It's been cold and raining in Wisconsin for a couple of days now. I've been working out in the crap and not enjoying it one damn bit. Thursday morning I delivered some machinery to an automation plant in Milwaukee. I had picked it up from the Harley Davidson plant in York, PA. I had heard rumors that they might be shutting down that plant. I talked to a manager there and he said that they are shutting down part of it and consolidating operations in the newer part of the plant. They are also d...
Count on the Onion for very funny stuff. http://www.theonion.com/video/suspicious-package-industry-falls-on-hard-times,14225/ http://www.theonion.com/video/congress-announces-plan-to-hide-nations-porn-from,17243/ http://www.theonion.com/video/dea-official-announces-successful-drug-bust-on-son,17224/ http://www.theonion.com/video/man-attempts-to-assassinate-obama-but-not-because,17220/ http://www.theonion.com/video/stouffers-to-include-suicide-prevention-tips-on-...
I had back surgery several years ago. I had lived with back pain for a long time without seeking medical help and only finally went to a doctor when my right leg stopped working. It was only pain, and you can live with that. The doctor was honest with me and told me that I had let the problem go so long that while he could make my leg work again the pain would be the same or even worse due to permanent nerve damage. He was right about the pain part, it was worse after the surgery, but my leg ...
Friday I delivered a large snow blower truck to the Air National Guard base in S. Burlington, VT. The scenery in Vermont is beautiful to say the least. I was a little surprised to see that they still had some snow on the ground in places, but otherwise all of the signs of Spring were to be seen. The trees were all starting to sprout their new leaves and the grasses were greening once again. After delivery I went to the nearest truck stop which is in Wells Lake, VT some 75 miles away. There re...
As I am laid over while my truck is in for repairs (again) I went over to Applebee's for dinner. When I got there I saw that one of my favorite servers was upset and when she came over to say hello I asked her what was wrong. She informed me that a long time bartender whom I liked had committed suicide this morning. Needless to say I was floored by this news. I just didn't know what to say. I couldn't help but think about her little two year old daughter. I still don't know what to say.
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The engine in my truck was just rebuilt about a month ago because it was running through coolant. On my way back up from NC to WI it started running through about 2 gallons every 350 miles. Again. I am in a hotel tonight and have to put my truck into the garage, yet again, tomorrow morning. I am seriously getting sick of this shit. This engine has been trouble since day one. Once again I am losing income due to this damn truck. I would love it if the garage burned to the ground with my tru...
This morning the toilet in my motel room stopped up and wouldn't flush properly. Naturally, I called down to the front desk and reported it to them. The lady said she would send someone with a plunger. The housekeeper arrived at my door, complimented the smell of my pipe tobacco, and started to hand me the plunger. Excuse me? Do I like like I work here? I patiently explained to the young woman that I am a paying guest here and certainly can't be expected to perform maintenance on the plumbing...
This morning I delivered an armored troop carrier to Camp Lejuene, NC for a Marine Corps Expo show taking place over the next couple of days. I met with the factory rep, unloaded the truck, and after the paperwork I headed for the gate. Another of our drivers was also there delivering a Sandcat and we departed together. As we have to lay over here until Thursday afternoon to reload the vehicles and haul them back out again we decided to drop our trailers at Lot 201, which is one of the logist...
In Holland, MI tonight. When I left Seattle it was still snowing up on Snoqualmie Pass and they were requiring trucks to chain up. My policy is to not chain up as I figure if the road is that bad I don't need to be on it with a big rig. Fortunately, the company for whom I work feels the same way. No sense in risking an expesnive truck and load over a slick roadway. So, I went down to Portland and ran across through Salt Lake City and across I-80. It was 200+ miles longer going that way, but i...
Yesterday I delivered a couple of snow plow blades in Washington. One plow blade, along with a hitch and a spare tire, went to the port in Seattle. The other blade, along with a hitch and spare tire, went to the port in Tacoma. Both are going to the same Air Force base in Alaska. Why on two different ships from two different ports? Who knows? The trip out here was fairly pleasant. I ran into a little snow in Wyoming and a pretty fierce snowstorm coming across Snoqualmie Pass in Washington, bu...
I generally hate having to go into any port to pick upor deliver. They're all a pain in the ass, but somehow the ports in New Jersey are especially ass-painful. After picking up my truck from the engine shop in Milwaukee last Saturday morning I ran a load out East. I delivered some stuff at the airport in Manchester, NH and then delivered the rest of my load to two different ports in NJ. Both were a royal pain, made worse by the constant rain that was falling which made for miserable working ...
Since I'd retrieved my truck from the garage down in Orlando it's had a very loud and very annoying whistling sound coming from either the turbo or the air intake feeding the turbo. This morning I had to put the truck in our shop for it's monthly inspection and I asked the mechanics to see if they could track down the source of the annoying whistle, thinking it was probably just a loose hose or something. Wrong. They found that the NEW turbo installed by the guys in Orlando is bad. Damaged...
I've been in this motel for over two weeks now waiting for my truck to be fixed. One of the housekeepers here, a black lady, has been calling me either "Mr Blue" or "Mr B" since I've been here. Tonight that housekeeper happened into the motel lounge after her shift. I asked her why the hell she referred to me as Mr Blue. She told me the first time she saw me I was smoking a pipe and wearing a royal blue dress shirt and after that every shirt she saw me wearing was some shade of blue, and she ...
I've placed a couple of free online classifieds trying to sell my Sony Pocket Edition eReader with hard cover for $150. This extended stay here while the truck is broke down has strained my wallet and I am trying to raise food money. Obviously it'll have to be someone local who can come to the motel and pick it up as it needs to be cash and shipping isn't really an option. Anyone down this way in the market for one, let me know. Hopefully something will come of it. I really don't want to t...
I am still sitting in a motel in Orlando waiting for the garage to finish the repairs to my truck. When I spoke with them on Monday they told me it would be ready tomorrow, Thursday. I called them a few minutes ago and now they say Friday. On and on it goes. It's been two weeks now and I am wondering now if it will be ready this week at all. Delay after delay has dragged this thing out to an aburdity. My friend called me and said there was a woman who was interested in buying my place. I t...