Home much earlier than expected.

I got out there this morning around 6:30 am, got the truck fired up, did my pre trip stuff and HOS stuff, got on the road.  10 miles up 59, there's a seriously bad accident.  A truck heading southbound had an entire stack of 2X4's come off the trailer and land in oncoming traffic lanes. A car hit it head on - you could tell the car was moving along because the front end of the car was basically gone, there was nothing but a frame there, even the engine had disappeared somewhere.  This was after the fact, Troopers, Sheriff deputies, fire were there, the body or the person was already gone.  I say that because I have no idea if they lived through or not.

Beyond that, I am contacted from dispatch that the load has been moved to a 5:00 pm offload.  Well, I'm already on the clock and already driving.  If I go on duty, I can go back off and erase it.  But once you start driving, you are on the 14 hour clock whether you want to be or not. One caveat is that a manager can erase it, but it's entirely illegal.  If they get caught, I have no idea what the repercussions could be, but I would guess a stiff fine at the very least. 

So, she contacts me back after I stop at a truck stop and tells me to bring it to the yard, they will have a local driver deliver it tonight.  Shortly after leaving the truck stop, I was on a 2 lane highway.  It's 65mph, not a heavy traffic road. I'm going up a small hill when I see a pickup  cresting the hill coming the other direction.  I don't trust drivers anymore, not like I used to. Especially on a 2 lane highway.  He comes around the corner.

And keeps coming around until he's coming straight at me.  I'm watching this and heading off onto the shoulder of the highway, slamming on my brakes and making decisions of what I will do if this ends up having to either get into a crash or go off the side of a steep embankment.  I'm not losing my life for some idiot who is looking at their damn phone instead of the highway ahead of him.  He crosses the yellow lines, still headed directly for me and gets over half way into my lane before he looks up, swerves and just barely misses me.  The car on my tail also swerved out of the way - if they hadn't that truck would have hit them.  

I started thinking about all the signs I seem to be getting that this job and trucking in general are not what God wants from me right now.  I need supplemental income, but is this the way I should be going about it?  What else can I do? Go work at a restaurant? No.  I'm good at forklifts, I wondered about finding a forklift operator job somewhere? Maybe just pray and ask God to lead me to wherever or whatever else I can do for sufficient income to pay bills, expand the park and live my life?  

Up to the yard.  The dispatcher asks me about having trouble with exiting the plant on the tablet? Huh?  Go get your tablet and let's take a look.  I have that tablet down, whether it's actually working or not is a different story. But I do the exit thing and only once have I forgotten, remembered up the road and did it after the fact. She was saying I don't do it at all.

It's the tablet. And her system. It was showing me in Lufkin lmao.  I dunno, I do my job, I do what they expect of me and then some. People don't bother to report broken stuff, I do it all the time.  The trailer I took up there I showed the mechanics things wrong with it that need fixing.  The one with the bad dome seal and a broken cap.  

Left there with the first decent looking trailer I've pulled since getting back from Oregon. Everything works and there is no damage to the sides or rear of the thing.  Originally, I was to go to Gurdon, offload and then go get an empty. I wouldn't have been home for many more hours from now and I was thankful, actually, to be dragged to the yard instead. 

I am working the rest of this week, the weekend and all of next week up until Friday.  She said "I have you working until you say something". Well, I said something. I'll work this weekend, she already had me dispatched for it anyway, but next weekend? I want off. I always remind them I like to go to church on Sundays. 

Left there, back to the Park and now home.  

Day 2 of fasting.  I was doing good until I got home. Taylor had cooked something and I could smell it. I think my sense of smell for food is a bit heightened right now because I haven't eaten since Sunday evening.  I'm trying to get into ketosis quicker, I haven't tested yet but considering how long I have been off Keto? It could be a week or longer.  I won't fast that long, but I do know fasting helps it right along. Plus helps cleanse your body of toxins.  This is a no food fast.  I did have coffee this morning but no creamer and I never put sugar in my coffee.  

I'm quite serious about doing Keto now that I've been fasting a few days and looking at my belly, it's just big.  I've never been this fat in my entire life.  I will do strict keto for quite a while and get this belly back down to a place where I can look and say, ok, that's not that bad. That's going to take a while.  

Tested a few minutes ago with the ketone strips, nothing.  I didn't really expect it to, the first time I started this diet it took 10 days to get into ketosis.  I surely hope it won't take that long this time, really doesn't matter, even not being in ketosis, not eating and then eating light after I do start eating again I will still lose weight anyway. It's just that keto burns fat for energy unlike other diets.  I know how the diet works, I don't have to look up a bunch of stuff, just some new recipes would be nice.  Someone gave me a Keto recipe book a few years ago, I'm going to delve into that thing and try some of that stuff.

But, I have a fresh influx of Keto bread and stuff to make low carb sandwiches.  That and taco meat for low carb tortillas are my go-to for quick meals if I'm in a hurry.  A local chicken place sells baked chicken and of course there are baked chickens available at most grocery stores, already cooked, warmed and waiting just for - me, lol.  

I will probably start eating again tomorrow evening at dinner. Beer brats are on the menu, I can eat those with low carb bread or buns.  I think I have some keto buns in the freezer as it stands.  

Yup, that's my plan unless I find the stamina somewhere to continue on with fasting.  It would be good for all kinds of things inside my body to take a rest and clean out.  

My accounts not looking so rosy atm. Interest rates are going up on credit cards so I am getting hit accordingly. I made my bed, now sleep in it type of deal.  I can't even think about starting to pay that stuff down until I get ahead - which actually should start happening in December, especially if I"m actually going to be working for the next 10 days in a row, a weekend off and hopefully right back at it.  

I have to wonder if they are going to try to make me work on Christmas day.  I worked Thanksgiving, I am going to push for that day off, in fact, a 3 day weekend would be nice. Yeah, dream on I'm sure.  I am assuming I will be working there until I either find something else or - just keep working there.  I am going to start looking online at general jobs hiring - all of it, not just trucking. In fact, screw looking at trucking jobs.  I likely wouldn't switch trucking jobs until I get some experience with these particular types of tankers under my belt.  At least there are many days where I'm home early.

Tomorrow "should" be no different. With a clean trailer that doesn't need washed out, I can drive straight to Lufkin, load and go home.  

It's been cold here, at least my version of it.