Monday - 7:45 am

I was going to do it. Get up early and just play their game against them.  I didn't even have to have an alarm wake me up, 4:45 am I woke up out of a dream and thought about getting up.  Then I thought how nice it would be to sleep in and so I said screw it.  

I'm referring to simply showing up at the plant whenever I damn well please like these other drivers do without any repercussions.  One driver got a scolding, or so I'm told, other than that? They aren't going to stop this nonsense.  The drivers don't care and management does little or nothing to stop it.  It greatly irritates me, that's all I can say and until I do anything about it beyond saying something to management - who basically do nothing - I guess I'll just have to eat it.

Nooo, bro, I'm not eating it lmao.  This s*** is going to come to a head and I'm going to force it there.  When I feel like getting up early on a day that I don't need to for loading or delivery? I'll be there at a time when I'm not supposed to be.  

It seems relatively straight forward.  Building a wood-structured canopy, that is.  16 foot tall 4X4's, 8 of them and 2X6 for the outside structure and I think it's 1X2 or maybe 1X4 for the cross ties.  No, 10 4x4's.  So, $250 worth of 4x4's, $90 worth of 2x6x10's, I'm not sure how wide, but shooting for 14 feet so another $40 worth of end side beams...

Well the cross ties apparently are going to also have to be 2x4x16 to make 14 wide.  I don't know how many so I'll guess 10, there's another $110. What do we have for a total so far....$490.  Add 4 more pieces of lumber for support beams, $50, $250 for the canopy to drape over the top....$790 and then screws, lag bolts and thin wood strips to wrap the ends of the canvas around and staple them to the wood.  So around $850 to build one.  Canvas probably has to be replaced every few years I'm guessing.  I think a wood structure that is stained and put the acrylic finish on it would look far better than these ugly metal things.  

Oh, forgot the cement for the poles in the ground.  Let's say $900 to build one. Incredible that lumber costs that much nowadays.  I think 5 years ago it would cost half of that.  Have to be realistic about it, but it's still thousands of dollars less than the metal structures that come as a kit. 

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Yes, I'll be doing that sooner or later, probably sooner than later.  One of them and see what happens when I advertise it.  This way, I don't waste a lot of money on something that might not work.  Or might be an instant hit? Who knows.  

Meanwhile, I've been watching a lot of footage of the devastation that storm did. Chimney Rock, a small town I think in NC, is almost completely leveled.  It's just a pile of wood and belongings now with some structures on the sides.  A man was on the news that lives in that area and said there is almost no gas, power, water and very little food.  This is where the government should step in, not opposed to that at all. But you can be rest assured Red Cross either will be there or likely is already there. And other Christian ministries will be bring in truckloads of needed goods for the people to survive.  It's an amazing amount of destruction in an area where that kind of flooding was never expected.  

The reports of dams breaking were wrong tho.  No dams broke, they are opened up wide and letting a tremendous amount of water out but they are all holding so far.  That's good news in a situation where there isn't much good news at all.  

Not much else on my front. I ordered new jeans for my trip, I don't have much "good" clothing right now and I don't want to go traipsing across the country to visit people in clothing that isn't quite in good condition. I do have a few pairs of jeans, I just needed some. I was waiting to see if I would go down to the next size down. Weight has been fluctuating but it does seems to be slowly inching down, I'm a ways off from the next waist size down.  

The 2 weeks off did a number on my finances, admittedly and unfortunately. It doesn't help having unwanted days off.  I really If I had my way, I'd work the next 6 days including today and get Sunday off to not only go to church but to get ready for the trip.  It starts Monday and hopefully home by Saturday.  I called AZ MVD and it's simply a matter of showing up with a signed title, I don't have to register the vehicle or get an AZ title in my name and I can get a 30 day out of state pass that gets me back to Texas legally.  I need to call the insurance company now and see what that will entail.

Beyond that, it's just getting clothing ready and mentally prepared.  I was hoping for a bit cooler weather in AZ, my mother keeps the house at 80 and I can't sleep in that warm of a situation.  It's still in the 100's there and down in the 70's at night.  Bearable maybe, not ideal.  I'm used to sleeping in a house that is between 68 and 70 degrees - tho that is done to keep the humidity at bay. Almost no humidity in AZ desert, it might be ok.  I worry about it because I need my sleep. Last visit there was just too much.  80 degree house is like an oven to me.  At least for sleeping. Even during the day time it was so warm in there I was mildly sweating.

She likes it like that, it's not a matter of money for paying electric bills. 

Anyway, it's almost time to go. Get my coffee going, a glass of ice water and get out of here.

G'day