Gi-Gi Roxx - The Ravings of a Lunatic

Oh how fun and funny it is to review posts from the past year! In January I vowed to use my mini-stair stepper while I was out on the road... totally didn't happen. I think it stayed in the truck with me another couple of months and then it found a home in the basement. February, I only made one post in which I proclaimed my love for my iPhone and The Twilight Saga... both of which I still obsess over, to a lesser extent. I bought and watched "Eclipse" last night finally and dang it, now I wanna start reading the books all over again. But of course, I got the whole Harry Potter series for Christmas this year and it's next on the list. So Edward and Bella and Jacob will just have to wait. Oh boy, in March I learned lessons , blogged about how I took my sweetie for a three week ride along and about how I had some truck trouble that was annoying. Which reminds me, I saw Kenny about two months ago with another pumpkin lady driving him. I hope she has a better exp...

I survived the whirlwind Holiday weekend. The family was good to my sweetie and I this year, we scored a Keurig coffee maker, mula , and all sorts of fun goodies to eat, play with, and enjoy. We ate, drank and were merry. And now it's back to life, back to reality, with both of us developing nasty colds or whatever this crap is. Blah. Aside from that... nothing too exciting. I did find a Taco Bell in a neighboring state where I run routes at work that still has the chili cheese burrito on the regular menu on Sunday. Here in town, our Taco Bell's have it only on very rare occasions as a special item that lasts for a few weeks. Much like the McRib that drags hillbillies out the hollar a'droolin ' for that sweet bbq pork-like product on a bun. Except that the chili cheese burrito is actually good. Well, time to take another zinc supplement and make some chicken noodle soup. *sniffle, cough*

Yesterday, my first of three days off for the week, I realized I still had a few last minute gifts to pick up. I also had gotten an e-mail the night before from a certain big electronics store telling me that my new flat screen, LCD HD TV was ready to be picked up. This meant going to what we locally refer to as "South Ridge". Located just south of Charleston on Rt. 119 (aka Corridor G) is a series of highly congested strip malls filled with stores and restaurants, just like the ones you see in thousands of towns across America. Strip malls annoy me because they ruined the awesomeness that was once a REAL MALL, you know kind that had a parking garage, food court, multiple levels and the convenience of being able to go from store to store without having to escape the season appropriate climate controlled indoor environment. We do still have such malls in the area, one is just a hop, skip and a jump away from my house, located in the heart of Downtown. But trust me, the gran...

And whiskers on kittens. Yesterday I watched a little birdie doing something odd in a bed of mulch. It was a wee little wren I believe, but he looked mighty with his feathers all fluffed out, trying to keep warm I suppose. But the little feathered friend of mine was doing something I couldn't figure out. It was hopping back and forth in the mulch seeming digging a hole. It was the cutest darn thing ever. Bitty bird worked fast, much faster than seemed natural. As it hopped back and forth it was using its feet to displace mulch and dirt making a little dugout. I thought maybe it was looking for food, worms or something, but after making a sufficient dent in the ground it seemed to grow bored and flew away. I was there for about 30 minutes, figured I'd see him return. But alas, it never did. Today, I was amused by the footprints of another bird in another town, left in the fresh dusting of snow that fell last night. From what I could tell it was either a very tall bird w...

I almost didn't do it. I played with my photo editing software creating a possible new header for my blog using a new picture I'd taken. I debated for quite some time whether or not to actually use it. I love love love the header that Salena had made for my page. But I was also battling with the internal need for a fresh look and a little change of pace. With the more personal direction my blog is taking, not being just about trucking stuff anymore, I felt a new look was in the future. After finalizing the header in the editing program I stared at it for well over 20 minutes, wondering if it had the look and feel I was looking for. Would it suit me? My blog? Would it cost me readers or maybe attract new ones? Would anyone even care or notice? Debating over, I headed over to the design section of my blogger account for this blog and tried it on. Fiddling with the backgrounds and font colors and such, trying it all on for size. I found the right mix of everything and without hes...

Yeah, so yesterday after I had made all of my deliveries and was headed back to the depot I realized that I was gonna end up making a day of it in less than 10 hours. Having had a short day of it on Monday and only putting in two tens I really needed all the extra time I could get on the week for my last day of work. I looked at the clock and noticed that it was coming up on rush hour. Doing a few quick calculations I knew I needed to burn at least an extra 45 minutes to make a full ten hour shift for the day. With that in mind, I had to then choose which route to take and what additional things I could do along the way to stretch the time as best I could. I didn't want to do anything personal with company time, because I DO have work ethic against that sort of thing. Even though I could have stopped and done some window shopping along the way. Instead I checked my fuel gauge and figured I could stop off and get the tanks topped off which would burn about 15 minutes. But dang ...

So I was doing my thang at work yesterday when I came upon a fill box that contained what I can only describe as a spider that committed suicide. Many of our fill boxes are small aluminum boxes attached to the outside of the customers' building. They have a hinged, locking door that opens to reveal the fill bib upon which we screw our fill gun to do the thing we're paid to do. When I opened one of these boxes yesterday I found that there was a spider of sizable proportions, hanging limp legged from a thick strand of webbing. At first glance I thought maybe it was just frozen to the inside wall of the box next to the fill bib, but then I saw the strand of silk that I swear seemed to be wound around the head of the spider. Perhaps the poor bastard just couldn't handle being a creepy nasty spider any longer and decided to end it all. Perhaps it was trying to spin a web and just had an accident. Maybe, a scorned spider lover killed it and staged it to look like a suicide. Whate...

Today I put in the effort, I got dressed for cold weather, I got my mind past the snowy and blustery bologna going on outside the house, and I pumped myself for a day of work. I cleared the snow off the car, drove to the shop, cleared the snow off the truck, headed into the world ready to work. Little did I know I'd chicken out after a couple of oh-so-near-misses. I drove nearly an hour south of the city to do a route today. The last one for the week (my company work week is technically Tuesday through Monday). It was a measly 15 stops, all pretty close together. I got to my first stop, backed in as close as I could get to the tank I needed to fill, bundled up and trudged through the snow. When my duty was complete I headed back to the truck to work up a receipt for the customer when the first idiot of the day nearly whacked my truck with her SUV. I just don't get why people think they're invincible behind the wheel of these over sized vehicles. I don't care if it is a ...

Today I'm going to go see a chiropractor. I hope she can help fix the pain, agony and despair that has become my body. I think I've got something really screwed up in my cervical spine (aka I've got a pain in the neck). I've been waking up in the middle of the night with pain in both of my arms. Pretty bad pain. Which is accompanied by intense tingling and numbness in my hands. It's terrible. Last night I noticed that I was waking up when I rolled onto either side. Laying flat on my back is the only position that doesn't seem to cause the pain to flare up. I attempted to prop myself up on more pillows, that didn't help. I tried laying with out a pillow, didn't help either. I might have gotten about 5 hours of total sleep last night because of this. The worst yet. Most nights I've only woken up once or twice. Last night, it was half a dozen times or more. This sucks. UPDATE Went for my first visit with the chiropractor. Holy crap I'm screwed up. M...

Taking a few minutes to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. I spent quite a few turkey day's over-the-road, eating dinner along side the many other drivers working through the holiday. I celebrated in company terminals or truck stop restaurants for the past three years. While it was not the best way to spend one of my favorite family holidays, but it wasn't too bad either. But I am ever so thankful to be home this year. So to those of you still out there trucking today, Thank you.

Today I opted to fall off of my non-soda drinking wagon. And much to my surprise, I was greatly disappointed in my choice of carbonated, sugary beverage. So much so, that I found myself craving water like I've never craved it before. Interesting really. It's also my first day off work for the week. Loving it. The day off. The job, not so much. I'm actually kinda finding that I'm disappointed with my choice of career change. It's not that the job isn't what I expected. Actually it is pretty much exactly what I expected. However, I didn't expect to hate it so much. Don't get me wrong, I'm not quitting, giving up, throwing in the towel, whatever you wanna call it. I'm gonna stick to it and get through it. I might even find that eventually I'll learn to like it. But for right now, I'm definitely questioning my ability to make sound life changing decisions in the career end of the life spectrum. *sigh* I'm also finding that I ge...

Okay, work update (then the good stuff). After posting the last entry I headed to work to find the safety team still in full force at the depot. Little did I know I would be spending the day with one of them in the jump seat of the bulk truck as I ran a route. Lucky for me the guy and I got a long pretty well, had pleasant conversation, absorbed a few safety lessons along the way, and shared a hilarious moment watching a troupe of local homeless folks who were, while drunk and disorderly, acting like clowns (likely unintentionally). The day did go pretty well, I actually ran a full route for the first time since being solo and with the safety guy along, I learned a lot more about my job requirements and things I can do to make my life easier while on route. End of the day came, we all parted ways dreading the 6 am wake up Wednesday morning for the big all-hands-on-deck safety meeting we were gonna be having. The meeting wasn't all that awful. Just your basic safety stuff, video...

Well I'm now midway through my first officially solo work week. And so far it's already gone pretty terribly. Sunday I started out at a bright and early 6 am, loaded up the truck, installed my portable XM radio and hit the road. I headed to Welch, WV for an out of gas service request. For those of you unfamiliar with this bright little gem in southern WV, it's literally in the middle of no where. And from Charleston, in a commercial vehicle, it takes about 3 hours to get there. The ride was enjoyable, twisting and turning through some lovely scenic areas. I arrived to find the stop in need of service big time. They had called us the night before claiming to be out of gas. But the odd part was that they have a 750 lb tank that we'd just filled less than 4 days before. Doing my visual inspection of the tank before I began the filling process I found that they were still pretty much full, but the pressure on the system had dropped below operating levels. My first s...

Welp, the big boss made it down this week. He actually arrived unannounced yesterday morning. But I didn't find out until I was pulling back into the parking lot (alone) in one of the company box trucks after a long day of driving around in southwestern WV yesterday evening. As I crested the hill and turned on my left turn signal I saw his vehicle parked beside the shop. Oh crap! Here I was pulling in, driving solo, without having had done my final ride along. I grabbed my cell phone and dialed my shop boss, who'd taken the day off. "Dude, big boss man is here, WTF do I do now... I just pulled in, ALONE?" I spat out, panicked. "Oh man, I dunno, good luck!" he replied, half joking... half empathetic. I decided it was best to go in, beaming a smile, putting off positive vibes and do my best to kill him with kindness. It seemed to be unnecessary since I found him in a rather incredible mood. We didn't exchange more than greetings and simple pleasantries...

So my three days' off were great. Fun filled and adventurous, as my life always seems to be these days. I won't bore you with the details, but I will say I had a pretty good 72 hours. Sunday morning was the best end to a good run of great days too. Guess what Gi-Gi did? Yep, she started talking in the third person AND she ran a company truck all by her lonesome, all day. It was pretty much awesome. And I totally needed it for a morale boost, as many of you could tell from my last few posts of doom, gloom and despair. I was just soooo tired of having to hang out with a babysitter all day while on the job. My training was supposed to be three weeks, and all because of one guy it turned into over 4 weeks (and technically still counting). Even though my direct boss has set me free and said I'm good to go the big boss will a llegedly be down on Wednesday to "certify" me and "officially" release me for solo work. Of course, no one has heard from him since he...

I know, "it'll all work out" "it'll get better". OMG I'm tired of hearing this. Today my boss texted me to tell me that the big boss isn't bothering to come to town until Wednesday of this coming week. Which of course means that I will have to ride along for a grand total of 4 more days. I might not survive. My sanity is in jeopardy. The big boss will likely fire me instead of setting me free, when I tell him how I feel about this bull puckey. I'm starting to second guess my decision to change jobs. UGH Why?

Yeah, so all my hopes and dreams were dashed when I learned that the big boss wasn't gonna make it to town to do my final ride along anytime soon. He was supposed to be down Monday, then it got changed to Tuesday. Tuesday came and went and supposedly he was gonna be in at 6am on Wednesday. Geared up and ready to go, I was finally ready to get this training thing done and over with! Then I got a text late on Tuesday that said he, once again, wasn't gonna be making it down. Dang it. So now I'm well past my three weeks of training. Annoyed. Frustrated. But the good news is I'm on day one of my three days off. So at least for 72 hours I don't have to deal with it or worry about it. Tonite I'm going to meet up with my sister and her family for Trick-or-Treating at our pawpaw's house. Tomorrow, I'm getting up and finally hitting the YMCA. I plan on cranking out some cardio and working up a good sweat. Tomorrow nite my sweeties dads' girlfriend and ...

You know what I've done today... Next to nuthin'. It's great. I realized earlier that in four days I'll begin another three days off. That's pretty sweet if you ask me. Used to be I'd count down the weeks until I could get three days off. Now I just gotta put in 40 hours to get three days off. Awesome. I'm anxious to see how this week goes. I'm really hoping the big boss comes in for my final ride along on Monday and that he thinks I do a swell job, congratulates me on a job well done and lets me fly the nest and do this job on my own. Oooh please ooh please! Aside, I'm just enjoying my days off. I've been quite lazy so far on the days I've had off. I figure that will wear off in a couple more rounds and then I'll find that I want to do more than loaf around for three days. Maybe. It is coming up on winter and I'll likely be more inclined to hibernate a little more. But then again, one can hibernate and still be productive...

I woke up, started the laundry I'd neglected yesterday, started the coffee, ate breakfast and then settled onto the sofa for some iTunes updating and boob tubing. I turned on the tele to find the congratulatory end of an America's Funniest Home Videos episode where a little girl sneezing on meatballs had just won the $10,000 prize. A few commercials later, and Scrubs had begun. And to my delight it was the Scrubs, The Musical episode. So now for the rest of the day I'll be singing my favorite number, "Everything comes down to poo". Hooray! If you haven't yet, be sure to go check out my Experience This blog. Maybe comment with a few new experiences of your own over there. Or leave me a few ideas of new things I could try. Oh yeah, and this morning I also decided to check out some info on my site meter and found that someone recently found their way to my blog by Googling "how truckers managing 2 log books". If this was you, please don't do that....

The thumb is looking much better now. Still a little sore, but I'll survive. I've currently got my feet up, my laptop atop my lap and a hot cup of coffee within reach. Damn I love days off! I had some long days this week, Monday was the longest coming in at just over 12 1/2 hours. It was also the most stressful day because I was driving along some of the tightest, curviest roads in this grand state of West Virginia. Roads that give me anxiety in a car, let alone in a commercial vehicle with a very high center of gravity that is also filled with swishing liquid. Yikes! But again I survived. Even if I did fall face first into bed less than a half hour after walking in the door. I'm happy that I'm finally working my scheduled work week, where I get three days off after four days on. Woo hoo. Now I've gotta condition myself for getting up earlier than I have been while in training. Which means I need to be going to bed around 8:30 - 9:00 pm. UGH. Not my idea of a good b...

You can go over to the Hyperbole and a Half blog or you can envision me making blood chili. Blood chili you ask? Well the chili got a little of my life force in it after I decided I wanted to know what it felt like to run the tip of my thumb across the edge of the lid on a freshly opened can of kidney beans. Yeah, no... it was actually an unfortunate accident that has landed me in an unsightly bad bandaging job covering said thumb that sadly is still dribbling Cullen catnip. I should probably keep my hand elevated above my head until the bleeding stops. But then I couldn't blog. So there. Today is my first of two days off before my final week of training starts Sunday morning. I got up early and met my sister at our grandfathers' house where we visited for a few hours. Then she and I bailed and went to a Chinese buffet for lunch. After we were stuffed, we parted ways and I headed home. I was home for about a half an hour before heading out again to tend to banking busines...

Yesterday my sweetie and I put on some miles as we cruised through the Charleston Rod Run & Doo Wop car show. We hopped on our bicycles and rode downtown for the annual car show where we parked and walked a good portion of the Boulevard that runs along the Kanawha River while looking at some pretty sweet rides. We ended up spending around 4 hours walking along ogling vehicles of all makes and models before we pedaled back home. Today we hit the highway and headed to the Milton Pumpkin Festival . And today I learned all about gourds. Did you know that most of those weird looking little gnarly gourds are useless, except for as "decoration"? After we had seen all there was to see at the Pumpkin Festival and had our fill of nummy carnival foods, including hand dipped corn dogs, we headed up the road to a local Corn Maze. Oh how I wish I'd not had blisters on my little pigs from all the walking at the Doo Wop and the Pumpkin Festival, because I think I'd have really...

Watch out! I'm backing up ova here! Whooooaaaa! So this morning I had the pleasure of backing one of the company bulk trucks into the shop so we could fill it with liquid CO2. I can drive. I can drive well. I am a trained professional. But this morning, you wouldn't have known it. I swear to you it took me over 10 minutes to move the truck a mere 30 feet from outside the shop to inside the shop. Trouble was mostly with my brain being stuck in "opposite" mode, which is excellent for backing up a vehicle with a trailer behind it. The trucks I'll be driving now are all straight trucks. Turn left to go left, not turn right to go left. UGH. So this morning I climbed into the truck, adjusted the seat and then put the truck into reverse and started backing into the shop. I freaked out when I thought I was about to hit the office wall inside the shop. I thought that the mirror was just out of adjustment and I wasn't seeing anything close to what I needed to be seeing....

Days 3 and 4 of bubble training were wet ones for sure! Yesterday we did a few stops and a lot of driving between the town for the first stop and the town for the rest. And it rained all dang day. It was not too bad though, just a little soggy, but I did learn a good bit more. Today was the real treat in the education department. Our first stop of the day was a pain because we were trying to troubleshoot a leaking system in the rain, make that the COLD RAIN. UGH And to beat all, we still never figured out where on earth the problem was. We changed out tanks, lines, and valves and still had a slow leak. So tomorrow another tech guy from the company is gonna give it fresh eyes and hopefully be able to fix the problem. After calling it quits on the leaker, we made a couple more stops where I had the pleasure of standing out in the rain some more filling tanks. The town we were filling in was about an hour and a half drive from the depot. So after the leaky fiasco and other fills in the ne...

Carbon Dioxide, a greenhouse gas? Sure. A way to tickle the noses of the masses. Hellz yes. The reason I've begun a new adventure in life? Duh! Many of you have asked what this mystery job I've left the OTR world for is all about. Well, to put it simply.... Bubbles. I'm now a full time employee in training at a national beverage carbonation distributor. My job includes driving around in a cute little truck wearing a cute little uniform delivering bubbles to all the good little boys and girls! It's not an 18-wheeler, but a class B straight truck. I am also getting good use of my hazmat and tanker endorsements, finally. So far I'm merely a trainee, watching, observing, learning the basics. My training will be three weeks and even after that I'm sure I'm gonna be asking lots of questions for weeks to come. My primary function is filling tanks with the liquid CO2 at restaurants, gas stations, and bars. I'll be in and out of my truck pretty much all day long,...

If you're looking to keep up with someone having a REAL life adventure, please take a little time to go read from one place to another the life of Katie . I grew up with Katie, going to the same schools from pretty much day one til graduation. She's a great gal and right now she's having a great adventure! In her regular life she's a flight attendant, on the side, she's apparently a true adventuress. I envy the journey she's on right now. Even with all my travels as an OTR trucker, I never got to do the types of things she's doing right now. So check her out and buckle up in her virtual passenger seat as she continues on her adventurous No Expectation Vacation .

Well I got the message that I get to sleep in for one more day before I hit the ground running with the new company. Something about paperwork not getting into the right hands on time. I'll take the extra day off. I can work on cooking... something I've not done much of for the past three years. Today my sweetie and I hit the grocery store... something I'll do alone next time. I like to take my time in the aisles, I feel rushed with a second party. In the meantime, relaxing, blogging, watching the tube.

Well I did it, on Tuesday I pulled into the company terminal in Columbus, Ohio, made a few phone calls, scanned a little bit of paperwork, and then after my sweetie arrived, I cleaned out Marge and said my goodbyes. It was a little bittersweet, knowing I wasn't just cleaning out for a week long vacation, but for good. It was also a little relieving. I'd adjusted to life on the road and in a truck pretty well, and will admittedly miss some aspects of being an OTR truck driver, but only a little. To be home in my own bed, in my own shower, on my own time, at a new job with a set schedule will take some getting used to, but once I'm in the zone, I just know it's gonna be awesome. I've joked that I should build a little truck like space in a corner of the basement for me to escape to when the entirety of the house and the world gets to be overwhelming. Only half joking though. I know these first weeks back will be a challenge on so many levels, and that I'll likely ...

I can't believe I'm less than 72 hours away from NOT being an Over-The-Road Adventuress any longer. It's a little exciting and a little scary at the same time. I'm really looking forward to my little career shift, learning to do a new type of trucking related job. This new job will be a little bit of driving, which I love, and a lot of hands on hard work, which I'll surely learn to love. I'm getting nervous about learning the new skill set required for my new job, I'm sure that after a little training and time it'll be second nature and I'll be just fine. But I'm going to be learning to handle some hazardous materials and the equipment that is used to transfer the material from one location to another, safely. It will be intensive and extensive and I'm sure, interesting as well. I'm also kinda looking forward to the uniforms. Seriously... to not have to stare at my clothes and try to figure out what to wear for the day will be a sma...

I've been realizing just how close the end of my OTR career is these past few days. Sure I can always come back, but I really don't see it happening. Anywho, I was driving along yesterday when I passed a hospital that I've seen go from literally a dirt mound littered with bull dozers and back hoes to a full service, full parking lot, fully functioning medical care facility. I've realized just how much change I've been privy to over the past three years, as I've made my way around the country. I've seen things built, destroyed, and otherwise altered in many places. I've seen sunrises and sunsets in 44 of 50 states. I've chased and been chased by tornado's, super cell thunderstorms storms, snow storms, and other threatening weather phenomenon. I've driven through inches of snow and ice and lived to tell the tale. I've busted two trailer tires from careless rookie mistakes. I've helped other drivers whenever I could. And been helped b...

I swear I need to read back through my blog on or around birthdays' past, because I kinda got the feeling of de ja vu today when at random I happened to look to my left at the car hovering right beside me in the fast lane and found a guy merrily massaging his member while trying to get my attention. He got it all right... I tooted the horn and I then thought he was gonna run into me. Don't think he expected air horn accompaniment. He promptly fell back and pulled off the highway. Weenie waggers be warned, Gi-Gi doesn't play the part of silent observer. Well today is my birthday. I woke up in my own bed at home, next to my fiance, to the sound of my alarm clock telling me it was time to get up and get a move on. Soon to follow were birthday wishes in the form a text from my sister, a call from my daddy, and another text from my sister... and birthday snuggle with my sweetie. Then I really had to get up and get my butt in gear. After a lovely 5 days off I had to get back...

Well, today I put in my two weeks' notice, resigning my post as over-the-road adventuress. Soon I shall begin a new adventure as local route tanker cutie and bubble distributor. Should be exciting!!! More soon....

I'm adjusting pretty well to life after Facebook. It was tough, those first 48 hours or so. I kept picking up my iPhone, wondering what on Earth I would use it for now. Then I downloaded the game app Angry Birds... too much fun I tell ya! Actually though I'm finding that the battery life on my iPhone has greatly increased on a day to day basis since I'm not constantly logging on to check and post crap all over FB. And when I had a load that took me through the house yesterday, I wasn't getting annoyed glares from my fiance while sitting at the dinner table. Used to be I'd peek over the iPhone and see him glowering. ;o) I did sneak though the house, well not really sneak, I asked for a load through the house for an appointment I wanted to make (and then keep). It was successful. Making and keeping the appointment that is. The outcome of said appointment is as of yet to be determined. But I'm optimistic. I'll talk about it at a future time, I'm s...

It's been a long time coming. I finally deleted my Facebook account. Its a relief really. I know there are people sitting there thinking, wtf is wrong with this girl?! But whatever... my decision, happily made. Perhaps now I can stop wasting time and energy and get something constructive, creative and more satisfying accomplished! So for those of you who had been fans, I'm sorry. I'm not completely sure that the "fan" page will go away with the deletion of my account, but if not you'll soon notice that it isn't being updated any longer and hopefully remove it from your list of pages. Which reminds me that I'll need to update my website to remove the "fan me" links and such. Ugh, it's never over, really, is it? haha I thought I'd never actually give up Facebook, or social network sites in general. But around this time last year I deleted my MySpace account, which was liberating. And ever since I've been itching to give up F...

Can this even be considered the dog days of summer? *lemme go do a quick Google search to find out* According to Wikipedia : "Dog Days" (Latin: diēs caniculārēs) are the hottest, most sultry days of summer. In the northern hemisphere, they usually fall between early July and early September. In the southern hemisphere they are usually between January and early March. The actual dates vary greatly from region to region, depending on latitude and climate. Dog Days can also define a time period or event that is very hot or stagnant, or marked by dull lack of progress. The name comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called the Dog Star, was somehow responsible for the hot weather. So, yeah welcome to the dog days of summer y'all. Man it's been sweltering here lately. I'm not fond of weather extremes, especially not the heat, more especially not humid heat. And in the past few weeks it's been the latter loathed weather that pretty much the whole country h...

I just deleted the "Other Side of Gi-Gi Roxx" blog. It was crap. And I only had 15 posts in a period of what, 6-8 months. Hardly worth it, I figured. But thanks to those of you who read the few posts I'd made. I'm sure many of you are quite aware of my lack of blogging over here, too, lately. My posts are getting fewer and farther between, especially since I got rid of my internet air card. I'm just not as compelled to tell my stories as I was once. So consider this fair warning that things might be getting even quieter around here. If you need something to read, click on a link over to the right, any of those blogs will keep you totally entertained! Some of them are updated daily, some of them even mutltiple times a day. So there you have it... :o)

So I've finally arrived back to some sort of normalcy since my 10 day vacation. Which, by the way, was amazing on so many levels. My first run back was a late night pick up, all night run, and early morning delivery that took me from our Columbus terminal to Warren, OH to acquire the load then over to Rochester, NY to deliver. It was exhausting, especially since I'd had a full nights' sleep the night before and couldn't do more than cat nap before hitting the road after sunset. After I delivered, I shut down for a ten hour break behind the K-Mart store I had delivered at and managed about a two hour nap in the scorching heat. I idled off and on but to little avail. It was near 100 degrees out and this is not a girl who likes to sweat. 10 hr DOT break complete I headed over to Macedon, NY to pick up my next assignment, only to get there and be told it didn't exist. argh. So I moved down the street a piece to a local Wal-Mart where I occupied 65' of space for a fe...

I'd asked for questions and one person sent an email FULL of questions. I also received two other questions via comment which will be answered at the end. So sit back and enjoy! 1. Did you have any trepidation making this decision, knowing that it would take you away from your family, friends and boyfriend? My goodness I was blind at first to the actual reality of what this career was going to entail. I knew I'd be over-the-road but I did NOT realize how much time it took to be over-the-road. I didn't know really how much of my "real life" I'd miss out on. I just wanted to drive a big truck and see the country while I did it. It wasn't until after I'd completed school yard training with my company and was set to meet up with my training engineer (TE) that it sank in. My sweetie still reminds me frequently of how hard I cried the whole drive to meet my TE, I was scared, tired, scared some more, freaking out, and did I mention scared? 2. I assume you and...