Honestly, there are some places big trucks are not meant to go. Yet, to get a Common Carrier Alcohol Permit I had to go to 80 Calvert Street, Annapolis, MD.
Luckily, I had the foresight to leave my trailer at the customer's locaton. I can see driving a truck and trailer into Annapolis, but I can't see getting the silly thing turned around to get it back out.
Quaint and big trucks do not go together. It took me forever to find a parking place for the truck.
I came in on Rowe, turned r
When I accepted the load, I figured it being late I wouldn't have any problems running into the yard in Chicago, swapping trailers, and hightailing it back out before morning traffic destroyed all of my good feelings about the fact that the load was going to Connecticut, which just happens to be on the wrong side of the Hudson River.
So, when I got here (yes, as a matter of fact, I am still in Chicago) the trailer I assumed was to be there because the load stated the pickup date was 10/26/08
It's been awhile since I've done this and even now it seems like an undesirable chore.
Home time was spent working at my mother's house getting it ready to sell; it goes on the market at the end of the month. My son and I will split the proceeds which won't be a whole lot, but might be enough for him to buy a house and for us to pay off 95% of our debt and fix up our house.
I also went to my shrink who was all smiles. He smiles all the time. He smiles so much you wonder if he's wearing a
The good news is I'm not going to Massachusetts. The bad news is I'm not going to be home in time for the appointment with the shrink. The good news is I was able to get a new appointment next Tuesday. The bad news is my boss was majorly pissed that I didn't turn down the load to Massachusetts. The good news is I followed company procedure and advised the weekend dispatcher that I needed to be home before the 17th and all he did was send a message that said "Noted." The bad news is I'm going to
Still here, well, I don't pick up the load until tomorrow so I'm supposed to be still here.
Jonesboro is on one of the north-south mainlines for Union Pacific RR and their trains seem to run mostly at night: rumble, rumble, rumble, whoo whoo, rumble, rumble, whoo whoo whoo. Yeah it's less than a mile from the truck stop. There seems to be a rule about siting truck stops: Look for an interstate exit near a railroad track and you get twenty-five extra points.
And, to think I like trains. I
I hate being away from the internet, especially when I'm spending the night in places like Houston, TX. That's where all of this started, three nights ago. The connection manager for my wireless card decided to take a sabbatical from reality. It tries to work, but just can't seem to get all the steps right.
So, I called Sprint and spoke to a Tech Support person (it was a guy or at least sounded like a guy, could've been a girl impersonating a guy, but as we weren't using our webcams I couldn
Upon further investigation it appears I may suffer from Fructose Intolerance. I had been doing a pretty good job of watching what I ate until a couple days ago when I had an apple (high in fructose), two bottles of juice beverage (30% juice plus a lot of high fructose corn syrup). It was a rather gassy last night and I woke up this morning with soggy drawers.
Basically what happens (from what I've read so far) is the small intestine does not properly absorb fructose, allowing it to pass into
So, I didn't write an entry when I was in Troutville, VA, after delivering in Salem. I didn't write an entry in Fort Chiswell, VA, after picking up a load of processed turkeys in Newberry, SC. I didn't write an entry after in Mifflinville, PA, after delivering said turkey stuff to Bethlehem, PA.
So, why am I doing it here, when I need to be getting down the road? I've got approximately 450 miles to drive today to be set up to deliver this load tomorrow morning, unless they let me drop it ton
I did the AA Highway in Kentucky today (too many "y's"). When I first received the load dispatch, I figured I be going Highway 35 across Ohio, but the computer fooled me and I was sent to AA (ha-ha). Well, it was kind of scary thinking this highway actually might have been named in honor of that wonderful non-organization.
When I turned off I-275 there was a little sign that said "John Y Brown Jr AA Highway." My immediate thought was, "Okay, he's a pretentious sot who paid a lot of money to
The last time I was here I had to find a clinic for a blood draw and protime test. This time it was an overnight plus a shower in a few. I suppose Fargo is a nice place, but it is North Dakota and everyone has heard all the horrible stories about the Siberia of America. By the way, winter is just around the corner. Coming across Montana the day before yesterday, there was fresh snow on some of the higher peaks. It won't be too many more weeks before that snow works its way down to the valleys.
Time off was kind of nice, other than getting home late and then having to get up early the next morning. Sunday we (me, the wife, our son, and Bonita) drove over the mountains with Mother's ashes. Our original intent was to take them up to Stormy Mountain and disperse them probably no more than an hour up the mountain. She wanted her ashes scattered on Stormy Mountain and I figured on is a relative term and all things being equal she's been damned lucky I didn't flush her down the toilet.
A
It's across the interstate from here, but who'd want to live my a truck stop anyway.
Night before last when I was waiting for my trailer to be unloaded in Pueblo (four and a half hours!), I saw a meteor (meterite?) fly overhead. At first I thought, "No, it's a skyrocket or some such firework," but they usually don't fly horizontally or go that fast. With Palin's Alaska problems, the LA train wreck, the AIG bailout, and every thing else in the news, there's been nary a word about other sighti
It's across the interstate. Fountain, Colorado, is famous for "The Blast," the result of a passenger train colliding with part of a freight train carrying 18 tons of explosive naptha. Today the event is celebrated with a street dance in July.
My blood test in Hays went off without any problems at all. Unlike those people in Kentucky, these guys knew a customer when they saw one and were more than willing to test my blood. Unfortunately, my INR came out 3.3. Not significantly higher, but stil
Let's get this out of the way first, my grandfather may have been born in Kansas and his parents may have been married in Kansas, but I still do not like Kansas, except for the service plaza on their turnpike. See, I can't hate them because hate is an all out, total rejection, but these guys have nice service plazas. Rest areas are another situation entirely as they range from "I not even peeing in there" to "this is rather nice for a public toilet."
According to Wiki, Bunker Hill has 1.4 sq
Okay, so I didn't do an entry for day or so. I was busy and tired.
I also broke the frames for my regular glasses. So now I have to live in darkness, even when it's dark outside. My clinic is ordering new frames so they can put in the old lenses when I get home (hopefully next Friday). I'm typing this without my sunglasses and I can see my laptop. The letters are a little small and fuzzy, but you do what you have to do.
Yesterday I was supposed to have my weekly blood test, but I foolish
And you were thinking, "Whew! He's forgotten to do an entry."
Sorry, but I was busy finishing Chapter 16. It's all done and sent to my editor. It should be up before the weekend.
Then I had to drive here to pick up my next load.
They seemed quite anxious for me to get here, but I've been sitting in the dock for an hour and nary a pallet has thumped onto my trailer. Actually, it's the forklift the does the thumping.
At least it's not hot. There's a nice breeze blowing and enough c
Okay, I tried to make an appointment with my shrink, but he won't be in town the next time I'm home. So, I guess I'll have to monitor the situation and decide what to do when I start heading home.
Actually, I'm kind of surprised I went to the effort of making the appointment, but I was going to do this entry and realized it would look kind of silly to say I was going to try. It looks a whole lot better to say I tried, but failed.
I'm putting off leaving as I have to drive through Clevela
Another day, another buck-fifty in the kitty.
Today, was okay. Busted my ass helping to unload my trailer. It's part of the deal. The customer is a major account and the drivers must help unload. This means picking up boxes that fall off of pallets that are stacked to the ceiling, picking up boxes that are stuffed between pallets, and generally helping the forklift operator with the unload. We don't get paid to help, by the way, which is only logical in the greater scheme of things.
And,
I got as far as Tremonton, but I'm supposed to be in Logan. I was supposed to be in Logan at 3 p.m. today, but obviously that didn't happen. My boss is really pissed. I'm pissed, too, but for an entirely different reason. The trailer I picked up had a flat tire. I tried to fix it and eventually got it filled with air on Tuesday, but this morning when I checked it before leaving it had gone down to 55 psi.
So, I contacted our over the road maintenance people and they sent me to a tire shop in
I can't use Home without quotes because there is a Home, WA, and I don't live there, although I have been there. It's a nice, little community on Key Peninsula. If you're interested, check out the interesting Wiki entry on Home.
I'm home for only two days because, well, I was getting tired out there having to find a lab to have my blood tested. The last place was the county hospital in Rawlins, WY, because they don't have medical clinics. They're probably going to bill me a horrendous amount
Sounds kind of idyllic such that you might expect to see Clark Gable or William Powell driving by in a 1934 Oldsmobile L-34 convertible with Mirna Loy or Claudette Colbert sitting in the passenger seat. Actually, it's a lot of neon and tourists.
I got my load going west, but it doesn't pick up until Monday afternoon. So I drove over here to sit until tomorrow morning when I also need a blood test. According to the AT&T online Yellow Pages, there's a diagnostic lab in Greensburg where I c
Seriously folks, I thought I had this thing beat. I thought everything was going to be peachy again, you know, like it was when I was simply delusional or before that when I was too scared to open my closet door. It been down hill since then.
I was feeling pretty good last weekend and earlier this week. I was doing pretty good, too. Everything was coming up roses.
Well, somebody has to fertilize the roses if they're going to look good so we're in for some heavy shit.
I'm down; there
.thumb.jpg.b1f75d8c5010b1c5249ca89e61390172.jpg)