Talking to Mark today - seeing how things are going in Phoenix.  Not well. they have caught up to everyone else. Many were boasting how Phoenix is "still good" when everywhere else had stores emptied of most everything.  Not so now.  He was lamenting how he can't get anything, every time he goes to the store everything is gone. 

I asked him his age - I thought he was in his mid 60's.  "I'm 72".  Oh.  Well, you can go to Fry's then early and they have a time set aside for seniors to shop before anyone else gets in there.  I had to get him to understand that most of these stores stock up overnight and then are emptied out early.  I dunno if that's so in Phoenix, but it is here and everywhere else I've been to.  So get over there early!

But, besides Lynnette - they're a couple - her hours cut back to one day a week - 3 of the 4 other tenants are working and one isn't working but collects Guard pay. He goes to college and does national guard stuff.  Arizona has placed a no-eviction status in place. Not that I'm looking to evict anyone, but Mark brought it up.  Please don't tell anyone that, mark. If they are earning the same paycheck they always have been, they should be paying their rent. If they have lost hours or cut off altogether, different story obviously. 

For Mark's sake, I let them off the hook next month for rent. Lynnette was the one lying about the rent payments, Mark knew nothing about it.  She kept him in the dark. Well I"d do it for her too, just because my faith in the Lord.  But it still leaves a sour taste in my mouth thinking about how long she did that and the trust I placed in her.  In Mark's case, I am pretty much resolved that I will be helping him out for the rest of his life.  He'd end up on the streets if he lost the security of my house to have a place to live and live out his old age in.  He's been there for what, 11 years now I think? 10 anyway. I can't do that to people. I'm not like that. 

Note, I wasn't thinking of kicking them out, I got over the Lynnette lying thing already, just the thoughts started running through my head about this dude. He helps people - all over the place. He goes to widow homes and people as old as him to help them out with stuff they can't deal with.  He's not in the best health, but he's not an invalid either.  There's almost $700 on the electric card reader now. That's enough to last into - July actually. Not all the way through July since the heat fires up into the 110's range, but it will get it there.  He takes care of the house too. Keeps it immaculate inside and out, literally.  He's a good guy, I would have to be in a really bad place to think about having to change that situation, such as selling the house. 

But if I can get the other 4 tenants payments next month, it will be fine. 

Well, enough of that. I am going out in an old "piece of shit" truck tomorrow - as my manager described it. I don't know this truck, apparently it's in the yard.  It disgusts me to get into a nasty truck. I've only been told it's a piece of shit and old as the hills.

My plan is to take the loaded trailer to the plant in Oklahoma first and then drive over to Oklahoma city and get my truck.  If I run out of driving hours - and if that truck is that nasty, I will pay for a hotel rather than sleep in a thing like that.  I have standards. They shouldn't even be dealing with trucks that old.  The company makes huge profits, replacing trucks however isn't high on their priorty list.  Every company has it's pros and cons. 

Whatever the case, off to bed. 

Wednesday.  Since I didn't get the Brownsville run, this is 4 days off of work. I actually didn't mind a day or even two, but I can't afford extended time off.  Word is that truck had a busted differential and for whatever reason, they aren't going to fix it right away.  That truck has a brand new engine in it, that kind of decision is perplexing. Is the company sinking financially?  I heard rumors that other divisions lost money last quarter, ours made money hand over foot.

Regardless, I just texted the shop foreman to find out if the truck is done. I need to get back to work, whatever is available, I want it.  Well, some runs I don't really want but right now, I need something to keep the paychecks rolling in.  I spent a chunk of change stocking up the freezers. I didn't leave myself broke but I'd like to get that money refreshed in my bank account. 

Okay, my breakdown pay will save me this week at least.  It's not quite as much as I expected but it's still a good number. 

Ahhh, the truck is finished. Now I need to get my manager to get me up there somehow. Bus, rental car, airplane, I don't care. Well are airplanes even flying now? Well I"m going to get my laundry done before contacting her, if she gets a wild hair to do it right now, that's exactly what she'll do and I have to be ready to go. 

Did I make a foolish investment?  I dumped $200 into a stock yesterday.  It had been tanking for weeks.  Okay, $200 is a mere pittance in the stock market, I'm not ready to start dumping thousands of dollars into one stock based on my very limited knowledge of it.  But $200 is a risk I can accept.  As of right now, it's up over a buck a share from where I bought it yesterday and it is still trending upward.  I'm not day trading. I'm hoping it will get back up into the $12 or higher per share range it was at before this crisis and more than double my money off of it. 

The other stock I got 3 or 4 weeks ago was a foolish mistake, energy was not the stock to get into at the time.  But, since it was a cheap stock to begin with, I've only lost like $75 on it.  Live and learn.  More research is necessary when buying stock than what I did with that one, for after I bought it, I started finding more - interesting - information that would have had me put the brakes on it.  I'll just hold onto that stock, it seems to have hit the floor.  Even if it hasn't, I have no impetus to dump it. Energy will eventually come back up, breaking even on it would be nice at least. 

Well, the stimulus package apparently is going to go through.  So, here we go with 2 trillion more debt, and the ensuing interest payments that must be made on that debt.  I'm still shocked that even conservatives are agreeing with this nonsense.  It may help in the short run, in the long run it's going to bite us in the ass. 

Whatever. My laundry is done soon, then I'll text my interim manager and see about getting up to OKC and getting into my truck and getting back to work.