Gruesome day.

Up at 3:15 am.  To the plant, get everything hooked up and ready to go, pre trip inspection, paperwork etcera.  

Get to the plant.  The operator says he can't load the truck, the valve on the door is leaking and will cause the inflatable valves to drop during loading after all the air pressure leaks out.  

Umm, just run the truck for air pressure?  We can't do that.  IE: they aren't actually allowed to do that.  If his boss had been there, he would have just told me to run the truck no problem.  This kid is green, I understand why he wants to do everything by the book, but it caused so much time lost.

So, back to the yard.  First time ever with this company that they didn't have an extra trailer available.  I mean, there were a dozen trailers in the yard but none of them were available for this particular run. I was informed the mechanic would come and fix the trailer.  They had originally told me to take it to a repair shop - and I politely told them that that repair shop wouldn't have the parts or the know how to fix this trailer.

I went to bed.  I only got maybe 3 hours of sleep last night.  At around midnight, someone texted me.  I was not happy about that and I never was able to get back to sleep.  

Well the mechanic showed up some time later, I dunno how long, I fell into a deep sleep and was glad to get a bit more rest.  He finished, I went back to the plant.  Well, I didn't need to get on the scale, I had already done that today so I bypassed the scales - and - a truck sitting on the scales that was also headed to the same loading rack I was going to.

He, however, was from a different company.  

Well, I got stuck behind a forklift going soooo slow.  He caught up to us and then decided he was going to pass us - in a no passing zone.  Good way to get yourself booted from the plant.  He realized the stop sign was literally right there ahead of us, what was he going to do, stop beside us at the stop sign, in the oncoming traffic lane?  Note that there are double yellow lanes painted all the way down this street.

This guy was right up my @$$ all the way to the rack.  The operator was out there and guided me to where he wanted me to stop and then? This dude gets out of his truck, comes storming up to the operator, went into full, complete melt-down mode.  THAT driver - pointing to my truck - bypassed the scales.  I am HERE at MY appointment time.  I mean, this dude was livid.  After he went on and on and finally shut his stupid mouth, the operator politely informed him that I was here at the first load appointment and he was going to load me first.  

I was waiting for this dude to come start s*** with me.  I was in a bad mood anyway, tired, cranky, tired, cranky and tired.  He didn't, he looked at the operator in disgust and walked back to his truck.  This operator then comes back to me to fill out some paperwork - this job has endless paperwork, everywhere.  He proclaimed he was in fear of that guy, the dude was intimidating - to him anyway, he's just a kid maybe 20 years old.   

Whatever. I handed him the keys - we can't run our trucks while loading - got into the sleeper, pulled a blanket over me and went back to sleep again.  It helped a little, but not much.  Back to the scale house, I made a pot of coffee. I hadn't actually had any coffee up to that point. The reason is because when I got up this morning and realized how crappy I was feeling, I decided not to drink any coffee right away so I could sleep at the loading rack.  It was a good idea, it worked to a point.

200 miles down the road? I couldn't stand it anymore.  I had lost almost 5 hours with this nonsense but I thought, I am soooo sleepy I have to take a nap. So I pulled out on the service plaza on the Indian Nation Turnpike in McAllister, Oklahoma.  I set my alarm for 30 minutes and fell fast asleep - again.  

Funny how I can sleep after the fact, but when I'm in bed, sometimes, at home?  Well it was that text. I didn't realize my ringer was still on and I had no inclination that anyone was going to be texting me at midnight.  

Anyway, after that sleep, I felt much better.  Up to Okmulgee for fuel at the Love's - and a lettuce wrapped guacamole burger at the Carl's Junior at that store - and then up to the plant. They got me right in - which was nice, maybe I could make it back to my normal stopping point that I usually stop at on this trip, I thought.  I used my 16 hour exception, which gives me 2 extra on -duty hours.  

That gave me just enough time to drive back the 200 miles to the truckstop at the casino, get my post trip done and get off the clock. Yes, it was a 16 hour day.  

Do I think I"m something special for doing 16 hour days? NO. I think I'm getting far too old for this nonsense.  Give me a job that just goes to work every morning and comes home every night. Give me my business!  

So, the realtor texted me today.  A property with 100 acres for 80 grand.  This had "too good to be true" stamped all over it.  I mean, in other states you can buy property cheap, but not where I live.  I read everything and then I got to the "undivided property" part.  NO thanks. That means more than one party owns the property.  No one has any real, set area off to themselves.  So, if they are selling 100 acres, then there is more property, likely much more property, involved with this situation.  Hundreds of acres with other people have part ownership in it. Any improvements you make? They own them as well, whether they chipped in for it or not. 

I wrote that one off quickly. I did give thought to the owners voting to divide the property up and give separate titles to those properties, but I'm not going to take that kind of risk with 80 grand. And anyway, a lender isn't going to loan you money on something that risky.   That's a cash deal type of thing and explains why no one has bought it after being on the market for a long time. 

I hate to keep telling the realtor no to everything, but I do explain to her why I can't do this or that property.  Inaccessible, landlocked, flood plain, too far away, etc.  She doesn't have to show me anything, IE; come meet me at these properties, so I really don't think she is being that inconvenienced.  She was going to meet me all over the place and I just said, no you don't need to, I can go look and not waste your time.  If I like what I see, then we can meet.  

She might be getting tired of my rejections.  I don't need a "perfect" property, but I need one that will fit my long term goals. Some of the properties were perfect  - and they were already under contract.  She's sent me some stuff clear over at the state line and down south, just too far.  The thing she sent today would have been perfect if it wasn't for that undivided interest nonsense.  Why would you want part ownership of property?  I can't even fathom that stuff.  I have what I have now - 2 acres undivided interest and come hunting time, we are going to snag a deer.  Or two or three.  

But even with that property, I am going to ask the other owners if they wouldn't mind if I got my 2 acres divided?  They'd have to sign off on it and a lawyer would have to be involved, but if they were willing to do it, it would be worth it.  Keep the property or sell it off.  

Oh, if you are wondering, no I'm not gambling. I haven't  done any black jack in a long, long time.  I come here and I am not even tempted.  Not that I wouldn't go sit down at a table, but I am not in the mood for it.  Mood is everything when it comes to blackjack. But I will go over there in the morning and to to the little store that makes breakfast and get my nice breakfast food and free coffee.  Right now? I'm far too tired to go gambling and putting up with people screaming every time they win $5 and all the rest of that.

In other words, I am not feeling very much in a social mood tonight.  

And I'm going to sleep soon. I just felt like getting on here and writing, the day was brutal, long and drawn out.  And for a measly $450?  Well more since I'm claiming breakdown pay, might add $75 to that, but still.  

I shouldn't complain tho.  Drivers have been getting sent to the Cheniere plants - there are 2 of them - all the time now.  Places I will never have to go to again.  I'll take the Oklahoma run over those hellish places any day of the week.  I don't go through 3 phases of security with authoritarian aholes demanding to see all kinds of identification every time.  Instead, a lovely lady comes out, takes my temp, asks me my name and that's it. The hell that I lost not having to go to either of those two facilities again I can't being to explain how wonderful that is.

Okay, it finally hit me. Fatigue. Like, being-run-over-by-a-train amount of it.  Yes, it's time to pass out.

G'nite.