Swift - Starting the New Year training with Swift 1/7/13 - A long read...

Great ideas and I'm going to watch some of those Youtube videos soon to see how I can chain faster and better. I didn't even think about the bungees today. I didn't even put those on. It's probably good that I didn't get the chance to drive off with my chains or I would have probably driven off without my chains.

 

I wasn't even aware there is a weekend terminal manager. Now I gotta find out who mine is to be safe. I'm gonna see how it all goes after this load to Denver and see if they are going to route me to Phoenix. I wouldn't mind some sun and warmth right now. I'm just sitting in Missoula still. Got like 5-8 more inches this morning and its still snowing. I'm getting restless though so I may just head out of here in a few minutes.

 

Salt Lake City, UT

Had a 5 stop run today at various Office Max stores throughout the SLC area. It picked up down in Las Vegas. There were some pretty tough backs today. Not complex necessarily but just more difficult than usual. I was kind of upset at myself for running over a curb at the first drop early this morning trying to get into the Office Max parking lot. As I sometimes do, especially when delivering to retail stores, I checked out the layout on Google Early and came up with a plan of attack.

Once I got there though it all went to ####. First I ran up the curb with the tandems. Then I realized I was facing the docks - the wrong way. Then I turned around next store to get out of the lot in, what looked like, an empty dirt lot. That is still to be determined. I couldn't tell if it was actually dirt or maybe something greener. I'm going with dirt. Then I had to block about 5 lanes of traffic to back in. That was only my 1st stop. Probably the toughest.
On my 4th stop, in the University district of SLC, up the hill in view of downtown, I had to deliver to a free-standing store. I circled the lot and set myself up for a straight back. I GOAL'd. I put the 4 ways on and hit my horn and started to back. As I'm backing slowly some idiot in a white flash of Honda Accord just barely misses my truck cutting behind it as I backed. I slammed my brakes. I saw him coming around on the passenger side and he was gesturing towards me. In true Jersey fashion I waved my hands at him to indicate "whadda ya doin?!?" He didn't like this apparently. He began to exit the lot when he decided, instead, he would back up quickly towards my truck to confront me. I preemptively striked. I pulled the brakes, jumped out of the truck and approached his car. He rolled down the window and I asked him what was wrong with him?!? Could he not see the big white truck with the 4 way flashers on backing slowly? Could he not go around the front of the truck instead of what he did?!? He stated and showed me that he was writing my truck number down to call me in. Fine. As that little sticker on my motorcycle states, "You can't fix stupid". I told him to go ahead and do what he was going to do. Nothing I could do about it. I did everything as I should. Watched my mirrors included. At the rate in which he popped into view in my rear view mirrors (yes, I watch the blind spot mirrors too) he was cruising across the parking lot at a fast pace. I'm guessing he was cutting across the beat the traffic signal. Whatever. Go ahead and call. I sent a freeform letting them know some moron might be calling them up to report me.

 

1 year ago, about this time, I was on the truck with my 1st of 4 mentors. Sheeezz...how time flies.

I got a load from Denver down to El Paso. That night I stayed at the Walmart in Aurora, CO - 3301 Tower Road. There is designated truck parking along the left side. Convenient and accomodating. Get there early enough though as this little side lot fills up.

Man, how I wanted to meet up with that burrito lady that sells that fantastic Mexican food out of the back of her SUV down at the El Paso terminal. I got to the terminal, had a drive tire replaced, but no Taco Lady. I stayed the night at the Walmart on Dyer Street in El Paso. Still got some of the most beautiful Walmart shopping women down there in El Paso. Sadly, my life had come to reducing Walmart rankings to not only the available parking and convenience of nearby stores, but also to the beauty of the shoppers. I also do this on a state by state basis.

Dropped my load at a Kmart in El Paso and picked up their empty which had grafitti along the passenger side. I don't mind calling the claims department to report damage or grafitti but the 30 minute waits on the phone to speak to someone kill me. I tried to just send a freeform message because I couldn't get someone to answer the claims line but the response I got was to call again. Grrrr..... I drove around with the grafitti trailer advertising some punk kid's tag until I got a new trailer via t-call at the Phoenix terminal.

Speaking to the new truck allocator, or whatever she is called, I was told that to get a new truck in Phoenix my truck would have to be in the shop for 48 hours and then I would have to go on a waiting list for another one. Or the mechanics would have to deem the truck to need in excess of 48 hours of repairs. She said that Phoenix is basically the place where you turn your truck in for a new one when your lease is up. But, my DM should be getting a list of available trucks by terminal and he could put one on hold for me at another terminal. I may try to exercise this option sometime soon. For now I just want to run the truck and get some miles.

After dropping a t-call at the Phoenix terminal, I went over to the Avondale, AZ Walmart and parked. I sat there from the night before and my next load wasn't picking up until the next morning. It was about 12:30 and I had time to kill. I already ate at the In-N-Out next door, did my grocery/dvd shopping and worked out a little. I was restless. I Googled nearby tattoo shops and found one that was only 2 miles away. Being as it was a Tuesday, and probably a slower day for tattoo shops, I figured I would give 'em a call and take a shot in the dark on an available appointment that day. I was bobtailed and Phoenix had the empty that I would pick up in the morning.

One of the artists there had some availability until 5:00 PM so I told him I would be over in a minute. I checked out the parking lot on Google Earth, it looked doable, and I drove over to park. He did a pretty awesome job, about half the price of what my regular guy out in Virginia costs me and the shop was professional. Looks like I'll have to come back for him to finish the rest later. I'll have to take a 2 day hometime out there sometime in the future.

I picked up my empty the next day at the Phoenix terminal, dropped and hooked at the shipper and headed up to N. Las Vegas. Dropped that load and picked up another in regular Vegas.

I got a cheap thrill as I was making my way into Vegas because flying over the city I had the opportunity to see a stealth bomber as it turned on it's side and headed away from me. What a cool jet. Seeing the profile I immediately thought that if Batman were real, this would be his mode of transport. No doubt. That thing is amazing. As it changed from full profile to leveling out and flying away from me it became paper thin. It disappeared in the distance.

I felt the need to do some gambling. I've been thinking about it for a while since my little win out in Sparks a few months ago. Im currently on the road for 5 weeks straight and I need some entertainment. First casino lot was full. I think it was the Petro in Vegas. The casino looked small anyway. I drove down to the Wild Wild West and parked in the lot next door, nearest the casino. I didn't win nothing and lost, lost, lost. Nothing was paying out whatsoever. It was very disappointing and I wasn't impressed with the casino anyway. It was kind of a shabby neighborhood with a strip of cheap motels just about a half a mile off the main strip. Afterwards I really wished I had grabbed a cab or hoofed it onto the real strip with my camera to get some pics. I think I'll have to come back and do some photography and maybe some gambling on the real strip. Just standing outside in the near dark of the Wild Wild West truckstop parking lot, staring down at the neon goodness of the other casinos had me hungry for fun. But it was not meant to be that night.

I settled in to sleep when I heard a banging on my door. WTF?!? I ignored it and fell back asleep. It must have only been a few minutes later when I heard a rap, rap, rapping on my door again. This was no Raven though but some strung out crackhead looking wench. I know this because after the second knocking I cursed, got my shorts on and made my way to pull back the curtains on the drivers side window. I spotted a skinny blonde doing that fast-paced crackhead walk away from my truck and crossing the street towards the Wild West motel. Now I'm all for someone needing help and waking me up. I'm all for a policeman knocking on my door because I had to take my 10 on the interstate in a snowstorm. But I"m NOT for someone seeing my curtains shut, which can safely be presumed that I am sleeping, and knocking on my door for any other reason. I pushed the curtain back in place and went back to sleep. She didn't come back.

I left early that morning and started my trip up to SLC.

Tomorrow I have a load going out from Odgen to near L.A. Maybe I'll finally get my Mexican food.

 

Yeah, I would have had no problem if it was another driver needing something because we all know what it's like out there. I was surprised though that she knocked with my curtains closed. I could see if I was sitting in the driver's seat but what could she expect to get out of me after waking me up, unless it was some kind of emergency.

Usually I don't have a problem with people cutting in around me, especially in traffic. I expect it and anticipate it. I think of them as little flies that are going to buzz around and then get out of my way. No big deal. This guy though caught me off guard with his self-righteousness and arrogance. The fact that he was getting mad that I was backing and he cut into my path set me off a little. I guess if it was a little old lady or something I wouldn't have thought twice about it but being as it was a younger, arrogant guy I went off. I asked the guy receiving my load if he witnessed any of it. Thankfully he didn't because that might have been a little embarassing. Things that would work back east in the city don't necessarily translate well in other places. I explained to this guy receiving the freight what had happened, since he hadn't witnessed it and asked about it, and he said he understood completely. His dad is a trucker.

I am getting slightly more edgy though being on the road for this long. This is what happens the longer I am out. I'm currently at 5 weeks and I"m trying to push to get 8 weeks out before I take my home time out in Washington. I gotta keep myself in check a little better.

Ya know, it's kind of odd and interesting, how the solitude and lack of face-to-face interaction can affect us psychologically. It's something that I have noticed in myself and I"m curious how it affects all of us truckers. Humans are pretty social animals, maybe the most social, and the how the lack of social contact affects our moods, dispositions and outlooks interests me. I generally am not very sociable with other truckers on the road. I don't sit and chat with others in the Denny's. I don't hang around the truckstops or Walmarts chatting it up with other drivers. Sometimes it is because I just don't want to talk trucking after being in the driver's seat so much. Other times it just comes down to opportunity. I"m not a #### though either. If I do have the opportunity to talk with another trucker at a shipper or receiver I welcome it most of the time. I learn a lot this way from other truckers. But, as it is, most of my days my only interactions with any other humans is either a phone call to the family or a friend or maybe a short interaction with a truck stop clerk.

What bothers me a lot, especially as a single and free adult guy, is the missed opportunities. I spend a lot of time at Walmarts. I walk around and shop and just feel the need to get away from the truck for a while. There's been a few opportunities where I get into a conversation with a female I'm attracted to and I feel maybe she is attracted to me. But then it stops. It can't go anywhere from there. What am I gonna say? Would you like to come back to my truck and watch a movie? Converse a little? Hang out before I get back on the road? It would either come across as creepy or desperate.

There are times when I want to just get the balls up and say "hey, if you do the driving and I pay, would you join me for dinner and some conversation?" But I don't have the balls for it. Usually it's just some small talk, a little flirting maybe through body language or a little talk and then that's it. I guess that's the life of a single trucker. I'll have to find a way around this at some time in the future because it gets to me a little. Missed opportunity. Maybe she is "the one". Maybe we have a lot in common or we would find each other interesting. Who knows. I'll never know. I know it would do wonders though to just go see a movie or have some dinner with someone every now and then with a female. Solitude is both a blessing and a curse.