Change Of Plans

Over the course of the previous weeks (and years) I have run into a fair bit of incidents that have left me feeling a little tense.  It is mostly due to work related issues, but occasionally some real life occurrences play a role. Frankentruck and Maggie have almost drove me crazy, and last week I found 3 fresh scratches on the Pony Car. Had I received an apology (and yes, I know who did it) I would have probably been a little more forgiving, but the culprit first denied, then made excuses, but never apologized. Grrrrrrr..... Had it been an accident, I would have definitely been more forgiving.   But it was not, and I was MAD!!  And no, it was not intentional. Lets just say that it was the same careless action repeated three separate times, each leaving a visible scar.

But enough of that. Also last week, I lost all cellular service for two days. As a truck driver, cell phones have become an essential piece of equipment. I honestly think that if I did not travel so much, I could live without one.  But this loss in communications came at a very inopportune time. Frantic to reach out and touch someone, I felt a tremendous amount of stress. Had it been any other time, I would have relished in the solitude!! The reason...my 2G sim card was not compatible with my 3G phone.....This after having worked for 2 years, and why did I have a 2G card in my phone to begin with??

I am happy to report that after 21 days of rain, I finally found clear blue skies!  21 consecutive days!  That tends to dampen the mood!

This week, I had decided to head west and try my best to put all the grey moments behind me. I chose a trip that would take me into Kansas for a few days. First stop was to be Tuscaloosa, Alabama, which means I was in no hurry to leave the homestead. But it was not meant to be. I received a phone call early Sunday morning requiring my assistance. It seems AA (the other New England driver) was not going to be able to make his deliveries. This decision was made 7 hours into his trip, meaning I now had to chase him down and retrieve his trailer. I was 11 hours from his location.  I was officially 24 hours behind, before I ever even got started. And if you know me at all, I hate to be late. I am not one to shirk my duties in the slightest, and this, my friends,  also causes me tension. In fact, I have felt so many tiny little pricks of stress (none of which was significant enough to alter my mood) but the cumulative total......Well, lets just say, my muscles are so tight that my shoulders seem to be attached to my earlobes and the base of my skull is stiff, heck, even my eyebrows hurt from scrunching them up, making ugly faces.

I resigned myself early, to the fact that I would not be making deliveries until Tuesday. But it was a sincere struggle to not press on and try my damnedest.  I did indeed make one delivery on Monday afternoon and was able to get in a running session, which helped to alleviate some soreness, but that was it. Tuesday was not going to allow me to make up any lost time, as my second stop took over 4 hours to complete. By Wednesday morning, I had off loaded only 3 customers, with 6 to go, along with 4 return pickups.  Thursday morning finds me still in New Jersey, and a long way from the house. I am normally home at this point. Oh, and no running on Wednesday, as I worked a full 14 hour day, and am not about to attempt running in the darkness in this area at 10pm. (I was doing go good on my new running program, too!!) grrrrrr.

Why is this load taking so long?? Well, other than the fact that the drops are spread out in a random pattern (which I altered in order to make better time), I am also pulling the crane trailer. This can be very beneficial when unloading at certain customers, but I assure you, that not a single customer on this route absolutely needed the crane this week. It more than triples unloading time at even given customer.  

Oh did I mention, AA has been diagnosed with pneumonia, so he may be out for awhile, meaning I will almost immediately turn around with a new load when I return to Georgia. So much for birthday celebrations.

Below is a short video clip, exposing yet another dimension of my job! Hope you enjoy! This is the Crane Trailer!!