It has been a while

It has been busy both where I work and where I live.  Lots of stuff to do; lots more to think about.

For the first time in many years I took two whole weeks off, and haven't been called in or managed to get worried about anything that caused me to drive in.  I have not even logged in remotely.  Things must be running well, or there's something I am not understanding.

I have a good bit to do before the new year starts, and not all that much time in which to do it.  I also have a personal task - the yearly Christmas letter that has not gone out for several years, and a puff piece for the blog about mended families, my kids and grandkids, and other things that are somewhat personal.  There are also plenty of emails owed, at least some of which debt will be covered before I go back to work, I hope.

In less than 60 days I will be 72.  I'm not so sure I want to be 72, but the only way I can see to avoid getting that old is not to live that long - and I am not done living!

This Christmas is the first in many years wherein we have had complete families.  It's a really big deal - one grandson spent the first 13 years of his life without his father - this year, just weeks back, his father has been returned to him and to his mother, yielding a complete family.  There's a lot of history that doesn't bear opening up right now, but at this end of that long period, it seems to be all good - and I'm glad that Ronnie, Jr. has Ronnie Sr. back in his life on a daily basis.  My daughter is better, Junior is better, and Senior is the stuff of miracles. Synergy is happening- the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and the whole is good for the entirety of Rudolph in this area.

Other daughter is doing well, and their two children are marvels and growing - soon they will be schoolchildren, and we are not ready for that! Within the next three years, both will become students. Their teachers are in for some really interesting times!

The coming year will be interesting for Phyllis and myself, too. It seems that we are undergoing restructuring at work, and the duties of all of  us will change.  This may lead to retirement for me, or it may lead to incentive to stay even longer than I plan at present.  What happens with me will have effects on Phyllis's plan; we just don't yet know what they will be.

Over the years, I have met many people who had a significant effect on me and on directions I have taken - some to my benefit immediately, some where the benefit could be seen only with years of hindsight.  My father, when he was alive told me that there was no learning without lumps.  Much as I hate to admit it, he was right - I have accumulated my share (and probably yours) of lumps over the years, and each one was a lesson - some of which came with considerable pain - some physical, some not.  Every time I dropped a motorcycle,  there was enough real pain involved I resolved never again to do that particular thing. Sure enough, over the years I dropped them less frequently, and sometimes wouldn't drop one for years - until I forgot how much it could hurt, then I got reminded....  I guess you'd have to be a motorcyclist to understand why I still ride them....

I have to get busy and Do Some Things.  I'm not done with the Year End Maunderings yet - there will be more, but for right now I have a few other things get accomplished.  I'll be back!

Friday the 13th

Well, it is still Friday the 13t, and so far no catastrophes have fallen on my head.  I am still at the office, moving from one area to another, which could take quite a while as there is a huge accumulation of stuff that must follow me until I can determine if it stays or goes.  It is truly appalling the amount and description of crap that seems to cling to and follow me where I roam.

Also there is a fair amount of hardware here that belongs to me, not to my employer, and I need to make sure I get it all.

And no, I am not superstitious - being superstitious brings bad luck, don't you know.

Looking through my email this morning, I am amazed at the amount of funny stuff comes from folks that I have known for over 50 years. I am sorry to note that I know more dead folks from 50 years back han live folks, so I guess I should feel blest, as I haven't joined them yet as far as I know - or if I have, they went to a different place than I did....

Christmas is 12 days away.  Every year I promise myself to do all the shopping I need to do in July - and every year it gets down to the last ten days and I get nuts.  Maybe next year....

Gotta get busy with Amazon - I don't like malls or crowds and the way shoppers behave any more I would almost expect to be shot (or at least shot at) some of the places I might want to go. My wife says don't spend money on her, but I ignore that some - nothing is free, and whatever I do spend, she's worth it.

I'm still moving things at work - it will take a couple of days to get myself relocated.  Soon I gotta go home; I'm tired and have to come back tomorrow.

Y'all be well, and be careful - it's dangerous outside!

Today

Today is Friday the 13th.

I probably should not even start writing anything, because Friday the 13th actually came on Friday this month, and that's always worse than the months when it comes on Wednesday or Tuesday.

For anyone old enough to remember Pogo, well, you'll have an idea where that got started.

I finally got permission to move back down to the fourth floor at work.  The move will be a major PITA - but it will be kinda nice to get back to a place where everyone who comes through the door does not have to walk past me and look over my shoulder before doing anything else.

It'll also be nice to move my speakers downstairs where I can play the music LOUD if I want to.

I have not been sleeping enough, and it has been too cold to go motorcycling.  I love the Volvo, but there is something about December that brings out all the folk whose heads seem to explode the minute they put a key into the ignition lock and start the car.  I promise I'm not gonna start a traffic rant - but commuting is suddenly a trip into hell every morning.

But it could be worse - I could be riding many buses to get to work, and taking at least twice as long as it takes to drive there.  So I am going to shut up about that lest I get T-boned and have to resort to the train and the bus....

And before anyone asks, I'm not ready for the holidays - there's still more money I have to spend.  But I'm working on it in my spare time.

Anyone who knows me knows I like to read.  I discovered BookBub which is a web site that takes your email address and daily sends a list of inexpensive (and usually FREE) e-books.  I have amassed quite a collection that will take years to read, but I am enjoying rereading many things I haven't read for years and have not been able to find.  Amazon has some real treasures (and daily Kindle ebook giveaways) available that are worth a look.  I don't have a Kindle - but my Android Phone, Android tablet(s) and windows computers have kindle apps - and Google's Chrome browser has a Kindle plug-in that connects seamlessly with Amazon's Kindle cloud.

I've talked about the Kindle readers before, so I won't bore anyone now - if someone wants more info, leave me a note with an email address and I'll gather all the mutterings up and send them to you as links.

I got Phyllis a new toy - a Keurig coffee maker - and it was worth every penny it cost.  It is a complex device, but it makes great coffee and while the per-cup cost may be a little higher than what we were doing before, the svings comes in the form of cups of coffee that we just throw away.  I'm not seeing all that much benefit since I am supposed to be off coffee, at least until I get scoped again for the doctor to look and see if I still have ulcers, but of course I will do what I will do - and damn it makes great coffee!  If I am ever allowed to drink coffee again, I may have to get one for the office!

Tomorrow and one day this weekend I'll be moving, and it will be a hell of a job, but it will be nice when it is done.  Some computers will come with me, as well as lots of books and miscellaneous stuff that has accumulated over the years - and my supply of small parts, screwdrivers and sockets, pocket knives, hammers, cables and various USB gadgets.  Kinda makes me wanna just go back to bed, but it has to be done.

I almost forgot - I finally have collected all of Greywolf's Roswell stories.  If you don';t know what that's about, it's OK, but if you do know and want any, I can tell you how to find them. Getting them together was a PITA, but they are all in Google Docs format, and easily available.


I gotta go to bed.  Be well, y'all.