I just put in an application online for Epes Transport. I'll put in some more applications this evening once I've put together a resume. I need to get the ball rolling here. I'm still sort of negotiating with U.S. Xpress about how to get the truck back to Tunnel Hill, so I feel kind of hung up on that, but I need to start planning for moving beyond that.

My distrust of USX runs deep here. When I talked to my new dispatcher yesterday, he said that he didn't think USX would pay for a bus ticket home. As Mama put it, it seems like a company that hasn't paid me in three weeks would appreciate me being willing to get the truck back down to Tunnel Hill enough to pay for a bus ticket home for me. But, of course, USX doesn't think like that.

Well, this is a problem for us. For one thing, a bus ticket is in the neighborhood of $70. We need a tire for the van which will cost around $85. Mara is all for me getting on the bus, but I've pointed out that the cost of a bus ticket is $70 less that we have to go toward a tire. Of course, I've also considered that a trip to Tunnel Hill and back will probably cost us about that much in gas, not to mention the added irritation Mara will feel at having to drive it.

Either way, I consider that the ball is in my court at the moment. I certainly don't want to antagonize USX, but there's only so much I can do. I'm certainly not willing to just hop in the truck, pick up a load and head to Tunnel Hill without knowing with certainty how I'll be getting home. And, to be honest, even if USX agreed to pay for a bus ticket for me, I don't trust them enough to believe that they actually would. They've lied to me consistently over the last six years. It's not so much that there's a culture of liars there as it is that the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. Just because one person makes you a promise doesn't mean that the next person is going to honor it.

Anyway, I need to get in touch with my new dispatcher this morning and make all this clear. Yesterday I tentatively agreed to pick up a load this evening with the aim of getting the truck back to Tunnel Hill, with the provision that we would talk this morning about who would pay for a bus ticket for me. I'm certain, from experience, that he believes this is settled. I'd be surprised if the load info isn't already waiting for me in the truck.