Not gone and not forgotten

Just a quick note to the effect that “I am very sorry for neglecting my blog”. There are various good reasons for my lapse but the main one is the boss’s view that “you shouldn’t let having a life get in the way of work”.

Well, we seemed to have worked out a roster that gives some predictability to my comings and goings and I may be able to resume my life to a limited degree. Of course, the only way to truly get my life back is to give up driving but because I’ve been doing this for over twenty years I’m afraid I wouldn’t know what to do with myself anyway.

I have allowed my self one small indulgence that my new freedom will allow me – a fish tank, with real fish (well, they’re alive as I write this). With the level of automation available for home aquariums today my frequent absences aren’t really a problem. A dog would be a bit harder to maintain, and frankly – if can’t have my dog actually with me then I wouldn’t do something as cruel as locking it up in the backyard all day/week. But with an automatic feeder to take care of dinner time a fish is pretty much in fish heaven. The feeder works independently of mains power so as long as I keep an eye on the batteries all should be ok. The fish are the low maintenance type and tank maintenance once a week or fortnightly is all that is required. And aquariums have fascinated me since I was old enough to stand up and press my nose against the glass.

Got to go – I swear I just saw two of them having a naughty off in the corner of the tank. That behaviour will not be tolerated in my aquarium.

Cheers, Mike.

Holidays-The Aftermath.

You know that sound that signals the return of reality? That really loud, discordant,crashing,unearthly sound of the alarm clock telling you to get up and get behind the wheel right now or you’re going to be late and you probably won’t be able to make up time for the rest of the week? Well, that happened to me last Monday and pretty much all I’ve done for the last week is eat/sleep/drive.

Welcome home. Welcome back from holidays. Welcome to work. Welcome to my reality. Now go away and let me mope around and complain about the unfairness of it all.

Ok, I’m not that heartbroken about it. It was a good break and if it had lasted longer I would have had to plan more stuff to do so I didn’t start climbing the walls or ring all my friends to find out what I was missing out on (although I did call twice to check up on my truck).

I will admit my first week back at work was a little rougher than ideal. A few issues with trailer light wiring, a faulty speed sensor (causing the cruise control to not work), a flat trailer tyre and the loss of power to the bunks interior lights. The trailer tyre is no big drama – considering that I have 62 tyres , not counting the 6 spares, and I haven’t had to change any on the side of the road for the last 6 months. I think I’m ahead of the game there. The bunk lights have proven to be more then just a blown fuse though, and I haven’t had the time to start tracking the problem down with the circuit tester. I’m not due home for 3 more days so I have to either make time to fix it or do without – it’s not a critical fault so my deliveries come first. The show must go on!

Cheers, Mike.