Ok, quite the interesting trip.
First was Wednesday morning. I get to the plant and they come in and tell me after attempting to start loading the trailer that it has a broken internal cable. Internal valves are there for emergencies - if something goes haywire, you pull a lever and walaah, the product stops flowing. I had no way of knowing that that cable was busted and it came back from Mexico, it likely occurred there and they didn't bother to say anything to anyone about it.
It cost me hours - I knew right away I wouldn't be making it down there that day and that it would drag this out to a 3 day deal.
Well this is outrageous. I was scrutinizing the Settlement Sheet for my Washington trip, they paid me ZERO for the entire time I sat up there babysitting that trailer and spending countless hours blowing off pressure to keep it from automatically doing so - and causing a helluva lot of problems. With it heating up that much, those safety valves would have just kept open and there would be hell to pay. I immediately texted my manager. I have no problem asking her to give me phone numbers for these idiots that run this show above her and speaking to them directly. I have been asking around about other cryogenic companies - one of which pays 75k per year with NO weekend work. But if you DO do weekend work, it's paid at a rate of $56 per hour.
_________________________________
I kinda of got into a back and forth with my manager, tho not in a heated type of thing, sharing info on my 36 hours or so of tending to a trailer. Ridiculous that this company isn't going to pay for that. I wrote all that stuff down, she says she is going to get into it on Monday.
Meanwhile, I'm headed to Oklahoma today. I don't really like that run because it's not that much miles for 2 days but the same is true of Cheniere which is even less miles. BUT, CHeniere apparently is realizing that no drivers like that run - everyone says it to them - and is attempting to get drivers in and out of there quickly. If they continue on with that I wouldn't mind it quite so much. I do like the Oklahoma run for the stop in Bartlettsville - if I do indeed decide to take that route. The best route tho is to take the trailer to the plant yard, drop it in the yard and then wait in the parking lot outside of the facility. Ohyes that's why I don't like that place. You either stay in their parking lot all night long and get the trailer unloaded earlier or you don't and have some fun in Bartlettsville eating fine Mexican food and bowling and then show up at 8:00 am and hope another trailer isn't ahead of you to make you wait for hours.
They can only unload one trailer at a time. I guess I'l make that decision when I get to Tulsa and decide whether to head to Bartlettsville or go straight to the plant in Barnsdall. There's a Quick Trip right at the exit to go to Barnsdall - it's just a gas station convenience store but Quick Trip does have some pretty decent, fresh sandwiches. I actually parked there one night when I first started going up there and didn't know where I could park.
Well I'll be. I'm glad I have texting to 10 other drivers. We no longer have to wait, apparently they changed the whole set up up there, we drop a trailer and pick up an empty. Didn't used to be that way. No more Bartlettsville, just drive straight there, drop the full trailer, pick up an empty and head back as far as I can get with whatever drive hours I have left. Nice. If the plant loads me normal tim frame this morning, I should be able to get at least a couple hundred miles back towards the yard.
Anyway, my weekend is not a weekend at all, just another couple of days. But I'll be back at a decent hour on Sunday if all goes as I'm thinking it will - it's not possible to do the entire trip turnaround in a single day but I'm pretty sure you can get within a hundred miles of the yard at the end of it. Meaning I'll have a lot of Sunday to kick back - do laundry - and then back at it Monday afternoon and back up there again. 2 trips back to back up there. Cheniere cancelled all of their loads - plant must be having issues again.
Meanwhile, I'm just going to start looking at jobs that are completely out of the trucking realm. I don't qualify for much of anything but that isn't going to stop me from trying. I would really like a much more normal schedule back. And really, now that I know I can rent out rooms here without that much problem - so far anyway, the third dude is moving in today - I am feeling a bit more comfortable about doing a small mobile home park or possibly a small apartment complex. One that already exists tho. I"m saving money, it's going into a savings account, I'm going to try to double what's going in there. I also upped the amount being taken out for my 401k.
Anyway, close to time to leave. Judge Brett Kavanaugh circus almost over. At 4:54 pm today, they are expected to take the vote and he is expected to be voted in. Get this over with and then watch the sparks fly!!!
