Last Week

Last Tuesday the week started slow with a mere 68 mile run but then it got better. From home I picked up a load that was dropped in Cartersville GA and delivered to Dacula GA. Then from there my trail went to Sandersville GA, Hoosick Falls NY, Baldwinsvill NY and back to Cartersville GA where I am now. It was smooth sailing all the way around until I got to Chattanooga yesterday. Rain was coming down so hard that the road was becoming a river. I knew I could continue but just moving a little slower. I was worried about all of the cars that were out there. They were at serious risk of hydroplaining and at their eye level the mist was blinding.

The trucking industry is still suffering with more and more stories of closings and downsizing. Millis, it seems, is filling the gap. I have recently received two messages asking for referrals for drivers. I noticed this morning that a new training class is starting here in Cartersville. I am going to do a page about Millis Transfer in the future.

This blog has been neglected of late. I've noticed that a lot of other projects that I have are in the same shape. Things always bog down for me during the months of November through March. I am always thinking of things I want to do and more projects get started. Changes have to be made because I'm not managing my time well. This week I'll trim the fat and get back to focusing on what matters.

Back in Dixie Where I Belong

Last night I completed a run that started Friday morning. After the delivery in Greenwich NY I was sent up to South Glens Falls NY and picked up a load going to Cherokee AL. It was snowing hard and getting worse. By the time I got to I88 east below Albany the road was covered. I made it as far as Bath NY on I86 and shut down there for the night. Saturday was more of the same and stayed that way until I got headed south below Erie PA. I pushed on until I got south of Cincinnati and spent that night in northern KY on I71. Sunday should have been an easy 420 mile day but the cold and salt brine that battered my truck for the last week finally caused a problem. I started having electricle problems and lost my trailer lights. I didn't want to drive without brake lights so I called for roadside service. The pigtail cable was bad and there was a defect in the receiver on my tractor. They fixed it well enough to get my brake lights to work and I limped in to their shop. After almost five hours the ordeal was over and I was moving again. By the time I dropped my load and got an empty out it was 2100.The empty trailer I got had been loaded with scrap paper that must have been damp. Now the scraps left on there are frozen to the floor and I can't sweep it out. I'm sitting in the sun hopeing to thaw so I can get ready for my next load.

While I was at the shp a FEMA truck drove up with a flat tire. The drivers came in to get service and neither one of them could speak a word of english.

Technology of the week; This week it is my iPod nano. It has 16 Gig capacity and I'm using 10.5 Gig right now. I keep it loaded with music and podcast's. I listen to tech podcasts mostly but also motivational and opinion and I can listen to all of the services from my church that I miss. I refresh iTunes and sync when I am at home on my laptop and then I have more information than I can take in for the sixteen days or so that I am out. It connects to the aux on the radio in the truck. It really fights boredom and keeps my mind in gear. I have to have my iPod.

Ran Hard, Put Up Wet

This load was a challenge. I picked it up on 1/6 in Oconto Falls WI, about 50 miles north of Green Bay. I ran straight from there to about half way across IN on the turnpike. Yesterday , after exactly 10 hours, I humped it from there, 611 miles to Wells Bridge NY on I88 where I stopped for the night at a rest area. Then after another 10 hour break, I left there at 0400 to finish the last 135 miles to Greenwich and the customer. For me, that's pushing it pretty hard and there was a lot of freezing rain and stuff to keep me busy. So now I am at the KMart next to McDonalds waiting for a load. The forecast is more snow but the conditions are better than they are in a lot of the rest of the countory so I'm not complaining.
I'm still having trouble finding wifi to post updates. I can mount this phone with a usb and I going to try to copy this as a .txt and see if there is an app that will let me open it on the phone. If so then I can copy and paste it into this blog on the phones browser.

Cabin Fever

It's a frozen lot at the TA here in Rogers MN. My truck is backed in against a bank of snow deposited there by the plow. There is at least an inch of ice on the lot. It was 22 degrees below zero last night. That's a new personal record for me.
 The Prime truck next to mine is being towed. There is a sign that says that will happen if the truck is unattended. It looks like it's been there a while. Some driver probably left it there to go visit family for a while I guess.  Silly driver. Why would you think you could park in one of the only legal places for miles around and get out. Another example of the lack of respect for our kind. I'm sure that whoever called the wrecker will enjoy dinner at home and sleep in his own bed tonight and never think about the poor driver who just wanted to park for a while and get out for a quick holiday visit.
You could say that he should have known the rule or that the spot should be for those who have to stay in their truck because there is no place else to go. I agree, especially if I were circling looking for a spot. The point is, thereare just not enough places to park. Like everyone wants energy but they don't want a power plant nearby, so everyone wants stuff but they don't want the trucks that bring it to park near by. Just bring it, unload it and get the heck out of town.
This load delivers at 0400 in the morning. I've got all day to sit and hopefully, after delivering in the morning, I can get another load and keep moving. At least I found a hotspot so I can update this blog. The Vikings play in about an hour and I can pick up that station well on my WinTV-HVR tuner that connects via usb to my laptop. It works pretty good when I'm near enough to a city with strong broadcast signals.