So the tattletale - is tattle taling again. Pathetic excuse for a man going around telling on people behind their backs.  This is the 4th person that I know of he's tattled on. This time?  There is a Mexican driver - he speaks Spanish and he gets along well with the Mexicans at the yard in Brownsville.  So much so they invite him to drink and dine with them when they are there partying.  

Well, can't say he wasn't warned. I told him when we were discussing that when that driver is down there that tells on everyone to stay away from the partying.  He's gonna tell on you.  He didn't believe me, he had - operative word had in the past tense - more faith in him than I do.  I see what this guy does, for whatever reason he thrives on tattle tailing to the manager. The thing is, our manager doesn't come off as a dude that much cares for people like that.

Whatever the case, he is not allowed to go down there anymore.  Another driver also has been banned from going down there - for another reason. This other driver isn't a drinker at all, but, he's a slacker.  He doesn't drive straight through down there, he stops like 150 miles before he gets to Brownsville and then drives down the next day - which gets him there in the afternoon.

Now that, I can see.  It's one day down and it's one day back up under normal circumstances.  If you have a breakdown, a blown tire costs you the hours to get there, if the loading plant has issues and you run out of hours, that's understandable - but it doesn't happen very often.  I haven't had a blown tire in months, I can't remember when it was the fuel pump went out on the truck, but it was last year and usually I can make up for the loading plant taking way too long to get everything done. Just drive like a madman, don't stop for anything but the 30 minute break.

It's why I fuel up every single time on the way back up in Lufkin.  If I fuel in Lufkin and I go back down to Brownsville the next trip, I can make it all the way down there without fueling - until I get there.  If I don't have the time to fuel at the Love's down there, I bypass it, go straight to the yard and get the trailer dropped on premises and get off the clock.  Whatever the case, anyone wanting Brownsville runs best be getting down there in one day and getting back up the next.  No matter how you feel, no matter what your mood is, you get it done.  This is why I drove through the night last week, well a week and a half ago.  

I want those runs and I'll sacrifice my sleep to get them.  I feel bad for the Mexican dude that got banned.  He's a good guy, a great driver and even if he does drink, it doesn't stop him from driving the next day. He's off duty and the company shouldn't care what he's doing on his own time.  But, that's the way this company is and I have learned to deal with it for the most part.  They have a lot of rules and a lot of things can get you into trouble with them.  In fact it's a long list.  I am surprised I have lasted this long.  

Personally my life isn't going to end if I do lose my job there, they are extremely anal about everything and that can be a good thing - and a bad thing.  The trucking industry has been changing and good drivers aren't exactly in overabundance.  

Anyway, it was a bit disconcerting to hear this - again - about this same person messing with people.  Like he take pride in ruining people's lives.  After he complained about me saying something to him at the loading rack about not reporting the fact that the pump is shut down and nothing is being loaded - he tried to get me fired for texting him that - I have never talked to him since then. That was well over a year ago and my suspicions about him have proven correct. 

He was down there after I got in last night, I just stayed in my truck.  He best not come up to my truck and ask anything, I'll have zero, zilch, nada to do with him.  He knows it to.  I turn a cold shoulder to him every time I see him.  I don't know why he gets Brownsville runs every load and I'm not sure it's going to be a good idea to ask my manager about it.  This may very well be a sore spot for him - he is also under the company's rules about everything.  Including if someone tells him something, he has to deal with it whether he wants to or not.

So at this point I am not going to look at this job as the one I will have until I retire. I just can't, I am not quitting but I am not going to naively believe that I can't ever be put on the chopping block.  I've seen too many people fired, laid off and treated like the number on the screen we are to this company.  

There's more to this story with this driver and what's going on with runs than meets the eye. There is stuff behind the scenes I don't know.  I get bits and pieces here and there and try to put the puzzle together, but there are definitely missing pieces.  For example, why would they show that much favoritism to one single driver to give him the most coveted run, every single time, knowing that the rest of the drivers have figured it out?  

But whatever.  I get my work done, ,that's all I can say.  I'm not the perfect driver, but I do get the work done.  

Tomorrow apparently my day is planned. Install the pond. I have been putting it off. It's either been raining or I'm drained from working too much.  That's about how I feel right now, work work work.  It's just going to be a lot of work.  I'll have to bring a bunch of the stones from the front to the back. Line the thing with duct tape to keep the liner I have to put in it from tearing. Put the underlayment and the liner in.  Set up the pump.  Fill with water. Get it running and hope that everything works.  

I've got lots of stuff I really need to get done tomorrow beyond installing a pond.  I think Taylor likes the idea of a pond and she wants it going lol. I have all the equipment - I think - to get it up and running.  I need to go shopping,I need a haircut and I need to make a trip to the county office.  

But, it's whatever. I'll try to get up earlier than I normally would after having had been working so many days in a row and see about getting it done.  At least get it going. I won't put fish in there right away, I want the water to condition for several days first.  That just means pouring the chemicals in there and running the pump/filter.  It's doable, I just need to motivate myself.

I just don't want to have to spend more than half the day on it.  It's like going to work when you come home.  More work.  

There is nothing else. Well there's lots, lol, but there's nothing new on the property and I don't expect to hear anything for several more weeks.  I wont have time to go looking around for a property to lease tomorrow - that can wait anyway.  It's not on high priority list, it's on the "I'm thinking about it" list . 

Alright.  Taylor wants the pond up.  I'm gonna do it tomorrow. Right? lmao