Whats On Your Mind # 4

I decided to give you, the reader, an opportunity to ask me anything you want to know. Of course, it is with my discretion that I post the answers. I figured this is a good way to get to know me better and perhaps get a few more posts out of me. So, have fun with it!! Just click the link at the bottom of the post and ask away!!

Whats the white stuff on top of chicken poop? Anonymous

Well, the text book answer would be mostly Uric Acid. Birds do not urinate, so this is how they excrete waste from their kidneys. BUT, in my opinion, the white stuff is just the instigator of my anger, because it usually appears on the Pony Car within moments of a good wash job!

Ask me anything

What's On Your Mind ?

Have you ever tried Moxie soda?

I have never even heard of Moxie..Is it anything like JOLT Cola? I see it a New England beverage, wonder if I can get it in Mass? I will look for it.

Ask me anything

What's On Your Mind?

Terry, what is favorite ride at Disney World? Eric.

I would have to say that my favorite ride would be the Hollywood Tower of Terror..It is the one I laugh the hardest on, but Expedition Everest if almost as good!!

Ask me anything

A Year of New Beginnings ??

As is with every year, there is a part of us that reflects where we have been and where we would like to be. A time to readjust attitudes and motivations...

I think my attitude is just fine and considering everything I have been through this week, I think you will agree. At least I hope so. Or maybe, with everything I tend to encounter, I am no longer thinking clearly and lunacy is fast approaching...But, I did find myself laughing through most of my pitfalls, because crying only makes the mascara run....

It all started about 30 minutes before I arrived at the plant on Sunday night. The Mayor called to inform me that I would not be driving Frankentruck this week, because Volvo had not even started on him (after 2 weeks). That little piece of news would have been greatly appreciated, had I known before I left the house. It is too far to return home to renegotiate my supply list for the week, so I was faced with running my route without bedding, a coat, work gloves, work boots,tools, microwave and cooler. Essentially, I would be deprived of all creature comforts and work essentials. At least they left me a cheater bar so I could unstrap my load. After the initial angst, I made a purchase of Truck Stop bedding at an exorbitant cost, but I should get reimbursed for that. What is even worse is that the Mayor called several more times, (I believe to gloat over my angst) and informed me that he knew of these circumstances for at least 5 days. I was enraged that NO ONE informed me, not the boss, not the shop, not even the Mayor until after the fact.

Monday morning, after a 2.5 hour wait to unload (this rarely ever happens) I set out through the mountains of north Georgia, when the truck suddenly loses power. Oh Great!! I knew exactly what was happening and within minutes, I noticed the telltale smoke which indicated my regeneration filter was clogged and needed cleaning. This is a simple mechanical task, and can be completed in 2 hours by the mechanics. The frustrating part is that when I had done my inspection, I noticed the truck had been written up for this problem 5 times in the past 2 months. I assumed it had been taken care of, but alas, I assumed incorrectly.

Having just dealt with this situation in Frankentruck when I was in Minnesota, I was not going to allow it to continue in another truck. Because when I say smoke...what I mean is enough exhaust fumes to kill every insect in a ten mile radius and reduce visibility to 10% for those traveling behind me. I called the Stooges and asked for another spare. I was told I would have to drive this one, and I lost it....With temper at full throttle, I blurted into the phone, " This is a piece of crap, and why have you not fixed it. It has been wrote up 5 times for this shit!!" Moe stated that he did not care what the inspection book had written in it. He had placed a temp driver in the truck for the past 3 weeks and they said nothing was wrong with it.. ??

That is when I aborted the call. Nothing else said, I just hung up on him and started laughing to myself..The inspection book indicated that the Mayor had driven the truck the previous week, so Moe's statement was bull. But in dissecting what he said.... A Temp driver said that there was nothing wrong with it....I would like to point out that the majority of all temp drivers do not even do inspections, and could care less about the state of someone else's equipment. But to take the word of a disposable temporary employee over my 12 year experienced ass, was like a slap in the face. Therefore...I simply hung up..and LAUGHED.

The fumigation process finally ended as I got back to the interstate, so I trudged along to my next customer. At this point, I should have 1800 miles before the environmentally friendly Volvo exhaust regeneration system commits genocide on all flying life forms again.

I arrived at my next customer and was forced to wait an additional hour at this facility. At the third stop, another lengthy delay. I still had over 7 hours to drive to my Ohio delivery, and I was just not in the mood for it. I only made it to the Kentucky State line before calling it a day. But the stress of the past 24 hours was kicking me in the arse, and while I noticed no visible symptoms, I struggled to get any sleep that night...and failed miserably at that.

Tuesday morning, I head into a wintry mix with minor delays in traffic due to road conditions. I finally made Columbus around lunchtime (Yeah, only minor delays..lol). I was then informed that my customer would not be taking any deliveries due to their annual inventory process. More laughing to be heard coming from me.... But as I was preparing to leave the premises, a man flagged me down and said he would go ahead and offload. This is the first instance when the work gloves would have been very handy, because there nothing worse in cold weather, than wet fingertips...I do have to use those slushy covered straps, you know!! But my work gloves are locked up tight in Atlanta...

Because of my late arrival, the next two customers will have to wait another day, so I go about my business and stop early just south of Sturgis, Michigan.

The next morning, I peek out of my sleeper around 4am and notice a fine sheen of ice glazing everything in sight, so I turn over, curl up and sleep for a few more hours. Thinking the sun might help a little, I discovered the sun does not rise until 8am in Sturgis, Michigan. I could not delay any longer and after unloading, I head towards the Indiana Toll Road and my final customer of the week.

But it couldn't be that easy, now could it. I made the turn approaching the only toll lane that was open and noticed that traffic was not proceeding through it. After a few minutes, thinking someone did not have correct change, I asked if there was a problem...Seems the truck at the booth was broke down....more giggling.....We waited for 45 minutes before someone decided to open another lane and let us proceed. By this point, I am regretting my excessive slumber because I am now aware that the Arctic Blast is making its final descent, and me with no coat. The highest temperature I had seen all week was 24 degrees, and the arctic chill had not even arrived yet.

I arrive at my final point of delivery and endure yet another extended delay, this time due to the snow covered ground. In order to get unloaded, I had to wait for the trailers inside to be loaded and pulled out of the way. I was finally heading southbound around lunchtime on Wednesday. A very long week considering I only had 6 customers on the trailer to begin with.

But this story is not over. On Thursday morning, I write up this truck after having endured another barrage of "Did you blow your Turbo, driver?" on the trip home. I walked in and handed the slip to the closest Stooge, and without a word, I slipped out of doors and headed for the front office. While finishing up paperwork, Moe calls in and says I should be aware that I would still not be in Frankentruck for another week. I politely asked the assistant Boss to remind Moe to repair the regen on the spare truck.

I make it home with only minor deterrents (that will be another post in itself) only to receive a phone call from the Stooges. I was informed that I would be driving an alternate spare because they had purchased the wrong parts for the one I had been driving. I call bullshit. I think they just did not feel like doing the repair, so they gave me another temporary fix. BUT....the call (which was actually a voice message) also informed me that the new alternate spare had problems that they were very aware of and I should not write them up, but that I should be able to make it to New England and back....So basically, I am driving a broken truck to replace the broken truck I drove last week, while my Frankentruck remains broken. Ahhhh, you just gotta love it.

Three trucks in the first 3 weeks of 2010....That makes 37 !! 37 times that I have jumped ship since the new fleet arrived only 28 months ago. Nope, doesnt look like anything is changing this year...LOL

What's On Your Mind...

What was the worst movie you've ever seen?

ABOUT SCHMIDT...Considering how much I love Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates, I was completely disappointed to see them ?? naked....Ohhhh, my eyes!!

Ask me anything

Twenty Ten

Hello Friends and Happy New Year.

I suppose now would be the perfect time to reflect upon last year and see where I have landed.

First, although I had high hopes of becoming more fit, seems I have let that resolution slip through my grasp. But then, don't most resolutions fall by the wayside rather rapidly. With nearly an entire year of physical problems, I only managed to run/walk for a total of 389.26 miles. I added in a stationary bike (deciding to go the no impact route) late in the year and accumulated another 229 miles on it. In 2010, my goal will be to ride no less than 3000 miles... Seems like a huge jump, but in reality, it is very attainable.

The year in Trucking has been a prosperous one, with so many other drivers losing their jobs to a slow economy. I am now 6th in seniority, which doesn't hurt my feelings at all. I have struggled to get comfortable with my truck, due to exhaust leaks and uncomfortable seats, but in the end...I am still very confident that I am at no risk of losing my job, so the rest kind of seems irrelevant. I will be climbing back into Frankentruck on January 3rd to test out a new motor, courtesy of Volvo...Seems they are adding a little sugar to my lemons.

Financially I am better off, but I think emotionally I may have taken a step backwards. This year was spent in a very subdued and tense state. I do not like suppressing my tension, because inevitably, it always affects those near and dear to me. But it affects me the most, and I am very good at not showing my cracks...Believe me though, I am cracking!! I already have plans made to eliminate most of this tension. Plus, another trip to Disney World in the Spring should help out.

The jury is still out as to whether or not I made last year count. Kind of a depressing reality check, in fact. I did make some new friends, lost a few friends, and had some friendships stall out. I really need to work at keeping in touch with people, but it is sometimes difficult to over come the influences of your earlier years, so that is one I will have to prioritize.

Guess that about sums it up, back to that reality check....ugh!!

Well, I thought I should at least stop by to Welcome the New Year to my Blog. With that done, I look forward to a very prosperous and rewarding 20-10. 10-4

To Err is Human...The Finale !!

The phone call was from my Office. They needed to inquire about a few particulars concerning my load.

Hmmmmm??

Yes, Winona was on the way, saving at least 100 miles. Yes Winona was actually loaded next and not underneath the Minneapolis. No, no one reloaded any of my freight, except the pallets back in Tennessee. Yes, they agreed to wait on me.

It seems the Aluminum Company got a nasty little email from Minneapolis concerning my delivery. Of course, I feel that their complaints were legitimate, and I did do everything I could to help out with the situation. I run into this problem all of the time in New England, but because I know the customer's needs, I am able to accommodate them before arriving with an undeliverable load. I did not know this customer, so I did not know I needed to make alternate arrangements with the freight.

What ensued over the next few hours was a battle of laying blame. The load planner claimed it was my fault for changing routes mid-stream and That I was obviously having my freight moved around . She knows I do this in New England, but there was no need for it on this trip. It just wasn't loaded properly. My boss waged war for me, and in the end it was revealed that I was not to blame at all. Really?

Don't you just love the fact that almost everyone seems to throw the driver under the bus, when a mistake occurs. Luckily, I have a wonderful boss who will fight tooth and nail for his team of drivers.

The best part of this little battle...The original email from Minneapolis included a paragraph about me. It stated that I was doing my best to help them out. That I had physically helped them unload over 4000k of metal. That I was a great asset to my company. The final sentence advised my company to extend gratitude to me, the Driver....You know, the one the load planner was trying to blame.. LOL

I made it home early on Friday and was scheduled to be off for the next 2 weeks. But, I just had to volunteer to work the week of Christmas....Seems, I am a glutton for punishment.

Good news, however! When I finish my run this week, I am to send my truck to Volvo to have the new engine installed....YAY This could not come at a better time, because even though my problems were temporarily at bay with the regen situation in Wisconsin. They almost immediately returned when I got empty in Missouri. Only 1200 more miles and Frankentruck goes under the knife.. Let's hope he lives through it.

To Err is Human....Almost Done

I awoke at the crack of dawn and began my trek into St Louis. I could have chosen a shorter route, but my need for fuel had me sticking to the interstates.

Upon my final descent into St Louis, I witnessed an accident. Some people are just in too big of a hurry.

Riding south on I-55, the radio was full of chatter pertaining to a trailer tire w/rim laying in the southbound granny lane. Getting close to the obstruction, I moved left and watched as fourwheelers opted for flying around the right side in order to pass my slow moving obstruction. I then slowed even more, because I could tell they had no idea what was laying in the road in front of them, the distance was too great to discern it at this point. So, I slowed even further to allow them room to make a hasty left merge once they noticed it.

The two cars noticed it at almost the last second, literally jerking the steering wheel to avoid catastrophe. The Escalade, who became agitated when I slowed him down, decided to come around on my right also. He obviously had not noticed the actions of the other fourwheelers, because he had been behind me. I guess, my brake lights and four way flashers just angered him even more. So he darted to my right. I kept waiting for him to notice the wheel... and waited and waited......Oh crap, he never noticed it and centered it perfectly, lifting his entire vehicle at least a foot into the air before the sudden stop with a very large trailer tire wedged under his motor.

The truck behind him was a daycab, and also had not noticed the impending calamity, so he had to make a quick dive into onto the shoulder to keep from impacting the Escalade. The driver was not immediately injured, but I think he will be very sore for awhile. What is even worse, this tire did not fall off of a poorly maintained axle, it was actually strapped to the nose of a flatbed trailer and bounced out under the straps. That truck was sitting on the shoulder of the road with the driver on the phone while all of this happened. Seems he had been parked long enough to have removed the obstacle from the interstate, but he needed to make a few phone calls first..We had reports of the tire for 10 miles before we got to it... Hmm, can you saw LAWSUIT!!

So, after all that excitement had passed, can you guess my next delay...

I headed east on I-70, instead of the west bound 270, I was aiming for. Just a little distracted, folks, nothing to worry about. I have a great sense of direction...LOL

Well, I got my final 2 stops off on Thursday, and just as I started to breath a sigh of relief, the phone rang...

To Err is Human...Part Two

So...I am sitting in Mauston, Wisconsin after completing a 45 minute manual regeneration on my truck. I have 2 stops in Minnesota and time is of the essence. After contacting both locations I decided to flip my route around. Minneapolis was supposed to unload next according to my manifest, but Winona's freight was next in line on the trailer, and because it was literally on my way to Minneapolis, I headed there next.

I had received 3 sets of bad directions for the location in Winona, and ended up phoning in for turn by turn instructions after I got lost riding through town. Seems I took the very long way around, which did not help my timing. One pallet removed and I was back in action. I phoned Minneapolis and alerted them to my time frame. I would be arriving at about the time they closed. They agreed to wait for me up to one hour. So I pedaled forward.

I hit Minneapolis in record time, and arrived about 15 minutes prior to closing. I was already in luck because today was their annual Christmas Party. But the tide turned rather rapidly when I pulled into the lot and noticed this was going to be a dock unload.

After everyone assessed the situation, it was determined that the only way to offload this freight, was to hand unload. Never a good situation when they have equipment to use, but the freight is loaded sothat it is unattainable. In this case, the 12 ft bundles were placed in the nose, stacked directly on top of 26' metal. There was no way their boom was going to reach it without dragging metal on metal and damaging my St Louis freight.

So we cut the bundles open and proceeded to sandbag the freight off the trailer. My job was in the nose, because the men were too tall in fit in the cramped space. My body was going to pay for this later. After an hours worth of physical labor, a few mishaps, and several strained muscles, I was unloaded. Oh, it might also be noted..I was not unloaded by the receiving crew, they were gone for the day. I was unloaded by the office personnel, and they were not too happy with the situation as they were still dressed in party attire. But they had agreed to wait, so they did not feel they should refuse me at this point, even though I volunteered to stay overnight so the labor crew could handle this situation in the morning.

My final 2 stops were located in St Louis, Missouri and there was just too much distance to cover, so I could only hope to arrive before their 2pm closures the following day. I was anxious for my shower and in no great hurry at this point. In fact, I was so resigned to the fact I might have to wait until Friday to unload, that I took a few detours on my way out of town. Rt 494 was experiencing major delays due to accidents, so I tried to find a shortcut back to Rt52. I knew where it was, but because of the jug-handled ramps and multiple turns, I got confused and ended up heading straight for downtown St. Paul.... LOL, no I do not use GPS.

It only added about an hour, taking the side streets, to work my way back toward my intended southbound direction on Rt 52. By the time I reached the truck stop, I was more than ready to be finished for the day, and decided not to push myself getting to St Louis.

But I am not one to let opportunity slip through my hands, so I got up early the next morning, with the intention of getting my final 2 stops off and heading home....

...to be continued

To Err Is Human, To Forgive....

Well, that is just part of the job. My job, at least. With so many things that can and will go wrong, it is almost a requirement to have a forgiving temperament. Otherwise, life would be pretty miserable while out on the road.

This week had so many pitfalls, I should probably do a single post for each day of the journey... But I will try to keep this one relatively in check.

Sunday night was easy enough,only 140 miles to my first customer. Well, except for the fact that the loaders forgot to strap down parts of my load. Plus they also loaded all the palletized material on one side of the trailer. That could be a problem later in the week, but did I ever tell you how much I hate to get dirty before I ever even leave the yard? So, the first chink in my armor was having to work on my load. The second would be the fact that, while I spent a day in Tennessee last week having repairs made, my truck is actually running worse. I went from an average of 7.9 mpg while loaded to a staggering 4.1 miles per gallon.

Monday started out just fine, with the previous ordeal of the straps forgotten...until the removal of some freight left those pallets in a vulnerable position. Later in the day, a small pallet double stacked did in fact do a nose dive off of a larger pallet and onto some other material, but there was nothing I could do about it. The center supports had been left off of the trailer...I was not destined to get much done on Monday, but I knew that before leaving out. So, it was 4 stops in Tennessee. I finished "working" before noon. But the drive left me grumbling, because along with the heavy consumption of fuel, there was also a very noticeable loss of power. Let's just say I climbed out of Dunlap, Tn at a whopping 12 mile per hour, and that was after I dropped off 15,000 pounds of freight. I have never dropped into the low side of my gears for this pull, so I was not looking forward to cruising through Kentucky.

Tuesday morning finds me just south of Indianapolis, In. A quick glance at my gauges alerted me to trouble...Seems I had someone steal some fuel during the course of my overnight stay. Good thing I slept at a fuel stop, because I would not have made it very far with what they left me, now that I was rolling at 4 mpg. I am just happy that they left the fuel cap, although it was not secured.

Upon arriving at the Indy customer, it is now mandatory that I do something with the overturned pallet. Good thing it only weighed about a hundred pounds. I was able to flip it off of the bundles of metal to deliver here, and thankfully, the lift driver then helped me to reorganize the remaining pallets for safer traveling. After delivering Indy, I headed north to drop off a few goodies around the Detroit area. I finished my three stops there and headed west just in time to watch the arrival of the saltshakers (snowplows). Although, I never did witness more than a handful of flakes actually falling from the sky.

Wednesday morning I awoke to the glorious landscape of winter in Kohler, WI. After making my delivery and getting my shortcut planned out, I took off down a two lane heading for Minnesota. You might find this surprising, but I was already needing to look for fuel again. This continued all week, because I was not accustomed to running at 4 MPG !! Sheesh... The route was good. My truck, not so much! I have to regenerate my exhaust every 1800 miles, which also pulls down my towing capacity. Unfortunately, my truck decided it was not going to regen and began to show the telltale signs I was in for an even longer week than originally expected.

Holy Cow, did I even mention this before.. I am going to Minnesota... That will complete my tour of the 48 contiguous United States. I have now driven through all of them and it only took 13 years to do so.

But back to the main event. So, without regenerating, the truck will eventually smother itself because the exhaust filters will become clogged. While it is having a hard time exhaling, it also is struggling to maintain the feeble job it was already performing. But, on top of that, I am now blowing out so much exhaust that it appears my truck has blown a turbo. I like to call this fumigating, and the folks behind me on this two lane stretch of real estate were not happy about it. I managed to get to the fuel stop, and decided to run a manual regen, in hopes that I could delay the inevitable.

It worked, but it took 45 minutes to complete and I was already behind schedule. I needed to make a quick stop in Winona, MN, before heading up to Minneapolis....

...to be continued

Route 23 near Kohler, Wisconsin