Lovely.

My dispatcher just called and informed me that all loads are cancelled until Monday (at the earliest).  Like, even Monday isn't guaranteed, the glue plant just shut it all down and said c'ya. Now, I understand stuff like this happens at plants, but I was very much ready to go back to work and start getting some runs in on the pay period for 2 paychecks from now.  I already know this next check is going to be spartan.  Just really couldn't happen at a worse time.  The park has 6 open spaces so there's a good amount of money not coming in and top that with a job that I have missed a lot of work and you get a person that is glad that a good chunk of change came in from a different source recently, otherwise, I'd be up the creek without a paddle.  

I'm a little discouraged with this change.  I was really ready to go back to work. I might despise the trucking industry, I don't despise paychecks.  It's what I do and I do it well.  I can't just go out and find something to do to make up for it beyond my park and attempting to figure out ways to lure people from other parks over to mine. It is a thought I've had.  I don't mean going into other parks and soliciting them, but finding something to give them that is so appealing, they can't resist or at least give it serious thought.  This is where I started thinking about the covered parking and the hot tub.  

I'm just going to lose money here for the next month or maybe less depending, I just checked the tablet and they took out tomorrow's run and put in a run for Monday. I need to work pretty much every day for several weeks to make up for it. That won't happen, it never does. I think, ok, I'm going to be driving every day for a while now. Yes, that was true under the old dispatcher, she was fired and the manager took over her job. He gives me time off I don't ask for or want.  I get sick of driving every day, yes, but again: paychecks.  I'm just going to have to be the squeaky wheel. If he gives me late runs, I'll just have to eat them and do them. 

Christmas is just around the corner, birthdays are coming up, Thanksgiving, I was half entertaining a thought to fly home for Thanksgiving but - yeah/no.  I've just lost too much time working and I suspect a short visit will cost me a fortune flying at the time of the year.  

Well. I found relatively cheap flights out of DFW.  Flying out of GGG is a non-starter.  Way too expensive. We're talking 3 days off and then working a weekend and into the next month after that.  I don't want to spend Christmas in AZ, but I'd do Thanksgiving.  This is more like a pipe dream at this point, going back there so soon. I don't have much CC points left, certainly not enough to even remotely cover flight expenses.  Still Frontier and Spirit have good rates on round trip flights. I know, Spirit charges you extra to breath on their airplanes, I don't know about Frontier.  

I think I'll put that out of my mind.  Tho it would be now or never, I would feel like I'm stepping out on a limb asking for time off after having been off so much. 2 weeks sick and a week traveling.  I don't regret anything, I just don't think it's a great idea.  Others have highly likely asked for time off as well.  Play the "good boy" role and just work through the Thanksgiving holiday and then - sort of demand but not really demand if you know what I mean - Christmas Day off.  It's a thing I have set in place for - ever.  I get one or the other off.  The only thing that could change it is if either plant is open on either of those days, but I doubt that. They are 24 hour operations. 

I don't know how the receiving plant is dealing with this, I was  told it is the shipping plant - the one that makes the glue - that is shutting down.  That really can't be right.  Because if the plywood plant wants to operate, the glue plant only need switch to their glue plant in Crockett, AR to get continued supply to the production plant.  

Well whatever. It's getting late, my version of it anyway: almost 10:00 pm.  Not that I have to go to work tomorrow....I did get a lot done today but I want to clear off that trailer and get it back to usable status.  

Oh, the park host kid? Came up and said to me today, well, I need to install a water pump in that motor before we do anything else.  He can't do any more work until he can run it, he says.  I thought, well and fine, what about everything else? Yeah, I zipped it on that one.  If I get a new water pump - they are around $150 - and he doesn't install it - I'm going to unload on him.  Somebody needs to....