To Be Continued..........

Finally time to move. Too exhausted to blog. Have a lot to say , but no time or energy right now. Check back later.....

Moving Day

Okay, not quite yet. Only 8 more days to the big move. I have a little more to pack, but it looks like I have packed nothing. All the big stuff fills the rooms and all the small stuff is boxed up in the corners. I have packed over 25 boxes at this point with more to go. I didnt realize I had sooooo much small stuff. I swear it looks like I have packed nothing......

Anyway, I am very excited about the move. I have new neighbors above me and well, all I can say is Thank God I am moving. It sounds like there is a herd of elephants on a rampage above my head. (This is a one-bedroom apartment, so how many folks can be up there???) And let me just add that they have a very healthy sexual appetite. Very annoying at 3 in the morning. The previous tenants were also stompers. The ones prior to that were never heard. So, as I have said before, this place is getting progressively worse. Luckily my knob on my stereo has a little more adjustment left in it. I think I am on about 6 now. I started out at about 3. So long Suckers!!!!

Calm Down People!!!

I am really not quite sure what is going on here, but there must be something in the air.... Fall has finally arrived and traffic is going crazy.

Last week I wrote about encountering serveral delays due to accidents. Well, this week was the same.

350 miles into my trip I came upon my first delay. (Nascar was in Charlotte NC this week, so Sunday traffic was a bit heavy in this area.) TWO RVs and 12 automobiles. A 14 vehicle smash em' up. That only took about 30 minutes to get around.

82 miles later..... Big Truck in the Median.

102 miles later..... Car and Big Truck collide.

256 mile later..... 14 mile back-up due to a collision in a single lane construction zone.

That was my Sunday. Monday flowed very well. Heard reports of accidents , but never encountered any delays. So on to Tuesday.....

110 miles into the day, a two car collision.....

3 hours later ( back at that construction zone) A truck rear ends another truck....

47 miles away.... a south bound vehicle runs off the road and flips, northbound vehicles slow to watch the destruction and one of them runs off the road. This resulted in a fatality.

100 miles later.......... Reports start to trickle in about the accident ahead. 87 miles ahead. Big Truck flipped in the median going southbound. Interstate Closed!!!!! This is at 5:15pm.

At this point, I decide it is time to take a break. I pull into the next truck stop for dinner and a shower, maybe a little TV. After 2 hours the road is still closed so I decide to call it a night. Around 4 AM I decide it is time to try heading out. No one speaks of the accident. Must be cleared up by now, RIGHT? WRONG!!!! I get to the scene and the road is still blocked (14 hours later). Not much of a delay this time.

295 miles later.... Another accident.

95 miles later..... yet again!!!!

COME ON PEOPLE. WAKE UP AND DRIVE!!!!!!!!

208 miles later...... I am off the road. Out of the truck. HOME.

I dont know if it is the cooler temperatures, or what. Folks are just not paying attention. That is 2 weeks in a row that I have witnessed an unusually high volume of accidents. Lets hope next week is less destructive.

Enough with the Updates

Wally World finally called me back. Seems that they are ready to take action......

The Dept Manager is going to turn this situation over to the claims department for review. Now, you tell me... I s this really taking action?? Seems to me that they are finally showing a pulse, but not necessarily "Taking Action". I thought they were already reviewing it.....

Oh and by the way, Someone will be contacting me in a few days...............Aaaaaarrrrghghghhhh!!

And the Walls Come Tumbling Down....

And the walls keep crumblin, crumblin........Doooooowwwnnnnn.

I have been doing a little more packing for the big move in 2 weeks. Almost all of the small insignificant stuff has been packed. Only the things I need only a daily basis are left untouched. Feeling pretty good about the whole situation so far.

I decided to remove my window treatments and have them cleaned. Boy was I shocked at what I found. During the course of my two year stay I have called several times to report some water damage. Just wanted to make them aware of it, so they would not try to bill me for it upon vacating the premises. The damage I reported was mainly on the window sills. Swollen boards and water marks on the sheetrock. Also , the blinds have broken several times during my stay and were replaced promptly with each call made.

But are you ready for this:

It seems the walls are shifting. Almost looks like that whole section will detach itself eventually. It appears to have been patched before, but now there are some new cracks running vertically to the ceiling. Definitely taks me back to that Ghetto feeling I was having about 2 months ago.

It almost makes me want to rehang the curtains, just to avoid looking at it.

Update

Spoke with yet another Manager. This time is was the Assistant Store Manager. Same song and dance.... He took my number and assured me that the dept manager would contact me tomorrow with a resolution.. 42 Days and Counting. 4 visits to address the situation. 4 promises of a resolution. 0 attempts to rectify the situation. enough already.....

Lifetime balance and rotate $28.00

RE Balance (at alternate location) $16.95

Wheels damaged during initial balance $1000.00

Decision to use Wal-Mart Tire and Lube Express Priceless.

Its Official

Autumn has definitely arrived. At least in the NorthEast. The trees are putting on a spectacular show this year. The temperatures are dropping dramatically at night and staying in the 70s for daytime highs. I have been hearing vicious rumors about what the projected winter weather will be like. Abnormally warm temperatures throughout the US with an exception- A bitter cold winter for the SouthEast. What's up with that??? At least that should making it easy for me while working. Sounds like I wont have to worry too much about icy road conditions. (Except at home, where the folks don't know how to drive in icy conditions.)

Another One Bites the Dust

During the course of this weeks load, I stumbled upon a roadblock. I was rerouted to get to my final destination, which involved only a few blocks and a minimal amount of time. The delay...... Rolled over Big Truck. The part about this situation that strikes me as being soooo odd is where the truck flipped over.

Okay, yes it is flipped over on a downhill curving ramp ,not a surprise. But let me just set up the rest of the scenario.

Lets just start with the fact that the truck just went through a 10' wide toll booth rated for 5mph. (not through the booth, but rather between the booths in a 5 mph lane). It travelled maybe 100yds up an incline, proceeded through the curve and flipped. The problem I have with this is if it was heavy enough to flip that easily then how did it ever build up enough momentum in such a short distance. My truck does not take off that quick when loaded. I am completely baffled by this. Oh wellllllllll

Weekend Getaway

Well, I made the trek to Alabama this last weekend. Turned out to be quite a nice weekend.

Friday was fairly typical. One of my goals this weekend was to have my window tint replaced on my doors. I did have to wait a little longer than I had anticipated, but that was due to circumstances beyond my control. So, I wont fuss too much. The tint guys were more than willing to address my situation with the scratches and hazing. They were more than happy to replace both windows. They were more than happy to not charge me anything additional... In fact, no additional paperwork whatsoever!

HELLO, WAL-MART! ARE YOU GUYS PAYING ATTENTION HERE????

So, back to the ranch.

One of our weekend traditions is to play 1 2 3 Raaaarrrrrrr. Also known as hide and seek. We like our version better. Its fun to say and the rules can change in mid-play if someone feels they were caught unjustly. A good time is had by all and this weekend we got the Daddy to join in.

On Saturday we journeyed over to a car show. Lots of Mustangs and other assorted goodies. Here is my favorite:

Anybody see some fellows with long beards holding guitars??? Oh Well. (I personally think that all car shows should be based on class. Why are the Nopi cars here with all the classics. And to. the ignorant folks like myself, Whats with those 06's parked over here? Did they run out of parking??? OHHHH, you have done something to it... Makes it special..... Okay, I will just have to trust you on that. Guess I should have entered my little Pony Car too.

The kids got to partake in a little action in the kid zone, and then off for some grub.

On the way home, we made a little detour to the toy store. Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you........I think the kids were happy with their choices. And now I have all the more reason to return for another visit. Kareoke and Monopoly!!!

All in all it was a good trip. I did leave a little later than I had intended. But once both my brother and nephew erected hotels I knew it was time to split...


I just wanted to add a final note.. The Pony Car performed exceptionally this weekend. I got home with a 25.7 mpg rating. The GT was rated at 25 mpg on the highway, so it overachieved this weeekend. Even with my lead foot!!!!!

That Boy IS SMART.

During my weekend visit to my brothers house, a discussion was started by my 8 year old nephew. The Topic was population in US major cities.

He asked a few opinion questions and stated a few facts. Then began the responses... Now, there were three of us in the car well over 8 years old and we all responded in turn. Not surprisingly, the three adults unanimously agreed that the 8 year old might not have his facts quite so accurate. He took this in stride and did not offer any type of rebuttle.

When we got back to the house, I quickly jumped on the net and looked up the population charts. Turns out the Nephew was completely accurate and the Aunt, the Father, and the Grandfather had no idea what they were talking about.

Way to go Jordan. This is actually not too surprising. One of my nephews favorite things to do is draw the state of Alaska and identify different counties. I dont think I was even aware that counties existed at that age, much less be able to identify any. And did I mention that at the age of 5 he was teaching his younger sister to speak some spanish. Now, that is a smart child!!

NYC Welcoming Committee

I have been traveling into New York City for about 4 years now. I was a bit surprised to find that a lot of the hype about NYC did not seem to be true. That which is seen in movies or television was not necessarily present.

Traffic, for example. Rumored to have mind blowing bouts of gridlock. Not necessarily the case. In my experiences I have witnessed some horrible delays, true; but not quite the stuff these legends are made of. I find that New Yorkers are very good drivers!! I AM SERIOUS. Every major city has rush hour, and these people flow quite well considering how populated the area is. There is definitely an unspoken set of rules you must abide by in order to fit in, but once you have mastered the basic knowledge of these guidelines you can merge with the best of them.

1.Beware of TaxiCabs. They are unaware that any other vehicle is present on the roadway.(Or, they just really dont give a flying rats ass.) But we will give them the benefit of the doubt and call it TunnelVision.

2. Never assume that the lines painted on the surface of the road actually mean anything. Lane position, WHAT LANE POSITION???? As long as you are on a drivable surface, gas on it. Asphalt, concrete, dirt, grass.... Its all fair game , anything to get ahead of the crowd.

Most importantly

3. Merging... Its not for the faint of heart. When you decide you must change lanes, be firm in your resolution and DONT SHOW FEAR. From the moment you intiate your turn signal, you have roughly 3 seconds to make the transition. (I would like to say "Give or Take", but who am I kidding. 3 is already too generous). First BLINK, a slight gap will magically appear; trust me, it is there. You must believe young grasshopper!! Second BLINK, at this point you should already be at least halfway into your new LANE position. DONT HESITATE. Third BLINK, this is the token clicking noise to remind you to turn off your turn signal.

Should you hesitate at any point, the GAP will vanish as magically as it appeared. (Did you see it, YOUNG JEDI MASTER??) Okay , now abort the procedure entirely. Count to 10 and reengage the turn signal. Hopefully, they will have forgotten your first failed attempt. Maybe they will assume you accidently hit the lever the first time. If for some reason you are unsuccessful a second time, they are now completely aware you are not a local and have NO sympathy for you . Good Luck

I seem to have strayed quite a bit there....now, back to the real issue at hand..


Everyone has seen the shots of NYC where traffic is blocked in all directions, and horns are ablowing. Gestures being made in every direction, ( I know I am number One, but thanks for the comfirmation) WELL, I have yet to see that side of the City .... Until this week....

Road construction forced me to find an alternate route to one of my deliveries in Queens. I was told in advance, so I prepared to make the journey well into the night to avoid some of the traffic. The mission: to find a place to make a U-Turn on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. Traffic is thin, good vibes all around. I spot it.... Exit Ramp, overpass, entrance ramp. All in plain view, with only 2 left turns to be made. Simple, RIGHT???? I take the exit, make the first left easily enough. I am on the overpass. One lane straight, one lane turns. I am in the turn lane. Upon, further examination I discover the entrance ramp is NOT at a 45degree angle. More like 30 with a telephone pole in the near corner. So, I will just back up and ease over to the right to get plenty of room for my trailer to make the swing. DAMN, where did all these cars come from???? I cant move!!! Completely surrounded and blocking the entire intersection. Then it happens. A 21 Horn Salute being performed in my honor. Windows lowered and solitary fingers displayed just for me.... Angry shouts.... It only took about 5 minutes to rectify this little predicament, (New Yorkers seem to bore easily) But not before I was actually applauded by the two gentlemen on the corner who moments before were loudly expressing their doubts in my ability to "Git R Done" Oh yea of little faith...

So, I have now been officially welcomed by the NYC Hospitality Committee. You know, I was beginning to feel a little neglected.....

Enough IS Enough

Still no word from Wal-Mart on those wheels. I will attempt another confrontation soon... Out of town this weekend. Going to see Brothers Family. Made a phone call, but the appropriate manager was not working. Time to approach Upper Management!!