Things are looking better

Hello, again! It's been a while. I'm sitting in a Starbucks in Escondido, CA, while my group is eating at a nearby restaurant. I bought in on a Starbucks offer about 7 months ago, $25/year for a 10% discount on almost everything they sell, and, more importantly, access to their wifi network. Gives me the opportunity to get away from the bus and spend some time online. Otherwise, it's not uncommon to be bored for hours on end. Anyhow, business has picked up considerably, and I've been quite busy. Just found out yesterday that a major ski trip that canceled last New Year's is a "go" this year. That's good news, that trip (and another in March) canceling really hurt. So, 2010 is looking a lot better than 2009. Hopefully the same is true with you. Merry Christmas!

October=Vacation!

Hello from Farmington, NM.... home to daughter Sabrina and grand-daughters Chloe & Jade. How did we come to be here? Jacque suggested to Sabrina, when told Sabrina needed to attend an event back east, that we come take care of the grand-kids while Sabrina did her trip. Sabrina thought that was a grand idea, and so we arrived several days ago. Our grand-kids are 8 & 4. No big deal, we've both been down this path before . Except, of course, on the first day we're "in charge", Chloe (the 8-year-old) comes down with the flu! We are praying the whole time that Jade, the 4-yr-old, didn't follow suit. So far, she hasn't (WHEW!). Poor Chloe, her flu hasn't been easy. We thought she was "out of the woods" yesterday, but no joy. Last night was difficult, again (The night before was worse). I feel so badly for Chloe, while Jacque and I are re-discovering the joys of sleep deprivation! Anyhow, mom returns tomorrow. We're just hoping we get thru this evening in better shape than the other nights. Wish us luck!

Basically, I'm on vacation.....

September has been really slow at the bus company I drive for; so slow, I'm basically just considering it "vacation". My real vacation starts in a few days, Jacque and I are going to New Mexico and Colorado to visit relatives and enjoy the scenery. I was talking to another driver who said he'd taken nearly 2 months off, basically because it was so slow and he wanted to see friends and relatives scattered around the country that he hadn't seen in years. I think, by the time this year's over, I'll be looking at about a 60-hours/2-week average. Pretty incredible, when I look back at all those years when it was way above 80-hours/2-week average. Hopefully, 2010 will be better. Anyhow, there is some good news here; Jacque's been getting lots of bonuses and extra hours, so her income is way up, and at least partially offsetting my lacking income. She'll make more than me this year, for the first time, by quite a margin. Fine with me, it all goes into supporting our lifestyle. And all the time off is kinda nice, to be perfectly honest. Except when I look at my paycheck!

Mellow August... not any more!

Hello again from San Diego, where the high at our little mobile home is supposed to be around 90 degrees today. It's well on its way already. We're about 5 miles from the water; go inland another 10 miles and it's going to be around 106! But so far, up till a couple days ago, August has been really pleasant, with temps below average for this time of year. So, no complaints. Not that anybody would listen, anyway :)
It's been SLOW at work, my hours are WAY down. Thank God Jacque's hours and bonuses are up, that's pretty much offsetting the difference. September still looks pretty slow, but hopefully will pick up a bit. October looks more promising. That's as far as our work forecast goes, but November and December are traditionally slow, so I expect to limp through the remainder of this year. Hopefully 2010 will be better!

Mid-Summer Heat Wave

Wow, it's HOT! At least for us, here in SoCal. Temps are breaking the century mark in inland valleys, in the upper 80's and low 90's here where we live, with the Pacific Ocean in sight. Add to that the fact that it's rather humid too, and you understand why we're a bit uncomfortable here. Jacque and I are jumping on the company bus for a Las Vegas trip this weekend, it's supposed to be 113 on Friday! That'll keep the air conditioners humming. Well, it is July, after all, so I guess it shouldn't be a surprise. I just came back from my Independence Day trip to Yosemite. A great trip, blissfully uneventful! I stayed in Oakhurst, a small California mountain town nestled in at around 2300' elevation, so it gets plenty warm there, too. As a result, days were mostly spent inside, with walks in the morning and evening. There's a quaint 1880's-era cemetery close by, I took a few pictures of it, including one of a beautiful old chapel and one of (I think) an eerie headstone. Tell me if you agree... (click on it to enlarge it... it's even scarier!)

Bored in Ventura

Well, actually Camarillo. I'm here on my annual Memorial Day out-of-town trip. Which, for the past few years, has been here. A really easy trip, it involves bringing my passengers up to Camarillo on Thursday, late, after all the traffic. Then, Friday morning I take them to the boat landing where they board a boat for Channel Islands National Park. I go take care of my business (dump the head, get diesel fuel), and I'm basically done and on my own until 1800 or so on Monday. Pick up the hikers, stop immediately for dinner, and head back to San Diego after the worst of the returning holiday traffic is over. What's not to like? Well, just gets a bit boring. I do have the laptop, and a semi-decent Internet connection, and a TV, and a book, and walking shoes, and a Fry's Electronics about 5 miles from here. I can drive the bus there, and did yesterday. But, otherwise, the bus stays parked. One thing I did do that was kind of fun; I set up Jacque with a Skype account before I left San Diego, so we could teleconference. Skype software is especially easy to use that way. It worked great! But, still, there's hours of "not much to do". I guess that's why they pay me to sit here, I'm not home with my wife. Doesn't happen all that often, so no big deal. Next trip (AFAIK) is 4th of July, also a 5-day trip. Only, quite a bit more work on that one....

Busy, busy.....

It's that time of year; it's busy at the bus company. I just returned from a Fresno/Merced trip last night, and I leave for a 5-day Ventura trip this afternoon. The Fresno trip did not go off without a hitch; one of our newest coaches developed an issue, twice, inconveniencing my group and maddening me. Oh well, even new machines screw up sometimes.....

Burning Time in Oakhurst

Starbucks is my location this afternoon.... Starbucks in Oakhurst, CA. My group is busy doing their thing in Yosemite, while I hang out here, to return early Sunday morning to pick them up and go home to San Diego. My motel has the strangest Internet issue I've run across in a while. Attempting to sign on via their web-based authentication resulted in a Certificate error... their Security Certificate was self-signed. I worked around that, but they have some strange DNS (Domain Name Server) issues. Sometimes the server, DNS Advantage, finds the address, some times it doesn't. We're talking basic stuff here, like www.google.com. The best one was when they couldn't find their OWN address, www.dnsadvantage.com! That I found humorous. Anyhow, I finally packed up the laptop and walked the 3 blocks or so to Starbucks, where my Gold Card allows me 2 hours of free Wi-Fi daily. It's working great.
Otherwise, it's a cool day here, kind of a pleasant change from the usual. Guess I'll get in a walk later this afternoon.....

Yosemite 2009, 2nd Visit, 3rd Visit Soon.....

Wow, it's been a while! I returned from an annual Yosemite trip a few days ago... on the way back, while driving the bus down CA99 in the San Joaquin Valley, dispatch is asking me if I want to do another Yosemite trip. Sure, I say, why not? It leaves tomorrow morning, I'll be heading to bed soon. The bags are packed (actually, they never got un-packed), and I'm headed north once again. It's funny, really, in a way; for years, I was the "Mammoth Lakes guy", the one dispatch called for any Mammoth trip, regardless of the season. Those trips have dried up, but now I go to the other side of the Sierras! Anyhow, I just posted pix from my previous trip to Yosemite, available by clicking here. Off to bed I go.............

Minnesota Trip

A couple weeks ago, I flew back to MN to visit family. Yeah, the economy sucks, and my income is down, but there was this killer fare on Sun Country, $229 round-trip, after everything, and a direct flight to boot. My parents aren't getting any younger (who is??), my dad's 85 now, and my mom will be 80 soon. The visit was really the brainchild of Jacque, my wife. Oh, I'd been pondering flying back, but had been turned off by the fares I'd found. But Jacque said I should *REALLY* try to find a good fare. And there it was! I used Kayak , an agregator of a number of other sites. Anyhow, the trip's history now, but I'm really glad it worked out; I had some real quality time with my parents. After returning to San Diego, Jacque and I decided to get back on the South Beach Diet. We'd achieved ideal weights about 2 years ago, but the usual recidivism kicked in and it's been slowly creeping up. Neither one of us wants a serious weight problem, so we're focusing on this diet now. Afterward, I think we'll be monitoring our diet a bit closer, to avoid a repeat (I hope...). I love sweets! Chocolate, candy, cake, pastries, you name it. Toss that in with a couple glasses of wine in the evening, and some chips for the late-night munchies, and you have a looming weight issue once again!

24 Fan.... Seriously!

I just watched the latest episode of 24, with Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer. This show is 100% testosterone-fueled guy show! My wife couldn't care less, I leave the episode with my heart racing. Just watched the latest on Hulu.com, a great site for tons of network programming and much more. One almost doesn't need a DVR or DVD recorder any more.

Riders on the Storm.......

Whoa, there's a major winter storm brewing here tonight. I'm in Yosemite, on my annual February trip (also do one in April). I've had a group of cross-country skiers here for the past 3 days, after driving up to Oakhurst the first night. So, this is the end of day 4 right now, we head home tomorrow. At least, if Old Man Winter lets us! The NWS has posted a winter storm warning, and the satellite shot looks impressive. So does the radar. I was actually able to drop the chains for my afternoon run, the weather was deceptively nice in front of the storm. Every morning, I take skiers up to badger Pass, at 7000', on Glacier Point Road. Then return to the 4000' valley floor. Well, the snow level is supposed to drop to 3500'. Do I need to explain more? I debated chaining up anyway tonight, as I put the bus to bed, just so I wouldn't have to do it in the morning. But, weather forecasting is an imperfect science; if they're off just a little bit, it could be rain here in the valley floor. I'll have to put chains on sooner or later (sooner), but might as well wait till it was necessary. So, the weather will be diagnosed by yours truly in the morning. I have a sneaking suspicion the chains will be coming out! Might be a little tricky heading south tomorrow on CA Hwy 41, I'm crossing my fingers on that one.
In the meantime,my wonderful mate Jacqueline is in Colorado Springs, for a memorial service for her father, who passed away last Thursday. I would be with her except that I was committed to this trip and my father-in-law's demise came rather suddenly. My heart goes out to her, and our family impacted by Bob's death. She had planned originally to fly back to watch over her dad in his final days with her brother Mike, when her dad went downhill suddenly and passed before she arrived. So, the meaning of her visit has changed from the original, now it's a celebration of the life of her dad. The memorial service is tomorrow. I sure wish I was there............

Good morning! While most of the country is in the grips of Old Man Winter, it's supposed to be 79 degrees here at my house today, woo-hoo! That sounds a whole lot better than -25 wind chills. One of my brothers sent me a Weather Channel webpage snapshot the other day, -33 where he lives, actual temperature! DAMN! Now that's just plain cold! At least if I lose my job, I won't freeze to death. And the employment picture is actually looking a wee bit better. Business has picked up, and the next 45 days don't look so bleak as the last 45 days. I heard some pretty eye-opening stories from fellow employees who obviously are suffering a whole lot more than I am. One was telling me it was either milk or gasoline the other day. Another drove into work on empty, with no money for gas for the way home. So, I guess I shouldn't complain. Of course, there'll be pressure on Dispatch by these guys (and women) because they've fallen so far behind. Meaning, I need to keep reminding Dispatch that I have bills too. I'm pretty altruistic about not griping about getting "run around" on work... to a point.

Tough Times

The sad state of our economy has caught up to me... as well as all my fellow drivers at the bus company. Hours are WAY off. It's normally a slow time of year anyhow, but it's particularly dismal right now. As a result, and after numerous requests, I've started doing computer repairs for people in the mobile home complex I live in. I was apprehensive at first, it's a bit weird to enter someone's home and start working on a totally unfamiliar computer, but oh well, I need to make some $$$. Most of the work is the usual stuff.... software glitches, viruses, familiarization lessons. I haven't run into any hardware issues yet, but that's a certainty.
Ironically, the one embarrassing thing is my inability to type! Never learned! So, it's "hunt and peck". Somehow, "computer gurus" are expected to be able to type at blazing speed....