Go Forward Young Man,.......Fuck!

They say bad things always happen in 3's, well I hope so at this point. Early yesterday morning, I was backing out of a parking stall at a truckstop, I could see that I wasn't going to be able to backup far enough with the trucks that were packed alongside the fuel island. Just as I leaned forward to put my truck back in drive, my damn foot slipped off the clutch. Even with the brakes applied, my truck lurched backwards about a foot, which just so happens to have been about 4 inches more than I had room between the back of my trailer and the frontend of one of the parked trucks. This accident didn't do any damage to my trailer, but did a fair amount of cosmetic damage to the hood and bumper of the truck I hit.

So far I have had a total of 3 incidents. 1)I avoided a truck that would have hit me head on, and got stuck in mud. 2)Knocked down a mailbox trying to maneuver in dense fog. 3)A backing accident.

While everyone tells me these things happen, and that these are freak events, I am not very pleased with myself. Now I have to wonder if I will still have a job in a few weeks. I am not sure how the company handles an accident. With some companies, your first is your last, no matter how large or small. I will be talking with my dispatcher in few mins., so I hopefully can find out just how screwed I am.

Hello Cali I Am Back!

While I have had to fight mother nature nearly the whole way out here, I have arrived. As much as I love Cali, as truck driver it is maddening. There so little parking, 55 mph speed limit, and heavy traffic it wears you out quick. I have stopped in Lodi where I will catch a nap and head the remaining 3 hours to my first of 3 stops for tomorrow. After all my deliveries I will spend some time with my folks.

Windy!

Shut down just across the Nebraska state lind last night. Hope there is less wind today, yesterday was bad.

More BS!

Got a load going to CA where I will be taking 2 or 3 days off. Truck is still screwed up and company refuses to fix it.

Screwed

So much for getting my truck replaced, dispatchers boss had a bad day so he cant do his job, means no replacement truck

Damn Murphy!

With only 200 miles to go to make my delivery, this truck blows oil everywhere. I am getting it fixed and cleaned.

If Only Everyday Was As Good As Yesterday!

Yesterday was a great day! I was able to make both my deliveries on time and was able to have dinner with Stephanie. Wish I could do that every night. On that subject a reader emailed asking if anything has improved between Stephanie and I. To be honest I am not sure. I think the more we talk the better we understand each other, and I hope she sees how comitted I am. Will it change anything? I dont know, but I hope it does. Today I transfered trucks, and picked up a load in Vancouver, WA going to St. Paul, MN. After that I will head to the WI terminal where I get my truck and get a load going to CA where I will take 2 or 3 days off visiting my parents and sister.

What Is Important?

I am currntly in Gillette, WY where I have run out of hours till midnight. I am on my way to Washington to deliver with 2 stops. I am also delivering this truck to a regional driver and bringing his old truck back. I am getting my truck replaced with a '03 Freightliner. Maybe this truck will spend less time in the shop and more time making me money. However this deal has brought to light something that may make me leave deBoer after I get a year in. When I signed up I was told I would be able to get a double bunk sleeper so I could take a ridder out with me after 3 months. This was a flat out lie apparently as I was informed today that I would NEVER get a double sleeper unless I was a trainer. So I will have to think about this upsetting development and decide how important it is to me.

Awe Fuck!

Had a bad day in louisiana, got lost in the fogand hit a mailbox trying to turn arround.

The Wheels On My Truck Go Round And Round...

...Sometimes! I picked up a new in Fort Worth, TX going to Louisania. I made a quick stop at a TA truck stop to scale my 42,400 lb load and was 180 lbs over on my trailer tandums. Got that sorted and headed out. About 1 minute after getting back on I-20 east a driver for Dart yelled to me on the CB that my trailer was smoking and on fire! I quickly pulled over as did the Dart driver, we both grabbed our fire extingushers and put out the fire. The cause, a wheel bering on my right rear tandum failed and the brake shoes were dragging as the whole wheel was coming off the axle. A big thank you to that Dart driver for his assistance! Now I am sitting at our Cedar Hill terminal where I have to wait till morning to get repairs.

Repairs

Had to pull into a TA for a temporary repair, durring my pretrip inspection the whole oil dipstick asembley broke off!

Crap!

Spent the day with with my folks and sister which was nice. Today started bad, got my truck stuck and had to get towed out.

R & R If I Want It Or Not

I got to Lodi, CA about 4pm today and had to fight for a parking spot. To my dismay the earliest delivery appointment I could get was for the 5th at 8am. So with all this time on my hands I called my folks who only live 30 mins away. They came out to the truck stop, we had a nice dinner. They gave me an early birthday present too, an electric cooler that can also heat things as well upto 130 degrees! It is a little on the small side but with the limited amount of room in my truck it will work out great. Now I will be able to make some sandwitches to take on the road with me instead of spending so much money on the road for dinners. I hope I will be able to cut my food expenses by as much as 1/3rd (about $66 a week)!

This run was a little trying as I played hop-scotch with the mountain passes and the snowy weather, but I made decent time. I decided to go spend the night at my parents house tonight and will go back to my truck tomorrow afternoon. Even though I have only been out a little over a week, it is always nice to get away from the truck even if only for a night. My sister has the day off of work tomorrow as well so it will be nice to spend some time with her, as we rarely get a chance to.

Things with Stephanie and I really haven't changed much, unfortunately. Contact is pretty much nill with the exception of a quick text message here and there, but she told me she fried the battery on her phone. I don't no anymore, I think about her all the time, and I still miss her dearly. A simple text message from her makes me all goofy like a school kid with a bad crush. But as hard as I try, I seem unable to stop it. So as the saying goes, if you can't change it, roll with it and hope for the best.

A Day Too Soon

After playing duck and dodge with snow I made it to CA. But I cant deliver till Thursday.