Memorial Day.

Got up at 7am.  Looked out the windows, no empties.  There wouldn't be any, but I had to check.  The other driver in line ahead of me nowhere to be found.  I got my coffee maker going, had a cuppa and got out of the truck and walked around, stretched.  Later on, I saw on of the yard guys had shown up, taking readings off the tankers.  

Any idea if/when an empty will show up today?  He got a blank look on his face, thought about it for a few seconds and said, I don't know if any are coming today or not.  Okay, thanks. He then asked if I had brought a certain trailer into the yard.  No, not me, why?  The driver hadn't put the papers/bills into the mailbox. 

That was my cue to contact my dispatcher.  Umm, 83911851, they're saying the driver didn't put the bills for that load into the mailbox.  She replies, the bills for which trailer?  Remember, this is all texting, in writing.  "83911851".  So the bill of lading isn't in there? No, the driver didn't leave ANY of the paperwork.  I then went on to say that the man stated that he didn't know if any trailers were coming today, and I couldn't be waiting around until this afternoon for empties to show up.

"Let me contact (the manager)".  She texted back several minutes later: You can go home, sir.

And leave I did.  All the way up 50 miles, where I passed by a large number of state troopers parked on both sides.  I passed on of them and he immediately jumped out onto the highway, cut in between the vehicle behind me and my truck and I knew I was going to get pulled over.

Inspection. And asked all kinds of questions, wanted to see my logs, lights, turn signals, tires, brakes, etc etc etc etc. And then asked where my "spare fuses" are.  I had some in there, but I don't use them and I couldn't find them.  He wrote me up for not having spare fuses......and also for the fire extinguisher. The clasp that holds the band on it had come open. Instead of just saying - the thing needs to be clamped down again  - he wrote me up for unsecured fire extinguisher.  Petty, bs nonsense.  They are warnings, yes, but warnings count against the company.  

It's the CSA crap  - just more federal bs leveled against companies and drivers to make lives miserable.  There was no good reason to write me up for either of those things, neither of them have anything to do with "safety", the fire extinguisher is in perfect working order, it's just the clasp came loose and fuses have nothing to do with highway safety.  

This crap is the reason many older generation drivers are exiting trucking.  And why the increase in the numbers of drivers needed nationwide.  None of us want to continue to put up with this bs.  The federal government won't catch a clue about it until so many drivers are gone and the cost of everything goes way up for supply and demand.  Just pile on even more garbage, watch the exodus grow. It's going to affect you - yes you, whoever you are- eventually at any store you go to.  I don't even care anymore, I'm looking to get out of trucking and hopefully tomorrow morning I'll catch a gift in the right direction to getting there.

After that bs, I got caught in a mile long wait at the immigration checkpoint about 89 miles up the road.  After that, long lines of cars going through small towns. Everyone must have been going home from Padre Island is all I could surmise.  

Arriving at the yard, I went into the office to find two drivers in there.  They were both quite drunk.  Somehow the subject got onto the tattle tale driver who reports everyone/thing to corporate.  I flatly told them do not drink in this office around that dude, he will report your @$$es and try to get you fired.  The one dude looked at me in shock after I relayed to him the fact that he had already tried to get 4 people fired.  Seriously? 

Yes.  I personally don't care what anyone does in their off time, regardless of whether they are at the yard - many of them "live" there.  But the company does - if they catch anyone drinking on the premises they will automatically be fired, no matter they aren't driving anywhere, it's a gated yard and private facility.  That means cops can't come into the yard and arrest people for DUI for sitting in an idling truck, the facility has an automatic gate.  

The company can operate however they please, everyone knows the potential for trouble, but with a driver tattle-taling?  Just don't do it when he's there guys, that's all I can tell ya, don't want to see you get fired.  Ok, in reality, the manager is never there at night.  Upper level management make visits occasionally - it's nowhere near any of them, they have to come in from out-of-state.  If they show up, it's day time, not night time, excepting one middle level manager who will arrive at night and try to catch people doing things they aren't "supposed" to.

Anyway, I made it home. Steak dinner waiting in the microwave. Decent hour, not too late, I can watch some tv, look up a few properties a second time and make a decision on whether I want to bid on them, get a decent night's sleep and get up in the morning for the sale.  It's supposed to rain - pretty much all day tomorrow.  Maybe it will keep people away from the sale, tho it  didn't last time it rained, the rain wasn't that bad last time. It looks like thunderstorms, I can hope people don't show up, especially the ones with money lol.  

I have an agenda well beyond the sale tomorrow - that shouldn't be at most a couple of hours if I end up buying the property I want - just go to the bank, get a money order, get in line, pay it up and leave.  After that, a trip to both properties on cooks road - depending on the rain. Aspyn - really need to get her into the vet. Addler - get him into the bathhouse.  Aspyn needs it too but she needs her rabies shot first.  And other things on the list that I need not go into, for I doubt I will have time after I get other things done and probably will be sent back out on Wednesday.  

Well, I really want to find the time to drive over to Longview and get this AR scoped and some ammo and try shooting it.  All of that can be done at the indoor shooting range over there.  That probably won't happen tomorrow, not if I can get the dogs into the bathhouse and the vet.  

Whatever the case, I have a couple of properties to look over again and then, watch a rerun of star trek or the Big Valley, lol and go to bed.

G'nite.