A Multitude of Thanks

Thanks to everyone who has responded to my digital camera post. I'm still torn between a couple cameras but I figure that once I see them and play with them in person I will make up my mind.

It's either the compact Canon SD1100 IS or the Nikon Cool Pics L18. The deciding factor may actually just be the battery. The Canon uses a Li-Ion battery which is touted to last longer than any regular batteries. The Nikon uses plain ol' AA batteries... on which I've probably spent enough in the past year alone to have purchased a pretty nice new camera.

But I do want to play around with each of them and see what I think about their individual ease of use. So hopefully I will get a friggin' load out of New Hampshire headed towards home tomorrow. I have a few things I need to take care of at home ASAP, the camera being one of the most minor. But if I don't get it returned to the store by next Monday I'll be stuck with it, hoping to sell it only on ebay. And I'd rather not do that.

....Good lawd I hope I get out of here tomorrow. I am glad that I did at least find a fairly decent truck stop with a great little diner and hot showers. I was happy with just those two amenities. I delivered my load at the Wal-Mart DC in Raymond, NH this afternoon. After making the drop, I called in to inquire about my next work assignment. The dispatcher all but laughed as she related that it didn't look like I would get anything today.

Apparently, there were other company drivers in line ahead of me for getting a load out of here. As in... 33 other drivers ahead of me some of whom had been sitting up here since Saturday! Which to me just seems absurd. But what do I know... I'm just a driver not a dispatcher.

So I hung out in the diner making acquaintance with an independent driver who leases on with my company. It was nice to have someone to talk to. After eating and gabbing for a couple hours, I decided it was high time to wash the stink off. So I headed to the truck to get my shower accessories and a clean change of clothes. The shower was nice, although it could've had a little better ventilation and lighting.... but I got clean and honestly, at the end of the day... that's all that really matters.

Sometimes, it's the simple pleasures that make this life on the road worth while. A nice hot shower, the gift of complimentary hot cocoa, a chat with a like-minded individual.

Almost as good as the simple pleasures of spending time at home... nice hot shower without shower shoes... beer.... some more beer.

Yes I'd like to have some beer. I've had beer on the brain today. But leave it to me to be all responsible and stuff. Oh, they sell beer here at this truck stop. Well, in the convenience store part anyway. Good beer too... and I could've bought a 22 or a 40 oz.'er or even a six pack and swilled them away. But it's not legal to consume alcoholic beverages in a commercial truck.

Oh, if I were at a hotel for the night and close to a chain restaurant where I could drink indoors, I'd enjoy a nice cold brew... you betcha! But I won't drink when I have to stay in my truck, even if I don't do the drinking in my truck. It's just not right and I certainly don't want to risk getting caught. Believe it or not I actually like my career enough to know that doing something like that could ruin it for me. I could lose my job, my license, everything I've worked so hard to attain. It's just not worth it.

Well anyway... right now I'm idling my truck to get it nice and toasty warm before I shut off the computer and crack open a book for the rest of the evening. I'll crank up the Webasto, which by the way is still working beautifully since the last replacement, and snuggle up with the book I started reading yesterday. And hopefully after a night filled with blissful dreams with stunning digital quality I will wake up to the sound of my next load assignment coming across the Qualcomm.