As time passes and the s*** gets floated around at work - the gm repeated the contents of my email to the new manager, who went and blabbed it to numerous people - even after the gm specifically stated that the hadn't discussed or even told the new manager about the email - it gets more and more of a volatile work place.  The good ole' boys - people working there for 20 plus years - were sitting around discussing my email to the gm this morning.  They didn't realize a set of ears was standing around the corner, hearing everything they were saying.

No, not me.  Warehouse manager sent me out on an all day run today.  

And no, I'm not procrastinating.  I am supposed to go for a road test tomorrow, but the man that I have been speaking to disappeared on me today and after several phone calls and text messages, I gave up. It was the local job - though 60 miles away - that runs 12 hours a day at least but has me off 3 days per week.  I may just take one of the postions offered that I have considered whether it is "optimal" or not and deal with the local job I want as time progresses.  I have too much going on right now, my mind is distracted by work and focusing on a completely different type of driving job is just kind of a "out there" thing.  I got the endorsements while I had time ot get them - and waiting on approval for the hazmat.  I can go work somewhere else and figure this stuff out when it all calms down. 

___________________________________

3 days later.  Yesterday, round 1 o'clock, they had a run for me to go Ruston.  It's about 70 minute drive.  Warehouse manager - I call him that, he has all the roles of a manager but does not have the official, sanctioned title from the company - tells me that "Matthew wants to talk to you".  Matthew is my old manager, a few better person for the position than the new one. He has been completely removed from managerial roles and is totally engrossed in outside sales work.  No idea what he wants.

Go into his office, hey Ben, it'll be about 10 minutes, just finished up your review here. My review? I thought.  They had done everyone else's but they didn't do mine - presumably because they thought I was quitting, who knows, I didn't ask.  Okay.  I thought about it for a few minutes.  They just can't give me a bad review, whether they like me or not.  I show up to work on time, every time, I get my work done, I do whatever they ask of me without questioning it, I get the job done faster than anyone else there.  My attitude is good even if sometimes I have to fake it.

Well, of course, the new manager was in on it.  We sit down, closed door and I just sit and wait.  You know, whatever they say, I'll take it in stride.  I know my worth and value to the industry I am in and my contributions to this company.  So, Matthew had to do the review because Mark just started a montha n a half ago as the new manager.  Matthew starts in on it - you know what you are doing, I gave you a 3 for this, a 4 for that, etc etc.  I was a bit surprised at the amount of complimenting and praise he was giving me. The new manager interrupted after a while and said, well, I'm going to give my version of a review, I know I haven't been here the last year but I have been watching you for the past - 2 months he said, however long he's been here.

I didn't even brace myself.  Calm, cool, collected.  Not going to let him get under my skin.  So, what he said next was near shocking, considering coming from him and considering everything else I have heard him saying.  I can't really ask any more from an employee than what you have been doing.  You know what you are doing, you get the job done, you show up to work on time, you do everything that is asked of you, I think you are doing an excellent job.  I was very impressed that day I went out and worked with you moving the railroad ties, you have a very good work ethic. This went on for a while.  I mean, really?  What else was I going to do? Thank you for the compliments.

But I knew the fracture was going to be brought up: pay.  Well, so what arae your goals with this company? Are you looking for another job or what?  "well, I have been looking for another job and since they are calling here to verify my employment you arleady know that".  So, what is your issue? Is this something with me (the new gm), others working here, what? My issue, flatly, is the pay. You think I want to walk away from 10 tenure with this company?  It would take me at least 10 years to get the kind of benefits - vacation time in particular - the I have here.

The discussion went on and on and on.  They knew I was going straight to the gm to ask for more money.  Yes, I have been talking with him, according to him they can't make a decision until they say where the numbers are later this year.  Which, I simply don't accept, not at the pay levels you are paying me.  Ben, you are making more than any of the other drivers.  Any of them in the entire region.  But, I replied the pay is substandard.  I've asked countless drivers from other companies coming in here how much they are getting paid if they wanted to respond and not a single one of them is being paid anything as low as the pay is here. So, your argument about it being the prevailing simply isn't true.

This has been on of their arguments all along and it just doesn't wash.  For experienced drivers with a good driving record you are going to make much more than what this company pays and the only reason I was okay with the pay was all of the OT making up for it.  It was the weight on the scale that equalized it for me. Not the best comrpomise, but I was making enough to be happy enough.

Well, Matthew interjects, you would have a much better chance of getting a pay raise going through Mark than going to the gm yourself.  Mark piped in - yes and anyone that I feel deserves a fighting chance you can bet I'll stick up for them and give it my best effort to try and get it through.  If you would like, I would be willing to try that for you.  Okay, I appreciate that, thank you.  Well, how much are you wanting?  I named an hourly wage and they just sat back and took that in.  I was being completely serious, it's not an unreasonable figure so that was that with me, like or not, that's what I want.  So, they both started talking, $3 more per hour?  Ahh, $2.50 brings me up there.  They started shaking their heads at first and said no, no way, you'll never get that much of a raise.  I just stared at them.  I'm not going to say, okay, 50 cents  then.

Then they started hedging.  Well, okay, well I don't know about that kind of raise but we'll see what we can do.  That's more like it.  I don't expect them to give me a $3 per hour raise, but you know the old idiom of starting higher and agree to something lower - though not that much lower.  $2 per hour is the minimum I would agree to, but I held my cards in my hand, I wasn't giving them any of that.  Mark has known the gm for a couple of decades, he's in their club, I will agree that if he really wanted to take it up for me with him, he stands a far better chance than me.  I'm basically an outsider and they even came close to saying something like that.  "Yes, well, Eugene and Eddie (and a long list ) we've know for 20 years, but you and Terrance (the other driver) only a couple of years and we don't really know you that well.

This really threw me into a conundrum because yesterday, before this came up, I was ready to make a decision. The place in Tyler never called me back for the road test. I called them a couple of times with no answer so I blew that off. I was pretty much set on PTL and was going to call for an orientation date.  Seriously.  I weighed the options, OTR isn't that great but the pay is.

Going to work this morning - a little strange. Simply because they told the temp driver last week that I was quitting and wouldn't be back.  Lol, I didn't give out that kind of information.  The last conversation I had with the GM was that he would appreciate me letting him know when I make a decision about staying or going.  Okay.  However, they did not have the temp driver come into for my co worker told them I was coming in.  They don't ask me, they ask him for the new manager doesn't want to talk to me.

It was even stranger getting to work and opening up the gate, I was the first one there, and having the warehouse manager come flying in, park his truck at an angle taking up 2 spaces, rush out of the truck and into the will call.  WHAT, was .... THAT .... all about?  I just walked in, clocked in, got on my work clothes, what's up?

Now, I was sent clear to Pineville, which took 5 hours round trip.  No problem with me, I didn't want to be in that yard. Especially with a manager that gives me looks but won't say a word to me.  Well, that changed today.  After I got back and was given an order to pull for tomorrow, he came up to me in the warehouse and demanded I stop what I am doing and " you are going to have to put that pallet down right now and go get pipe for those people", pointing to a truck with a gooseneck trailer that had pulled into the yard.  This wasn't, would you please go do that and thank you,  it was in anger.  I just smiled at him back.  Kill him with kindness, my motto.  In fact, after he was out of hearing range, i started laughing at the utter pettiness and stupidity of this man.  What a miserable, wretched person.
It's not like I would have tried to resist him if he had taken nicer tones.  I don't really care what they want me to do at any given time.

I left early today, well I got my 8 in.  Headed to Carthage - Texas - to get fingerprinting done for hazmat.  The address they gave me took me to a gas station.  I tried Google maps, which took me 10 miles the other side of town - a ranch with an inn, back to the gas station.  Duhhhh, geeze Ben, you only spent 11 years finding addresses for that other company.  I had the right address in the maps, but looking at the number on the gas station, it was in the 2300 block and the address I needed was in the 2600 block.  Welll whatever, I found the place, gave prints of every finger and that was that.  TBH, I don't even know if it will end up resulting in any kind of hazmat job, but, I am now deliving into things I had only thought of doing before.  I am sooo tired today, though.  I was going to start looking on line for jobs with hazmat or tanker or both but - I ain't. Number one, hazmat background check takes 2 to 4 weeks and number 2, knowing the stories about the DHS, who knows if I will even be approved.

It's only 5:30, maybe I'll wake up a bit and do some searching a little later on. I am so sick of that job I am working now.  The manager just kills the atmosphere and, I am defintely not the only one that hates it, I'm just one of 2 that has actually said anything.  I am not saying anything further.  I made my case, they denied it, it is obviously a losing proposition when you consider people working there for 25 years that are making less than a dollar more per hour than I am.

But, I'm gonna have to get moving on applications.  Think I'll take a short nap and hope to feel a bit better and then start some searching.

For almost 4 weeks, I've had this swelling going on in my upper left eyelid.  I didn't know what caused it, I just figured it would eventually go away by itself.  But it wasn't and this morning I thought - hmmm - if I quit this job I won't have health care for 90 days.  So I went into an express care place this morning - Sunday that is - and figured they would give me some kind of antibiotic.

And that's exactly what the doctor was going to do. "Well, we're going to give you an antibiotic and that should take care of the problem. But if it persists for any length of time, come back".  Well, I repleid, it's already been almost 4 weeks.  He was on his way out the door to write a prescription but those words stopped him in his tracks.  I'll be right back.  I didn't like the sound of that.

He came back, with an assistant, put a couple drops of anesthetic in my eye and gave it a few minutes.  How did he check to find out of it was working? Stick a needle in the eyelid.  It wasn't working.  I didn't say anything, let's get this over with.  I had no idea that he was going stab that eyelid repeatedly, over and over and over, 30 - 40 times.  Stab it, squeeze the eyelid, apply copious amount of pressure that was causing my eyeball to hurt under the pressure - which is when I did say something, let's not cause any damage here please.

Blood everywhere, he just kept picking at the abcess over and over with that needle.  He left for a minute, came back and started all over again!  We finally got to the end of this, he kept putting saline solution in my eye to clean out the blood. Finally called it done.  Thank God Almighty.  Got done with that, headed up front.  You don't owe anything.  Okay.  Paying for health care, might as well use it while I have it.  Headed to CVS.  Pharmacy closed.  Oh, we'll be open in 10 minutes.  Okay.  Got the prescription, was heading out and decided to get some wrinkle cream for my face.  Looking pretty - bad - there.  I've used it before, it actually works.  Got a box that said $5.99 in a sea of boxes that had over 20 listed.

Dude at counter rings it up. That will be $22.79.  Huh?  I walked back over and checked, clearly stated $5.99. He called another person to check it.  Yup, these boxes are in the wrong location. I got the cream for $5.99.  I didn't ask him for that, he just did it, I was going to leave without it.

Now, back at home, thinking.  General manager came up from Baton Rouge on Friday.  Why did he do that?  He never comes up at the end of the week, his visits are always at the beginning of the week and usually stays for several days or the entire week. My mind has gone to all the fear issues.  Bringing a final paycheck to fire me.  Giving instructions what to do with me, who knows.  Don't have a good feeling about it, but it's whatever.  I'm glad I waited to make a decision on what company to work for  for I got the ball rolling on hazmat and I hope to eventually find a job that pays much better with that endorsement.  It always does, but you still have to find a job that works for your lifestyle.  Now, back to the gm, after he was going on about this pay stuff on the phone the other day, I flat out asked  him if he wanted me to leave.

It sure was sounding that way.  No! He replied.  Now, that doesn't mean he didn't change his mind.  I guess I am a bit perplexed by him going up there on Friday, that is not usual modus operandi for him.
I'll find out tomorrow morning if anything - not good - becomes of it.  If I've learned anything in life, it's not to make rash or quick decisions. Now I did make a fast decision to start looking for a job and I have talked to countless recruiters, but I haven't actually pulled the trigger on any of them yet.  Trucking companies are in a deseperate contest to try and lure drivers to their companies.  It's that bad.  They all have tractors sitting there, empty, waiting to be driven  and enough business to keep you driving.

At least I do have my old manager on my side.  That didn't come from him directly, that came through my co worker who was sitting in the new manager's office decidedly stating that he hopes I don't quit.  Well of course, he's an outside salesman now and getting the product delivered to the jobsites on time with correctly pulled orders is something he is focused on.  Regardless, whoever is on what side, the pay is the serious  issue that the gm has flatly stated isn't going to change.  "Not a good business decision right now".  But, you don't mind keeping me around at greatly reduced pay yet doing the exact same job?  Yeah, I posed several questions that got either no answer at all or a fancy two-step.

It's a challenging environment to continue to work in since I've "made the waves" that no-one else there in any of the branches ever has.  Nobody has ever challenged us on this before.  Well maybe people should grow a set and speak up for themselves and even if it doesn't get you what you either want or need, at least you have the peace of mind that you tried before you left.  If I hadn't tried and hadn't pressed the issue, I wouldn't have felt good about quitting once I do pull the trigger.  But this hazmat and tanker endorsement opens up - hopefully - new avenues of opportunity to have a job that has me going home every night. But - the caveat is - usually is in trucking - that you have to have x amount of time OTR before they will consider it.  Why? Because you have a record and it can be verified as to whether you  screwed up with it or not.

It makes sense, I suppose, especially driving around 10,000 gallons of gasoline.  After my study the other day, the biggest concerns in tankers is taking curves and stopping.  I didn't realize that a quick stop could have the fluid in the tank forcing the truck into an intersection, called fluid surge.

Well, I'm going to look around on the internet for bulk fuel haulers today and get some names of companies that engage in such.  I still have to pass the Homeland Security background check - Lord only knows what criteria they use.

Okay.  I wrote this on my FB wall but I am defintely writing this in my blog as well.  I went to bed last night at 8:30, that's early even for me.  I finally dragged out of bed after 7:00 am. Got Addler outside, got myself some coffee, came back in here - my bedroom - sat down and contempleted things.  WHAT am I doing? Yeah, going OTR solves the financial problem but it does nothing to solve the problem of finances and having a life outside of work. You live in a truck.  Those trucks are nice nowadays, the OTR version of them, but they are small boxes and they can be as nice as all get-out and still, you are living in a box.

I sat there and just prayed. Lord, what am I supposed to do now?  I have NO clue.  I don't want to live OTR.  I know I could probably handle it for a couple of years but even that is really a lot.  Yes, I could save up a lot of moeny, definitely.  But isn't there another solution to this?  It wasn't really an extended prayer time, I just lifted that up and then, my head started getting full of this notion that I should study for a tanker endorsement and a hazmat endorsement.  But that's going to take a long time, that doesn't help me right now.  No, just do it.

I didn't look up the handbook, I just looked up tests online for tanker endorsement and hazmat.  If I can answer enough sample tests, I can pass the DMV test.  Tanker had it's variations, but I quickly learned that and was passing every test I could find easily.  I mean, it isn't rocket science to know that going around curves, you slow down initially and then speed up a bit to reduce side to side surge.  It was something I had never really considered that stopping at a light quickly could get that forward surge to pushing your truck out into the intersection.

I did that for an hour and a half, I think.  I just kept looking up different tests from different sites and finally I started getting all the answers right.  Okay, let's move on to hazmat - which I knew would be much harder - and then come back to tanker and take a few more tests as a refresher. Well, my first hazmat test scored 40%. Well I didn't feel bad about that at all, I expected it. I have NO knowledge of hazmat, just used common sense but a lot of questions you need knowledge, common sense doesn't rise up to the occasion.  Second test was 60%, 3rd - on and on - and on - and on.  I posted on face book at least 30 tests, but thinking about it, 2 plus hours of 24 to 45 question tests that I was poking out on the keyboard in rapid fire succession? More like 50 of them.

It took QUITE a while to get to the point that I could actually answer all or most of the questions correctly.  There is a lot there to learn.  But, I thought, well, this is a go-for-it situation.  So, I went back to tanker questions, aced all of those and then back to hazmat. where I found even more tests that threw curve balls at me.  Good, I thought, I want everything they can dish out, I don't have time for classes, handbooks and studying. Just get past the initial testing and I'll get the rest of it done by hands-on experience if I can find a place that will give me the opportunity.

So there it is.  I drove to the DMV office - which was completely void of people. I commented on that when I went in there.  Yes, the lady at the desk stated, and that's a bad sign because my co-worker here is about to leave for the day.  Ohhhh, well I'm here now!! lol.  A LOT of paperwork to fill out, especially for hazmat.  Wow.  She informed me that I would pass the tests easily.  I took that as a good sign and didn't bother to tell that I had spent all of 4 hours this morning studying for it with nothing else and no previous experience.

Sat down at the computer and started in on it. I reminded myself to stay calm, don't get anxious, that's how you make mistakes and give wrong answers.  Keep in the same mindset you were in earlier when you were doing all of those tests and yes, it hopefully will be okay.  I will point out now that I had my doubts.  How do you just study for a few hours and then show up and take the tests?  I figured if I passed those tests, another sign from the Lord that there is something better on the horizon.

Curve balls.  Trick questions.  I knew they would be on there, I didn't honestly know if I had answered them correctly or not.  But I didn't waste any time with either test, I was done in 10 minutes.  I don't ever waste time on such things, you either know or  you don't know, sitting there thinking too long is actually a detriment in such things, I have found. If I don't really know, take the first thing that came to mind.  It might not be right but it's what you thought is right.

Tanker? 19 out of 20 questions right and that test replete with numerous trick questions.  Even the lady at the counter admitted that such types of questions were in there.  When the hazmat test came up on the screen, I got a bit nervous.  I stopped for a few seconds and redirected my thoughts.  NO, I am going to remain calm and I am going to have enough confidence to get through this.  If I get too many wrong, then so what?  If God is in this, though, I'm going to pass these tests.  Now, the reader can argue with that all day long and say that is simplistic thinking or stupid or falling for a fantasy or whatever, but remember: I just started studying for this stuff today and I have no experience with either tankers or hazmat.

I did sit there for several seconds on probably 5 or 6 questions.  Because those questions weren't asked in any of the tests I had taken.  I thought through, made a decision and clicked on it.  I was nervous at the end of the test because I had  no idea whether I passed or not.  When I saw 27 out 30 correct, 24 correct needed to pass, I was elated!  Yes! I has listened to all these  other drivers for years saying how incredibly hard it is to pass the hazmat test.  That is really what had thrown me off about this.  Endless drivers saying how hard it is. Well wth.  I wonder now if they every really even tried versus what they said?

If you want the truth of the matter, making it through Homeland Security's background check and subsequent decision is more of an unknown to me than a test with definitive answers.  That's next.  Appointment Monday to have fingerprints taken at a seperate, private business (but given out by Texas as the sole company to engage in such) and see if I pass that for the hazmat.  Tanker is done, I have that endorsement and could haul food products or whatever else is available without hazmat.  But hazmat is the money. It really is.  People with hazmat thar are engaged in positions that haul hazmat materials always make more money.  There is risk, of course, especially with certain types of hazmat - well all of it really but some worse than others (think: radioactive).

I don't even know if I will be able to find a job with all of this! LOL that's the funny part. I am just acting on what I felt the Lord impress upon me!  Well it's not like laughable funny, I take the Lord seriously, but He does have a way of injecting humor into situations.

Meanwhile, that company in Tyler?  That has the 4 days on 3 off but occasionally 5 days on and 2 off? That is driving all night? Yeah, that one.  "Please call as soon as possible so we can schedule a road test".  A road test means they are hiring you, it's not if, it's when?  Why couldn't I take a local position that might be hell for a while but get this hazmat through and jsut do it? Or even stick with my present company until it is through - though that is, admittedly a dicey proposition - and see what I can find?  I dunno.

I just can't make up my mind because I am not really comfortable with anything yet.  I mean, I like the PTL company, I think they would treat me right but it's still out 12 to 14 days at a time.

I have a weekend to contemplate all of this, at least.

Welll here it is Thursday morning.  I'm home - off for two days.  Probably off forever.  The gm simply isn't going to budge in pay and trust me, it is substandard pay.  The only thing that equalized it was the large amount of OT that all the drivers were getting. I guess they believe they can just arbitrarily remove a large portion of a person's pay and that person is just to sit around and eat it.

I talked with two drivers from the main branch down south about this as well.  They were lamenting the pay but they were unwilling to do anything about their situation. That's really where you could force a decision in our favor: come together, say we want more money or we are leaving.  The company would be screwed.  This isn't a get in the truck and drive operation.  There is no way, at all, that anyone else working there that isn't a driver could cover all of that, just impossible. We pull orders, check them, palletize them, shrink wrap them and load the trucks.  Those people have absolutely no clue how to load a tractor trailer rig, none, whatsoever.

But, that isn't going to happen.  So face reality.  Live with wages that are so abysmal that I consider it poverty level - though it isn't it just seems that bad - or move on to something I really am not sure I want to do but make twice the money and do that for a while until/if/when I find a local job that I like, that pays me well and that I can spend the rest of my working days at until I retire.

My thoughts have returned to rentals and properties.  I just know I could eventually get a very good income off such a venture if I could get my foot in the door.  Need to get my credit back up.  It's a goal that I am now implementing to increase my credit rating and get a piece of land and turn it into a mobile home or RV park.  Or a mixture of both is usually what many of them do.  Not a trashy one, either, one that is well manicured and maintained.  Non-prime property out here is pretty cheap.  You don't have to be in the middle of town to have a place that is alluring to people who need lower priced housing.

I'm probably going to have buyer's remorse in quitting this job and doing something else, just like my mom had when she recently put her house up for sale and has signed on another one on the other side of Phoenix.  Her reasoning was good, but she's 80 years old and all of her friends are right there.  She did have some reservations and wondered if she had made the right choice but now she's all into it. It is a move that gets her much closer to her Payson property and also very much closer to my oldest brother.  My middle brother about 25 miles - instead of the 50 it used to be.  I am having doubts that that automatically means she is going to see them more, but perhaps.

I'll probably hate it at first but settlle into eventually.  I doubt my present company will ever want me back, so this is the point where I have to make absolutely sure that this is a good  move.

This local job that came up - I'm kinda backing off from.  It's 60 mile away. It's almost all night driving.  I'm just not really much of a night driver anymore and I think I might hate the job. At the same time, it's 3 days  off every week. Could I handle it? I just don't know.  Big gamble to take if I find I can't adapt to being up all night long and sleeping during the day.  Plus 600 miles of commute per week.  A lot of wear on the car and gas and all of that.  My current weekly commute is about 350 miles total.

If I eliminate that, then I am down to two companies.  One that comes through here frequently and one that the closest I get is Dallas.  Dallas is 150 miles, but it would only be a trip home every two weeks so I wouldn't really care that much about that.  It just sounds like a better company than the one that comes through here frequently.  I would have to find a place to park the truck to be able to come here - though I think I've found one and am going to drive over there today and see if they allow overnight parking for 2 night stays.  Definitely don't need the truck getting towed and getting stuck with a huge towing bill.

Well, I'm in the throes of decision making and right now? I'm going to drive down the road and see about parking a rig at a small, local truckstop.  There aren't any big ones here, lol.

Got into a bit of a tiff with the gm last night.  He had stated that he would call the new branch manager and tell him to try and keep the hours the same.  He literally said that, I'm making it up, my memory isn't that bad, I know what he said.  He said the same thing to the other driver on another call.  So, I emailed him, FYI, eddie is coming early and staying late and as you agreed, we should all have about the same hours.

He wrote back and said he never said such a thing.
I'm glad it wasn't a phone conversation because I got - angry- pretty quick.  Like what?  I'm sorry, I replied back, but those were your words and you told the other driver the same thing.  He wrote  back that he isn't doing this off hours on email we can talk during business hours.  I said no need, I will be calling Ferguson and exposing all this garbage going on in this acquired company.  All of this stuff violates Ferguson policy.

Now, will I have a job when I get to work today? I don't know but I'm talking all my work issued clothes with me and dumping them in the bin.  I don't want to have to make a trip back there with the stuff.  But, this guy is either lying or has a very bad memory.  Either way, there is another driver that he said the same thing to to verify that yes, he did actually say that.

But, obviously and for whatever reason, they are showing favoritism to the rehired driver.  I am at least as good as he is in terms of getting work done, driving, etc etc etc.  In fact, I have much more knowledge about the business than he does but in my current position there that doesn't really mean much.  That knowledge hasn't been useful since I left Phoenix.

I've got one more  job offer, local to consider, otherwise I'm going over the road.  The problem with this offer is two fold. First, it's 60 miles away, second it's all night driving.  Now, I was driving 60 miles to my current company every day, one way when I was living at Val's house.  Long drive but I considered the alternatives and that was OTR or Regional.  So I could deal with that already having had done that. The all night stuff is what I am not sure I could deal with.  Start at 4, 5 or 6 - they said they don't know until you go through oritentation and whatever's available.  It's drive south with a trailer, drop it off and bring it back.  That's it.  but, it's a long ways off to wherever they are taking it.

The up side is that at least every other week it's a 3 day weekend.  Now that would be nice. Another flip to this, though is that it's fracking sand and who knows how reliable this account they have is? I forgot to ask that question. Well, off to work.  Find out in an hour if they are going to tell me to take a hike.  I am mentally prepared for  it, I really don't care that much at this point, especially with solid job offers lined up.

Today the gm finally got back to me.  He was supposed to do this middle of next week. I received his call over in Tyler, TX at another of our company's locations where I was picking up pipe - had to leave the yard at 6 am.  Anyway, he gave me the same jibberish he did before, so I got a bit more - in your face - with him after it became glaringly obvious that he was excusing his way out of giving a raise by saying that it appears that we may be coming back into good times in a month or two and that our hours would likely go back, and then, he tried to explain, how would I explain that to the company?  Ummm, the same way my gm in Phoenix did when we had a huge project start up and we were working 12 hours a day?  The base pay shouldn't be based on whether you "might" end up with 50 hours per week somewhere down the line.  

I made my points but it became apparent that it was a futile effort.  I simply told him I know what I'm worth and it's a lot more than what you are paying me.  I have numerous job offers, nothing I really want to do - OTR trucking - but they are there.  Well, he replies, I really don't want to lose you.  It means we will have to start all over again (with a new hire, training the person to do the job and learning the product, which takes quite some time).  Yup, I thought, but you aren't willing to up the ante at all.  I then posed the question of what the company would do if the other two drivers also were going to find greener pastures (my buddy already told him that he was looking for a new job and I don't really care about the rehired dude, he's a player)?  The phone went very silent.

Yeah, go ahead and get your temp drivers and see how that works out.  Whatever the case, the rehired dude showed up at 7 this morning - I was told that  he was supposed to come in at 8 last week.  They sent me home at 2 but kept him there. My co-driver said they had sent him out in the semi at 4 pm.  Oh really?  That was the only thing the gm agreed with today, no one should be getting more OT hours than anyone else.  

Whatever.  I'm pretty sick of the whole thing.  I have a couple of leads on a few local jobs - but then again so does everyone else around here.  Still, I applied at them anyway.  The worst decisions I have made in my entire life are culminating in a perfect storm of hell on earth for me.  Moving out here to marry - giving up a good paying position with quite a lot of security and a lot of free time to do whatever I wanted.  Transferring over here for far less wages than I was making in Phoenix.  Finding out when I started working here that the temperament of many of the "old-timers" working here is quite dinosauric.  Anger and tempers, people more than willing to throw each other under the bus.

Now I have to make a decision and I can't say it's easy.  I'm just not enthralled with the idea of OTR driving.  I'm just not.  I've got jobs lined up that I could take my dog which would make the day go by easier, but I have no idea if that dog  is even going to be able to handle that kind of lifestyle.  And then what?  

Well, whatever.  Gotta get out of this bedroom and hang out with some people, this stuff can get depressing.  

I have been checking my company email for any kind of reply from the gm since he hasn't called me, though he texted the other driver asking him to call him.  Finally saw it in there - after work.  So no, the conversation hasn't been had yet but I fully expect to go there today and get this over with one way or the other.

No idea where that is going to go, but I'm going to be pretty open about my feelings about the pay this is a dealbreaker for me.  At the same time, I worked 87 hours last pay period and my net pay was down about $200 instead of the projected $500.  The reason is I got the 7 extra hours of OT and the taxation is probably the biggest difference.

As suspected, the fired/rehired driver has no plans of staying there long.  He was lamenting yestesrday about the fact that he's broke, is 56 years old and wants to go back overseas and engage in  the high paying truck driving jobs that earn over 100k per year. Of course, there is a potential price to pay for that pay: your life.  He is ex military and spent quite a lot of time after the military over there driving trucks for unbelievably high wages but the threat of being ambushed and killed is very real.  I don't find that kind of risk just for money to be worth it.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Well, I can only move on with my plans to find a new place to work.  I tried to call the GM today and he is out.  He never replied to my email yesterday or today. I don't consider that a very good boss.  He committed to making a decision by mid-week and instead just blew it off.  No biggies. I have been writing down names on sides of day cabs all day long and have started checking into those.  One nearby but not currently hiring, another in a town 150 miles from here and another in Dallas - neither of which are doable on a home daily basis.  Still 5 more to look into, but it's the weekend now, no hurry. Wouldn't hear back fron any employer until Monday at the earliest anyway.

Meanwhile, the warehouse manager just called and told me I need to come in at - 6am on Monday and drive to Tyler for a load of pipe at our branch there.  Nice way to start the week, actually, as there is nothing to load onto the truck, just get in and drive. Probably around 4 hour round trip, yeah, just getting up earlier than normal on a Monday, but still, maybe I'll get off early and take a nap when I get home.

The weekend.  Nothing fancy planned here.  It's raining and I have no idea how long that's going to continue.  Well I checked, it's supposed to be clear tomorrow.  Maybe I'll take that 4 wheeler out somewhere if I can get use of the pickup and ride it for a while.

I guess what I've never understood are companies of which you are loyal to who do not return the favor.  When the times called for kicking @$$, you pump it out for them and your work ends up making them a lot of money.

________________________________________________________________

Not unusual for me to start an entry and then stop and start again.  In fact, I have a few that went on 5 times doing that. Regardless, unending internet searches - where most of the CDL jobs are posted regardless of size of company - found a place that I had looking into before.  They are now hiring and it was a fresh posting. I have applied as of just a few minutes ago, yes.  It's a local job - though an hour drive away - home every day and off weekends.  Pay is good and benefits are good.  Of course, I could already be too late with my application for the numbers of drivers looking for local jobs in this area, but I had to try.

The new manager yesterday came up to me, told me he needed to talk to me and started lecturing me on the use of one of our forklifts that has long forks on it. I just couldn't take it.  I just couldn't stand there with my mouth shut. Yes, I know all about this, I have been operating forklifts for 30 years.  The problem is due to a certain individual that has no competency in forklift operation and does much destruction with it.  But, the new manager is a total jerkoff. Literally.  I countered his every point for I am tired of his bs.  Okay, well I'm telling everyone this.  Yes, I thought, you could go about in a much different approach and you wouldn't come off as obnoxious, but I kept that to myself.

Then we went inside.  Well, where is this ticket?  He asks me.  I don't know.  I bring all the tickets straight into Kat's office and drop them in the basket.  It's automatic, I do this every single time.  Warehouse manager back me up on that one - yeah, he goes straight to her office every single time after he gets back to the yard.  The issue is not on my end.  The issue is Kat gets piles of tickets - huge piles of them - and they sometimes get lost and not processed.

He smiled at me - the new manager that is - okay, this isn't on you. I immediately got out of there. Biting my tongue too much will cause it to bleed.  This crass behavior by this individual isn't likely to ever change.

No answer on pay yet.  I was going to give him until today and if I don't get an answer, call him and ask for  it.  But, prudence says to wait until the end of the week and let him decide without me pressuring him to make a decision and then possibly ruin any hope that there may have been for salvaging this job.

Meanwhile, the fired/rehired driver is getting preferential treatment and neither of us 2 other drivers are happy with it.  He is coming in at 7 and leaving at 5. Yup, what happened to the no-10-hour-per-day deal.  He should have had to take the same schedule that they had given to the temp driver - 9 to 5.  Yes, we are going to press the issue -this morning actually.  Starting with the warehouse manager and ask him why this is happening.  It will be a piece of bs, there is no good reason for it and then we'll move to the new manager.  I have no idea what his answer will be.

I did get 2 days off next week. I wanted to use my floating holidays - two of them anyway - in case this deal goes south and I won't be  able to use them and if I quit, i won't get compensated for them.
Besdies the fact that between New Year's and Memorial Day - which is 5 months - there are no paid holidays given by my company.

That's all I have.  I have been checking all kinds of stuff for OTR driving both the driving aspect and the "comfort" aspect.  My 3rd paycheck under the "new" rules arrives tonight via electronic transfer. It  has 87 hours on it - which is better than 40 per week I guess but still at least 13 hours short of all OT pay - so it will be a little better than last paycheck but certainly not enough to cover the loss.  I've simply resolved myself that that  ist he way it's going to be and I have to do what I hve to do.  Every daycab truck I see - which is a semi tractor that doesn't have a sleeper on it - I look at the name and I look up the company and see if they are hiring.

If it doesn't have a sleeper then it is local work, you are home every night.  So far, zilch.  Every company I've checked isn't hiring.  Good local jobs don't last long and that's the end of that story.  And at least around here? There aren't that many day cabs running up and down the roads.  A couple of them I saw yesterday - which aren't hiring right now - were well away from their terminal.  Hundreds of  miles worth.  Meaning they get good amount of work. I drove 400 miles yesterday and almost 500 the day before though.

Anyway, time to be off to the wonder--land I know as a place called  work.

Well, as the days pass, so the information also comes rolling in.
They relieved that temp driver of his duties today.  However, they told him I am probably going to quit so they may be calling him back.  Now, it's not surprising that they know I have been applying elsewhere for jobs - they have been calling and calling for verification of employment.  However, those calls are going to corporate, not the local management.  Not that I didn't believe that corporate wouldn't come along and tell them what I am doing.  I knew this before I started this process.

However.  I didn't expect management to tell a non-management person that information.  I think that's unprofessional if nothing else.  I have been intentionally keeping a very good attitude and keeping my work ethic up, doing what I have been doing all along.  At least I'm not giving them any "good" reason to get rid of me.  They could release me at any time which is fine, I can be in an orientation as early as this coming Monday if that happened.

Regardless, I did tell the GM today in email that I still wanted to stay at this company, that I could get along with the new manager if his demeanor remained "mostly" at what it is now and that I await his decision.  I am carefully wording everything I say and leaving nothing to subjective interpretation. Well, people can subjectively interpret whatever they want, but I am carefully thinking through what i say to anyone and keeping my conversations at a minimum.

Whatever the case, I'm going to bite my tongue and wait for the GM's decision.  It is at least possible he could make a favorable decision.  I don't know but I won't wait forever.  I have made up my mind and the gears are turning.  I have 2 companies now that I have narrowed it down to and when I am pressed to make a final decision, it will come to me which one to take. I have no idea if Addler will take to being in a truck but I wanted the option open and at least try it if it comes to that.  They offered without my asking - I wouldn't ask them to do that really - to take care of him while I am gone but that means I would only see him 4 days out of the month and I do not think that would work.

He is very attached to me now.  Very attached.  It would be a tragedy in my mind to have to give him up to yet another owner/family after going through 2 already in his relatively short period of time he has been alive on this earth.  In fact, I would contact the original owners and see if they would take him back.  The lady loved him dearly and she was devastated to have to let him go - as I would be.  It will be a matter of whether he takes to a truck life or not.

It is unfortunate but I do have to think through all of this and be prepared for what may come.  To be honest, I have had thoughts of asking my oldest brother - of whom I have no relationship with - if he could get me into Boeing.  I have no qualifications so that would be a longshot even if he agreed to try.  I've also had thoughts that if I do go OTR, to spend my free time doing online education.  But in reality, I am 52 years old and it is difficult for people over the age of 50 to get into much of anything without ample experience in any given field.  I can make excellent money OTR I just know that it is a sacrifice.

I've called the waterworks company within 100 miles and no-one is hiring.  For any position, not just trucking.  It's serious hard times out here with the oil fields being shut down.

Well, I can take solace that at least I have something to turn to even if it isn't optimal.

As I posted the other day, I wasn't going to wait around to hear back from the general manager. I went ahead and emailed him from my company email account today to ask him about the pay raise. It was worded with respect and professionalism, I have not yet determined to burn my bridges with this company.

I got a reply email from him within a few minutes actually. He stated that he had just gotten back from Dallas and needed to make a phone call to my new manager and that he would try to make a decision by mid week.i'm not holding my breath but you know it was worth a try anyway.

Eddie, the Driver that was fired for failing a drug test, started today. From the perspective of trying to get a pay raise that is really good news at all.if I were to quit today they would just pick up with them where I left off. Of course he is a pothead and who knows whether he has been able to give that up or not. He was using a coworker's urine drug test in the past. One would presume that the company would force him to do regular from, but this company doesn't seem to be normal in that aspect.

Regardless I am starting to warm up to the idea of being in a truck for extended periods of time. It would be tough to face two weeks at a time out on the road with a dreadful outlook up on it. There are plenty of cons with OTR driving but there are some pros to it as well. 

Unfortunately I would not be at all surprised if they came back with nothing. My current company that is. But I still think an ounce of faith that there is a remote possibility that they might agree to enough of  a pay raise to keep me there. 

Meanwhile the time draws nigh for me to go to one of the orientations. So I am going to look up the things that they have made for truck drivers make their life easier while they're driving on the road. One nice thing that many trucking companies have nowadays is electronic logging. No more logbooks, you just input the information into a device which is sent back to your company and kept on file. It warned you when you're getting close to the end of your allowable driving hours. I only know this because I asked a driver into our yard last week about it. He showed me the device showed how it works.

I have stopped putting out applications for jobs. The only ones that I wouldn't lie for now our local jobs and I have done all of those that I could find. There were some great jobs that are local but they are in my area. I do not believe that I want to relocate again unless it's completely out of this entire area.

The other driver texted me to day and stated:"I don't think we are getting a raise so, I'm leaving! F*** LUSCO!  Now Eddie going to be getting all the deliveries."

Eddie is the driver that was fired a year ago or more for testing positive for THC.  The truck driver who was driving trucks - as high as a kite.  How do you like that idea?  Truck drivers operating 80,000 pounds worth of machinery that are totally impaired in their judgement and thinking.  Yup.  Talk about a company setting itself up for a fall.  He is also a true bulls****er and talks out of both sides of his mouth.  I am not exactly happy he is coming back and I question the judgement of a company as big as this one is in allowing this person back. 

For him to get that job back, he would have to be kissing the new manager's @$$.  The other driver's statement about Eddie getting all the deliveries is simply a statement about Eddie getting all the good runs - which is desirable over having to stay at the yard.   In reality, I get a lot of the good deliveries as well.  But I get dumped into the other driver's truck and he ends up in either the PU or the 550.  Monday I am taking a trip to Mississippi and that is an all day event.  

The other driver is pisssed. I was upset at first but now I'm just biding my time.  Monday I will call the GM and ask if he can give me a raise or not.  I won't wait.  Well, I: can appear like I'm waiting, orientaation for the company I have chosen start date on the 11th.  I'm going to "try" to take all my floating holiday days off - 3 days worth.  If I quit, I get my earned vacation hours but all the rest of it just goes away.  

_____________________________

Another entry written in segments.  Got busy attempting to finish up the Polaris.  Seems to be working fine, I just have to put body parts back on it now.  I had new tires sitting out there for it - 2 of them anyway - was time to finish this up. Money already spent, ramps to get the thing up on a pickup truck.  I'm not really going to be spending money like that at this point on much of anything until I get my job situation worked out.  This area is dried up of local jobs that pay anything, I would have to move to Dallas to get something decent.  

No, I don't want to live in Dallas.  I do know several people there, though, but it's just another big city like Phoenix, the traffic is horrible among other things and it's nothing I want to get involved with.  I have been sending out a few more applications but it's become obvious there is nothing local.  I have tried and asked around.  A company that has LTL told me they have too many drivers and basically, that is the situation everywhere - at least out here  because of the oilfield dump.  I didn't sign up for this. I have been trying to get my mind to accept the idea of OTR and it's been difficult.  It is not the easiest life in the world, but most people don't understand that.  You don't go home every night, you have to spend 10 hours a day driving and then after that all the other stuff such as eating, refueling, laundry, finding a place to park for the night, etc etc etc. 

I can tell right now that 2 days home after being out for 14 is going to seem like nothing.  Maybe my world needs shaken up a bit, I don't know. There is another way to look at OTR - you get to see a lot of places that most people would never be able to visit in one lifetime.  Is the glass half empty or half full proposition.  One thing for certain, my dog is content to be with me - alllll day long.  At the same time, he has friends out back and they play a lot.  He would miss that, I'm sure.  I really don't know which he would "like" more - staying here without me or going with me and not having the freedom of a back yard to roam around.  

Meanwhile, my landlord's freinds that moved back here late last year - are broke.  Which isn't anything shocking in this world but, they inherited a 100k and blew it.  Literally blew it.  It sounds like a lot of money but if you're not working and you are paying all your expenses out of it, yeah.  They bough a pickup truck and the grand total after all the money they dumped into it is 20k.  That's a 1/5th of that money right there.  I'm not judging them, I actually feel sorry for them. They are young, he is out of the military and has severe PTSD.  They just didn't think into the future.  They also didn't try to find jobs.  

Me? That money gets invested or start my own business if I could find something I both enjoy and there is a market for.  To sit around blowing 100k is just unfathomable to me.  I figured this out quickly when they came over the other day and stated to not tell them where the truck is. I don't know where the truck is, but why?  They took out a title loan on it. Title and payday loans are the worst loans on earth, period.  But it was almost shocking.  I didn't say anything about the inheritance, but my landlady did after I engaged that conversation.  What happened to you all of your money?  "It's tied up". 

But I watched them.  Buying extremely expensive liquor - like one bottle at $100 type.  Expensive cigars.  The truck.  A - temporary - lavish lifestyle.  I've seen  this too many times.  I eventually have an inheritance coming - hopefully not anytime soon - and I can tell you that my portion of it will be well more than that.  I have no intentions of just blowing it if it ever comes.  Perhaps I'll die first - though I wouldn't wish that on my mother, being a parent I understand you would much rather die off before die off first before your children.  

Anyway, just watching people going through such things.  Yes the brought it on themselves, yes, they should have had some foresight.  But still.  I mean, at least buy a house/property with it? Out here you can buy a house for less than 100k.  I'm not saying anything fancy, but you would own the property and only be left paying property taxes and insurance.  In fact, there is quite the lack of rentals out here and people needing such. There is a college a mile away and another college 2 miles away and yet another college about 4 miles away. There is a market here for room rentals.  

Apparently, Louisiana has specific anti-bullying laws and apparently, there is some grounds for filing a suit against the company for knowingly installing an "asshole" - the gm told me that yesterday - into a managerial position that has a known history of violence and putting him over employees he openly dislikes - though he has no real reason to since we don't even know the man.  If there is an validity to what I have found online, I have witnesses including one from outside the company.  It would be interesting to see something such as "intentional infliction of emotional distress" as it is called.  Certainly have been exposed to that from that dude from day one, but now as a manager?  Unbelievable that there are trolls walking around this planet that actually think talking to people like this, especially in a managerial position, is somehow okay.

I actually wasn't thinking anything about bullying and lawsuits.  I just know I don't want to work for an a-hole - even HIS manager calls him that behind his back. Oops!  But, my co-worker called me today and we talked for an hour or so. I - kinda - get him to thinking about things.  He's young. He's not stupid but he doesn't go to the places I go in the thinking department.  Not saying I'm Einstein, just I tend to spend a lot of time analyzing things that are affecting me and going down every potential trail of outcomes that may occur.  It's everything from the worst to the best outcomes.

Monday should be - interesting.  I'm transferring photos to my desktop computer so I can empty my phone of all the memory eating pics and videoes.  I intend on getting recordings of any interaction between him and I from this point forth if I can get the phone going nonchalantly.  I really do want to catch this stuff on a recording.  Yeah, I do. Because it's not going to stop.  It may slow down, he may hide it for awhile after the gm gets on his case, which by now he already has, but this dude really needs some counseling.  That's my best answer to people that cannot get a hold of their emotions.  It's not a jab, either, it does work if the person is open to the counselor's input.

I don't have much faith that the gm is actually going to do anything about my pay.  He has no choice but to deal with the new manager.

I have been searching intently for local jobs and it just isn't there. The laid off oil field drivers have flooded the local market and the only thing that will change that is if oil field driving jobs come back.  They apparently pay quite well but I bet none of them expected their jobs would ever be subject to the idea of a oil crash, if you will.  The prices will eventually go back up and perhaps those jobs will come back and perhaps they will take those jobs back, don't know.  The only local jobs I have found are very low paying crap that doesn't pay on the level of an experienced CDL driver.  I have also been looking for forklift jobs, but those don't pay enough money either.

___________________________________

Well here it is Sunday evening.  Tomorrow should be interesting to say the least.  I don't see the man as having the ability to fire me, not after the way the gm was talking, but who knows.  This conversation with him, if it takes place, will likely be edgy.  I do not fear the man and I refuse to fall into that trap - that is what is going on at that branch, he's got people in fear for their jobs.  I don't get it but whatever. I'll go in with an open mind just in case there is any hope but with two, separate and extreme issues - him and pay - it is unlikely that one or the other or both will be rectified.

Well then.

That rather lengthy email sent to the general manager turned into chaos.  

But I expected it.  Again, I have numerous job offers, to get fired from my current employer would not mean sent to the welfare services or the unemployment line.  I had to have that to back me up before going down this road.  The assurace in my mind that if they were to play the firing card, I would be able to smile, speak my mind and get up and walk away from it without fretting. Pick it right up where I left off, get into a truck and drive - and make a helluva lot more money.  The reason I have continued to work for less money on a local basis is simply because of the element of being able to go home, each and every day, sleep in my own bed, have my own rather larger bedroom with private bathrooom.

There is value in that and it can and in my case, does account for lower pay.  I wasn't broke, wasn't rich, just somewhere in the middle.  

I saw my new manager this morning and he was just staring at me.  Driving back in the yard he was out there again, staring. Glaring? I don't know.  I thought he had been informed of my email and that was his retribution.  They guy is a piecce of work.  Well, anyway, I went on another run at noon - it was time to go home according to my 40 hour work week.  A freight truck had come into the yard, however and had material that a contractor needed "right now" and I was the only driver there, the other two were on the road.  I wanted to go home.  To hell with this company's 40 hour stringency, I'll give it to them. Take off when I hit 40 hours and had that one nailed.  

I get out on that run and the other driver is texting me that the GM called him. WTH. I start all this stuff and this GM is contacting everyone but me.  I get it though.  He's trying to verify my story.  Was I accurately and truthfully retelling it or was I making up a bunch of hot air and selling it off with an odor of hogwash?  Still, was he going to call me at all?  He said he would.  Well, I got that text from the other driver while driving home - I got off later than I should have but I still left early, in fact, right now it's time for everyone to go home over there - and then I got the call from the GM.I recognized the area code and got myself instantly in to the right mind frame.  

It was a 50 minute phone call.  I spoke my mind - quite freely I might add, I'm on my way out in my thinking though I didn't tell him that. I didn't tell him that because I wondered if there was any glimmer of hope here? Would he tell me that he sides with the manager or would he tell me his actions were horrid and needed to be corrected? I don't like burning the bridges unless it is totally warrannted.  I was treated pretty well in Phoenix - same company different mindset so why pour fuel on this and throw the match?  The latter ended up being true. He emphatically stated that that was absolutley not way that he wants employees to be treated.  

But we went back and forth on both issues: the manager and pay.  I was brought out here with the promise of 50 hours.  I was quite sure on this one.  I asked numerous times.  I wanted it a settled deal.  But, in typical managerial style, they said no, that isn't what happened. Oh, YES, it is how it happened.  You think I'm going to kill myself by coming out here and not know every detail, especially pay?  I knew where he was going to go with it: slow time of year. You'll get more hours at other times of the year. Great, but what about now? Pay?  Forget the hours, let's talk about pay?  Too much detail to go into, but he said well what about when we get busy? And you're making that kind of pay?  I can't justify that to the company.  Now that I'm thinking about it and not in a very intense, back and forth conversation, so what? It would make up for these times of the year when the contracts slow down and incoming money slows down with it.  He was talking about a balancing act I just didn't think about that portion of it.

You can talk a lot of words in 50 minutes. And we did.  This dude seems to have his head on straight.  But when it comes to pay, he talks the coroporate jargon and I talk the pay jargon. The 2 clash.  I kept going back to my pay in Phoenix, who cares about OT?  I didn't even think about OT when I started with that company, I thought: PAY. How much am I going to get PAID?  He then tried to tell me that the market in Louisiana only pays the amount I am getting paid.  I replied that I have talked with a large number of local drivers coming into our yard. Southeastern starts out experienced drivers at anywhere between 20 and 24 bucks and hour.  I've talked to other drivers making anywhere between 18.50 to 27.

I then told him I could easily go out and find a job paying 60k per year.  I would be out on the road all the time, but I would be making good money.  Not only did not try to argue with that, he knows all about it because they have trouble getting and keeping drivers at other locations in that state. Exactly, who wants to work for peanuts?  But isn't there value in being able to go home every day? he asks.  Yes, there is, but at the same time I need to be able to pay my bills and beyond that.  My life isn't just about going to work and then coming home and then spending weekends waiting to go to work on Monday morning.....

Well, he told me that letter I wrote him kept him awake last night, but immediately conceded that I probably haven't been sleeping to well, either. Umm, yeah?  Seriously.  This conversation ended with him telling me that he would run the numbers past corporate once again and try to do something and asked if I could speak with the manager alone or would he have to be there?  See, this is where this situation has failed.  This new manager thinks he can do or say anything he wants because there isn't anyone else there to hold him accountable.  The workers under him are afraid to say anything. I'm the rogue wave in that mix, I refuse to be treated like s*** by an etotistical, self-centered, self-absorbed person who also has the title of manager.  I'll quit before I just  sit around and tolerate that kind of abuse.  I simply told the gm that yes, I can talk to him but....it's a two way street.  He understood that immediately and said the new manager was his next phone call and that he hadn't shared with the new manager or anyone else for that matter the email I had sent him and also promised that he would ensure - I didn't ask for this but I'm glad he offered it - that the new manager would not be allowed to take some kind of "revenge" on me by using his position in an unprofessional manner to retaliate. He also offered that he, too, has an open door policy and I can pick up the phone and call him at any time.

Well that's a first.  From the way everyone talks at the branch, you have to go through your manager to talk to the gm.  Which is a load of bs, expecially in this situation with an egomaniac running a branch that wants everyone to fear him and bow down and worship.  You think I"m exaggerating.  If I could only have gotten a video of him when he went off into his tirade on Monday morning.

It's now the weekend, I started this entry yesterday but got caught up in applying for more jobs - the job search hasn't ended and likely won't.  I have no faith that the gm is actually going to give me any kind of raise, much less a substantial one.  I could probably exist off the current pay if I did nothing but go to work and buy groceries and pay already existent bills.

This is going to be an on-going dilemmma until I have it resolved one way or another.  

Saw my paycheck under the new "regime" and decide to fire off a final appeal to the general manaager.  You can't see him in person - unless you want to drive 4 plus hours to get there and it simply isn't worth that kind of a drive to get a no answer.  

But, I wasn't going to leave this company without caling out the new manager and his foul behavior, especially what happened Monday morning AND having a contractor who has nothing to do with the situation seeing it and making comments about the man's demeanor.  So, I wrote the GM a letter on the company mail system. First, my pay.  I could probably deal with this lame manager if my pay was good, but I certainly am not going to tolerate his garbage at substandard wages.  I brought up the fact that my pay is now the same as an entry level truck driver who has no experience and is fresh out of driving school.

That is no exaggeration, either, that is exactly what my pay has been scaled back to.  Somehow, overnight, my work is wortth a thousand dollars less per month than it was the month before?  lol There are numerous reasons I don't like OTR driving, one of them is that you have force yourself to get exercise, for you aren't getting any just sitting there behind the wheel 10 hours a day.  At a work environment such as what I am at now, I get all kinds of exercise whether I want to or not, it's an aspect I actually like about the job.  The second of course is not going home to your own bed every night, but I can deal with that.  Other things. Time management becomes a big issue.  You have to figure out a "rhythm" so to speak and get into the flow of it.  It takes a while to figure that out.  I've been out of the OTR stuff for so long it would be like startinga ll over again.  

Though, there are plenty of trucking boards online that I intend on visiting if/when I pull the trigger, which I suspect will occur quickly now that I have written that letter.  After writing that message I didn't expect to actually even hear back from the man, but I just accessed my company email account and found a message.  He said he would call me tomorrow - which is today - and we could discuss it for he didnt wan to "frustrate" me, he said, with email that might be misinterpreted.  

Whatecver the case, I must be off to work.  Today should be interesting, for I am guessing my email will be forwarded to the new manager.  

This new manager stated at the first meeting that he was likely going to be spending the rest of his career - another 6 or 7 years he declared - as manager of the branch.
There is one thing that I can testify as quite certain: at the money I am making, I will not be working for this individual for the rest of my career. The only thing that would make me want to stick around is decent money and without my newly eliminated OT hours?  It is a done deal. I am going to take whatever the best offer I can get that includes me taking my dog with me.  It is a sticking point for me but for me, it's worth it.  I will have a companion with me that has grown to be very much like a Great Dane: following me everywhere I go, wanting to be with me alllllll the time. Leaving him here - my landlords graciously offered to take care of him if it comes to that - would really be very disheartening for me and I just don't feel I could deal with it.  Money isn't everything.

I was at a jobsite today up north and the contractor started right in on the man.  What was up his @$$ the other day? I heard him calling you guys childish and basically stating you are all a bunch of idiots?  What? You heard all of that?  I didn't even know he had been standing behind us.  I was too busy attempting to quelch my internal desire to tell him where he can shove his bs.  Yup, he said, I heard all of it.

I actually have a person as a witness to this "manager's" crap that has no personal involvement at all with this and  I didn't start that conversation, he brought it right up.  I wasn't shocked by his assessment of that man and I felt at least justified in my decision to vacate my position at that company and find greener - and more peaceful - pastures somewhere else.  Now, I can't say that I will love my next job.  I am doing some research on both companies in contention but in the end, you never know until you are working for them and see how you are treated.

Regardless, I received a text message out of the blue from a recuiter for yet another company.  I put my name and info on a site that farms it out to - all kinds - of companies.  They just forward it everywhere. I knew that before I signed up for it.  I've received text messages, phone calls and emails from just about every major trucking company in North America and also from some lessor known ones, including the company that texted me this morning.  My first question: Do you have a pet policy? That's what they call them - learned that in just the first hours of my first searching for a new job.  Yes, tell me about your dog.  Well, he's big, lol.  He's fully house-trained, he's non-destructive and he's definitely not vicious nor would be considered a vicious breed.

How big?  Yeah, he's 130 pounds now, lol.  Funny how a dog that big can roll up into a ball that small yet stretch out entirely and take up an entire bed!  These trucks come with bunk beds. He would have his own bed to sleep on.  The dude says that's fine.  Second question: what's the starting pay?  40 cents per mile.  What's the average mileage per week? Around 3,000. Okay, money's good.  Even if the miles aren't that much, I'm good.  I have a disadvantage that I didn't understand I would have going into this: most of these company do not accept local driving as acceptable.  You have to go out with a trainer for anywhere from 50 hours to 4 weeks to get "certified" to drive with them. They pay during that time equals out to minimum wage.

I'm in a learning curve here.  I had no idea how much the trucking industry had internally changed.  I knew how much the regulations have changed affecting all drivers, I keep up on that but I had no interest until this management change at work to keep up with what trucking companies want and the rules they are playing by.  Today's call was a much better looking company than many of them that I have been looking at.  They have a home every weekend option.  I don't know if that materially affects your pay, though. I want at least a grand a week to start.  We won't get into the conversation until Monday.  That's when the recuiter said he would be back and would give me a call.  I am getting my memory back on OTR driving - what is good, what is not and what questions definitely need to be answered.

I'm still looking local and will still look local even if I have to get on the road.  My main objection at work is the pay reduction.  If that hadn't happened, I would be struggling working for this dude but I would probably maintain myself and just go with the flow.  I've been exposed to dictator type managers before, but they at least had some sense of giving their workers the idea that they are valued by the company and an occasional good job. But, this dude here? Has everyone on edge.  He maintains an atmosphere of rigidity and likes to keep everyone on edge, in fear and in question of their jobs, actually.  He can't just go firing everyone.  But, I'm sure he could fire one or two and get away with it and right now, they are going to bring back the driver that was fired for haivng THC in his system. For me, that gives him the option of getting rid of me and no matter how much I have tried, he obviously doesn't like me.

At this point, I don't try and I don't care.  I don't say hi to him anymore, I have given up on it.  I remain respectful outwardly even though he absolutely doesn't deserve my respect.  I am only doing that because a gap in work history is not good for your job record.  I truly wish I could find something else to do with my life but short of going to school and going broke while doing it, or perhaps some divine intervention and an opportunity out of the blue - I never discount that possibility - I either have to do what I know what makes money or - go broke and live under a tree.  Hey, I have a trailer up on my mom's property in northern Arizona! lol I actually considered that.  Trucking companies don't CARE where you live, take the truck home with you!  Drop the trailer down the road, drive the tractor up there, walaah.  Pay her some rent to make her happy and upkeep the property and there you go. Live up in the beautiful mountains in cooler temps.  Cept' that trailer.  I like it but to live in it?  I could do it I guess just need a few upgrades.

I pretty much go through all the rabbit trails when I am faced with whatever.

Right now my rabbit trrails are truck parking. I have read about it for years.  I figured out that OTR drivers may happen to find palces off the beaten path - but not too far off the main trail - that you won't just happen to find.  They are right off the Interstate usually but you would never they are there unless you knew the area.  I could name 30 places at least in Louisiana off of I-20 and I-49 that OTR drivers wouldn't know about unless - they talked to a local or just happened to get off that exit.  It's a market that needs filled.  I have ideas.  I looked at a few that listed their truck stops for Louisiana and included none of the ones I know about that aren't brand name truck stops.

I'm going to test it out by posting some stops on this blog with an appropriate title and see how many hits it gets.

Anyway, bedtime.

Not much time to write an entry but figured to get this little gem in here.  Showed up for work yesterday at 7am, so did the other driver. The other driver was supposed to show up at 8, so I asked him why he was there.  Bewildered look on his face - but he's a good actor.  He knew he was supposed to show at 8, he's tryig to push the issue that he should be able to come in early and leave early.......okay, whatever.

Anyway, shortly after, the manager shows up, sees both of us there and flips out.  Literally loses it.  Why are you both here? The other driver  started trying to explain away ...... this isn't that hard. Even children could get this.  You are acting childess - addressing both of us - how difficult is this? This isn't that hard - he went on and on and on, angry, belittling us and speaking in harsh tones.

I forced myself to keep my mouth shut, for I wanted to tell him where to stick it and just quit, right there and go home.  If I make it til' next month I"ll have about 90 hours of vacation time and I will get paid for those hours at regular time but still, it's like a whole nother paycheck.  Which will help when I quit.

But, the plain simple truth of the matter is: this dude is not management material. I was afraid of that before they promoted him and I spoke my mind about it to upper management.  So did numerous other people.  He may know the nuts and bolts of the workings of the branch, but he has no knowledge of how to effectively communicate with people, he doesn't care about the people working for him and he is a ticking time bomb.  He will lose it sooner or later and by that, I mean, lose it to the point of going back to his old ways of threatening people - with violence.

And the reality of it is, he just implement this new "policy" of his.  It's not like we've been doing this for 6 months and we should know and have it down.  To lost it like that over something so petty only points to his inaability to keep his emotions in check.  Now, if I were getting paid $25 per hour I wouldn't care, just put up with it and la deee dahhh.  But I am not and the money ain't talking to me at all.

I stopped applying for a day or so just to take a break from it.  I've had several job offers but so far, none of them will allow a dog the size of Addler in the truck.  60 pounds or less, 50 pounds or less, 40 pounds or less.  But - I take that back - I was speaking with Navajo yesterday and I forgot to ask them but I believe they do allow any sized dog and I was also talking with US Express and they also allow any sized dog.  I believe I have an actual offer with Navajo, US Express said they were waiting for various reports they had filed to come back on my record.

Anyway, off to work.

Endless phone interviews.  Fill out one application after another.  Found some sites that show the companies that allow dogs and what size dog.  Many of them won't even think about allowing a dog the size of Addler, but I have found a number of them that have no size restrictions.  I am busily applying at all of them - while at the same time looking for local employment and applying for whatever places I can find - which aren't that many of them.

The alleged truth came out today as to why they suddenly decided that hour cuts were the daily platter.  The temporary driver was saying he was doing 60 hours per week on his time sheets - which is a bald faced lie - and corporate got a hold of that and began questioning the general manager about hours and why are they allowing over 40?  So, allegedly, the company is saying no, no more OT. I don't doubt corporate gets on their case about OT - but - they were getting on the old manager's case the entire time I was working there and he managed to get around it.  It is highly more likely, after hearing some of the new manager's speech, that the new manager simply doesn't believe drivers should be getting paid as much as we "were" and is using this as an excuse for his agenda.

AND...if they were all-so-fired concerned about our pay, they could easily raise it if they wanted to.  There are no rules against that.  The statement now is that they are going to "see what kinds of numbers our branch produces" before they will do that.  Bunk.  It's all just games.  Dangle the proverbial carrot endlessly and see how long they will fall for it.  They already KNOW how much we produce and how much that branch produces on average.  I refuse to work for a company that will just come along and just take that kind of money away from you and give unbelievably lame, pathetic reasons as to why.  I have quit 2 jobs in the past because of it - one place I was working at for 11 years when they came along and cut our pay in half.  A Chinese company had acquired the company I was working for.  It was such a slap in the face, I quit immediately before having another job lined up.  No regrets on that one.  The other was JB Hunt, when senior management showed up at the morning meeting before drivers were sent out and told us we would be having our pay cut full four hundred dollars per WEEK. I was out of there in about 2 weeks - I did find a job before I quit and no, I did not give any advance notice.  They didn't  give ME notice about cutting my wages, they could go stick it.  One of the times that a company shafts it's employees where the company lost BIG time.  Most of the drivers quit, the company lost the contract and ended up losing millions of dollars because of it.

I will keep up this job application pace until I find something.  I've sent out at least 50 applications so far.  I could probably handle OTR on a home every 2 week basis if I had Addler with me in the truck. If not, I just don't think I could handle it.  A dog companion is better than none - especially when spending countless hours inside of a truck.  And, I would consider an OTR job a temporary thing until I eventually found/find a good local job.  The nuances of taking a dog on extended trip is something I would have to research as well, though I have a close friend that did it for decades.  I'm sure he would have some advice to give me on that one. I think he stayed at hotels a lot - something I wouldn't want to get into too much, no point in making money and then handing it out to a hotel chain.

So that's where I'm at.  Just got done with 3 applications and taking a break from it.  It got easier to do after Chrome decided to show a pop up saying all or most of this information has been saved, would you like Chrome to auto fill it?  Oh yes, yes I would!  Of course I review the information it's putting on there, it only fills the information that it has seen as a field to be entered on the form before. Still, saves so much time.  Trucking companies are desperate to fill tractors, that's a fact.  I had a dozen phone calls today and didn't answer several more. Not to mention a cache full of emails and text messages.

The weekend is here, I was sent home 3 hours early.  Which I expected. Came straight home, sat down and started looking for jobs and filling out applications.  I won't do this all weekend long, I will get annoyed with it but I expect to find at least 15 places to apply for this weekend.  But, I will also work around the yard if the weather lets up and probably finish working on the 4 wheelers, at least what I can do until I order the rest of the things I need for them.  Kinda put that on hold - I don't see any good reason to spend money I may need if I don't land a good paying job soon enough.

As the abusrdity of this new schedule sinks in, it only motivates me more and more to send out numerous applications per day.
I found a large list of companies that allow dogs in the truck if it's going to be a regional thing - even regional has you out 2 weeks at a time and I won't do that to my doggy.  Or try not to, anyway.

They are apparently hiring back the driver that was fired for having THC (marijuana) in his system, which is not a good sign for me.  I could be reading it all wrong, who knows, but I don't have any reassurance from this company that my emlpoyment with them is going to go on for as long as I want it to.  The fact that I am facing losing around 13k per year, the new manager being a douche, a forced hour long lunch break - I don't want to take it but they want the convenience of having me around that extra hour per day in case something comes up, how nice for them - all instantly added up to filling out endless applications.

One place, Roehl, called and said they would process my application.  Several others have emailed back after filling out online applications saying they are processing it as well.

I haven't done the actual numbers, but I probably could live off of what I am now making.  But for me to take that kind of demotino in pay for no other reason than their claim that the company only wants drivers working 40 hours - which has been true the entire time I've been out here but they brought me out here at 50 hours anyway - is total bs.  They can get around it - they even admit to it -if they want to.  It's just this new manager.  Reducing another worker's pay by $1.50 per hour.  Forcing the 2 full time drivers to 40 hours and the temp driver to whatever hours they want to give him.

So, the search goes on.  It is my lunch break but I have put in 2 apps during the break already.

Anyway, I left work property so they can't try to get me to do something when I am not getting paid for it.  Time to head back.

One thing is for sure: my company operating over here in Louisiana does not operate the same as my company in Phoenix.  My old general manager took great interest in his employees and made sure that if you were taking care of him, he would take care of you and in my case, he definitely did.

But here?  They don't even care.  You can work your ass off all day long and in the end, it makes no difference at all.  In fact, I was levelled with that information today.

I was informed at the end of the day that I was going to be reduced to 40 hour work weeks, per corporate. I would be required to take a 1 hour lunch break (I don't do lunch breaks, I usually eat while I am driving).  I would not be getting the pay raise - I had to ask again about that for the ... tenth? ... time.  I minced no words in return: I cannot afford a thousand dollar per month pay cut and I will have do what I need to do to take care of myself. That is the jist of the conversastion. They don't give a damn about hard work, they want to reduce me to the pay that a beginner truck driver recieves and that was the final straw.

I will lose the benefits I have spent 10 years in acquiring and now? That isn't going to matter.  My life is basically screwed up right now.  I am not a 20 something that can just switch jobs and think nothing of it.  I'm 52 years old, but being treated like this is total BS.  It's not just me.  But, it's the new manager.  He could care less and I could care less about him. The smirk on his face today caused carnal impulses to arise within me.  He demanded I give him 2 weeks notice if I find a new job.  Yup.  Yes, I'll give you notice, I replied.  Yup, he'll get a notice on the last day of my employment: BTW, here's my notice: goodbye.

I hate looking for jobs. I was doing it a while back but I quit. There were a couple of jobs available that I found, but it would mean sacrificing my ability to be home every night, though weekends were still free.  The pay was 20k more than I am making now without hour cuts.

I'm not going to get in a hurry to find the wrong job, but yes, I am going to spend ample amounts of time looking around and searching on the net until I find my new employer.  It sucks, it totally sucks, but I can't deal with this.  Pauper wages for experience.  The other driver already said he's quitting, already has a job lined up and is going to spite them.  Whether he actually does that or not remains to be seen.  I don't like burning bridges, but when the time comes?  I may just blow this bridge up.  This is simply no way to treat employees that have busted their asses.  We already talked - the other drive and I - about taking our sweeeeeeet old time about getting deliveries done. Just like the temporary driver who is in no hurry to get anything done.
_______________________________________

It is now Tuesday evening, watching the primary coverage.  I was forced to take a one hour lunch break, so I went to Waffle House, ordered a burger and then sat there the entire house filling out applications.  I can't work for this new manager.  He has no concern for the people that work for him, he could literally care less.  A 20 year work was told today he was going to have to take a pay reduction of $1.50 per hour.  A 20 year worker.  How do you treat a person like that?  That has been loyal to the company that long?

I am highly motivated now to find a new job.  No, I don't want to lose my yearly vacation hours over the last 10 years that will go up even more in less than 2 years from now - but I cannot work for this man.  He is an AS*****, obnoxious, conceited, cares nothing about his workers - and I do mean cares NOTHING about his workers.  He has head knowledge of the business, he has no knowledge of how to treat the blue collar workers and life is far too short to work for a d***.  I applied today for 2 local jobs I  found after going through myriads of OTR jobs and I am continuing my search after finishing this entry.

If/when I get a job offer I like, I am going to go over his head and write the general manager a final plea.  I'll work for him for enough money, yes.  But if I leave and the other 2 guys leave, they are screwed and I mean literally screwed.  They will have a warehouse manager that has no extra spare time to pull orders and they will have a temporary driver that knows nothing about the product and doesn't want to learn about the product.  Which reminds me, he was fired from Halliburton and I want to apply there as well. He was fired for failing 2 drug screenings - that's on him.

I am just irritated with this new manager. I thought this going to turn into a bad deal from the first announcement of this situation - and now it has come to pass.  Not just for me, either.  But it's whatever now.  I am hot on the trails of jobs posted and I will relentlessly pump out applications until I land something worth my time and energy.  I will hold out hope for a local job until - that passes and nothing happens because of it and switch to regional searching.  Though, who knows, regional positions pop up regardless of what kind of search I am putting in there.

Well, this one is about to be a wrap.  A final day with mom - probably not doing much of anything which is fine by me and then off to the airport around 8:30 pm to take off at 10:45 and arrive in Dallas at 1:55 am.  Foregone conclusion I'm not going to want to drive home at 2:30 am by the time I get my luggage and take the shuttle back to my car at the hotel, so I am going to look for a reduced rate for a hotel on Priceline and Expedia online in a few.  Next trip will be done quite differently.  The hotel the car is at is a nice one, actually,but now that I have incurred unexpected expenses on this trip, I want to keep the price down.  A comfortable bed is all I need and the cheap chains are good enough.

So I figure 3 am before i even get to a hotel, gag.  Really have to slap myself for  the way I did this trip, but then again, there were very few cheap fares left by the time I got "around to it" and that is partly why I chose the late return.  The other returns earlier in the day were much more expensive.  I'll plan the next trip well in advance and get flights that are in the daytime and still get discounted rates.

Well I did it. I got a deal for La Quinta on priceline.  I'm not sure I have ever stayed at one, but I do know that my Great Dane would be welcomed there so I can try it out and see if it's a nice place to stay.  Supposedly they are fairly nice places.  I will try to sleep until around 9 am and then get up and drive home - in the daylight, thank you. The trip to Dallas was at night time and it was raining and the winds were blowing heavily.  Even the taxi driver was commenting on the wind in Dallas and it pushing his taxi around.

So that's it. Doing some laundry, we are going to go to the dollar store - they sell reading glasses here for a buck that you can only find for 10 bucks over there.  I buy as many of them as they have in the magnification that works for me. Last time it was like 8 pairs.  Ummm, but this time I''m getting a case to hold a pair in, they tend to get messed up easily without it.  9 hours from now, a shuttle will arrive at my mom's doorstep, pick me up and take me to the airport.  I'm kinda looking forward to getting back home and seeing my doggy, to be honest.  My agenda here has been accomplished.

As my time here comes to an end, I can say it was well worth the junk I went through to get here.
I must admit that I made a colossal error which cost me pretty good.  I don't know what happened when I ordered those tickets, but I thought I had ordered Southwest airlines.  So I drove to a hotel 2 miles from there, parked the car there for a cheap rate and took their shuttle to the airport.  Only then did I find out that I had not actually paid for flying with Southwest - which gives 2 checked bags for free - I had American Airlines.

I mean, the agent couldn't find my name in the system and asked to see the paperwork I had.  Umm, sir ... pointing at what the paper says. I felt like an utter fool.  I spent $50 on a taxi to get me from DAL to DFW.  I also had to pay a $25 fee for my luggage and will have to pay that on the way back.  I learn from my mistakes.  I have made several trips back and forth now since this all started, havne't made this kind of error at all.  The only consolation I have now is that I found a shuttle that will take me from DFW to the hotel for $10.  I can deal with that.

I really kind of screwed this trip up as far as travel goes.  Going to work, driving home, driving to Dallas, flying to Phoenix, shuttle to mom's, not going to bed until almost 2 am and feeling groggy all the first day I was here.  And going back.  I won't be back in Dallas until very late and considering it will be Sunday and I will have ot go to work the next day?  I don't want to drive 2-1/2 and get home at 3:30 or 4 am.  So now, I am faced with another expense on this trip for getting a hotel.

However.  I can't complain about my time here.  Mom has been  a splendid host.  My presence here has disrupted her daily lifestyle but she is happy that i came.  We spent Wednesday just hanging out and talking.  Thursday I went and got Caleb and brought him out here and he spent the night. Catching up on stuff and he has taken an interest in politics so we discussed that quite a bit while watching the news updates on all of the candidates.  Mom took us to a BBQ house called Famous Daves - it's a local delight, they have some of the best BBQ anywhere.

We all got up today and just hung out.  I took him home at noon - he is leaving on Tuesday and his friends are all asking him to visit - I was glad to have some time with him and so was mom.  She hadn't seen him in quite a while, either.  I then went back to my house and Mark was there. Oh, I went yesterday but he wasn't there, Sophie, my former dog. She stood there staring at me for a while and then apparently recognized who i am and came up to me and I petted her for a bit.  Today, though, I found Mark over there and I spent a couple of hours talking with him.  After that, off to an old friend's house, visited with him for a couple of hours and then back home.

My goals for this trip have been fulfilled, whatever happens tomorrow is fine and dandy, but I have made my visit and going home is in order.  I am not ashamed to say that I miss my doggy.  I don' think about him all day long or anything, but I know he's missing me and we have started to bond.  I will be more than a bit curious to see what his reaction will be when I finally get home on Sunday.

Anyway, tomorrow I will look on Priceline and others and find something in the lower price range for a hotel that is still decent enough to get a good night's sleep and book it online.

Well that's it.  It's Friday night and it's after 11:00 pm, late enough for  me.

Going to be a long day.
Go to work, a 2-1/2 drive to a jobsite and then that much time back.
That will eat up most of the work day whic is fine.  I would like to leave by 4 if at all possible today...
because....I will still have a lot to get done.  Drive home, finish what I couldn't finish until just before leaving - moving stuff into a room out of Addller's ability to get at it, say goodbye to the giant pup and then drive to Dallas, fly to Phoenix, shuttle to mom's.

Around 2 am, I believe.  Sleep on the airplane or try anyway, it will be night time won't be able to see anything out the windows.

I'm not sure I'm up for this challenge, just not sleeping to well lately but I'm sure there are Starbucks along the way, just gonna have to drink a few strong coffees.

Whatever the case, I'm happy for an opportunity to get back and visit my son just before he leaves for New Zealand!

Gotta git to work.