Title: Throught the Desert in a Truck With No Name
Tags:
Blog Entry: Alright, this is one of those very rare times where I have way too much time on my hands and nothing to do. So why not write something here? But be warned; I just might ramble on. So unless you're totally bored stop reading now. First, I think all of us should take a minute to have a good thought for those people affected by the hurricane. I'm not talking the well-to-do people who hopped a flight out of there, got on the phone with their insurance companies, and will return to a nice hotel before returning to their better-than-before homes which were gross desplays of wealth to begin with. For every one of those there are ten average Joes working their butts off just to try and make the rent who will come back hoping they still have some furniture left and a job to keep the ex-wife off their back. Many lives have been destroyed this weekend. As tough as I think I have it sometimes it's still frustrating to not be able to do anything to help these people. I used to think that if we all did a little bit to help our fellow man we'd all be better off. Unfortunately, I totally gave up on that way of thinking over the past decade. If I ever get my act together again I'd like to go back to those ways. Speaking of getting back on my feet, I plan to be rich in a few months. I plan to sue Flying J for this gutt I'm getting. The way I see it, if a bar is obligated to cut you off when you've had too many then they shouldn't let me have that extra plate of bacon! We're talking reduced quality of life, increased health care costs, extra clothing expense...that should be worth a bundle. Now if I can only get one of their servers to spill hot coffee on me it'll be a bonus! Believe it or not I still don't have any AC. Four times this summer it was supposedly fixed. Yeah, right. But I figured with September here I was home free right? Wrong. They sent me to L.A.; down to Vegas and through the Mojave desert to So Cal. While parked out in the desert I went inside and got a thermometer. I left it in the sleeper for an hour and when I came back it said 117. That's way beyond uncomfortable, that's downright dangerous. So after I drop off that load where do they send me? Right back to Vegas to pick up another load and take it to three dropoffs on the west coast. More heat, yippie. I don't know which is worse, going to the desert with no AC or going to east L.A. without a gun! I got to do 'em both. The first stop was a nightmare. Trying to manuver 72' of truck in a little downtown plaza parking lot isn't a lot of fun. But luckily I was in one of my "I can do no wrong" moods and made just missing cars and old ladies with shopping cart by inches look easy. The second stop is where the stinky stuff hit the fan. Whatever you do don't go to Santa Barbara with a truck. Taking a look at where their dock was, getting in there didn't look possible with cars parked on each side of a little two lane side street. But I didnt' even get a chance to find out because I couldn't even get down the street to try! No fooling, I drove around these tight little one-way side streets for over an hour just trying to get set up to back. It was impossible to get there because I needed all available lanes and it was the middle of the day. So I finally gave up and decided go park it and come back in the middle of night. Easier said than done. I drove around a ten mile radius for over two hours trying to find a place to park in that town. There was none. I finally found a spot 15 miles out of town on the beach after going over hours. Like I said, a nightmare. By the way, the third stop was a piece of cake; a large shopping center in the middle of nowhere next to a truckers two best friends, Walmart and McDonalds. So after that it was right back out to the desert to pick up a load and take it to the Bay area. I finally got ahold of my dispatcher and told him I'd had enough. He assured me we'd get it fixed if I delivered that one on time. Well, someone forget to tell this to second shift because I got another assignment while in route. Man, was I ticked. I finally stood up for myself and told them no way no how and I moving this thing until the AC gets fixed. The Freighliner dealer near here say they can't get me in till Tuesday. That's three and a half days downtime. So I'm sitting here in a cheap motel (I have to pay for it) in a bad neighborhood in Stockton. You know it's a bad area when the only other person that speaks english is the local pro that offers you her services! But man does this AC feel good. Ahhhhhh!
VIEW FULL VERSION: Link