Sunday  - not particularly early, but certainly early compared to anything I was doing before this job

I don't want to do anything today.  I'll just have to erase that from my mind and embrace all of this. Probably 7 hours total, leaving here at 10 am and likely arriving back at around 5 pm.  The kids will probably be home by then so that will be more stuff to deal with.

I can tell ya, I love the kids, but I also love the peace and quiet we get around this house when they aren't here.  If those kids are awake, there is something going on.  Screaming, fighting, loud laughing, running, they can be a real annoyance.  Don't take it wrong, I just like these infrequent breaks we get from them.  It's sort of a psychological thing where you have to get your mind back into the groove of constant noise. 

Anyway, when I got home yesterday, I decided I was going to take the dog for a walk.  He needed the release and I wanted to see the deer feeders that tenant bought, he has them up on both side of the rear of the property. Deer have been feeding at one of them, varmint at the other one - or both.  Well, I got out on the trails and the 2 night stay people were out there with their German Shepherd.  It didn't like Obi.  

It was a surprise as well, I walked around a turn and there they were, fortunately their dog was on a leash and for whatever reason I had Obi by the collar.  I just walked on, they asked if the trail goes around, I said yes but there is a section of weeds you would have to walk through.  I hate to have to say that, but it's true.  Oh, well we don't want to walk through weeds, we'll just turn around. Well, at least go to the bridge!  The lady said yes! Let's go to the bridge!  I left them since the dogs weren't getting along. 

This tenant is buying his own piece of property, clear out in a town that is literally out in the middle of nowhere.  I mean, whatever makes you happy.  I figure this town I am living in is small enough lol.  That place is 20 miles from the nearest town, which is our town.  He wants me to go out there with him to throw in my 2 cents worth, I don't mind doing that but not today.  I'll be out til 5 or later and then home to greet the kids and then I will have to take that load to Arkansas, tho the offload time is not until 2, which sucks.

I'll probably end up showing up a little early.  Half an hour anyway.  It's 2 hours offload so at best I'll be home by 6 pm tomorrow evening.  And then, I have no idea, they haven't sent me anything else. That doesn't mean they won't, I suspect I'll be working all week and then the weekend off.  If they don't give me the weekend off I will likely refuse any loads they try to dump on me.  I don't care, they aren't going to keep me on this kind of schedule endlessly.  This was their promise and it's beyond what I wanted to begin with, to take it even further? No thank you. If you don't think I'll refuse loads for next weekend, you don't know me very well. They could offer me double pay and I'd still turn it down.  I don't want to work that much, I don't care if it's shorter runs, it's still a full time job in the regular world.  

The trucking industry, as I have endlessly stated, doesn't care about driver's personal lives or mental health.  They don't care if you don't have opportunities to socialize with your friends or go to church.  They only know their greed and they want you to work and if you don't put your foot down, they will work you to death.  Because these trips are normally (I think and hope that 11 hour day was an anomaly) short, I could work every day until I die.  

It's a 70 hour work week, but it's not set  by days, it's just set by how many hours you worked the previous days.  If they don't add up to 70, you have however many hours it does add up to to be able to work.  So, in a 7 day work week, you would probably come up in the low 50's for the number of hours you had worked before any given day.  You would never run out of hours on the 70 hour clock.  If I were in my 20's and had no life, I might think about working every day, but I'd probably just go regional or OTR and make the money.  I'm in this for the money, yes, but not the high dollars you get for working 14-16 hour days.  

They keep saying Israel - the IDF - is about to go in - but it doesn't happen.  I'm guessing it will happen, who knows why they are holding off. Attempts to get more hostages released, a comprehensive invasion plan, getting their military situated? It's not a really good time in this world right now.  China, Russia, Iran. These are the main hostile actors and you combine all of that together and you have a scenario where people are talking about WWIII.

I dunno, but I'm 45 miles from an AFB with B-52 bombers and world headquarters, it is on a nuke target I am sure.  If a nuke comes, stand outside and wait for it, you won't be able to get far enough away fast enough, everyone else will have the same idea and the highways will be at a standstill. Might as well die at home.  Just a realist view of it. At a younger age I would have the flight fear reaction, now? 

I don't actually believe we are facing a nuclear war, I am just reading it all over the internet and references to it in the news.  I think I have enough problems to have to think about a war with whoever - china and russia - if it happens, it happens but the end of it is predictable and therefore, I just don't believe the big nations would start a war. Now, Iran? If they had nuke capability? You can be rest assured Israel is eyeing Iran in this military initiative.  Iran hates Israel and has called for its destruction throughout - well I think my entire life I have been hearing that rhetoric.

But back to my world? I'm fixing to leave.

G'day