Well, this rodeo is over. 
I: have no idea why they are keeping us here until tomorrow morning to hand us our PPE (hard hat, gloves, etc.), but I would have stayed another night anyway.  We didn't get off until 5, I don't see any great reason to drive through the night to get home, so it's whatever. 

Well, excepting I could have gotten up early and left out of here around 4 or 5 am and be home relatively early  You see, I have no clue what's happening next.  I mean, are they going to try to send us out as soon as we get back? Do we get a day off?  What? 3 out of 6 of us are from the same terminal, one of them we have become buddies.  He tried contacting the manager several times, she hasn't responded. 

She is busy traveling, tho.  The company sent her to somewhere in Pennsylvania for training.  This company is big on training.  It must be rich, too. They pay high wages.  They have very high dollar equipment. They are paying us .41 cents per mile to drive here and back.  That's over $400.  I will have spent maybe $125 on fuel - and that is over estimating - by the time I get back.  I'm not complaining, but this must be the reason people love working for this company.  I'm staying at a hotel that online is $109 per night. That's not a luxury hotel, but it isn't the Roach Inn either. 

Actually the hotel is very nice. It's the rude people going in and out of their rooms at all hours of the night, slamming their doors that pisses me off.  I finally got 6 straight hours of sleep last night and that was the end of that.  I will enjoy my final night here, regardless.  No point in showing up before 8 over there, the personnel I need to see won't be there before then.  There is one person that said they were there at 5:00 am.  Wow, guess you get to get off early! No.  Oh.  Yes, she said, I get 3 day weekends in return.  Now THAT is nice.

I won't be seeing any of that. That's for sure.  In fact, there is talk of us having to go out with a trainer for several weeks to learn the ropes.  This isn't the way they have done it in the past and I can tell ya, I"m not interested in spending that much time in that small of an area with a total stranger. At the same time, what we learned here? Did not train us how to hook up to huge tanks at the plants and how to operate the valves.  I obviously need to learn that. If it means being with another person for a while, I'll suck it up and go with it.  They may not like it either - tho I am sure, gauging from the way this company treats it's employees, they will be rewarded nicely for doing so.

There is one guy in particular that is retiring next year that I would love to have as a trainer.  He knows literally everything there is to know about this business.  This is some technical stuff here, hence the claims of 80k and up per year.  There is a lot of tedium and a LOT of paperwork.  I found it amazing listening to the payroll manager that drivers are leaving a lot of money on the table in regards to Detention Pay.  I don't expect to be leaving anything on the table.  If I'm at a plant longer than an hour and a half, I'm getting paid an hourly wage to stay there.

And from her description, there are many instances where you are held up.  I don't mind that as long as I'm getting paid for it.  \

Anyway, it was kind of surprising today when he announced there are only two tests left. I have taken more tests in a short period of time than I can ever remember even in high school.  In relation to a week's time anyway.  40 of them? 

Well, start a new chapter in the rather extended book of my life.  I am going to try to simply embrace it and move on with life. Meanwhile, see if there's a nice movie on TV. I'm impressed with this hotel, they have a lot of cool channels. 

I got up early this morning. Slept 6 straight hours and I knew that is all I would be getting, attempting to get back to sleep in this hotel would be a futile waste of time.  At least, when I can get up, take a long hot shower, get some of that good coffee they leave in the rooms and get the day ticking. 

The instructor was asked again yesterday how long we will be staying, he ignored the question again. However, later on, he said something about "it took longer this morning than expected, we are a little behind schedule".  I'm ready to get out of here.  I might be here until Saturday, I dunno (that's how long they have the room reserved for), but if I could get out of here today or even tomorrow, I'd be plain happy to get in that old car and drive straight home.

Which is what I intend on doing anyway, unless we get out of class and it's like 5 pm.  That would mean driving all night and I would just stay another night here instead of doing that. Get up early, like 4 am and start the drive home, be home by noonish.

I can't even try to figure that out yet, though.  He had originally said perhaps Thursday we would be done, but that was the first day we were here and no one has heard a peep yet.  How much more training could there possibly be?  I'm sure endless if they wanted to.  He has a huge rack of CD's he keeps pulling from.  Mandatory training as specked by the Feds, who can audit them for the information and review even the test results. 

So, anyway, I'm quite sure today will be a 5 o'clock day and then? Perhaps get out early tomorrow?  I dunno what the point of keeping people in the dark about that is.  We have personal lives, we'd like to be able to schedule them.  I have stuff to do at home, even if it's only home a day, I can manage it to get the most out of it and get stuff done. 

I'm half tempted to get a Starbuck's this morning, there is one on the way to the facility.  I've got plenty of time.  A nice, venti skinny vanilla latte, extra hot.  I don't do Starbucks much anymore because their prices for a glorified cup of coffee are outrageous.  Those people that support the place? Good for them. I'd rather see them go out of business and have just local mom and pop shops all over the place.  In fact, it would be a great business to go into if it could be lucrative. But with a Starbucks nearby, well they dominate the market. Wonder how much it costs to open up a Starbucks franchise, if they do, indeed, franchise? 

Best have a business degree to enter a situation like that.  Which I don't, obviously, have.  I'm always thinks what I could be doing versus what I am doing. 

Anyway, I think I'll be off of here and make that stop.