Well, I've been doing quite a bit of driving in the last 4 days. 2 round trips to Brownsville. it was  my favorite run until they apparently figured out how to keep the yard down there having at least one of our empty trailers in it. Well it's still a good run, just not as good as when you have to wait and get paid for it.  Actually, I could just do that run all the time and I wouldn't mind it.  I have the route memorized, tho I got lost yesterday trying to find my way through Houston.

Houston has hazmat routes.  You have to go 610 east or west to go around downtown. That or the tollway which takes you even further out of the way.  I can't drive 59 through the center of town and I can't drive I49 either.  Well, I went east on 610 yesterday only to find it shut down. I got off and ended up on an unfamiliar freeway, which took me to either 49 north or 49 south.  49 north had no hazmat sign on it, so I had to go south. I really don't remember how many different freeways I was on until I eventually ended up back on 610 east - beyond the construction that had it shut down.

Anyway, if Ann sent me down there again tomorrow, I certainly wouldn't complain.  But, I'm pretty sure my next run is either going to be a short one or a very long one.  Brownsville is in between - but for a 2 day run it's really excellent pay. I make around $700 each trip - 3 of those a week, well that's pay I wouldn't balk at, lol. The cool part about the Brownsville trip is it's just an overnighter. Unless there is a delay, then I get paid to wait and I get to go to a hotel, which I very much like as well.

Well I got the rent paid back for the new house and I got the money lent to James and Taylor paid back today.  That was a sigh of relief.  $1,300 of money.  I'm seriously glad to have this moving behind me, but it's really burnt me out. I'm trying not to do much of anything for a while and just recover from all of this.  I had to find a house - a feat in itself in this market, get the house secured, contact a lot of companies for services for the house, buy a refrigerator, move them, move me, move my friends back in, deal with the aftermath.  Plus work.  Plus other things I need to deal with.

Funny how much life costs.  I'm responsible for utilities, satellite and internet for 3 houses now.  Fortunately I am not actually paying all of that on my own.    I'm paying this house I'm living in, I'm giving Rene and Donny $200 per month towards costs for watching my dogs - which they have already spent quite a bit of time over there.

And, I might add, they are absolutely LOVING that place. The back yard is HUGE.  Addler can gallop like a horse and not have to slow down, making long, sweeping turns - or - coming to abrupt stops.  Aspyn is playing a game with him by hiding in  a stand of thickets that Addler won't go into. She comes barreling out of it only to have Addler chasing her all over the place.  Then she either high-tails it back to the thickets or comes crawling up under a human chair, lol.  Not as if Addler would do anything to her, tho, he loves to play.

Now, they need a lot of stuff over there, no doubt.  But I covered the basics and they can get by with it. I'll pick up stuff over time, but hopefully they can charm someone's heart and maybe some people will give them stuff.  Still, I have my own bedroom in the house - Addler and Aspyn sleep in it.  I'm not sleeping there, that bed is wayyyyy too soft for me, I wouldn't sleep at all. I am still helping both parties out with food.  They're all basically broke. I'm the only one at the moment bringing in an income outside of government sources.  But that changes tomorrow, at 5am.  Taylor is going to start working with a friend at a Taco Cabana in a nearby town.  They are going to go broke quickly if one of them doesn't start bringing in an income, she saw that and she is leading the way in that department.  I'm paying more than my fair share of costs here, which I don't mind but they definitely need to be able to at least make the mortgage payment.

Oh, anyway, Rene did score a table - but no chairs.  So I'm gonna see if i can find some cheap to go with it.  There are some affluent people in that neighborhood. Also some people that are retired but obviously well off.  I don't want to be the sole source of charity is all I'm saying. Rene is good at reaching out,  I hope she finds more stuff.