Thursday

Work hasn't slowed down yet, since the other driver was moved to the main branch. What was going to be a slow day turned into something totally different when I arrived at work. A delivery, a pickup and another delivery, then a call after the second delivery that I had to do another pick up, to to the main branch and then do yet another delivery. A couple hundred miles worth of driving and yes, it feels good to feel like I'm working again.

I'm a bit out of it - I decided to start that fast that I've been considering doing. I've done many of them before, but it's been quite a while since I've been on one and - definitely not the easiest thing in the world. I've found that if I fast long enough, my head clears out, I start to feel MUCH better and the body clears itself of toxins. I also sleep better, amazingly enough.

However, the empty belly grumbling and making noises isn't the funnest thing in the world. I do not plan on doing a long one this time - I'm just not used to it anymore. I'm going to try 3 days and then go off of it, and then come back and do another one - longer - in a few weeks or even a month off. Although - if I make it 3 days - a strange phenomenon occurs where the hunger basically goes away. Doesn't do much for energy levels, though. I think my longest was 10 days. The benefits are always worth the sacrfice of not eating or drinking anything but water.

I will probably go to bed much earlier than normal tonight just because of the fact I have little energy.

I have heard nothing new at work - yet - about the meeting the big wigs had with our local management. That certainly doesn't mean that decisions weren't made - who knows. I'm just waiting to see what, if anything, may happen. The company is all about cutting costs right now - obviously as all companies are - I just know that the labor pool is not exempt from that cost-cutting campaign.

Anyway, sometime in the next 2 days I have to put a fresh coat of paint in that empty bedroom for the short-term tenant, who is showing up - well probably not until Monday, actually. She was going to come in on Sunday night, but it won't be until after 10:00pm, far too late for me. She'll stay at a friend's until Monday and then come over. However, I am going to have the room prepared before that - never know if a person might show up early.

The rent money from her is going to installing a doggy door in the wall in the utility room to prepare this place for summer. I want that done now. I do NOT want to just let it go and then not get it done, the amount of cooling lost through the current door is substantial. Of course, I'm not cooling the place, so it doesn't matter. I'm not heating it, either. Pretty much a foregone conclusion I ain't coming up with the money for an awning, this is the next best thing.

Anyway, gonna keep this one "short" - gotta go out and clean up dog dung before it gets dark.

C'yall - whenever - have a great evening!
ben

Wednesday

Grilling is such wonderful bliss. A nice, cool day with the breeze blowing, got home from work and cooked up the 6 remaining burger patties on the grill. I just think the taste is so much better than pan frying.

The big boys came through yesterday, toured the property and then left. I wasn't there, us "workers" arrive early and leave early. Getting up early every day is a lifestyle that has it's perks and it's drawbacks. Many people like to stay up late - which I used to, but over the years of getting up as early as 3:00am for work, I have gotten very used to going to bed early and not "missing" anything about the night life - at all.

Anyway, today was pretty good. Because I am the only driver - as I have said in a couple of posts now, I get all the driving work there is to do, it is not divided by 2 drivers and I am busy most of the day - the first 3 days of this so far, anyway. There was no news of what might be on the horizon after the big guys were here - but there was a big meeting at the main branch this morning - the big guys there holding that meeting - again, have heard nothing, yet, about the outcome. Undoubtedly, the news will hit - just have to wait and see.

I'm still trying to decide whether I want to do this party. I want to yes, but do I really want to get involved with something that is publicized over the local news media? I mean, there are people wanting to do all kinds of things - a lady that is a masseuse wants to bring her chair and do free massages. Undoubtedly a marketing ploy to try and get new business. A couple of people wanting to bring the group and do music. I dunno - I'm just considering whether a huge, publicized event is really the way I want to go with this.

The big news was the President was here - all of 6 miles away from our Chandler store at a local high school - talking about mortgage refinancing at low interest rates. I'm already in the market - but I'm STILL waiting to hear from my own mortgage company to see what they may be able to come up with.

That's it. I'm a bit tired - not sleeping well this week for whatever reason. Took too long a nap after work and - am now paying for that AND the lack of sleep.
ben

Tuesday

An interesting occurence today at work.
THere is a particular contractor that we are "forced" to deliver to - the guy that runs the show at the site is not a pleasant man. Not at all. I have been delivering to this company, that site and this man for almost the 3 years I have worked at my current company. The man has yelled at me, insulted me, hurled all kinds of nastiness my way - for no good reason and has done the same with other drivers.

He also gets into frequent arguments over the phone with the salesman whose account it belongs to.

Anyway. I'm making a rush delivery - whatever it is they're doing out there, they want this stuff today. The salesman brings the material from downtown to our branch that we don't have, the truck is already loaded, I take off.

This is at an Intel plant where they make microprocessors, so you have to go through the gated entry, turn the truck off, open the hood, give them your driver's license number, on and on. It takes 5 minutes just to get through THAT process alone. A pain, yes, but part of the job, I just smile and give the same information every single time.

I get through there and drive by their yard where they store their material. No-one there. I go by one of the jobsites they are working on out there, no-one there. I go to the third and final place that I have delivered to at that plant in the past - no-one there, either. I don't just wait around and hope something happens. I start making phone calls. The phone number for this foreman isn't on the paperwork, so I call the inside salesman. He puts me on hold and comes back on and tells me HE doesn't have this guy's phone number, either. Wonderful. He says to me: "I don't know what the (bleep) to do in a situation like this". Well, I do.

Standard operating procedure - call the company's main office to get a phone number for the foreman. I tell the salesman that's what I'm doing, he says fine and that's that. I call the company, a rather sweet-sounding lady gets on the phone, I tell her I need the foreman's phone number cause' I can't find him out there. She replies that she can get me his number, but that if I need directions, there is a man sitting right next to her that can tell you.

Great. This man gets on the phone, I introduce myself and tell him where I'm at. He says no, that's not where I'm supposed to be. Okay, where do I need to go? We finally get it straight that I am AT the place I'm supposed to be at. "Well, there's no one out here, not even any equipment. I didn't know who this man was, but he got pissed in a fast hurry, said he didn't know where the f*** those guys were at but that he would find them and send them over in a hurry.

Umm, okay, thanks. That didn't sound good, but - I do what needs to be done to get someone notified that a truck is sitting there, waiting.

Now, not 2 minutes later, this man drives up with a look on his face. He's glaring at me. I get out of the truck and say my cordialities - regardless of how sour this guy is going to be, I'm always professional in demeanor with him. He asks me if I was the one who just called the main office. Yes sir, I didn't see you guys out here and I didn't know where to take this material to. "Well, what's the problem, you don't have my number?". No sir, it's not on the ticket, and I called the inside salesman who didn't have your number, either.

I KNEW something was going on. He takes the ticket from me, tells me he'll meet me at the yard, and then immediately gets on the phone.

I have had run-ins with this guy before, the best thing to do is simply be totally respectful and keep myself out of trouble as best as possible. The problem is, this guy IS a trouble-maker, owns his own universe, and we're just a part of it for his entertainment.

Delivery made, I get back to the yard, get in the semi which is already loaded, drive downtown and deliver that pipe, back to my yard, and then I hear from my co-worker that he had heard the boss talking to the outside salesman about what had happened.

NOTHING happened, really. But sure enough, that foreman had called the outside salesman, harped on him. The outside salesman called my boss and asked him why I'm calling the main office? Fortunately for me, the boss stood up for me. The salesman said I should be reprimanded for it.

Lol. This particular salesman also owns HIS own universe and EVERYONE should do things HIS way. My boss is asking him what I was supposed to do in a situation like that? He basically told this salesman that if we can't get a hold of either salesman on the account, and the salesman didn't put a phone number on the ticket, then we ARE going to call the main office.

Now, let me tell you, the man I talked to at the main office? I was totally respectful, congenial, nice, cordial, all that stuff with him on the phone as well. Didn't have a clue what title the man held, but it was obvious from the way he was talking he was definitely higher up the ladder than this guy at the job site. And so it was - turned out the guy is the vice-president of the entire company!!

So, basically, surmising that the foreman got into trouble for not having his crew over there working. They were NOT working, but who knows what - maybe they were on lunch break. Apparently, whatever they were doing, they should not have been doing it, though, cause that vice-president got hotter than the sun's surface in a fraction of a second when he realized I was where I was supposed to be and NONE of them were over there doing anything.

Well, at least I didn't get into trouble - and rightly so, common sense. I make claims that I still have some of it, regardless of whether half the rest of this world doesn't.

I've just gone through 20 more emails from 20 more people/families who want to chip in to do this next party that I really haven't even committed to doing yet! Lol. Could have enough food to feed half of Phoenix! Okay, not really, but you get the picture. I want to do it, I'm just trying to decide what weekend, and which day on the weekend to do it. I want to pick a weekend where there is nothing going on in Phoenix in terms of big events, and definitely not on any holiday weekend. I figure Saturday is better - or is it? Yeah, probably - gives me a "recovery day" - and if this thing is going to be as big as it appears it is, I have to say that it's going to be HUGE.

I have nothing else. Oh, yes I do. The lady that wants to move in temporarily wrote me back today. She said she DID send out the check and that she definitely wants to move into my house. I'm holding the room a few more days - but not forever. I NEED the money - I want to get caught up on the mortgage - but there are so many other things around here that need to be done as well.

OH, and my mother called me today. She said she saw somewhere where Fannie Mae is going to offer refinancing to mortgage holders who have bad credit but good, stable jobs at 4.75% in April. Are you kidding? I'm ALL over that, if it's true! A few months off, but I'm going to find out more about this now. I want to be the first on that particular train - cause' a train like that will fill up quickly. The savings would be over $200 per month. THAT kind of money, for me, isn't something to snoot at. That's almost my car payment!

Anyway, the corporate people should be at our branch right now. I'm just going to wait and see what becomes of this - everyone I have spoken with have the same thoughts: something is up, this isn't just a "gee, let's have a nice little tour of the facilities and that's all it really is" type of visit. It's decision time. It could be tomorrow, next week, next month before any decisions might be announced officially, but - something is going to happen. Probably. Maybe. Who knows?!!

Take a day at a time and be happy that I am employed, cause let me tell you, the ongoing barrage of email I am receiving from people about this party is some stuff that hits your heart and soul. There are literal, financial tragedies going on ALL around us, just have to open your eyes and look for it - if you really want to see it, that is.

C'yall later.
ben