Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

Yep.

Wound up with 4 hours detention.

Getting paid $80 for playing Civilization 6 is my idea of a good time.

 

Many years ago I used to work in a warehouse driving forklifts etc. The warehouse supervisor had this really mean streak that we suspected was from all the bodybuilding steroids he took.

He had an unwritten rule, any truck driver that dared to ask him how long it would get take to get unloaded automatically got put to the end of the line and unloaded at the end of the day.

There would be noone else to unload and he would tell us not to touch that truck until 1 hr before quitting time even if it meant we were sitting around doing nothing.

That guy is always in the back of my mind whenever I go to a shipper or receiver. I don't want to be that driver hung out to dry.

 

Dropped off my load of plastic sheeting at Xymid or Xychem or whatever that place is across from Hill-Phoenix.

Truck has developed a mild shimmy on the front end when running about 30-50mph, and pulls noticeably to the right at highway speeds. And the monitor on my laptop needs repair. These two circumstances conspired to make me put in a shop ticket for my truck and take a "34" (more like a "44" 'cause I won't be back in the truck until Tuesday morning).

Got home to the apartment and it was 90F inside. That's what happens when you're a trucker who lives alone. Still pretty hot in here, but at least it's closer to 80 than to 90.

 

Seems to be the other extreme.

I can see making someone wait if they give you attitude about it but to punish some guy just inquiring about the length of time seems just as bad.

I mean the guy might just innocently want a ballpark time frame to know if he should start making dinner or lay down for a long sleep... and could not care less how long it will actually take...

... or settle in for a nice long session of Civilization 6...

 

Back in the truck, waiting on a HP load to be finalized so I can take it to Houma, Louisiana. Home of the Swamp Thing. Used to live in New Orleans, and Houma is about an hour away.

The front-end shimmy in my truck was apparently due to the steers, because when I arrived back at the truck this morning, I had two brand-new steers.

The passenger-side wheel was missing a lug nut.

So I drove over to the shop to have them add a lug nut. And they wanted me to put in a ticket.

I mean, okay, I'm easy to get along with. But why do I gotta put in a ticket to get you to finish the job? Why isn't that part of the original ticket? Don't get it.

Anyhow, lug nut has been found and applied, tire is secure, now if HP could get off their keister I could get rolling.

 

I suppose it’s time to get back to work. I haven’t had the umph to do anything, but it’s time. Maybe getting back in the swing of things will help. Who knows? I’m actually taking the entire month of October and renting a condo down on Hatteras, just a little ways down from the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. It was my mothers favorite place. Until then, work beckons. Back at it tomorrow.

 

Glad you are back at it... and glad you will be getting away for a bit if R&R... you deserve it.

 

Do you to go back OTR, or are you just going to stay local?