Tire repair guys are never in a big hurry.

The day started at 3:30 am.  Did my normal thing at the house in getting up, got out of there, got to the yard.  Sure enough, I saw that new camera gleaming in the darkness.  Whatever.  I'm already looking for new jobs.  

Anyway, I get in the truck, fire it up, put a piece of duct tape over the inward facing camera and the microphone, go to turn on the headlights and running lights - nothing.  

Wut.

They were working just fine when I parked it, I assumed instantly that the dude that installed this garbage did something to the wiring.  An hour later and very late to the plant, attempting to use 4 different trucks, I was at the loading plant and there was already another truck who snuck ahead. They had been there allegedly since 4:30 am - flow rate was allegedly "off" and that's why it took them so long.  

I didn't believe the operator, but it's whatever.  20 minutes later and over an hour past my official load starting time, he got my truck hooked up.

Back to the yard, drop the trailer, hook with my truck. They found the problem: the dude didn't reattach the electrical connector to the headlight switch.  Go figure. 

Already well down in hours, I still had a chance to at least get up to the plant near Tulsa, drop and hook and then come back to the truck stop casino.  

Fast forward 80 miles and on highway 271 in Texas near Talco, and a loud kablaaaaam!!!! I looked in the rear view - tire literally blew up.  Pulled over, got the flashers on, got out to look. A few minutes later fire trucks showed up. Huh?

They pulled in behind me. "we had a report of an explosion" referencing a caller that thought an actual bomb had gone off, lmao.  Uhh, no, just that tire. It did blow up tho!  They all laughed and the clear leader of the group asked what I was hauling?  I named the chemical and he was like, well, if you see this driver running, best run too!!  

The tire was literally destroyed, it was absolutely amazing that no other damage beyond a damaged rim occurred.  Well, anyway, I"ve been sitting here near 3-1/2 hours. I decided to get out the laptop, that would get the dude here, I thought.  It happens a lot - you pull out the computer and walaah, the repair guy miraculously shows up. 

I am not even sure I'll make it up to the receiving plant today, much less make it any distance back. 

I did find a large number of local jobs that I might be interested in. They will mean pay cuts, but if I am forced out, there are options at least.  One of them is fuel hauling to gas stations, local job and they have paid training.  All the benefits I currently have, about 15k less in pay, but I can deal with that if I have to.  

If I have to find a new job, I'm looking local first, that's what I'm saying.  Because I have no inclination to be bent over backwards with this outrageous idea that these people that employ me should be able to listen in to anything I'm saying at any time I'm in the truck or that they should be able to see anything I'm doing in the truck that I both drive AND live in.  That is beyond the line of things I will not tolerate from a company. 

As I have said numerous times before, this company doesn't care if you stay or go.  There is no job security here.

So that's that.  The auction yesterday? Really incredible. A hundred people showed up and a couple of guys with money bid everything WAY up.  I mean, it was amazing.  They even bid up an undivided property to 30 grand!  I'm betting they have no idea what undivided property means and that they don't actually own the land, you are co-owners with however many other people.  

They'll learn, as I did the hard way, tho I didn't spend anything even remotely close to that much money on it.  I lost something like $800.  

No, I didn't score any land, I won't pay those prices.  I won't take time off work again, either.  If I happen to be home when the auctions occur, I will go. It only takes a couple of minutes to figure out whether any of the deals listed will stay as deal or if they will be bid so far up as to go beyond even what retail prices under realtor listings are priced at.

Amazingly, this dude is already almost done! 

I'm offa here.

G'day