Another long day in the books.  Drive from Brownsville back to the yard was uneventful. Well, uneventful if you don't call getting cut off 100 times per day - at least and that is no exaggeration whatsoever - uneventful.  I didn't see any major accidents for once, that was a good thing!  

Tomorrow, they are allegedly coming to install the septic system.  I say allegedly because who knows for sure?  The underground utilities company called me today asking me about an address that isn't mine. Uhh, no, that's not my property. Well, are you having a septic system installed tomorrow?

Why yes, yes I am!  After giving him the correct address, he found the place and presumably he did his job and left.  I forwarded that information to the contractor and also forwarded the information that the city had installed the water meter, he can come and hook it up, please and thank (this work has already been paid for, they just couldn't hook it up because there was no meter to hook it up to).  

I do have to work tomorrow, but the load time isn't until 2:30 pm (ugh).  So, I will go over to the property in the morning and see what they are doing. It's still quite hot out, I assume they will be there early and try to get done before the heat of the afternoon hits.  I will also try loading the trailer and seeing if I can make it back to the bridge construction site.  Well, I dunno if I'll do that or not - it's going to be a very long day and I will have to drive until well after midnight if I want to make it down there tomorrow - well the wee hours of the next day.  

The senior manager of the oil and gas company responded to a recent email I sent. I'm kind of getting tired of them ignoring my requests.  I demanded they fix the road, it's on my property and they are subject to my rules for above ground operations.  Well, I say that, I'm not sure that would hold up in court, who knows.  The man again went into "you bought the property as-is" and talking down to me, as if he sold me the property.

Uh, no, if they wanted unfettered access to the well site, they could have bought the property when it was for sale. Of course, that isn't the way these oil and gas companies operate. They are well-known as cheapskates who won't spend any more money than they possibly have to, all the while sucking out millions of dollars worth of product out of the ground that lies underneath your property.  I am, however, a very persistent person. They are coming on to my property on a daily basis, and tho they have the right to do so, they aren't going to just get away with tearing up the driveway every time it rains because they are too damn cheap to bring in fresh gravel.  

He did make an offer: We will pay for half the gravel if you pay for the other half. We will spread the rock and do all the work.  I thought about that for a minute and thought, that is probably the best offer I am going to get from these people.  I chose to ignore his condescending attitude and replied, ok, please send me a number, how much is this going to cost?  

If my calculations are correct - I use an online gravel calculator - and if it costs $25 per ton, just averaging it between the various prices I have seen - then my part of it would be 5 grand.  If that is true, then it's a go.  Do the entire driveway, be sure that the entryway is a bit thicker and let's get it done.  Even if it were a bit more I'd still send them a check.  In fact, if they get decent pricing, I'd ask them to have all of it hauled out there, not only for the existing driveway, but for the rest of my project and I'd pay the difference. I don't want different types of rock on the driveway and the RV site, I want all of it the same.  Of course, they may not be interested in doing that, but I will find out if, again, my calculations are correct.  

I think my RV site will cost more tho.  They will probably want to put larger base rock down first and then cover it with the smaller gravel.  

I really can't go there too much more right now.  It just starts getting to the point where I'm getting a bit exasperated over things I have no control over.  The fact of the matter is, however, that I am almost there.  You see, I never have received a quote on gravel, but that's because we didn't know how long the driveway would end up being after it was all said and done.  

I will be calling the local supplier of gravel tomorrow and getting a price per ton. There's only one supplier in the county that handles large orders, the rest is either in Shreveport or Longview.   It's the only way I can make a good guesstimate of what all of this will cost me and at least give me the peace of having a number in my head instead of sitting here doing guess work.  The oil and gas company manager hasn't responded, tho I suspect it will be a while before I get a price.  

I think I'll wait on doing the interior of the new shed until I see how much it's going to cost for the septic and the gravel.  It can wait if necessary.  It WILL wait if necessary.  It's not a priority and if it comes down to it, it will just have a couple of vending machines in it, perhaps a washer and dryer and the wifi equipment.  The bathroom can wait.  I don't have any utilities priced to run power to it and it will need a separate meter, I guess.  This electrician is doing things differently than what I had envisioned.  

I have nothing else.  I'm getting worn out. Drive, drive, drive and while doing that, talking on the phone with various people about this and that and the other thing concerning the property.  I'm not 20/30 years old.  This stuff wears me out.  I think I'd like  a vacation about now that just sits in a very nice hotel, in peace and quiet, alone and just relaxing and reading.  I love vacations with the folks here, don't get me wrong, but they are go go go vacations.  I haven't been in a hotel in a while, I think the next Brownsville run that they are telling me no empties until the next afternoon? I will go to my favorite - the Marriott Residence Inn - and enjoy an overnight there.  It isn't a vacation, but it is a nice time to just sit alone, think about things and no interruptions.  I really like Marriott Residence Inns!  

I guess bedtime is calling. Not particularly late but I want to get up relatively early and get out to the property and talk to the contractor.  He's next to impossible to get a hold of and you really don't get any idea of what's going on unless you are there, in front of him, asking questions and getting his thoughts.  I'm small potatoes stuff, not big contracts, he works me in.  I'm thankful for that and the quality of the work, but I need more info.  

Nite.