Bad Coworkers - Nice Vacation

Due to my work schedule, I missed out on the local parties at the park for 4th of July so I created my own party for myself and my co-workers a few days later. I cooked up hamburgers on my grill, made baked beans, etc. It was delicious! I had been helping my coworkers out by picking up items in town for them when I went in, loaning them my large DVD collection to watch since they did not have any TV service, giving them info on camping deals like Passport America, FMCA, and Thousand Trails. Silly me. I thought they were grownups and we were friends. It turned out they were just ridiculous children. I said something sarcastic one day about the group of new trucks and guys that had come in that day who were running the gate. It was one single sentence but the sarcasm went right over the wife’s head and she went completely stupid on me. They both refused to discuss it, tell me what they thought I said, or even talk to me again. I tried apologizing even though I did nothing wrong (other than using sarcasm) but that was that. They compromised the job by refusing to tell me anything that happened during their shift and created a lot of unnecessary tension for several weeks. I went on my annual splashdown vacation to Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels in hopes they would grow up by the time I got back but that did not happen. After a couple more weeks of silence, they left to go work the beet harvest in Montana which they had previously committed to. Thank God! The oilfield is no place for children and that kind of behavior. I knew something wasn’t right with them constantly running to the oil company’s company man to report every little thing. Now I knew why.

For my splashdown this year, I tried something new. I rented a room in a house through Airbnb. Motels in the summertime in New Braunfels are very expensive. I couldn’t find one as close as I wanted but I did get a decent location and the house was very nice in a newer subdivision. There was a couple there renting a room downstairs. The owner was staying there in a small bedroom upstairs. I also stayed upstairs. The first night I actually stayed in the wrong room because the owner was not there when I arrived and he didn’t leave a note behind to point me to the right bedroom. The whole thing was a little confusing. He sent me the code to the front door by email. I was not aware that owners also send messages via the Airbnb app. After I arrived and settled in, I went to dinner. The owner texted me to ask when I would be arriving. LOL. I let him know I had already been there and was now out for the evening. After his text, I checked the Airbnb app and that is when I found several messages from him so be sure to add the app to your phone and check it regularly while renting. For this particular rental, I did have to leave my shoes at the door and walk around in my socks per his rules. That actually made me feel at home though. Every bedroom had an outside door lock and key so security was not an issue. The owner was even nice enough to let me hang around in the den upstairs to study one of my online courses while I waited for my hotel room elsewhere to become available for my last couple of days of vacation. His room was not available for the full vacation. The overall experience was very good and I would definitely use Airbnb again.

As per usual, I did a lot of shopping with my list that I add to all year for when I get near a big city. I went to Schlitterbahn every single day and had a blast despite the hot weather. I got to eat out at all my favorite places and, of course, I hit up Harbor Freight for supplies and tools. Aar aar aar! As my vacation ended, I went to the local HEB grocery store to restock and put everything in a cooler with ice for the long trip home. I filled my gas tank full. Groceries and gas are far cheaper in East Texas than in rural West Texas. The drive was long and filled with dread going back but I survived it all. It helped that I stopped at Schlitterbahn for a couple hours first to get wet and stay cool.

After the children left, I got a nice older couple who had lots of experience and no issues though I made a point of not getting too close to them while they were there. Unfortunately, they too had to move on after awhile and were replaced with very young newbies who were nice enough but came with their own set of issues. I sure miss my old 24 hrs alone gate I had for 3 years!