It is Saturday morning, 6 August 2022. I am quietly sitting in my recliner couch, Freya sitting beside me, Rosy perched on my shin bone. (Just as I typed that, Rosy jumped off… she must’ve smelled something stackable in the kitchen).

Today is going to be a mowing day. After work yesterday, I loaded up the diesel containers and got them filled up, careful to wipe any fuel off the exterior of the vessels before I put them back in my trusty old Ford Flex that I affectionately refer to as Ruby. Once home, I got the little tractor topped off, and I know I have some regular gasoline for the other riding lawn mower. The battery for the little electric mower that we only use in the fenced-in side yard is on the charger… but I have to confess, after a couple of hours on the big riding units, my enthusiasm for walking behind a push mower will have waned.

I just know I need to get out there and get going on it. I have a book ready to go on my phone, and my Boze headphones are on the charger. I’ll break out the Camelbak and get it loaded with ice water – I just have to remember to not “lean back” into the chair when I’m on the tractor – I’ve had a back covered in ice water after I ruptured the water bladder before. Doesn’t happen on the smaller riding mower, as the seat back doesn’t go up that high.

Currently wondering about mowing strategy. Big mower first, or smaller?

Bigger…

There is something I kind of like about riding around on that little tractor… although I do have to be cautious about where I place that bucket on the front.

Maybe I can get a 21-year-old young man to help me out mowing today…

I’m going to go get started. Sitting on my butt doesn’t get the work done.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

It is Friday morning, 5 August 2022. I’ve got some work to get done today, starting with a two-hour stint with my cloud solutions architecture course, then a smattering of meetings spread throughout the day. I get a chance to look forward to spending a portion of my day tomorrow on the lawn mower, as I’ve let the lawn grow a bit – when it gets warm, it’s better to try and keep the grass a little longer. I’ll likely set the mower blade to around two inches when it comes time to saddle up tomorrow.

I’m feeling a little out of sorts. Not quite sure if it’s lingering blah or if it’s something more aligned with mental weariness. I don’t think I’m depressed, but I recognize that I seem to be lacking some motivation that is normally there.

Maybe I just need to find that switch and flip it.

Might just need to flip something.

Right now, Lilly is sitting beside me demanding I pay attention to her. I pet her for a moment, then Rosy notices and wants a little attention as well.

Pondering what I’ll do for lunch today. I know I ought to snack on leftovers… we have a few.

Yeah, the words just aren’t flowing from the font today. I’ll let the bucket reload, maybe I’ll have a little more substance tomorrow.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

It is Thursday morning, and this week seems to be flying by. It seems August 1 was just a few days ago… and it was… today is 4 August 2022.

There is so much going on in the world right now. Politicians traveling to foreign countries, revelations about the Secret Service and Department of Defense text messages getting deleted, continuing investigations into election interference in Georgia.

I know I write this to share my thoughts and feelings about the day with future grandchildren, but I wonder if these notes will land the way I intend with any family members down the road. Who knows? By the time I pass from this mortal plane, I may have damaged a relationship with one of my kids to the point where they may not want to pass this journal along to their kids or their grandkids. I might be too political for their taste. I might be too far left of center for them. I may be a source of ideas too radical for them to share or embrace.

But I’ll keep writing. I’m going to relate my experience, my truth if you will, and let it happen. I could joke that “I’ll learn to live with it”, but seeing that my intent is for this to be read after I’m gone, I guess I won’t have to live with it.

I have a weird sense of humor.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

It is Wednesday morning, 3 August 2022.

A little bit of news on the local front. The vote to amend the Kansas constitution went “No” and it was a resounding, winning by almost 20% with the largest primary voter turnout in Kansas history.

So… what did we learn?

I think we learned that women can and should be trusted to make their own decisions regarding their reproductive health. The whole point about Justice Alito’s opinion was to take Roe v Wade off the table and turn it over to the states and keep those laws local.

I would argue make it more local. Maybe rather than leave it up to the state, leave it up to the county. Or, instead of leaving it up to the county, leave it up to the community, the town, the city. Or, rather than leave it up to the town, leave it up to the neighborhood.

Or… this is a crazy thought – just leave it up to the individual.

I’m very proud of my fellow Kansans today. You don’t amend the state constitution to take away freedom.

Also on the news this morning, I see in a number of Republican primaries, election-deniers won. People are complaining that some of these election-deniers received backing from the DNC. I’m fine with that. The objective is to prop up a weak candidate that is easier to defeat in November. It’s the same strategy that Richard Nixon, with the help of criminal Roger Stone (yeah, he was pardoned by Trump, but he accepted the pardon, which in itself is an admission of guilt) used in the 1972 election to prop up weak candidate George Wallace over Hubert Humphrey.

Anyway, I need to get ready for my workday.

Once again, congrats to the women of Kansas.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

It is Tuesday morning, 2 August 2022. In the next couple of hours, I will begin my four-week delivery of a solutions architecture course along with a training partner. He’s on the east coast, I’m on central time. We’ve adopted a plan where I will take care of the morning sessions, and he’ll take the afternoon sessions.

It is also an election day as primaries for the Republican party and Democratic party will vie for the available slots on the ticket for offices such as State Attorney General and Governor. There is also a big decision being presented to the voters as to whether or not to modify the state constitution so the state representatives can change state laws on reproductive rights in Kansas. It has become a pretty hotly contested topic, generally driven by the ideologies of old men that have never had to face the reality of unwanted pregnancy, and folks that think that we shouldn’t overturn 50 years of freedom.

My perspective is simple – you don’t change the state constitution to take away freedom.

Tonight’s returns will be very interesting. I may just wait to read about it in the morning.

Time for me to contemplate the day and get a couple more tasks completed before we start the class day at 8:00 am central time.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

It is Monday morning, 1 August 2022. Vacation is over, dogs are barking, and I have a new class starting tomorrow. Today I will get my ducks in a row, have a couple of meetings with other trainers and managers, and get my focus dialed in for a good delivery.

Getting up at 5:30 in the morning after a week of sleeping in is necessary, but another hour of sleep would’ve been nice. A lunchtime siesta between meetings for 20-30 minutes might be in the offing.

A week of vacation also means I took a week off my meal plan… I probably shouldn’t step on a scale for another week. Back to eggs for breakfast and low-carb yogurt for lunch for a while. I need to get back dialed in on my water consumption as well – I haven’t been hydrating the way I probably should.

So, the time has come to get to work. Coffee is in the pot. I have eggs already made (I made extra yesterday – but the biscuits and gravy were so good – leftovers are welcome!). I have Teams and Outlook open, dogs are getting comfortable in the dog beds. I’ll get the essential oils diffuser rolling with an appealing mist shortly as well.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

It is Sunday morning, 31 July 2022. I am awake, I have a cup of coffee, and I’m going to pound out the last blog entry of my vacation.

I received my second booster on Friday. Yesterday I didn’t get much done, and to be honest, I don’t know whether my lack of motivation was due more to the after-effects of my second booster, or if it was more about that lingering voice in the back of my head whispering, “Your vacation is almost over… relax, sit in that chair, take a nap”.

Naps are good.

Lisa is making biscuits and gravy this morning for breakfast, and I am very much looking forward to that. I’ll be getting back on my plan tomorrow, eliminating the carbs and drinking more water. I haven’t been drinking enough water this last week, so I’ll get back to focusing on hydration starting today. I think I feel better when I drink more water.

I have meetings tomorrow as I ramp up with my training partner for our delivery starting on Tuesday. It’s a different structure than my normal 4-day class deliveries, and I have written about it before. Days are about the same length, with some longer breaks throughout the day, 4 weeks rather than 4 days. I

Coffee, news, church online, some women’s soccer later (England v Germany for the EURO Championship), followed by some online gaming with the guys for a few hours. We’ll eat dinner about 6:30, then take a last dip in the pool before cleaning up. I’ll fix myself a cocktail and relax with an episode or two of Peaky Blinders with Lisa before calling it a night and calling it a vacation.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

It is Friday, 29 July 2022. Last vacation day of the work week. I still have tomorrow and Sunday to kick back a little bit before I resume the regular work days on Monday. I’ll be starting a Blended Learning class that will keep me occupied through the end of August. September looks pretty manageable right now, as some of my classes have been moved or reassigned to accommodate some schedule changes.

I front load my year if I haven’t mentioned it before. I have a tendency to put my head down and grind for the first six months of the year, then I’ll use up my PTO during the second half of the year, and use that time from July 1 through January 1 to catch my breath, focus on new certifications and renewals, and just prep my mind for what comes next.

Right now I’m sitting in my mechanics’ waiting room, waiting on Ruby to get her oil changed. Ruby is my 2009 Ford Flex with 190,000 miles on her. She still runs well and gets me where I need to be. I don’t have to go very far very often, and even when the time comes to get a new set of wheels, I’ll probably keep Ruby around as a spare set of wheels when those moments arise.

Oil change, a run by the doctor’s office for a little paperwork, maybe a bite of lunch while I’m in town. All in all, just a mundane sort of day that will likely culminate with a decent Friday night meal, a glass of wine, a trip to the swimming pool, and then something sweet later in the evening.

I hope I’m living a simple, humble life. There was a time when I really wanted to attract attention to myself for one reason or another. These days, not so much.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Oooh… one of those nice round number days. Today is 28 July 2022, a Thursday morning, and the end of my work break is in sight. Monday morning I’ll be back in meetings, in preparation for my 4-week delivery of a solutions architect course with a great peer instructor.

I forgot to write yesterday, but I’m not going to beat myself up over it. That’s kind of the reason for vacations in the first place.

Saw that there was a compromise on some legislation, and the senator from West Virginia is going to get on board. The senator from Arizona will most likely follow the marching orders she gets from Wichita… I have little doubt she’s been bought and paid for by an energy-sector billionaire that is based in Kansas. Follow the money and the campaign donations. I took a look at the comments section on a couple of stories, and the garbage needs to be taken out. Just about every comment was negative, which means that the energy sector and our overseas adversaries that want to see America destroyed are not happy with this move.

Boo freakin’ hoo.

Just one time I’d love one of these climate change deniers to show me their science, and every time the subject comes up, the only thing that gets proven is that a lot of people don’t know the difference between climate and their local weather.

21,500. On the site where I get my “day count”, there’s a little note. I posted in the beginning that the average person lives about 30,000 days. The note on the day-count page mentions 28,835 as the number of days in an average life.

Everybody is on the clock, and very few know when the clock hits zero.

Make the most of this day.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Good afternoon! It is 26 July 2022, a Tuesday afternoon at this point with moderate temperatures and some solid cloud cover, but no rain in the immediate forecast.

Now watch… right after I type that, the sky will open up and drop buckets on us here in Douglas County.

It’s a good day. I got a few things done earlier today. I made breakfast for Dane and I, threw back a post of coffee, watched some educational stuff, and did something a little more proactive…

… I renewed my passport.

It’s not a big deal, really, but my passport expired about six months into the pandemic, but I’ve been sitting on it. Now that there’s just a crack of travel optimism on the horizon, it seems like a good time to get that little booklet updated. Who knows? Maybe there’s a trip waiting out there in the wild blue, just waiting for me to do that carpe diem thing.

Someday.

I decided to pop into my old favorite brew pub for a late lunch, a half-order of their naked nacho, a nice deconstructed appetizer. I’ve got chips, cheese, ground beef, peppers, onions, and a large serving of the Crimson Phog ale. I can feel some vacation feelings settling in on this second day off.

Later, I’ll get home and put together an office chair. Such excitement!

Anyway, I’ll let you all get back to some more important diversions.

I hope the world is treating you better than deserve.

Peace y’all.