Just got home from the road. The new job is going well. I should have been doing this kind of trucking all along. Have been hauling machines and equipment on drop-decks. A lot of farm machinery and diesel generators among other things. It's nice to just chain or strap down the load and haul it where it needs to go. No warehouses or appointments to deal with. The loads usally go to farm implement dealers, heavy equipment dealers, and job sites and they are glad to see you show up because they...

Quit my job Friday. I was at our terminal in Hartsville, SC awaiting a dispatch to the Greenville, TN terminal where I was to turn in my truck. Well, dispatch was unhappy that I was quitting and giving me the run around so I told them I would just turn in my truck right then and there. I couldn't get a ride to the hotel so I walked the 7 miles and checked in Friday afternoon. My girlfriend was to head out from home Saturday morning to pick me up. She arrived around 1:00 on Saturday and we to...

I have only been with my present company since Jan. but have already decided to secure a position elsewhere. In a job that should pay over $1000 a week my gross last week was only $375, and after deductions my take home was $0. And I even worked over the weekend for some extra money. What a laugh! I spend far too much time sitting around with these people than actually driving. Last Monday I was unloaded at 7:15 am in Alabama. It was 2:30pm before they finally sent me another dispatch, and ...

This past week I have started working out on the road. I bought some weights and portable exercise equipment to take on the road. Have a workout room set up at home but can only use that when I am home. Now I am working out Tuesday and Thursday on the road, and Saturday or Sunday I do a thorough heavy workout at home. This routine should speed up reaching my fitness goals. Since the first of the year I have dropped from 250lbs to this morning's weight of 213lbs. I tried on my old size 38 jeans...

For several years now I have used so-called primitive lighting in my home instead of the harsh artificial electric lighting most commonly used these days. Ok, I am a little old fashioned by nature. I prefer simple country fare to gourmet. A nice walk in the woods is fare more enjoyable to me than hours spent sitting in front of the idiot box being inundated with endless commercials. I feel that the simple pleasures are more real and lasting, and they bring peace instead of frustration and stres...

Well, I finally got out of here on wednesday of last week and headed for Scranton, PA. I made it as far as Carlisle, PA and the road started getting iced up. I stopped in Carlisle (there just happens to be a trucker bar there) and spent the night. Had a few jack n cokes and some conversation, then a good night's sleep. Made it to Scranton on thursday morning and delivered the load. Then I picked up a load going to two Big Lots stores over in WV. What a trip that was! I got to the first store,...

So much for this week's paycheck and a ripping start on the new job. This snowstorm has really socked it to us here. I live up a pretty steep hill and right now our road is covered with several inches of snow with a nice layer of ice on top of it. Can't go anywhere until it's cleared, and we are expecting round two a little later today. Already getting cabin fever. LOL Last night I bundled up and walked down the hill and around the corner to the store. About a mile or so, not too far. Amazing w...

Just got home last night around 10pm. I really hope that this first week with this company isn't representative of a typical week here. After spending Monday and Tuesday in boring orientation class, we did our driving tests on Wednesday. What a joke! I have been a professional driver for a number of years, as had everyone else in the orientation class. The idea of giving us a driving test is insulting. But, this company is very selective about who they hire. A number of drivers were washed out...

Today has been pretty average, I suppose. Decided on who I am going to start work for next week, and arranged a hotel for orientation which starts on Monday morning at 7:00. After talking again with Swing I decided on Landair. While the job at Swing actually sounds like the better job, practical considerations exclude them at this time. Firstly, the local 'home every night' positions have been filled. They wanted me to do a dedicated run. Still not bad, home a couple times a week and still off ...

Just exactly how do you think your life would differ if pigs could fly?

The comedy show last night was great. They made a mistake andbooked two headliners for the same night, so we got a two for oneshow. Both comedians were really funny. We had a pretty goodtime. Jo Ann called me around 9:30 this morning to tell me a patientdrove her car through the front door of the clinic this morning.The lady is 75 years old, and probably should have stoppeddriving years ago. Not that all older people shouldn't drive, butthere are many who are just not able to do so any more. ...

George Carlin once said something to the effect that "Theprinciple of driving is to go down the road in a big iron thing,without changing the shape of it or any other big iron things onthe road". This sums up the basic idea of driving prettywell. But now, with added stress of more and more vehicles on theroads and highways today, I would have to add "... andwithout getting shot ". According to national traffic statistics, in 2001 there were6.3 million vehicles crashes in the U.S. resulting in...

The afternoon is just about over. Just had what I hope is the last call from a recruiter for the day. Yet another company I'm really not interested in working for. At this point I'm pretty sure I'll be going to work for Swing so I can make a good living and also be home every night and weekends. Will be a nice change from being on the road for two or three weeks at a time. I know I'm ready to get back to work somewhere; sitting around the house gets old pretty quick, and I've been home since e...

I guess this should have been the first thing I wrote, instead of the third. Oh well, this blog idea is all new to me, and I'll muddle through as best I can. I write what I write, most of it quite boring to the average reader to be be sure. SO, if you have nothing better to do than read my ramblings, feel free. Responses, comments, or whatever appreciated and looked forward to.

I am here, brothers and sisters, to tell you about a great evil which has spread across our great land. Most of us have come into contact with this evil force at some point in our lives, and it never fails to bring misery and heartbreak whenever it is encountered. Imagine that you are out for the day, shopping for example. There you are, strolling along the sidewalk peering into the windows of interesting-looking shops when it hits you. That sudden, unmistakeable urge that tells you that you sh...