Monday - mid morning

New people moved in 2 days ago, late.  Just now getting caught up on things here.  I think they are staying a while - quite a while. You never know tho, they might find some place they like better or buy a house or whatever.

The house should have closed so the lot 8 folks should be leaving today.  

The teacher is also leaving at the end of the month. He says he found a better gig in Beaumont.

You get people in you get people leaving. It's constant, just the nature of the business.  I don't have any leads on replacing them but then again I'm not running any ads atm.  Facebook ads will be placed as soon as the people buying the house leave.  Lot 1 is still occupied until next week.  That's the transient lot, at least for now. If I find someone willing to pay enough for it, it could be a long term lot as well

I had the weekend off.  I was thinking about that yesterday, I am not going to be this manager's weekend slave.  I'm getting every other weekend off as agreed to. If he is going to break that agreement, I am going to force the issue even if it means having to leave.  It's what employers do. They push it and push it and see what they can get away with.  You have to push back and I did.  I'm not saying having another 3 days off is great, but at the same time, he was setting it up so I would have to work weekends in order to get any runs into the system.  

I know how he works, he thinks he's sly but he really isn't. These other guys need to be rotated into the full weekend system, that's all. The manager claimed it was broken down trucks and people out sick. But, a pattern was set that i was watching and I just had had enough of it.  

The 10 year old birthday celebration sort of went on all day long Saturday.  First it was a birth day party, then people showing up late - he forgot to put the time on the flyer he handed out.  So they were hanging out. Then we had the group over and they gave him presents and then we played cards until almost 1:00 am.  

Sunday was church, followed by Applebee's, then home.  That's all I did yesterday. I'm doing very well in the "not eating out department" besides the after-church visit. Yesterday it was only the oldest kid with me, the other left church with friends to go to Shreveport.  He changed his mind, lol, after he found out what they're doing - shopping. I'm sure they were going to eat as well, but he wanted to go home.  It was a pretty lazy day yesterday, just the way my Sundays are perfect.  

I do have work tomorrow, but the truck is now fixed. I don't have to worry about getting an inspection. Tires, lights, all kinds of stuff were fixed/replaced and that makes for more enjoyable driving not having to worry about that stuff. 

We've still got cold overnight temps going and notable, this coming Sunday and Monday are going to drop down to 20.  I don't know about you, but that's cold in my book.  I have everything insulated so I'm not worried about it.  I  am kind of getting irritated with people setting the heater in the shed to 75 degrees and have decided to see about a heater with an app where you can monitor it remotely and just change it back to 65 - 69.  I don't want that thing heated up like that all night long, it's a complete waste of my money on electricity. 

I'm still at the 100 day pushup challenge.  My arms started getting bigger but it has sort of stalled.  I'm just going to continue on with it and see what happens. If nothing else, the exercise is good.  

That's really it for now, I have things I need to get done today and sitting here isn't going to accomplish that.  Hope everyone had a good New Year and going to have a blessed 2025.  

Oh, wait - the Biden era is almost over!  They sentenced Trump - to nothing.  This completely proves, at least to me, that it was a politically motivated attempt to tarnish Trump's name so he wouldn't be elected.  I knew that all along, but if you have 34 felonies and literally NOTHING is done with sentencing, not even community service? It will be appealed and I suggest it will be overturned by a competent court once you get out of New York. 

Trump has stated that he is working towards issuing 100 Executive orders in the first days of his second term.  Probably a lot of stuff undoing Biden's outrageous nonsense, especially the border and drilling.  

Honestly, I didn't watch any news this weekend but I did read some online.  I just have had my share of it for now.

G'day

 Friday - night

It's actually Monday morning and completely forgot to post this, didn't finish but there it is anyway. 

Well, it was forecast 5 hours of snow for this morning. So I didn't know whether I was going up to Arkansas to get the truck fixed or not.  This morning, it was apparent that the "storm" turned out to be a dud. Sure there was rain and there was a half hour of "snow", small flakes melting before they reached the ground so it didn't stick.  

So, I ended up heading up to the yard rather late in the morning  by my standards and getting up there in time for them to - go to lunch.  They have their ways and they don't bend those ways for anyone or anything. I'm not saying they aren't nice people, they just are unyielding in their routine.  I knew I'd have to wait so it was whatever to me.  

I gotta say they got those problems resolved far faster than I expected.  It wasn't even 3 pm and they were done with almost everything, the only few items they couldn't fix were things that have to be ordered. Things I don't need for a safe truck and have been living without anyway.  

So, I started heading back.  They had to put the dog down today, she was pretty down.  They decided to go to a bigger town and have some lunch and use their Christmas gift cards.  But, I found out, they went to Texas Roadhouse for the late birthday dinner for the older kid.  That really brought me down quite a bit, that they would do that without me.  That kid hangs around me alot, I let her know that I wanted to be there for that. 

At least she apologized and said the kid was unhappy because they didn't him a birthday dessert as many restaurants will.  Do we need to do another one? I thought about that. It isn't about me, I just wanted to be a part of it.  But, we are allegedly doing another one at the place he decided to go to after he originally said Texas Roadhouse: Applebee's  I take those kids there after church and some weekends when we can't make it to church but have time when I get back from a run.

Speaking of that, the manager was asking me to work yet another weekend. There has been a lot of days off lately either with holidays or cancelled loads.  Meaning small paychecks, but at the same time, I've worked every weekend for quite a while now, I haven't been to church in a month.  I asked him if he could find other drivers to take that junk instead of it always being me.  He agreed, fortunately, because I was ready to force the issue, come what may.  I'm not going to be his weekend warrior slave.  Everyone else is getting weekend time off to do what? Go to church in most cases.  Why should I have to eat this nonsense all the time?  Well, he said, because trucks were broken down or people were sick.  

Every weekend? 

Anyway, I have the weekend off and the plant cancelled loads again anyway, I don't work again until Tuesday.  Which sucks, actually, I wanted to work Monday.  

Ok, it's been awful cold here and it's still down in the low 30's. It's 35 degrees - just looked it up - feels like 28.  Low of 24 degrees overnight with a high of 46, it's not terrible I guess.  

The new people from up north didn't make it today, they said their trailer was snowed in and they had to dig it out. They are sick of those types of winters. It doesn't snow here much, at least, but it does get cold here.  I think the guy found a job somewhere around here.  I fixed the 30 amp set up on the porch people before I left for AR this morning thinking these new people were coming in. It takes about 3 minutes to get into the panel, pull off the breaker, unscrew the line and switch it out. Ok, maybe 5, at most.  They make it really easy and those breakers, even tho the cost of them has gone up, they are only $8.  

Another lady contacted me today: we need to move in today. Ok, I have an alternate lot available.  Yada yada yada later in Facebook DM and she disappears after I told her the price. It was quite reasonable, lower then my regular lots.  I waited about 10 minutes and then bid her good luck in her search since she stopped responding and wrote that person off. I don't know what they think they are going to find for cheaper than that and I wondered why they had to "move today".  Lack of funds would be my guess and I'm just not taking people in if they don't have the first month's rent up front, all of it.  

IF that couple shows up tomorrow, the park will temporarily be full, at least the regular lots with 1 alternate open.  But, I will have 2 regular lots coming available soon.  Back in lot 8 should be vacated on the 12th or 13th and lot 1 added to their stay by a week.  So, there will be 2 lots available and tho I like to keep lot 1 open for overnights, I will rent it out if it comes down to it.  But, I will try to get the back in lot rented first.  I won't be advertising that until those people actually leave, they are allegedly closing on their loan for their house on the 12th, but we all know how that can end up being delayed.