Monday - afternoon

Today has been study-for-hazmat-test-tomorrow day.  I have been doing it on and off all day long. Taking test, after test, after test. Just when you think you have it down? Boom! they throw a bunch of random questions at you that you have no idea what the answers are and you fail that particular test. So, you take it over and of course, ace it since you just took it lol. The only difference when they do that is they move the questions around.  

Not a fan, especially considering I'm not currently hauling hazmat, tho my company certainly has hazmat routes.  There is some caustic stuff they ship for use at a roofing tile plant, other than that I haven't used it. But, I don't want to lose the certification and the company wants me to have it so, here I am answering dozens of test and either getting them right the first time or definitely getting them right the second.  

I will be going back to those tests later on and doing them over to see if I have retained the information in my brain cells. Note that i am doing tests from a variety of different online sources, not just one  to ensure that I am getting questions thrown at me from all angles.  80% is passing grade. Last time I took it, I got all but one question correct.  I dunno if I will do that this time, my brain isn't really in the hazmat category n ow that I am not doing the ethylene run for that previous company but I am at least fairly confident that if I continue to do this for the next several hours? I will pass it tomorrow.  

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Extended to Tuesday

I studied yesterday for hours.  I studied this morning for 2 more hours. I figured I was ready for the test.  So, I drive with the oldest kid (they're on winter break from school) 2 towns over. The local DMV didn't have availability and yes, you have to make an appointment. Gone are the days of just showing up and waiting in line.  Personally, I think it's an excuse for employees to do less work.  But. maybe not.  

I had to fill out a huge pile of papers. I thought that odd considering this is a license renewal. Yes, it's a CDL with hazmat and tanker endorsement, but so what?  What has changed? Nothing. 

After all of that, I was seated at the computer terminal to take the hazmat test. Remember, I have done countless practice tests on line from a dozen separate sources.  In the first 5 questions, I got 3 of them wrong.  My heart sank. None of those questions were on any material that had been covered - not even close.  I was guessing and I guessed wrong.  I thought, I'm done, toast, zilch, nada, history, I'm going to fail this test.  But then? a bunch of questions that had been covered, albeit they worded them differently, I had to think about some of the answers for a while . 

They don't make the hazmat test easy, on purpose I assume,  I got around 20 questions answered and then? I got another one wrong!  4 wrong answers. I thought I had flunked . I finished the rest, they were easy questions that had been covered on the tests numerous times.  This is the day and age that the tests are instantly graded right there, no humans need help.  PASS!!!!!  What?  Turns out, you can get 5 answers wrong and still pass!

I was a bit ashamed of myself, tho, of getting so many questions wrong. I went to great measures to ensure that I would get all or most of the questions right, missing 4 of them was unacceptable, but then again, there was material not covered.

And several of the questions I did get right?  Trick questions.  You really had to look at what they were saying and think about it before giving an answer.

Finished with that nightmare - I was sweating it, I can tell ya  right now - we went to Bubba 33.  BTW, that child was immensely encouraging the entire time.  It was  a lot of "you can do it!" "You'll pass!" "You've got this!" He sat there in the DMV room right behind where I was taking the test, beaming, smiling, I thought, what a bummer this is going to be if I actually do fail.  

It was a happy day. The lady friend's birthday, I took her steak lunch home to chow down on and then later on, she went with one of her friends to Applebee's. While she was there, I dragged the kids to Super   1, snagged a birthday cake and a happy birthday! candle (no age on it, she doesn't care for that much I don't think).  When she got home with her friend, we all sang happy birthday to her.  

Regular 1st load for me tomorrow.  I am happy about that, those super early loads really drag me down.  I am scheduled to work the next 4 days, Sunday off and then on Monday and Tuesday. 

Oh, and the dad left here this morning.  He had been waiting since early yesterday for a load, they finally gave him one.  Down to Houston and then on his way over to California  He's new to this, he'll figure out that he doesn't want California loads at all. You hit the state line? It's a 55 mph limit for trucks all over that state.  And a lot of other things I will not waste my time going into - such as ridiculously intrusive idling laws - for I need to go to bed soon.

I had another guest move out today. He had been there fully a year, but I knew he wasn't "permanent", none of them really are, tho there are 3 spots that have been occupied by the same people for over 2 years now, one of them moved in not long after I opened the park. The 1st will mark 3 years in business.  Oh how time has flown by and oh how my dreams - not really come true yet - but we're on our way - hopefully.  

If I'm going to make a New Year's Resolution, it isn't going to be about losing weight, eating right or whatever, it's going to be about getting that project moving along.  I haven't done anything in weeks.  I just got so deflated after that unbelievable breach in the lines I created, I just didn't want to do any more.  I'm like, I did all of this and now I'm destroying everything? Gag.  I'm getting past that slowly. It's in my brain and it's hard to get past. Like, what am I doing trying to do all of this by myself? Yet, I know I can do it if I pace myself, think about things as I go along and don't get into a big hurry.  

Besides finishing the sewer line, I need to get a trencher and trench from the septic trench which is still there and open to the under ground main water connection so I can T off of that, insert a short line and then put in a valve.  I have to shut the water off, obviously, to install a T and after that? Well, it's gonna take a while to install all of that pipe to the intended sites.  A valve will make it possible to get that started and do it at whatever pace I find necessary.

I figure to start back up on that soon, Lord willing and I find the energy and wherewithal to do so.  

It's almost 10:00 pm and I have to be up at 5, so, c'yall later! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and wishing you a blessed and prosperous New Year!