K so I changed the appearance of my blog.  I don't think this one looks so good so going to try a different one later on.
Regardless, start of another work week.  I have decided I am going to call that store manager once a day until he picks up the phone. If he tells me to go bug off then whatever, but I am going to get some kind of reply out of him. Kind of childish/immature for a branch manager to be blowing off a person that he invited to come talk to him and who went well of my way to get over there and get it done.

As it stands, he wasn't even there when I arrived, which ain't the end of the world but perhaps it's also something to do with the culture over there.  Who knows.  One way or another, he IS going to give me an answer.  Doesn't matter, I have found other interesting job prospects over there including hauling oil off of rigs and hauling some of material off of flatbed trucks, just need to get my application from my work so I can have correct date of employment, which for CDL drivers is mandated by federal law.

That's it.  This week starts the beginning of a fairly crazy situation with different people coming in every single day of the week to manage the store.  I can't do it because I am the store's driver and can't deal with whatever comes up at the store itself if I'm on the road, otherwise this wouldn't even be an issue.  I'm guessing they are going to have to recruit someone from somewhere else.  Regardless, I was finally given my own password to the new truck routing system so I don't have to have the main warehouse manager lording himself over me.  He isn't my manager, he doesn't work at my store and his input is completely unnecessary and I don't want to have to wait on him to get stuff done.

Another thing on my agenda: get a court hearing and get this child support junk figured out.  I should be either done or close to done with it, I need a court to give a clear definer to that. I am tired of paying it and I believe I have actually overpaid what I owe at this point.

Well whatever, the start of another work day looms, must be outta here.

G'day.

ben

I'm not necessarily giving up on my company, but that manager will not return my phone calls and I'm getting the idea that he doesn't necessarily want me working over there.  I've left him two messages in the last couple of days plus called the branch and was informed that even though he's out on the road, he is answering his phone. Yeah, well he ain't answering it for me.  He told me he would have an answer for me this week, instead of giving me an answer, he's not even bothering to communicate with me at all.

I just don't see that as a good sign so time to start looking elsewhere.  Which so far has turned up a lot of garbage. $15 an hour jobs or higher paying jobs but on the road a lot.  I could take  reduction in pay but not that much.  That kind of money doesn't motivate me, at all.  There are LOTS of jobs in that area, but gotta have medical and gotta pay at least half decent.  Maybe it's too tall an order to fill, I dunno, but I am in no hurry to get a nothing job.  I'm not actually giving up on the Shreveport thing, I just have to start looking.  I mean, what is with a manager that won't even return a phone call?

Meanwhile, the aftermath of my fired manager. Turns out lots of people had been on the receiving end of some pretty crazy communications from my manager but - no-one said anything to management about it.  Of course not.  I was informed that if something like this ever happens again to contact them and let them know.  Yeah, right.  Number one, the likelihood of something that severe and dramatic happening again anytime soon in a co-worker is probably pretty low.  Number two when it's a member of management, what do they think, just go say something to them and the  n what?  They think YOU are the lunatic for even saying anything.  Just very unrealistic for them to expect people to approach them about something like this.

Well I finally found a half decent looking job - but - just remembered that Federal regulatons require 10 years of employment history.  Gag.  I can't remember the dates before I started working at my current company! That was a long time ago!

Well anyway. The weekend.  I am trashed.  There is stuff I am going to do but nothing too intensive.  Just gonna relax more than anything. Free HBO on Direct TV this weekend so hopefully a couple of good movies anyway.  I mean, I could start moving into Caleb's bedroom and start getting out of my room so I can get it all cleaned up and ready for George and Susan to move in there - but -  naw.

Well whatever.  I got motivated since I started writing this entry and decided to go out and get some stuff and then when I get home I am going to do something.  Not sure what yet but I think moving out of my room is a thing where I start on a weekend to do it and get it done - that same weekend.

Meanwhile, she is - not home alone, she is sitting at a driver's training thing cause she got a ticket for speeding and wanted out of it. 6 hours of that stuff!  I can't do that anymore, haven't been able to in years cause' of CDL license, but I haven't had a ticket in seventeen years anyway, hope to stay out of them.

I dunno. Guess I'm stressing over this job situation.  It would be SO much easier to transfer out there intra-company and then if the drive there everyday gets too long or if I find something better, great, but finding a job from a far is a bit difficult.  Though as of now I have found some interesting prospects that have at least decent pay.

Whatever. I just wanna get out there and once I find a job the clock will start ticking!

G'day.

ben

Well here we go on this roller coaster ride of work.
2 managers down.  One quit, the other fired.
So everything is in disarray.
They tried to lord the main warehouse manager over me,
I told them I don't need his help, I've been doing this for
8 years, thanks.
They rekeyed the entire place and I am getting my own
password into the new truck routing system so I don't have
to rely on main warehouse manager.  I dunno how they think
that guy has the time to add another entire warehouse onto his
plate.

He tried contacting me yesterday morning and I simply told
him I have it under control.  This isn't that difficult.
Maybe for a truck driver that has never been interested
in the operations of the company he is working for, yes,
that would pose a challenge but I have learned Trilogy, Descartes and
other programs simply because I want to be able to do this
stuff by myself and if just such things occur as what has happened
in the last few days.  They are going to have to bring in new
people or transfer them from somewhere else around the country.

Well whatever.  Just biding my time, waiting for that phone call.....

G'day.

ben

Home

Flight from Dallas to Phoenix last night.  One gate number on my ticket; another gate number announced by one crew member on the plane before the flight departed; yet another gate given when I got out of the plane and then when I finally got into DFW?  Loud broadcasts of yet another gate change!  Crazy! But it turned out to be my good fortune.  They had to bring in a second plane/crew to handle the load going to Phoenix and I had been reassigned to second aircraft and that plane was maybe 2/3rd's full. I got to my seat, only 1 dude sitting there, no one in middle seat, I had window - I only get window seat.  The guy 2 seats over is my age, nice enough person, we exchanged a few niceties and that was that, I went to sleep.

I was in and out of sleep with the rather loud, pre-recorded sounds of directions broadcast over the plane's speaker system. But finally, got to sleep and didn't wake up for quite awhile.  When I woke up out of that one, I looked around wondering where I was at - had gone into deep sleep, came out a bit dazed.  Looked to my left and there was Josiah sitting there.

????  I thought I must be dreaming, what on earth. That woke me up and I saw the man that had been sitting there was now a kid that looked very much like Josiah - the 16 year old - had on gym shorts and track shoes to boot.  I'm sitting there staring at this kid.  I feel eyes on me.  I look over and there is the man that was sitting next to me. Finally come out of this daze and understand that the man is with family, the boy must have wanted out of that cramped 3 person situation, the dad is staring at me. I just smiled at him - the dad that is - the boy was totally oblivious of it - and yes, I went back to sleep.

It was just very strange that I had this reminder of what I had just left sitting there on the aircraft.

Well regardless. Yesterday, sitting in her house in Texas, my company phone started ringing.  I am looking at the phone and it showing the ops manager.  I instantly had a bad feeling about this, my mind raced through numerous possibilities of why he would be calling me when he knew I was on vacation - and I was not wrong. My manager had been fired and he wanted me to know about it before I came back in.  I found out today the extent of what had happened - my manager had a screw come loose and I have no clue.  I am not going to go into that, but just to say that he fired himself.

I dunno, I don't want to go into all of that I just know that between getting in late last night and coming into that this morning plus having a security guard there - manager had to be escorted off property by police - and the chaos of no-one not knowing what is going on and with orders, I had my hands full.  The main warehouse manager was attempting to tell me what to do, please. He knows full well I do all of this stuff on a daily basis without anyone's help, I don't need this kind of crap being forced upon me.  I just im'ed him back: I have this covered, thanks.

Amazingly, I was left to myself for the rest of the day, driving all over the place.  The ops manager is running our store, he didn't call me a single time.  I know what they were thinking but I quickly assuaged those fears.  I am not going to go off the deep end because of this and they might have to deal with me, too.  Not a happening event.  I am leaving town, I don't need this.  I want to transfer over to another location within our company, not get canned and lose my job. I just won't go into the details of what happened with manager because yes, it was that bad and no, I don't feel it's a good thing to spread that out on the internet even if it may never leave the folds of this blog's corners.

I have not heard back from Shreveport.  I am not necessarily worried, but they said they would give me an answer this week and dangit, I need that answer either for good or bad.  I need to be able to move on one way or the other.  Haven't heard back from American, either.  I am asking for a voucher for free round trip flight for the bs. Okay, long shot I am sure but still, worth a try.

There is more, a lot more actually.  But my second wind has faded and I am drifting out.  It's only a quarter after six but I am coming back from a place that's a quarter after 8.  This whole business of traveling back and forth really messes with my internal clock.  Yeah, I am pretty much exhausted and hope to get something of a decent night's sleep tonight.

ben