As a trucker I travel all over the country, moving from one climate to the other, so it's a real wonder I don't get sick more often than I do. Right now I have a really bad chest cold, It came on over the course of a few days, and basically, I feel like shit. This is one of those times where being on the road is definately pretty crappy. I would like nothing better than to just go to bed, have someone tend to me, and feel pretty much pampered. But, I live on the road, and have to deal w...
I have been meaning to post this announcement for some time, but just haven't gotten around to it until now. I will be holding a workshop to help those who suffer from procrastination. While I haven't gotten around to actually scheduling this workshop yet, I hope to get it scheduled in the near future. When I actually do get around to scheduling it, I will try to announce the date sometime or other, hopefully prior to the actually date scheduled. It is my hope that I can be of some hel...
Hello everyone. I know I haven't been on JU much lately, but I have been trying to keep running pretty steady while the weather is still good. It tends to slow down once winter weather hits. Make hay while the sun shines, and all that. I brought a load down from Wisconsin, dropped a skid loader in Arkansas, a military truck at Dyess AFB in Abilinene Tx, and a freight elevator in Round Rock Tx. Now I am sitting in Tyler at the truckstop waiting for them to find me a decent paying load out ...
Just kinda checking in. I haven't written in a while (haven't looked at my stats, I'm sure they're terrible now). I am sitting in Fargo, North Dakota and it's really cold here now. Freezing actually. Today was the first time I've had to wear my carharts in quite a while. This last hurricane, Jeanne, took half the roof off then house according to my mom. I haven't been there since the day before Charlie hit. Such is life. On the road of life, some days you're the windshield, some days yo...
I arrived here in Tacoma, Washington Friday afternoon after a very hard drive from Wisconsin. I had a military load that had to be on a ship that was due to sail on Saturday. I left Wisconsin on Wednesday around noon and made it here Friday afternoon. Naturally there wasn't any freight leaving out of here that late on a Friday, so here I am, resting up over the weekend here in Tacoma. Thank goodness the truckstop here has WiFi service. I was pretty tired after the hard run here so I really...
This past week was National Truck Drivers Appreciation Week. For one week out of the year the truckstops and other trucking-related businesses pretend they appreciate the truck drivers. Usually there are some free things they give away, drawings, etc... Last night I stopped for the night at a truckstop in Missoula, Montana. I was treated to a free dinner (buffalo burger), was given a free pocket knife, and entered into a $300 drawing being held Sept. 1st. Not nad at all, really. It is ni...
In the past month, I have had my notebook in the shop to have some bad solder connections repaired in the power circuits, replaced the modem, and as of yesterday had the hard drive crash. I think it's time to put this thing out to pasture. The hard drive is reporting "imminent failure" on boot and half the drive is now completely unusable. After the crash I was unable to reboot the drive. Everything was trashed. Now, I'm no slouch when it comes to hardware/software issues but I was unable...
After my desperate attempt to escape my life ended in miserable failure and injury I am reflecting on just where I am in life and what the hell I have to live for. Know what? I can't think of a single thing to keep on trudging through life for. My back troubles have literally made it impossible for me to work. If I could get disability the system is set up to make it a long drawn out affair, during which I'll be homeless and starving. My girlfriend of 7 years wants to split up because I...
As I sit here, I am reflecting on the past few days. I got home from the road Monday evening and have been resting up from my travels, doing my laundry, and basically preparing to back out and do it all again. Yes, the rest has been welcomed as life on the road can be pretty exhausting. While I do get my sleep every night and my truck is quite comfortable, it's still 'being on the road' and after a week or so that truck can become pretty small and cramped. I have all the comforts of home w...
It's raining right now and has been since the wee hours. I'm hoping the rain will let up so I can go riding on my bike this afternoon. I'm also hoping to get a phone call from a trucking company to whom I faxed a resume and cover letter over the weekend. They were running a help wanted ad looking for someone to work as a Driver Manager dispatching owner operators. As I have extensive experience in the transportation industry, a good deal of management experience in another field, and excel...
Lately it seems that JU is overrun with childish, petulent, petty little children. Article after article, hardly worthy of the name 'article" are flooding the site with ridiculous name calling, squabbles, and absurd attempts to mock other JU members complete with the comments of the sycophants from various corners. The whole thing would be amusing if it didn't drag the community as a whole down into the mud. The truly sad and disgusting thing is that all of the sophomoric behavior is condu...
I did my daily bike ride this afternoon. Only a couple of miles but it was enjoyable. I am making progress in my journey of healing but at a cost of somewhat increased pain levels. Since I started riding daily my walking has definately improved. I am now walking around without using my cane most of the time. I usually need it first thing in the morning as I awake with a very stiff and sore hip. But once I have moved around a bit I am usually able to set it aside and walk reasonably well a...
My bike is old and is just a cheapo yard sale special. I have hopes that I can eventually save for a new Trek once I get to working again. The one I want runs about $450, so it'll be a long time before I can buy it. In the meantime this is my bike. I call it Recovery.
The past few months I have been very focused on my health and fitness as I have been recovering from my injuries. I've started cycling as a means of physical therapy, transportation,and exercise. I am becoming more of a cycling addict as I go along. Smoking slows the healing process, reduces my breathing efficiency, and generally poisons my system. I smoke 3 packs a day. WAY too much, even for lights. I have hopes that as I progress, I will eventually be able to participate in organzied c...
I just got back from a ride. It's a new personal best for me. I rode about 5 miles total, about a mile of it in a bad head wind. I'm tired and my hip is a bit sore, but overall I feel pretty good and kinda proud of myself. I didn't really push hard, opting for a more leisurely ride. It was nice. I did ride in traffic for a short way but was too nervous about it and turned off onto the safer side streets. Until my strength and riding skills return to a more normal level, I think I'll stay o...