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Showing posts from May, 2008

Solid Gold

I prefer that the medal I receive for the last load I hauled before I went home to be made of solid gold. Pure solid gold. For I deserve it. I was nervous going into the load, knowing fairly well how potentially horrendous the route I had to take was going to be in a big truck. I was in for a lot more than I'd bargained for. My load wasn't exactly excessively heavy, but on 9% grades, up and down, it was a bit much. But let me start at the beginning. Aquiring the load was no problem and the first stretch of the trip, not too bad. It was when I had made the stoopid decision to forego the provided directions for getting off the main interstate onto US-33 in Virginia that I made my first mistake. I figured, why go all these back roads and streets when I can just hop on US-33 from the I-81 at Harrisonburg?! HA! At first, it wasn't too bad, although I missed a turn for "Truck Route" and kept on going. No turning back, I figured. Little did I know I would end up taking t

Shew...

I am admittedly and prematurely very nervous about my load tomorrow. I pick up near Richmond, VA and am heading into my home state of WV to deliver the load same day. Sounds pleasant enough, right? It's not. The route I have to take is going to be lovely... yet treacherous. It's all state routes through very winding hills and dales. It's going to be a real test of my trucking abilities. I learned to drive a truck with a 48 footer behind it on roads similar to what I will be driving on tomorrow. But not nearly as trying as a 53 footer. I'm nervous. But I will be fine. That's why I'm a "professional". I will just transcribe my jitters into confidence and know that I will be just fine as long as I am smart and careful in every twist and turn. Take it slow and easy. The crappy part is after I deliver, I will not make it all the way home before my hours run out. So I will have to be in WV but not home for one more night. But this also works to my

Just a couple things....

Just a couple things I wanna get off my chest and maybe start some constructive conversations on.... 1) Why have fast food resturants started using those retarded-ass trash recepticles with small circular holes on the top instead of the wide-mouthed swinging door on the front? I suspect it's because they don't want to fish around in the trash for tossed dine-in trays. But would rather spend their time trying to remove a heaped over trash bag without getting ketchup and half eaten french fries all over themselves. These new trash recepticles piss me off. I liked the old method of "slide it all off into a trash can with the aid of the swinging door". I loathe having to perform the new "grab the corner of the advertisement/placemat paper while you attempt to slide off all the contents of your tray into an 8 inch hole and NOT get your food all over yourself" method . Seriously... bad idea. 2) WTF is wrong with people today when it comes to forming lines wher

Quickie...

I'm currently on a load that just pisses me off and will throw me all off schedule for at least a couple of days. Today was normal enough. Up at dawn, retrieve load, head northwesterly bound. I've stopped close to the TN/KY border for the night. I will get up way before the sun does in the morning to head up to Daleville, IN (north of Indy) to take another 10 hr. break tomorrow by 10am-ish. I will have to get some sleep while I'm there since I have to be up again by 9pm to drive the rest of the way to my delivery point about 30 minutes from the truck stop I'll be breaking at. This load is retarded... it delivers at 10:15 PM tomorrow night and has an estimated unload time of 6 hours. Apparently I'm to be expected to unload it myself. Which, I'm sorry... is soooo not happening. I might consider it if someone is willing to show me the ropes for the first pallet or two. But if there is a lumper (a person who you can pay to unload for you) available, you can b

A Blog

After my previous cleverly titled blog, I figured I'd go with something a little more simple. After the ado of the penis monster, the rest of my journey has been fairly pleasant. I stopped the other night at a Flying-J truck stop in Texarkana, Arkansas and enjoyed a free meal in the "Cookery". I was all prepared to pay about what... $10 or so for a dinner. I settled down, got my water with lemon and placed my order. After nearly 40 minutes my meal finally arrived. The place was relatively dead, so you can imagine my annoyance at having to wait so long. Not to mention the fact that the waitress that took my order never once came to tell me was sorry it was taking so long. Actually it seemed like she was intentionally avoiding my booth.. but that might've just been my own paranoia. I was just finishing the last of the water and grabbing my purse to leave in a huff when the waitress finally presented me with my meal. Little did I know that all the while the check out cle

Penis...

Yes my friends... I just titled my blog after the male reproductive organ. Why? Because I can. And because it's part of what I'm going to blog about today. Yesterday I was enjoying a lovely drive down US-67 through the State of Misery...er Missouri. It was hit or miss rain most of the morning but as the afternoon hours came to pass the sun came out and made for a lovely drive. I was about an hour and a half away from my decided destination for the night on the MO - AR state line when it happened. I was passed by an ordinary Isuzu pick-up truck, complete with Bond-O and rust spots (as an Isuzu pickup is sure to have these days). Nothing attention grabbing, just a bucket of rust cruising down the road. And then the driver had begun to shift a little in the drivers seat and then slowly began to decelerate. My initial thought..'Cel phone rang, it was on his belt or in his pocket and the conversation and new distraction had his foot forgetting about the gas pedal'. Boy

I know... I know...

It's been a while... as some of you have so sweetly pointed out to me. I've been busy as crap lately and honestly... when the day is done... I've not really been in the mood to blog or even get online. Get over it... haha I have, however, found myself thinking about things I'd like to touch on in blogs while I've been driving my life away. Of course, at this precise moment my mind is all amuck and not sure what I'll end up writing about. I do want to ask one question.... a favor really... Could someone please... please tell the bugs of the world to watch out for the big orange truck? I'm not quite fond of having their last memory impressed upon my windshield. I know some of them are just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I swear that the posse of eight or so bumbling bumble bees that I managed to kill in one fell swoop along I-24 the other day were in attack mode. I mean, why else would they have rammed straight into my truck? 8 at once... I s