I'm baaaaaack!!!!!!!!

@mitrucker: It was still better than letting her find out when the log department forwarded the violation to her.

@Bumper: Hush now, I'm still giggling over the cubicle rat thing--pictures of little muppet rats wearing Hawaiian shirts, working in their cubicles, poring over endless reams of data to a Calypso musical montage while their boss Michael Caine sits grumpily at his desk refusing to put another coal on the fire and their supervisor Kermit the Frog convinces the Boss to shut down for Christmas...oh wait, never mind, that's been done.

 

Revisiting the Celadon option after a pow wow with The Hot Chick.

No real complaints here, stuff happens and you move on, everybody's opinion notwithstanding. Did the Ben Franklin thing (pro/con list and comparison on paper) a little while back and it was pretty much a wash, hence our decision to stick around--having a dog on the truck wasn't enough to justify moving, and the wage lock didn't figure into the discussion because I was running well.

Then a close friend (who isn't on TTR) pointed out something I hadn't thought about, which was how much time I was spending upmanaging--always having to stay on the support team about miles miles miles. He recommended I keep silent for a week and see what happens. I did last week, and got 800 miles. Granted there were two days in the shop, but still. Then I had to squawk to get my 2 days' breakdown before the following payday. I don't consider this inexcusable so much as a part of the environment here; some places you have to stay on their backs. It's also true at a lot of places I've worked including Celadon, but not nearly so much.

This little thing has been a sore spot for me that I hadn't noticed until I kept quiet. It's enough to unsettle us both into considering whether we want to always be riding the company about miles. Kind of like having an employee who does a great job, but needs constant close supervision to prevent him from taking two hour lunches and knocking off early. As long as you are watching, he does a fantastic job, but you can't turn your back on him. It's tiring and you don't realize how much it's wearing you down with low level stress until you remember the guy who wasn't quite as proficient but much more reliable.

We're both thinking it would be a good idea to do what we were going to do a while back and move.

Am going to speak with Celadon Monday and make sure the wage lock and pet policy are still in place (these things change fast). If not then no real reason to change as the wage lock makes up for short miles and the pet policy is a strong incentive for us both.

(We do not want to move to a smaller company for reasons not specified on this forum; I am telling a story and not asking for anybody to fix our problems for us, so please refrain from commanding me to do things your way. I don't mind if you tell me you disagree with me and tell me why, but try to remember that the the only opinion that really matters to me is The Hot Chick's. You are spectators at a semi interactive show; it's okay and even welcomed for you to shout at the players on the stage, but some of you please stop trying to take the director's chair.)

If it works out I'd be starting at Celadon a week from Monday. If not I'm staying right here til I can find a proper fit for all of our needs, which could take a while.

 

Hot Chick starts her period this weekend. Maybe I should time things a little differently.

 

Sun's up--time to get moving.

 

Celadon, Gordon, Risinger, Gordon. Then maybe back to Celadon, so three. Bungee cords notwithstanding. Celadon has been trying to get me back since I left the first time and I only left Risinger because I couldn't afford to pay for my own insurance (lease company--they were great til the day they realized I was leaving then they cut my throat and broke their promises). Before Celadon I was at Dart for a couple years, only left because a supervisor accused me of threatening a load if I didn't get an advance I had asked for, a character assassination I could not tolerate. (I would have left when Obama care eventually messed up my health insurance anyway).

If I wanted fodder for a "Hate this company" thread, I'd just go lease a $300,000 truck from CREngland. It's just that the bumps in the road make for more interesting reading and writing than daily "Another great day, everything's great, no issues."

Things are usually okay except for the upmanaging thing I mentioned, which is why we won't move without the wage lock and pet policy. And be fine.

(I am assuming you're wondering why I'd want to move back to Celadon, and/or why I've moved around in the last year and a half.)

 

Got back to truck and The Hot Chick was still asleep. She was a little annoyed with me for waking her--seems she had just gotten Daniel Craig (James Bond) out of the pool in his Speedo and was just about to begin applying the suntan lotion.

Sigh.