Ok guys in Pennsylvania, what's up, the last time I consulted the voodoo witch doctor....errr the weatherman he didn't say anything about a lot of white stuff falling out of the air! lol
I'm a southern boy here from Oklahoma so we don't see this weird white stuff very much and as you can tell my truck didn't like it. Slowing down to a meager 45mph (for safety of course) really cut in the mileage I can run. In a 10 hour driving period I went a whole 456 miles give or take.
Ok all kidding aside, I am a sucker for seeing snow on the ground like I did going through the beautiful state here. The only minor gripe I have is that it seems the road crews take their time on clearing a path, and boy there are some crazy car AND truck drivers out there that wanted to fly by. Unfortunately I did see a few of them off in the ditch later on. Some people don't realize slow and steady will get you there safely and in plenty of time vs rushing around.
I have to admit I'm glad to finally be out of the bad stuff here finally, that way I can get some good sleep as driving like that all day really wore me out. I feel like I went a few rounds with a kickboxer and I ache all over lol.
Well that's all for now I'll chat with you later there.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Marathon Driving 26 Jan 2011
Wow, I just finished up a marathon day of driving. Should be interesting to see if the evil logbook guru's try to hang me on this one but it will be fun to prove them wrong lmao.
What it boils down to is that I show driving 611 miles in 10 hours.... in a truck that can only do 62 max. Now the biggest thing here is that its probably more along the lines of 10 hours and 15 minutes or so. But the way they allow us to round up or down the 15 minute intervals gives me a small advantage and I used it. That and I only took two 15 minute breaks in that whole span. I am the type of person I can drive for quite a ways before needing a break to stretch etc. But it will be fun to see how many times they try and successfully, mind you, to match my log with the timestamps that my Qualcomm(our satellite computer tracking system) will show. I'm sure there will be quite a bit of grumbling as they really can't do much hehehehe.
On another note, I have to say it was beautiful country I drove through from Missouri to Ohio on Interstate 70 today. The ground was snow covered and it looked....peaceful which was nice.
It gave me plenty of time to think of the things I am thankful for. Such as loving kids that understood why I had to go back to driving a truck vs. being driven nuts by the local politicians as the Chief of Police of my hometown. I am also very thankful for the new friends I have made here recently. And I'm especially thankful for that special lady letting me spend some quality time in her life.
Well I better get some sleep here so I can continue my journey to Pennsylvania tomorrow.
What it boils down to is that I show driving 611 miles in 10 hours.... in a truck that can only do 62 max. Now the biggest thing here is that its probably more along the lines of 10 hours and 15 minutes or so. But the way they allow us to round up or down the 15 minute intervals gives me a small advantage and I used it. That and I only took two 15 minute breaks in that whole span. I am the type of person I can drive for quite a ways before needing a break to stretch etc. But it will be fun to see how many times they try and successfully, mind you, to match my log with the timestamps that my Qualcomm(our satellite computer tracking system) will show. I'm sure there will be quite a bit of grumbling as they really can't do much hehehehe.
On another note, I have to say it was beautiful country I drove through from Missouri to Ohio on Interstate 70 today. The ground was snow covered and it looked....peaceful which was nice.
It gave me plenty of time to think of the things I am thankful for. Such as loving kids that understood why I had to go back to driving a truck vs. being driven nuts by the local politicians as the Chief of Police of my hometown. I am also very thankful for the new friends I have made here recently. And I'm especially thankful for that special lady letting me spend some quality time in her life.
Well I better get some sleep here so I can continue my journey to Pennsylvania tomorrow.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The Load from Hell
Last night was a very interesting night to say the very least. I was given a run by the distribution center I'm helping out to deliver to 4 stores along the border of southern California.
Now I was running very close on my hours of service with my logbook, but I had enough to be able to do it with only a small buffer. I like having a bigger buffer than that but the last few runs went well so I didn't worry about it.
I got to the first store and the load was off in a jiffy there. I was happy how that store went and quickly got to the second store. This is where things go downhill. I go into the Walmart, and it took me 30 frakkin minutes to locate a manager!!!! Really?? These stores know when these loads are to be here. And then we had a problem with the load. It took almost an hour and a half when it should have taken half an hour max.
Now my schedule is extremely tight. The next store has to be able to get their load off quickly if I am to make the last store on time. I arrive there and see all the dock doors taken up by trailers... WHAT THE HELL!!!! I go in and once again it seems to take forever to find a manager so I can see which one I need to use. So I unhook my trailer, pull one out of the door, then put mine in. I go in and once again no one is around. Come to find out, they are now doing Shift Change! Uh, hello, I told them I was on a very tight schedule to make the next store and no one is around once again.
So I end up calling my driver manager, to let them know that I had two options. I could basically run illegally to get the last store delivered, or they would have to repower the load. They decided to repower it so I wouldn't take the hit on a log violation. The other thing I hate is not knowing whether or not this fiasco will show up as a 'service failure' on my record. I pride myself on my record. I am not late on loads....period. The few rare times I am are due to reasons such as above and it drives me nuts!
So now I am sitting behind the last store here in my truck. I don't have any hours left on my log to be able to go anywhere. Another thing that sucks is that in this part of California, there are NO truck stops...gee thanks guys. I get to spend the next 34 hours at a strip mall. At least I was able to get a broadband card for my laptop, and they have plenty of eating places. And I'd hate to tell the State of California, but screw your no idling law...I plan on being comfortable in my truck!
Now the one bright spot is that I get to talk to a great sexy woman over the time I have to sit here and enjoy getting to know her more. See I can find the silver lining in the clouds.
Now I was running very close on my hours of service with my logbook, but I had enough to be able to do it with only a small buffer. I like having a bigger buffer than that but the last few runs went well so I didn't worry about it.
I got to the first store and the load was off in a jiffy there. I was happy how that store went and quickly got to the second store. This is where things go downhill. I go into the Walmart, and it took me 30 frakkin minutes to locate a manager!!!! Really?? These stores know when these loads are to be here. And then we had a problem with the load. It took almost an hour and a half when it should have taken half an hour max.
Now my schedule is extremely tight. The next store has to be able to get their load off quickly if I am to make the last store on time. I arrive there and see all the dock doors taken up by trailers... WHAT THE HELL!!!! I go in and once again it seems to take forever to find a manager so I can see which one I need to use. So I unhook my trailer, pull one out of the door, then put mine in. I go in and once again no one is around. Come to find out, they are now doing Shift Change! Uh, hello, I told them I was on a very tight schedule to make the next store and no one is around once again.
So I end up calling my driver manager, to let them know that I had two options. I could basically run illegally to get the last store delivered, or they would have to repower the load. They decided to repower it so I wouldn't take the hit on a log violation. The other thing I hate is not knowing whether or not this fiasco will show up as a 'service failure' on my record. I pride myself on my record. I am not late on loads....period. The few rare times I am are due to reasons such as above and it drives me nuts!
So now I am sitting behind the last store here in my truck. I don't have any hours left on my log to be able to go anywhere. Another thing that sucks is that in this part of California, there are NO truck stops...gee thanks guys. I get to spend the next 34 hours at a strip mall. At least I was able to get a broadband card for my laptop, and they have plenty of eating places. And I'd hate to tell the State of California, but screw your no idling law...I plan on being comfortable in my truck!
Now the one bright spot is that I get to talk to a great sexy woman over the time I have to sit here and enjoy getting to know her more. See I can find the silver lining in the clouds.
Staying Busy and Open Communication
I am sitting here at a Walmart Distribution Center near Phoenix AZ. I was asked by one of our dedicated planners that work here if I wanted to make a few runs for them. I talked to my driver manager and she confirmed freight was very slow in the area so I jumped on the chance. Its a way to stay busy and make money instead of sitting.
Now you may ask how does communication come into play? Well without good open communication the planner would not have mentioned it to me and I'd be stuck somewhere right now.
This also brings to mind some very good conversations I've had with a few friends. Without that good open honest communication where does that leave us? It almost always leaving us getting hurt sooner or later in one way shape or form. That communication can help keep that massive pain from happening. Now I won't say you won't get hurt by being open and honest, but from what I have seen the pain is a lot less vs finding out in other ways and forms.
I guess the purpose of this is that I am very happy to have been able to find people that also believe in this type of communication. I can honestly say this is the happiest I have felt in a very long time. I really love these conversations with everyone and hope they continue and develop into more..
Now you may ask how does communication come into play? Well without good open communication the planner would not have mentioned it to me and I'd be stuck somewhere right now.
This also brings to mind some very good conversations I've had with a few friends. Without that good open honest communication where does that leave us? It almost always leaving us getting hurt sooner or later in one way shape or form. That communication can help keep that massive pain from happening. Now I won't say you won't get hurt by being open and honest, but from what I have seen the pain is a lot less vs finding out in other ways and forms.
I guess the purpose of this is that I am very happy to have been able to find people that also believe in this type of communication. I can honestly say this is the happiest I have felt in a very long time. I really love these conversations with everyone and hope they continue and develop into more..
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A good start
Well I can safely say I am extremely happy with the job change that I made. Today I was able to get out on the road and just drive and it was a nice stress free day for me there. This was exactly what the doctor ordered so to speak for me, and I'm loving it. I'm also able to carry on some nice deep conversations with friends and that is helping me to rediscover myself. I think in the last few years that was something I had lost track of, was me. Everything revolved around my identity as an officer, but not me as a person. I have to say I am really liking the guy that was hidden there and I'm hoping to be able to share him with someone who would like to take him there. Right now from what I can tell things are looking up in all areas. Taking it one day at a time I know I will let loose that fun, honest happy guy that's been hiding there lol.
A late Start
Sometimes a person has to love big corporations. Now I'll admit starting a new job right before the new year has not been one of my top 10 ideas to do. I will admit thinking that going back to a company that I enjoyed working for and had a good relationship was a great idea. What I didn't count on was Murphy's Law.
Let me explain here, Murphy's Law is when the complete unexpected happen. In my case it was the computer system flagging me for a company class before I could leave. No big deal except the class was required back when I was deployed to Iraq and is not offered. So when the company reactivated me no one cleared out this kind of stuff. And being a holiday weekend no one is at corporate headquarters to fix it since it won't let us on this end. So they better get it done Monday I swear lol.
Now the good thing here is that I was able to make it to another meet and greet in the area. I am starting to get to know the group more and they me. I also was able to spend more time with someone I am really interested in so this is the silver lining in the cloud here as far as I'm concerned.
Here's to funky computer mistakes and making the best of it
Let me explain here, Murphy's Law is when the complete unexpected happen. In my case it was the computer system flagging me for a company class before I could leave. No big deal except the class was required back when I was deployed to Iraq and is not offered. So when the company reactivated me no one cleared out this kind of stuff. And being a holiday weekend no one is at corporate headquarters to fix it since it won't let us on this end. So they better get it done Monday I swear lol.
Now the good thing here is that I was able to make it to another meet and greet in the area. I am starting to get to know the group more and they me. I also was able to spend more time with someone I am really interested in so this is the silver lining in the cloud here as far as I'm concerned.
Here's to funky computer mistakes and making the best of it
Monday, December 27, 2010
The New Year
I am looking forward to the beginning of the new year for a variety of reasons. One is that I have gone from a high stress job to a much lower stress job. I was the chief of police for a small town and to put it mildly, I found out how much I really really hate politics. I stressed me out so bad I needed to leave for health reasons...theirs and mine lol. I went back to truck driving because I have done it, and do enjoy it. The only downside is less time spent with the kiddos but my health needs to come first.
Now for a few new years resolutions.........
I resolve to help find myself in a better place mentally and physically.
I really need to lose some weight and I have some ideas on how to do that while driving.
I need to work out more...hence to help out with the weight loss.
I am working on my circle of friends, as I found out recently I don't have much of one.
And the biggest one..... I need to HAVE FUN and ENJOY LIFE for a change.
I don't think any of these are out of reach, or too large. The biggest thing is to take them one at a time and just go from there. I want to start this new decade out with a bang!
Well that's all for now, we'll see how often I can post on here.
Now for a few new years resolutions.........
I resolve to help find myself in a better place mentally and physically.
I really need to lose some weight and I have some ideas on how to do that while driving.
I need to work out more...hence to help out with the weight loss.
I am working on my circle of friends, as I found out recently I don't have much of one.
And the biggest one..... I need to HAVE FUN and ENJOY LIFE for a change.
I don't think any of these are out of reach, or too large. The biggest thing is to take them one at a time and just go from there. I want to start this new decade out with a bang!
Well that's all for now, we'll see how often I can post on here.
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