Just gonna have to write this, even though my interest in blogging is waning.  I am just not living a very eventful life in any way, shape or form right now, there really isn't much to write about.  My views on politics and religion I have been writing in various Facebook groups and other places on the internet as well. I have pretty much just reserved my blogging for things going on in my life or things that interest me and some knowledge I may be able to give.  For example, the dog antibiotics post I wrote on here years ago still gets several hits a day.  

But, anyway, I was able to finally go and get the 4 wheeler today.  That didn't actually happen til' around 3 this afternoon.  My co-worker was called into work this morning and had to drive clear to Monroe with some pipe and fittings for a contractor in need.  Well, I needed to get started on the 4 wheeler I already have.  I put it on jacks, removed a tire and went to work trying to remove the front drive shaft to replace the u joints.  I have never in my life encountered such a stubborn, irritating situation as what that thing confronted me with.  The next door neighbor kid helping me - he has been riding the thing and I pretty much told him he would either help me fix it or he can not ride it anymore. 

There is a roll pin that hold the front yoke in place.  I had to go buy a long punch to try and get it out - but the space in there is so limited that giving a good hard hit with a hammer on the top of the punch was next to impossible.  That kid and I spent hours on it - but I finally got the thing out of there.  In days of old when I had an acetylene torch, I would have had it out of there quick.  Just heat it up good and it would have come right out.  Next, a trip to Napa to try and get a new roll pin - I thought I was going to get the driveshaft off right away and start working on getting the old u-joints out and the new ones in.

But....after taking off the tire, I found the front brake pads completely worn down and the right side tie-rod was also bad.  Which reminds me, Napa neither had the tie-rod nor could order it, I need to find one online.  Excuse this entry while I go find and order one.....yes I know that meant nothing to the reader in terms of time lost, lol, but I did go and order a whole set for the right side.  If I'm going to replace one side of the rod, I might as well replace both and for only 4 bucks more, it's a done deal.

I get started on so many rabbit trails when I am writing posts.....I ordered new brakes pads from Napa and they will be here by next weekend.  But, though they had a large selection of roll pins, they didn't have the size I needed. No biggies, I will either just punch the old one back in or find another one somewhere else.  

Back to the Polaris Magnum 500, the 4 wheeler I was working on.  Yes, we got the pin out but getting the entire driveshaft assembly? Tried for a while but didn't get that thing off of there.  After 45 minutes of trying, that's when I found out I needed to hit the road and head over to Val's place  to get the 4 wheeler - he, my co-worker, was done with the delivery.  We went over there to find the 4 wheeler - had been rolled.  I am still wondering whether that was done intentional or not.  The handl bar is smashed down - but- everything still works.  So maybe an accident that was just never mentioned to anyone by Nathan, I dunno.  There was a bit of spiting going on out there as well.  A guitar I had bought Rachael for a birthday present was out there as well as the electric little 4 wheeler I had bought the girls for a Christmas present.  My shop vac was out there but nothing else I had asked for.  

And after the way she talked to me today in texting, I won't be asking for any of it.  In fact, I don't care if I ever hear from her again.  The idea that this woman was talking to another man before we got divorced.  There are instincts that have stirred within me that I won't speak about on here.  But I won't act on them, either.  Brought back thoughts of what I used to do to people in my teen years.  I just won't allow myself to succumb to such things but the forcefulness of the emotion that arises is hard to put down.  

Well, that is done.  I could post the things she said to me today- but it would get me going again and I don't need that.  I left the guitar there - they can break the thing into pieces and throw it into the trash for all I care, but I am not going to allow them to have that kind of "satisfaction". And what kind of mom would encourage a 10 year old girl to do such a thing?  I am going to eat the cost of ending the Dish Network over there early - 2 year contract that still has 4 months left on it.  $80 to turn it off. I think they own the equipment.  I dunno, these companies change their parameters all the time.  In fact, thanks for reminding me, blog, I am going to call tonight and shut the service off - tonight.  She is ingrateful, paranoid, hateful, vengeful and holds extreme grudges.  I cannot believe the things she said to me today.  

Done deal. Dish Network is no longer a monthly bill.  It is shut off over there and I couldn't care less. I just cannot believe this woman's vindictiveness.  Her utter anger.  Her hatred towards life and those that want to enjoy it.  Yes, I am very irritated right now.  I haven't talked to her in a while and it was just unbelievable her tones towards me.  I didn't start anything, I just said I was coming to get the 4 wheeler - which she knew was happening because we talked about it in advance -  and that started it off, that was texting, btw, I won't hold a conversation with her on the phone now.  

I'm trying to take deep breathes and get this out of my system. This is the last time I will ever talk to her.  The only thing left over there is my dog buried in the ground. 

Anyway, we went to a place here called inJapan.  It's allegedly great sushi - which I have never had but have been wanting to try and my co-worker brought it up.  So we went.  Unbelievably horrific service.  I mean, it was so bad.  But I said nothing about it - maybe this situation with Val was weighing on me, I thought, and I am just irritated with everything. Better to keep my mouth shut. But, my co-worker who is a totally laid back person finally said: Horrific service. This is terrible service.

Thank you! The service sucks! I could go into a few paragraphs worth, but one example was when the waitress came up and asked if we wanted more water. Well, who asks if you want more water? just bring it, but I didn't say that.  We both said yes and she acknowledged it.  When she came back, she brought him a fresh cup and brought me - nothing.  I got up and went to the bar to get another cup, I was feeling dehydrated and definitely very thirsty.  The food was good, I'll give it that.  

Back to the house - next door neighbor kid still out there trying to get that drive shaft off of there.  I was done with that, no thanks.  Try again tomorrow. He bets I won't get it off of there with a handshake.  Okee dokee, we'll see.  Well today, he insists.  No, I'll get that thing off of there, but I ain't doing nothing on that again today.  Yes, I will figure out how to get it off of there.  

Anyway, that was my day.  After spending most of the day outside and hearing some crazy noises from Addler - he was right on the other side of the fence from where we were working on the Polaris - I am done.  If my hands hadn't been covered with grease I would have gotten that stuff on video, comical. Regardless, Valerie has a way of making me feel very unhappy.  She puts me into such a bad mood.  I can't even fathom the dude that is with her or what he will eventually go through.  

Whatever.  

I'm going to stop blogging for a while.  Or just post random stuff that has nothing to do with my personal life.  

Or whatever.

So, I text her last night. Almost scary to do so for who knows what kind of reply one is going to get from a person like that.  She apparently wanted to get into a conversation, I did not, not after the last texting we had where she emphatically stated "I really don't want to get into any kind of conversation with you at all".  I have learned that she has a boyfriend and apparently had one long before we got divorced.  It wouldn't really bother me if she had one after the divorce, but before?  Just letting it go, though, I want nothing to do with her at all.  Just get the last thing back from her and lose her number.

Friday morning.  Leaving for work early.  Have to make a delivery near our yard - but then I have to head down to Sulphur to pick up a load of pipe and bring it back. That's going to take all day long.  So, I just want to be at the contractor's site this morning at or before they show up so I can get the stuff off of the truck and get headed south.  It's a long drive because the route there goes through numerous small towns with slow speed limits and lots of cops everywhere to make sure you aren't going over that in-town speed limit.  In fact, the last time I drove down there I saw dozens of cops along the way.

Going down I-49 doesn't work, it takes you too far out of the way.  Anyway, I get my other 4 wheeler back and get a hold of a trailer I can start taking them things out to a place that has trails and have some fun on them.  I have all kinds of parts to replace things on the big one, a project I am going to try to motivate myself to do this weekend.  Next door neighbor kid helping since he has been taking the thing with some friends to a property not far from here and riding it.

Anyway, nothing really new here.  I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, it is what it is.  I'm not really looking for drastic changes right now, though, excepting would like more opportunities at church.  I have some ideas, however, to do something on my own outside of the church.  I dunno yet but sitting around doing nothing isn't particularly appealing to me.  It gets boring.  I get bored of the internet, too. Especially those Facebook political groups.  I was participating in some of them but some of the people in those groups are absolutely - crazy.   There are people out there that just dont' have a clue.  Which is fine but then they come back at you and go into attack mode when you try to give a differing view of something.

Anyway, off to the races.  And off to Phoenix too, pretty soon, to see my son and my mom ; )

Caleb is flying off to New Zealand on the 29th. This means that if I want to see him before he leaves, I will have to fly over to Phoenix before then. 

Airfare purchased, flying over the week before he leaves.  Round trip $119.  Not bad, but the day of the departure will be interesting. Go to work, get off, drive home, say goodbye to dog and landlords, head to Dallas and fly off to Phoenix.  3 hours from work to Dallas plus the stop at home at 30 minutes.  I could stay home longer and visit, for the flight doesn't leave until 10:45 pm but I want to show up early for any possible problems. 

Besides, I like airports, airplanes and the whole atmosphere.  I am considering getting a passport, finding whatever flights I can to anywhere worldwide and making a trip here and there just to go.  Or even just flights around the country.  You can find some pretty low priced airfare to numerous places. But, a pickup truck and a trailer and my 4 wheelers up to the nearest high coutry is just as intriguing.  

Well, anyway, airfare taken care of, parking near airport including free shuttle also a done deal, landlords will take care of the Addler, I am now working on finding travel from airport to mom's house.  She will let me use one of her vehicles while there, but - she is not confident in heavy traffic.  I have to find my own way out to her.  Bus system isn't operating that late, a shuttle is likely my best option. I know a large number of people there but I don't want to ask anyone to come drive me out there at that late of an hour.  Hmm, I could post that on my Facebook wall and see if there are any bites - but I think mom will not be happy that she couldn't do it and has to see that there.  I think I will find my own way.

Anyway, mom's 80 years old and so, good idea to go visit. Still in pretty good health, things can change rapidly in life.  I am going to try to make it out there again sometime later this year to see her.  But take a whole week off.  I'm taking 3 days off work this time around, didn't want to spend too much vacation hours this early in the year.  My new manager is making a good attempt to change his old ways and I am still responding accordingly.  So, when I came to his office today to get that written into the giant calendar behind his desk, he stopped the vendor that was visiting and took the time to write it up there and was very amenable. The stories about him making threats and assaulting one of salesmen are true - but - he has changed his ways, at least apparently.  Time will tell, but I am not hoping for his failure, I am hoping for his success.  Yes, please do thrive in your new position. 

Please do not try to make my or anyone else's life miserable  Have a new outlook on life, it's not worth it to just look at everything jaded and find no pleasures in the basic things in life.  Please.  Try. Please.

I didn't say any of that to him, of course, but those are my thoughts.  He didn't try to oppose it, in fact, when he heard me talking about seeing my son before going to New Zealand he want into a thing a flight over there. Isn't that a long flight?  Well, yes, now that you say it, it is.  It was his way, I am guessing and hoping, of trying to bridge the gaps, be a nicer person and treat employees more like family than like - what? Your worst enemy?  Never figured that out.  

So I'm psyched anyway.  Just looking at my vacation hours though.  I want some time available for this summer.  That is providing I am even still working there this summer.  I am trying to remain optimistic on the matter.  Well I have ideas for summer. Like having a pickup truck and having means to transport at least one 4 wheeler to nearest mountains - which are allegedly in Arkansas - and taking a week camping adventure with the dog and a tent.  Alone or not alone, I don't really care.  I need the mountains.  I grew up in a mountainous area, moved to a desert at the age of 10. Took frequent trips to mountains at that age and then when I had a driver's license, took almost weekly trips up north into the mountains. It isn't something that just goes away.  

So, changing the subject, I show up to work this morning.  I didn't know what I was doing.  I never do.  I am handed tickets and that is that.  Go here, go there.  Well, I go about my business but come to a point where I need to get into the "shed" they call it.  It is not a shed.  It's a metal building approximately 80 feet by 50. That's a lot of square footage to call a building a shed, but, that's Louisiana.  No-one has opened the bay doors which I thought odd, but I needed to get in there to get the banding machine out - someone mishandled a bundle of pipe - which happens quite frequently there - and broke the banding that keeps it together.  I tried and tried my key to get in there.  It would partially turn but not open the door. The driver that is now not a driver because of his last truck crash said he had tried as well. Well, I thought, get some WD-40 and see what happens.

Nothing. Well, after half of everyone trying with their own keys, everyone gives up.  I did not.  The subject comes up about the hole at the top of the building in the back.  I did not bring up the subject, but I had thought about it  The warehouse dude says well a small man would have to get through there.  This all passes and I'm stuck.  Can't band the pipe, gotta get in there. I go around and look at that hole, it's up there alright and no way to get a forklift there to lift a person up. Well, I put a 2 foot tall fitting there which just got my hands on the edge of it.  I pulled myself up there -- and I ain't saying it was easy for I am not in the shape I was 20 years ago - grunted and pulled and etc got up through that hole, onto a high shelf inside the building, climbed down some poles and walaah.  There was a group of people trying to get in and here I am opening the main bay door. Warehouse manager looking at me in bewilderment.  How you get up there? I just climbed.

You know, it was a liberating moment. I can still do that stuff.  Not as easy as in days of "old" but I got up there without any help. Umm, well, you know when you get to a certain point it's a point-of-no-return thing.  You ain't going back down the way you came up, you are gonna fall and it isn't going to be pretty. Which gets adrenaline pumping which helps you out nicely, lololol.  

Well that's enough for now.  

Well ain't that just fancy.
New manager calls for a meeting yesterday morning - Monday mind you - at 7:30 am.  What came out of his mouth was totally unexpected.  We are going to be cutting back hours to 8 for everyone ..... blah blah blah.  I just listened for quite a while until he got to the: " If ANYONE has a PROBLEM with THIS, I want to know about it RIGHT NOW".  You see, my mind instantaneously went through a whole realm of things when he first started talking and making his announcement and I had already made all of my conclusions long before he was done with his monologue.

I spoke up instantly. Yeah, I have a problem with it.  Remember, this is the dictator that everyone is afraid of, that won't say much of anything to because of his reputation.  I could care less about his reputation and if he's going to treat me like a pile of dog****, I will find myself a new place of employment.  I simply said: so, you are cutting our pay?  This set him off.  Of course.  I don't care about that, either. He's talking cutting my pay by over a grand a month, I'm not going to keep silent.  I will fight for my pay until I either get it or am forced to move on.

He set off.  Well what do you want to do, Ben? OBVIOUSLY inferring that I should just quit and leave.  I'll have nothing to do with that at HIS intonations, I will talk to his management about this situation - as I already did anyway before he became manager - before I quit.  I didn't reply to him, I just looked him in the eye.  He then repeated 7 times "I don't want to argue with you", notwithstanding the fact that I was saying nothing to him.  I remained firm after all his attempts to intimidate me.  Once he started figuring out I wasn't bowing to him, he then attempted to try to talk to me on a "little bit" lower level. I simply told him I came out here taking a huge pay cut, the hours I have were compensation for it, it was agreed to, that's that.  Well, you have a 50 hour situation? No.  Do you have a contract? No.  I have a verbal agreement with Matthew (Matthew won't lie, he's a bonafide Christian and he will own up to whatever he said to me before I moved out here).  50 hours per week .

Not that I want to work 50 hours per week for 8 hours pay, but that's  what I agreed to so I could come out here, marry a woman that ....well we need not go there ....and that's that.  He toned down after I applied logic to his emotion - this individual is run by emotion.  At work, I am run by dollar signs.  If I am not going to make a minimum amount, goodbye.  Taking away 40 plus hours per month of OT is not going to work - at all.

So let's fast forward to todayI went into the "ex-manager's" office and got into a conversation with him about what this man had stated the day before.  He immediately said yeah, he didn't understand the situation with what you came over here in but we are going to have a conversation about that today.  Okay.  Fairly short conversation, I turned around and - tried to leave.  The new manager, I dunno if he was eavesdropping (and I don't care) came barreling around the corner, said to me and the other driver that showed up to go back into the office, we are going to have a conversation about what "he" said.  He being the other manager.

Then we had it out.  I'm not going to back down to some extremely self-centered, high-minded dictator who thinks the world of himself and in love with the sound of his own voice try to stand there and intimidate me, which is exactly what he tried  to do..  Several times he tried to stop me after asking me a question so that I would answer the way he wanted me to answer.  No, I would just come back and answer in my own word.

Well, he says, I'm sensing some friction here between us. No s*** Sherlock, I wonder why.  I was prepared to lose my job yesterday. I truly didn't care. They aren't paying me NEAR enough money to put up with that kind of garbage, an authoritarian who thinks he can just speak a word and we all come running and bowing.  Not my style, I don't @$$ kiss, just ain't going there.  We went back and forth, I wasn't holding anything back, I tried to keep any hint of anger or angst out of it, but it really came down to money and hours.  I'm not going to take a thousand dollar per month pay cut, period.

I'm not going into the details of his ridiculous words because it just isn't worth it.  I expressed myself quite nicely and now it is all in their hands.  Cut my hours, don't cut my hours, raise my pay, don't raise my pay.  They don't seem to act very fast about anything. This dude is the good ole' boy idealogy.  A lot of people there have been working together for 20, 25 years.  The "newbies" - which is me and the other driver, not including the new temporary driver, - are pretty much left out, likely not to get any favors excepting my old manager was pretty good to us and this feeling not likely to subside any time soon.

Well whatever. It's now Wednesday morning - time to be off to the wonder land of work!

I absent-mindedly put my debit card in a bag with stuff in it I got at a store and left it in there.  And threw it out.  And yes, it ended up in the landfill before I realized my mistake. Fortunately, Chase bank now has card makers at many of it's locations.  You need only go in, prove who you are and they make you a new debit card right then and there. Amazingly better than the "old" days of having to wait days for it to arrive in the mail and having to try and deal with daily life without it.  Meaning, go to the bank and carry cash around with you.

I don't much care to carry around cash, excepting maybe 20 bucks and that only because some places in Louisiana either don't take debit cards or you have to spend a minimum amount to use it.

Anyway, while I was at the bank, I was speaking with a very distinguished and very smartly dressed bank officer that was telling me all about the mountains around here, after we got into a discussion about it.  What mountains? I asked politely.  Well, Texas has mountains! You have to drive a good distance but they are here.  Better, though, she says, there are plenty of mountains in Arkansas with hiking and 4 wheeling trails and only 2 hours away. I'm going to check with online 4 wheeler clubs to find some suggestions/advice on that particular subject.

Meanwhile, my desire to take Addler to the large doggy park remain altered. It is shut down for repairs and there is no statement as to when they are going to reopen it.  Caddo State Park is 16 miles away and I am considering taking him there instead.  I don't know if there is anywhere where I can let him run free, though and it is a risky proposition.  I have never let him do that and I don't know if he'll take off or come back when I call him?  I've had other Danes take off on me in the past and trust me, it's no picnic trying to catch up with them.  In fact, you don't catch up with them until they get distracted and stop running and start sniffing.

Monday marks the day of the new manager taking over.  So far, I remain unimpressed.  He's a helicopter hovinering, micro-managing mess.  But, who knows.  Maybe he will surprise all of us. The real trouble maker now is the warehouse manager, but apparently he's being put in his place.  Who knows.  The man is an antique that needs to retire and do something fun with his life besides coming to work and being miserable all day long.

Anyway, I got back to the yard yesterday around 3:45 pm.  Long day of driving.  I was informed there was a run to a town about 60 minute drive and I needed to take it.  No biggies, I wanted some OT anyway.  Well, more OT than I have been getting.  I'm trying to save up some emergency funds here. Anyway, it took forever.  Get the truck loaded, trying to get a hold of the contractor, going to a vendor to get more of  the product - we didn't have enough - getting down there, getting unloaded, getting back.  It was 7:45.  Well, I'm driving home - I mean I am 3 miles from the house when I get a call.  Where are you right now? My manager, a water main break in a town and they have to have materials to fix it, houses with no running water.  Ummm, I'm almost home.  Back and forth I just offered to go back if he couldn't find anyone else.  Well, 30 seconds - literally 30 seconds - later he calls me and asks if I will?  To make some points, I got back on the Interstate, drove all the way back, spent 30 minutes getting the customer what he needed and then drove all the way back to the house.  It was around 10:00 pm by the time I got home from work, put in a 15 hour day and was totally exhausted.