Friday - 7:45 am

Who knows what this other driver will do today.  He was actually late yesterday to the loading plant, I just didn't show up particularly early since I don't want to be subjected to this driver's antics.  The question is: when should I show up in Gurdon today? I've landed on 11:30 am, an hour and a half past his appointment time and see what happens.  I'll be the squeaky wheel with the manager about these drivers showing up late, repeatedly, until he either does something about it or he invites me to find employment elsewhere.

I don't really care which at this point.  Don't want to have to find another job, at the same time, this situation is insufferable.  The idea of giving these drivers early load times when he - the manager - knows they won't show up on time is ridiculous.  I know he knows because they all went through a list of drivers and when they typically show up.  As I say, they can show up as late as they want - on the second run.

I am not going to complain about not having to get up at 5:30 am, however.  That's the only good thing  about getting the second run.  

Paid today, it was around 2k, which is the minimum I want for take-home pay.  

If I wanted to make a case for getting rid of satellite tv, this is it right here. I have it on, trying to watch the news, was trying to watch an episode of Bar Rescue before that, but what is there in ample abundance for a service you pay through the nose for? Endless commercials.  Most of them are at least 3-1/2 minutes worth, that's on the low end of the scale.  I see them going on as much as 5 plus minutes.  In fact, I was trying to watch a movie I had recorded last night.

There was 4 minutes and 45 seconds of commercials every commercial break. The movie would play 5 minutes and then 4 - 45 of commercials, endlessly. It's why I usually just record shows and watch later: I can fast forward through all of the endless commercials about a drug that causes you to lose weight, but, wait!  It will also give you a stroke, heart attack, heart palpitations, seizures, headaches, etc.  You listen to the list of  potential side effects and you are left wondering why anyone would take such a thing with the possibility of death, even, as a result of having had taken that pill.  I've never quite understood why they are showing these ads anyway?  I guess to pressure your doctor to give you that particular pill?

Anyway, it seems I could just buy the entire series of shows I like and watch them at will on a DVD player and have much, much cheaper services showing me a few of the channels I "must have".  

I was looking at mortgage interest rates, they are more than double what I am paying on the cashout-refi.  And then housing prices are way up, a double whammy to anyone trying to buy a house.  Just lamenting the interest rates right now.  It makes buying anything unapealling.  

Mother is back in town, but only long enough to get supplies and go back up to her mountain property.  Apparently my oldest brother volunteered once again to take her up there to get away from the 4th of July and the effect it has on her dog.  Any excuse to get up there, I am sure. If I were living there and  retired I would certainly do the same thing for her.  You can't just take her up there, dump her off and say ok, I'll be back in 2 weeks. It's not that you can't leave her alone or that she doesn't stock up enough supplies to live off of, she's been doing that for decades.

It's the threat of forest fires that force the issue that a person must be mobile and can get out of there.  In the summer, AZ forests become bone dry and the fire danger always goes up to high, extremely high and severe ranges.  In fact, her property had burned decades ago before she bought it by a raging fire that would have killed anyone in it's path.  My brother's cabin is something like 7 miles down the road.  The other thing is, if there is a fire, they will shut down the roads leading up there, making a rescue effort impossible without being able to convince authorities that they either let you through or they go up and get the person themselves.  

On tap today is simply go up, unload, come back and then start the weekend.  The weekend off, that is.  I'm also expecting a reply from the LS dealer. I was told yesterday that the salesman wasn't in and he would be in tomorrow (now today) and he would contact me then, or, I could call.  I like stuff in writing, I said I'd be happy to wait.  It's one thing someone quotes you whatever over the phone, entirely another to have a person writing it out in an email and sending actual product quotes that you can't deny or try ot change the parameters at the last minute.  I've encountered enough salespeople that do that that it's prudent, imo, to get that stuff in writing. 

If the dealer in Alabama has the kinds of pricing advertised, I'd like to hope the dealer 2 states away (they are in Louisiana but near the state line) would have similar pricing.  

Have you been paying attention to all of these illegals killing people, especially innocent children?  "Migrants Charged In String Of Violent Crimes" is the headline I'm watching right now. Then show a pic of a 12 year old girl that was strangled by these human rodents.  Doesn't it seem extremely coincidental that all of a sudden, Democrats want to get "tough on crime" and enact inconsequential border bills that don't make a damned bit of difference?  These people have a huge invitation to come here, get cash, phones, medical, housing, transportation, food.  Free.  Just..free.   They always pull these tactics which sometimes sway enough uninformed and gullible voters to vote for them, then they switch back immediately to their "defund the police" and open borders.  You must be a racist and afraid of latinos if you are anti-open border stance.  

Yeah, whatever. That word salad gibberish isn't working on me. I'm not on board with progressive communist desires and agendas.  Call me all the names you want, I'm pro America, not pro change this nation into an elitist run, tyrannical driven  dictatorship where capitalism is rejected for the "common good". These stupid people don't understand that even communist theories run their models on top of capitalism, crushing it, but keeping it alive enough to keep any given economy running.  

Whatever.  I don't want to get started on all of that nonsense this morning, it's a beautiful day and I don't want to dwell on negativity.  I had a decent paycheck, I'm not broke, things are running relatively smoothly and life is good.  I have 7 plus hours of work to do and then an entire 2 full days off plus whatever will be left of this one.  I am contemplating going 2 towns over tomorrow to see the new Planet of the Apes movie.  I have always loved those movies starting when I was a little boy.  That franchise has been around for a long, long time.  The last one they put out I thought was good.  I saw a trailer of the new one and it also looks good, keeping in the theme of the franchise and carrying it to new possibilities.  

I don't know if I'll go, they were showing it in town here, I didn't get there in time to see it before they moved on to other movies.  The local theater here is cheap - $4.50 for matinee adult pricing.  The snack bar is as expensive as anywhere else, I'll take the cheap tickets any day, especially toting 3 children along with you.  They all want snacks, I just buy popcorn and a soda. The youngest didn't go last time because he demanded to have a child's "tray" that has all kinds of junk on it.  I just said, it's popcorn and soda. If you don't want it, that's up to you. He stayed home. Now he is "threatening"  not to go to church. That won't stop the older boy from going, at all.  He loves church and he has come to love Jesus.  He goes both for the playtime and the teachings. And the worship too, I forgot, they have their own worship service in the kids ministry room. 

I don't cave to 7 year old demands is the point.  I won't force anyone to go to church or try to manipulate them into going by offering them treats or whatever it is they are wanting.  They go because they want to.  It is, in fact, true that the ministry workers have to separate the 2 in the children's church because the younger starts "stuff" with the older and has authority issues.  Specifically, he doesn't like to be told what to do and will do what he pleases regardless of consequences.  I said that correctly: regardless of consequences.  

I'm guessing he'll change his mind about church, but who knows? He is way smarter than anyone knows about, he has plans when he does things like that. Mostly, it's about treats and can he badger his mom into giving him a treat just to get him out of her hair? He will just go and go and go on about treats until he either gets into trouble or someone caves and says ok, have a treat!  He isn't fat, it's just the idea of attempting to force anyone to cave in to his will. I flatly reject that premise and will resist that every .... single...time.  He doesn't like church as a whole anyway, he only likes the play time and the treat at the end, which I stopped letting him eat for when we go to eat lunch, he will just sit there and stare at everyone.  He won't eat.  

Since I am dieting, I will probably not go to Applebee's on Sunday after church, I will probably take the 2 older boys - the oldest is still visiting and assuming the youngest isn't going - to McDonald's, they can eat what they like and I will stick to my diet by eating at home.  Or, I can go someplace that serves wings, I can have maybe 4 or 5 of those on this diet and not ruin my ketosis status.  I won't tell them they are going to McDonald's, that will sway the youngest view on going to church. He needs to go to church because he wants to go to church, not because he gets some sort of prize at the end.  That's my view of it and I'm sticking with it.  

Anyway, it's getting close to departure time. I have decided to arrive around 11:30 and see what happens.  That would get me home around 3:30 pm. An hour offload plus scale in and out and driving time.  That's just a guess, even if the driver is long gone there are other factors that can make it take longer.  

G'day