Well here we go.
This morning, I texted the manager up here.  Done at UMASS, do I head back to UGI?  I wanted to actually do at least one more run to get a bit better paycheck. But he texted back, contact me after we're done, let's talk about the next steps.

Well, that was a dead giveaway to me that it is time to go home.  I gave it a 99% chance anyway.  So, I called him and sure enough, that was exactly the plan.  I got you a rental car to drive to a hotel and then to the airport for tomorrow. I just need you to go to Lancaster with me to get a tractor from a dealership.  New truck, not bad. Not for me obviously, he just wanted it transported back to the yard for whoever's going to get it. 

Now, before I get sidetracked with anything else, I can guess how this is going to go, based on his words after he said everything else.  We're going to drive to Lancaster, it's an hour's drive from here. He's going to try to talk me into coming back up and stay for several months, with home time at whatever intervals he prescribes. Okay, I had to throw that out there and see if what I'm thinking will come to pass.

Because...first off he wanted me to stay when I said I needed to go home.  When I gave him a respectful reply-  unfortunately I can't because of this, that and the other thing - he said ok.  But, today, he flatly stated that he would like me to come back up after I get whatever I need to get done at home - done.  I don't know how this company operates, but I'm getting a feel of it.  I dunno. I really don';t want to do it. I have a nice set up going there now.  I get sent out for 2 or 3 days and then I come back to Longview with the truck and then I go home, at least over night, sometimes for a day and a half.  Any way about, I always get to go home afterwards. 

That obviously isn't a happening event up here. It's life on the road baby.  You live in the truck, you get a hotel here and there, you don't go home.  I mean, local drivers get to go home, but not me.  The perplexing part of this is, my manager said she hired us because they were expanding their contracts and they needed more drivers.  This is why I'm going to go in and have a conversation with her about this.  Where do I stand?  What do you expect of me?  What do you expect me to do in this situation? 

I thought I had this clearly defined from her from the get -go - and maybe it really is, but I need to hear this from her.  From what I have heard, your direct manager has the final say in whatever is going to happen. 

So anyway, this morning.  Lol, I knew when I pulled into that hotel parking lot and seeing the "exit" that there would be issues come this morning.  I was on the top/3rd floor of this Econolodge.  I'ma telling you, for the money, it's an excellent hotel. It was sooo quiet. I never heard a single other person on that floor the 20 hours I was up there. Not even staff.  Just wonderful.  Comfy bed, I slept like a log, had a lot of bad nights of sleep to make up for. Tonight will be another of those nights.  I'm half tempted to rig something up to keep the gas pedal pushed forward a bit and just run the engine all night long. At least I would sleep. 

I was looking out the window of my hotel room and looking at the exit. It's basically an L turn.  I was like, I am pretty sure I can't make that turn without driving out into that thick drift of snow on the side.  Well I went out there this morning, heck no!  I would have had to drive over deep snow, over the landscaping and into the next driveway over. 

Well, the only other way out was the way I came in  - but in reverse.  It was a tight turn in and then around the curve into this small parking lot.  It was hard enough coming in here, I dreaded trying to back out, especially since they had driven 4 foot rebar into the ground all over the place at the curb edges.  I tried to take 3 of them out there were definitely going to be in the way, no dice. I ended up backing around that mess. It took 5 tries before I finally got the trailer headed towards a parking lot on the other side of a very busy road. That was the next challenge, getting out into traffic.

Well no worries, I saw a gap in the traffic on my side of the street, I quickly got the truck out there, blocking traffic. Then it was just a few seconds before a patient driver stopped and waved me out from the other side.  It didn't take that long, but by the time I got the truck on the road, there were at least 20 cars backed up either direction.  I have to tell ya tho, for the price, I would do it again if I had to. 

Anyway, after Lancaster tomorrow, I get into a rental car, I think I drive to a hotel near the airport and then spend the rest of tomorrow doing nothing - but in a hotel so I"m cool with that.  Then Saturday at whatever time I get on plane do Dallas and then catch an connector to Longview.

I'm getting tired and I have stuff to do to get ready.