For starters you might want to first head over to DiscConnected and click on the "Sweet Ride" video for some background music to accompany this blog post. And while you're there say hi to my ol' pal Larry Cavanaugh. He's got a great blog that's a great place to hear good music new and old.
So now you got the music playing and I can tell you what's happening with me. I'm heading back home to Tennessee again. This year is the most times I've gone back to Tennessee in the same twelve month span. This time is just another visit and not a relocation. I'll be back in Los Angeles in time for the BlogWorld Expo. I wouldn't want to miss that.
I'll be driving a rental truck from Phoenix, AZ to Maryville, TN as I help my sister move back to be closer to family. I've lost count of the number of times I've driven across country, but it's always been enjoyable to me. The difference this time is that I'll be driving by myself as my two sisters follow in a car.
As long as I'm able to stop whenever I need to and take a break from driving, I should be fine. I do pretty well at long distance driving. Usually I'm in a car with my wife and a good stereo. I'll miss that part. But driving alone in a truck that will probably be noisier and slower than my wife's car may actually have some benefits that I can take advantage of.
For one thing I can plan out blog posts for the future. I often do this even while driving short distances around town. With eighteen hundred miles and three full days of driving I should be able to plan out blog posts for the next couple of years or so. I'll keep a notebook in the truck cab with me so I can jot down my ideas when I take my breaks. Now with five blogs under my name I'd better be doing some planning.
Then considering that NaNoWriMo will be starting up shortly after I get back home, some of my thoughts will undoubtedly be drifting in that direction. In my past two NaNo attempts I didn't start planning anything until the first day of the novel writing challenge. I was considering taking this same approach this year, but now it looks like I may have a very busy November waiting for me and planning the novel ahead of time might be a helpful strategy.
Another thing that I know will be on my mind as I'm driving is my BlogWorld Expo mission. I will want to plan out a strategy of which booths I will want to visit the most and what I will want to learn. Just a few days after I get back to Los Angeles, I will be facing what will possibly be one of the most intense opportunities for learning as much as I can in two days that I've ever experienced. Getting psyched up for this event will require good planning if I want to get the most out of it.
There will be no shortage of things to think about as I drive across country--my life, my job prospects, my family's future. If I need to rest my brain and let someone else think for me I guess I'll always have the radio. Unfortunately I won't have any mobile devices like a CD player or an I-pod, so that won't be an option, but I don't think I'll be lacking in things to keep my mind occupied. Then of course, I should probably pay attention to driving some of the time.
By now, if you were listening to the "Sweet Ride" song on Larry's DiscConnected blog, the song has probably ended. If you weren't, maybe you can still hop over to his site and say hello to him. I guess I'm thinking about Larry because he lives in Phoenix and I'll be in and out of town in such a flurry I won't have time to meet up with him
For that matter I'd say anyone who lives along Interstate 40 between Holbrook, Arizona and Knoxville, Tennessee could stand along the roadside between today (Friday) and Sunday night and wave as I drive by in the rental truck. Of course since I don't know exactly where I'll be at what time then that won't be very practical. But if you do happen to see a rental truck rolling down that highway, just think of me. Think of me anyway as I take my sweet ride home.
Have you ever made a cross country move? Did you rent a truck and move yourself? Have you gotten to know my buddy Larry at Disconnected yet?
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