the right" trucking company to work for would be easier as an experienced driver. It isn't.

I feel the same "long weekend" kind of feelings welling up in me. I don't like having too much time off with too little to do.

That is a strange statement coming from a guy who has been sitting at home for the past 12 months.

I re-read some earlier blog posts. I haven't done very well with my goal of writing a bit each day. I think it comes with not really being able to do anything except sit in my house and not spend money.

I have a dog to get rid of before going back to work. This one will probably not be as hard as others. This dog has not warmed up to me very much, though he is obedient and, for the most part, a loyal follower. He did, however, show his teeth and growl at me one day when I was trying to get him out of the truck. That is totally unacceptable behavior for a dog to display to any human, let alone his own pack leader. Maybe it comes with age; who knows? But it makes getting rid of him much less difficult.

2/6/2015: The Worst Part

The absolute worst part about getting back into the workforce - something I definitely do not want to do, but must - is trying to look at the choices I make as both long-term and final. It's no longer a 'bucket list' item to be checked off; rather, it's looking for the last job I will have.

I turn 66 this year, am already on Medicare and Social Security, and have pretty massive debts to take care of so I can get on somewhat more stable financial ground before once again living on my pension and Social Security income, both of which are good, but not good enough right now.

Trying to make this broken-winged bird fly evenly is turning out to be a difficult process. I hope it's not insurmountable, which of course, it cannot be.

2/4/2015: What's Next, Part 2?

It is now 2015 and I must say I do not mourn the demise and departure of 2014.

All in all, it was one of my worst years in memory. I lost a (very expensive) lawsuit, requiring that I pay almost half of my retirement income for the next 20 years to a woman who lied and forged my signature on a legal document, and a lawyer who, in spite of telling me otherwise, was not aggressive in my defense. Oh, that I live that long...or she dies soon.

There were the trucking issues, support and non-support from employers, and other events and experiences that made the year one to forget, though forgetting is not something that can happen. And, of course, there was that day a year ago in Wyoming where I "met" a very angry woman looking for a way to get her fence replaced...and me, never having had a traffic ticket, paid the fine like an idiot, thus pleading guilty to, as Michigan wrote as they suspended my privileges and charged me a $2,000 fine, "leaving the scene of an accident causing property damage," though there was no accident.

And then I find that I owe $2,000 to the IRS. Again. How can that be?!? Who knows, but it is...

All I hope for is that 2015 turns into a better year.

March 2015 will arrive soon and I will reinstate my Michigan CDL; then I will hopefully find a company that will hire me. That might be challenging considering that my CDL has been suspended for the past 12 months.

I also want to write more. This is good therapy and my skills need improvement; the best way to do so is to write more. Two months between posts is not the way.

12/14/2014: What Have I Been Doing?

For the past week or so, I have worked a temporary, seasonal job as a UPS Driver Helper. Perhaps you have seen them; the second person in those brown trucks during the Christmas delivery season. My job is to help my driver, Scott, deliver packages. While I am out of the truck, he rearranges those waiting to be delivered. By doing so, we save considerable time. In fact, our day ends at about 6:00 P.M., about an hour before his normal day ends.

I start at 2:00 P.M. We meet at a nearby church on his route after he has delivered a certain part, then together we finish delivering and picking up. It's a physical job, entailing handling lots of packages of all sizes and weights up to 75 pounds. And there are thousands of steps! Steps to the houses and back to the truck and two steps up into the truck. Right now as I sit here on Sunday, my right knee is a bit tight, which I expected -- it is, by far, the least 'healthy' of the two knees.

But tomorrow, I do it all over. It's not a bad gig, paying $15.00 an hour. The weather has cooperated, too; unlike last year, so far there has been no snow while I've been working. I won't mind if it stays like this through December 31, when this gig ends.

Then it can snow and I hope it does. I have another seasonal job as a shoveler for a commercial plow company.mthat one will pay $18.00 an hour, money I really need!

12/13/14 - What Silliness

Somehow, humans get all excited when numbers for things like dates line up sequentially. It is no different for this one, the last time it will happen in the 21st Century. Is it significant? Is it an omen? Does it portend some vision of the future?

No. It is just a silly, yet enjoyable, occurrence.

So, enjoy it. It's the last of its kind in your lifetime...unless, of course you stay alive until you are really old!