Long Time Gone

Well folks, I am not sure if any of my past viewers are still arround anymore, after the months it has been since my last post, but I now have reliable internet access, and have regained access to my blog, after locking myself out in a fit of genious.

So much has, once again, happened since my last post I am not even sure where to begin. Here is a very short and sweet recap....

After 2 years of fighting to get Stephaine back, sure that I would never find anyone like her again as a truck driver, life decided to prove me wrong, and I met a wonderfull girl, Cherie. Of course just as this happened life tossed me a curve ball when Steph told me that she was seriously considering trying to work things out.... ouch! What a delima...!!! After 2 years.... Well, at her insistance and my own, I decided to try out things with a new relationship with Cherie. We really hit it off from the start and I don't regret a second of it. It has been amazing. trying, frighting, and fun. We have many similar interests, but different perspectives of the same subjects which keeps things ..... interesting.

Cherie and I started driving team together within 2 weeks of meeting, and that was about 6 months ago. The experiece hasn't always been easy, living shoulder to shoulder with someone 24/7, but it has never been boring. Teaming with our current company deBoer has been a very big mistake, as our pay has been virtually non-existant. I have never worked so hard for so little in my life, and it has been a major strain.

Speaking of deBoer, for those that may still follow this poor blog, stay away!!! The company is in new hands and has been going down hill FAST!!! Between the low miles, and the company screwing their drivers every chance they get, this is no longer a company I would recomend to a person I hate. Cherie and I are putting in applications for other companies this week and will be moving on just as fast as we can.

I guess that is a blanket statement, let give a few details. I was told totake a specific route to a customer by the company, it turned out to be a 17ton rated road, again was told it was ok by the company, till I got stopped by DOT after I was empty and taking the same route in, out. The officer wrote a ticket to the company for the truck being overweight, the fine $1,520. The company made me pay the ticket and docked my pay, even though they told me to go that way, and the ticket was made out to them, not me.

Bonuses, The company recently changed their saftey/productivity bonus plan. All drivers have to have 10,000 miles per month and a fuel economy of 6.3mpg+ in order to get a .005 cpm bonus. We mainly haul paper, 40,000lbs+ on every load, the only way to get a 6.3mpg is to drive 40mph!!! Not going to happen, ohh yes you must also keep your idle time to less than 25% in addition. Nevermind you spend most of the summer in the south with temps above 90 and in the north in the winter.

The company has also taken a new policy on new trucks, there won't be any untill a truck is wreaked, lost, etc. They will just fix the old equipment till hell freezes. Our truck is runs, knock on wood, even as it approaches 1 million miles and its 7 year birthdate.

And lastly the most recent kick in the nuts, the company decides if and when you have vacation time or days. The company decided to void all my vacation days, just on a whim, no reason no nothing. So all the vacation time I have EARNED, they just erased and said tough shit. Needless to say I will be seeing what a lawyer has to say about that this week.

Bottom line, shitty companies like Swift, Prime, etc are a better choice than deBoer. For those of you still thinking about deBoer, you have been warned! I would recomend U.S. Express or Landspan for a team. Those are our next two interesting companies. I will keep you upto date on where we go and when.

My girlfriend and I have also started a small business! Check it out if you get time.
www.13-dragons.net We sell a variety of handmade Hemp and Chainmail Items.

Just Saying Hi

Well, with my inability to afford a laptop that I want yet, I setup my home PC at my GF's place. It is hard for me to balance the things I want with the things I need to do. So sadly I am going to wait about 6 months before I look at getting a laptop as I will have my car paid off. While I could technically afford a laptop, it would eliminate my entire savings account, and I like having that safety net.

I will be heading back on the road later today, pulling an all night run somewhere. I really don't like taking these kind of loads because they really screw up my sleep schedule. It is impossible for me to basically go back to sleep after I just got up from a solid 10hrs, so tonight is going to be tough. But that is the way it goes sometimes, up all day, and then have to drive all night to be somewhere the following morning.

My dad enjoyed our trip to Reno so much he wants to goto Las Vegas this summer, so I promised him we would go.

Well I have a few things to get done, and I am going to try and take a nap. Talk to you all later.

Were Back From Reno!!!

Well my dad and I are back from Reno, NV where we spent 3 days and 2 nights on a father/son gambling trip to the Silver Legacy Casino. We both had a great time and left Reno with alot more than we started with. We each decided to set our gambling limit to $200 per day, but from the very begining we didn't need to touch the remaing $400. Blackjack tables on the first day were pretty good to me and so-so for my dad, I made $300 and my dad cleared about $100. But that was the last time the blackjack tables were kind to either of us. Our redemption was the Craps tables. Over the 3 days I racked in an impressive $1250 and my dad brought in another $600.

We also played other games like Keno while eating our meals, and some slots, and some off-track horse betting. While we were looking to get in on a game of Texas-hold'em there were only 2 tables working and both had waiting lists over 1 hr. Needless to say we didn't wait for that.

After everything was said and done, and all expenses paid and losses accounted for, my dad made $400 profit and I made $850. It was a great to spend time with my dad for a change and even better that we won a respectable amount of money doing it. I can't wait for our next trip.

This was the first time I have really played Craps, and it has become my new favorite game. But all good things must come to an end, and my time off is over on Monday and it is back to work.

I am still here folks

I know it it has been a long time since my last post, but nearly all of my posting options have been eliminated and I haven't bought a laptop yet. Not much has really changed in my life, just working, driving from place to place, but I have to say that it is taking it's toll on me. Maybe I am just tired right now, I have beed driving my ass off for the last 5 weeks straight so I could get the time off I wanted out here in California. My dad and I are going on a trip to Reno together tomorrow to do some gambling and spend time together. My dad really doesn't do much and I think is pretty lonely now that my mom is gone. Her death hit him harder than anyone I think.

I will try to get a post out a little more often and every 3 months and will post before I leave.