Out With The Old...

What can I say... Last week was pretty typical, I suppose. My route took me through Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan. Having checked the weather (because it is THAT time of year) I knew that I really should not have any weather related worries. However, on Tuesday, each and every customer began to advise me that I might want to get the hell out of dodge. Old Man Winter was strutting his stuff and I was directly in his path.

I surprised myself by finishing on Tuesday. But then again, (AA) always tells me that I underestimate my own skills. My response to that.."If you plan for the worst, then you will always be delighted when things turn out normal, or even exceed your expectations." But I am a glass is half full kind of girl.

I make it into Kentucky that evening after battling monsoon winds and torrential downpours. I swear at times it felt like I only had 9 wheels on the ground. Not a pleasant feeling, and truthfully, I think rough weather is one of the hardest things I trucker has to deal with.

Earlier in the day, I had noticed I was having mechanical issues. I had actually noticed hints of them the week before, but this time I was parked in a dock. A dock that is inside of a building. And I was jutting out of the doorway, so that it could not be closed. And my truck did not want to start. It took almost 5 minutes to get Frankentruck to submit to my endeavors. So when I arrived in Kentucky for the night, I knew I may be down for the count. I opted to stop at truck stop with a service shop, just in case.

The next morning, with even more effort, I coerced Frankentruck into cooperating. By now I had decided no more runs until this issue was resolved, but I was already on the board for a Florida run just as soon as I could get in.

Time to make an executive decision. I had alerted the Stooges and the newest member of our in house dispatch team to my troubles. They were going to get me another truck, and line up the repairs for this one. I did not want to play along, as I do not play well with others. So, I decided to manipulate this situation just a wee bit, for my own sake.

I headed down into Chattanooga and made a beeline for the local shop there. I knew if I showed my poor little truck to the mechanic there, he would pretty much shut me down. He is such a wonderful fella, really! As soon as he inspected my rig, he was on the phone to our Headquarters and got the okay to put me out of my misery. He then called Volvo and had them awaiting my arrival. Next, he loaded me and my gear in the company pick-up and took me to a nicer side of town for room and board. During all of this, our new dispatcher was frantically trying to figure out a way to get me back to Atlanta and in another truck that just did not exist at the moment. He rang my phone just before checking into the room. I convinced him that it would just be better if I stayed and waited on my truck, rather than borrow a daycab. My truck was in a bay within 2 minutes of my arrival and after the initial once over, it was supposed to be repaired and rolling by noon the next day. If I took the daycab, what was I going to drive to Miami? hmmmm?? And then I would have to bring the daycab back to the Nugget (Chattanugget) to retrieve my truck. Only to have just enough time to grab my next trailer and head out on next weeks load...Ugh..No thankyou! Last time I pulled that one, I kind of exceeded my hours just a tiny little bit and forgot about it. Only to be reminded of it later that week.

So while I did convince the new dispatcher to cut me some slack, I know he was fit to be tied..But, this is exactly the results I had intended when I first woke that morning. Sneaky, huh??

Now why would I do this, you may ask yourself. Because in order to pull off his plan of action, I would have had to swap trucks no less than 4 times last week...That would bring my total up to 37 .... Yes, I have jumped trucks 33 times since we got these big beautiful fully ripened LEMONS just over 2 years ago. And I just don't wanna do it no more!!

But, my friends, I do have some exciting news to conclude with. Volvo has decided to reward us for our substantial failure in making lemonade, by giving us 5 NEW ENGINES!! Yep, that's right...I will let you know how that pans out.. Until then.....Truck Em Up!!

For those of you who may be new to my blog. My scheming was not a result of not wanting the extra work. It is because I knew if I took my truck back home, the Stooges would send it to South Atlanta, and it would have been out of commission for at least a week. Also....The Stooges are my mechanics, and aptly named for all of the ridiculous repairs they have made, and the ones they cant seem to figure out.