Wednesday.
State of the Union address was marvelous.  Trump said all the right words and put the onus on Democrats to stop with the political games and start dealing. Of course, democrats came on after the SOTU and called Trump all kinds of stupid names and said the speech was horrible and did nothing to unite the nation . Of course it didn't, that's their progressive agenda.  They can't have a President who is facing an election in a year and a half having any wins!  That would be horrible!  Lmao.

Actually, Dem reaction was predictable. Just as predictable is that nothing will get done in Congress. It may not be such a bad thing that bills with outrageous spending on them such as the Green New Deal will go absolutely no where.  7 trillion dollars was one estimate I read for that nonsense.  Every expert on greenhouse energy has stated that it's impossible to be 100% renewable energy at the moment, but any person with any amount of common sense and who reads about this stuff would have already known that.  They won't have it in 10  years, either, which is the set date for 100% energy being sourced by renewables.  The only source of energy that exists that could cover all of that is nuclear power plants and those are extremely expensive to build an maintain - but it does not rely on fossil fuels.
_______________________

I got distracted yesterday and didn't remember to get back to this.  Day 2 of being off.  I figured that was what was going to happen.  I'll hopefully get a run for tomorrow, a good run - 2 day solid one at least and then maybe one for Monday again. 

Yes! Just looked at my paycheck for tomorrow - more than the last 3 paychecks combined. That's what I need and should be getting every week.  That makes me feel better at least.  Next week should be very good too, those runs are already turned in.  Actually, next week should be a thousand more than this week's. That will get me all caught up. Which doesn't mean I'm not going to stop looking for a new job.  I'm just being picky about who I apply with and so far I haven't heard anything back. 

Meanwhile, Taylor called me out to the kitchen last night with a proposal: Let's go to Galveston Beach!  Ummm, okay!  Not til' this summer, but sure, why not? Get away from here, have some fun on a beautiful beach and have a good time.  They're going to work it out so James parents come down and watch the boys - it really wouldn't be much of a vacation if you brought those kids. They are too young yet to be able to just romp around on the beach without constant adult supervision. It would just be a babysitting outing. I did specify that I was not going to drive - at all - and that I would be getting my own hotel room, thanks.  They didn't care about either stipulation.  Good.

Now then, it would be nice if they could work out the specific dates so we can book rooms in advance.  I'd just get the insurance in case the dates change, but summer time at Galveston Beach is a very popular place and time to be there.  Hotel rooms likely go for much more than they are right now.  There are some really nice resorts down there - tho paying that much money isn't really in my mind and they wouldn't want to do that anyway. But a Comfort Inn or a Holiday Inn brand would work nicely.  I think it's 4 days/3 nights we would be staying down there, which is about right for me.  I'm kind of excited about that - but it's really depending on if they follow through and actually do it - which really depends on their tax return. 

Taxes - really need to get that going.  I have my W2 from last year, it would be pretty simple to go ahead and Turbo Tax it and get it over with.  I should be getting a huge chunk of change back, well I dunno, I think anyway.  I'm in a different tax bracket, one I've never been in so I dunno how that works.  Just have to fill out the forms and find out. 

Anyway, I'm going to go to Tractor Supply today and get professional strength dog deterrent. That dumb puppy craps all over the porch and it's disgusting.  They put down the cayenne pepper as I relayed to them the info about how to get the puppy to stop doing it there, but they didn't put down the vinegar first, so the puppy wasn't deterred and just started crapping on the porch all over again.  They sell stuff that will make it very unpleasant for them to want to be anywhere near that area. I want to work out and get my arms and chest back to some semblance of what it used to be, but no way am I working out in the midst of a sea of dog poop, that's just gross. 

Speaking of animals, I opened my closet door and leaving it open. The kitten - which is almost not a kitten anymore - goes in there and sniffs around. I'm sure that's where the mice are coming from, a cat is the best deterrent around.  But I'm getting more glue traps anyway, really need to catch the mama and nip this in the bud. 

As for today? 90% chance of rain.  I didn't do anything yesterday cause' I didn't feel like it. Today, I wanted to blow the leaves off the front yard.  That isn't going to happen, it's already raining.  Gag.  The front yard is literally covered with leaves.  The natural look, lmao.

Alright, so I finally got back into town.  I mean, it didn't take any longer than I thought it would, I just wanted this trip over with.  However, I was listening to the State of the Union Address Trump was giving, amazing.  I mean, this wasn't the "shoot off the hip" stuff, this was a very well written speech. 

But anyway, I went to Applebees' for birthday dinner. Why not? Everyone here would be asleep, I was starving and I figured a steak would be nice.  I sat down at the bar across from some rather beautiful young black ladies sitting there.  They were getting drunk - there were numerous empty glasses sitting there which were margaritas and they had consumed several shots.  The amusement came from the old guys sitting at a table behind them. 

Actually, they were total asses but they offered to buy these girls shots of Patron after overhearing these girls ordering house tequila - cheap stuff, not very tasty but after you've already been drinking,  pretty much irrelevant.  So the girls took them up on the free shots but I could tell they weren't interested in them as far as "let's go home and have fun" stuff. 

But then, one of the girls said they were there celebrating her birthday!  I immediately asked if she was serious?  She went digging for her ID. Lol, no, it's my birthday too!  Tho I wasn't hitting up on her, just random coincidence.  I mean, how often is it that you encounter someone having a birthday the same as yours?  But these dudes were intent on making their move and it was appalling.  Just pathetic treatment.  They moved to the bar from their table, uninvited.  Buying more shots, basically thinking they were going to buy their next sex encounter.

I dunno how much they spent, but it was money wasted for their intended, obvious, desired ending.  The girls weren't biting and they finally paid up their alcohol bill for them and left.  Amazing. Amazingly pathetic, but amazing.  I also left after them - I wanted to get my dogs and go home - wished her a happy birthday of which she wished the same to me.

 And so, home I am.  I'm off tomorrow but I'll be reminding my manager that I need to work tomorrow afternoon.  Why? Because I need to keep working right now. 

Well, it's almost midnight, I'll enjoy my last few minutes of my special day...and go to bed. lol

Yesterday, screwups at the plant ruined my plans to be home today for a good portion of my birthday.
Figures.
One truck developed a leak after filling it. 
They wasted a bunch of time determining that they couldn't fix it and then hours more unloading the trailer. 
It threw everything off for everyone else after that, which was every other load, since that load was the first one.  I mean, my manager could have bothered to tell me that this was going on, I wouldn't have shown up to the yard until last night. 

I went and did some shopping after showing up to the yard and finding all of this out.  But I had no idea it was going to be so late before I ever got out of the plant - 9:30 pm - I didn't even know they stuck around that plant filling trucks that late.  I drove til 1:30 am and that was it.  I couldn't do anymore, my eyes were telling me it's time to go to sleep, so I stopped at the service plaza on the Indian Nation Turnpike and here I sit, waiting for this ridiculous 10 hour nonsense to elapse so I can start driving again. 

I'm wide awake, well rested, there is no valid reason, besides government intrusion and over-reach that I shouldn't be able to get in the driver's sit and get this trip over with.  I still have 131 miles to the destination and then 335 miles back.  I will most likely make it home today, but not until around 9:00 pm or even later.  In my view, I could have started around 7 am this morning, drove up there, drop and hook trailers and then started back, pulled over somewhere, taken a 30 minute nap and then drove the rest of the way back to the yard.  This is why so many truckers are pissed.  The government doesn't know what I need for sleep or when I really should take breaks, my body tells me that information.  I could have driven all night long last night - and that would have been really unsafe, again, government intervention is total bs. 

So anyway, here I sit for another 45 minutes waiting for the government, installed courtesy of my company, via an electronic device, to tell me when I can start driving again. 

The bright side of this is that there is a McDonald's 100 feet from me and I absolutely love McDonald's coffee. I decided to waste money on 2 Egg McMuffins as well - it wasn't the easiest thing to take off the buns, nicely toasted and buttered, and throw them in the trash can.  Leaving very little product left to eat.  But that was birthday breakfast.  It may very well be that when I get back to the yard tonight? I'll just head over to Texas Roadhouse and finish the day off there.  My friends will be in bed sleeping by the time I get home. 

I think I might be a bit grumpy.  It's just the fact I could have left here hours ago and gotten this trip over with to be home at a decent time.  And probably the fact the circumstances at the plant yesterday that caused all of this to begin with.  And likely because I've had this coughing going on for a week now and it's starting to irritate me.  And....letting them know yesterday that today was my birthday and could I switch with someone for a different load?  They just laughed at me.  I shuttered the urge to let loose on them.......I missed Christmas at home, I didn't think it was too much to ask for my birthday, especially considering drivers sitting around doing nothing claiming that they want more work.  Well here it is!

And then.....listening to this long time driver - he's been with the company like 28 years - bitching about the workload. Every time I see this dude he goes off. Like, okay dude, I get it, it sucks, but I don't need to hear this every time I see you. 

Oh, and finally, a trip I made in November, I think it was.  They "skipped" paying me for it and I raised hell about it.  Well this lady in payroll is finally getting back to me about getting paid for this what, 2 weeks later?  It's like $600 that I could really use right now to buffer my checking account and get it back up into a good healthy "ahead" range.  I received an email from her this morning about it, but it was just a forwarded email.  Apparently my manager had gotten a request from her about it and my manager? Had done nothing about it.  So, 15 minutes after this email is put out, I get a text from my manager. 

She wants to know the trailer number and details of the trip?  LMAO.  yeah, that was months ago and you expect me to just cha-ching that info up in my computer data based memory? Lol. Not to mention the fact that I turned in all the paperwork - to HER - for that trip? She has the paperwork - somewhere.  This is all on her.  But. I went through old texts and found the trailer number at least, she had never issued a trip number so that as well is on her.  She claimed she would get this taken care of, at least I have the lady in payroll riding her ass about it to get it done. 

This is what I go through at this company and this is part of the reason I have considered finding a new job.  Money talks, tho, above all of it.  So I'm going to see what this next paycheck will be and the one after it should be quite healthy.  If it isn't, if I'm shorted again, I'm going to be bypassing people in the chain of command and go straight for the CFO or CEO. They won't want to hear from me, but they're going to anyway.  The CEO lives in some mystery wonderland of how everything is going so wonderfully with drivers and trucks and how everything is run.  They likely don't hear from people like me. Or, more likely, the people they do hear from have the same gripes but are too afraid of "job security" and "powerful management" to speak up.

I have no such problems. Never have.  To a fault at times.  If you're going to ask me how things are going in the company, don't expect a sugar coated version of it. Don't expect an exaggerated version of how bad things are, either.  You will hear specific details of what's good and what's bad.  And right now, it's mostly on the bad side.  This isn't the company I signed on with, that's just the plain hard facts. I either have to deal with it and stay with them or move on and say screw this.

It's just hard because I really wanted to stay with hazmat tanker stuff.  I don't have enough experience yet to get on with the really good, local companies. 

Well anyway, I'm going to end this one. Get a refill on my McDonald's coffee, do some cleaning in the cab, do my reports and get ready to go. 

Monday morning. 
Preparing - mentally - to go out on the road.  I'm just happy it's about a 24 hour trip.  I mean, it would be optimal if you could leave in the morning and get back late that night, but it's just a bit too far to make it. I've made it within 25 miles of the yard before I had to stop.  In the good ole' days, I could just finish the run with no problem regardless of hours.  No one would say anything and nothing would become of it.

But now, with ELD's - electronic logging devices - there is no leeway. It's kind of dumb to have to stop 25 miles from your destination for 10 hours.  In fact, it's extremely stupid.  Truckers are getting pissed about the stringency of these elogs and are actually striking for a day here and there over it.  I find a one day strike useless tho.  If we all shut down for a week, the economy would come grinding to a halt and we could pretty much get whatever we wanted. 

It may happen someday, but it wouldn't include the mega carrier drivers who are too afraid of losing their jobs - tho I don't see why, it's a driver's market now, not the other way around.  Anyway, until this situation is dealt with, I just tolerate it.  On paper logs I could just cheat, frankly.  And I don't care about excessive government regulations made by people who are clueless about the driving culture and how it works.  They think they know better so the make one-size-fits-all rules that are outrageous and ridiculous. 

It's a lot of kneejerk reaction to that actions of a few drivers that get into horrible accidents.  But, cars get into a lot more accidents than trucks, they don't think to put a lot of this nonsense onto drivers of cars.  Accidents are going to happen regardless of the untold amounts of excessive regulations they put on truckers, period, end of story.  Your 30 minute rest rule has done far more damage to getting freight to locations on time than any good it has done and that has been statistically proven. They are now considering getting rid of the rule.  I don't need the government tell me when to take a break.  If I get really tired, I'll pull over without their coercion and take a nap of my own accord.  If I'm near a delivery or end point, I shouldn't have to pull over because my hours ran out - yet I'm only 20 miles out.  Or even 30 or 40 miles out. 

Whatever the case, I think I'm probably lucky to be getting any kind of run with only a day off since the last one considering the slow down. drivers are complaining and the manager is getting an earful on a daily basis.  I simply made my case without cutting her down or trying to make her feel bad.  This new company takeover is what's at fault here, not her.  I'm not, however, going to go broke and start using credit cards again to survive.  If it comes to that, bye!  And I can say that another 3 or 4 paychecks like what I've been getting and I'll be at that bridge. 

Meanwhile.....time to get ready to leave.  But, perusing some jobs that  are local or regional.  Cause I have the feeling that I'm going to have to move on.

Stuck at the plant for almost 7 hours yesterday, Very little time to get anywhere after I left.  The roads weren't too bad, tho, considering it had been snowing all night long.  I made it all of 400 miles before I quit.  I added the "exception", it's a button you push when you have been delayed out of your own powers that add 2 hours to the 14 hour on-duty clock. Not the 11 hour drive clock, the 14 hour clock.

But I got to 15 hours yesterday and I said enough.  Pretty typical trucking lifestyle - push your self 14 hours a day and if you have to, use the exception rule.  You can only use it once per 70 hours.  So I'm told, I've never looked it up and th company doesn't say anything to me about using it.  Not that I would care at this point, this new company sucks.  Head-Up-Their-@$$ syndrome, the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.  Ostrich's in a sea of sand with their heads buried, the only thing that will get their attention is even more people quitting.

Which I threatened yesterday and was quite serious about.  Anyway, I stopped in Mount Vernon, Illinois at one of the large number of truck stops there - this place has a huge parking lot and it was almost full at 8 pm.  I got a spot tho and then went next door to Chili's for a hot meal.  Not a lot of keto options there, I just ordered a 6 ounce steak and double broccoli - instead of the potatoes that normally come with it.  After that I went and crashed.

The 3 nights before that I hadn't slept well? Caught up with me.  I was out like a zombie and the alarm went off too early this morning.  I mean, it went off the time I set it at, but I was sleeping so hard when it went off I woke up with a fried brain, my head was aching.  I went back to sleep for half an hour - it seemed like I had reset the alarm for half and hour, went to sleep and woke up a minute later. My head felt a little better, but I really had to force myself to get up this morning.

But get up I did. I had 610 miles to drive and I was determined to get it over with and get home.  And that's where I'm writing this, in the comfort of my office chair on my desktop computer. However, I preceded that trip to the Huddle House to get a helping of ham, bacon, eggs over easy and some sausage.  There are at least a few perks to this diet, you can eat meat like that and not screw up your plan.

Anyway, excepting some fog in Illinois this morning, the trip went trouble free, actually.  Upon arrival at the yard, I encountered another driver watching a movie in the "driver's lounge", which isn't a lounge at all, the terminal there sucks for drivers. I don't care for my own concern since I just leave and go home. The OTR version of drivers - those that don't live near there - have it pretty horrid.  No showers, no laundry, no kitchen, just a sh**hole.

This other driver - yet another in a long list of them I have encountered with the same gripes - went off.  I sat there and listened to him complaining about the same thing we've all been complaining about.  Lack of work, paychecks being shorted, people getting short fuses.  And a company that doesn't seem to give a shit.  It's the same thing, over and over, from every single driver I've spoken with.

But I didn't stick around long.  He was enjoying a movie and I wanted to go get my dogs and go home.  The grandma and grandpa are here again.  The kitchen was a disaster and 2 more mice were in my glue traps.  And someone had been sleeping in my bed, apparently.  Tho I had offered it, Taylor had stated that since I was only gone one night of their stay here, wasn't worth it. Whatever, it doesn't bother me, excepting the kitchen and the mice.  After sitting around in a truck in frigid temps, I decided a bit of activity cleaning the kitchen wouldn't hurt.

Oh, Addler. He was grumbling and making all kinds of noises when I saw him at the other house. Lol. The poor giant dog just doesn't get the attention from anyone else that I give him.  I got the reports before I got back earlier today: He's getting cranky.  I miss the dog when I'm out but right now? I'd take another 4 day run back to back to get my finances back up.  Instead, I have tomorrow off and then up to Oklahoma.  It's a 24 hour run, basically.  It's around 680 miles. Because of going through a bunch of small towns and speed limits, you can't make it back in one day, but you can get close. This is the run that takes me by the casino if I'm so inclined.

But it's a very late load tomorrow and I doubt I'l l want to do any gambling at the blackjack tables - but - you never know?  I'll be back home in time for my birthday.  I officially - in my mind anyway - turn old man at 55. 

Well.
The roads getting here ... about 30 miles cause' I took major throughways that have been driven on all night versus side highways that were covered with fresh snow - where not so great.  It didn't help that on the final highway I was stuck behind a snow plow going anywhere between 5 and 20 miles per hour.  The road was not that bad, he should have been moving at least twice the speed he was going.  There was at least a mile backed up behind this character and even when he had the chance to pull over and let traffic pass? He didn't do so. 

Well, it's snowing and has been since I left the hotel.  This disappointment was when I finally arrived at the plant - they have been experience 45 below wind chills here,  I was informed, and a couple of days they just shut down and went home coupled with their pump that hasn't been working.  Who knows if it's working now?  They said it "should".  So I'm wasting on-duty hours sitting here.  I like detention pay but this won't be enough to make it worth it and will just eat up my clock and will force this 4 day trip into 5 days.  Now, if they shut down again today, that would be a different story. Go to a hotel - paid for by the company - and get some decent detention hours on it.

Which takes me to the next subject.  I looked at my pay deposit in my checking account, less than half of what I was expecting.  NO MORE. I'm not going to sit around waiting for these idiots to do their job and go broke while it happens.  I immediately texted my manager - my pay has been shorted yet again. I was and am pissed.  I've had enough of this shit and I"m ready to start looking seriously for a new job when I get home.  This just isn't worth sticking it out - not when they continue to shaft me on pay. 

The end result is I finally got a hold of that lady in Amarillo that you can never get a hold of.  I"ve called her numerous times with no reply and have left several voice messages with no return call.  I kind of dumped on her in a semi-polite way - about the time she started making lame excuses I just put my foot down. You will go through all of my settlement sheets today and rectify my pay against what those sheets are telling you, thanks. 

I then texted my manager: I can't keep doing this.  My paychecks aren't covering my bills and this is the third time I've been shafted on my pay.  Etc so forth, basically let her know I would be looking for a new job.  Most incompetent company I've ever worked for.  The switch over to this "new" company has been pathetic and it's like they don't give a damn if you get paid of not. 

Anyway, I"m getting off of here. I have to wait for who knows how long to get unloaded and right now? I"m rather aggravated. 

Something woke me out of a dead sleep this morning at around 4:37 am.  I was going to get up at 5 am. Knowing how I sleep? I just got up, took a nice, long hot shower and dried myself off as best as possible, knowing that in a little while? I'm going to be outside in this frigid cold and I'm going to be outside in it for a while.  So I actually have a little bit of extra time, something I hadn't planned for. 

Opening the door to check on the truck - I left it running all night long with the idea that turning the thing on this morning wouldn't be an issue - a blanket of snow has fallen across the land.  It's 3 degrees right now with a real feel of minus 10.  All I can say? I am putting on all my thermal stuff and outer layers and hopefully we won't run into the same problems as last time.  I am prepared for that today. I just don't know how this frigid cold is going to affect trying to build up pressure in the coils.  It works on the principle of the extremely cold fluid going through the lines under the truck and heating up since the outside air temperature is much higher than the product.

Well, that's still true but not near as much.  So, this may take even longer than hoped for, who knows.  It takes about 50 minutes to pump out the contents of the truck - but that's only once the pump is going.  It could take 2 hours to get it to that point?  I'm not holding my breath and figuring I'll need to simply be mentally prepared to withstand this junk for as long as it takes. 

However, I think I'm going to leave a bit early.  The roads are probably whacked out and it will take longer to get there.  They are sticklers about being there at 6 am and I don't mind getting this show over with as early as possible.  In fact, with that in mind, I think I'll take my leave and get out of this place.

Good day.

It's very cold here. It may not be 56 below zero with windchill like in Michigan, but it's 15 below with windchill here, right now, and I'm not a fan. In fact, my few minutes out doors on 3 occasions here?  My face started burning. I have no ski mask for the morning and that is concerning. I'm going to have to take a shirt or a sweatshirt or something and wrap it around my face, I'm not standing out there 2 hours and just take it. 

It was quite the trip up here. Not for me, but for at least 100 trucks I saw stranded on the side of the road. That isn't any exaggeration.  Truck after truck after truck.  Several places where there were 6, 7 and more trucks broke down on the side of the highway in less than a mile.  Why?  I can only surmise, but I'l take an educated guess that their fuel is gelling.  Diesel fuel can gel in extreme temps, you have to put additive in the fuel - tho in the cold states they usually add it to it at the truck stops so you don't have to. 

But it's the only reason I can think of all those trucks broken down like that. 

I fought internally coming up here whether to get a hotel or not.  I was looking and could find nothing "cheap".  $100, $140, $80 - nothing I want to spend just for a night to get out of that truck and into a warm, cozy room with a comfortable bed.  After an hour of searching I gave up and drove on.  Only to get irritated, why can't I find anything? So I did a broad generic search for the region near the plant.  2 hotels that had no truck parking and - no thanks anyway.  More searching and finally found this place in Wauseon.  I'm in Ohio, btw.  Using some of my Expedia points, I got a room at the Rodeway Inn for $45.  That's cheap enough.  The room was  a pleasant surprise.  A bit of wear on a few things but the carpet is not smelly or sticky and the bed are comfortable.  The bathroom is decent and it has a refrigeror and a microwave in it.

That's a good thing, because the diner I was going to eat at? They shut down due to the cold.  So the truck stop owner next door says.  They were in there, tho, the restaurant that is.  I called over there with no answer.  I later was looking out the back window of my room which has a view of their back entryway and saw 6 of them coming out of there.  They all left except for one person who went back in. The place is shuttered and the lights aren't on, they aren't cooking today.  Besides nasty truck stop food, it's the only thing near here. If there's something further down the road? I don't know and I don't care.  It's too cold to be walking any great distances and I don't want to drive that big truck to try and find a place to eat. I'm stuck in this hotel for the night - not a bad thing - and I brought in leftover dinner from the other night.

That and I had this sneaking feeling something like this would happen so I have my gourmet cheese, mustard and sausage my oldest brother sent as a Christmas gift, dining on that and then heating up dinner.  I've been more relying on simply modifying dishes at restaurants to fit my Keto needs.  Not tonight!  So anyway, what I have is good enough.

I'm absolutely dreading tomorrow morning.  I mean, I was keeping warm out there and that without half the gear I have with me, I'll be putting the rest of that stuff on in the morning.  But my face? I can't be having the wind doing that to me. 

I'll figure it out tho.  I"ma get them to get this done as fast as possible.  It would actually be nice if the cold did something to their plant and I head to the Holiday Inn on the company dime.  One can wish.  I'm amazing they work outside in this frigid cold.  At least half of what they do is outdoor activities. 

Well, I decided to leave the truck running tonight.  There is no sense in shutting it off and risking it not being able to start in the morning.  The thing has plenty of fuel and its better to simply leave it run.  I would have had it running all night anyway if I had decided to stay in it.  No difference. 

Nothing else of note on this trip for now.  I do hope the truck has no issues running.  The tank liquid gauge is showing 55 inches - which is not possible, so I'm hoping that's just a trick the cold is playing on it.  It was showing 36 earlier, which is a bit high but nothing out of this world. It just shows the amount of liquid in the tank, the pressure is what you really have to pay attention to and in this cold? It's not going up at all. 

Yummmm. That roast pork is just as delicious tonight as it was 2 nights ago! So happy to have a hot meal to eat on a cold winter's night. 

My trip to Walmart netted me hunter's version of thermals for my legs.  I didn't have any. I'm not standing out in that cold without leg warmth, too. I am also not going to risk driving through all of that region without enough warm enough clothing to stay warm if the truck were to break down, or perhaps get caught in a traffic snarl and run out of fuel, or whatever.  $30 worth of insurance well spent in my view.  It also netted me these hand and feet warmer things. I was hoping they had them.  You just break them open and they keep your hands and toes warm for about 20 minutes per pack.
And I bought a much larger cap for my head, fully insulated.  I got what I could that I don't already have and unfortunately, they didn't have anything remotely close to a ski mask and I wasn't driving 40 miles to get one.  I'll survive.  As long as the rest of my body is amply warm, I'm good. 

I have thermal tops, sweatshirts, small jackets and very heavy duty winter jacket.  I have both thermal and other types of extremely heavy duty sock that will keep my feet warm when coupled with normal socks.  I have gloves made for cryogenics - they are heavily insulated to keep your hands from burning if that 150 below liquid hits your hands.  I have everything I know that I need to have besides that face mask. 

My biggest concern, as always, being in extreme cold isn't how warm I'm going to stay. That's a high priority of course, but inside the truck it's warm and cozy while driving. It's the potential for ice on the road.  I've seen video after video after video of cars, pickups and trucks all bent out of shape on the sides of roads after hitting ice - including several jacknifed trucks. 

Jacknifing big no-no in trucking world. You do that, you are going to have a hard time finding another job unless it's proven it was someone else's fault that cause you into that position. 

_________________

Dinner and laundry.  I make dinner when I'm home - I mean real dinner.  Like cooking roasts and spaghetti and such. I made them spaghetti yesterday at the same time making my own version of it. They scarfed 2 whole bottles of the stuff including an entire box of angel hair noodles.  Anyway, I made a large pork roast with some nice heavy whipping cream gravy made out of the drippings of the roast, very nice and no carbs.  A pan of potatoes for them - they were at the verge of going bad, not there but you could tell eat them now or throw them out.  That was very nice - I didn't eat any of them but they enjoyed them.  I had enough pork left over to have 2 days worth of meals for the road.  It's a 3 day trip - if I"m lucky depending on this weather.  Wait, no it's a 4 day trip.  2 up  2 back. 

We'll see. 35 plus below with wind chill factor, crazy.  My mom? Sent me numerous texts about - everything cold - after seeing my post on Facebook lol.  Mom will always be mom : )  Gonna have to make sure I make it back somewhere around mid year.  I've been derelict in making trips back, I just don't like doing it but once I'm there I certainly am enjoying myself. 

Anyway, my bag is packed.  I have several coats in the truck already.  But, thermal top, microfiber heavy "shirt", then a sweat shirt and the a very heavy coat. That should do it.  Finger and toe warmers.  I'm as ready as it's going to get. 

And with that, I"m offa here. 

Tuesday morning.
Blahhh.
It's cold (my version of it) and I don't feel like doing anything.
34 degrees - and yes I know how cold it is up north, that's their business, I don't live up north for several reasons, that being one of the major ones.  It's cold enough here for my bones. 
But, I'll likely get out front to rake leaves in order to get some exercise in. I might even pull the fire pit out there to warm up.  But that's not right now, I'm "busy" drinking morning coffee lol.

Upon checking this morning, my weight hadn't budged. Up or down.  I'll take it.  The way it's been going lately, it goes down, stays down for a bit, goes back up and then it takes  a dip to new lows.  It's just hard to swallow that I'm .9 pounds away from 199. 

And last night, I found out Shiratake noodles? Are disgusting.  They are a "great keto alternative to pasta". Gross.  Might as well go eat rotting food out of the trash can.  It was that bad.  I bought a box of the stuff, it comes in plastic pouches, stored in liquid until you open it. You drain the liquid, dump the noodles into boiling water for a couple minutes, then drain it again and wash it with cold water and then.....you put it in a pan to try and dry it out.  I did all of that. GROSS.  I mean, just plain nasty.

There are some odd recipes for Keto and at least half of them that I have tried end up being disgusting dishes that I won't repeat.  But, fortunately, some of them are delicious. It's not a particularly easy diet to follow just because of the limitations of foods that you can eat, but since I've had such great success on it - down 28 pounds now and lots of fat gone - I'm going to keep with it. 

Today, I haven't figured out what to make yet.  I have a full pork roast in the fridge, but I'm not sure I want pulled pork.  Maybe a recipe I found that just cooks it in a crock pot for 4 hours, then put on certain spices and put it in the oven to finish it out and give a nice texture on the coat and then, a nice gravy made solely with heavy whipping cream and the juices from the roast. 

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And so I finally got a run - and of course it would be going up north/east.  It's not as bad as Minnesota but it's still cold and it's driver unload so I"m going to have to be prepared to wear a lot of layers of clothing to stand out in that stuff for 2 plus hours.  Stryker, Ohio, btw, a small nothing town out in the middle of nowhere, but east of the really bad arctic vortex they are saying is coming further west.

Well I take that back, it's going to be minus 16 there tomorrow but I won't be there tomorrow. I will be there on Thursday - Lord willing - and it will be "warmer" at minus 1 degree - we unload up there early morning, before the sun comes up, it will be bitter cold and if it's windy, it's really going to suck.  I think they sell these warmer things to keep your hands warm, like you break them open but I doubt they sell them around here.  Well the weather forecast says "bitter cold" yeah I believe that actually, out in the dark, windy, -3? I think I'll go to walmart and at least see if they have any ski masks.  I have thermals at least, and other various layers of clothing I can put on to help from getting frost bite.  But yeah, before it gets too late in the day, I'm going up there now. 

My texting with the manager today resulted in no work tomorrow.

The first text series was that her computer was down, she'd have to get back to me later.

She didn't get back to me later, as expected, so I got back to her. Did your computer system ever come back up?  No loads until Wednesday.  That's 4 days off.  I informed her I had already been off 2 days and she said she knew. No explanations, just that's the way it is.  

4....more....days.....off.  And this person is hiring more drivers?  So I checked this competitor's site i was referring to the other day that is taking some of our business.  Their current job list doesn't have any Ethylene positions.  So I wrote them an email instead asking if they think they might have any positions open in the near future.  

No idea on that one.  But worth checking out. Two major haulers that go into the plant I go into - Groendyke and Martin - simply do not have a good reputation and they don't pay that well.  So I'm not even going to bother checking with them, but I have heard some good things about GenX haulers, so that is next.  

I can deal with 2 days off in between runs, I cannot deal with 4, 5 and 6 days off on a continuing basis. That's just not something I can sustain for any length of time.  I'm also going to apply with Gemini - they haul fuel for all the Love's Truck Stops around the nation.  The driver I spoke with says he has good off time, never out overnight and makes around 75k per year.  That would work for me, tho they'd have to be interested in teaching fuel delivery. 

Okay, their application appears to be quite long and involved.  Most of them are, unfortunately.  Anyway, after hearing that from her earlier, I have decided it's time to go full tilt looking for a new job.  Learn my lesson from Ferguson and not wait around - while going broke -forever.  I'll be doing that tomorrow.  I just came to this conclusion a little while ago and then started looking at openings available in my area.  

Well well well. The dogs and I were sitting in here minding our own business earlier when I heard a crunching noise. Sounded like one of the dogs eating dog food.  Looking across the room? There was a mouse in Addler's food bowl, right there, in front of us, chowing away!  I have all kinds of glue traps left over from when this house was infested with rats.  We got rid of them long ago. I had seen a mouse running into my room a few weeks ago, but it seemed like the cats had dealt with that issue.  Funny there are mice in here anywhere with 2 cats lurking around.  I let them come into my room at will to look around and establish their presence.

Anyway, I put out a huge rat trap - that's what I have lol, the glue kind, those giant ones are the only ones that will keep a big rat on it without letting it go - and now? I have an itty bitty mouse in it.  But where there's one mouse there's more, so I'm letting it sit there and make it's noise. I'm curious if it's calling its friends for help. They can most certainly come and save him!  He's sitting smack dab in that glue, no way he's getting out of there tho.  

Well, anyway, the news about not working until Wednesday was disconcerting.  But motivating.  I absolutely hate the idea of quitting yet another job and starting up again somewhere else, but what am I supposed to do? I will ask, tho, about getting transferred over to fuel delivery.  It's worth a shot, I just don't think they pay as much.  

Well, my manager just told me "it's fixing to get better".  That would be very nice.  She is short on specifics tho.  Why does she believe it's going to get better? Does she have information she could pass on? Why keep everyone in the dark? It makes no sense.  So how long should I hold out? A week? A month?  Months? Just weird that this job gave me more work than I wanted at one time and now - every single driver - is experiencing the fact that we are sitting around - a lot.  2 34 hour resets in a week is not normal in the driving field but that's what's happening with everyone.  

Okay, I'm going to hold out a little longer.  The worst that could happen is resorting to credit cards again - bad idea but it's available if it got that bad - and deal with it.  That's a worst case scenario.  I have lots of savings right now, but that can get eaten up quickly if the paychecks aren't cutting it....

and with that, I have a mouse to deal with. I was going to let it sit there calling it's friends but the racket is getting ridiculous.

......edited - the racket worked and now two of them in the same trap - itty bitty things, there's probably a whole family of those suckers.  

This diet is really strange how it works.  I get down to 202, then up to 207, then 205, then 203, then back to 202. 

These readings are taken first thing in the morning after I get up.  It isn't the only time during the day that I take a reading if I'm at home, but it is the one experts recommend to use because it shows your actual weight before eating and such occurs during the day.  I take readings later in the day to see what the high weight is as well. That has been steadily going down over the last 3 months that I have been on the Keto diet. 

My high at the beginning was 228 pounds.  That was the point where I was very uncomfortable in size 35 jeans and was going to go out and by a whole set of 36's, but that's also the point when I said no to myself, I'm going to lose the weight.  My friends wanted to diet as well and the lady friend is actually the one that got me started on Keto - she quit the diet long ago.  It isn't an easy diet to follow because you have to keep your daily carb intake to 20 or less to get into ketosis and stay in ketosis.

When you can't eat your favorite foods - paste, rice, bread, sugars, potatoes, well, you really have to stay focused on the long run and the ultimate success of getting your weight managed, eliminating any possibility of late-in-life diabetes and reducing other health risks related to obesity or extremely or even moderately overweight.  I've read countless stories of people going off of the injections for diabetes - which are very costly btw - or even getting rid of the disease altogether on this diet.  I have heard from people saying doctor's actually instructed them to go on the Keto diet or some version of a low carb diet.  It's the sugars that will kill you. 

America is way too far in love with fast food.  I see Dairy Queens and Whataburgers in most towns I go through, even the tiny little ones.  McDonald's and Wendy's abound as well.  But beyond that is high sugar drinks, even ones that label themselves as healthy.  You start looking at carb counts and sugars in those drinks - it's ghastly.  And the money they want for those drinks!  It is highly likely that I will be making the Keto diet a go to for maintaining weight for the rest of my life.  I may not stay on it forever, it likely will be a on and off type of thing.  There's lots of controversy about this diet but I've read that even doctors use it to keep their weight down.

Anyway I finally hit 200 pounds this morning.  I haven't been at this weight in years.  A call to celebrate? Not just yet.  I went to get below 200 before taking a day or two of eating my favorite food just for once - and then going back on Keto.  I may gain weight back doing that, but it won't be enough to deter me from proceeding forth to finish this journey out and at least get into the 180's range - unless my body just says no, 190's is fine.  I'm good with that as well.  I just want the percentage of body fat down to acceptable range and not anywhere where I might get disqualified on my medical card for my CDL. 

As for today, it's Monday morning going on afternoon.  I have stuff to do before hopefully going out on a run tomorrow.  I'm just hopeful it isn't a Mapleton run - that would have me up there in the are where it's going to be 20 or more below zero on Wednesday.  I mean, I"ll take it if nothing else available.........I've got thermals, I've got all kinds of cold weather gear, but I'm afraid that with those temps, no amount of clothing is really going to protect you from the bitter cold.  I was in that cold in Massachusetts last year - 17 below - with wind blowing - you felt like you were naked when you got out of the truck.  I wouldn't turn it down tho because paychecks are more important and as long as the truck runs?  It will stay warm in there.  I think.  Actually, in cold that low, you really have to put a cover over the front grill to keep air from flowing into the engine compartment.  You don't turn the truck off - at all. And you hope the fuel doesn't gel up, tho nowadays they add treatment to the fuel at the truckstops so you don't have to. 

And for that, a run to Walmart.  Out of dog food and other things I need. 

So now, Rene saying she is leaving at the end of March to go live in Michigan leaves this whole house rental thing up in the air.  The lady that just recently moved in there is really nice and has a very good attitude about most things that I have seen thus far.  She also has nowhere to go.  The fact that she has 2 dogs makes it difficult to find a rental unit that will take her. 

We've had the discussion about her staying and running the place and then I will still have a place to take the dogs - she was more than agreeable to that.  But the thing for me is, I don't really want to sign another 1 year long contract in April. This whole setup was to help "friends" that have totally turned their backs on me.  Donny turned out to be a drug addict and tho we gave him numerous chances to clean up his act and encouraging him to get help - of which he could have gotten for free - he refused and kept smoking crack.

Rene - has terrible temper problems. She is not a well adjusted person.  She doesn't get along with other people well.  She's the type of person that needs to have animals and live alone.  That's the end of that story.  And when she gets drunk, it gets really bad. This texting nonsense started out of the thin blue air. When I started reading them, I instantly knew she was drinking.  And as it played out, her calling me all kinds of names and cussing me out etc etc etc, I just came to the conclusion it was time to wash my hands of her. Let her go to Michigan, put up no fuss, c'ya later, have a good time, don't come back - type of deal.

Now, whether I want to continue this with this other lady will depend on whether the owner of the house wants to allow this situation to continue and whether I have to sign another year lease.  I could see signing a 3 month lease and just doing it that way, that limits my exposure to loss.  But an entire year? I just won't do that.  I have a little time to think this through - if - Rene keeps her word and actually stays til' April.  But I'm not putting any merit to anything she says at this point and she can leave at any time.  I have another person coming to look at the room today - but - I will not have Rene handling it.  Maria will deal with it and hopefully get that room rented before the beginning of the month. 

There is one thing tho about all of this pertaining to that particular house: that place was for sale for a long, long time.  They couldn't get a buyer.  It had been for rent for 3 months, I believe, before we came along and said we'll take it.  We have paid the rent on time, every time, every month.  I write a check at the beginning of the month, they give me cash when their government benefits come in.  At least that has worked out if nothing else.  One month - December - I ended up eating all the rest of it tho.  The utilities, the wifi and the satellite.  Just because of that, tho, I'm leaning towards exiting this deal.  The only other thing that might make me look at it a bit differently is if they would bring the rent down. It's way too high for the size of a house it is, considering the market. At $800, I can get a much larger house with better insulation and less utility bills. 

Ok, just collecting my thoughts here. I'm still at this hotel, it's Sunday morning and I have no desire to leave here yet.  Checkout time is noon, I have plenty of time to sit here in the quiet, listen to nothing and just think.  I'm also 67 miles from home and don't particularly feel like driving. 

Between this situation with Rene and work, I'm just a bit overloaded right now.  Work actually is getting to me more than any of this house nonsense.  My paychecks need to start looking normal again and very soon.  This next one coming up should be up there in that range.  I am writing down the details of every single trip now and logging it into a note thing on my phone for reference when I get paid.  I'm pretty sure I've been shafted on some pay, but for some reason I'm having to jump through hoops now to get the driver settlement sheets that they used to automatically send.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to go to work tomorrow and sit down in the manager's office and have a discussion about all of this.  She apparently is getting mad at people telling her that these loaner drivers need to go back to their division, work or no work, they don't belong in ours.  But this idea of hiring another driver when we are slow? And 2 good drivers left because of it? It makes absolutely no sense at all.  I'm not going to just sit around and "take it" forever like I did at Ferguson.  I'm seriously considering applying at our new competitor since I'm hearing nothing but good about the person that owns the place and another person that runs the place.  Just the sticking point that I want to stay with Ethylene because that gets me home after every trip. No OTR junk. They may not have a position for Ethylene right now, but if I put in an app and request consideration for if they ever do have a position, at least it will be in there. 

I haven't heard back from UTP.  I dunno what their process is but it's been a bit of a while.  It would be nice if they would at least say yes or no.  I can take rejection, just be nice if that's their final conclusion. 

Annnd the weather here. Temps are going to drop tonight into the 20's - which is cold for us - and rain tomorrow.  In fact, looks like rain for the next 8 days.  Meanwhile, the entire world of the United States is still erupting about this wall of Trump's.  And the "fact" that he "caved".  I wasn't happy with his decision to reopen the government for 3 weeks - but - that's  what it is.  It appears that if dems don't fund the wall after 3 weeks, he's going to declare a national emergency and fund the wall that way.  And then? Lawsuits holding it up forever in the courts.  He has built a compelling case of the last few months with all the border experts showing with facts and numbers that absolute need to put up a physical barrier - they are now calling it - to stop the flow of illegal aliens from pouring across our borders.  And now, it is reported a caravan of 10,000 of them are heading this way. So, we are to do nothing, dems say, because - in reality - it's hate Trump.  And that's all it is, lmao.

I was going to go to a Waffle House and get keto breakfast.  But they don't have one here, which is odd considering I'm right next to I-30 and this is a big enough town to be able to warrant one here.  There's no Denny's here either, which isn't so odd cause' Denny's isn't everywhere. There is an IHOP . Not the biggest fan but when you're ordering bacon, sausage, a slice of ham and eggs, it's pretty hard to screw that up.  Yes I'm still on the diet, I've only been seeing minimal gains but gains are gains.  My weight just seems to fluctuate up and down from 201 to 207.  I started working out with weights but abandoned that idea - temporarily anyway - until they get their puppy under control. It craps on the porch, all around the weight bench. The porch gets loaded with dog crap and I ain't subjecting myself to that.  I'm going to suggest we move the weight bunch to underneath the carport in the back. The dog isn't crapping there.  I want to work out, 3 times per week, 2 would be enough tho. 

Even tho the weight loss isn't too much, the fat loss still continues on.  I can only surmise that the working out I did do built muscle, adding weight but losing fat weight at the same time.  I want to really pump up my arms and chest, I just think I look dreadful at the moment with a flabby chest and small arms - tho I will say that the workouts I did do did, indeed, pump my arms up. But they won't stay that way if I don't continue on with the workouts, hence I will suggest today we move the weight bench. 

And with that, I am offa here. Have another cup of coffee and think about driving home. 

Woke up this morning - in Brownsville of course - got hooked up to the trailer and took off. Developed a headache.  Nothing brain killing but it went on throughout the day. I slept well last night, but I didn't get enough sleep - that because of the night before and getting 3 hours of sleep. That's the kind of thing that can mess with me for days. 

Well, this thing nagging at me, I forced myself to drive to the yard, get the truck unhooked from the trailer, do my paperwork and email it through the scanner in the office and then? I went into the still running truck and went to sleep for a while . No, I did not head home, I had to get a nap, it was getting bad. 

But....I was in the office with another driver and he was griping endlessly about the work situation. He's been there a long long time.  He was complaining about our manager - and yes, there are legitimate complaints. But he clued me in on some of the stuff she does that is ridiculous.  It's way too much for me to type in tonight, maybe some other time, just that she is really absent minded. I have noticed this for a while now.  You say something to her, she forgets and does something different than what you asked.  She has a really bad memory.  Even the people at the loading plant have issues with her memory issues.  

But the thing that really got me going? This driver told me she was interviewing a person to become another driver! What the hills full of dog crap sand is this? We don't need any more drivers! AT ALL!!!!  We literally do NOT need a single driver, we need to get rid of some drivers.  "Well, he's only going to do the Baker run". Who cares? The Baker run isn't a gold mine but it's good enough if there is nothing else going on. Far better than Cheneire and the casino - when the impulse hits me - is on the way back.  Note I didn't say on the way up. It is on the way up, but that run you go up to Baker, drop and hook, and the make it back to the casino that night.  

I'm just leaving my options open at the moment.  I want to see if she will keep me busy after having a conversation with her about it, but I suspect this has nothing to do with her and everything to do with switching over to a new company.  If I'm not on track to making a minimum of 75k this year, I will be finding greener pastures.  

Two days off - starting tomorrow.  I don't want 2 days off. At most, right now, with my financial situation, one day at most.  I'm really ready to go back out tomorrow morning. That isn't going to happen but that's where I'm at. I will text my manager on Monday morning - when am I going out again? I will probably escalate this tho. Why are we all sitting around for days at a time and you are allegedly hiring more drivers?  Fear of an employer has never been a problem, tho I respect her as a person she is a very nice lady.  But nice doesn't pay the bills....

So what am I going to do for 2 days? I have no idea.  There's plenty of housework to do.  I really need to get my 4 wheeler fixed and take it out down at the Sabine river and do some riding.  

But.....the situation with Rene? UNBELIEVABLE.  She started texting me last night about how evil I am that I let Jeff "stay" because "all you care about is getting the rent paid". Notwithstanding the fact that she agreed to let Jeff stay, without any input from me about it, saying they had worked it out and hence, all would be fine, over two freaking months ago. She was drunk and called me a "jackazz" at least a dozen times. I maintained my composure excepting to tell her she is drunk - several times actually. Because she was totally pissing me off.  I've bent over backwards helping this person, seriously and literally have done everything in my ability to help her out - and this is the thanks I get? Screw that.  I blocked her on my phone eventually, she wasn't going to shut up and I wasn't going to have anything to do with it. 

It got bad enough that I asked James to go over there and get my dogs.  And that he did.  He went straight over there, got them and brought them home.  Yes, they would watch my dogs while I"m gone, no, I really don't want to do that to them, they have enough on their plates.  Tho, James absolutely loves Addler.  He rough houses with Addler all the time.  Gets Addler into a headlock and eventually gets Addler on the ground lol.  No, there is no pain or animal abuse, thanks.  It's playing, but Addler is a tough dog, that boy can handle some stuff.  Not that James is hurting him in any way.  Just to say that they are in very good hands. 

And, Rene declared she was leaving for Michigan.  Okay, Bon Voyage!! Hasta luego, taco baby!  Don't let the get shove your ass the rest of the way out when you leave! No, I didn't say any of that, but it came to mind sitting there reading endless texts condemning me as the devil himself. 

No good deed goes unpunished. Try to help people in life? Sometimes you see positive results, other times, definitely not so much.  But per the former, Mark and Lynnette are a good example of helping people and them? Helping themselves after getting their lives back in order. 

Whatever. I've had enough of her.  

And...it's late. I went off to a hotel to sit and think about things. Away from driving endlessly on the road and away from a noisy house where such meditation may not be impossible, but not exactly likely when the kids are going off.  It wasn't the most affordable thing to do in light of current situation at work, but it was definitely the right thing for me. Time to go to sleep.  

I woke up last night in the middle of the night - and was never able to get back to sleep.  I worked all day today on maybe 3 hours of sleep. The funny part about it? I wasn't sleepy most of the day.  In fact, I had some energy coming from somewhere that had me cranking all day long.  I don't mean cranking on drugs, either, lol, whatever was going on I had enough energy to drive 465 miles, stop for fuel and mandatory 30 minute breaks and finish the rest of the 120 miles out.  I thought that extraordinary. I have driven on that little amount of sleep before, it's usually agony and hellish. 

Very disappointed to get down here and see not one, but 2 trailers sitting in the yard.  If there hadn't been one here, I would have had to wait until Monday morning, a scenario I was really hoping would happen. 

Not the end of the world, tho I'll be home tomorrow/Saturday night and then sit another 2 days cause she sent me nothing for Monday.  I didn't expect her to, but one can hope.

Meanwhile, shit going down at the other house.  Rene has a penchant for calling the police when the police don't need to be called. Jeff, the male tenant that allegedly does crank and is leaving at the end of the month, was allegedly doing it today - tho he wasn't doing it at the house.  They have no proof and he isn't acting out. 

Ahhh, now I get it: Rene is drunk.  And off in lah lah land. And going off on me in text messaging and I'm now ignoring her.  She is going to move to Michigan, she says and okay, whatever.  So, now this new lady - really sweet - recovering addict but really on the right path - wants to take over.  I mean, she doesn't do any drugs or anything.  I mean, I really don't need to do this, I can leave the dogs at home, but they would be out on there own for 10 hours a day.  They're animals, yes, but dogs will tend to get into trouble when left alone for long periods of time.  Aspyn will just jump over the fence and terrorize the neighborhood, Addler will pee all over everything, tho that's the extend of his evils lmao.

So, while I'm writing this, I'm texting this lady and trying to get this done. She will watch my dogs - she has 2 of her own. 

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The situation with Rene got so bad - she's drunk - that I asked Taylor if she or James would go get my dogs.  She is blaming me for getting that guy in there - even tho she talked to him in person before he moved in. You can't always hit it right, that guy is gone in 5 days, but me? I'm the devil in her eyes and because she is drunk.  She claims she isn't drunk, but I lived with her for 2 years and I know when her texts show she has drank too much. Not to mention that the other lady living there confirmed it.

Whatever. I blocked her. I won't continue to engage with that nonsense. I have helped her out endlessly and this is the thanks I get.  No good deed goes unpunished, as the old saying goes.

And with that, I"m offa here, going to calm myself down and go to sleep. 

Government shutdown day 34.  Both measures - Trump's and Democrats = shot down in the Senate.  The bickering, the yelling and the anger is heating up.  Both sides are hunkered down, but people are starting to mad at all of them, the whole lot, not one side or the other, both sides that are unable to simply do the jobs they were voted in to deal with.  IN all of this, Democrats have flatly said no to any negotiations.  I mean, nothing. It's their way or the highway.  Trump is now offering a "down payment" on the wall offer.  There is only one thing that Democrats care about in all of this nonsense: regaining power in the White House in 2020.  If Trump gets a wall win, they lose more footing.  It's all identity politics and has nothing to do with governing the nation.  If they all don't figure this out soon, they will all be losers.  That's my prediction for 2020, they best get this situation dealt with, fast.

I could give my thoughts on the kid and the indian but why bother.  It became obvious after the firestorm that erupted against those kids that - the media was completely and totally wrong.

The accusation about Trump and Cohen was also brought quickly, the media fell for it, it took Mueller's team to refute it.  It simply shows the mindsets of the liberal media. They don't care to corroborate stories any more, they just fall for the next narrative and blast it out, true or not.
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Thursday. Yet another day I didn't want to sit home - cause' honey, I need to be making money right now.
A pleasant surprise, I guess.  I actually have a paycheck coming tonight - small one, very small but better than nothing.  I have no clue what it's from. I was unwillingly off for 6 days which reflects that lack of a paycheck. I can only surmise being paid back for them ripping me off from another paycheck earlier.

So, anyway, I texted my manager. When am I going out again?  I am surmising other drivers are getting the same "treatment" because there's not enough work to go around, from what they've told me.  An hour later, hearing nothing back, I threw in an ?.  She said hold on, I'm trying to see if they'll let a new trailer in down there.

2 hours later, she sends me a run, going to Brownsville - with a new trailer. This will be the first time we send one of those down there.  Not preferable for obvious reasons.  They steal tires, lights, brass, whatever off of them things.  Not every single time, but when it happens, well, you've got a mess on your hands that you have to fix.  I can only assume there isn't an old trailer in the yard to be able to use.  But, I get a run, that will take me into Saturday night at least.  I guess I"ll be sitting another 2 days. Better than 6 I guess, but I'll be asking her if I have a run for Monday anyway before Friday is over with.

I spent so much time fooling with vehicles and other things yesterday, I decided to do little to nothing today.  An hour spent prepping a crock pot stew and making lunch, built a fire, and that has been it.

Wednesday/home.
I don't want to be home too long tho. I need more runs to make some decent paychecks to make up for the last two weeks lack of much of anything.  And the coveted detention pay isn't happening.  No guarantees on that anyway, just nice when it does happen. A brownsville run on the weekend sometimes guarantees that.  If I get sent down there on a Friday or a Saturday and there are no trailers, none will show up til monday as the port is closed on the weekend where the trucks come through.  Anyway, I'll be texting my manager around 1 or 2 pm to nudge her that yes, I'm here, no I don't want to stay home, yes please send me out somewhere. 

Very disconcerting tho that the 2 "loaner" drivers won't be leaving.  Get rid of those 2 plus the 2 that just left and that would open up a lot of runs and keep the rest of us much busier.  I can only hope that more people will quit or switch to another division.  Cause they aren't getting those runs back anytime soon and another company has moved in to try and take as much of it as possible. In fact, I've heard nothing but good about that other company.  I'm thinking of applying there if/when I finally come to the conclusion that this place isn't going to work. And if I keep getting paychecks like I did last week and nothing this week, well, that won't take long. 

Anyway, I do want to be home, lol, just money takes precedence at the moment. I think I'll keep home activities light today as well.  I'm thinking I really need to get that Jeep into the shop tho and get that issue fixed on it so I can use it while I have the SUV in the shop and get the struts/shocks replaced.  Yes, I think I'll see if the shop a mile away will do it today. 

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Lovely.  The Jeep was cheap, just $47 to get that situation taken care of. Then down the road to get it inspected for state inspection.  Had to have a few things done to it, but got out of there cheap enough and passed inspection.  Now - the expensive thing. My struts are toast on the SUV.  It's a seesaw when it hits even a minor bump.  The shop I was at quoted me $1,500 and change.  Lol.  "We offer financing".  Okay buds.  I'll check around first, I thought, and get quotes from a few other shops and also look up the parts online.  Well, the each strut is almost $200 a piece.  Some electronic air bag type of thing.  So there's $800 worth of parts when including tax just for the parts.  I dunno about $700 worth of labor.  I was watching a video to see how hard they are to replace, I've done this before. 

It's neither easy nor hard.  Well it can be really hard depending on the vehicle.  I only watched a few minutes of the video tho.  You have to take a bunch of stuff off to get at the strut and the new ones come with the complete strut assembly.  I dunno what I'm going to do yet - but it needs to be done.  I have a call into another shop and awaiting a quote. 

So that all cost me hours worth of my day. And the other place called me back, and even steeper price at $1,700.  But now I find out it's just regular struts, it's not these expensive electronic ones of the air bags.  So I'd have something like $500 in parts to do it myself.  I may very well decide to put the thing in the back yard, back the whole thing up, take all wheels off and have at it.  I dunno, just gonna sit on this for a little bit and think about it.  Lots of time would be involved but to save a grand? 

Well, in another headache, I've had to tell the male tenant in the house to get out.  He's cranking on meth and we don't tolerate that crap.  It may end up costing me tho, I currently have all 3 rooms rented out. He's gone on the 31st, I'm hopeful to find someone by then, but who knows.  That guy has been the source of a lot of conflict, tho, I'm kinda glad to see him go even if the money goes with him.  He's got Hepatits C and Rene complains she's caught him drinking out of the milk carton and sticking his fingers into community food.  He consumed the rest of her birthday cake - she had a slice and the other lady had a slice - and left only one slice left. 

So, life never gets boring, but sometimes it poses headaches.  Meanwhile, my lady friend here is going through here

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And more.  I'm pretty well involved in this family when I'm here.  I cook a lot too.  Even my Keto diet stuff they'll eat.  I tried out a meatloaf tonight.  The ingredients for the meat part were kind of funky, but I did it anyway.  However, the ingredients for the red sauce on the top? Tasted nasty.  After adding a lot of sugar free ketchup to it, well now then. Coated the top of it with half the mixture, cooked it, coated it with the rest of the mixture after that? Delicious!  It really turned out much better than I thought it would.  James at half the pan lol.  Taylor was having a bad day and didn't eat anything. 

Well I didn't get sent a run, so I'll eat tomorrow but I'm going to insist on getting sent out on Friday. 

Currently in the great state of Missouri, Neelysville to be exact, at the Arkansas state line.  No detention, no detention pay.  I was not bummed out by that, tho, considering the forecast in Illinois where I was at.  90% chance of rain and it's well below zero.  Freezing rain?  Icy roads? No thanks. We got that thing unloaded and I got the Hercules out of there heading as far south as I could as fast as I could - which isn't very fast in a truck governed at 65 MPH, but I didn't stop for anything but to look for a charging cord for my phone. 

The one I was using quit working.  They only last about 3 months.  It's a pretty good scam ATT has.  They sell charging cords at their "official" stores but the cords aren't manufactured by ATT and the warranty isn't ATT, it's through the manufacturer.  You already know when you buy that cord that it isn't going to last anything near the declared warranty period and you also know that when the damn thing stops working, you are going to throw it in the trash and go buy a new one.  I don't buy cords at the ATT store anymore. I have found places that sell them that work just as well and last just as long and cost much less. 

I like the concept of a smart phone, I am very set back by the costs associated with any of it.  There are cell providers that have really good deals, but their coverage sucks.  The only real, nationwide coverage you are going to find is Verizon.  I had thought ATT, being a huge company, would up their game over time and get good coverage everywhere. They have definitely NOT done that, I can attest to multiple, large numbers of places I have gone that have little or even no coverage at all. For the price I am paying, that is unacceptable. 

Whatever the case, I think I am clear of any rain.  Even if not, the temps here are much higher - high 20's - than what was going
on in Illinois.  I haven't checked the forecast in this region, do that later. 

I spent last night in a truck stop in a very small town off the beaten path - I have an app that finds these places.  I wanted to go there to watch the Patriots v KC game. There is a sports bar next door to the truckstop. I ended up texting mom for the entire length of the game I was there watching it - she's a huge NFL fan and watches all the playoff games.  It was 12 degrees when I got out of the truck to walk over to the bar. I came prepared with thermal socks, hat, gloves, thermal top and of course a very heavy winter coat.  So, not bad actually.  The game was fun to watch, I'm not a fan of either team but I wanted Patriots to lose badly, I've seen enough of them in Superbowls, but Brady is just too good. I think he may go down as the best quarterback in NFL history after the books are closed on him. KC made some outstanding plays, no doubt, they stayed in the running all the way up to the end, but in the end, Brady outdid them and Patriots won.

It was fun texting with mom and I have been making a point of it lately to make sure we talk to some extend every day.  She's old and lonely.  I"m not saying that in a bad way, she just is. She has lived too much of her life alone and now she is regretting it.  She is a wonderful mom and a very wonderful lady in general. Very easy to get along with. I think she goes to the AA meetings to have some kind of connection with society more than the need to deal with alcoholism - she hasn't had a drink in at least 40 years.  More than that.  In other words, at least in my view, she is not an alcoholic. 

I love her dearly and I think about some of the things she has been saying. I think if she brings it up again, I'll the "if you come to the point you need to live with" someone, I'll do it - but - I am not moving back to Arizona.  She'll lose her mountain trips but that is going to happen sooner or later anyway.  I'm guessing about the time she can't drive anymore she'll be reaching out for help. Don't read that wrong, I am in no way shape or form wishing that upon her, at all. It's awesome she's as old as she is and can still drive and live on her own.  But.... the day.....is ...coming.  Just another reason it would be great to have 50 or more acres of property. Might not be in the mountains but the area is definitely wooded.  Actually I think she'd like it where I live, just not the town, out in the country. 

Well it's cold here, lol.  If I were out 4 wheeling or hunting or something outdoors, I wouldn't care. Anything else? Especially working? No thanks..  But I resisted the idea of getting a hotel and am staying in the truck. And for once, at this truckstop, my internet has at least enough signal strength to operate the internet. Which isn't say much. As much as I despise Verizon customer service, they do have the superior service when it comes to reception pretty much anywhere you go. 

And so, I will be home tomorrow afternoon - around 4 or 5.  I would prefer to get sent back out the next day, as my finances have taken a beating with that 6 day off time I didn't ask for or want and a small paycheck before that - but - I know how this is going now.  I was given a rave review of another company that has come in and taking over some of our company's clientele. The owner of the company apparently is very caring and helpful towards employees, whether company drivers or owner operators.  I haven't filled out an application - yet - I'm still going to wait for a while to see what goes on here.  But I won't wait forever, lesson learned. Still, if about 3 more people were to leave, I would be getting as much work as I need.

Well, there's more, actually, but I got involved in a lengthy discussion about this Native American fiasco and these kids that were wrongfully accused in the totally biased media .... that don't engage in real journalism anymore ...

G'nite. 

Yesterday, at around 1:00 pm, I texted my manager.  No way was I going to give any ground for her to "forget" that I need a run this weekend.  Friday's paycheck was abysmal and next paycheck will have $0.00 because of her mistake last weekend.  She texted back yes, in the affirmative of my question about getting a run.

Well, 6:00 pm comes around and I still haven't received anything so I texted her again - informing her of last paycheck's amount and next paycheck's amount -- which will be nothing. She said she sent one at 3:30. I never received it and obviously she never sent it, cause magically, 2 texts showed up with the same run.  I was disappointed I was going out today/Saturday, let's get this thing rolling, but I wasn't disappointed that it's a minimum 3 day run with the occasional prospect of detention time. 

Mapleton, Illinois.  And looking at the weather stats? It's freaking cold up there!  26 degrees up there right now, feels like 15.  And going down to 6 degree tonight.  I know, some people think that's a warm summer's day, I'm not one of those people.  Fortunately, I do not have to unload the trailer at that place and I can stay indoors where it's nice and toasty. Detention or not, it's a good run with decent pay.  I could conceivably get back in time for a short trip somewhere, doubt it tho.  Not the way loads are being handed out right now.  I'll be lucky if I don't have to sit 2 days when I get back.

Looks like I'm going to miss that storm that is sweeping across the nation up there, thankfully.  Snowing today in that entire region but by the time I get up there, the roads should be clear. 

Oh well, another day off.  I love off time, but not when my finances are being affected by too much of it. 

Smoked some lovely pork ribs yesterday.  I really love smoking meats and have gotten pretty good at it now.  Smoke for 3 hours or so, then put pats of butter on top of the meat, wrap it up in foil or red butcher paper made specifically for smoking and either put it back in the smoker or just throw it in the oven for the rest of the cooking.  Purists will continue to leave it in the smoker, even tho the meat is receiving no smoke. It's just easier to set the oven at whatever temp - depending on how much time you have - and finish out in there.  I didn't have much time available so I set it at 325. Around dinner time, the ribs came out perfect.  Pulled back up the bones, softy, tender and juicy.  Delicious smoked flavor with the perfect seasonings. 

No smoking ambitions today, it's my version of cold outside coupled with wind and I have no desire to freeze.  Now, I could build a pit fire and deal with the cold, but I really just feel like staying in doors today.  I'l have plenty of time out in cold, potentially icy road conditions coming up, a day hibernating is not a bad thing  Plus I'm thinking to rearrange my room. 

I don't like where I have my dresser and I want to move it to another location which I think will make it blend into the design of the room much nicer.  I kind of regret buying all those framed pictures the other day in light of my paycheck situation. They are all hung perfectly and no taking them back tho lol.  I also bought a nice little stand for my Keurig machine in the bathroom, tho if I move the dresser, I should be able to build the stand and put it where the dresser was along with another piece of furniture - of which I don't particular like but right now is not a good time to go furniture shopping. I also want a new futon and replace this old thing.  That's about $160 plus shipping and tax - again - not a good time.  I could, of course, put it on a credit card and not delve into my checking account.

Could but won't.  My Christmas balances have been transferred over to my Citi card at a much lower rate, I intend on paying that off in the next couple of months - if - work picks up or at least holds out to what I'm doing now.  Anything less and I'll have decisions to make.  As it stands, I've put in some applications and there may be decisions to make anyway. 

Results of just 2 workouts have been amazing.  Enough so that it absolutely motivates me to keep pumping that iron.  It was the inevitable second phase of the diet.  I dunno if I'm just not going to lose any more weight or if I'm at a "new" ideal weight or what, but I'm stuck at 202 pounds.  199 pounds - which would have been a nice milestone to hit - has been elusive.  I'm basically 15 to 20 pounds off from where I wanted to be.  The only thing I can think of to do now is just really cut back on caloric intake.  Maybe 1000 per day range. 

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Well, new set of Ketosis strips. Finally back into full fledged ketosis.  Not really sure what threw me out, but it seems it takes quite a while to get fully back into it. 

And with that, I think I'll get busy doing some cleaning and rearranging in my room. 

G'day. 

So now I'm seriously looking around for a new job - one that pays well, but I don't care if it's hazmat tankers or not.  I'd like to stay in this line of work, get the required experience and finish out my career in one of the local, family owned companies that basically only hire the cream of the crop.  But, in the real world, that may never happen.  A local job is top on my list, but not a deal breaker.  What I'm doing now is survivable since I get home after every trip.  So, I can do Regional but that's it.

There is a place advertising over 100k per year locally, but after looking at it, it's operating out of the Permian Basin.  I may apply there just to find out the parameters.  It''s all oilfield hauling, of which I have no experience but I can learn anything in the trucking industry.  None of this stuff is rocket science. Oh, well the Permian Basin is west Texas, I'm in east Texas.  So why they are advertising here I don't know, unless they're hauling over here to a refinery somewhere.  However, to earn 100k in trucking, you are either an owner operator - or you are on the road a lot as a company driver. They ain't giving that kind of money away without you living in the truck, I am guessing. 

I just applied at UPT - petroleum transport and that is all local or regional -- and am scouring for more.  They're based out of Shreveport, if it's the location I'm thinking of it's a petroleum refinery that isn't much further than I'm currently driving to get to the yard at the company I'm working at now. 

Anyway, today off - Friday.  No idea about this weekend but I will be texting my manager before 5:00 pm to find out.  I will not just "take it" for another 4 or more days off.  We've gotten rid of 2 drivers, that frees up at least 4 loads per week. Not much but anything helps right now.  This company really needs to deal with this situation, but after observing other terminals, they don't care how much work you get or don't get.  They just wash their hands of it, you can stay or go I guess.  Building this business means retaining your drivers, they aren't doing anything, whatsoever, to even try to start doing that at our terminal.  Perplexing, but not shocking.  This company simply doesn't have it's act together and they attempted a combining of 2 large companies together without having any clue, from my observations, of how to do it smoothly. 

Well, the circus goes on in Washington.  Blame shifting, Pelosi saying no SOTU until impasse is over, Trump retaliating by saying no military aircraft use by Pelosi until  - impasse is over.  It's amusing and ridiculous at the same time. I blame both sides now and they need to stop this nonsense, get their acts together, come up with a plan and get it over with. 

As for today, I'm going to spend a couple hours scouring more job ads and cleaning up around the yard and probably doing some more sprucing up in my room.  Since my paycheck today was pathetic and I won't be getting a paycheck next week, all expenditures besides bills and groceries are off the table.  If I even come close to having to dip into my savings account for monthly bills, I'm definitely off to a new job. That won't happen this month even if I didn't get another paycheck, but in the next 2 or 3 months, it would happen with this kind of checks going on. I'm not going to get backed into another Ferguson scenario where I can't pay my bills and going into credit card debt if I can help it.