Y11 D158

I woke up this morning and based on my temperature, how many times I woke up, I well rested I felt, I guessed the time to be 4:17am. It was 4:18am. Not bad. I have always been blessed with a good grasp of time. What time it is, how long something should take, etc. I think it's one of the reasons why I can walk into a place for food for example, and 10 minutes later the place is packed behind me. I can feel when it's a good time to do something. No, nothing major about this, no big reveal. Just an obsveration from me about the nature of time and my own internal clock. Yeah, I'm that bored.

I did manage to get quite a bit of work done yesterday morning before the horrid sounds of construction started. I re-recorded two demos, fixed documents, etc. I had it all done by 10. Thank god because the minute the stone grinder started outside my window, I was screwed. I posted a video of it on twitter and immediately the hotel was all over it. The manager ending up comping me one night stay in points. That's fair. They took roughly 20 hours of room usage away from me, give me 24 hours of comped time. That works.

Another day of doing the same. Sitting in the room working trying to not kill people outside my window out of frustration. I leave tomorrow around 2. My flight boards at 5, takes off at 5:30. I have a 3 hour layover in Dallas this week. All day travel. 2am PST to 7pm EST. Literally, all day. Then I get to do it again on Monday. Whee! But this trip will be the one that boosts my standing. It damn well better be.

Y11 D157

So here I am in a hotel room in Seattle. I feel like I should be getting ready to do something, but nope. I have some work to take care of in the room, but no going anywhere. Just doing some bills right now. I woke up at 3:45 PST because of time travel. That's okay. The more I get done early, the less I have to do when there is noise going on. There's serious noise going on here too. Right outside my room they are doing construction. I wanted to kill them yesterday. I checked in around 3 and they were hammering until 5. Can't take a repeat of that today. So the more I get done before they show up at 9, the better.

Yesterday was pretty uneventful overall. Left for the airport at 3:30, at gate by 4:30, boarded at 5:30. Spent 3 hours in Chicago. Delayed at the gate for an hour which sucked, but I wasn't in a hurry so whatever. More I had to pee and couldn't get up. I had a real douche next to me from Chicago to Seattle. He rolled his eyes when I needed to get up. Sorry buddy that's the window/aisle dynamic. Fucking deal with it. Plus he was one of those wipe everything down with anti-bacterial. Just let the germs do their thing man. 4.5 hour flight, got my rental car (of course I get a decent rental the week I am not going anywhere), headed out. Had time to kill so hit the mall and the grocery store. I got $30 worth of groceries for the week. Will probably do the same next week when I am back. Live cheap and die is my motto.

I am $300 away from the next tier on American. I will get it on my flight home. Man, I wish I could have one good international flight before the end of the year. That would bump me to the top. But it's cool, this will be the highest status I have ever had with them and I will take it.

Okay, 2 hours until breakfast. Shower. Eat. Work. Whee.

Y11 D156

Travel day. Off to Seattle.

Did nothing yesterday. Official PTO. Played with new kitty. Played video games. Went to bed at 8.

Frazzled this morning. All off in my head.

Y11 D155

And now for B's actual anniversary present; ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Chili.

Yep. We're those people. Four cats. She's a sweetheart. The name? Well she had a little bowel trouble when she came to us yesterday. And B wouldn't let me call her Poopy. But she was tooting up a storm last night like someone who had just are one too many bowls of chili. There it is. It stuck.

We spent the first part of yesterday prepping for her arrival. House cleaning, new litter box setup, etc. She came to us through a volunteer group who does rescues from hoarders. She was with 88 other cats when they found her. Hey, at least we're not that bad. 4 is reasonable. 88 is kooky town.

Went grocery shopping. Did some more laundry (towels mostly). Introduced Chili to the house. An overall relaxing day with not too much going on. Put up the storm door. Window coverings next. Yes, it's turning into winter here. Temp is dropping into the 30s already. Kind of looking forward to Seattle tomorrow where it will be wet, but not quite as cold. Tomorrow's flight should push me over the edge for next tier. I'm at 72,366 miles out of 75,000 and $8,309 out of $9,000 needed to hit. I think I can do it with this one trip, both for sure. I will be rolling over about 20 hotel nights this year too. Makes next year easier. Bonus points await.

Today is officially our anniversary and I have it scheduled as PTO. I will be doing a whole lot of nothing thank you very much. Just playing with Chili.

Y11 D154

We are home. We got home around noon yesterday. We tried to go to the farmer's market yesterday but we were one weekend off. It closed last weekend for the season. Unfortunately nothing online bothers to state this. Lame.

Got home, cleaned, did bills, put things away. B took a long ass nap while I did laundry. We ate all of our leftovers for dinner.

What day is it? I am a bit confused to say the least. I leave on Tuesday this week. Gone Tues - Friday. Then Monday to Thursday. Looks like I have a PA trip in December. Fun times.

Y11 D153

We did as we planned yesterday. We did the rest of the outlet stores which pretty much took up the whole day. We got up, had breakfast downstairs (which was actually pretty bad; one of the lowest quality breakfasts I have had at a hampton), headed over to the mall at 10. We were over there until almost 3 with a break for lunch. Took a nap, headed downtown for some dinner and some walking. Came back, relaxed, bed at 11. It was a good day.

We are going to a farmer's market first thing this morning and then may head home a day early. we both want to get home to get ready for the new cat. She is scheduled to come tomorrow. yeah, I know.

Y11 D152

So guess who is going to Seattle on Tuesday and sitting in a hotel room? That's right me. Turns out when the client approached the 3rd party people they asked about next week and the week after just to see availability. They only needed two sessions total but weren't sure they could get everyone in certain dates. The 3rd party salesperson misunderstood and told us 3 sessions, which I booked all non-refundable pre-paid to keep them cheap. Since it's all paid for, I am taking the trip anyway for the miles and hotel nights. So yep. I am traveling next week for absolutely no reason. Good times.

Took the car in yesterday for a recall. Brake system. Also fun stuff. We headed out of town around noon, stopped at a cider mill, did half of the outlet stores, checked into the hotel, went to chicken dinner, walked around. It was a really nice day. I just slept for over 8 hours too which is really nice. I needed the sleep.

Today we are doing the other half of the outlets and that's about it. No stress, no worries.

Y11 D151

I am home. For about 8 hours. Then we are out of town until Sunday. But at least this is a personal trip. Turn off my emails and enjoy some time to myself.

Yesterday was uneventful. I got to the airport way too early. Sat and waited for security. Sat and waited for my flight. Had 30 minutes between flights, made it to my gate with 18 to spare. I'm at 72,366 miles out of 75,000 and $8,309 out of $9,000 for my next level on American. With two flights on the books I am going to do it. As of right now I have taken 43 flights this year. Segments to be exact. After these next two trips, that will be 51. I checked the shared calendar and it looks like there is placeholder for a trip in December to PA. Finishing the year strong.

B picked me up around 4, we got home, I did laundry, repacked for this weekend. Neither of us wanted to cook and fortuitously B's grandfather happened to text asking if we wanted to come over for dinner. Um, yes please. Perfect timing. We went over there around 5:30, had spaghetti as a family (weird concept) and hung around until about 8:30. Came back and went to bed.

This morning before we leave I have to take the car in for a recall notice. The auto braking system needs an update. Kind of an important one. While I am waiting for it, I will do my timesheet, expense report, etc. Get everything done and out of the way.

On the way to our destination, we plan on stopping at a cider mill. That should be fun. Let's get this ball rolling!

Y11 D150

Travel day. Off to the airport in a few minutes.

Got five hours of crappy sleep.

Taught all the way up to 4:30 yesterday. Left the office by 5, back at hotel by 5:30. Bed at 7. All day travel today. Get to Detroit at 4pm. Have 30 minutes in Chicago.

Fun times.

Y11 D149

Yesteray was interesting to say the least. I believe I mentioned how these classes are a third party resell to us. The client actually works through another firm who sold the classes to us to deliver because they don't have the expertise to deliver them. So the contact at the client doesn't know who we are, they think we're part of the company they originally hired. Fine and dandy, except the specific contact isn't actually part of the class. They just arrange things. So they have no clue how the product or our material works. They keep wanting things a certain way and keep bitching to the main company who in turn tries to bitch to me to which I have to try to explain "it doesn't work that way". It's annoying and frustrating. The students themselves are fine. The class itself went fine. It's the behind the scenes logistical bullshit that's not working for me. Plus next week's class is with a completely different contact and the resell company has yet to provide me with any details. Fucking annoying. I am going to show up next week with absolutely no info. Stress much?

I finished the day, stopped at target, came back to hotel. Ate dinner, went to bed.

One more day and I go home. Rinse and repeat.

Y11 D148

Wow I am had a disaster. Apparently the fridge in my room is set too cold and when I just opened my rockstar it decided to explode. Right next to my laptop. Luckily I realized what was going on and moved quickly. But dammit, I lost half a rockstar. That part sucks. Now I need to stop on the way and replace it. Fun times.

Yesterday was hard. Time travel. Bad traffic. And I get to do it again two more times! Whee! The traffic was the worst of it. Took me over 90 minutes to go 27 miles from the airport to the hotel. Fuck that. And it was a Sunday! The next time I am here it will be a Tuesday and a Monday. How much worse will it be then??

The day was okay in itself. Long, but okay. First flight no issues. Had 3 hours to kill in Chicago though. On the way home I only have 30 minutes which will be better. Stressful, but better.

4 hours 45 minutes from Chiago to Seattle. Long ass, boring flight. I watched multiple episodes of Elementary. Made it through season 2 and much of 3. Hotel is okay. I am at an Embassy this week because my normal hotel wasn't available. I will be at the other the next two trips.

Two days of teaching then back home, then a trip for our anniversary, then back on the road. Breathe.

Y11 D147

Up. Go. Move. Whee.

Hot. Sweating. Too much moving.

2am. Spazzing out.

Did a TON of shit yesterday. Groceries, laundry, home depot, prescriptions for humans and cats, vape shop (the ban has been temporarily lifted!), got B's sisters, cleaned the house. In short we made yesterday our bitch hard. Had pizza for dinner with the girls then they did pumpkin decorating and movie watching while I went off to bed around 7:30. Fun times.

Time travel today. Land at 12:45PST. It will be a weird day for me. Two days in Seattle, back on Wednesday.

Y11 D146

Ah nothing like getting up at 5:45am to check in for a flight the day before you have to be up at 1am to leave for said flight. Good times.

Taught my class all day. We went until 4:15. The group wasn't bad except for one who said like 4 words. The other students though were all talkative and fun. I enjoyed them. But there's alwasy one, isn't there? Bleh.

B's grandmother was having a bad day yesterday and B went over to make them dinner. When she got back she said her grandfather looked horrible. Tired, run down, exhausted. Seeing as he spends his time taking care of the grandmother, it's no wonder. He never gets a break for himself. Poor guy.

She got back here around 6. We had a random dinner and watched the Veronica Mars movie. I do not need to watch season 4. I am happy with how the series ended based on the movie. They wrapped everything up perfectly in my mind. Leave it where it is.

Went to bed around 11. No plans for today other than grocery store and getting B's sisters. Yep. I have to deal with them here before I leave. Fun times.

Y11 D145

Whew. Been up for like an hour paying bills, moving money, getting life together. Fucking medical bills are starting to get to me. I got another set of test results back. Not cool. Some shit going on. I need to talk with the doctor to see how we're going to fix things. But of course that means I owe them more money. Whee. Can't I just rot away? Life was so much easier when I was drunk all time. Oh well.

Taught a group in Canada yesterday. My third session with them. One more before the end of the year. They're okay. Couple of them annoy me, but otherwise no issues. Just went long. Didn't finish until 5. B was out with her fish friend getting more fish. We now have 20. Yes, 20. I will take a picture at some point. But she didn't get home until almost 6. I started a lasagne at 5.

Ate dinner, went for a drive, watched tv, went to bed.

Same class different group today. 4 students. Don't know any of them. Should finish around 4 if all goes well. Then I get one whole day to myself before it's off to fucking Seattle. Fun times.

Y11 D144

Had a rough group yesterday. It was an Intermediate class which they are supposed to have taken the fundamentals class first. But too often they think they can skip it and go right into this class. I could immediately tell the two people who did this. They didn't have the basic skills needed to keep up. I know I got frustrated and expect some negative comments back from this group. Oh well. It happens. I am also starting to hit burnout. That's no bueno for today's group, tomorrow's group, and the three groups on the road. That last group is going to suffer the worst because I will be beyond exhausted by the time I hit them.

Had chicken for dinner. Went for a walk afterwards. Watched some TV. Went to bed around 10.

Tomorrow is payday thank god. I have bills to pay, planes to catch...

Y11 D143

I had what felt like the longest and strangest dream last night. I was supposed to be the new store manager for a Bed Bath & Beyond kind of store. I was meeting employees, talking about schedules, and then they took me to this like hovel where some of the employees lived because they couldn't afford housing and I was telling them to unionize even though I was supposed to be pro-corporate. It was strange. Too much listening to the debates and worrying about the state of this world I think.

Spent the day recording. All day. I finished around 3 and then at 3:45 went off to the doctor. I had a full physical including more blood panels, an EKG, a whooping couch vaccine, and a tetanus shot. Go me. I didn't get out of there until almost 6pm.

Hit the grocery store for a quick dinner, stopped at the Hallmark store to get some cards for our Anniversary and Sweetest Day (this Saturday).

Had dinner, emptied out the old fish tank, picked B up from bingo (she didn't win), and went to bed. One of these days she's going to win at bingo. They do these progressives that climb into the thousands. One day.

Teaching the rest of the week. Two private sessions, one public, then it's off to Seattle on Sunday. I think I need to pack still. I am partially packed, but not fully. I did look up last year's schedule and while it felt bad, it wasn't horrible until December and January. Last year right before the move (so in a couple of weeks), I had a trip. Then I came home and we loaded the car, and drove across country. I then left right after the movers came. That's why it felt crazy last year. This year I have these three weeks and then we will see. I just have to make it to December 20th and I get 17 days to myself. I can do it.

Y11 D142

Had to turn the heat up this morning. It was 62 just now when I got up. Yes, I slept in. I have classes the rest of the week so I decided to get a little sleep today. Sue me.

Finished up the materials for my Seattle trip, got that out of the way. Then I took the rest of the day to myself. We went to the fish store and got some new friends for the aquarium. I didn't take any pics, but I will. We added a few more mollies, a couple of angels, and two tiny cory. So far everyone seems happy. When I went to bed no one had been made into a snack. Yet. If they can go a week or so then I don't think anyone will become dinner. But we shall see.

We team made Texas Chili for dinner. I don't know what makes it Texas Chili, but it was pretty good. And we have leftovers for lunch this week so that's good.

Watched a movie last night. B was in a nostalgic mood and we watched Bicentennial Man. It's okay. What started the conversation was talking about Mrs Doubtfire and how it wasn't his best work but it's a good movie. We have 47 of his movies and now she is on a plan to watch all of them. Okay.

Went to bed around 11. Recording today and a doctor's appointment at 4. Fun times.

Y11 D141

I had a rough day yesterday. I was just so annoyed all day long. Time changes were messing with me hard. I woke up later than I wanted, I felt off all day, I was hungry at weird times, etc. Just messing with my head. That's the hardest part of travel sometimes. Starting on the 20th I am going to have three weeks of that too. It's going to suck big time. I just have to be careful and keep it in check.

We did a bunch of little things yesterday. Groceries. Dealt with the fish. Yes, they are finally in their new home. So far everyone seems happy. Receipts for last week. Cleaned up leaves in the backyard. Before I knew it though it was 5pm. That's why I dislike getting a late start in the day. I don't feel like I actually got anything accomplished and it annoys me.

This week is semi busy. I need to pack for one thing. I have stuff to do today and tomorrow, then teach Weds-Fri, all private classes. Doing the same class twice, once on Thurs, once on Friday for two different groups. That won't be annoying at all. Then Friday night, B's sisters are coming over, and then I leave 3am Sunday. Fun times.

Y11 D140

I am home. Got home last night around 9pm. It was a really long do nothing but sit kind of day.

I got SFO too early. I sat until the club opened. I sat until my flight boarded.

I got to DFW. I sat. I boarded my flight home. I sat.

Car service picked me up, I sat in the back of the car.

Came home and was too wired to sleep so I did laundry, bills, and mail. Went to bed around 11.

I can't wait to do this three weeks in a row!

Y11 D139

Yesterday was a clusterfuck. It started out with me going over to the office only to find that a decision had been made to do the whole group remote. I had to take the class from my hotel room which was not good. The internet dropped on me multiple times and the noise from the hallway made it hard. Not to mention that the topic was so fucking boring I stopped paying attention 30 minutes in. I ended up working on Monday's shit to free up my day.

After class I napped, then I met a friend for dinner. We had a great time. Had excellent sushi followed by yogurt. That was nice.

Was back in the room by 8:15 and in bed by 8:30. Now it's off to the airportand all day travel. Whee.

Y11 D138

Not much to report on today. I spent all day yesterday in a room full of people. Learned more about the new tool. Meh. The stuff from Wednesday was much more interesting and useful. Yesterday the tool showed more weakness than strength in my opinion. Plus there's one person in the class who has one of those voices that just grates on my nerves. And yet my stupid company wants to have her lead classes. Dear god no. She's an awful human being. She's an old fucking lady who needs to just go and retire somewhere. Bye bye now. You're horrible.

Was supposed to have dinner with a friend but thanks to PG&E shutting power off everywhere, she got stuck in traffic for like 3 hours. We are going to try again tonight. Let's see how that goes. I ended up eating in the hotel. It was meh. It was food.

Went to bed around 9 partially because I was tired, but mostly because I was bored. Sad but true.

Go home in the morning. LONG day tomorrow. But first I have to get through one more day of stuff. I can do it. I hope.

Y11 D137

I am kind of sleepy today. I didn't get back to the hotel until almost 11pm. Tattoo artists are notorious for saying "oh this should take about 20 minutes" and then it taking an hour plus. I was planning on a 90 minute tattoo that took 2.5 hours. Sigh. But it's all good and I am happy with how it came out. Here you go:

For those of you wondering who or what that is, it's a character from the comic strip Sheldon by Dave Kellett. That's Pickles. He has anxiety. A lot of it. I feel Pickles in my soul. Now he is always there with me.

I did get to spend like 3 hours with my friends who were also getting tattooed last night. It was good to be able to spend time with them without having to go anywhere special. That I enjoyed.

Class was good. I learned a ton about the product. I am very critical of other instructors, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well this one did. He has a good room presence and a respectable amount of patience. There's one woman in the class who just pisses me off in general, but she is driving me and my colleague up a wall. She interrupts, she talks over the instructor, and she has a nasally voice that makes me want to strangle her.

There was some confusion in the morning about what time we had the room, as such, we ended up starting late. No worries though as this was also a look at new material so we did spend time making changes on the fly and figuring out the timing of sections when I have to teach it.

Booked two more trips. I will be on the road three weeks straight starting on the 20th. All three trips are to Seattle. I should get about 20,000 miles total from the 3 trips which will bump me to the next service level. Boo. Ya. I have also officially announced I am taking 12/23 - 1/3 off. I will need the break I am sure. Plus that only comes out to 40 hours of PTO and as of right now, I have 240. Need to use it anyway. Start the year with about 200 hours which means I will max out again by Feb. Joy.

B hung out with friends and gave me some news on her grandparents. Her grandmother's kidney woes are getting worse. She now has to go for dialysis three days a week. Add to that her grandfather is going to have back surgery 10/30, and there is a lot going on. B is going to be dealing with a bunch of shit while I am gone. But this is why we moved there.

Okay. Breakfast and then class today from 9:30 - 5. Then dinner with another friend tonight.

Y11 D136

It's Wednesday. I think. Tuesday travel always throws me off. I get very confused as to what day it is once I land. It's the middle of the week already and I am unsure of what I am doing. Mentally that is.

I have been watching Elementary and it posits an interesting question to me. The premise that there is a world where people don't know who Sherlock Holmes is fascinates me. I mean think about it. AU worlds where fictional characters aren't in the collective mythos. Like Spiderman Into the Spiderverse. There's an infinite number of spider "men" and each one is different. Elementary states that in their universe Holmes is a real person of the modern 21st century, not some fictional character from the 19th. 20th? When did the books come out? In that unviverse is there a "James Bond"? Or a "Tyler Durden"? Is our universe the only one with fictional things like that? Man we getting too philosophical for a Wednesday morning.

My trip was okay. A long day for sure thanks to time changes. Leave at 3:30am to get in at 12:30pm. I did get to the airport too early. Normally my flights leave by 6 at the latest, but this one didn't leave until 7:30. I hit Phoenix at 9 (see? stupid time changes) and left again at 10:45. I had the perfect layover. 1 hour 15 minutes until boarding. Enough time to grab a snack in the admiral's club and charge devices. Once again I am glad I booked first direct. 20 names on the upgrade list. Have you noticed I don't bitch about being on the list any more? I have taken to booking first direct because the price isn't that bad for me. The worst was LA but I paid for that upgrade out of pocket. I couldn't take a 5+ hour flight in coach. Sorry.

Got to SFO at 12:30, got my rental car (Mazda CX-9). It's funny; this is one of those places where they apologize for giving you the SUV because of gas mileage and hippie dippie bullshit. I am like whatever. Give me the earth fucker.

Got groceries, checked in, had dinner, watched TV, went to bed around 9. Sleep was acceptable. B+. AC didn't bother me too much and the bed is a nice firmness.

So I am here for some internal training which means I don't have to rush and more importantly, I don't have to dress nice. T-shirt and jeans all week bitches. That I am looking forward too for sure. Tonight I am getting a new tattoo. Yep. I think this is number 20. I don't know. I will count later. But I am taking advantage of being near a good artist. 9 years ago she did my coffin on my right arm. One of the best pieces ever. I also get to see friends this week. One set tonight, another tomorrow.

Wow. I'm verbose this morning aren't I? Time changes. I am very "awake" already. Off to breakfast soon, then 9-5 in a room full of people I dislike. Good times.

Y11 D135

2am. Leave in two hours for airport. Get to SFO at 1:30pm. Have a 45 minute connection in Phoenix. Shouldn't be too bad. Phoenix isn't horrible in size.

Taught Friday's group a second time yesterday. Felt rushed all day. Didn't finish until 4pm. What a wasted day for sure.

Had an egg sandwich for dinner because neither of us wanted to cook.

Really not much else going on. Taught, went to bed at 8, fell asleep at 9. Fun times.

Y11 D134

Up a little earlier than planned because I had to pee like a racehorse. I have been trying to drink more water and I finished a huge bottle right before bed. Messed me up for sure. I do have to teach today which is also throwing me off because I leave for SF tomorrow. I hate Tuesday trips. They confuse me. Leave on a Tuesday, come home on a Saturday. Ugh.

Did a lot of house stuff yesterday. Cleaned the old fish tank one last time. We wanted it clean so we could introduce the chemicals from it into the new tank when we drop the fish. We will do that next sunday when I get home. Finally move the fish into the big tank and you'll get one last picture.

We also carpeted the cat room. B's dad had about 60 carpet squares we laid down in there to make it warmer and nicer for the cats. It also just makes the room look better. One of these days I will show you a picture of that.

Cleaned the back patio from all the stupid walnut droppings that have been coming off our tree. It's a nice looking tree but if you've never seen walnuts drop, they are messy. And huge. And it's right over part of our roof. Thud. Thud. Thud. That tree and I are going to have issues.

Made coconut chicken curry for dinner. That's a two hour prep and cook meal so that took a huge chunk of the night too.

It was a busy day but I got a lot accomplished. Make me feel useful before I leave. Oh we also booked a trip for our anniversary at the end of the month. We're going to spend 3 days in Frankenmuth. Actually take our time up there. Have chicken dinner, go to the outlet shops for once, check out the other shops and stores. It's not a big get away, but it's a get away. I am also thinking about taking the last two weeks of the year off in full. For that we are considering a trip to Boston or Vermont.

Can you believe in a little over a month we will have lived here a year? Man. Seems like just yesterday we were in OR thinking about this and now a year has gone by. Amazing.

Ah, time. It just keeps on slipping into the future.

Y11 D133

More good sleep. I am not going to apologize for actually sleeping. My body needs it and I won't deny it right now.

Did some around the house type things. Re-hung a medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Picked up some pH stuff for the new fish tank. Grocery shopping for a few days worth of meals. We went for a walk later in the day but B was fighting that migraine all day. It's the weather change. I don't think it got over 60 all day yesterday and the moisture is starting to get sucked away which hurt me last night. I woke up a few times unable to breathe because my throat was so dry.

Ah, weather. This by the way is how one catches a cold. In one month I will be in FL, MI, CA, and WA. Add in layovers and you have TX, AZ, PA, IL, and NC. 9 states. Nine climates. 4 weeks. Yeah. Funny though how that's more states in one month than most people set foot in over the course of 20 years.

I read an article last night about a 21 year old who has been to all 196 countries. She had done 60 before 18. If course she's a white privileged kid whose mother owns a travel agency. But still. What a dream. I just want like 19 or 20 countries.

Today more of the same including more laundry. Chicken for dinner. Last night we had navy bean soup B made in bread bowls. That was good. Perfect for the climate.

Y11 D132

Lordy did I sleep in today. I went to bed around 10:30 and just got up. I needed the sleeping.

Yesterday was rough. I wasn't in the right head space to teach and the group was disappointing. They were 30 minutes late starting and I had to push them to 5pm. I had too mych material to cover to not do that unfortunately. Just the way it is. Show up late and someone needs to pay for it.

B was out with her cousin and ended up saving a chipmunk's life. They rescued it from being attacked by a cat and then took it to a nature center. Yeah I know. She's nuts but I love her.

We went out for a late dinner to mexican. It was the first decent mexican food I have had here in a year. That made me happy. Unfortunately a migraine hit B on the way home and she was in bed by 9.

No plans for this weekend outside of laundry, groceries, and pet store. I teach again on Monday, then fly out to SF on Tuesday. I did book one more flight yesterday. Seattle for 3 days. That's another 8k miles to my account. I will be so close to that next tier I can taste it. My estimate puts me at 69,000 miles by end of October. Two months to get 6k more. I can fucking do it. There should be at least one more Seattle flight and one Minnesota flight. Cross your fingers for me.

Five days until I get a new tattoo! I am excited about that!

Y11 D131

I am home. I got home around noon yesterday. I did have some stress in the morning. My flight boarded at 4:25am and security opened at 3. Regular security. Not Pre. I stood there debating whether to get into the regular line or take my chances and wait for pre. As I watched the estimated time monitor slowly creep up, I gave up and got in the regular line at 3:12am. The estimated wait was 22 minutes at that point. When I got to the top I asked for metal detector since I was pre and that sparked an issue. They decided I needed a full pat down and full bag search. It's now 3:40. And yes, pre opened at 3:30. Fuck me. I got to my gate at 4:10 and TSA broke one of the gifts I brought home. I can submit a report on their site, but I am still pissed off about it.

Got to Charlotte, killed two hours, got on my plane home. That was much less eventful thankfully.

Got home and dealt with laundry, emails, house shit.

Other than today, I had a good week. I enjoyed the group in FL. They had a good relationship with each other and we had a fun time. I like groups like them. The hotel was good and the rental car was really good. So other than the TSA part, it wasn't a bad week.

I will say that after a week of 900 degree weather, it was nice to come home to 65 degrees and raining. It's like 60 in here right now. Just my speed.

I do wish I didn't have to teach today. I am not looking forward to this group. They have already been needy this week and I am not looking forward to today. I have things to do still. Expense report, time sheet, etc. But no. I have to do a full class today and Monday. Such utter shite.

Already spent the morning paying pills and watching my check go away. And I'm out of Rockstars. Definitely not cool.

Y11 D130

1am. Need to leave soon. Have to get gas. Have to avoid road closures. Am pissed off at coworker. Having a sit down next week with him. Explaining how he is causing me extreme anxiety. May quit if it doesn't go well.

Home around noon. Fun times.

Y11 D129

I am typing this on my pixelbook today because yours truly fucked up and forgot his power cable at work. Yeah. Good times. At least it better be at work or I am fucked with a capital FUCK.

Well, I can now check EPCOT off my bucket list. I wish I had had more time there because I tried to do too much too quick and ran out of spoons. I am eternally grateful to my class for allowing me the chance to go there, but let's say I was also glad I didn't pay for it. It would have been a lot of money for a very short time.

Got back to the hotel around 9:30. I am still exhausted. I ate at the park (from Australia in the world showcase) but didn't eat enough.

God I don't even have the energy to type today. Sorry kids. I need to wrap this entry up. I will give you more when I am in a better mind place.

Y11 D128

Important things first. Guess where I am going tonight bitches? For free? EPCOT! That's right. One of my students after class sent me a comp pass. It's a pretty sweet pass. It's good for park hopper entry at ANY park in the world. I could save it and go to Paris if I wanted. But nope. I am taking advantage of this once in a lifetime chance and seeing that damn golf ball. I have wanted to see that thing since they built it. I will only have four or five hours in the park max, but dammit, that's better than zero. I am so excited. It goes against everything I normally do while on the road, but this is a single chance to see this and I am not going to blow it.

Class is good. Small group which works well. They know their shit too. Good questions, good participation. I am in the Lilo & Stitch conference room. Plus all the posters all over the walls for movies that I had no idea were even being made. Sorry, under NDA, can't share. Look, there's one group of lawyers in this world I don't mess with and they belong to the mouse.

Got onsite about 6:30, finished up at 4:30. Had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack (also a nice treat) and got back to the hotel around 6:30. Caught up on work email. Looks like Sacramento is now on the table. 68 students across five sessions. Not sure how we're going to do that between now and end of year, but shit, 2 or 3 trips to Sac in Nov/Dec would do me right. That's 6K miles a pop. I only need 24K more and at least 10 of it is already on the table.

Went to bed around 10 and am sleeping pretty well given the weather and AC running. No headache, yet.

Okay, day two, EPCOT, and an adventure. Let it begin.