Very glad I didn't try to swap trucks yesterday.  I wouldn't even have gotten out of the Ryder truck rental place in time to get back to the dealership to get "my" truck.  I'm still very disappointed after being told by numerous beings in this corporation that they were getting 10 new trucks to find out yesterday they aren't getting any  new trucks, they had been given to "other" people and that was that.  Change that, I wouldn't have even made it TO the Ryder place after all the rigarmaroo at the Volvo dealership. Without going into all of that stuff  and ready to leave, I get a message on the screen on the dashboard about a light that has an open circuit.

I assume this means a burnt out bulb.  I checked all the lights, but admittedly didn't check the brake lights.  Yet, anyway.  They make it next to impossible to do that without having someone else out there looking at them.  I found something to prop the Johnson handle down enough to engage the trailer brakes, enough to turn all the brake lights on.  Sure enough, the passenger side brake light inop.  I was treading the waters of not having enough hours for the day to sit around waiting or "authorization" to buy a freaking sealed light and then have someone install it, so I just bought the thing and installed it myself.

The days of hotel stays are over.  Unless this truck breaks down again. What I found utterly hilarious is that the only thing wrong with it was the clamp that blew off the hose.  Yup.  I mean, I took pics of this shit and sent it to my manager who sent it to the dude that is supposed to "know everything".  Not my truck, not my money. I document everything with pics, if they want to ignore that, that's on them.

Wait, I shouldn't say over completely. In situations where I find myself having to sit for 15 plus hours, I likely will find my own place and it's whatever.  I guess I'll have to get used to this truck - or go find a new job, cause' they could care less about broken promises of new trucks. I didn't ask for a new truck, btw this came from them at the get go. I guess I good sign should have been that after orientation, they didn't even have trucks for us to drive.  Still, this thing has over 500 k miles on it, it was sitting in a yard for them to get rid of it, not for some new driver to have to come along and take. And now, these other 2 new drivers are going to get stuck in old trucks from the teams that got the new ones.
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Saturday.  Day off.  Been doing laundry literally all day long.  Lots of back log in that stuff.  Put together my new office/computer chair.  I'm also going to buy a nice, new computer desk and also a dresser/chest of drawers set.  I found one that I talked down to $250, very nice looking set but I don't have the time to go up there and get it.  It's about 60 miles from here.  Well worth the trip, just no time today. I have too much to get done around here and then, off to the Port again tomorrow. That's Cheniere.  I don't really want to be sent there too often, tho.  I hope she doesn't make a habit out of it.  You make no real money on that trip. Other drivers warned me about it, but after actually doing one of those trips, I can see why.  It's basically a waste of time.  I mean, if I can do it in one day, then fine.  But last time, too many obstacles put in my way to get that done.

I'ts probably around a $300 trip, so yes, one day.  But, regardless of when I get back, either tomorrow night or Monday morning, it will cost me Monday of getting another load and getting out on a hopefully longer run. I'm making a minimum of $300 per day at this job, some days much more than that.

Well. Anyway. Upon looking at the closets in the tractor more closely, the one that is really narrow is a hanging clothes closet.  Which would be fine in some other setup, but not in a tractor where space is limited.  that closet could have been made much wider and accommodate for many other things than just hanging your clothes up in there.  Like a refrigerator?  I can keep my clothes in a duffel bag, thanks, I need the space for other things.  Volvo messed up on that one.

Uhh, I guess I'm stuck in the thing, that has an automatic transmission that I totally despise. After being in the rental truck and shifting gears, I didn't want to go back to this thing.  I found out at the rental place that they actually - allegedly anyway - have a thing on commercial licenses that's added if you aren't "qualified" to use a manual transmission.  The whole trucking industry is being transformed into something totally unrecognizable.  People that can't shift gears?

More and more stories about driverless trucks. They're coming.  I don't know when they will take over the industry, probably years down the road, but it's going to put a lot of people out of work.  Millions and millions of people aren't going to have a profession anymore.  So what's my take on this? I can't stop automation.  I can't stop technology.  I don't trust driverless trucks for several reasons but they are hell bent on putting them out there.  It's coming, sooner or later.

They can do most of the work I'm currently doing.  Excepting at places that the driver has to unload - but that can be accomodated for.  I just don't know.  I'm getting too old to try and switch to something new.  Well, not really.  I could if I were forced into it.   If I were ask my company right now if they were going to do the driverless route when it becomes available, they would probably say no. But given the opportunity? Sure, those trucks will cost a LOT more, but you aren't paying a driver and giving him/her benefits.

It's kind of sucky, really, that they are hell bent on going that route.  I just have to accept it's coming and what am I going to do about it?  Nothing.  I'll drive until they don't need me anymore and then?  I dunno.  Maybe I'll have property by then and can raise a small herd of cattle.  I was in an Uber today, the dude is older and doing it for extra income. But even that is going to go away to driverless cars.

This technology is being tested, it's only a matter of time.  The only question that remains in my mind is: will they allow this technology to transfer over to hazmat? And I can guarantee you, they don't have anyone at gas stations that can unload those trucks. There are situations I can think of where automation isn't going to work. Or, it will work to get the product there but after that, unless they also are going to have robots, it's going to need a human being to fulfill the rest of it.

Funny we're in an age where humans are being factored out.  I'm not 20.  I don't have my whole life ahead of me.  But, I will adapt if I have to, I'll figure something out.  Just kind of scary, really.  To think that in the near future, probably anyway, millions and millions of people's line of work will be eliminated.