So now I'm seriously looking around for a new job - one that pays well, but I don't care if it's hazmat tankers or not.  I'd like to stay in this line of work, get the required experience and finish out my career in one of the local, family owned companies that basically only hire the cream of the crop.  But, in the real world, that may never happen.  A local job is top on my list, but not a deal breaker.  What I'm doing now is survivable since I get home after every trip.  So, I can do Regional but that's it.

There is a place advertising over 100k per year locally, but after looking at it, it's operating out of the Permian Basin.  I may apply there just to find out the parameters.  It''s all oilfield hauling, of which I have no experience but I can learn anything in the trucking industry.  None of this stuff is rocket science. Oh, well the Permian Basin is west Texas, I'm in east Texas.  So why they are advertising here I don't know, unless they're hauling over here to a refinery somewhere.  However, to earn 100k in trucking, you are either an owner operator - or you are on the road a lot as a company driver. They ain't giving that kind of money away without you living in the truck, I am guessing. 

I just applied at UPT - petroleum transport and that is all local or regional -- and am scouring for more.  They're based out of Shreveport, if it's the location I'm thinking of it's a petroleum refinery that isn't much further than I'm currently driving to get to the yard at the company I'm working at now. 

Anyway, today off - Friday.  No idea about this weekend but I will be texting my manager before 5:00 pm to find out.  I will not just "take it" for another 4 or more days off.  We've gotten rid of 2 drivers, that frees up at least 4 loads per week. Not much but anything helps right now.  This company really needs to deal with this situation, but after observing other terminals, they don't care how much work you get or don't get.  They just wash their hands of it, you can stay or go I guess.  Building this business means retaining your drivers, they aren't doing anything, whatsoever, to even try to start doing that at our terminal.  Perplexing, but not shocking.  This company simply doesn't have it's act together and they attempted a combining of 2 large companies together without having any clue, from my observations, of how to do it smoothly. 

Well, the circus goes on in Washington.  Blame shifting, Pelosi saying no SOTU until impasse is over, Trump retaliating by saying no military aircraft use by Pelosi until  - impasse is over.  It's amusing and ridiculous at the same time. I blame both sides now and they need to stop this nonsense, get their acts together, come up with a plan and get it over with. 

As for today, I'm going to spend a couple hours scouring more job ads and cleaning up around the yard and probably doing some more sprucing up in my room.  Since my paycheck today was pathetic and I won't be getting a paycheck next week, all expenditures besides bills and groceries are off the table.  If I even come close to having to dip into my savings account for monthly bills, I'm definitely off to a new job. That won't happen this month even if I didn't get another paycheck, but in the next 2 or 3 months, it would happen with this kind of checks going on. I'm not going to get backed into another Ferguson scenario where I can't pay my bills and going into credit card debt if I can help it.