So my casino visit last night was a loss.  I drove straight up to Barnsdall without stopping, dropped the trailer and then headed back south - for only 30 miles tho, lol, I had to take a 30 minute break. After that? Down to the Choctaw Casino and Resort in Grant, Oklahoma.  I figured I'd have a little fun, get a bit at chili's and go to bed.  I could have walked out of there with near $300 over what I started with, but I didn't.  Sometimes, you just don't get up and leave when you know you should.  But I had fun and I only lost $100, which isn't anything near the recent wins I've had, so it's whatever.  I expect to take a few hits when I go into a casino here and there, the odds are stacked against you.  It's really that I only play blackjack and I both get lucky and play the way the online training tools teach you.

At least I got up and left when I hit my maximum loss that I set - which is usually just a whim I do whenever I enter one of those places - when I got there.

Anyway, the news is the 3rd room is finally rented in the other house.  And it appears, at least, that this lady is intent on staying a while.  She has a parrot and 2 dogs.  The entire house now is funded by people living off the government - disability benefits.  My only output here is she needs a bed.  I got her one.  If she stays awhile, expense worth it. If not, that thing will come over here for Addler. Actually it's a futon, but this one is really nice and a great price.  Addler sleeps on a futon now.  I don't bother folding it up anymore, it was falling apart doing that every morning so I decided to just leave it down in bed formation.  I want to get rid of it tho and get something that is easy to fold up and put away when he isn't sleeping on it and I want it out of the way.  2 large beds in a room take up a lot of space and also doesn't give me the appearance I want for my room.

I'll be looking for something in the near future.  But, I'm also really looking for a trip somewhere.

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Ugh, I was tired last night, stopped writing this and went to bed early, like 9:30 pm early. 
No idea when I'm going out again, another day off would be nice but I won't turn down a run tomorrow. Goals today: haircut, get trailer registered, replace battery in Jeep, cook dinner and be ready to go if it happens that I'm going out somewhere.  Like, cook a chicken fryer.  Figures I'm home for no-one being around, cept' the doggies of course. 

I found a local job in the endless emails I get from Indeed - I signed up for them with specific parameters - that pays $50 to $75k per year.  I wouldn't be interested in the 50k junk but the 75 k would be close to what I'm making now, I'd be home every night and the ad says you only work average 48 hours per week.  In the last 7 days I've put in over 70 hours.  I know, people think trucking is easy.  Well get behind the steering wheel of one, buttercup, drive endlessly and be away from home all the time, do that for a year and then get back to me. 

The industry has very little allure to pull new drivers of whatever age into it even with excellent pay. A lot of that may have to do with the training process.  You do 3 weeks of class study and parking lot maneuvers and then you get your permit and go out on the road with someone, living in a small box.  2 strangers living in a small box....for months. Until the new driver is ready. They'd have to pay me an extra $7,500 bonus to deal with that an even then I'm not sure I'd do it.  First and foremost, above and beyond the concerns of living with someone like that, is the idea of having a new driver behind the wheel and no way to correct that person if they are getting themselves into a dangerous situation.  Not with hazmat anyway.  New drivers don't start out in the hazmat industry, thank God. 

Anyway, I'm going to apply at that job today.  Our company is losing drivers tho.  The paychecks aren't coming for a lot of people and those people - are leaving.  Even at this rate of pay, some people just don't know how to save and burn everything up as soon as it comes in.  In other  words, paycheck to paycheck, barely surviving financially.  I don't get that but that's the way it is.  I mean, some of these guys made over 100k last year and they're still broke. 

At the moment I could last about 4 months without pay if I used both my checking and savings account money.  And I am slowly stashing cash at the house.  I want a couple grand in green paper bills in case something in the economy goes drastically wrong - which I hope it doesn't - but it pays to be prepared.  The new freezer is almost full and about to start in on the second freezer.  Lacking on dry goods tho.  We have some but not enough to withstand a natural or man-caused/made disaster.  Not for any length of time.  I also want to get a generator and have the ability to keep that freezer going if the power shuts off.  And of course keep at least 10 gallons of gas around.  I'm waiting for Harbor Freight or some store to have a sale on them. 

But this idea of making all that money and having nothing saved for emergencies is incredible to me.  I've got both my cash stash and X amount automatically being transferred into my savings account every week. Plus a very large chunk of change going into 401k every paycheck. Funny when people look at you in shock when they hear you saying things like that in response to people saying they are broke.  But, the parking lot tells the story.  One of them has a brand new Jeep -  about a $70k version. Various brand new pickups.  Make more money, spend it on more toys and more expensive houses, equals nothing in net savings.  I guess cause I lived a large portion of my life in poverty that I absolutely have not tried to equal my standard of living with the current wages I'm making.  I know this can go away and hell can come at me.  I've treated myself here and there - new laptop, new 65 inch tv, upgraded my vehicle but far from a new one. It's 8 years old. In excellent condition, yes, but no way am I getting into new vehicle payments. 

Well, unless it was one of those little tin can death trap cars.  At least they get good mileage lol.  Actually, if it wouldn't hurt my credit score, I'd refinance that vehicle loan right now.  I could bring the payment down around $75 per month.  That's a pretty good savings on a 5 year loan. But I'd be getting another credit check on my score and right now,I have a high number of them.  Some of those will fall off this year, I think, I might do it after that happens.

Hmm, well I best be getting about the day.  The clock never stops.