This particular trip's saga moves on.  I was informed, after driving another 7 hours today to get here, that they weren't fixing to unload me until 7:30 am.  What?  It was 1:15 pm this afternoon.  I'm going to sit in a truck for 18 hours.  I don't think so.  She said, yup, we don't unload excepting early in the morning.  Look, sweetie, I know ALL the drivers from your company.  Her to me, that is, I wouldn't talk to a security guard like that, if they don't like it, they gonna get pissed and you are going to be on their "list".  I wasn't starting trouble, lol, just offering the info that was given me.  Okay, honey, I'll be back tomorrow at 7:30 am : )

That's about the time I decided to get a hotel room. Nothing fancy, but clean, a shower, a bed and free wifi, some TV to watch the news and basically some room to not make me feel like I'm in a little box.  I can spend 10 hours in there mostly sleeping, but not 18.  Screw that.  I kept trying to call and text my manager, tho, before I did that.  Like, some specific instructions? Some strings she might try to pull to get it unloaded?  But she wasn't answering. I could get her into so much trouble for that, lol.  This company wants a manager available 24 hours a day, regardless. No, I won't do that, hahah, just brought back the memory in Amarillo at orientation.

One of the drivers said he couldn't get a hold of her and I said the same thing - but we had NO idea how that was going to play out or that that was even an issue.  I'm used to having a manager you can't get a hold of.  Her boss went livid.  I mean, they blew this up into a huge ordeal.  I was like, wow! No, please let's just calm down! That wasn't intended to get her into some kind of trouble! That's the only reason I said that, no way I would turn her in. In fact, there is a lot of stuff going on that corporate has policies against, but hey, that isn't my issue. Some of the stuff these companies want you to do is really some serious control issues.  I'm not going into details here, however, not worth it.  Not that many reading this blog but it is public, not private.

Anyway, she did finally call back. Well, I just wanted to let you know I'm stuck here until tomorrow morning. Okay, thank you.  You are getting paid for the time you have to wait. Oh really?!!!!

After that call, I figured it up: 18 hours of detention pay.  That's almost $400 for sitting around doing nothing.  Hotel justified, Im at an Econolodge.  Got it on one of the hotel sites for $46.  Not bad, not great. Get what you pay for, but there are no whores in the parking lot and there are no roaches running around. Whether there are bed bugs or not remains to be seen. The flooring is brand new, 46 inch flat screen tv, nice bathroom, working heating/cooling. Microwave and fridge.  Not bad for that kind of money. I mean, there are better hotels here, but none of them had a place to park a truck that size.  This trailer I'm pulling is a monster. MUCH larger than the other trailers in the yard. Apparently my manager has a problem finding people that are comfortable with that thing. The tandems are at the very back of it, meaning very wide turns, having to swing way out to not take out curbs, lights and people.

Speaking of trailers, need to go check the pressure. This ordeal is keeping me from home, but the pay negates that.  And being in a hotel room further alleviates that.  If they don't keep me more than 3-1/2 hours in there tomorrow, I can get home tomorrow night. Otherwise I will be sleeping out on the road somewhere in Louisiana.  Anyway, that's what's going on. A 2 day trip turning into potentially 4 days, but it's enough money with detention that it all pans out.

Now, my oldest brother and his wife sent me a Pepperidge farm gift pack!  That is absolutely amazing considering the tensions going on between us earlier this year after dad died.  And his sickening statement that really, really pissed me off. I'm not really trying to mend anything with my middle brother, he has written my mom off and that is inexcusable. I don't want to say may he rot in hell, but I'm definitely in the arena of go jump in an icy cold lake, and that is putting it much more nicely than the thoughts that actually come with it.

How do you write your parents off?  Mom is sweet, loving, gentle, kind.  Just an overall wonderful person.  There isn't anything in her at this point in her life that anyone would find offensive.  Yet,  my asshole middle brother has decided to go the same route with her that he went with my dad.  Nope, I want nothing to do with him. I don't want to talk to him, I don't want to see him online - anywhere, nothing.  I'm not even doing this again.  I don't get it and now, I don't care if I don't get it.  He can stew in his own juices. He won't be there for Christmas at my oldest bro's house, I have been invited but I doubt I will be able to go. I wish I could, tho. Even just fly in the night before, go and fly back that same day.

Whatever. Life goes on.  Just trying to think when I might just ask for 3 days in a row off. I've gotten 2 without asking 3 times now.  Certain things I don't want to do, and one of which is make myself look like I don't want to work just coming into a job. 

Welp, I'm going to fix myself to get to thinking about heading to bed.  I don't have to be there until 7:30 am, it's only 15 minutes away from here.  I was looking around when I drove into this town.  Where can I park a truck if I need to? Once  you've been to a place, you know where you can and can't park.  Until then, it's just guess work. Helps if you get there daytime so you can see around.  This hotel stuck out because a truck was already parked there.  Not a single other hotel in this town - and there are a lot of them - that I saw anyway-  had truck parking.  Not that that is surprising, I've had my issues trying to find parking places as it stands.  Some hotels are truck friendly, many are not.

I dunno what else.  I mean, I'm just waiting to see what I'm going to be getting for paychecks after all the orientation and traveling stuff isn't showing up on checks, and this next one, coming Friday, will be that.  I dunno how good that one will be, but the next one after that? At the rate I'm going, it will be fatter than any check I've had in a long, long time.  Again, I could kick myself for staying at Ferguson so long.  I get loyal to a company and I invent excuses not to leave.  It will get better, I keep thinking, but it didn't. It just kept getting worse.  That manager can literally go screw himself, what a total a-hole. 

At the home front, Donny is heading to Dallas to spend Christmas with his uncle.  Rene is staying home and I hope to be there Christmas Day, for it would really suck for both of us if the house were empty.  I am definitely not guaranteed Christmas Day off. .The only thing I am given is $140 for the day whether I work or not. If I work, that's on top of it, if not, that's what I get.  For as much money as they are paying us here, one would think they would give a bit more for a holiday, but I'm not going to complain about it.  I don't want to be on the road on Christmas Day is all I can say about that.  If they have me out before or after, fine, I can deal with it.

Rene made her wonderful fruitcake- it really is, I despise fruitcake but this stuff is good - and gave me 6 loaves of it to take to work and a plastic container full of home made cookies.  The loaves aren't that big, lol, it's just that it looks like a miniature loaf of break. It's soft, tender and the fruit in it is totally drunk with rum, also soft, not hard and very tasty. 

She is now home alone.  But, she has 3 dogs to keep her company and numerous firearms to protect herself.  Firearms courtesy of me, 2 of the dogs my courtesy as well.  Addler does, however, get very cranky after I"ve been gone too long.  That's the report I hear.  He would have expect me back today, certainly tomorrow. 

I dunno what else. There's more, but I'm getting sleepy.  Bedtime. Not the longest day today, but I woke up foggy this morning and it hung with me half the day.  I could have slept for a couple more hours.  I thought I had to get her ASAP, as the paperwork states. Obviously, they didn't need it as bad as the paperwork says they needed it. I was really getting cranky - why have to wait around here for a day and a half because of someone else's bs? ...until I found out I get paid for it. That took alllllll of that away.  I have been hanging out in the hotel all day long, only left to get something to eat and go check the trailer a couple of times.  Pressures have to be recorded on a graph.  Every 5 hours. But I have been checking this load more frequently because of the issues at the plant.  If that pressure relief valve goes on the trailer, that's it.  It just keeps going from what I'm told.  High dollar mount of product vented into the air and a trailer that will need serviced because of it.

Not that that would have been my fault if it did occur. But not one is going to tell me I didn't do due diligence to go out and check the thing frequently.  I'll have to get up in the middle of the night to go out and check it again.  Which I don't like, but I wake up every night anyway, so not that big of a deal.

Okay, I'm getting off of here.