Sunday - evening

Done with working the entire weekend, the dispatcher, bless her heart, has me also working Monday and Tuesday.  That's 6 days in a row working and only a day off before I started this 6 day run, I am do and need a couple days off.   She has no idea what she's doing. She just fills the slots and has no clue about driver's desires for particular days off or how they want to handle things and she doesn't care, it's not normally her job.

The manager is back and I will be having a discussion about this coming weekend. There isn't anything particularly important going on, I just want it off.  I worked this entire weekend, last weekend I worked Saturday and I don't even remember the weekend before that.  I lost track of all of it. I know I had 5 days off being sick and they accommodated for that, so I try to keep things like that in mind when they are working me to death. 

We do have a new driver, he just started yesterday. I saw him coming into Gurdon when I was leaving.  Someone gave him my phone number for a little while later I got a call from him.  He had no idea what to do.  Which outlet do I pump the fluid into? Probably the east but you need to go into the plant, find the on duty manager and have them sign off on your paperwork first and also have them determine which tank they want you to pump into.  It's all up to them. I go into the glue pit and look at the levels of both tanks so I can tell them where it's at when I find them, they are usually very busy and don't have time for it. 

In other words, you will wait.  He "got it" and I just told him if he has any other questions don't hesitate to call me. At least he didn't try to show up before me.  He was told to arrive at 11:00 am and it was 10:30 am when he actually arrived. I'm all good with that, I got there at 8:30 this morning. 

It's taking longer to get weekends done up there for a very disgruntled employee who was fired called in death threats (this was a month ago) and was going to "shoot up the place". Who knows when they will lift that, but until then? I have to have them come and unlock the main gate to let me in. But it doesn't matter, that's where the scales are so they would have to come anyway. On the weekends, the scales aren't open, the security people have to weigh you in and out.  

I'm hopeful this new driver both works out and isn't a total jackass. He sounded ok on the phone anyway. 

Strange things happen on the highways - every single day actually.  I was driving up to Gurdon on I-30 - east bound in other words - had caught up to a truck and put on my signal to come over. There was a group of motorcycles coming up on the left lane - they had been sitting out there forever - I wasn't going to cut them off but I was seeing if they would let me in.

They did not.   So I slowed down behind the truck, let them pass and then got over.  I passed 2 trucks actually, there was one right behind the other. I got back over pretty quickly, I try to be a courteous driver.  A pickup pulling a trailer came up beside me, I woman opened the window, leaned half her body out the window and had both middle fingers glaring at me, lmao.  I just laughed at them.  What on earth?  

They passed me and got over and then another pickup with a trailer came up and yes, another female got her head and upper body out the window and was also flipping me off! LOL! .

They got behind the other pickup who was following behind the motorcycles.  I didn't cut the motorcycles off, lol, I won't do that regardless. Did they think I was somehow provoking the motorcycles by putting my turn signal on?  They were not following closely behind the motorcycles I didn't even know they were with them.  

Whatever. I pulled out my phone and aimed it out the windshield, they were likely going to cut me off and possibly brake check me.   They didn't even get over.  I make it plainly visible that I have that phone aimed right at them and if they pull anything, it's going to be recorded. Honestly? I didn't even have the thing recording, lol, I just do that when I want to trick people who are acting erratically out there to see that they are not going to get away with anything, or at least think they aren't  and just move your ass on, get out of my line of sight and take  your idiotic wrath and rage elsewhere. 

I really want out of trucking. That desire gets stronger and stronger.  The park is - well it's supposed to be full. Some sort of company that finds accommodations for corporate people had called me several times reserving a lot for someone coming in - for an entire year.  I had said yes, they said he was arriving on the 6th.  That was yesterday and a no show.  I told them today I am losing money - I literally turned someone away assuming this person was showing up.  

The point is that it is possible that I could fill those 4 lots I have been wanting to get going.  Very possible.  I am going to go buy the stuff I need to give to the man tomorrow - it's glue and stuff to put the pipe together.   And someone stole my stepladder - $150 worth gone.  That was quite a while back, I never replaced it.  Other than that, I have most of the pipe I need to finish the sewer line portion of it. 

He has a buddy that has some sort of mini trackhoe he says he'll ask about trenching a line for the water line.  I gotta get this going, it's been idle long enough. I'll get my @$$ down in there if I have to, I'd just like some help with it.  It's pretty hard work.  Not impossible for a lone person to do it but  an extra set  of hands and eyes makes it  soooo much easier.  

Well, the day is gone. Almost anyway. 8:00 pm.  Oh, well this company told me to hold the spot. Yeah, I"m gonna start charging them the nightly fee, I have their credit card on file. I will be telling them tomorrow that I am going to start doing that and if they don't want me to, immediately drop their reservation and I'll just let it go. But I ain't holding it forever.  IF this person does show up, the start date will be Saturday - yesterday and I will charge accordingly.  I don't mind this kind of setup, I've done it before and it's quite convenient getting that money monthly without any hesitation.  

I'm starting a 3 day fast tomorrow.  I'm going to force myself to lose weight. It's getting ridiculous and I'm just ready to do something about it. I don't want to take pills - you've seen those pills and now you are hearing about some serious potential side effects.  I have adverse side effects to lots of common drugs that don't give other people any problems. Doctors think I'm making stuff up or something,  I don't tolerate that stuff. I will take your pills if I don't feel like I'm dying while I am taking them.  I get testy right back with them, is there some reason I would just make stuff up?   

Fasting? The only side effect is hunger, lol. I'd love to make it 5 days but I'm only shooting for 3, 5 is really hard, I've done it but barely made it through it. After that, I'm back on Keto but this time, no or very little diary products.  In other words, that high fat stuff.  Not good for the cholesterol count I found out the hard way.  

I think I'm going to take my leave of this, go watch tv for a while and then call it a day. 

 Friday - evening

The kids are gone. Finally.  Just yea, we needed a break from that.  I am not the parents so i can say that without anyone judging me, tho I deal with them all the time.  I love them to pieces, almost their entire lives, we have lived together but yea, I like my breaks from that stuff.  The grandparents have them, they want them and they are capable of dealing with them - or not - who knows but they do love them so there is that. 

I call them my nephews because the parents have always referred to me as their uncle. The kids understand I am not blood relative but they call me uncle anyway. There are other uncles and aunts involved who are also not blood related. Understand that this family has no other relatives living anywhere even remotely close to where we are. Clarification in case there was confusion.  It's easier for me to say "these are my nephews" than go into a long, winding explanation of what is going on.  

Anyway, I got up to the plant to deliver this morning and lo and behold, there is another one of our trucks unloading.  Note that this truck definitely shouldn't be there. I wasted zero seconds contacting the company.  I did not pull any punches, I am SICK of this SHIT.  That was a text to dispatch, the manager immediately called me. 

He spent several minutes apologizing, so I'll give him that.  I told him to be there at 7 am. Yea, the guard shack informed me he got here 20 minutes ago.  That means he arrived at 8:20, not 7 am.  Manager confirmed - they track everything, all trucking companies do.  The manager tried to take responsibility - he doesn't want me or anyone worth a s*** to leave - all well and fine, but...obviously this wasn't his fault. It's the driver who didn't give a sh** who arrived whenever the HELL he pleased who was instructed to sh ow up at 7:00 am.

I stopped short of ultimatums for the manager was really going out of his way to try and appease the situation.  I told him I got my @$$ out of bed at 5:30 am to deliver, NOT GET MY ASS OVER HERE TO WAIT FOR SOME AHOLE DRIVER TO SHOW UP OUT OF HIS TIME SLOT. Thank you. Venting? Yes, in fact I am.  I was going to inform him it will be a flat $150 fee every time from now on this happens. 

It will occur at some point. A person will show up whenever they want to, it will be in my time slot and I will demand $150 extra fee.  I don't care if he agrees to it or not, I really don't. I'm done with this, it's just his endless apologies got to me so I let it go.  I told him flatly: "this time".  I feel for him. He's working with a junk fleet, low pay for drivers - I was quitting so they gave me more -, not-so-great-benefits. Their health care insurance sucks. Badly. 

I'd write more but fatigue has kicked. It's 8 pm and I could easily go to sleep right now. I won't, instead I'll feed my dog and get some other stuff done and then go to bed.  

Wednesday - morning

The park is basically full again. One more lot - that has been reserved to fill and it's done.  That will motivate me to get moving on the project once again.  I mean, it's going to cost around 5k worth of gravel, 2k worth of wire, $1,600 of pedestals, more rentals, I have most of the pipe I think so that's about it and add a grand for good measure.  So near 10k for 4 lots, which is cheap actually. Oh, plus labor, I'm figuring that guy is going to suck a couple thousand out of me to do the work.  

Look, I only have one day off here. After working all the way up to the weekend and also Saturday, only having Sunday off, working another 2 days and now a day off? I don't feel like working. It's just what it is.  I'm going out there anyway and bush hog the whole front portion of the property, yes, but then I'm having that guy come out and we can discuss his abilities, number one  and then number 2, how much he's going to want to do the work.  

He has to have the knowledge how to do the stuff or it's a no go.  If I have to work with him then it's just an hourly wage - it will be a good one to keep him there - but we aren't going to start talking "contract" pricing for something he can't even do. If hourly, he's just a laborer with me telling him what to do.  It's weird in these parts. People who aren't contractors, don't own a business, have no insurance and really have no business asking contractor rates? Want contractor rates anyway.

I pretty just brush people like that off, they are usually rip offs and they usually don't know what the hell they are doing. Or, they sort of know what they are doing, their normal job is doing that stuff....but....they are under supervision and someone who really knows what's going on tells them what to do.  

I do find it amusing when teenagers want to "quote" a job.  Uhh, no. I'll pay you and hourly wage. They get mad or feeling like they are being abused somehow and won't do it.  I don't want anything to do with people like that. Hourly people are just as much of a pain tho, most of them have to have constant supervision or they'll pull out their phones or find something - anything to do excepting the work they are being paid to do. Been there and done that as well.  

My credit score finally went back into the 700 range and in the next coming months it will go much higher. I screwed up on the mortgage payment - forgot about it - and got seriously dinged for that. Like almost 100 points.  That will slowly come back up - it will take a while. But paying off the credit cards? Only 3 of them are showing paid off so far, in other words 3 have been reported, and it already had a huge effect on the score, jacking it will up by almost 100 points.  

It's the credit utilization.  The higher your usage, the lower your score. They say that creditors think that if you are using a lot of your available credit on your cards, you must be in dire financial straits and they are hesitant to offer you loans.  Or, more likely, they are going to offer you loans with extremely high interest rates.  They are still saying this to me.  29 percent interest on a 43k loan? That's just plain outrageous, immoral in my view of it. 

I'll give you a real example, it's in my creditkarma right now: a 43k loan at 26.93% interest? I will end up paying $32,082 in interest above and beyond the loan amount. So I'm paying 75k for a 43k loan? No thank you.  I'm in a high interest loan now, one I used to pay off credit card debt that was at an even higher interest rate than the loan amount.  I'm just waiting for the interest rate to drop, the payments to drop and get out of this one.  I'm not a deadbeat, I pay off my loans.  I don't like it, obviously, but it feels so good to have dumped all of that other credit card debt.  There is still a little but most of that is on the business cards.  I have a couple of those and those payments come out of the business account.  

Basically, I have a 20k card that paid for the initial stages of the upgrade and also that blunder I caused tearing up the lines.  

I have enough available credit on that card to pay for the rest of phase 1 I guess I'll call it of this upgrade.  The goal would be to get everything done and try to get those new lots filled up quickly to be able to pay for the monthly payments and pay the card back down.  That's how I want to pay for it, I am not going to dig into savings for that venture.  IF all goes right - which it probably will but not counting chickens before they hatch - 4 lots will go far beyond paying for just the monthly payments. It will pay start getting the business account levels going back up.  I need money in there for the property taxes and the insurance payment at the end of the year. 

Property valuation went up again, I just received the statement. They are claiming a 12X20 shed that cost me $4,100 is worth 27k. Lmao.  The flip side? I doubt they are valuing my rv park as high as they could. I don't know if it's worth trying to fight it to get it reduced.  It might backfire and end up getting jacked up even hire. I only have a month to think about it and act on it, after that, they cut it off and you owe the money regardless. What I need to do is find the valuations of other rv parks in the area and see what's what.  

Inserting a note here: My nephews watch the dumbest, most annoying stuff on tv.  I'm hearing this nonsense and wondering WHY oh WHY do those people in those videos - YouTube - ALWAYS HAVE TO BE YELLING ABOUT EVERYTHING.  My nephews know I hate that s*** and they always turn the  tv down when it starts up lol. 

________________

Many hours later.  We went over to the park - we being one of the nephews who wanted to earn some money mowing grass = I got him in the doggy park and I went to work on the front - oh I'd say it's about 4 acres, maybe less.  Yeah, more like 3 acres I think.  

___________

And many more hours after that.  Like, it's almost time to go to bed.  We went and saw a really creepy movie, it was just plain weird and trippy.  Backrooms, it's hard to even describe this movie and the ending was totally weird.  Left people wondering "what actually happened here?" or "what did I just see?".  Alice In Wonderland stuff.  I don't think I liked it all that much, had a few scary parts in it.  Wouldn't watch it again, that's for sure. 

As for now? Well, facing another day in paradise tomorrow driving the truck down south, getting the trailer washed out and the truck loaded.  My favorite thing to do! NOT.  

 Monday - evening

Yeah - today.  I headed over to Haughton early.  I remembered that I had forgotten to get fuel on Saturday on the way back from Gurdon. That's just not my habit. I get fuel in Lufkin and I don't have to fuel again until - Lufkin again.  Hence it never even crossed my mind about fuel while driving on I-30. 

But, the fuel gauge showed almost quarter tanks, there was at least 40 gallons in there if the gauge was correct.

Yeah, about that gauge.....Maybe 10 miles out from Haughton I looked at the gauge again and it showed just above empty. Like, it IS empty.  Well nothing I can do about it, there are no fuel stations out there until you get to Haughton, where there is a Pilot. That was my plan, get fuel at the Pilot in Haughton.

The plan almost worked! UNNNNtilllll.....I got into the fuel station, saw all lanes were occupied so I just ended up pulling up behind a truck.  Figured to wait until they left.  Then the engine started chugging. I know that sound. It's running out of fuel.  I immediately turned it off, hoping it would fire up again when a lane became open and then just idle it up there.  

That was the problem tho, the "up there" part. I was on a hill. There's a grade going up  to the fuel pumps and that's what threw it all off.  The fuel went to the rear of the tanks and obviously the feeder tube was therefore no longer able to pull up and of the little amount left in it. 

I was 30 feet from the fuel pump folks.  THIRTY FEET.  I got out, went into the store, bought a 5 gallon can and promptly filled it with diesel. Dumped it in the tanks and then got 5 more gallons.  Then I opened up the hood and started pumping the primer pump. Just a little thing.  When you run a truck out of fuel, good luck getting it started again with a service truck coming out. I spent probably 45 minutes on it when it finally kicked in! 

And then stopped.  I went and got  5 more gallons, dumped that in there and gave it the last hoorah.  No dice.  It wouldn't start again.  I called dispatch, they told me to call the service lady who said ok, she'll find someone to come out.  Meanwhile, a guy had approached me and I said well, if I could get the fuel filters off, I could fill them with diesel and that would probably do it. I am soooo close. 

He went and got one but it was the wrong kind. It just started eating into the filter instead of turning it off.  Thanks for trying!

It was taking a while for the service lady to call back - must be having problems finding a service truck. That Pilot didn't have a shop.  So, I went out and started pumping that thing again.  And again.  And on the third time pumping it - it's 100 or more pumps per try - it fired up.  And it kept running. I immediately put the hood up and got up to the pumps - it's  much more level there tho at that point I had dumped enough diesel in those tanks to not have to worry about it.  

I did not turn the truck off while fueling, no way Jose.  Near $900 worth of fuel later and I left there after getting the receipts for the 3 5 gallon treks.  Over to the washout - it's a half mile down the street - dropped my trailer and then picked up the one I was supposed to get. 

But, there was no washout ticket anywhere on it.  It didn't appear as tho it had been washed out. I went into the office, has this trailer been washed out yet? No, he replied after looking through his system, the paperwork hasn't been turned on. Figures. I call dispatch and it's then that they inform me that I need to go to the regular washout in Nacogdoches to get it cleaned up. 

Yeah, they could have told me that in the first place....

2 hours to the washout, they did that pretty quick and then over to the plant where they also got it filled up pretty quick and then just drive back. But, it was 3:30 when I arrived for all the hassle with the truck and also going out of my way to Haughton in the first place to get the trailer.  

It took it all out of me, I was not getting on the tractor today to bush hog the front.  Just no thanks. 

And for the second time, process servers calling me looking for a person that allegedly lives in the park.  I said well you already called here a few days ago. Oh, well that wasn't me, musta been someone else.  Well whatever, that person no longer lives there. I had to think about it and remembered a guy with that last name - like 2 plus years ago.  

___________

Alright, a few minutes to rest, relax and contemplate.  I feel like I get nothing done on long trucking days, or, trucking days where I might get done in 7 hours but I didn't sleep well the night before.  I had both today. 6 pm I felt like taking a nap but thought, nahhh.  Too late in the day for that. .Just stay up until around 9 pm and then crash for as long as I can, but hopefully 7 hours anyway?  Who knows.  

f

 Saturday - evening

Yesterday.  I got permission to show up early to get loaded at the plant.  I ended up arriving there at 7:35 am, 25 minutes early.  I figured I would show up around then, I don't like showing up on time, I always like to be early.

It's a good thing, too.  The loader person didn't show up, called in sick.  A manager of whom I had gotten into it with not long ago - that was explained in this blog so I'm not going into that again - came out and said no one was there to load the truck, got a big smile on his face and said "I'm going to load it". Thank you! I'm easily able to brush off past bs if the other party is going to take a different path.  

Trucks started coming in.  I got loaded pretty quickly, he knew what he was doing loading the truck, he had no idea how to do the paperwork.  When I got into the control room, he was locked out of his computer and it took a while for him to get into it.  Then he was asking for help.  These managers knew how to do the old software when they were loaders, they have no idea how to do the new software.

In that, I keep hearing about all of these people coming in and how they're going to have to wait.  I was really glad I got in there early for mom couldn't be at the church to get the kids from the church camp.  Someone needed to be there at 12:30 and even tho it took them 45 minutes to do the paperwork. I go to the Pilot in town, it's that or Flying J, we're not allowed to get fuel anywhere else.  Which is stupid but whatever.  I get they want to cut fuel costs but it can cause a lot of problems if something happens, such as...

....the Pilot diesel fuel lanes being completely shut down.  I can tell you something that just hit me right now: I completely forgot about fuel today.

Anyway, on the way back, no fuel just kept going, the truck has large fuel tanks, I get a text: they switched their arrival time to 11:30 am!  Oops. I looked at the clock, and figured I would still be there in plenty of time.  And I was, 40 minutes early.   Those kids were completely worn out. The oldest is STILL laying in bed, only getting out of it a few times today to play with his brother.  His voice is deep as well, you can tell they wore their asses right out, keeping them busy into the night hours. 

I wonder how those adults have that much energy?  Lol.  I guess I did earlier in life, but still, that's a very demanding schedule especially with elementary school aged kids.  

Well, we heard their stories which went on for quite a while - well I heard them first since I picked them up but they didn't hold back with mom either lol.  

Fast forward to today. Up at 5:30 am - well I had to get up at 4 yesterday - up to Gurdon.  Took longer to unload, probably the product was chilled too much, they do that a lot and it ends up taking much longer to offload it.  Back to the yard, it was hot.  The truck was not cool, the air blowing out of the vents was coolish, but certainly not ice cold like you're used to in car ac.  It was uncomfortable and I doubt I"m going to be able to handle it until after the 22cd of July .... It's going to get quite hot and already is.  I need  a cool environment in a truck, otherwise besides being extremely uncomfortable, it also makes me sleepy driving while hot. 

Yup, I'm likely to say something about it this coming week.

Then I get a call.  You are going to be taking the trailer to the washout in Haughton and picking up X trailer that is sitting there. Just a note, the driver said one of the tires "might be bad".  What a load of crap.  So this driver gets away with dumping HIS problem on to ME? WHY DIDN'T HE HAVE THE DAMN TIRE FIXED? It takes hours, usually, to get one single tire replaced.  Stupidity and I said something to the dispatcher - so you are telling me I'm getting dumped with this other driver's problems? I HAVE TO HAVE THE TIRE FIXED, HE GETS AWAY WITH IT? 

Sorry - not sorry.  It's ridiculous.  No one wants to spend that much time in a tire shop, but if you damage one or it is otherwise just worn out, YOU DEAL WITH IT, YOU DON'T DUMP IT ONTO ANOTHER DRIVER. I haven't seen it yet, I'll refrain from saying anything to the manager about it until I see if there is an actual problem. Highly likely there will be, if the driver says "there might be a bad tire on it", that's just his way of saying "I don't want to deal with it".  

As it stands, I completely forgot about fuel today.  It's because I have a habit. I get the truck loaded, drive 3 miles to the Pilot, fill it up and then I don't refill again until I load again.  So today, it never even entered my mind.  The problem? Well, I know from experience I can do a full run and then most of another full run before running out of fuel. I know this because I have done this before lol.  I ran out of fuel going to the fuel station after loading - but - I was lucky. The engine started to die, but I knew if I could get off of that hill I was on, I would level the truck out and the fuel would flow enough to get to the station.

And sure enough, I was right.  In this case, I have to go to Haughton, which is 61 miles.  There is a Pilot there.  I filled the tanks all the way up last fill up - thankfully - so I should have enough fuel to make it there. If not, there is a Flying J near Shreveport, I just don't want to make 2 exit runs off the Interstate, that's time consuming.  As it stands, I'll have to get up at 4 am on Monday morning to get that all done and get to the washout and then to the loading plant on time.  It eats up 2-1/2 hours to have to go get another trailer in Haughton, it's not a quick thing.  

I'm just happy to have tomorrow off. The kids have been asked to get up on the stage in the main auditorium for both services to show off their camp shirts and sing the camp theme song they were singing over there.  So, it means being at church at 9:15 am instead of the 10:45 am I am usually there and also staying 2 services.  However.....I can stay at the first service and then the second service they can do their singing and then we can go home and skip the second service. It's the same message both services, I don't need to hear it twice tho I might stay for the worship on the second service because that's what I really love about church, the worship portion. 

I was going to discuss with this worker we've had over here and now over at my park about doing some work on the expansion today, but looking at it when I was driving in today? I all needs bush hogged. Meaning, cutting the rather tall grass down.  I also need to get on the Bad Boy mower and do  the lots again.

I had a guy move in yesterday and he's going to be long term. I am down to 2 lots and I have someone coming in next weekend to stay a month or two and yet another person saying they will come at some point for long term.  I don't have my overnight software up and running right now, I don't want to deal with it. I have long term and they are living like long term. A lot of them have swings, plants, even a few porches. Overnighters don't like to deal with that stuff, they call it trashy and whatever else. 

I just make sure the people doing that keep their lots clean and tidy, I'm pretty pushy about that.  I'll get right up into people's business if they start getting a trashy lot - clean it up or get out.  

Yes I want the income but I don't want it that much.  I am not operating a trailer trash park, thanks.  

As for now? It's almost 8 pm.  I'm going to play a few games and go to bed around 10. 

 Thursday - late afternoon

Work was relatively short today. Traffic is much lighter than normal now that school is out. I am not really running into any traffic jams and I find it amazing how much traffic is out there when school is in session. I thought all of that was work related traffic, not school stuff.  Anyways, it means it takes about 15-20 minutes less to get up there.

And then, this time, their system was just short of half full, a far better cry than the almost completely empty it's been the last 2 times I was up there.  Offloading also went much faster than the last several times where it's been taking an hour and 20 minutes versus the 47 minutes it took today. So, I got home early, much earlier than normal. 

Fine by me. 

I just got a call a few minutes ago from the septic company - they are coming out next week. Umm, you do know that that system isn't working at all right now?  Well I'll let Randy know, he probably knows. I replied yes, he probably knows.  I guess it hasn't been working for a while now, what's a few more days?  They aren't going to charge much more than it would cost me to go out and rent a ditch witch and buy the wiring so I would rather have them do it. They are also going to pump out the tanks, the whole thing is going to cost $950. It is what it is. There is no do-it-yourself pump-out-the-tanks setup that I'm aware of lol.

The kids are coming home from church camp tomorrow.  A relatively short camp - they left Tuesday afternoon and coming home Friday afternoon. So that's only 3 days.  I only lament a little because it cost $175 per child.  I was thinking it was going to be for a whole week.  The kids are assigned to a camp counsellor, different one for each cabin and they take pics and send them out daily. We have like 40 pics now of them, they appear to be having a good time.

This is the first time they have been sent out on something like this so it will be interesting to not only hear their tales of glorious conquest but also asking the camp counselors how they did and more pointedly, how the youngest behaved? They haven't called us, but as I have stated before, they know all about him and had a plan in place if he started going haywire.  He probably has more latitude there than what he gets at home, but that's natural anyway. Home there are rules, camps - yes there are rules but there isn't as much rigidity. 

To that end, I ended up asking the manager for super early load, if he could ask the plant if I can come in early. The reason being is that mom has to be at work 2 towns over all day long - it's the end of the school year and that coincides with what she does for a living and there is a lot of paperwork she has to complete.  I just need to be home before noon thirty, that's the expected arrival time.  I don't necessarily believe that, but ok.  If they say 12:30, it's probably more like 1 or 1:30.  Kids "I have to go to the bathroom". Oh? pull over to the side of the road, see that tree? Lmao. 

Ooh, I could run an extension cord temporary for the septic system. Yes! That would be easy, it's just 110 volt running a pump.  It pumps air into the vaults and also pumps the water out at the final vault into sprinklers.  It's not what I wanted, really, I would have rather had underground leach fields but the clay in the ground makes that impossible.  The water simply won't be absorbed into the ground and you would have a backed up system constantly.  

No, an extension cord won't do unless I want to cut the connectors at the ends off. That would waste a very expensive cord, tho I could just buy replacements and screw them back on.  I might have some wire around somewhere.....I'll have to look.  Do you know how much long, heavy duty extension cords cost now? It's unbelievable.  

They have also raised the price of having the tanks pumped out to $500 per truckload.  That's ridiculous.  It started at $350 I think then to $400, then to $450 and now to $500 in just a few year's times?  I have no control over that and even if inflation comes down, I doubt they will ever bring prices back down. That's the way it works. Someone makes an excuse to raise prices and then everyone down the line raises their prices as well.  But once that system gets filled up with toilet paper and such, there is nothing you can do, you have to have it pumped out. Oh how I wish there was city sewer here along with the city water we have. But, city water is a blessing at least, there is that.

Highs are expected to be in the mid 90's starting tomorrow. That's hot.  Blazing saddles. Hades on earth. No, not really, but with humidity and other factors not found in desert regions, it feels the same.  

 Wednesday - evening

I had a guy come over and do some weed eating last week. I asked him to clean up the area around the septic system, it was overgrown and they need access to keep tabs on it.  They being the septic company and yes, I have to have a company do a monthly inspection apparently that's state law - for commercial operations, not household residences.  He informed me there was fluid coming out of the thing and it was disgusting.  

Say what? I went over there this morning before getting into the truck and sure enough.  Raw sewage flowing out the top of on of the tanks. Enough pressure to push the edge of the lid up and allow the fluid to escape.  

Well I don't know when they came out last for it was obvious that raw sewage had been pumping out the sides of one of the tank lid for quite a while now.  There is an entire lake of poop, pee, toilet paper and whatever else over there where the sewage flowed downhill. It is absolutely disgusting and I"m going to have to have a discussion with them about this "inspection" they are allegedly doing for $30 a month, payable in advance to the tune of $360 check per year.  

And I can tell ya, it was my fault. Unknowingly  of course, but nevertheless, my fault.  The power line to the aerator pump had been severed when I was digging doing the trenching.  That was a while ago, that means that system hasn't worked since then.  Gross.  I almost wish guests would have noticed the smell so I could have gotten it fixed sooner.  

I had actually thought about that power line when i was trenching but I didn't think it would go through the area I was digging for it would be out of the way. I had no idea where the line was tbh, I was working when they were doing a lot of the work of building that park.  I'd come back and take pics, yes, but they had already done the work and filled the trenches back up.  

I dunno, but the guy said it needs a new line and recommended having the tanks pumped out. Yup, I knew the tank pumping was going to come with this after seeing it this morning, I asked why they can't just fix the line instead of replacing the whole thing? Well it's pretty torn up.  If it's me, I'm going to Lowe's buying enough line to cut it into the damaged portion, connecting it and be done with it. But, I wanted it done and so I just authorized it. I'm sure that bill won't be fun. 

This is why I stopped with the trenching operation.  How much more damage can I do? Probably nothing now, I've already managed to somehow find every single thing that could be damaged in that area and tear it to shreds.  

My sleep has been so bad that when the nights come that I do sleep well, it's too much. And so it was today that I woke up groggy and out of it to the point that when I came home, I passed out on the bed and fell into a deep sleep. Not good.  You really don't want to do that in the middle of the day, it will probably affect your sleep the coming night.  I have no idea, I hope not.  

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Well it's almost bedtime now. It's rare that I actually finish a post in one setting, I usually end up having to do something or eat dinner or go somewhere.  This time it was a proposition for "you fly, I'll buy" for a Starbucks and of course, I will fly, I like Starbucks regardless of the sentiment against the establishment.  There is a Huey's coffee house in town that just opened up - they spent a small fortune on that place and I wasn't impressed with their coffee. Not to mention there is no indoors.  You walk up or drive up, but you can't walk into the place. They have outside seating. Some of it in the shade, some of it in the open sunlight. That should work well in the summer!

Then there's a 7 Brews that opened up last year, distinctly dislike their coffee.  And then there is a vet owned coffee truck called War Daddy which isn't too bad and I do like supporting vets.  

After that? Nothing. Well, some pushups. And for now? Time for bed. 

G'nite.