Guess I'm post happy today.

Mark finally contacted me, the house is cooling down, he said. It's all the way back down to 95 degrees in here! Like that was some great thing lmao. But it's working, just that it's incredibly hot there, the last time that happened the unit had to literally run nonstop all day and well into the night before it finally cooled off again.

My phone - both calls and texts - have been off the hook today.  Between my son, Mark, Taylor and work it's been one after another after another. I gave up on trying to take a nap.  

But the AC is fixed. $125.  That would have cost minimum $400 for an AC person to come out, but I suspect $500 to $600 now.  It was $400 years ago, prices haven't gone done any, especially for AC repair to come to your house.  Of course, Mark doesn't have any way for me to send him money, so I had to ask my son if I could transfer $125 to him and could he take the cash over there? Tomorrow he replied . Cool.  It's like a $35 dollar part lol.  

Anyway,, the manager called yet again: Would you be willing to fly up there? Oh YES I replied without a second's worth of hesitation.  Sure the money driving up and back would be nice, but I'm fine getting a free airplane trip to a state I haven't seen in forever and experience something different without almost 4,000 miles of driving to get there and back.  I can get that trip over with much faster, tho I still don't know how long I'll be up there, what I'll be hauling or really, what this is all about except alluding to drivers needing vacations, some off sick and shortages.

But, when he said that, he said that's what he had heard, not necessarily what's going on lol.  Okkkkkkkkkkkkkkk.

Really weird this whole situation.  I'm packed and ready to go - but I will need to know how long I'm going to be up there, I could seriously reduce/lighten the amount of clothing I packed if it's not going to be forever.  I packed enough to last 12 days without having to do any laundry. Lol .  

So I'm back into a holding pattern.  They know it's kind of messed up with keeping me holding for this long not having any idea whether it's a go or not . I'm not really in love with the idea of getting into someone else's truck tho.  That usually entails a dirty truck that needs serious cleaning. Just the way it is.  You virtually live in the thing while you're  on the road. I like mine clean and smelling good. Not filthy and smelling like a pit.  And it opens up the possibility that they will want to use my truck for someone else. My fear is some trashy, filthy dirty person getting into all my stuff and smoking.  A smoker's truck is like a nightmare, it's truly horrible to try and sleep in what amounts to a giant ashtray.  

I've been trucking for a while, lol, I know how lots of other drivers are.  I was in one of them awhile back dropping off a fuel card - the truck was absolutely disgusting inside.  Smelly, filthy, dirty.  Another one I looked through the door - the entire floor looked like a construction site with dirt all over it.  

Kim also called. She sounded depressed.  After explaining what's going on I didn't really think there was any reason to be depressed about anything. The brother has an appointment tomorrow with the lawyer.  The lawyer will spell out to him what he can and can't do. The brother is obviously quite ignorant in this situation and has no clue, he should have gone to a lawyer at the very beginning.  He keeps saying stuff he can't do - but those things aren't mentioned in the will.  I hope a lawyer will help him straighten out his thinking on this and then, help her.  

She's really upset with Maria, is the issue. She claims that Maria's stuff takes up two full bedrooms, several closets and the garage. I knew she had some stuff, didn't know it was that much.  She also was complaining about Maria buying too much stuff for the fridge and freezer and not leaving her any room.  I understand Maria having a lot of stuff - she had her own house previously - but there comes a point where you just have to part ways with things or - if you can afford it - get a storage locker to put it in.  

Just drama. I listened to as much of it as I could stand and finally coaxed her off the phone.  I am waiting for a call back from my manager, that's a fact and the truth.  Mark also wanted to talk forever, I just had an extended phone call with him yesterday and the day before, just not in the mood for it right now.  I need for this trip to either materialize with all the necessary info or go away and get it out of my mind.  I didn't sleep that great last night so I'm probably a bit cranky to boot.  Not terrible bad, just not in to having conversations on the phone right now.  A nap would have been nice....

So this is my day at 1:00 pm. The ladies are cleaning house.  That was nice of them to do. 

Anyway, I guess I'll get off of Blogger for a while and watch tv lol.

 So now, my manager calls and connects online another higher level manager. Ruhhh-rohhhh, what is going on here?  Well, turns out, just a manager that wanted to say thanks for being on hold for 24 hours and really appreciates that i was willing to go on a moment's notice.  

Well that's the nature of trucking, lol, you get a last minute call for a run, unless your are incapacitated for some reason that is really a legitimate excuse to say no - and it better be a doozy - you take whatever they give you. Because if you turn it down?  You are setting yourself up for crappy runs, sitting longer than other drivers and basically way down on the totem poll.  With a very lucrative job like this, I'm not turning down anything.  I sometimes have to throw some info back at them - like the load they wanted me to take to Brownsville last week.  I told them I'd love to take it - and I really did want to go - but I will have to take a 34 hour reset down there after I get there.

They call back 10 minutes later - you're off the hook lol.  That's their call, not mine, but they will be paying for a hotel for me and that's a fact.  Just like this trip. There will be at least 2 34 hour resets - if I go.  Lol, it's still  on hold. 

So anyway, after the upper level manager thanked me,, then it was to the nuts and bolts of the situation.  Which is? Nothing. He literally still did not know if we're going up there or not.  It's a "project" of some sort, without defining what the project is or what the need for far off drivers is for.  Whatever it is, it sounds like it would be far longer than just 3 or 4 days up there. I know how this place works with such things, they just throw out limited information and then you find out the reality when you get there.  

They did promise me extra pay if I do indeed go.  I didn't ask for it, I make good money lol, if there's one thing I won't complain about it's the money. If with fewer perks after the company acquisition, I'm making great money.  This week's paycheck is over 3 grand.  It's more in one week's pay than I made in a month at Ferguson.  Well at the end, anyway, when they cut all of our hours back, completely eliminated overtime and cut my yearly overal pay by at least 20 grand.  It's what pushed me out of that place along with that jerkoff manager - who besides having anger issues was also responsible for the pay cut and his manager wouldn't over ride him.  Great, you want personnel that focus on excelling at their jobs, good luck at that pay rate.  

Oh and this job is in New Hampshire, not New Jersey - now I would love to go up there! That really changes it for me.  My recollection of that state - and I admit it's been several decades since I've been there is a beautiful, scenic filled state with lots of things to see and do.  Okay, I'm not on a vacation, but I do get to sight see lol.  But my manager said less than 50% chance I'm going, he was giving odds lol.

Okay, enough of this one. 

 So after my last post earlier yesterday, my manager calls me.  I'm going to be like a used car salesman, he tell me on the phone. Ok, what is it? I figured something that would put me on the road for extended period, that's the way he talks I guess when he thinks it's something drivers don't want to hear.  Summarizing - a division in New Jersey, drivers out sick and drivers on vacation, they need fill ins.  Ok, sign me up, I said without hesitation.  I didn't even have to think about it after his prior note that I probably wouldn't be working until next week. 

The Brownsville run and the Oklahoma run are both down.  That screws us for runs, totally and completely.  They are our major workload, without both of them, we have little else in terms of heavy workload to keep us busy.  The Mapleton plant was a nice shot in the arm, but certainly won't keep all of us busy or other runs that are regular but infrequent.  

So I immediately started thinking about everything that needs to be put into place to make that happen. Food, mostly.  I can't keep enough food in the truck for 10 plus days but I can at least fill it up and hope that I can get to a grocery store up there when it's depleted.  But, I also thought, hmmm, this could fall through and I'm buying a lot of stuff for nothing. Off to Kroger's I went, keeping the purchases minimal.  I already have stuff to take, just was short a few things that will keep if the run doesn't go through. 

Meanwhile, I get a call from my house in Phoenix. The dreaded call that I knew was coming sooner or later: Mark "The AC isn't working".  It's been years since it has broken down, I can be grateful that it has lasted this long.  But no one is going to live in a house when it's 109 degrees outside and heats up considerably more than that inside a house with no cooling.  I asked him about having Sam, the neighbor behind us, to come over and look at it?  Before I spend 8 grand on a new AC unit, for that is what they will tell us.  

Sam is getting old, he replied. I said well whatever, Sam knows what Hercules he  is doing and he will just fix whatever need to be fixed.  But Sam is getting old! Well I don't care about that, call him and see if he can come over and look at it!  It's gonna be out overnight at least anyway.  He then argued about some new freon that is out and you can't get without a license. Great! We don't have whatever that is in our system, CALL SAM!  It could be a compressor or it could be an electrical problem.  Sam will figure it out and give you an honest answer at least.  He finally conceded and said he'll call Sam and get back to me. Look, Mark, i replied, I'll have the system fixed, I just think it would be good to save some serious money if Sam can get it going, he wants the work, he's been over several times before, he can fix it if it's fixable.

So, Mark calls me back 10 minutes later. Sam is fixing an AC and will come over afterwards. So much for the aged theory.  If he's somewhere else fixing AC, he can also be at our house fixing AC. Good, I thought, a thousand dollars is easier to digest than 8 grand - that's about what I figure it will cost to have the entire system replaced.   A compressor is around $500 at cost, maybe less plus freon. Sam won't rape us for parts cost and he will charge whatever he thinks his time is worth.  Anyway, after this post I'm going to start looking at AC companies and see what I can come up with.  I have to be prepared if Sam says the unit needs to be replaced. He won't do that much, he'll replace a compressor or fix electrical problems, he isn't going to replace an entire system.  

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Manager texts back after hearing nothing from him and asking for details.  Umm, they haven't conacted me and I probably won't hear back from them until tomorrow. If you don't hear back from me by mid-morning, I'll get you on an ethylene run asap.  This was sent to me and another driver, I had no idea they wanted to send two of us up there. Regardless, I didn't cook anything and I didn't make any plans for leaving first thing in the morning, as I was earlier directed to do.  I don't know why I had to wait half the day and finally have to ask if it was still a go to get any info.  

Meanwhile, I texted Mark a few minutes ago.  Did Sam come over? No.  Well did he say he was going to come?  Mark then called me.  I talked to him at 2:00 pm and he said he was coming.  Well call him again, otherwise I'm doing something else.  I already found a business online, the house isn't going to go without ac forever and lose all my paying tenants.  No thanks.  I dunno why he didn't call him back sooner, but he said he would after I asked him to please do so.  

So now I have 2 issues. The trip to NJ isn't a big deal, it goes or it doesn't. The AC - big deal.  Big big deal. Mark can't just let that stuff ride, if I have to pay out the ass to fix it, so beit, I'm getting it done and over with.  

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Still in limbo/Wednesday morning.  Manager should be showing up to work around now, I expect to hear something one way or the other.  The steam was let out of my sails yesterday and now I really don't want to go.  I really don't like being left on hold when facing a very long trip. I have everything ready - excepting food. Too late now to start cooking, I wouldn't even if I did. Make all the food for nothing? No thanks.  I'll ditch the diet for a while if I have to I guess.  I don't expect to hear from Mark for a bit.  

Hours later. Manager finally contacted us - he'll be getting us the info "ASAP", they are "discussing the trip up north".  That was an hour and a half ago.  Allegedly wanting us to leave by noon.  It's beginning to annoy me.  Make up your minds, we're either going or not.  I don't care either way at this point, in fact I could just stay home and do nothing looking at this week's paycheck that is enough to cover 2 weeks.  That's a LOT of driving going up there and back and that doesn't even cover whatever they're going to have us doing, which has yet to be defined.  He must have said New Hampshire, not New Jersey, for New Jersey isn't 1,800 miles from here.  And frankly, there are a lot of divisions between here and there with drivers that don't have much to do, why they want to bring drivers from almost 2,000 miles away is unknown to me.  

That's quite a chunk of change just to have us drive up there and back.  What I'm getting annoyed with here besides it being up in the air is the fact that the day isn't getting any younger and they'll expect us to drive at least 600 miles each day to get up there-  that was already stated.  I'll be up late doing that today 

Anyway, there are 2 ladies here now that don't live here.  The lady from Maine is here for 2 entire weeks.  She seems pretty cool, the other one is very low key and is probably happy to have a place to stay until she can figure out what she wants to do. Doesn't sound like she's going to go back home.  She was talking about renting a room in a friend's or relatives house somewhere.  I believe the grandma is coming today.  I guess grandpa isn't coming, he has a job that keeps him busy. He was in retirement, he got bored lol.  

Whatever, I'm getting off of here. Take a short nap in case I'm leaving. My clothes are packed and ready to go, food is an issue but oh well, live on sandwiches I guess.