Wednesday, 11:15 am.
I heard from the manager at 3:00 pm yesterday.
Consensus from my friends is that this place isn't doing to well right off the bat considering they knew we were coming and yet had no solid plan in place to take care of the most basic need to
get the job in trucking: an actual truck to drive. 
But now, we are on the cusp of  Thanksgiving.  I'd rather them not come up with a plan until
Friday at the earliest, at this point, and simply enjoy the holiday at home.

From my perspective, they failed me, I might as well get something out of it.  I'm not getting paid
to sit  home and do nothing.  I didn't get paid for yesterday and if nothing happens today, I'm not
going to get paid for today, either.  I'll still have a check next week, it will look the same as my
checks from my old employer, so I can deal with that. 

I guess I figured that at this late hour in the morning, and this going on for as long as it has, they would have had this figured out by now.  I'm seriously considering a local job that I had dismissed
several months ago. The pay wasn't that great and the hours too long.  But after doing that last job where I was driving 11 hours a day on many days and working the full 14 hours allowable, I have had a change of mind about that.  Actually, I didn't have to work that many hours, but if I didn't I would have to work on Saturday to get caught up on the minimum amount they want done. 

$18 per hour doesn't sound like much - it isn't really - but multiply that by 70 hours, 40 at regular wage and 30 at OT.  I have no idea if they would even have me after I asked them about the hours and such.  But that's $1500 paychecks.  Not fun work, but none of it is.  It's all just driving trucks all day long.  At least you go home at night and if you really work it, you get a full weekend off.

I never really thought about it in that context because I didn't think I could handle such long hours.  I proved myself wrong on that one.  It's a large company, too, they have good benefits that grow over the time you spend working there.  Very tempted to call them.  Their job board still includes a postion out of my town.  But, I guess I'll hold off and see what happens with this one I'm at today. I don't really consider myself an employee here yet since I have yet to drive a truck for them excepting to do a road test.  The thing about this other company is - they have day cabs. That's guaranteed home every night, most of those companies with day cabs aren't interested in paying for  motels. 

But I am curious that we're getting close to noon and still no word, whatsoever from this company. Doesn't that sound like a company that doesn't have it's act together? Yet, I have yet to hear a single negative word from any of the drivers I have met that have been working there forever.  This is really a difficult position to be in for me.  I don't want to jump ship yet again and have my employment record showing me at 4 different jobs in a pretty short period of time.  Yet, if this other place would have me, I would just eat it and go with it. I was ready to do that at this current place and I definitely paid the price to get to this point in going through 6 days worth of safety training.  That stuff will rot your brain, I'm telling ya. 

Not only that, but they don't want to give us vouchers for new work boots - company policy that they pay for them because they want you to go to a specific supplier and buy a narrow range of boots that fit the bill for their hazmat requirements - until next month.  See, my manager was having a conniption about that as well. She isn't really too happy with the company at this point in how they are  handling this situation.  I wouldn't be so tempted to move on - yet again - but I'm sitting at home. I'm not earning any money. I will get a paycheck next week (bi-weekly pay) - but the next paycheck after that is going to be spartan. Paying me for mileage to and from Amarillo and a couple of paid days and reimbursing me for meals while out there. Yeah, they're paying me 41 cents per mile for the miles I put on my car, that adds up to around $500 and I might have $250 in expenses for the TWIC card that they are going to reimburse and food, but after that, it's just Monday at 6 hours, yesterday at nothing and today -  so far - at nothing as well.

I bought that smoker on one of my credit cards with full intention of paying it off before the end of the month.  You get cash reward on everything you buy.  But now?  I dunno about that.  I've paid most of my bills for the month tho.  Only thing left is car insurance about to hit, I think I got everything else covered. Guess I best check to make sure lol. 

Well, here I sit, waiting on a phone call.....