Perpetual Ruminations

Wednesday

I didn't get in here yesterday at all, Tuesdays are kind of tough right now, and yesterday was even tougher than most. Today is suppose to be a day off, but so far, I don't feel like I've actually relaxed at all. Part of it is all that's going on, and another part is I'm just down in the dumps over things. I guess I'm getting really burned out, and there just isn't any relief in sight.

It seems even the weather is working against me today. It's suppose to be sunny, warm, but pretty windy out. It's warm enough, I was out for a while with the dogs in just a sweatshirt. The wind has died down some, and it's also shifted and is now coming out of the west. It's suppose to switch around to the north by tonight, and then get a bit colder again.

As for the sunshine, it's just not there. I just looked at the weather again, and it makes no sense at all. It has changed from sunny to mostly sunny, even though the sun has not broke through the clouds all day. Even so, the current conditions say it's sunny out, and it's suppose to remain sunny all afternoon. But, just below this erroneous information, it says that the rain will start in fifteen minutes. Huh?

That's just kind of fitting for how my day is going. I slept in a bit, but I had very fitful and troubled sleep all night. I think part of it is just being over tired, but then there's a lot of stress and a lot of extra pressure at work again, too. Also, I worked the afternoon shift yesterday, and even though it was a pretty good day, it really burns me out. I don't understand why it's so hard on me, but it that shift just seems to take a lot out of me. It seems like it drags on forever, no matter how busy I am.

Yesterday was also a very long day, since I didn't just work my afternoon shift. I had to give an interview to a guy after I got off work. We are in a tight situation, losing another person today. So, I really don't have any choice except to hire whoever comes along. It would be nice to have a handful of prospective employees to choose from, but that's not the case.

I have done interviews over the past two weeks, the one yesterday makes three weeks of this, and I still have to hire another person as soon as I can. It's not just the interview, it's the paperwork and everything that goes with it if we hire, and since we are out of time, I have to hire if they are willing to take the job. The last two people trained for one day and then quit. So, I'm having a lot of doubts now, since I have been having a streak of miserable luck with hiring for a long time now.

This person is slightly handicapped, and I believe he's being honest about being able to do the work. But, we won't know until he starts training, and I may again have to go through all this hassle only to lose him after the first day. Add to it this, the store we are assigned to has a lot of influence over who can work there as a security guard, too. So, if they don't think this person is going to work out, they can ask that he be removed. This adds a lot of stress as well.

So, back to my day... I was looking forward to spending a quiet day doing some stuff in here, and just kind of taking a break from anything stressful. I got home pretty late, and by the time we finished dinner, it was pretty late in the evening. We watched a little television, then turned in around midnight. I woke up a few time, then around two-thirty, I found myself unable to get back to sleep. There wasn't any reason to lie there, since I wasn't even feeling tired, so I got up and drank a glass of water while I browsed a bit on the computer. I checked my email and then looked at Facebook.

I had taken a couple of allergy capsules with my drink of water, since I was itching and stuffy. I don't know for sure what I am allergic too, but the Benadryl seems to work pretty good. It also makes me very tired, so it would be an added benefit for me going back to bed. It didn't take long and I was yawning and going back to bed. I went right to sleep, but it was a very fitful sleep, filled with unpleasant dreams. I woke often, but would go right back to sleep thanks to the effects of the Benadryl.

Rhonda got up with the alarm, I don't remember even hearing it. She took a shower and let me sleep a bit longer, but woke me soon enough. I was still very groggy, and have been all day, but I got up and enjoyed some coffee with her. It was difficult to keep my mind from going to the stuff I needed to get done for work, and especially for getting this new hire started. But, I only have one day off this week, and if things don't pan out, I wont have another day off until we have someone trained and working.

So, no work, no stress, just relax and enjoy the day. Only, I noticed that I need to get new tires on the front of my vehicle. Mine are not only wore out, they are getting to the point of dangerous. by the looks of the passenger side front tire, it could blow out anytime, there just isn't much tire left in some spots. The driver side front isn't much better, and all four of the tires are badly weather checked and cracked. It's actually difficult to drive now, and there is no grip left if the roads are slick from wet or snow.

The back tires are better, but still pretty wore out. I can hold off on them for a little while, but the front need to get changed out as soon as possible. I had asked Rhonda to check into some tires for me, looking for some very cheap new tires, or some fair used ones. That was yesterday, right before I started my long stretch of work and interviewing. I was so tired last night when I finally got home, I didn't really get anything done.

So today, just before she leaves for work, she tells me I need to call this one place that had the cheapest tires. Of course she had talked to me about it last night, but I was so tired, I didn't catch much of anything. So today, just getting ready to settle in and enjoy myself while she was at work, I get this task of calling and finding out if I can still get these tires and when. It would be a fifty mile round trip to go get them and come home, so it's going to take a while. I figured an hour driving time, and likely an hour or more to get them put on. Now what I was thinking of doing today.

But, before I can do that, I have to figure up my checkbook and see if I have enough money. I logged into the bank and reconciled my register with the bank, no problems there, but still, not exactly a pleasant task when there just isn't a lot of money to go around. I had enough, but it would leave me pretty broke until next payday, a week and a half away yet. But, I need tires as soon as possible, so I call the guy and inquire about the tires. He remembers Rhonda calling and tells me that is the lowest price tire he has, and that they go up in price from there.

"Fine, I just need the cheapest, so when can I come get them?" He tells me he's out delivering some tires right now, but will be back to the shop in a half an hour. That would work fine for me, it will take a little over a half an hour for me to get there, too. I tell him this, and he gives me directions to his shop. I ask if the price includes mounting the tires and balancing them, and he says no. He can set me up with an appointment, but it's not with him, it's another place. He just sells tires, that's all.

I think about it a minute and ask how late he's open, since Rhonda is in town and can stop after work and pick them up, saving me the trip in. There's a garage here in town that can mount and balance them for less than the price he quoted me for the shop he sends people to. He tells me he can stick around until five-thirty for her, but thinks I should look at these tires to see if they will be good enough for my vehicle.

I ask about this, and he tells me they are just standard passenger car tires, not light truck tires and not really suited for a four wheel drive vehicle. But, he has others that would be better. He does not, however, have any prices because he's out delivering tires. I told him I would come in and see what he's got, and hung up. I got dressed and was about to leave, when Rhonda called. I explained to her that I would have to go look and see what kind of tires I would need to get, and what kind of price he would give me.

That's when she told me that the guy here in town told her not to go with a passenger car tire, it would not hold up very well and would not perform well at all. He strongly recommended a light truck tire. Sure, it will cost a little more, but it will last longer and perform better. He quoted her a price of about twenty bucks more than the guy I was going to go see.

I knew, however, that the tires he had quoted were not adequate, and I would have to look at a higher priced tire. I already knew he would show me something in a light truck tire for close to the same price as what the guy here had quoted Rhonda. How did I know this? Because he had been talking to a woman about prices, and knew she likely didn't understand there was a difference between light truck tires and passenger car tires. He had given her a price knowing it was lower than anyone else would quote, and then when she showed up to get them, he would explain to her that she needed a different tire and sell her one that would likely be more expensive than his competition. That's just based on experience, and on the fact that he did not mention to her anything at all about the tire not being right for the vehicle, like he had told me.

On top of this, he had not told her that he would not put the tires on, or that the place he would send her would charge more than some of the other places. So, at an additional twelve-fifty per tire to mount them, it added another twenty-five dollars to the price. Also, I would have to buy a more expensive tire than the one quoted. But, I was thinking I could drive around to a few places and see what they had to offer, since I would be in town anyway. I wouldn't have much of a day off, but at least I would have tires on the vehicle.

After some thought, and talking to Rhonda, I decided not to go into town. She had a price from the guy here in town, and his was the second lowest of any she talked to. That saved me a lot of running an hassle. If he was the next lowest and was selling the correct tire, I would just go there. So that's what I did. I could have called, but he's only a block away and usually busy in the back. I figured if he had the time, I would leave the vehicle there and pick it up later after he was done with it.

But, he did not have the tires on hand, he would need them to get them from his supplier and wouldn't have time to put them on today. I told him that was not a problem. It's a small town garage and he does not stock a lot of tires, but can get them in a day usually. He also said he would be able to put them on tomorrow, so I can stop by after work, drop off the vehicle, and then walk home. It's not far, about a block, like I mentioned. Then, when Rhonda gets home, she can give me a ride over and pick it up. I'll pay him when I drop it off, so it won't matter what time I go pick it up.

Of course, this took up a good part of my day, and then there was a matter with our medical insurance that's been needing attention, so I also looked into that. The Health Care Marketplace, what a joke. I spent a good deal of time in there trying to get something, but between things not working, and just no way to do what I need, it's a waste of time and money. I also logged into my insurance account, but I can't do much from there, either.  The whole ordeal was nothing but frustrating and a waste of more time.

I won't even begin on Obama Care, but what an anti-democratic piece of shit that is. Take a person who cannot get insurance through work, cannot afford it on his own, and tell him he will get insurance or be fined for not having any. So much for freedom, people! When the government can make you purchase something and impose fines if you don't, you no longer live in a free nation!