Midnight Retreat Blog

Time Off… It’s Just Not Enough

PTgizmo — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 04:00:32 +0000

Well, I got home last night early. I’ve been home all day and yet I still don’t have everything done before heading out tomorrow. I did get some rest today, but sometimes it just doesn’t seem fair that I don’t have a chance to do the things I want to do (like everyone else) because I’m not home enough.

I know that I’m whining! I’m sorry about that. Sometimes life sucks. Today seems to be one of those days. Now, tomorrow, I’ll probably be over it and life will be grand again.

One thing about tomorrow is that I’ll be on a run that will allow me to get some miles and make some money. The past few weeks have been short runs that didn’t allow the miles to add up enough. But that is trucking. Sometimes you’re home when a long run comes in or a short run. You get what the cards are dealt to you. I’m happy that I got the Ace/King run.

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PTgizmo — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 17:44:14 +0000

COOLPIX S210 from Nikon

PTgizmo — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 01:48:30 +0000

COOLPIX S210 from Nikon.

I have been needing a camera since I misplaced my last one. So, I found that I could trade my Magellan GPS for a Nikon CoolPix S210. All I’ve got to do now is get a battery for it.

I guess I can say… ‘Merry Christmas to me’… Ha Ha Ha…

Oops, I guess that would be… Ho Ho Ho.

Home for the Holidays!

PTgizmo — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 12:54:00 +0000

After 18 days on the road, I made it back to the house around 8:30pm last night. Pugsly was very happy to see me. He did his Dino impersonation on me and that’s always fun. I watched a little bit of “Huckleberry Finn” on the Turner Movie Classics channel with Pat. Kathy was at work, so I still haven’t seen her since I got home.

I’ve got the 24th (today) and 25th off! Then, Dean and I “set sail” for Cairo, OH again. We’ll pick up a load of sulphuric acid and deliver it to Manassas, VA. Once we get to Manassas, Dean and I will switch trailers (my truck and trailer was left in Manassas) and Dean will head back to Texas. I will unload at Manassas and head back to Cairo, OH for another load of sulphuric acid to be delivered to Manassas on Thursday (the 30th). After that, I should be on my way back to Texas. We’ll see what happens. It seems that the last couple of guys sent out on that run have had to stay a little longer to accommodate our other drivers who wanted time-off for the holidays.

So today I’m going to work on my home office as much as I can to unclutter it. That is a major job, since it hasn’t been done in years! I even had to write a plan out for tackling this job. And yes, writing this post in not in the plan. I guess I can’t say that I don’t know where to start, huh!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday… Merry Christmas to you all!

Visit with Matt

PTgizmo — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 16:37:40 +0000

Well, Matt left a little bit ago, on a bus, heading back to Willis, TX. He’s been working down there and really wants to come back to North Texas, but he’s decided that he won’t do that until he has the money to make the move back. He is also looking for a job before he gets back up here. He’s really done a lot of growing up. Oh he still loves his online World of Warcraft game, but that’s just a hobby to keep him occupied. I mean, I’m not much different. I might not be playing a game on the computer, but I do spend a lot of time on it just to keep me busy.

Kaiden spent the weekend with us, so he could visit his Dad, but he find out that he “play” on a computer of his own, so he spent a lot of time in my room with me this weekend. He was real good. It was great being able to spend some time with both of those boys.

Tomorrow, I go in a do a little work local, then head out to Tucson, AZ for a Raytheon run. It’ll be a 4.5 day trip. During this time of year, I really like staying in the south. I spent a little time in the snow last week. It wasn’t too bad, but it was cold!

Keep the shiny side up!

Mike at work. Had to share this one!

PTgizmo — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 05:06:46 +0000

I just got a photo of Mike at work. I had to share this photo! I told him that ‘he’s looking good!’

A Wonderful Thanksgiving

PTgizmo — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 01:41:28 +0000

My Thanksgiving holiday has been fantastic. I got to visit my wife’s family on Thanksgiving day (along with Mike, Cyndee and little Charlie). It was a great day with some good food and lots of great conversations.

Friday, Kathy and I drove down to Willis, TX and picked up Matt, then continued on to Friendswood, TX (south of Houston) to visit my Mom and my little brother and his family.

Saturday was Jeep’s wedding day to Katie Crosson. It was a beautiful wedding! And as I’ve said before, Jeep is very lucky… and so is Katie!

It was a lot of fun visiting with Chuck’s family and Beth’s family. They are good people!

Again, I had a great Thanksgiving holiday!

HP MiniNote 110-3098NR

PTgizmo — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 04:04:47 +0000

Well, after having a Verizon Mi-Fi hotspot for almost two years, I thought that I needed a little change. Actually, I needed the change because as good as the iPad is, I still can not do everything I need to do on it that I need to do for work. So, after doing a little investigation, I found that I could cancel my Mi-Fi and purchase an HP Mini 110-3098NR netbook with Verizon’s cellular service for just $39.99 and $50.00 a month for the Internet. I discussed this with Kathy and she agreed that we can do that now.

My netbook was delivered yesterday while I was in Tennessee and I was excited that it was easy to track and I knew that it would be there when I got home. This little computer is beautiful! It looks like I would have designed it! No kidding!

I’m installing the needed software on it now and it is running very well. I’ve just got to say, “Nice job HP!”.

After I’ve had it a few days, I’ll write a little update about how I think it’s doing then. So stayed tuned!

Dallas Cowboys – Personal Thoughts and Jokes

PTgizmo — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 12:22:37 +0000

As a Texan from North Texas, “my” football team is the Dallas Cowboys. At one time, that was a statement made with pride. Now, not so much. They look like chickens running around with their heads cut off. No direction from the top. They got rid of Mr. Phillips, but I still think that the top is the biggest problem. Dictatorships have never really worked and they work badly when they do. So, after some consideration, I decided to put up these “jokes” at the expense of the Cowboys. Guys, please remember that I think the biggest problem lies at the top and it flows down on everyone else!

The Texas State Police are cracking down on speeders heading into Dallas .
For the first offense, they give you 2 Dallas Cowboy tickets.
If you get stopped a second time, they make you use them.

Q. What do the Dallas Cowboys and Billy Graham have in common?
A. They both can make 70,000 people stand up and yell “Jesus Christ”.

Q. How do you keep a Dallas Cowboy out of your yard?
A. Put up a goal post.

Q. What do you call 47 millionaires around a TV watching the Super Bowl?
A. The Dallas Cowboys

Q. What do you call a Dallas Cowboy with a Super Bowl Ring?
A. Old.

Q. What’s the difference between the Dallas Cowboys and a dollar bill?
A. You can still get four quarters out of a dollar bill.

Q. How many Dallas Cowboys does it take to win a Super Bowl?
A. Nobody remembers.

Q. What do the Cowboys and possums have in common?
A. Both play dead at home and get killed on the road!

Vacation Coming Up! Time With Family!

PTgizmo — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 23:34:16 +0000

Woo Hoo! I’m am going to have 5 days away from the truck! I am so excited, I’m wondering if Christmas is coming early!!!

I get to spend a day on some things I’ve been wanting to do at home, then the next day is Thanksgiving with family. How good is that? Then, on Friday, I get to pick up Matt and head to Houston (Friendswood) to visit my brother and his family. Saturday, my oldest nephew is getting married to girl that apparently, is always smiling. I’ve seen several photos of her and Jeep on Facebook and she is always smiling. It’s a very good thing. I can’t wait to meet her. Mom is leaving to go there on Tuesday. She gets to have fun with them a few days longer than I do, but she deserves it more!

I’m excited about time with family! Lots to be thankful for when you have such great family!

Happy Thanksgiving early… to everyone!