Friday Feb. 29, 2008

My phone rang at 8am this morning. It was Jeff from Pierce on the other end. "Can you run down to the hospital this morning and pee in a cup?" he asked. Not a problem—into the shower, out the door and off I went.

It'll be Monday when the drug screen comes back, and Tuesday is orientation. Looks like maybe this weekend will be my last at Wally World thankfully—I'm tired of being broke.

__________________
__________
_______
Let's play the Road Rage Game...

You swerve your 3500 lb car in front of my 80,000 lb truck. Then, stomp your brake pedal in anger.

The first one to be crushed like a used Coke can is the loser.

Sunday March 2, 2008

I unboxed and built one last charcoal grill at about 10 pm. After delivering it to the Garden Center, I took out the garbage at 10:20 or so. At 10:30, I couldn't take it anymore, I punched out and left a half-hour early from what will hopefully be my last day at the Behemoth from Bentonville.

I told one assistant manager yesterday that I was leaving—that Sunday might be my last day.

"Wow, that's not much notice" he said.

I told him that I *had* been giving Wal-Mart notice, for over a year—that I needed full time hours in order to pay my bills and keep food on the table for my family. I also told him that Pierce had an empty truck that wasn't making them any money—that I couldn't expect them to hold that truck for two weeks while I gave Wal-Mart notice to find someone else to take my 24 hour a week job. My fridge is plastered with shut-off notices and I need to make some money now... screw Wal-Mart!

__________________
__________
_______
Let's play the Road Rage Game...

You swerve your 3500 lb car in front of my 80,000 lb truck. Then, stomp your brake pedal in anger.

The first one to be crushed like a used Coke can is the loser.

Monday March 3, 2008

Today has been one big rush—running around doing last minute things like... opening a new bank account, renewing the car insurance, getting things to prepare for going out on the road, lots, lots, lots to do! Orientation is tomorrow at 8 am sharp.

I'll have to stop by Wally World tomorrow and quit for real. They do an exit interview where they ask you things like, "Why are you quitting?"

I'm gonna tell 'em straight up—I could have made more money by picking up pennies off the street.

__________________
__________
_______
Let's play the Road Rage Game...

You swerve your 3500 lb car in front of my 80,000 lb truck. Then, stomp your brake pedal in anger.

The first one to be crushed like a used Coke can is the loser.

Hey Barcode-
I can relate to your situation. I quite driving 10 years ago swearing I was done. But I kept my CDL, just in case.
Without getting into too many details, the wonderful economy has taken all from me I can give. My bill pile is growing, too. I hate to go the mailbox anymore.
Anyway, today starts the countdown to a new career for me. 6 more days of sub standard wage.
St Patties day I'll be hitting the road again. Technically an 'OTR' position, but hauling construction equipment and supplies for a nationwide construction firm. Stay in motels, evening meals paid for, good hourly pay. Can't wait! Took care of my pee test and DOT physical all at the same time. If I hadn't kept my license all these years, I don't think I'd do it. Good luck!

Good luck to both you guys. Keep us posted.

Saturday March 15, 2008

Wow how time flies when you're having fun. So much has happened since I last logged on here, it'd take me a week to type it all out. I'm now sitting here at the Flying J in Haw River, NC—taking a 34 hour restart... my hours are real low.

Needless to say, after a very short orientation, I picked up my truck, bobtailed home and loaded her up. I was on the road that same day headed for New Orleans—a short little 275 mile warm-up trip with a very lenient 10 am delivery at Coca-Cola.

Very long story made very short... the bills were screwed up and I sat at Coke all day waiting for them to straighten it out. Not a very good first run. It did get better though—I'm really liking running from Texas to Virginia... all the southern states and NO Cali or NYC!

It only took a few hours to get used to driving again... just like I never left it. Well, except for having a small gear-grinding session on the DOT scales just outside of New Orleans.

I got a red light to come to the platform scale and my heart started pounding, LOL. As I slowed to a crawl to come up on the scale, I couldn't find a dang gear to save my life. I had to stop... get into gear... pull up. RED LIGHT!!! Pull to the side. I was crapping my pants! Why me? My very first load too!

I brought my log book and permit book inside—the adrenaline making my head twitch like a crackhead. The weighmaster asked to see my cab card and insurance, then told me I was over-gross. WTF?! Now I was really crapping my pants because I had scaled the load and it was legal. I thought maybe they had changed the laws on me since I last drove, and now I was screwed with an overweight ticket on my very first trip out.

Ahh, but it wasn't the case—I was just over the 70K they allow past the scales on 10 east coming into New Orleans. Apparently they still haven't fixed all the damage from Katrina. I had to turn around and go back to I-12 to take the Lake Pontchartrain causeway—50 some odd miles out of route and an hour late to my first appt. Great!

Since then, things have smoothed out. However, some things have changed drastically in the last ten years, like:

1) Drivers don't talk on the radio hardly anymore... only to make stupid noises while they sit at the truckstops. There was a mattress laying in the middle of I-85 coming up through NC. Quite a few trucks ran right past it and NEVER said a word! What the hell happened to warning your fellow drivers about road hazards? Put the cell phone away!!!

This wouldn't have happened ten years ago.

2) Drivers don't give you a blink-blink to say thanks when you cut your lights to let them know they're clear. Perhaps this is because too many trucks nowadays have daytime running lights... I dunno.

3) There are an awful lot of steering wheel holders out here who seem to have gotten their license out of a Cracker Jack box. I was coming out of Atlanta a few days ago, watching a Carolina Pride driver talking on his cell phone in rush-hour traffic. He was tailgating and driving like he was in a damn Ferrari with his trailer brakes on FIRE because he was hitting them so hard. I'm really surprised he didn't smack into the back of the truck in front of him.

Another driver tried to get him on the radio to tell him his brakes were flaming... but no use—he was too busy yapping on the phone and road-raging. If it weren't for the fact that I couldn't get close enough to get his tractor number and the traffic was so heavy, I'd have stopped somewhere and reported him to his safety dept. This guy was truly a LOSER who gives all truck drivers a bad name.

4) Please, for the love of god... STOP pissing at the fuel islands! I was in Commerce, GA watching another loser do this as the female Flying J employee walked along and pretty much saw the whole ordeal. This kind of crap is just plain retarded... and if it was legal, I'd give you a beating to within an inch of your life if I could.

There are women and children out here too.

I realize these kind of losers can't read... especially on the net. So, say something to them the next time you see them doing it.

Anyhow, time to catch up on Snazzy's thread.

__________________
__________
_______
Let's play the Road Rage Game...

You swerve your 3500 lb car in front of my 80,000 lb truck. Then, stomp your brake pedal in anger.

The first one to be crushed like a used Coke can is the loser.

wow ....i am so far outta the loop i didnt even know there was a loop...

good to hear yer back on the road...sure didnt take ya long to get back to b####ing....yup a true trucker at heart....lol

anyhow, just wanted to wish ya luck at the scales, a tailwind and hub miles pay

Thanks broncrider... I could use a string of good luck.

__________________
__________
_______
Let's play the Road Rage Game...

You swerve your 3500 lb car in front of my 80,000 lb truck. Then, stomp your brake pedal in anger.

The first one to be crushed like a used Coke can is the loser.

Congrats on getting your CDL back - I did the same thing in the 90's - let it lapse for a short period of time thinking I was going to do "something" else, only to find that most something else's don't pay a heckuva lot of money and are pretty much dead-end jobs anyway. I did almost the same thing you did in getting my license back - even paying a secondary company to do the road test versus the anal-retentive State employee who is just itching to fail you on any portion of the test......

I saw the aftermath of a truck running over a mattress a couple of years back, and the driver not bothering to stop and make sure the thing wasn't still stuck underneath the tractor. That thing dragged under there until the friction caused it to catch on fire. It was a brand new tractor, btw, didn't have more than 20k miles on it. It burned to the ground, the "aftermath" was sitting in that company's yard as a testament to - actually being a truck driver versus a lot of what's coming out of the mills today.

I totally agree with your analysis of the Cracker Jack Drivers. I don't understand how many of those people are actually getting a CDL. I think one of the most dangerous things I see in city traffic all day long is exactly what you already described: heavily loaded trucks tailgating whatever is in front of them. I mean, no more than a car's length between the nose of their tractor and the butt end of whatever's in front of them.

I used to love talking on the CB - it made the hours pass quickly. I guess the cellphone has taken the place of CB radio, but I don't think it takes the place of meeting new people and haivng some entertaining conversation while you both are headed the same direction for however long.......

Sunday March 16, 2008

About five hours left to go on my 34 hour truckstop prison sentence. I'm amusing myself on the net and playing around with Gimp (free Photoshop alternative).

You can see the fruits of my labor here: [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link.

I suppose I should try to take a little nap right now, being that I'm gonna skate outta here shortly after nine. I'm not really all that tired though. It'll probably hit me about an hour after I take off... lol.

__________________
__________
_______
Let's play the Road Rage Game...

You swerve your 3500 lb car in front of my 80,000 lb truck. Then, stomp your brake pedal in anger.

The first one to be crushed like a used Coke can is the loser.