I'm parked at a small fuel stop. I walked inside a short while ago to get a bite to eat. I wish I had noticed the bus parked there before I had gone it. If I had, I wouldn't have bothered at all. The place was crowded with noisy people wandering and milling around, none of whom paid the slightest bit of attention to where they were going or what they were doing. How does one survive to adulthood without learning the simple lesson of looking where the hell you're going? I swear I came very,...

They had the ac in my truck fixed by the time I got to the yard. I checked in at the office and he said he was putting together a load to Florida for me. That will work out just fine. The annual 72 hour Federal DOT concentrated inspection will be taking place of the 6th, 7th, and 8th of this month. It's when they bring in extra manpower at all of the scales as well as put extra vehicles on the road to pull over trucks for inspections. It's a real pain in the ass and doesn't actually accomplis...

I went over to Appleby's for dinner. There were two bartenders working, one I know and a new one. I spent some time chatting with the new one and found her rather cute and interesting. At some point in our conversation she mentioned her father's age. He's the same age I am. Shit. I am definitely old now.

I hauled a fire truck down to Milwaukee this morning and delivered it to the Sheriton hotel across from the airport. Some kind of big trade show. I then went to the Army Reserve base and picked up a tanker trailer and brought it back to the yard. I checked in with the shop, yelled at the guy who runs the shop about my ac not being fixed right, and then laid down in my bunk for a nap. I was exhausted. They woke me a couple of hours later and had me pull the truck into the shop. They disc...

I had what I would normally consider a very easy day today. I went down to Waukesha and picked up this huge steel...thing, it was oversized, and hauled it down to Rockford, IL. That was only a couple of hours. I delivered it and then deadheaded up to Oshkosh where I have been parked since. Tomorrow morning I have to pick up a fire truck and haul it down to Milwaukee for a trade show of some sort, another short trip. No idea what I'll do after that. The problem is, I have absolutely no ene...

After a short nap I walked over to Appleby's for some dinner. When I walked in I thought that I heard someone call my name but being as my sinuses are wreck and my ears are plugged I thought I imagined it and kept walking towards the bar. Then I heard it again and was sure. I turned around and saw our office manager sitting at a table with a little girl and an elderly woman. I walked over and said hello. She introduced me to her daughter and her mother. We chatted for a moment and I then m...

I went and saw a doctor today about my trying to quit smoking and my depression. I'm really glad that I did. He was a very nice guy who seemed to truly understand the situation. He told me that it was very common for people with clinical depression to self medicate with cigarettes to temporarily correct the chemical imbalance that causes the depression and he wasn't at all surprised that I was a heavy smoker. He said some of the chemicals in cigarette smoke acted as anti-depressants. He...

As much as I would like to quit smoking I am finding it almost impossible at the moment. The symptoms of quitting are severely interfering with my ability to do my job and the light-headedness that comes for a few days with quitting makes me a danger on the road. I simply can't deal with doing my job and quitting at the same time. The only solution that I can think of that may work out is to simply wait until I go home again. I usually stay home for at least a week which would me more tha...

I got up nice and early this morning, had some coffee and oatmeal while trying to fight off a serious cigarette craving, cleaned up a bit, took a brisk walk around the parking lot, and then put my rig in the wind. It was looking like it might be a decent day. That is until it started warming up a bit and I realized that somewhere between yesterday afternoon and this morning my air conditioner went south on me. Damn. It's always something isn't it? I pulled off my shirt and hit the buttons ...

I got up nice and early this morning, before the sun came up, so I could get rolling towards my final stop. I wanted to get it delivered as early ass possible so I could get back up to Huntsville, TX and get my return load picked up. Dispatch had been told that the shipper in Huntsville only loaded until noon, but a quick call to them told me that they were actually loading until 5:00 which took the pressure off. But I still wanted to get it done as early as possible. On my way to my deliv...

Today in a moment of weakness I bought a pack of smokes. It was a damn stupid thing to do, I know that and knew it at the time, but I did. Just call me stupid. But in a twisted kind of way I'm glad that I did. After the cashier, an elderly Asian lady, rang up my purchase I picked the pack up off the counter and told her that I really shouldn't be buying them as I was trying to quit. She said to me (in a very thick Asian accent) "No, you do not try. You just quit. No try." She reminded m...

This morning I finally managed to get in contact with someone at the final stop here in WI and get directions to the place. I cruised over there and unloaded the two pieces. It went pretty smoothly. Dispatch called me and asked me to run up to Chilton and pick up a snow removal truck and snow broom. Ummm, yeah, ok. This time of year? I guess it's a late order for the Air Force, heading to a base in OH. I went up there and got it loaded. Those things are a bear to secure. The truck part ...

My first attempt at quitting smoking earlier this week was a disaster. I foolishly went into it thinking that it would be pretty easy and that I could just bull my way through the cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Yeah, right. It takes some planning and preparation just like much of anything else. I finally made it back to the yard early this evening, dropped my trailer, and made a beeline to Wally World. I had a plan. I picked up a box of Nicoderm patches (wow are those suckers expensive...

I got up at 5:00 am Central time so that I would have time to get a cup of coffee and make delivery on time. I have to say that this quitting smoking thing is going to be harder than I thought it would be. I caved this morning and bought a pack. This is going to be tough but I'll keep trying. It seems mornings are going to be the hardest for me I made delivery on time. The place is really small and getting in a out of the place was a bear, but I managed it. They unloaded their pieces and I...

The truck behaved itself today and I made it up here to MI. It's actually quite chilly here. It's cool enough for sleeping without the need for ac, but still warm enough to not need heat either. I won't have to idle the truck tonight. I did pretty well on the healthier eating today. I had a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar for breakfast, a banana for lunch, and for dinner I had a salad, grilled chicken with Spanish rice, and broccoli. I'm about 30 minutes from the delivery point in Rom...