Just getting done with the day/night, stopped at a hotel in Paris, Texas.  Baytown hotel, to be more precise about the property and about the equivalent of a fancy Motel 6.  If that.  I'm a bit surprised my company has this hotel on their list. I've never stayed at a Baytown before and I probably will never stay at one again, lmao. 
I can't even imagine what kinds of surprises that bed in front of me may have in it.........

But I have no choice now.  I am stuck here for the night and I surely cannot sleep in that day cab. The other option for this town from my company was a better - much better than this place - brand but I looked at the satellite and it was in a complex of hotels at the very end of it, it was definitely not truck friendly. This place isn't truck friendly either, even tho they said it would be.  I found a place to park out front, blocked some things - told them about it, they didn't care so neither do I.  

I got 2 "critical event" s***s today, these are the company's nanny state bs.  This day cab has "lane departure" electronics set up on it, something my regular truck doesn't  have. This old truck is pretty squirrely, I didn't go completely off the road but just driving on top of the line on the shoulder is enough to set this thing off. Set it off too many times? It sends a report to my company.  And a "critical speed" warning for going to fast - that was down a hill and the brakes on that truck aren't exactly wonderful and more importantly, there is no engine brake on the piece of junk. That is something every truck should have regardless, engine brakes should be standard equipment. This truck is at least 10 years old, probably older, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't have come equipped with an engine brake.

Whatever.  I'm almost 4 years with this company and the few critical event reports I have had the thing automatically sent to HQ? I've never heard anything about it.  They don't apparently care unless you make a habit of it.  

I'm ready for my truck back and I will be calling again tomorrow to find out the status of it.  This cramped thing I am driving now I've had enough of.  It has a terrible suspension, it just bounces and pops you up and down all day long.  It's ridiculous, you'd think the truck has leaf springs the way it lunges and jumps, it actually has airbags but it sure doesn't drive like it.

And sitting here in this room - at least it doesn't smell bad - I found a place in Longview that rents Cats.  Bulldozers included.  No prices on it, of course not, you have to contact the dealer. So I filled out the form and I would expect a call tomorrow or an email.  I'm also talking to this dude about coming with his machine and having him clear the land.  But, I am having trouble getting the guy to give me a price per acre - that's his method versus doing it per hour.  

I mean, if I could really rent a bulldozer, I could wait until next month when I get more vacation hours added to my account and take a week off and just get it done.  I suspect a week's worth of a dozer rental is the same as a month's worth of a Bobcat rental. I'm going to have to make something work that isn't going to cost a fortune.  

This dude just quoted me $2,500 per acre lmao.  The first guy that came over last week told me $2,250 and that's with a crew of people.  I dunno, but right now I"m not in the position to be spending 15 grand on land clearing.  I'm going to wade into this proposition a lot slower than I had initially planned on.  

I get back tomorrow I'm going to start making endless phone calls to engineers and whatever companies I can find that will create a plan/blue print for the property.  This is holding me up, tho I could do land clearing without any of that.  

Well I could go on but it's getting late and I'm tired.  Long day.  They're all long days, but this late night stuff needs to go by the wayside. I'm not  a night owl.  It's wearing me out.  I hope this bed doesn't turn into a nightmare lol.  I've been in lots of hotel with funny beds and they aren't pleasant.  

Outta here.  

 Driving until 1:30 am has never been my forte. Much more, having to drop the trailer when I got to the yard and then head over to the hotel.  But, the only other choice was to not get down here last night and tho I was fighting fatigue, I did make it.  Even under the best of circumstances, I would have been tired, but after 3 nights of not sleeping it was much worse.

And then this hotel....I have stayed here before and never had an issue. But getting to the 4th floor, the smell in the hallways was overpowering. Disgusting, almost gag reflex. Upon entering my room, the same smell, undoubtedly coming from the hallway, was filling the room as well.  I cannot imagine that hotel staff can come up to this floor and not notice that horrific smell.

My stay here is almost over, thank goodness.  The shower curtain had mold all over the bottom of it - black mold!  Makes a person wonder about the condition of the sheets I was laying on or the towels I dried myself off with......Like, if they never wash the shower curtains or even inspect them, what else is going on in this facility? I would have far rather stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn, my hotel of choice down here that they used to put me up in which apparently has been scrubbed off their list of available hotels. 

Well, the day cab is running better at least. That's what I was forced to drive down here in and why I was staying at a hotel.  I am determined to get back up to Longview tonight and get this trip over with. I'd really like a day off in between runs, especially if my truck isn't done. Yesterday, they told me a NOX sensor and other DEF related issues and the bill would be $1,500, which is basically nothing in the trucking world.

But do they have a NOX sensor? Parts are hard to come by nowadays with the supply chain in the mess that it's in.  They are blaming truckers, which is part of it, but the rest of it is the fact that no one wants to work anymore. DC centers, manufacturers, supplies to make the things you find on the store shelves are all lacking.  Employers are paying more than ever right now trying to lure people to come to work for them.

It sort of got me thinking about getting an RV park up and running, but there are two things. One, it won't be finished for quite a while and 2, if it comes down to it, I'll quit my job and run the place myself if it brings in the necessary revenues.  I can find someone to run it for me at the beginning, pay enough money and I'll get someone in there.  

It isn't really a "now" issue for me since I have many hurdles to face -mostly financial ones - to get that place operational.  I'll be calling some places today on the way back up and see if I can get them out there to give me some quotes.   

Regardless, I'm not sure that my truck is going to be finished and available to pick up today, and even if it is, someone else would have to go get it and bring it to the yard since I won't be getting back into town until long after the Rush truck center closes.  So, I just expect that it will be next week before I get back into my truck and therefore, prepare myself for a weekend run in this daycab. 

It's just soooo small.  There is no leg room, there is no room to store your stuff besides just cramming it down in front of the passenger seat.  It only has one fuel tank - daycabs are supposed to be used for local runs, not out of tonight overnight stuff.  At least it's running better than last time.  Whatever the case, I'm making money off of it, just bite the bullet and move on.

Well I'm an hour off from having to leave and I need breakfast and I want to get to the yard where the empty trailer is, get hooked up to it and be ready to go when the clock hits the mark where I can come back on duty again.

G'day. 

 Brownsville trip en-queue.  \

Taking the day cab, a truck I would have liked to never drive again for multiple reasons.  Earning a paycheck and getting money into the bank to move on with the RV project takes precedence over my personal desires, so I readily volunteered yesterday to go on another run somewhere.

It will mean that tonight I will have to find a hotel to stay at.  That's one of the reasons I really don't like taking that truck. Hotel stays are nice - if you are actually staying there for a while.  Not so nice if it's rushed in, take your 10 hour, and then usually up early and out of there even earlier so you can go hook up to a trailer and prepare for the drive that day.  It isn't optimal, but it's a good paying run so I will not complain about it too much.  

At least there is a "decent" hotel near the yard down there, I don't want to stay at one of the higher quality brands we normally are put into down there, just because I don't want to have to drive too far to get to the yard tomorrow morning. 

As for my sleep, I a in a 3 day funk.  I slept miserably last night, I stayed in bed 11 hours in order to attempt to somehow make up for the lack of sleep last night when I woke up.  My whole sleep cycle has been disrupted from the last trip and I suspect it will be a while before it returns to normal.  

Regardless, this day cab has no refrigerator and very little room. I will be relying on stopping at places to get something to eat versus having a refrigerator stocked with ample food.  I also have to drive clear to Tyler this morning to retrieve my forgotten paperwork out of my truck. I have no choice, the paperwork is due, has been due and I don't get paid until I turn it in.  

I will, however, be doing my usual drive by the property to see if by some miracle, this water install company has actually shown up to do their job. I don't know what the delay is.  Perhaps they had to order the meter or other parts? The man knows what he's doing, if he didn't the city wouldn't be using him.  So, unless he's busy, which was never indicated, there must be a causal reason for the delay in installing.  If he wanted a deposit up front, I would have given him one.  But, that request was never made. So, I have really no idea what's going on and getting a hold of him on the phone is near impossible.

Anyway, my departure time draws night. It's almost 9:00 am, but with having to drive to Tyler, I hvae to give myself an extra hour of drive time.  I really wish I had remembered the paperwork.  It was 3:00 am when I got dropped off at the hotel from the tow truck and I had to climb up into my truck that was on the tow hoist to get everything, it simply slipped my mind.  I even sat in the cab for a minute, trying to remember everything.  My mind was in a fog and I was extremely tired.  

So, pay the price and drive over there, that's all I can do.  At least there's a Carl's Jr. on the way, I'm going to stop and get a lettuce wrapped burger for breakfast/lunch.  

And with that, I must be offa here and out of here.

G'day.  

 The ordeal began Tuesday Am/Monday night.  Getting done with work at 1 am, stopping at the casino truck stop, I went straight to bed.  At 3:00, a loud dinging noise woke me up out of a deep sleep.  It took a few seconds of orienting myself ot the new reality - being awake long before I should have been or wantd to be - to understand that that dinging probably meant something.....bad.

Well, you can't ignore that noise.  It's loud, it dings about 3 times per second and it never stops.  I was exhausted.  It had already been a long, long day and only 2 hours of sleep and here I am having to somehow deal with this nonsense.

It was a DEF related problem. DEF is the bane of trucking existence. I won't go into detail, I don't feel like it for one - I'm quite well done, exhausted, lack of sleep 2 nights in a row.  And it's too much to go into in any great detail.  It's a system they created to reduce emissions, using it's own fuel system and different type of fuel than diesel fuel and when they break, they do a fine job of messing everything up. We'll go that far with it.

I got back into the sleeper, put ear plugs into my ears, turned the fan up on high, and tried to go back to sleep.  I'd get to sleep and it would just wake me right back up. I basically got no more sleep after that.  My phone started blowing up at 6:30 am.  What trailer do you have? Sorry to bother you this early - dispatchers having no idea what I was going through for I had contacted no one yet.

I have such and such trailer, but I have an issue going on with the truck.  And thus it began.  Phone call...after phone call....after phone call. Texts, unending texts.  

We have a phone number you call, not a division in the company, but a separate company that our company uses to take break down issues and find repair trucks or tow trucks.  I won't even go into all of that right now, I'm just too tired. I spoke with probably 10 different people, it went on for over 10 hours and they got nothing done in that entire time.  Only when I finally got cranky about it and started digging into them about their incompetence and the left hand not know what the right hand is doing did I get anything done. 

Later, after all of that, a different repair truck showed up, could figure out nothing as I predicted they wouldn't be able to, this is a dealer issue that peterbilt will have to diagnose - wasted $552.43 on that for nothing and then...they called a tow truck from 120 miles away to come fetch the truck. 

After the tow truck drive called me, I went to bed.  I got two plus hours of sleep and that was all I got until we got into Tyler, Texas at around 3:00 am.  2 nights in a row only getting a few hours of sleep, I was soo tired.  I just wanted to pass out somewhere. The tow truck driver dropped me off at a hotel complex.  I didn't bother to call my company, I would pay for it and demand repayment after.  I wasn't calling dispatchers or my manager at that hour of the day.  

The Best Western? Closest hotel I could walk to with a giant bag full of my stuff in it - I expect my truck won't be fixed anytime soon and wanted most of my gear with me - the doors were locked. There was a sign on the door saying their computers were down, sorry. The doorbell button was busted.  Locking the doors? To the main entrance? Isn't that illegal? what if there's a fire?  I know there are local health codes that govern such things.

So, I picked up my stuff and lugged it down to the Hampton. Hampton is expensive, I didn't want to spend that much money incase my company gave me trouble getting my money back. Just wanted a bed, sleep a few hours, get a hold of my manager, go home.  They were as expensive as I thought they would be. They wouldn't give me any discount, even tho it was already 3:00 am and they insisted check out time is 11:00 am.  Wow, just wow.  It really bugged me, but what was I to do? There was a Holiday Inn, but it was 1,000 feet away, I had no energy and that bag and other bag were getting awfully heavy.....

So, I paid it with a credit card and got the card keys and went to the 3rd floor.  I found my room, tried to use the card - nothing.  Pulled out the other card- nothing.  You just swipe the card in front of a reader on the door and it opens the lock.  I stood there a few minutes trying, thinking it's just me, I'm too tired, I'm not doing something right.  I finally went back down to the front desk, got the cards reloaded, went back up - again, nothing.  Same thing, stood there for several minutes.

Went back down, these aren't working. They did this again.  I went back up again,  Nothing.  Exasperated, exhausted and getting highly irritated, I just sank onto the floor for a while. I contemplated just going to sleep in front of the door.  I finally pulled myself up, dragged my @$$ down to the front office, this time with my bags, told them if they can't make their system work, I'm getting my money back and leaving.  

This time, the dude came back up with me.  I handed him the cards, maybe, just maaaybe, I'm not doing it right.  I can't possibly fathom how you can't do it right, but maybe.  He tried both cards, neither of them worked.  I wanted him to do that, to see that their system isn't working, it's not just an old man that can't do anything.  He had a wrist band that magically opens all doors, apparently, he swiped that let me in and I immediately went to bed.

But it was fitful sleep.  I was awake most of the time. It was mostly my irritation with how getting this room had gone down.  I was cranky, freely admit it.  I got up at 8:30 am, texted my manager, told him where I was and needing a ride back to Longview - about 40 miles away I think - and I got in the shower.  Went down for breakfast, got a plate, headed back to the room - only to be almost mowed over by an employee coming out the door, not looking before exiting.  I was just standing there waiting for him to exit the elevator...it was just another thing to increase my irritation levels because of lack of sleep and what had happened. 

I got back to my room, ate my breakfast and then replied to my manager's text about him having an Uber ready to order. He ordered it, I walked down past the front desk, told them while walking by that I didn't have any room cards to turn in, I was in room 307 and this is a horrible hotel.  The man looked at me...waaa, whaaat?  I replied: I don't have any key cards, I was in room 307 and this is a horrible hotel.

What can I do to make this better? Nothing, what can you do? I walked out front, waiting for the Uber ride.  I wasn't looking for freebies, didn't really care at that point in time, just wanted to go home.  About 2 minutes later this man came out, he couldn't just let it alone.  I suppose that's his job, find out what's wrong and try to fix it or explain it away, but I was not in the mood for it.  He asked again, what can i do to make this better? I don't even know what's going on? Well, what can you do?  Getting money back was the furthest thing from my mind. I just didn't care. This is how tired I was an how out of touch with reality I was in my thinking at the time.  

So I decided to engage him. Told him about the door, the price - which I wouldn't have minded as long as I had been offered enough time to get rested up, especially at that price.  The man almost running me over at the elevator.  I'll give the guy credit, he apologized more times than he needed to.  He went off how they had just had a 30k card system installed in the hotel and it wasn't working properly, they had made repeated calls to the company that installed it and - they didn't have anyone to come out.

He then went off on how people don't want to work anymore - now this I am hearing from all over the place.  From business owners and managers all over the place.   The government really screwed this one up and yes, that started with Trump and Congress at the time.  Pelosi and Biden aren't any better in this current dilemma, a lot of things were done to placate the citizens that shouldn't have been done. It's transforming our society into a different type of thinking about how much the government should be involved in our lives and whether anyone actually wants to lift a finger to pay for their existence.

10 years ago Socilaism was taboo. Now it's accepted and enough big mouths are propped up in the right places to make it appear that the whole country wants it! Nothing could be further from the truth, but I fear the damage is done.

Anyway, I heard him out, at least.  His apologies softened my tones with him, turns out he is the GM of that hotel and he probably didn't want me filling the internet with bad reviews, he offered all of my money back. I had to think about that for a minute.  Perhaps the point is better made if you don't take the money back. They you are saying things that you actually mean about the service and that you aren't just making things up to get freebies. 

I never asked for or even wanted freebies, btw.  I never hinted at it.  It just wasn't in my thinking.  It was my first time at a Hampton Inn and it didn't come off as any better than any of the other chains.  Holiday Inn, La Quinta, Comfort Inn  - the middle of the line chains - aren't any worse and several of them are much cheaper.  "When I say that, I am not referring to service, just the layout and quality of the place.  Comfort Inn easily matches it and it's usually in the 80 per night range, not the 127-139 per night range.  

Whatever the case, my Uber showed up, I got back to the yard and realized I had forgotten my paperwork out of the truck.  I will have to go get it tomorrow if the truck isn't fixed by then.  If the truck needs a sensor as our mechanic predicted it would, it might be up to 2 months.  That's supply chain issues and it's real.  Oh, I wasn't going back there to get paperwork today.  I was beyond burnout stage, there was no way I was driving clear back there for it.  

Of course, my manager told me at the shop that they "need you back" hinting that the day cab truck is available to use.  Did they ever fix it?  What do you mean? I mean it will have a bunch of codes pop up on the dash and then the power goes out.  The mechanic, over hearing us, barked out that Peterbilt had actually come to the yard and fixed it.

Ok, I'll use it then.  What else can i do? I literally could be sitting weeks waiting on my truck to be repaired. I just went through that with 14 days off for Covid, I can't afford that.  How do you know it will be weeks? Historically, our trucks sit over there a long, long time, no matter what the issue is, before they are fixed and ready to go.  On the good side of things, there has been an engine light on in my truck for months now, maybe they will find that problem as well. They will have to hook up their computer to it to find the codes and find out what's wrong with the DEF system anyways.  

So, I left the yard, drove by my property - absolutely no intention of working there today, but wanted to see if the water install guy had come out - no. Great!  I'm not calling him.  If he doesn't show up by Friday I might try to call and ask what's going on.  I don't need the water out there that bad, it can wait, I just wanted to get it over with and see if the city was going to give any trouble for getting a larger tap installed.  

Home, Taylor and I went out to a Japanese restaurant for lunch, then over to Game Stop, her aunt had sent money for the boys to get some stuff for - halloween I guess - and then to Walmart for prescription.  If you haven't figured it out by reading this blog for a while, Taylor and I are really good friends at this point. It's kind of grown over the years.  We like hanging out with each other. It's nothing sensual, sexual, whatever, it's just friends but it's more, at least in my view, than "just friends".  We like each other's company, that I can pretty much say with confidence. 

Regardless, I am home, she went to work, I'm hanging out with doggies, hoping that the exhaustion will catch up to me and soon so I can nap for a few hours.  I'm on one of those second winds - unwanted.  I don't need a second wind right now, I need all this sleep deprivation to catch up with me and zonk me out.  I'm going to watch reruns of the Big Valley and see if that will help it.  Take a nap with my big doggie laying next to me, lol.  He's in attention deficit, apparently, he's demanding it and I'm giving it to him lol.  Belly rub, ear rub, back rub, ear scratch, well if you have dogs you know the drill.

With that, Im offa here. Things I need to contemplate without all the demands of having to do this and that taking my attention away.

G'day.  

 Shortly before 1:00 am, I got to the casino truck stop, intent on going to bed immediately after getting paperwork done - which I did.

Around 3:00 am, a loud beeping noise went off in the cab.  I've heard that sound before, I instantly knew it wasn't going to be anything good.

It wasn't.  A "Limp home mode, maximum derate, fix SCR" notification on the truck screen.  That means something with the DEF system. Lots of that going on lately in other trucks - and months wait time for parts.  As with the rest of the supply chain, truck parts are hard to come by and slow to arrive.  

Is this because everyone is getting fired for not getting vaccinated?  That's really what it's coming down to. I've been looking all over the internet for answers to this supply chain problem and it seems that many companies are shooting themselves in the foot demanding employees getting vaxxed - or else. Many are choosing the "or else" option regardless of the consequences.

The contrast between what Trump did for our economy and what Biden is doing to our economy couldn't be more stark. Despise Trump's mannerisms all you want, we had nothing like the supply chain issues we are facing, the labor shortages we are facing and the inflation - which will convert to hyper-inflation if this reconciliation bill is passed  - under Biden. 

The worst part is, Biden doesn't seem to care.  Isn't this what Socialists and Communists do? Take over the supply chain through whatever means they can and attempt to control people's lives through dictates accompanied with fear-mongering?  

I digress.  I've been here since 12/47 am, it's now 3:22 pm. The situation has gotten so desperate for dispatch that they are sending a driver up here, bobtailing in a tractor only, to retrieve the truck and potentially I am going with the driver. I can't legally leave a hazmat trailer here unattended, I can leave a tractor here.  That's up to them, however, I don't call the shots and I don't want to call that shot. If something happens, it's fully on them.

As it stands, I am still waiting for a mechanic to show up to try and fix the problem.  He called me a long time ago, diagnosing the problem over the phone - whether he is correct or not who knows without hooking up to the truck's computer - and attempting to find the parts.  He informed me I should go get a hotel room over at the casino.

Uhh, no, they won't do that, if it's that bad they'll have the truck towed.  So, who is coming first? The other driver or the mechanic? And what do I do if the driver arrives first? Call dispatch. The driver is here, what do you want me to do? I am not leaving this truck unloacked, I can tell you that, for that mechanic.  I have valuables in here and I can't take it all with me back to the yard in the other guy's truck.  Too much stuff.  

Oh, did I say I'm operating on 3 or less hours of sleep? Yes, go ahead and try to sleep with that constant dinging going on, as I am listening to now.  It's humid outside, it's making it too uncomfortable to shut the truck off.  

If I were to have shut down where I was going to last night - at the Love's in Okmulgee, this would be a completely different situation.  There wasn't any place to park so I drove clear on down here, where I know there is always a parking space somewhere.  They'd be towing the truck to Tulsa if I were up there and at the very least an overnight stay in a hotel.  And a lot of breakdown pay.  

They are desperate for the trailer I have, tho, they may have sent a bobtail up there as well, I dunno, but they wouldn't be wasting time with a mechanic, they'd just tow the thing.  

Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding....constantly...about twice per second, maybe 3 times actually, very loud, incessant, non-stop, hellish in nature.  No shut off for it, they do it on purpose, but to what end.  I got the message - over 12 hours ago thanks.  I don't need mother noise maker telling me about the problem, I know, I know, I know.  

Well, whatever. I'd like to milk this breakdown pay cow because I know that I either am going to be sitting home for a while or they'll try putting me in that pile of junk day cab.  Supposedly they fixed it, but still it's an ancient dinosaur, a relic from another era, a piece of history that belongs in the Smithsonian, not on the road.  

I wish I could sleep. Turning the truck off it will get to hot. Leaving it on, the constant dinging.  Like some sort of Chinese torture, there is nothing I can do.  Maybe turn it off and leave my little fan going, perhaps I can get a little sleep anyway, I figure it at least another hour, if not hours, before anyone shows up here. The other drive said at least 3 hours if not longer, he wasn't at home when they called him.  

I'm a bit cranky, I think I will  try turning this truck off and at least getting a few minutes of shut eye. 

 

 Concerned that they haven't called me about getting the Bobcat, I called them a few minutes ago.  Oh no, sir, we wait on you to call us. 

That was not communicated to me at the time of rental.  I was under the assumption from the way they were talking they would be about promptly on the 30th day to pick it up.

Now the thing is in limbo, I have no idea whether they are going to try to hit me for a few extra days - or what.  They "got busy" and will call me back later.  

Come get the thing, that's what I have to say about that.  I need a dozer if I'm going to continue on with this, not a bobcat.  They don't have dozers, of course.  

It's Monday and I'm heading back up to - where else - Oklahoma today.  Got bac from Brownsville early after noon yesterday. I was able to leave early morning, like getting up at 3:30 am and get that trip over with.  My only concern about this next pay period is if they get me something decent before it's up. Then I can have another decent paycheck versus what I will be getting this week.  This week reflects the first week of this new dispatcher - doing miserably at her job so far, hopefully will get better.

Apparently the idea that she isn't the friendliest person got back to her from whoever, she is now at least putting heart emojis on replies and making an attempt to use socially acceptable intro's to her texts.  Maybe she's just nervous, I dunno.  I just don't like the idea that we have to keep going through these new people, what kind of working conditions do they have over there that they keep quitting? 

Well, being the trucking industry? Probably not good.  The trucking industry is fairly brutal all around, no matter what part of it you are working in, tho the drivers get the lion's share of the bs,I'm speaking generally of the entire industry, not my particular job.  My job would be considered on the "easier" end of the scale what with not being out all the time, coming home after almost every run, the kind of pay we are getting and at least half decent management.

Well whatever. I'm still putting in emails to companies that claim they do the drawups for business plans.  I've got to find out how much that costs - I expect a couple thousand anyway if they are literallyi doing the entire site plan from start to finish.  Maybe more, I really don't know, never waded into these waters.  So far I have found 3 local companies that say they are architects, planning, draftsmen.  One of which is the surveying company that did the botched survey on the property.....

I haven't worked on the property in at least 3 days.  I took yesterday off - it was Sunday, my arrival at home was enough for me to just stay here.  Sundays are not good days for me to work and I had spent 10 hours on the road anyway.  

I can tell  ya, if I don't get a loan to do everything all at once? It's gonna be years at the rate I'm going before this thing is at any stage of "alllllmooooost done!".  Yes I expected that, but the reality of it isn't all that pleasant.  

My search for a rental dozer is going to ramped up today.  If I can find one, I'm taking several days off and just do that those  several days.  The company that came out said they would just pluck the trees out of the ground with an attachment on a track hoe.  That sounds ideal, but at $2,200 per acre, that's pricey as well.  15 grand just to clear the property.......maybe that's not too much, I dunno, but it's out of my affordability right now if I want to keep my 401k intact until I have to have it for the underground stuff.

This thing will either work itself out - or it won't. If it doesn't, it won't be because I didn't try until the very end.  I don't even know if the water install has taken place yet, that guy isn't exactly big on communication.  I'll be driving by there this morning to see if anything is happening. When he shows up, it should just be a one day install, if even a whole day.  I'm guessing it will take them 4 or 5 hours from start to finish, it's a pretty simple job for an experienced installer and he appears to have been doing this install for decades.  He was just questioning my need for a 2 inch tap.

Well that's enough.  I'm gonna hit up Waffle House (no waffles tho lol) for breakfast before heading into the yard.  This won't be a one day trip since I am loading at noon - that would put me at 3:00 am to get back to the yard and home.  Too late, ruins the next day getting to bed so late, I'll probably just hit the Casino truck stop up again on the way back and finish the trip tomorrow morning.  No, I haven't been gambling. I did a few months ago at another casino up near the plant up there when the truck broke down.  But I just hit up the bar top thing that you put money into - and won actually lol.

But, I'm pretty much giving up the "vices" and seeking the Lord.  That kind of thing interferes with your relationship with Him, IMO and I need it out of my life.  It might be all of these people that I know passing away in recent times, or just the need for His presence, or both, but I feel like I need to take a different direction than what I have been doing.

Y'all have a great day.

 And with that, I am done for the day.  I need a day off of all of this stuff.  Working or property - it gets a bit much.  After doing all of my chores around town, came home, started enjoying a keto crust pizza from  a local pizzeria and started up on laundry.  That will take all day long as it is.  

The SBA director wrote back and said he had a person that could help, he's got an email in for him, he will let me know when he replies.  I went over to the property to see if the water guy is out there yet - nothing.  I dunno, lol, this guy is a real character.  I'm not going to give it much longer before I switch to another contractor. 

There is nothing else, per se.  The dogs are - smelly and need baths.  The SUV just got new steps installed on it.  It didn't have any when I bought it, which I thought strange. James put the new set on and pulled off a broken mount from underneath it and said the whole thing was damaged. That answers that story: It came with them but someone drove into something and tore that side off.  So they just took both sides off instead of replacing it. Weird. It's 10 years old but it's still in great condition, hence I figured to keep it for a while longer while I'm trying to sort out loans and such.  

My credit score took an 80 point hit when my credit card payment for the bobcat went through and then the beginning of the month hit.  Yes, it's a larger sum of money, but they didn't even give me until the payment was due to hit my credit score with that nonsense.  I dumped the cash to pay that stuff off but I have no idea how long it will be before my score goes back up...a bit ridiculous to say the least.  

The small property sale is almost complete. The buyer has to pay to have the deed filed, pay the amount owed to me and we will have this thing done with.  I'll make around a grand off of it.  Another property will go up for sale after this one is complete.  One of them I really want rid of - there are large trees on it that need to come down. I'd just as soon pass that headache off to someone else.  

I guess I was wrong about the city council's intentions. I was at Chili's yesterday when this local guy that everyone knows showed up, we hadn't seen each other in a while so we spent quite a bit of time talking. He claims that the only vacant lots the city is wanting to address with even a class C misdemeanor if necessary are those with junky old houses on them that are uninhabitable, not purely vacant lots.  Id have to listen to that meeting again, it sure sounded like they were talking about all lots that have no one living on them. I can see wanting to get rid of old houses that are falling apart. They are an eyesore and they are dangerous.

Many of those come up for sale at all of the auctions, which is why you have to do your homework.  You don't want a lot with a house that has to be torn down on it, that will cost you thousands of dollars and good luck getting your money back out of it.  But I gotta tell you, if that IS true, I will buy several more of those at the year end sale where they start the bidding off at $30.  I am selling mine at thousands of dollars -even tens of thousands of dollars - less than comparable lots in the city.  I spend an hour or two buying them and then the agent takes care of the rest?  That's pretty easy money.  

I think that covers everything for now.  I'm going to turn on Dish and watch reruns of old western shows and relax, lol.

 The new dispatcher has the personality of a rock. Any social graces such as thank you, please, you're welcomes are lost on deaf ears.  She literally doesn't even want to talk to anyone, just send dry, curt text messages and nothing back. She asked me yesterday what trailer I had brought back and I told her in a return text. She didn't say thank you or anything, so a couple of hours later, I replied "you're welcome".  I didn't receive any response to that, either. 

Beyond that, since she started a week ago, I've only had 2 Oklahoma runs.  I mean, yes I love staying at home, but it doesn't pay the bills and doesn't get me ahead.  I'm spending some money right now. After I got back from that 14 days off, I was being given a lot of great runs with Oklahoma's interspersed into them. I didn't mind that, but next week's paycheck is going to be less than a thousand gross pay.  That doesn't work.  I've got $452 in new expenses every month starting the beginning of November. That was expected of course, and with normal running in the truck, I can easily afford it.  

To that end, I asked my manager about it the other day, he said he would look into it for me.  Of course, he is overworked and inundated with other driver's calls and texts, heard  nothing back. So, I just texted him again and of course heard nothing back - but that is normal for him.

Meanwhile, I am upping my search for a designer to blueprint my RV park.  I've been looking locally, finding nothing, I am now going out of my territory and looking for anyone in the US that specializes in it, of which there are several that I have found thus far and reached out to.  I also asked the SBA consultant if he knew anyone local, also awaiting any kind of word on that.

The land clearing company came out yesterday, but he wants a blueprint. He charges a flat rate per hour for his work, I said I needed an estimate and he just said give me a blueprint to work with.  Okay, well, that's where I've been stalled so far.  That isn't stopping me from going out to the property and cutting down trees, but even the chainsaws I bought are offering even more trouble than the first one I bought. These things are apparently heating up and the chain guides are warping.  Yes, they are adjusted properly and yes there is bar/chain oil in them.  Not sure what the problem is, the instructions give nothing beyond if it's heating up, make sure you have bar oil and the chain isn't too tight. lol

I was going to go to the tax sale auction the other day, but after taking another look at what was available and the starting bids, I scrapped that idea. I was off work that day, but it just seemed to me that I didn't need to be getting involved with another purchase of land right now. My money needs to be reserved for getting the property blueprinted.  I put up a local request on a facebook group for all of the estimates I need to get this thing moving along here. 

I really didn't think this was going to be an issue so I never looked before now.  Literally all I need is around 75 spaces, an office, a bathhouse, a swimming pool/jacuzzi, laundry, dog park, the electrical,water and sewer hookups and design, a pond dug out, the land cleared etc.  I mean, I know what it needs is the point, I'm not clueless, but I can't draw up blueprints!  Lol

Well, I have stuff to do today beyond the property, I can't spend all of my time out there.  The small property needs a paper notarized - totally forgot about it, probably making my realtor a bit unhappy, the house in AZ said the satellite isn't working - the bill is paid thank you, no clue what's going on there.  I need to go do some grocery shopping and I'd lik toget these dogs out for a walk.  The property will just take as much time as it takes. If it's years, it's years.  Shrugging my shoulders. I can't make anyone do anything faster than they are going to do it.

Even the water tap installer was questioning why I need a 2 inch tap?  I will need the capacity at a future date, please just install it. Well, you know a water meter that size is $1,100?  ..... he originally quoted $1,100 for the entire project, but that was a 3/4 install. Yes, sir, I know, it's not cheap. Neither is the 2 inch ball valve, the saddle or the copper tubing. The meter box should be cheap, about the only thing about that setup that won't cost a fortune. I originally figured 4 to 5 grand, it's probably going to cost me $2,500 to $3,000, so I'll consider that a wash.  

I've come to the conclusion the park area is going to have to be leveled, meaning clearing out all the trees.  I'll have to start all over with vegetation, unfortunately, but there is no way around it. I can't have a swimming pool on uneven lot and RVers aren't particularly fond of unlevel sites, especially in a new park.  the trees will come down and I will just have to plant new trees and shrubs.  It's a big loss in my book, but it has to be done. At least it's just small maple trees, not the giant majestic pines that are prevalent in the area.  The views surrounding the park will still be stunning, I do believe, plus I will still have the forested walking trails in the back. 

I was quoted, btw, $2,000 per acre to clear it all out.  Pretty penny, $14, 000 to clear it all off, I guess that's really not that unreasonable with large, heavy earth moving equipment and the experienced personnel doing the job, he said it would take less than a week to clear it all.  Yes, if I had access to a large trackhoe with the proper attachment, I could easily do all of that myself and save a  ton of money.  I'm still trying to find a bulldozer, plowing those trees down would be easy work for a large dozer.  These are things I am keeping in mind incase this loan doesn't go through. And I don't just want to stop working out there because I "might" get a loan.  That will easily take months at least to come up with an answer.  

Now what? I'm just looking up RV designers all over the country and sending off emails.  And waiting on my manager to give some kind of an answer as to what's going on .  Maybe there is something happening at work that I don't know about. There was a rumor that the plant was shut down, but I just got a text from another driver in the driver group saying he is loading. Obviously that can't be true.

Looking for another job right now is really nothing I want to do, so I'm keeping my tones down and good attitude, but I do want some answers.  

Well the day ain't gettin' any younger.

G'day.  

 Facebook experiencing worldwide disruptions lol.  I can't even access the site.  I think they said Myspace and Whatsapp - both Facebook owned social media platforms - are also down.  I think it would be wonderful if the site would stay down for say - a month.  Let people get used to not being on Facebook constantly and get used to living a - normal - life again.  Of course, that isn't likely to happen, but it would probably help this world immensely.  

I went out to the property early this morning and got with it.  I bypassed doing any RV park work and went straight to work on creating walking trails.  I spent something like 6 hours doing that total, plus the time I spent there the other day, got quite a lot done.  It isn't finished and isn't likely to be,l my time with that machine is running out.  I quit earlier than I would have liked, just got very warm and hence, quite fatigued.  

It wasn't the easiest work back there either. It's like a jungle back there, unchecked growth that was so thick it took quite a bit of time to work through any of it.  But it was something that I really wanted to at least get a good start on and that I did.

After I was through with that - got to dead ends, things in the way that the machine can't move and no alternate routes - I went back to work on the RV portion of the site.  

I'm not sure what's going on, perhaps a load being sent for tomorrow late, there is no reason I should not be going on a road trip somewhere tomorrow.  I'll gladly take another day to work on the property, but these dispatchers lately are sending loads late in the afternoon. It's 4:00 pm right now, that's getting late.  They don't seem to have a problem leaving people's lives - on hold.

I have been watching the democrat infighting and some of it is disgusting. People stalking Senator Sinema into a bathroom, protesting her stance on the reconciliation bill while she's using the toilet?  Kayakers going to Manchins house boat to protest his stance on the reconciliation bill as well?  There is no low for these people. Bloodlust for raw power, the biggest power grab we've probably ever seen in this nation's history.  I was aghast when I read yesterday that Sanders originally wanting six trillion dollars, and thinks 3.5 trillion is lowballing it. 

Or Biden declaring this bill costs zero dollars! Pelosi reaffirming that position.  And then you find out the stuff that is IN that bill and it's scary, to say the least.  Forget the money, they are attempting to reshape the culture and the belief systems of this nation.  It is utterly amazing, they have just caved to the far left progressive-Communist ideology, these people that are espousing this stuff are a small minority, yet you'd think they are literally running the party. And the hate and disdain they are expressing to the 2 aforementioned hold outs that refuse to kow tow to party lines.

The only thing I can do is send letters to representatives and senators, pray and hope for the best. Short of a civil war, I don't see these progressives being stopped. Eventually they will get their way, if not now, it will happen down the road.  Even more astonishing, at least to me, is these people think that most Americans are for this nonsense.  I sincerely doubt that.  I am quite certain most if not all Republicans and conservatives will never agree to anything with a price tag that high or having the government intruding into your personal business to such a degree.

Reporting to the IRS any transactions over $600 in your banking account?  You really think that average Americans, especially the middle class, aren't going to be on the receiving end of high taxation?  A mileage tax to drive your car?  And far more garbage buried inside that bill, it would be a huge stepping stone to out and out Socialism.

Whatever.  The dude that is supposed to install the water tap on the main line hasn't shown up nor has he called me.  I know 2 inch material for the project is readily available at any water works store.  It's common usage and they all keep it in stock.  The tap, the saddle,  the ball valve, the meter, everything should be easy to get.  So why this guy is neither doing the job nor calling me about it is unknown.  I will let a few more days pass and if he still doesn't show up, I will call him.  

Not in any great hurry to get it done, but now that the wheels are rolling, let's get it over with.  I do wonder if the city raised any kinds of alarms over my wanting a 2 inch installation.  

I'm not going to start making phone calls on the SBA information until after the Bobcat is gone. That thing is taking up my energies and I just don't have it in me to work with that thing all day and make phone calls.  I need to get estimates, I have contacted by email two companies who have not responded.  

Ugh. I completely forgot about getting a warranty deed paper notarized.  

Well, I'm invited to go to the fall festival at the 6 year old's school.  I'm planning on going, might as well see what they have to see and perhaps meet some of the teachers.  He's not my boy, of course, but he certainly has his attachments to me lol.  

With that, i think I'll take a short nap, then get the roast in the oven and then get ready to go. 

G'day. 

 Oklahoma run today, loading at noon.

The paperwork for the SBA loan is the headache I figured it would be.  So much information I will have to come up with, well beyond anything I had to do for the land loan.  

But, however long it takes to come up with all of this - quite a while I'm guessing - I think it will be worth it to at least try to get one of these loans. Otherwise I'm going to be short on the cash necessary to build the park and I will have to take out personal loans at much higher interest rate and subsequent higher payments.  

I'm going to get estimates for the whole, fell swoop done all at once. That will include a medium sized swimming pool with jacuzzi, fencing and bathroom at the pool.  Whether I get that or not is unknown, but it's something I have identified that would appeal to many more RV'ers, especially during the summer months when it's hot outside and not much to do without burning up.

It will also include a 4-room bath house quote - absolutely necessary, a small structure for washer/dryer set up, a small office, don't really need anything giant, digging out a pond in the back, the land clearing, lot set up and gravel, a dog park, small playground, all the picnic tables and fire rings, possibly cement patios, electric, water and septic install and whatever else I'm not remembering.  I'm thinking of going 80 lots instead of 60 to be able to pay for all of this stuff. If it has a swimming pool I can expect the place to be 80% full much of the time. Yes, that's much more money than I initially was thinking, but if I'm going to go for it, I might as well go for it all.  

The man at the SBA center can tell me what is realistic and what is not after he sees what I have come up with.  Right off the bat, I need to get a design company to produce a blue print for the park, something I didn't want to do because it probably is fairly pricey, but now I have no choice.

This is what I will be working on for quite a while, unless something else pops up that can finance it without having to go through all of that. 

Regardless, it's almost time to leave. Trucking will be, unfortunately for me, a thing that I will still have to do for some time to come.

G'day. 

 Brownsville, Texas.

I have a day or so to go on Facebook suspension.  There are a few people's pages I would have liked to have been able to say something.  I have no regrets on my activities that got me the suspension, it will likely happen again and sooner or later, they will delete my account and then....I will have to decide whether I want to bother with Facebook.  

My thought processes lead me back to an SBA loan today.  The loan officer I had originally talked to about getting an SBA loan left out one very important detail that would have had me pursuing an SBA loan if I had known it at the time.  

This is how this went down today.  I started thinking, I'm going to have to take a loan of some kind regardless if I do this myself or if I have sub contractors helping me out.  If I end up doing a personal loan, the interest rates are high. The payments are high because of it - well that and short terms.  I thought, what if I could get a much bigger loan but at a much lessor interest rate?  The payments might not be so far off from each other.  

After much pondering, I decided I would be wondering about this for - a long time - if I didn't at least try to get one of these loans.  Remember, I have to make that decision before I start using my 401k money.  I haven't cashed it out - yet - but if I spend any of it on building the property, there goes any kind of high dollar loan out the window. All of that money would have to go as down payment or whatever they are calling it to get - 250k is what I want.  

So, I texted my next door neighbor who is a banker and runs 2 banks.  He had told me he knows the guy that does SBA loans in another town and he could introduce him to me.  Before going on, I just found out a few minutes ago my neighbor has tested positive for Covid. He is in good health, I suspect he will not have any great problems with it.  

He texted me back the name of the man that runs the bank and the name of the bank - said he was driving and didn't have the phone number, but to contact him, tell him I am your neighbor and I sent you.  So, after I got through Houston and then all the construction down south of it - rain/thunder storms and terrible driving conditions - I called. Ended up he had to call me back, told me what I have to do to get one of those loans: Call such and such man at the small business help center (or whatever it's called, sorry, I've heard a lot of different names in the last several days and I am not good with names to begin with) and he will help you put all the paperwork together including the projections you will need.  

He basically said they would do all of the paperwork for me, or most of it anyway.  Trust me, there is a lot of paperwork to fill out. If you remember, I was writing about this months ago, I decided against it because I would have to pay a firm to do all of this stuff for me, I couldn't possibly, legitimately, come up with those kinds of numbers and even if I could, a bank likely wouldn't be taking my word for it.  They want experts to sign off on it. My objection to that at the time as well as now was I didn't want to pay some firm thousands of dollars for something that I am not guaranteed to receive.  

Here comes the part I didn't know: That SBA center? Is a government financed agency.  The first loan agent I talked told me nothing about this agency and  - may not know about it himself? The second revelation was the best part: it costs me nothing.  It's financed by Mother Government and Mama says they be giving away such stuff for nothing.  Yup, your taxpayer dollars at work, the things we sometimes find out about, revelations, that are actually surprising.  I'm not one for government handouts, but if this is the way to get the loan - which the bank officer said it was the only way they would finance me - then there you go.

What kind of hellish nightmare am I in for giving these people all the information they will need? I have no idea.  I do believe it will be far more involved than the loan for the land.  

But think about it, if I  could get a 250k loan, what that implies.  I simply pay a construction company to come out and clear the land - or not - I'm not sold on that even with that kind of money. The reason is that I don't want them cutting down all the trees and I can't really get a feel for how the thing can be laid out until I get all that junk out of there while at the same time leaving up the bigger trees.  I could just lay out the blue print which is in my mind on paper and say okay, any trees - here - stay up - any trees here - come down.  But in my mind, it's just not that simple and I will continue to work on clearing the land by hand until something different - if something different - occurs.  

So lets' get past the land clearing.  I will need a blue print for them to finance this, that's just common knowledge.  There are firms that specialize in RV parks that can do this, it would be the only out put of money I know of that I would have to do for this loan - unless this agency also does that as well.  I doubt it tho, RV parks are a specialty thing.

Regardless, a 250k gets me an office, a laundry room, a  4 room bath house, all the lots and the driveways created, around 300 tons of gravel (maybe more, not sure about that yet), the electricity, water lines and septic installed, a dog park, a playground, a pond built in the back  and possibly even a swimming pool installed with a jacuzzi.  In this scenario, I would still create my own walkways in the back of the property, just something I'd like to do.  And the tent campsites, I don't need a contractor for that. It would include a picnic table and a fire ring at every lot.  It would hopefully allow for a pavilion - a covered gathering area for large parties that might come or just the people that are there to use as a gathering place.  

This park would be built much faster than my current time table and it would be far better endowed with amenities that I want to have with the park.  I am so far off with having to take any steps beyond land clearing that I am definitely going to at least try going the SBA loan route. 

I did call the man at the SBA center, but he was unavailable - it was near closing time.  I should hear back from him tomorrow, if not I will be calling back lol.  

Really, after finding out the government pays for an agency to help you with all the paperwork, that was all I needed to hear.  It's not information that I had heard anywhere before today, not even in the RV build groups.  I should have taken my neighbor's advice and offer to call that banker sooner. I'm not experienced at this, I am wading through unknown waters, it's a nice challenge but it can be a bit perplexing.  This information was more "finding out by accident" than anything.  A Godsend, tho, as far as I'm concerned.  

So tomorrow, I hope to talk to this  man and get a feel - or direct information - of what I will need to do to get this process started. I am sure it's a process, dunno how long it takes.  A month, months, no idea. I'm probably months out from getting all of that land cleared so I don't have any looming decisions to make beyond what I have already decided on - the water install and the survey marking out the entire eastern side of the property.  I do hope that takes him less than a day to do, at $125 per hour, that could get expensive.  My great interest is the portion of the property in the front - how far east does it go?  Can we set some stakes in the ground starting at the road and going all the way back t where the trees start and then, ribbons around the trees?  

Yes, he is going to do that, sometime this coming month.  Well, October is virtually here, a few more hours and there it is lol.

What if this SBA loan doesn't work out? The lady I talked to at the center today said they do the paperwork for "all kinds of business loans, not just SBA loans".  Oh?  I didn't ask, she just said the SBA loans give the best interest rates.  What other types of loans are there? What do they want up front? I will find that out of SBA doesn't work.  As I have said, I will find a way to finance this venture. It's not if I can, it's how it will happen.  Personal loan, HELOC loan, SBA loan, other type of business loan, who knows, maybe someone with money that I haven't thought of will offer a loan.  That's not a hint, I'm just saying, there are many ways this could work out.  I will exhaust every avenue until I find some way to make it work.  

And with that? It's almost 9:00 pm and I have - well need - to get up at 5:00 am, to leave here around 5:30 am.  I ran into all kinds of traffic snarls today with the rain and slow downs with visibility reduced to almost nothing, everyone slowed down, but for good reason.  I got here later than I would have normally without all of those delays, so I'm leaving later than I would like to because of it.

G'nite. 

 Started early - 4:30, got back up to Longview at 2:45 pm, got out of the yard and headed straight to the property. Got on the Bobcat and got busy for 2 hours.  

I could have stayed out there longer, plenty of daylight, but this is a grueling schedule.  I have to go straight back down to Brownsville in the early AM, 2 hours was all I could handle. And more hornets trying to get at me, stirred up yet another nest = somewhere. I see old, rotten wood and I get a bit - respectful of the idea that there may be yet another hornet's nest under there.

And believe me, I was upending a lot of old, rotten logs.  They have to go.  Put them in piles and get them ready to burn.  I've got 5 huge piles in the back going now.  I'll likely set them all on fire after the Bobcat is gone.  My days with that Bobcat aren't over, I'll need it again, I just won't get it for a whole month.  I really need my own machine.  Just too much debt.  For now anyway.  

My focus right now is use the machine until they come get it. Chainsaw work can wait. If I can get others out there using the chainsaws, they can do that, but I still have ample Bobcat work.  I got down in the rear of the property and started clearing out a path where there was once a drive.  

That took quite a while, but it was worth it.  I still have the rest of the rear to go.  It was steep down that hill, I was afraid of tipping the thing over but it's pretty stable machine. There is hill to go in the rear of the property - and it's bad back there.  Vince, thorn vines, thorn bushes everywhere.  But, there is still plenty of Bobcat work at the rear of the RV park portion.  

I can only do what I can do.  But interestingly, I'm feeling more energetic.  Figure that. More work equals more energy? Seems like it would be the other way around. Must be the almost 4 years of sitting in a driver's seat of a truck and now getting out and getting some real movement .

.......
 

Umm, that's all the time I have.  It's bedtime and another long drive tomorrow.

g'nite

 Beautiful Wednesday morning. Heading up from Brownsville, if I get back early enough I’ll run over to the property and get some more work done. 

 As normal for this app, the 3 minute video I uploaded didn’t show up. I also didn’t get after a days work pics. 

 Long, hot day.

I started working on the rear of the rv site because the front - is just more than I want to deal with right now. The rear was open land with lots of trees, yes, but nothing like the front.  I'm worn out.  I was on the machine all day long and I can tell ya, it ain't as easy as it looks. 

This is the type of work that I was doing at a younger age and - even then I still got worn out, but I only put in maybe 7 hours today.  I got lots done tho.  

Another hornet's nest was in cue as well, unbeknownst to me.  I don't know what log or whatever they were in, but they started swarming the Bobcat.  I high tailed it out of there back to my vehicle and hopped in my SUV before they could sting me and go into attack mode.  The Bobcat needed fuel and I hadn't eaten anything, so I mosied up to Applebee's for a spell, refreshed myself, went and got diesel and went back out there.

Dumped a coffee can worth of diesel on a large pile of trees and shrub and junk I had piled up and got it going  - a little.  I figured since there is a huge tree trunk in that mix already partially burned, I could get something going. Oh, I called the county as well, they want to know about controlled burns.  You know, in case it becomes uncontrolled lol. But I had a dirt ring around it that went well off in each direction, wasn't really concerned about a forest fire.

But, Brandon showed up anyway lol. He's my friend's fried who is a volunteer county firefighter.  Apparently the powers that be wanted him to come out and check that I wasn't fixing to burn down the entire neighborhood.  He ended up going out there after I left to put out the smoldering pile - I'm going to let that stuff sit a few weeks and dry out a bit and then try again. I have 5 piles out there now, they are all going to be set on fire on whatever day I get around to doing that.  I'm actually glad he went out there and doused that, I am fairly confident that nothing would have happened but you never know.

After I did all that I could handle - and getting bugs in my face all day long. Well, let's stop there. When I got back there, the hornets were no where to be seen.  But I was obviously disturbing lots of bug habitat because all kinds of - flying things - were trying to get into the cab of the Bobcat and do whatever they were going to do. I don't even know what some of those flying bugs were to be honest.  The hornets and the giant wasp were the ones that got me going pretty good, lol.

I also identified an area where Taylor could have a garden.  I want to know where she wants one, I'd like to plow it up and at least have it semi-ready.  

Covered in dirt from head to toe, I wished I had water out there to hose myself off at least before getting into my vehicle.  Arms looks like dirt piles, face, hair neck, everything.  

To that end, I just called one of the contractors and he said he'd get going on it -right away. I sort of expected it to take - months- like everything else takes around here to get done.  Nope, he was warning me it would take "48 hours" for some kind of whatever he was talking about to happen first.  48 hours? I guess he thought I was going to complain about it, I was like, wow, that's great! No rush.  You know what the really cool thing is? He quoted me $1,100 for it.  Now, that was a 3/4 inch tap, I'm wanting 2 inch so I'm guessing we're talking around 2k.  Still, I was amazed.  I had discussed my thoughts about this in previous posts on here a long time ago, thinking 3 to 5k, probably closer to 5.  

He was a bit taken aback with the 2 inch request.  Uhhhh, well, okay!  This guy has redneck written all over his voice lol.  So I'm getting water out there.  Had to do it sooner or later.  Just sort of didn't want to spend the money so soon, but it's a need that can't be ignored.  Electric can wait and septic will wait until much further down the line.  

Progress. It may be slow and it will be slow, but I am motivated to make this happen, however long it takes.  Lord willing......

Brownsville in the am.  It got late in the day, I thought I wasn't going to get a run tomorrow and was making plans to run the machine all day tomorrow.  I'm afraid I'll be working until my 70 hours are up again.  Maybe I'll get an Oklahoma and get it done in a day and have the next day off - I really need the time on that machine before it goes back.  

I'm still just in awe of all of these people I have known for decades that have all passed away in a very short period of time.  That just doesn't seem normal.  

Well, anyway, I need to get offa here. Dinner is soon and I just want to relax.  

 "my mother's kidney and liver are failing. they have her on a ventilator and lots of meds to help keep her In a coma and out if pain. .please help in anyway you can."

This is heart wrenching. I've known this person since I was in my teens.  Covid is unforgiving to people who are already fighting some other disease.  She was diagnosed with cancer almost at the same time her father was, another person I knew for 40 plus years. He succumbed to the devastating effects of cancer that had spread through out his body and was buried last week.

You read that right, he just died. And now, she is dying and there is nothing but an act of God otherwise known as a miracle that will help her.  Medicine only goes so far.  Can you imagine the agony of a family line losing 2 people in that short of a time frame?  Her husband is not dealing with this well, I also know him.  

If she passes, this will be 4 people that I have known since I was either a teenager or even in my single digit age that have died within the last several months. 

____________________

I started this post last night.  8 hours ago, my friend passed away.  Her daughter was there with her, holding her hand until the last breath.  My friend's dad passed away less than two months ago. I've known both of these people since the late 70's.  Another friend passed away around 3 months ago - I knew him for about 30 years.  My cousin passed away something like 4 months ago.  I was not very close with her and she didn't like our side of the family.  We did talk on facebook messenger here and there but that was it. 

But all of this in such a short period of time. The daughter is, of course, in agony, a torrent of emotions overwhelming her as the reality that both grandpa and mom are gone.  

She had cancer but Covid came along and preyed on that cancer situation and took her life.  She was 52.  I may have to find the time to go to this funeral.  I would likely know many of the people that would show up, people I haven't seen or talked to in decades. I doubt it's going to be anything fun, but I feel the need to go.  I'm just not sure about whether I have to have the vax to fly - if I do I won't be going as it will take too long to drive there and back.  

May sound selfish, but I need not go into the reasons why I refuse to get the vaccination regardless of the consequences.  Mostly, my health and life are at stake and I believe the vax will do more harm than not getting it and getting Covid.  As far as I know, I have already had Covid anyway.  If I didn't have it, then what was it I had when everyone else in the house had it?  It appears as tho for domestic travel you need only wear a mask.  

_____________________

It's relatively early, 8:00 am Monday morning.  I'm going to spend the entire day working at the property. The homeless guy was asked by his regular person to go work with him, so I'm going it alone.  It is what it is. I wish I could at least take the dogs, but I can't focus on keeping them nearby and working at the same time. I will be mixing it up between the machine and the chainsaw all day long. I'm going to take the machine to the back of the intended rv park and start cleaning up the brush filled clearing back there.  No trees to have to come down at all.  I will work on taking down trees back there as well, the front can wait for another day.  It doesn't really matter, it all needs to come down so where I am working isn't really that relevant.  

But I was on Facebook - of which I am still under a 30 day suspension which is up at the first of October (and I make no guarantees how long it will be before I get suspended again, I'm not going to be nannied and mothered by a social media outlet) - and read of the passing of my friend last night, so I felt compelled to get on here and make some kind of entry.  Haven't been doing as many entries lately - but I have been rather busy. Work has been shoving the loads at me and of course there is the property. If it's not one, it's the other.  

This is part of an entry I was writing yesterday when I got distracted..." I would like to say that I have my "act" together with this project, but I seriously do not.  

The new chain saw that threw the chain the other day? I got home from work this morning and started trying to figure out what the deal was.  It took me a while to figure out that this brand new chain saw with a brand new chain that hadn't been used more than an hour and half? The chain was already bad.  

I've done a lot of chain sawing in my lifetime, never have I had that happen. Yes, there was ample suppy of bar oil, the whole thing was amply coated with it.  I wondered if they had put the wrong size chain on at the thing at the manufacturer.  

Whatever the case, once I realized the chain was binding up in the bar, I put a new chain on it and walaah, the thing worked fine.

So, I headed over to the property after messing with that thing for well over an hour - at least I know how to replace a chain on it now - and got to work.  I realized the bar oil jug was missing. James located it - on the front porch where I had absent mindedly left it the other day. 

A lady in a late model pickup stopped out front. Lots of people are curious what I am doing out there.  I walked up to her - she might have useful information, if nothing else, she's probably a neighbor and I want to meet everyone.  She went into the history of my property. Mr. Cook - the road is named after him - had a hay meadow going where all of these trees are currently at. What? Really? 

She went on to say she can't imagine trying to cut all of that down with chainsaws, she has an acquaintance that does land clearing - for a price of course.  $125 an hour.  

That's pretty expensive, I replied. She says, yes but he his very good at it and can get it done fast.  It's very tempting. If could spend a few thousand dollars and get a lion's share of that done quickly, I would consider that money well spent.  

But, I spent the money on these chainsaws. I gave up on it today. It's Sunday, I forgot the bar oil, I already drove today to finish out the Oklahoma route, fix the chainsaw, go over there, forget the bar oil - I just gave up..    "

______________

So there it is.  I knew this time was coming - when I would have to force myself to get up and get out of here and go to the property and go to work. I can't say it's been easy.  I could easily just sit here all day long, after all the driving I've been doing lately, and just call it recuperation day.  Easily....do.....that. 

But I can't. It's something that must be done, in my mind anyway. I went through all of this hellish stuff to get this property, now I have it, the time is here.  But I know I will be driving all day tomorrow - likely anyway.  I'm no spring chicken and I don't have the energy I once had, but, I think I can get it done, it will just take longer than it might if I were 20 years younger.  

I think America is in for some dark times with this current administration.  If Afghanistan is a taste of things to come, we are not in for a fun ride.  Congress is hastily determined to pass 5 trillion worth of instant debt.  I still sit in wonder at that amount of money - and who is going to get all of this money?  What kind of shady deals are going on that we don't know about? Who is going to get instantly rich off of all of this?  What kind of personal gains might these politicians be getting that we know nothing about?  Who is holding these people accountable? Who is going to oversee all of this ocean of money to ensure it is spent according to the purposes it was intended for and that it won't be rife with waste and fraud?  WHO is going to pay for all of this? We are already seeing it - it's going to be dumped on the backs of working Americans who are already paying taxes through the nose for everything.  I could show you one of my paychecks as proof of that statement....

My only answer is that whatever is happening, it is a spiritual battle and God is still God, still sitting on the Throne and still the Creator.  My only question is, is my name written in the Lamb's Book of Life?  Because everything else that goes on in this life pales in comparison to the answer to that question.  The reality of all of these people that I have known that have passed away bring that to the forefront.  

Whatever the case, time is slipping away and I must go to work.

G'day.  

 If it isn't one thing, it's another.

Getting back to the yard yesterday, I heard a loud hissing sound when I got out of the truck.  I tire with a fresh, giant bolt in it.  Got that fixed, got to work this morning - they are working me hard - got loaded and had yet another flat tire on the trailer.  I dunno, someone threw some bolts or something on the ground at the yard.

So now, I'm sitting in front of a closed tire shop waiting for them to show up and repair the tire.  There will be no one day trip on this Oklahoma run, I'll be doing good to make it back to the casino truck stop tonight.  Supposedly the guy is on his way.

Meanwhile, I paid for an overnight delivery for antibiotics for James, he has a sinus infection.  It was allegedly delivered yesterday - which it was not.  I had no idea how hard it is to actually talk to anyone on the phone at UPS.  The system will tell you your problem does not qualify to speak to an agent and it hangs up on you. 3rd try was the charm.  A philippino gal answered - you can always tell by their accent and twang to their voices - said they would start an investigation that would take "1 to 8 business days".  Are you serious?

She didn't care. She's just an incoming call center attendant, programmed (trained) to give whatever the company tells her to give, written on her computer screen.  I paid extra $25 for overnight delivery.....the UPS driver lied.  I looked at the cameras for yesterday, the UPS driver drove by our house at 5:04 pm, he wasn't anywhere to be seen at the 2:00 pm he claims he delivered the package.  

Whatever the case, after work yesterday I drove to the property, got out the wasp spray and sprayed that entire area down, including the old tree with numerous large holes in it that looked like entry ports for - wasps or whatever.  Once I started spraying that old rotten tree, I didn't linger, I ran out of there in case there was another hive inside of that thing.  My bee suit finally showed up, I will have that on the next time and leisurely look at the entire situation.  

cutting this short, tire guy is replacing the tire and I'm almost ready to leave.

G'day

 Wednesday was not, unfortunately, a day where I got much of anything done work-wise on the property.  I ended up driving to Longview, eating breakfast at Waffle House - getting the runs from that and ending up in the restroom at Home Depot. After that lovely affair was concluded, I bought 2 chainsaws and several other items property related.

Coming back to the property,  a county road crew was out there working on the road right in front of the property. No clue, I didn't ask them to come, probably all the "important" people that live along that road get their way when it comes to keeping things maintained. The pervasive opinion from those in the county that don't have such privileges is that the roads are horrible. 

Yup, there are definitely horrible roads in the county, probably as there are in any county.  Counties don't generally enjoy giant budgets where they can do whatever they want or even need. I picked the right road to do this on, that's what I can say lol.  Regardless, I decided to wait to dump the diesel fuel on the hornet's nest. If it didn't work out - well I didn't want all of those workers to be getting stung by angry hornets.

I cam back later and they had moved on down the road.  So, dogs in tow, I poured a coffee can full of diesel - bought 2 fuel containers at Home Depot as well, one for diesel to start fires and kill hornet/wasp nests and the other to mix my own 2 - stroke fuel for the chainsaws. They want $19.95 per gallon for it at both Home Depot and Lowe's, unbelievably high prices for something I can mix myself for less than half of that price.

I posted video of it - well I posted it on my YouTube account.  I cant post anything on Facebook at all - for another 8 days I think.  I can't even like people's posts lmao.  I think it's funny that Facebook thinks these measures will help their business succeed.  I do like doing live videos on Facebook tho, I will get back to that after this suspension is over.  But don't be shocked if they suspend me again or even delete my account. I know several people whose accounts have been permanently deleted for "violations". 

Anyway, I crept up to the nest - easy to remember where that chaos was located - and stood there for a few minutes attempting to identify exactly where the hornets were going in and out.  One of them came up near me and hovered there - weird stuff.  They weren't particularly interested in my presence, they didn't know the violence I was about to enact on them. They caused me serious pain and suffering, I was ready to pay them back.  I shouldn't have brought the dogs with me, but they wanted to go...

So, I walked up, poured the entire can of diesel fuel into the hole and ...ran for my life! lol  Bashed my head into a tree attempting to get out of there, but boogied nicely once I got past all of that.  Got out to the street and just stood there, waiting to see if they were going to chase me?  Nope.  In fact, I very slowly walked back to the nest. Nothing coming at me, tho I didn't get too close, I think I wiped them out.  

Yet, there is the issue of all of the hornets that were out foraging for food.  They had to come back. And then what? I assume they move somewhere else and start building a new nest.  

I did not come back later, it was something I figured I'd get back to next time I have time off.  Well, I"m getting up at 4:00 am tomorrow morning and heading out of here. I'm in Brownsville yet again - a nice change for getting some good runs and getting some decent paychecks starting this week, after 3 weeks of very low paychecks and not covering basic bills.  I have a new payment coming up with the property payment and I can't be doing this low paycheck stuff.

I bought 7 cans of hornet spray in large cans that spray up to 27 feet.  That's exactly what I"m going to do when I go back there - hopefully tomorrow - and use a whole can or more of it on there and make sure at least that nest is completely wiped out.  

It also dawned on me that dude living in that storage place. I am going to try to get him out there on any days I can't get James out there - he's basically only available on weekends and now that he's doing the volunteer fire department stuff, well, that may lesson his availability even moreso.  Whatever the case, I need to find someone I can get to go out there and actually work - versus looking at cell phones - and get stuff done. With 2 chain saws I can see getting that forest cut down of the garbage relatively quickly - with help of course.  

I am probably going to be put on a 34 hour reset after this run, so I hope to have Saturday off as well.  I will work all day long, I think anyway lol. The temps are coming down and being outdoors is much more pleasant right now.  

Not a lot else. I was just listening in on Zoom to over 2 hours of the city council meeting. Proposing wasting money on useless stuff while the entire city complains about the horrible road conditions that they won't even entertain anyone addressing them on.  They also had some dude going on with a presentation how the city should adopt an ordinance to fine people that own vacant lots.  It was even proposed that it be classified as a class C misdemeanor and a $500 fine.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing and I couldn't believe they were actually entertaining this man's nonsense.  

The property I put up for sale is moving through.  The man really wants it - I'm more than happy to unload it on him.  He can buy the other two properties cheap as well if he wants, I will never buy another property in that city again if that nonsense goes through. They didn't vote on it tonight, it was a second address from whoever that dude is to attempt to sway the council's favor in his favor. Remember, this city is out in the middle of Nowhere, Nothing and the idea that they are acting like some big city and adopting big city codes is stupid and ridiculous. People move out here for the country feel, not the big city feel. 

Meanwhile, they put out a two page list for the next tax lien sale.  I will not be asking for the day off, but if I happen to have it off, I will go.  It has 5 properties listed that are 2 acres or less on there. In the county of course. Why do I want more property?  A small property in the county, I can buy a mobile home, fix it up and rent it out.  Easy income, not a lot spent compared to what I"m looking at now, something that could even fund this venture, or at least help it along.  If there is as property selling for 2 grand and it doesn't get bid up, I will buy it.  Just one, yes, but it will be much easier to simply set a house on it and call it good. Or even have several mobiles on it, I don't really care and I know at the right price I can rent them out.  I'm not going to spend a lot of time on it, but I will try to look up the properties on the county site and see satellite pics if nothing else.  

I think with that, I am off to bed.  Hoping to get back to Longview by 2:30 - 3:00 at the latest and then drive straight to the property  and get some stuff done.  That may be wishful thinking, but it's a goal lol.

G'nite.