Monday - evening

Today did not go without a hitch, as the old saying should go, but it wasn't terrible.  Basically, the sharkbite cap I bought yesterday, I installed this morning in the dark (and cold)...(and wet)...

I pumped the crank and on the last, final pump? It blew that thing right off of there.  Gag. 

The available choices after this made it a simple decision: Go to Longview, get the parts, fix it.  The other option was to contact the lead mechanic - which would take many hours for him to even figure out what to do or contact the dispatcher - which would have had me headed up to where else.....Crossett.  No thank you.  

Home Depot did not have what their site said they had on hand.  No copper tubing, to be precise and very few fittings.  I decided to figure out a way to cap or plug the line instead of fixing it properly, I wasn't about to start driving around town looking for copper tubing.  I found 2 fittings that would work and left there.  

Back to the yard, I installed the stuff and walaah.  Worked perfectly.

Oh, forgot about the water encounter.  When I want to go to Longview from my property, I go the back way. It's faster than driving a mile in the wrong direction to get back to the highway and then down to the Interstate.  I figured there would be water on the road from the recent rains, I did not figure there would be so much water on the road.

I know this road, that water couldn't have been that deep?  It was moving at a good clip and it was a few hundred feet wide.  I started to drive into it. It was dark and I couldn't see the road, versus in the daylight, not that deep, I would be able to see it to ensure  I was both staying on the road and it wasn't getting too deep.  

But it got up to the bottom of my door and I thought, this isn't good.  I've watched enough videos of vehicles floating away, I really don't believe that would happen, but what if the water had destroyed the road way that I couldn't see and I would get stuck?  You know, the videos where the road is washed down stream?  

I decided that it wasn't worth the risk and turned around. If I were on my 4 wheeler, I would have plowed through that stuff, but I'm not doing that in my SUV. It's my only ride, my transportation, just can't take that kind of risk. 

Down the road I went after fixing the truck.  At the washout, it took him 15 minutes and he was done.  At the plant, it was maybe 20 minutes and they were done.  Huh? It takes longer than that to load that truck, I've done this a few times now...

Get on the scale, it's gross weight 52,000 pounds, a full 26,000 or so short of normal.  I ask the guy on the phone, this is light? Yes, we are out of product. So you're sending it anyway? Yes.

In the control room, it was explained. They are shutting it down for a week and a half and this was the last of it.  Ok.  This is why they have me loading out of Crossett on Friday. Dreading that, long day, too slow, etc.  

So, I'm driving back, get on the highway that goes to my place, contact the dispatcher. I was planning on delivering it today and getting it over with so I can have 2 days off after working 8 days in a row.  No, we need you to deliver it at 2 tomorrow.  Huh? I asked the other driver, he says the tanks are low.  Why are they doing this?  I didn't ask, just wasn't in the mood, figured best to let it go than get into it with these people.  They have their reasons, they didn't want to let me know why, whatever.  I will arrive up there at around noon, no 2 pm.  Not with tanks that are half full.  And me only having less than half a truckload.  

But, there goes my 2 days off to get that driveway done.  I won't be in that plant more than an hour so I will still be home by 3:30 or so - if all goes as it should, lol.  

Just paid this horrid electric bill. Gag.  Painful to see that much money going to the power company.  Weather has improved considerably, heating with space heaters should be reduced greatly.  After the bills I have like $1,100 left in the account. This is not what I got into business for, but, there's a few more payments this month.