Always a Monkey Wrench in the Works; or,.the Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Steinbeck allusion intentional.

This is the sucky part of the road. The part where you don't know how you're getting to the next road. The part where it starts getting real.

Against my better judgment, we went ahead and launched out to Okemah for WoodyFest, our annual trek. I was going to have the family wait until Monday, when checks came in, and, once they were in, go back and get them. A lot of driving, but a little bit more secure.

It worked well in theory. The theory that they would get paid on payday. Unfortunately, the end of the day has come and gone, and not only no paychecks, but no answer as to WHEN paychecks will be in. It may be tomorrow; it might not, and until we have an answer, we don't know.

So much for the "security" of working for someone else!

So where that leaves us is with me having about HALF the money I need to finish my assignments and return to my family. And, more importantly, without the money to pay for the campsite when they set up the trailer on Wednesday.  Add to that the fact that Straight Talk service is EXTREMELY sporadic in the state of Oklahoma, giving me very limited communication with my family, and you have the makings of a mess.

I can think of a thousand critiques folks could offer, and a few would be right, but honestly, even if we had started off with a bankroll of $1000, I have known folks who have had mechanical difficulties shut them down on the road just as quickly.

I have been racking my brain, trying to figure out why everything is so much harder than it has to be, and can only conclude that it is for a learning experience for me. There's no easy way to say this, this sucks. In the last six months, I have sold off a good deal of our belongings for the mere pittance I could receive for them, and am running short of items to sell. I'm making money on the road, but it takes awhile for it to come in, and a job at the dollar store would pay less than I'm making, so that's out. Not to mention, being tied to their schedule would force me to reject more assignments. But more importantly, I am gaining an understanding that forces me to a less judgmental, more compassionate approach to the people I meet. I am sure there are folks reading this with a million questions, a million judgments, and they have a right to those, but maybe that's the lesson: just because we have a right to them does not mean that we have to share them.

I don't know what will happen with the paychecks; perhaps they will be right there ready tomorrow morning, perhaps not. I do know it would be much easier if we had an answer in that regard. Because the delay is already putting a delay in getting paid on another job that will require a site revisit (due to out of scope work, but I will likely not get paid if I don't do it, and there are expenses associated with it).

I wish I knew a good spot to busk.