A quiet morning…

This morning is very quiet. We don’t have any guest with us that I have to worry about waking up and David is sleeping in so peacefully. Of course, I have slept in, by almost a full hour. That is a record for me and now that I’m awake, it’s time to get some writing done.

Later today, I may actually use the desktop computer and let Dave play around on the laptops. I plan on trying to get as much writing done this weekend as possible. We don’t have much to do at all, but of course I’m sure my brain will tell me things I need to get done to pull me away from the writing.

My outline/synopsis is going well. I am almost ready to start breaking it down into scenes and really just writing the damn novel. Everyone who knows me, knows that I’m terrified of actually succeeding. Everyone say’s I’m good and I feel that I am, but in the past I never felt I was ready or worthy of actually succeeding. Now it’s different. My life has changed so much that I feel that I can take on the world and win; hence the new outlook on my writing.

I am going to start writing everyday again. Not only trying to keep up with my blog, but actually writing on my book and do some short stories as well. I need to read more and more and more, which I have started doing again. I love my Nook from Barns & Noble. Everyone raves about Kendle’s but again, if you know me, I want something that will read other peoples stuff, not something that was made just to compete with an original idea. But, I’m not here to do an advertisement or put down the other one, both are great devices. Each to their own they say. All I know is that I’m writing and will continue to write.

I am looking forward to the next 24 hour writing contest, which I am going to enroll here in just a little bit.

Back home…

I am back home after training in Dallas. I had a great week there and enjoyed all the people that I met. I learned a lot, but it will take me awhile to implement everything I learned here in Tyler.

Every terminal has different ways of doing things and in a small one, well things kind of get mashed together. Things have to be done quicker and shortcuts made because there are less people to help. Where Dallas had a different department to do everything, with 3 or 4 people in each department, it’s just me and 2 other people. 1 is the terminal manager and the other is the warehouse guy. Like I said, it will take me time to get everything smoothed out and implemented.

At least my day’s will go by fast.

Back at home…

I am glad to be home. The last week has been crazy. I learned a lot and I am going to like my job. So much was crammed into my head this week that it will take time to sort through everything while I’m doing it at my job.

The person I am replacing I can honestly say they probably knew they were being fired. They pretty much quit doing their work weeks prior to their last day. There are things in the OS&D queue from October that should never have made it to the next month, let alone the next year. I will be quite busy over the next couple of weeks.

I am also going to sign up for the next 24 hour writing contest again. I figure it is about time I start entering things again and this will slowly put me in the mood to get some other things rewritten and submitted as well.

Good week so far…

I have been in training for my new job this week in Dallas. So far so good. I already like the company I am working for and so do the people I have been training with. Everyone seems very happy here and have been here 10 + years. They don’t have the high turnover rate that most trucking companies, hell any company does these days.

As for AutoZone, I have received 4 phone calls from them. 2 from corporate, 1 from their district manager, and 1 from the dayshift manager at the store that ticked me off, I called him first. He is working with me and I told him that I would give his store 1 more chance since we do have a part we need to get this weekend. He said they were also going to send me a letter of apology. I do not know yet what they plan on doing with the night manager Tyrone, but when I was asked what I would want to happen, I advised them that he should NOT be in a position of management. If he was to keep working there, he needed to be demoted. There was no excuse possible for him to give that gave him the right to treat anyone in the manner that we were treated. We shall see. I advised the day guy that I would follow up with his district manager and corporate offices after I purchased the part.

On a side note and I told him this; It will not be me who comes to the store. It will be Dave and if he does not get decent service then I will continue my boycott and follow up the chain of command. He assured me that it will never happen again in his store. We shall see…

Ticked off…

Last night we went to AutoZone to pick up an alternator, battery, and two belts for the van we just purchased. We had the old battery and alternator with us: One, to make sure we got the right part and two, to avoid core charges. Well, the clerk had no problem finding the parts we needed, but had all the trouble in the world in ringing them up in the system for the warranty. Of course, they neglected to let us know what was going on.

I was browsing the store and letting David handle this, since I don’t know anything about cars. But after 25 minutes of this, I became involved. I might not know anything about cars, but I know everything about customer service. I have taught enough classes at my various jobs to be pretty much an expert.

1. You do not let a customer just hang out like this. You keep them informed of the problem and assure them that you are working on it. When I became involved I asked the manager what the issue was and he didn’t know and actually said he was “too busy” to assist his clerk at that moment (he was installing a headlight for another customer.)

2. The clerk who was “assisting” us, just stood around waiting for help and other clerks just laughed and joked around with each other and him. Nobody called another store to ask for help, or a tech support number.

3. 45 Minutes into this ordeal the manager (who I had asked several times what was going on and he either didn’t know or didn’t want to admit the problem) asked our clerk if he had “tested” the alternator. Well at that point I almost lost it. Dave looked at me and shook his head. I went out to the car and got my phone. I copied all the contact number and names to their corporate office.

4. 20 minutes after that, the manager goes back outside to assist another customer and our clerk finally gets the alternator and goes to test it. He still is unable to get the battery and alternator registered in their system for our warranty and check us out, but figured he could at least test the alternator. Guess what? He didn’t know how to test it and nobody would help him.

At this point I gave up. We had been there for over an hour. We grabbed our old battery and alternator and left the store. I assured the manager that I would be in contact with his boss and corporate offices and let them know what was going on since because of their incompetency I was being charged two hours of labor for a mechanic that had nothing to put on the van.

 

Went to O’Riely’s (a 10 minute drive across town) and walked out with the parts we needed 10 minutes after that.

 

Needless to say, I am telling everyone NOT TO SHOP AT AUTOZONE!!!!

Changes made…

I have decided to keep my novel information private for the time being.  My Short Stories can be found via a link under my facebook picture.  Enjoy.

Upcoming changes

As I sit here this morning writing on my book, I have come to realize that I want to keep my blog updated as much as possible. I know that most people who have or will read this won’t really care about some of the subject matters, but hell, it’s my blog and I can say whatever it is that is on my mind. That’s what a blog is all about.

There are a lot of blogs out there and everyone hopes and prays that theirs will be picked up for a book deal or movie like some very good ones have, but I really don’t care about the success of my blog. I started it for my friends and family could keep up on some of my writing and what is happening in my life. Looking back on the past entries I have to apologize. I have let myself down as well as my readership.

First off, I haven’t been blogging as much as I should. I really need to revamp the site and update it with what my life is like. When I started this site I was still in the closet and I hid behind short snippets so everyone wouldn’t get to know the true me. So, look for a remodel of this site over the next few days.

Secondly, I have decided to start a second blog. I am going to keep this one for my “life,” create a second one for my short stories, and a third one for my book. I already have the book one planned out and all my characters will be posting their stories there. I figured it would be a good way to help flesh their personalities out and stir the imagination some.

So, look for updates on this site as to the two new blog address’s when I start moving everything around.

 

John.

 

BTW: I have over 1 thousand hits!!!

The waiting is over. I officially start Monday morning at 0830 hrs. It will be decided then if I spend the rest of the week in Dallas for training or if I go to Dallas the week following. I am of course torn. Either way it’s going to be a tight fit with finances. I just hope that my taxes get back as quick as possible so we can get caught up on a few things and not have to worry about them. It will be nice to pay them off and get them out of our hair. I know we will be fine, just have another week to get through.

Waiting

Waiting sucks. I have been waiting all week to start my new job. They sent my drug test to the wrong lab and had to wait for them to return it and then send it off to the correct lab. Now I’m once again waiting for the results. I have no fear that I will pass it since I do not do any drugs. It’s just a formality. I was suppose to start the job Tuesday and here it is Friday, which means I probably won’t get to start till Monday.

Once I start the job, I will have to go to Dallas for training for a week. I don’t know if that will be first or if I will spend some time here at the local office. I hope I will be able to spend a few days locally before going somewhere else for training. One, to get to know the people I will be working with and two, to get a paycheck before I have to spend a week with some strangers. I’m sure everything will work out for the best and the way it suppose to for my growth.

Changes…

Over the past couple of weeks my life has changed again. As most of you know, I had to do my DOT physical by Jan 4th. I didn’t pass it. My blood pressure is all out of whack for some reason. My doctor wants me to see a cardiologist and go to a sleep study. I as usual am hesitant about either of them. I don’t like doctors and am dragging my feet. David and Cindy are constantly pushing me that direction and I understand why, but I know what will happen. They will put me through all these test and frankly, the test scare the shit out of me. I know I’m being silly, but it is just me. I am doing fine physically. No pains at all.

What does all of this mean? I don’t get to drive until I can get my blood pressure under the 140/90 mark. I am still working on it, but I also have to live. I found a job as an operation manager at another trucking company. I may like it even better than Swift. I will be home nights and weekends with most holiday’s off (without having to fight to get home.) Small office and some nice people. The best part is, I’m home and can take care of David like he deserves. Plus, he don’t have to worry while I’m on the road.

Another change is that his nephew Phil moved back to Kansas. I hope he figures out what he wants out of life instead of running from things. I feel that he is very troubled inside and lost, but he seems to want to find himself and he will eventually. I just hope that it’s before he messes himself up beyond redemption.

So, here I am, waiting for my new job to start and contemplating all the recent changes in my life. I got my taxes done last night and can’t wait for them to get back. Get caught up on a few things since I was without a paycheck for about a month. Life really is picking up for me, even if it’s on a slow start.