As I am starting to regain a bit of strength I wandered over to Applebee's this afternoon. I am sick of the four walls of this damn hotel room and after being laid low by the flu I wanted to get out of it for a bit. Holy shit is it cold outside! It's still sub-zero weather. That sounds bad but feels much worse. It's not a long walk over to Applebee's and I had bundled up for it but it was still a frigid, miserable walk. Naturally the wind was in my face all the way over there so my eyes...

Well, ok, actually it's just chicken noodle soup, but it's the first thing I've eaten since I caught this damn flu that actually tasted good. I managed to drive over to the grocery and pick up some soup, more orange juice and Gatorade, and a few saltines to help settle the stomach. I thought I was starting to feel better but walking around that store sapped me. The fact that the place was crowded with people stocking up because of the forecast of snow to come tonight didn't help much. It s...

I've had the flu before. Most everyone has I would think. But this one, this strain, is different. It's a real ass kicker. Normally the flu might put me out of commission for a day or two and then just make me feel bad for several more days and that would be that. This one has literally taken me off me feet since it grabbed hold of me. I find it amazing how something so small you can't even see it can take a grown man off his feet. I've been dealing with it the best I can. I've been dosing...

I finally made it back to the yard today after spending all of yesterday in fog so thick that I couldn't see 50 feet in front of me. I was very happy to finally be back at the yard as I am feeling like shit. Last Monday when I unloaded in OKC one of my fellow drivers also delivered to the same airport. One look told me she was very, very sick. After we got unloaded we both went to the closest truckstop for some breakfast. She sat across the table from me. I made a point of not touching an...

After delivering at the Oklahoma City airport on Monday I took my truck to an engine shop for repairs. As I suspected the head was bad...again. A nearby hotel has a shuttle service so I called them to pick me up and I checked in here. As there is a bar next door called Sherlock's and I spent a little time in the evenings over there enjoying a few cold ones. I think I blew their minds a bit when I first went in there. Big bearded guy in a cowboy hat sitting at the bar knitting LOL. I've bee...

I made it back to the yard from NM Friday afternoon just in time to get my DOT physical done at the clinic. I'm all legal once again with a shiny new medical card good for two more years. While I can't see very well close up, I need glasses to read small print, my distance vision is even better than I thought. I scored 20/15 on that. Not too shabby I guess. I spent Friday night down at the little bar at the bottom of the hill from the yard having a few brews and shooting the bull with the ...

While in Applebee's this weekend one of the servers, the one who calls me Sam because she thinks I sound like Sam Elliott, asked me when I was going to make her a hat. She told me her favorite colors are turquoise and yellow. I am currently knitting a turquoise hat with a bit of yellow trim for her. For this one I decided to experiment with moss stitch and am pretty happy with the way it's looking. The moss stitch makes a very interesting texture which I think will make for a very nice lookin...

As I mentioned in my previous blog entry I had some delays in getting my load ready to roll Sunday. That was all finally straightened out and I started to pull out of the yard to start for Oh. That's when the red emergency air line between the tractor and trailer snapped. That sometimes happens when it's really cold. The really shitty thing about that is that when that line goes the brakes on the trailer lock up and you're stuck. Such was the case and, after all the previous delays, I was ...

I left WV yesterday morning and didn't stop until I reached the yard in WI last night. They had a load waiting here for me that I knew would take a little time to get all secured and the first stop is in Eastern OH for 11:00 Monday. While not outside the realm of possibility it still promises to make for a long day. I got up early this morning to begin securing the load. In the light of day I spotted a couple of problems right off the bat. The first is that they told me there was a wooden ...

Yesterday I delivered a military fire truck to an Army Reserve post in WV. It was a heavy sucker and required overweight permits as I was grossing 92,000 lbs. That made for some slow climbs on the hills. I've been parked at the truckstop ever since make delivery waiting for them to find me another load. Ah well, at least it's given me some knitting time. Yesterday I started working on a beanie inspired by a pattern I saw on a piece of pottery. I worked on it last night while enjoying a few...

After getting my truck out of the shop this afternoon I cruised over to Hobby Lobby to pick up some yarn. After spending some time picking out various yarns for some projects I've had in mind I headed for the check out line. While waiting for my turn to check out a little old lady standing in line behind me commented on the basket full of yarn I was holding. "Do you knit?" she asked. "Yes Ma'am, I do" I replied. "How do you know what yarn to pick out?" she asked after a moment...

Yesterday I was supposed to pick up a truck in Savannah. I got to the auction place a little after they opened up. The customer in MN was supposed to have a wrecker there to load the thing (it doesn't run). No wrecker. I called them and they said they would get right on it. They called back in a few minutes and said it was on the way. Cool. Once it arrived we were allowed into the compound and I saw the truck for the first time. It was a wrecked tree trimming bucket truck. The cargo box w...

After my extended holiday time at home it's drawing near to that time to hit the road once again. I have to be in Savannah, GA tomorrow morning. That's only about a 5 hour ride from here so I'm not in a major rush to get rolling. I've been spending the morning enjoying my coffee, cleaning up the kitchen and generally preparing the house to be closed up for a few weeks. No rush, just doing a bit here and a bit there. I'll head for the rig this afternoon, maybe around two or three. That shou...

Ok, I admit that I am not the easiest person in the world to get close to. I tend to keep people at a distance. I am not unfriendly by any means, just about anyone who meets me and spends any time with me would probably tell you that I am very outgoing, friendly, and gregarious person. But I have a limit to that. As long as things are fun and casual it's cool. It's when someone, male or female, crosses some line between casual and personal that I put the skids on things. I get uncomfortabl...

I never got a call from dispatch today so I guess they didn't find me a reasonable load out of here. Looks like I'll be spending New Year's at home for a change. I'm not too surprised really. Business is usually dead during the holidays anyway. If I have to choose between spending New Year's Eve sitting comfortably at home or in some damn truckstop someplace, I'll choose my recliner every time. I don't have any sort of party plans for New Year's. I don't like to be out on amateur drunk...