Trucking can be like a bad marriage...

Most women drivers I see out here, do a splendid job in style and dress...

You would never know most were 'drivers', if you saw them elsewhere...

The amazing thing about this is they do it in the exact same enviornment men drive it...
It's as if women insist on maintaning a certain level of 'appearence'...and maybe cause the pressure is higher for them to do so...

Women drivers work, live, sleep, in the exact same conditions their male counter parts do, but very rarely, if ever, do you see female drivers in worn, torn, stragly attire...they always look well kept...

So if they can do it, why don't men?

The other day I complimented a female driver on her feet.



Yes 'feet'...in such a rough, ragedy enviornment, her soft feet, sandals, and over all attire, stood out like a rose...

The lady was probablly in her late 40's, early 50's, but had feet like a 25 year old, cause she took care of herself...I found that inspiring...and it let me know that one can exist in this enviornment without morphing into egor...

When I see people who stand out, I let them know...and they seem to appreciate being noticed...whether male or female, if something stands out about them in a positive way or encouraging way...9/10 I let them know...and usually recieve a smile and 'why thank you' type of response...

I notice over all, females are less willing to let their enviornment dictate who they are...their will to still maintane their personal and seperate identity away from driving is very appearent in how they dress...

It's as if their able to compartmentalize better than men or males...

You never see a 'sloppy female driver'...cause they won't allow it...they have higher personal standards than that...

And I do find that inspiring at times...

And again, it may just be reflective of a kind of life long conditioning to look good all of the time...and i'm sure that, at times, has added pressure to it...

Where as many guys are comfortable, or see nothing wrong with, stepping out of truck with oil stained T-shirt...for a female, that would be totally unacceptable...

Anyways, just some early morning thoughts...

 

I had to say 'no' today on a dispatch...one of the benefits of driving for a owner...you can say 'no' when you've had enough...

Dispatchers, expecially in rapid fire routes, just often loose touch, (not that their ever in touch) with the amount of time and energy it takes running up and down the road...

You can tell them 'I only had 2 hours of sleep in 24 hours'...

And it means absolutly nothing to them at all...
They will turn around and assign you a load, even after you tell them that, that you have no business running...it amazes me...

They do not feel your pain or discomfort...to them it's a business...and you are a tool....

But I had enough today...I know my limits...and kindly said 'no'...'no mas'...

Not only that, but the a/c in the truck needs repair...and a few other things...

The kind soul I work for is beyond understanding...they are the only reason why I'm still with this...we have a good relationship...and when something needs done, they don't hesitate to get it done...

I called a large fortune 500 trucking company the other day..



To ask a few questions about possibly leasing on...and boy, what a reminder to why I can no longer stomache large companies...just the way they relate to you...as a pion...

I contrasted that with the relationship I've established with the guy I work for and it was like night and day...

Where as other large companies quote rules and regulations to you, like a lawyer, the guy I work for 'listens'...it's like a true team or partnership...

You can see and appreciate the value each has to the other in a smaller setting...

And in times when you might normally quit...little things like that give you more longevity cause you actually have someone to talk to about what your going through...

Where as with larger companies you often times just get placed on hold...



And when you do finally get ahold of someone, they really could careless about your personal issues...
and resort to quoting company policy to you...

Anyways...time for bed...I'm at home..so quiet...so peaceful...compared to the last few nights...

 

Heck, since I'm already a outcast on here...I'm sure it won't matter that I play this song...a song I love...a energy I miss...I'm not to proud to say I did enjoy some of his older songs...and do miss his happy energy of simpler days and times...

Live long and strong Michael Jackson...I still remember ya....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gZzt6UeqHQ

 

I'm not sure what that meant...

But I think your saying 'If not for the good relations you have with your current dispatcher, that you've had for about a month, if not for that, you would of refused your first load'??

Yes, if indeed that's what your saying...I agree, and if the theme of your post is 'relationships'...then I agree...

Good relationships go a long way in all areas of life...Driver/dispatchers included...

You poor thing you, delivering 'in your sleeper'...which I interpit to mean you were half asleep...that sucks...but that's trucking...

Not everyone can sleep in a noisy truck with thin walls...when you turn the engine off you can hear everything that goes on outside...yard dogs dropping trailers, other drivers pulling air brakes...

My a/c went out last week, and trying to sleep was difficult...it's like you body won't allow you to sleep if tempurature is above a certain point, instead you just lie there smelling the warm stale air...

Stuck in Laredo, TX for 4 days...wow...

As truckers we throw away vast blocks of our life at a time....
Something I can no longer do...

Anyhow dave, nice to hear from you again...

 

I was just about to post, oddly enough...coming off of an ok weekend...

Fontana...believe it or not I kinda miss it out that way...but memories are always better than reality...

Lack of sleep is lousy...I could never team, unless all roads were paved of glass...smooth as glass...

But ye, I'm about to head out on a short 5-6 hour trip...your not alone...

 

Ye, sometimes it's like why dress up, I mean your not around anyone long enough for them to appreciate it...

Today for instance...spent a lonely night crawling and creeping my way up here to destination...but by morning or sun break...



I started feeling 'good' 'chirpy'...
I get to shipper, and it feels good to be around people...I start acting goofy...throwing a padded bean bag against the wall...being youthful and excercising...it felt good...to get out of the truck, to interact with others...

but then...they get done loading...then it's time to go...and a certain saddness fell over my spirit......as I now gotta head back into the cave 'truck' and into seclusion, for 6-7 hours...down lonely backroads, where only satellite radio will be my companion...

And that's what I mean by missing out on life...life is people, interacting...and when your alone all the time, you can't do that...and it does have an effect on your spirit...

Why do you think report after report shows that single or people who are alone, die quicker than those who are around others...

It's true...it does have an effect on your spirit, which effects your body...like laughter...

Being alone all the time is not good...not at all...

I will be alone enough as it is, when I get a lot older...I don't want to have wasted my agile, productive, sexy years, hidden away from the world, only to pop out of your truck and show yourself to stone faced shippers or disinsterested travelers at rest areas, or hard faced logger guys who just want to beat you up...(I'm a rural type of person, with a cosmepoliton flair...some of the places I go, some of the people look like their still on the march for General Lee's army or General Shermans Northern troops...whatever...just the whole civil war grungy brigade look...

Oh poor poor me...

 

I just want you to want me 'Cheap Trick'...

I heard this song on the radio while driving, and it just cheered me up...I use to think it was a cheezy song...but there's like a steady humming baseline in the background that I just love...

And the songs so full of energy and just speaks for me right now...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPVHSrxSrAk



It reminds me of partying, haveing a good time, cruising around with friends...instead of being stuck in a truck, all alone at a rest area...

I want you to want me...by Cheap Trick...