My truck is in the shop yet again. Earlier today I noticed steam coming out of the stacks. That's not normal. I had topped off the coolant yesterday and kinda wondered about why it was low. The heat, which will usually run you out of the truck was weak to the point that my feet were numb from driving and I was wearing my insulated gear to keep warm, was just not there. Between yesterday and today I lost 2 gallons of coolant. That's not normal. Way too much. The shop checked it out and pressur...
Monday afternoon I picked up a tunnel freezer (whatever the hell that is) in Jacksonville, FL heading to the Sara Lee plant in Downer's Grove, IL. The trip was pretty typical until I hit Indianapolis this morning. Snowstorm. Major snowstorm. The roads were a complete disaster. It normally takes me on average about 30 minutes to get through Indy. Today it took better than 3 hours. Once I got clear of Indy things got progressively worse with each passing mile. There were car, SUV, and big ri...
This cold bug has been pretty rough. I think that spending some down time in this motel was probably the best thing I could have done right now. As the room has a mini-fridge and microwave, I went to the grocery yesterday and stocked up on enough food and Gatorade to last me my stay here. This both saved me some money as opposed to eating out, as well as saving me the effort of going out to eat thus maximizing my rest. I've been drinking a lot of Gatorade to try and stay hydrated. While I ...
When I was a kid I had a dream. Ok, kids have dreams all the time, but this one has fucked with my head my whole life. It was a seriously fucked up dream and I am convinced it was just G-D fucking with me for His own amusement. He never has really liked me although I don't know why. I was laying in my bed, the top bunk of bunk beds, and this really old looking guy with a long grey beard was standing beside my bed. Well, being a kid I was totally freaked out. The old guy put his hand out fo...
I delivered a fuel tanker truck to the Army Air Field in Savannah, GA today. Things being what they are they weren't able to find me a decent reload out of here today. I made my way to the nearby truckstop and ordered myself a nice hot bowl of chicken soup while waiting to hear from dispatch about a possible load. The soup was good and did help open up my stuffed head a bit. As the day ended without my getting a load I am stuck here for the weekend. As much as I need the money perhaps it's...
I made it back into WI today. This trip has been horrible. To top it off I have caught a very nasty cold and feel like shit. I got to the yard fairly late in the afternoon and put my truck in the shop to be serviced, have the APU repaired, and to get a stone chip repaired in the windshield. The glass guy won't be there until tomorrow morning so they put me in the hotel for tonight. I walked over to the Applebee's next door for a couple of beers and to spend a bit of time talking with some ...
Sitting here tonight I realized that if I were to depart this mortal coil right now no-one would really miss me all that much. That's a sobering thought. There really isn't anyone with whom I am all that close these days who would pay more than a passing notice of the fact that I was no longer taking up space or using up air on this little planet. There are a few who care about me, yes, but none at all with whom I am actually close and who would truly experience a vacuum in their life if I we...
Yeah, ok, I am depressed. I know that and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. My mother just died, business and my income are dead, and I am about to become homeless and, from the way it sounds, unemployed to boot. Yeah, I'm depressed. When I am depressed I am cranky. Very, very cranky. But I swear, if one more person wishes me a Happy New Year I am not going to have to worry about a place to live because I'll be going to prison for choking the life out of them! What an inane thing to...
I delivered my two stops in CA yesterday, finishing up after our office was closed last night. I made my way to the truckstops an hour away and parked for the night. I'm still sitting here, not making a dime. They are doing their best to find me a load out of here but freight is slow. I am starting to wonder if I shouldn't be considering another line of work, at least until the economy improves. But of course there's the rub; the economy. People are losing jobs all over the country so going i...
I am a few miles from my first delivery destination in CA. I got here pretty early tiday and decided that I wanted to go have a cold beer. Not a single bar in sight so I did a little searching and between the internet and my GPS I chose a place just a couple of miles from the truck stop. Finding a cab proved to be a problem as both of the ones listed on the net for this town turned out to be out of business but a call to the bar I wanted to visit provided a phone numder for a cab service that...
On the surface the electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette, seems like a pretty strange idea, but in many ways it's actually a pretty good idea. The devices come in several different brands and models but they are all basically a rechargable battery tube, a vaporizor, and a catridge that contains tobacco flavoring, liquid nicotine in assorted strengths, and propylene glycol. They work by vaporizing the contents of the catridge as you draw on them just as you would a regular cigarette only in...
A Winter storm hit the Kingman, AZ area last night. It started with some sleet and progressed to a small amount of snow and then ice. The wind was incredible as it rocked my truck violently most of the night. As I sat in my truck and watched this weather the power failed at the truckstop and everything went black. It came back on for a short time and then went out again. It was still out when I decided to go to bed. This morning the power was back on and everything was covered with ice....
I am on a trip to CA to deliver to two military bases. I had planned on making the deliveries on Tuesday (yesterday) but the trip has been a total disaster. I ran into an ice storm in IL that delayed me. I blew a tire in OK that cost me time. Then the serpentine belt that drives pretty much everything under the hood broke in NM and I had to get that repaired. I also ran into quite a snow storm in NM too which pretty well clinched it as far as not making delivery before the bases shut down for th...
We buried Mom yesterday. Today was time for visiting amongst ourselves and to rest a bit. Tomorrow morning I'll be leaving back out on the road once again. Despite everything that's happened it's time for me to get back to work and trying to earn a living. Being flat broke and unable to pay my bills or house payment is not fun and I have no choice but to get back to the business of working. My youngest brother and his wife left for their home in GA around noon today, and my next younger broth...
Today was very long. My youngest brother, his wife, and her brother showed up here late yesterday. I had planned for them to stay at Mom's friend's home as she has several spare bedrooms and had offered, but as they arrived late I decided to just let them stay here for the night. Besides, I hadn't seen my brother in a good while and wanted to spend some time with him. As mine is only a one bedroom place it was a bit cramped. I let my brother and his wife take the bedroom, her b...