I seem to keep adding to my list of states that I have visited. I am now en route to Rhode Island!!! I will be going via Connecticut. If my count is correct, I will have worked in 30 states since starting this "adventure". Pretty awesome don't you think????
Today I delivered to Pittsfield MA. Had no idea or had I ever even thought of a MA city but this place was another "story book" town. The downtown was a hub of activity, the streets were clean and decorated with beautiful hanging baskets. Every store was occupied and open. They had corner cafes with tables outside. These places are so beautiful and just give you a feel of what America really is. These folks were laid back - for Pete's sake....it was Tuesday mid-day!! Doesn't anyone work anymore??? HA HA!! Seriously, I wish I could bottle this up and sell it. Life in Pittsfield is anything BUT the pitts! :-) It seems a crime for a huge tractor and trailer to go down the streets of this serene setting and I wasn't the only truck. Really, areas like this should be off limits. Of course, if it were, I wouldn't be able to see these beautiful sites.
It will be interesting to see what is in store for me in Rhode Island. I am always so nervous when I go into a city. Having to make turns and watch the traffic I am turning into and watch to make sure I don't knock over a phone pole or light pole or hydrant, etc. It is so very nerve racking.
Oh.....got to tell you about the darling little boy today. When I was backing into the dock of the store in Pittsfield, there were 5 or 6 boys playing on the dock. They had their skate boards and were jumping from the dock to the pavement below. Yea, nice "safe" game. Anyway, they weren't real happy that I was taking their area from them. I told them I wouldn't be long and they could have it back as soon as I was finished. They left and came back before the customer had finished unloading completely. They were so funny, they came up to me and said, "you said you would be done in just a little bit and it has been over an hour!" HA HA HA!!! Anyway, one little guy said, OPEN YOUR DOOR!! I WANT TO SEE IN YOUR TRUCK! I just looked at him and could see in his eyes how fascinated he was. I opened the door and invited him up to take a quick look. His eyes popped out of his head and he said - WOOOOOOW! THIS IS SO COOOOL. I said yep, this was my home. He looked at me like I had two heads! I said, well, I have a home but this is where I live when I work. He was just blown away. He said, so you stay in here? He was so cute. He said he had always wanted to see in a truck and thought it would be cool to drive one. He asked me if it was fun to which I replied, "you betcha"!! He got down and thanked me, he said he thought he would like to drive a truck when he got older. And another dream begins.............
Until next time...........keeping it between the lines.............
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Ho Hum
Yep, a little HO HUM for me. They are running me ragged and I haven't had the energy or brain power to post anything recently. I know, me.....short on words...........impossible!!!!! Actually, I have visited a couple of places that were terribly exciting to me like VERMONT and Up State New York. Wow, here are the places that storybook fantasy are based on. Life is simple and slow there. I went through a little town in Vermont and they were having an outside band concert. Everyone had lawn chairs and there were balloons and kids...just like a chapter in a book....I could have taken a picture and you would have recognized it from any elementary school book. It was wonderful. HOWEVER........in trucking terms, these fairy tale towns were a NIGHTMARE! The streets were narrow and curvy. I had to watch the track of my trailer constantly to make sure I didn't hit something, of course, needed to watch the front at the same time. HA HA!!! I made it through but there were some hair-raising times. As with many of the customers I visit, they are out in the middle of no-where and my directions from dispatch go something like this....."go south to the blinking light, go past the white house and to the first pond, back into the dock"....you think I'm kidding but this specific direction is one that I am on right now. I found the blinking light and a large gravel lot to the left, I pulled in and am here for the night. There was a restaurant close by so I went in to verify where my customer is. They said to "go through the blinking light............." ha ha ha!!! And the folks in the North say WE ARE behind the times in the South..The big secret that no one in the south realizes is there are as many, or more, country bumpkin areas in the north as could ever be found in the south. I find it comical! One thing I will say for the Up State of NY, I found some incredibly kind people. Everything I have every thought about "New York" has been dispelled and now I can distinguish between the "city" and the wonderful people of the "Up State". I could see myself living in the Up State areas. It is beautiful. I hope to be able to see it in the fall when I am sure it will be breath taking.
I had an interesting event this evening. I had stopped to fuel and had just gotten back on the highway. There was a pick-up truck behind me and they came around to pass, or so I thought. There was a man alone and he just hung right with me. Of course, when I see something unusual it catches my attention. I looked and the man was gesturing to me. I couldn't figure out what he was trying to tell me, I was afraid that something was wrong with my trailer or truck and he was trying to indicate that to me. Then I realized, he held up two fingers and then five fingers and then...the mic of his CB. Oh, I see, lets go to channel 25 and talk. I think NOT! If there was something wrong with my truck, he could have easily told me on channel 19 which is where my radio stays. I tried to ignore him, he pulled ahead of me and got in front of me. He then slowed way down so much so that I had to pass him. I am at a distinct disadvantage here, I can't speed up too much, my truck just won't do it. He was playing a dangerous little "cat and mouse" game and it was unnerving me. He again came up to my left and motioned for me to go to channel 25. He was smiling and he gave me the total creeps! I ignored him still and finally, he got off on an exit. I am not going to speculate on this but he really gave me an awful feeling of vulnerability. I know my vehicle was bigger, but I can only run so fast. Getting away from him proved impossible. I just felt like a very little fish in a very big pond, swimming upstream alone. Was an unsettling feeling.
Well, as you can see - Ho Hum. Hardly worth the read huh? Until next time..............keeping it between the lines...................
I had an interesting event this evening. I had stopped to fuel and had just gotten back on the highway. There was a pick-up truck behind me and they came around to pass, or so I thought. There was a man alone and he just hung right with me. Of course, when I see something unusual it catches my attention. I looked and the man was gesturing to me. I couldn't figure out what he was trying to tell me, I was afraid that something was wrong with my trailer or truck and he was trying to indicate that to me. Then I realized, he held up two fingers and then five fingers and then...the mic of his CB. Oh, I see, lets go to channel 25 and talk. I think NOT! If there was something wrong with my truck, he could have easily told me on channel 19 which is where my radio stays. I tried to ignore him, he pulled ahead of me and got in front of me. He then slowed way down so much so that I had to pass him. I am at a distinct disadvantage here, I can't speed up too much, my truck just won't do it. He was playing a dangerous little "cat and mouse" game and it was unnerving me. He again came up to my left and motioned for me to go to channel 25. He was smiling and he gave me the total creeps! I ignored him still and finally, he got off on an exit. I am not going to speculate on this but he really gave me an awful feeling of vulnerability. I know my vehicle was bigger, but I can only run so fast. Getting away from him proved impossible. I just felt like a very little fish in a very big pond, swimming upstream alone. Was an unsettling feeling.
Well, as you can see - Ho Hum. Hardly worth the read huh? Until next time..............keeping it between the lines...................
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Feast or Famine
I have found that it is feast or famine here!!! They either have nothing for me or they load me up so much that there isn't even potty time - ha ha!! This week, it has been the later. The bad thing is they have been short runs. They absolutely exhaust me. Today - uh yesterday (it is 3am as I write this) I had two jobs, that is picking up at two places and delivering at two different places and driving the distance between. I came within 20 minutes of hitting/exceeding my 14 hour day. Coming that close is unnerving to me. I can't take the stress of playing beat the clock. There are so many things that could go wrong that are totally out of my control. Tonight it was Washington DC traffic! Yep, I left VA at 5pm headed to MD. Had to go square through DC. Heavens!! What a mess that place is. 5 and 6 lanes in both directions plus HOV lanes. Nothing but a sea of vehicles! Fortunately for me, I knew exactly where I was going. Had this been my first time in Hagerstown MD, I probably would have been in trouble and had to park without making the last delivery. Major prayers got me here and parked that mammoth trailer without a hitch!!!
My next job is taking me to Queensbury NY. I don't have to pick up until 9pm but will be driving all night to make a 7am delivery. I really hate the night driving. Just can't see as well. Thankfully, the traffic is greatly reduced. I hope to be able to rest up before the trip, however, not starting out too great. I am so tired - can't sleep.
I stayed in Toms Brook VA last night. The truck parked next to me had two cats in it!! I have not seen anyone with cats before! They were sitting on the dash just watching all the trucks. When they saw me, they just stared. I think they knew I wanted a hug!!! HA HA HA!!! I had considered bringing my little girl Chumie. I know she would be a great companion, but this truck is so tiny, don't know where I would put her liter box. Details I know. The bigger picture is the precious little girl would give me hugs when I need them. Right now I have my little pink pig to hug - ha ha ha!!!
Okay - you probably wonder what a grown woman is doing with a "pink pig"! :-) I found this perfectly round pink pig in one of the Truck stops. He is so squishy I just knew he would be great to prop up against when I am sitting on the bed working with my computer, knitting or reading. And sure enough, he is GREAT. He also is a "hugger". HA HA. Or is that a "huggie"?? Guess I am the "hugger". - Wow, is it late or what??? HA HA HA!!
Going to end this crazy post - until next time - hopefully I will have more interesting things to write about - keeping it between the lines................
My next job is taking me to Queensbury NY. I don't have to pick up until 9pm but will be driving all night to make a 7am delivery. I really hate the night driving. Just can't see as well. Thankfully, the traffic is greatly reduced. I hope to be able to rest up before the trip, however, not starting out too great. I am so tired - can't sleep.
I stayed in Toms Brook VA last night. The truck parked next to me had two cats in it!! I have not seen anyone with cats before! They were sitting on the dash just watching all the trucks. When they saw me, they just stared. I think they knew I wanted a hug!!! HA HA HA!!! I had considered bringing my little girl Chumie. I know she would be a great companion, but this truck is so tiny, don't know where I would put her liter box. Details I know. The bigger picture is the precious little girl would give me hugs when I need them. Right now I have my little pink pig to hug - ha ha ha!!!
Okay - you probably wonder what a grown woman is doing with a "pink pig"! :-) I found this perfectly round pink pig in one of the Truck stops. He is so squishy I just knew he would be great to prop up against when I am sitting on the bed working with my computer, knitting or reading. And sure enough, he is GREAT. He also is a "hugger". HA HA. Or is that a "huggie"?? Guess I am the "hugger". - Wow, is it late or what??? HA HA HA!!
Going to end this crazy post - until next time - hopefully I will have more interesting things to write about - keeping it between the lines................
Friday, August 13, 2010
Road Warrior
It's been way too long since my update. Lots of going's on:
Since my last post I have been to some of my "usual" hang-outs. Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Nothing real spectacular until last week.
Last week was, in a word, A-W-F-U-L!!!
To begin the week, I had a call from my Safety Department. They were less than happy with me. At the end of the previous week, I had violated my Hours of Service. I was in Chicago, IL at the rail yard making a pick up. First thing, trying to find the crazy place was nearly impossible and I lost a lot of time there. Next, when I got to the yard, the trailer I was looking for was one from our sister company. I have had the experience previously on wrong trailers. Had to call into dispatch and get approval to make the pick up. The previous time, I had to take the trailer to the dock and have the company move it to a USX trailer. Since this circumstance didn't allow for the shipper to change the trailer - shipper was in Mexico City, Mexico - so a change of trailer was impossible. While dispatch and customer service took their sweet time, the clock was ticking for me. I waited and waited and called them and told them my hours were nearly up and that they may need to get someone else to finish this load as I needed to get somewhere to shut down for my mandatory 10 hour break. They asked me to "hold tight" that they would have an answer very soon. In the meantime, I talked to the people at the Rail Yard and told them my predicament and asked if I could stay 10 hours at their facility. They said NO. Didn't even give it a thought. Guess this question had been asked before. I got back with dispatch and told them I had 30 minutes left and the yard would not allow me to park for my break. They said they would get me an answer in just a couple minutes. I figured 30 minutes would give me the time to get out of there and to someplace safe. Well - of course this didn't happen. My time expired while I waited. There was no way, no how that I was going to pull out of there and stay in downtown Chicago. Nope, not this gal. USX has a terminal in Markham, IL - which was only 16 miles from the rail yard. I took off for there. By the time I got there, I was 56 minutes over on my hours. I knew I was toast!!! I called into Safety and told them the situation. I figured it was better to be up front than to wait for them to find the violation. The guy I spoke with was understanding and agreed that I did the right thing. WHEW - made it through that - or so I thought. On Monday morning - Cruella De Vil came to work. She called me and let me have it. Told me I was a "poor planner" and that I should not have allowed dispatch to make my decisions. I just listened. There was nothing to be done, and no excuse would satisfy her so I just took her wrath. She said I was getting a written warning which would become a part of my permanent file. OK - what else can I say?
On Tuesday - I was making a pick up in Tipp City OH. Everything was going just fine and then all of a sudden WHAM!!! A concrete barrier pole jumped out and hit the right front fender of my truck. OH S_ _ t!!!!! Of course, the plant had just had a shift change and the entire first shift employees were in the parking lot and saw the incident. I immediately went inside and told my customer. She came out and said she wasn't going to report it as there was no real damage to their property. I told her about all the witnesses and she knew she had to report it to save her hide. I picked up the phone and called my Safety Department to report the incident. They transferred me to claims and it went on and on and on. I took pictures of the damage and sent to them. Will have to wait and see what will become of this.
If I remember correctly, Wednesday and Thursday were major trouble free. :-)
Here comes Friday! I'm in Richmond VA and just backed up to a dock. Just waiting for them to finish unloading my trailer. The customer comes out and tells me I am still several inches from the dock and need to back further. I am tight with something but he says there is a mechanism that has to be pushed in to allow the plate to drop into the trailer. So I give it some fuel and - nothing - he says "you're going to have to give it more than that". So I do. WHAM!! He says - "perfect". When they are finished, I pull away and come around to close the doors. I have to beat a path to Suffolk VA for my next pick up. As I close the doors, I notice my DOT bumper is pushed in at the center and the weld on the left side is broken. OH PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! While I am driving, I am on the phone with my, by now, buddy in claims. He takes down all the information and says he will pass it on to Safety. Do you see a pattern here??? I then talk to our Breakdown Dept and they redirect me to Chesapeake VA to take the trailer to a repair shop and pick up a recently repaired trailer. Now remember, it is Friday afternoon and I am on my way to the coast. Me and 10,000 of my closest friends are on the highway. Every couple of minutes, I get a message from customer service asking how much longer it will take me to get to Suffolk for the pick up. Oh brother.....will this crazy week ever end???? Breakdown reminds me that had I continued with the damaged trailer, DOT could have spotted it and taken me out of service until it was repaired. WOW, I sure didn't need that. I get to Chesapeake and trade out the trailer. Off I go to Suffolk. By now the customer is mad, customer service is mad and I am..............running out of hours!!!! HA HA HA!!! Finally get to the customer and get loaded. I ask if I can stay on their premises overnight. There is nothing closer than 25 miles that I could park. They said SURE! YEAH!!!!! So I stay in the dock area of this customer until my 10 hours are up. This is finally my weekend to go home. All I need to do is get this trailer to another USX driver which is waiting for me in Troutman, NC. My 10 are up at 4AM. It is over 300 miles to Troutman. I just want to get home.
Finally, finally I meet the driver and am on my way home. I've been having some problems with the truck and want to leave it at the shop in Lexington. Randy agreed to pick me up so I called him when I was nearly there. Dropped it off and HOME SWEET HOME!!!
I look through all the mail that has arrived since I left 3 weeks ago. Guess what is there - my written warning!!!!! My life is complete!!! HA HA
Home is great and it is wonderful to have some down time. I had planned to go back out on Monday but the truck was not going to be ready until Wednesday. So, Wednesday I get my truck back, drive it home and set the brakes...........oops, the darn knob comes off in my hand. Can't set the brake without a knob to pull. Great, it's going to be another one of THOSE weeks. I turn around and head back to the shop where they finally do get me fixed. The shop also fixed my damaged area on the front bumper from Tipp City. I am ready to go now! I get home, park the truck and call my Fleet Manager. He says I need to go on line and complete a course in Backing and Docking. HA HA, not sure which incident sparked this or if both did. I get it done and finally get a load.
Up to current - Friday 8/13 I have to pick up in Laurel Hill NC. I get to Dunn NC and need to shut down due to hours. I pull into a large truck stop which is about 70 miles from my customer and the closest place to go. There is something gnawing at me. I don't feel comfortable in this place. I discount it as I am just tired. I close everything up and fall to sleep immediately. Seems like no time and BANG BANG BANG!!! Someone is frantically knocking on my drivers door. I have no clue and peak out the window. A woman is standing there. Holy Cow!! A "LADY OF THE EVENING"!!! I have been told to be on the lookout for these gals but had yet to see any. She told me she had run out of gas and just needed a couple of dollars. Gimme a break - is this code???? I tell her I have nothing and close my drape. I believe this was my instinct.
And thus is the life of a Road Warrior!! HA HA....until next time............keeping it between the lines - and AWAY FROM POLES! :-)
Since my last post I have been to some of my "usual" hang-outs. Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Nothing real spectacular until last week.
Last week was, in a word, A-W-F-U-L!!!
To begin the week, I had a call from my Safety Department. They were less than happy with me. At the end of the previous week, I had violated my Hours of Service. I was in Chicago, IL at the rail yard making a pick up. First thing, trying to find the crazy place was nearly impossible and I lost a lot of time there. Next, when I got to the yard, the trailer I was looking for was one from our sister company. I have had the experience previously on wrong trailers. Had to call into dispatch and get approval to make the pick up. The previous time, I had to take the trailer to the dock and have the company move it to a USX trailer. Since this circumstance didn't allow for the shipper to change the trailer - shipper was in Mexico City, Mexico - so a change of trailer was impossible. While dispatch and customer service took their sweet time, the clock was ticking for me. I waited and waited and called them and told them my hours were nearly up and that they may need to get someone else to finish this load as I needed to get somewhere to shut down for my mandatory 10 hour break. They asked me to "hold tight" that they would have an answer very soon. In the meantime, I talked to the people at the Rail Yard and told them my predicament and asked if I could stay 10 hours at their facility. They said NO. Didn't even give it a thought. Guess this question had been asked before. I got back with dispatch and told them I had 30 minutes left and the yard would not allow me to park for my break. They said they would get me an answer in just a couple minutes. I figured 30 minutes would give me the time to get out of there and to someplace safe. Well - of course this didn't happen. My time expired while I waited. There was no way, no how that I was going to pull out of there and stay in downtown Chicago. Nope, not this gal. USX has a terminal in Markham, IL - which was only 16 miles from the rail yard. I took off for there. By the time I got there, I was 56 minutes over on my hours. I knew I was toast!!! I called into Safety and told them the situation. I figured it was better to be up front than to wait for them to find the violation. The guy I spoke with was understanding and agreed that I did the right thing. WHEW - made it through that - or so I thought. On Monday morning - Cruella De Vil came to work. She called me and let me have it. Told me I was a "poor planner" and that I should not have allowed dispatch to make my decisions. I just listened. There was nothing to be done, and no excuse would satisfy her so I just took her wrath. She said I was getting a written warning which would become a part of my permanent file. OK - what else can I say?
On Tuesday - I was making a pick up in Tipp City OH. Everything was going just fine and then all of a sudden WHAM!!! A concrete barrier pole jumped out and hit the right front fender of my truck. OH S_ _ t!!!!! Of course, the plant had just had a shift change and the entire first shift employees were in the parking lot and saw the incident. I immediately went inside and told my customer. She came out and said she wasn't going to report it as there was no real damage to their property. I told her about all the witnesses and she knew she had to report it to save her hide. I picked up the phone and called my Safety Department to report the incident. They transferred me to claims and it went on and on and on. I took pictures of the damage and sent to them. Will have to wait and see what will become of this.
If I remember correctly, Wednesday and Thursday were major trouble free. :-)
Here comes Friday! I'm in Richmond VA and just backed up to a dock. Just waiting for them to finish unloading my trailer. The customer comes out and tells me I am still several inches from the dock and need to back further. I am tight with something but he says there is a mechanism that has to be pushed in to allow the plate to drop into the trailer. So I give it some fuel and - nothing - he says "you're going to have to give it more than that". So I do. WHAM!! He says - "perfect". When they are finished, I pull away and come around to close the doors. I have to beat a path to Suffolk VA for my next pick up. As I close the doors, I notice my DOT bumper is pushed in at the center and the weld on the left side is broken. OH PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! While I am driving, I am on the phone with my, by now, buddy in claims. He takes down all the information and says he will pass it on to Safety. Do you see a pattern here??? I then talk to our Breakdown Dept and they redirect me to Chesapeake VA to take the trailer to a repair shop and pick up a recently repaired trailer. Now remember, it is Friday afternoon and I am on my way to the coast. Me and 10,000 of my closest friends are on the highway. Every couple of minutes, I get a message from customer service asking how much longer it will take me to get to Suffolk for the pick up. Oh brother.....will this crazy week ever end???? Breakdown reminds me that had I continued with the damaged trailer, DOT could have spotted it and taken me out of service until it was repaired. WOW, I sure didn't need that. I get to Chesapeake and trade out the trailer. Off I go to Suffolk. By now the customer is mad, customer service is mad and I am..............running out of hours!!!! HA HA HA!!! Finally get to the customer and get loaded. I ask if I can stay on their premises overnight. There is nothing closer than 25 miles that I could park. They said SURE! YEAH!!!!! So I stay in the dock area of this customer until my 10 hours are up. This is finally my weekend to go home. All I need to do is get this trailer to another USX driver which is waiting for me in Troutman, NC. My 10 are up at 4AM. It is over 300 miles to Troutman. I just want to get home.
Finally, finally I meet the driver and am on my way home. I've been having some problems with the truck and want to leave it at the shop in Lexington. Randy agreed to pick me up so I called him when I was nearly there. Dropped it off and HOME SWEET HOME!!!
I look through all the mail that has arrived since I left 3 weeks ago. Guess what is there - my written warning!!!!! My life is complete!!! HA HA
Home is great and it is wonderful to have some down time. I had planned to go back out on Monday but the truck was not going to be ready until Wednesday. So, Wednesday I get my truck back, drive it home and set the brakes...........oops, the darn knob comes off in my hand. Can't set the brake without a knob to pull. Great, it's going to be another one of THOSE weeks. I turn around and head back to the shop where they finally do get me fixed. The shop also fixed my damaged area on the front bumper from Tipp City. I am ready to go now! I get home, park the truck and call my Fleet Manager. He says I need to go on line and complete a course in Backing and Docking. HA HA, not sure which incident sparked this or if both did. I get it done and finally get a load.
Up to current - Friday 8/13 I have to pick up in Laurel Hill NC. I get to Dunn NC and need to shut down due to hours. I pull into a large truck stop which is about 70 miles from my customer and the closest place to go. There is something gnawing at me. I don't feel comfortable in this place. I discount it as I am just tired. I close everything up and fall to sleep immediately. Seems like no time and BANG BANG BANG!!! Someone is frantically knocking on my drivers door. I have no clue and peak out the window. A woman is standing there. Holy Cow!! A "LADY OF THE EVENING"!!! I have been told to be on the lookout for these gals but had yet to see any. She told me she had run out of gas and just needed a couple of dollars. Gimme a break - is this code???? I tell her I have nothing and close my drape. I believe this was my instinct.
And thus is the life of a Road Warrior!! HA HA....until next time............keeping it between the lines - and AWAY FROM POLES! :-)
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