Suncreen anyone?

You know, after talking with Brian and Jim, my life as a long haul driver has been dang easy!  We have two more days of sitting around the pool as temperatures reach 100 degrees and then it is back to grinding gears.   That Texas sun is calling me outside.  I might get my eyebrow pierced today!  What do you think of that Mom?  J

Picture taken by JIM

Let's hit the border! We are now in Laredo, Texas

Journal from yesterday:

Good afternoon from a windy and hot Houston, Texas!  Well my virtual truckers, we are driving with Jorge (Hoahay, I can’t pronounce it or spell it!). He picked me up last night at the compound and runs a designated route from Houston to his home base in Laredo.  He is a smoker but I haven’t seen him light a cigarette yet.  He has a clean 2011 Peterbilt that is much bigger than I am use to handling with a clutch that will make a young man wince and a stick shift that only handles 8 grinding gears instead of 10.  I feel like a 12 year old driving this thing!  I am nearly standing in my seat just to engage the clutch pedal!

Downside of this situation, I just got in the truck yesterday and will be back in a hotel for the weekend starting tomorrow in Laredo.  He states that he runs hard, 24 hours a day and I will gain my hours quickly.  But with my calculations, it will be two weeks even at 11 hours per day with Jorge only working 4 days on and 3 days off.  My hopes of being home early May are unrealistic at this point in the game.  But Jorge did give me a crumb of hope and might work next weekend…..keep your fingers crossed!

Jorge is trying to teach me to shift without the clutch except into first gear (grinds to high heaven) and I find it very difficult, especially driving through town learning a technique that I am not really ready for or care for.  I don’t mind the double clutch at this time as these boys have been driving years without it!

 We are currently sitting, waiting to get unloaded (it has been 2.5 hours) and I will drive to our next pick up and then lunch…with COFFEE!  I haven’t had a single drop today as we spent the night on the side of the road.  Hey, looks like they are about down unloading and I am tired of sweating so let’s hit the road and turn on the AC!

A face only a mother would love ;)  I miss my dog!  Thank you Jack Sr. for sending me pictures of Gonja while on the road!

To smell or inhale.....trainers that smoke!

Good afternoon from the compound!  After talking with a few family members yesterday in regards to the waiting for a non-smoking trainer, I called my SDM and opened my opportunities to get in a truck by accepting a trainer that smokes.  My condition was that the trainer did not smoke in the truck.  I know smokers that inhale outside their own homes as they preferred to keep the smell outside of their living quarters and I am hoping I can find a driver with the same mentality.

Again, during the morning safety meeting, there was no trainer available for the female students that were waiting.  I did raise my voice when the gentleman from safety told us to contact our SDMs for trainer updates.  I repeated what I stated earlier about the SDM having no influence with trainers.  He then stated that we must contact our SDMs daily in order to get paid.  I again stated we get paid via the sign in sheet.  I know, I am stirring the pot here but hey, per my SDM, the information I provided is correct.  Again…..departments that don’t communicate.  Besides, you know I can be a brat when bored…..

I did grab a fellow driver to join me for my morning run!  He has been locked up in a truck for two months and seven years older than me but gave it a good try while others just wave as we run by.  He did complete the whole route, with breaks, and he will be sore tomorrow!

My roommate left me today at lunch to join her non-smoking trainer so I am now number two in line for a trainer.  Shortly after, while surfing the web, I got a phone call from my new trainer.  He is a smoker and stated he will not smoke in the truck while I am in it.  He is arriving at 6 PM and I told him if he had an early morning load, my ability to drive late into the night might be compromised as I have been up since 6 AM.  I contacted my SDM and the only notes that she was able to see in the system is that he knows I don’t smoke and he agreed not to smoke while I am with him.  She did state that he had a priority run and I would get my hours quickly.  I will meet him and smell first hand if that truck reeks of tar.  Is just smelling the tar and not inhaling smoke worth me getting my hours and getting my own truck……..

What do you think?

Oppps.......Mom called!

Good evening virtual truckers!

It was brought to my attention that I have not blogged in a couple of days.  Yes, my mother called me!  I do have some new news and old news.  I will start with the new news as it makes me feel good!

First and foremost, when I called my SDM Monday morning regarding lack of trainer, she told me that she received an email from the fleet team stating that I handled myself extremely well and professionally while in lock up with Cancer.  So my correspondence between myself and the fleet manager not only left a paper trail but attention to me as Jeff’s history is well noted in the system.  They are all surprised I lasted as long as I did so there is only one question on my mind……why is he still here then????

Secondly, Brian was here Saturday!  He was in between loads and decided to stay on the compound instead of the truck stop….crazy man!  He is working on his way home and on his patience as it might be a couple of weeks.  He, Kel and I visited for quite awhile including visiting his new home on wheels.  I felt quite spoiled by the trucks I have been driving as he is in an older model, seats like concrete blocks and over 700,000 miles on the engine.  He still is unsure if this is the life for him and will consider his options when he is home on leave.  It was nice to see a face from home, even from that cocky cowboy!

UPDATE…I called Brian today and he is on his way to Montana and quite happy as it means he should be home soon.

Thirdly, Jim was here today!  His terminal is only 1.5 miles away and I ran there this morning to see him.  We had a great day of catching up and Kel joined us for lunch (his trainer arrived today).  He is enjoying his time so far and ready to continue for the long haul.  He is still amazed with the type of individuals he meets while on the road (I previously brought up this topic earlier in the blog) and expects to have his own truck in a week or two depending on his home time.  He has a son joining the military and hopes to be home before the 4^th to say his goodbyes. 

Kel surprised us by calling Donna at Check Ride so we could all say HI and I did the same by calling Brian so he could catch up with Jim.  After lunch, we just sat in the shade back on the compound and just talked.  It was a wonderful afternoon!  I walked with him passed the truck stops that are in front of the compound when it was time for him to return to his and we both saw another working class at work, boys attempting to sell items out of large bags and girls selling what you could not find in a bag.  My and Jim’s first encounter of the rats and lizards that work in the lots!

Lastly, there are four females (the only female students on the compound) waiting on trainers here.  We have seen so many men leave with trainers and at roll call, we just shrug our shoulders as we know, our names won’t have a trainer’s name attached.  There was a little good news, one of the four women finally received a trainer and she has been here 14 days, fresh from school and has yet been behind a company truck.  Now….there is three!

I need to be proactive and seek a manager here to talk to tomorrow about our situation.  The gentleman who does the morning safety roll call tells us to contact our SDM daily regarding our situation.  I called him out on it this morning as there is nothing the SDM can do as it is the planning department that coordinates the student/trainers.  As a matter of fact, the SDM does not even note in the system that you called!  So many departments and none of them seem to work together at all.

We should have a nice run in the morning as a storm is passing through being vocal and electrifying while quenching a very thirsty Dallas.  Grab your sweats!  This idle time is starting to show in certain places  ;)

Jim with his "S" hat in front of the "W" truck

Kel and me.  His blog is located at:  trippinwithkandj 

Brian and I in front of his first truck!

Our shuttle driver at the compound!

Finally, that drink I have been waiting months for and obviously this picutre!

Keep the crazies out of the compound!

Central Lock Up

Hotel California - You may check in but you can never leave!

OMG! Did you hear the shooting last night???

Ha!  No shooting.....just had mess with  you and get you here ;)  Now that I have your attention, read below.......

I woke early this morning and went running along Interstate 35E on the old frontage roads on each side of the freeway.  Considering what I do for a living, you would think running along with cars and trucks passing me at 45 miles an hour, I would know better.  This terminal location is not foot traffic friendly which means, no sidewalks in sight!  So I scoped out the neighborhood and the frontage roads have enough side clearance that I can run somewhat safely from exit to exit without being roadkill.

I spent a little time with Kel this morning, the husband/wife team that I met at Check Ride soon after my certification.  He is here waiting for his trainer while his wife, Josie, is in Phoenix getting ready to join her new trainer.  My notes might be a little shaky as Kel is quite a talker but from what I gathered, he and Josie have been retired for the past three years.   Kel is a mechanical engineer and Josie worked for a legal firm but decided to travel with Kel when he was on the road due to work. 

After a few years of doing everything but really, not doing anything since retirement, they decided to give their children most but not all of their worldly possessions (I asked to be adopted) and decided that traveling was in their blood.  They interviewed a few companies and then went to Check Ride to get their CDL certifications.  As soon as they both complete their hours here with BW, they plan on running as a team and to be stuck to each other like glue for at least two years (their personally commitment) until they reimburse themselves for the cost of school and maybe longer if they like life on the road.

Kel and Josie don’t need to be here but decided to be here in order to travel and save a little towards their existing nest egg, much like me.  Between the health insurance and combined income, this lifestyle called to them   Unlike me, they will be running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week as a team so they will not be seeing the same scenery at the same time, as one of them must sleep.   I so enjoy my solitude and the idea of being in this rolling tin can with another driver outside of my training, NOT going to happen! 

He had a lot of questions in regards to why I am here, what they are to expect, suggestions to help them and what they will need, the things that I have not covered in this blog.  If you virtual truckers want to know that stuff (I couldn’t imagine that it would be interesting), do let me know and I will bore you with my two months of wisdom!

A small group of us are going to Chili’s for dinner at 6 PM and then it will be my Netflix time.  Tomorrow expect some computer training in order to kill time and if we don’t have a trainer by the end of the week, we will be scheduling a meeting with the Safety Director to see if we can change that.  I have been away from home too long, I miss my friends, family and lab way too much to handle another two weeks or more without seeing them.  Enjoy your evening, your week, and your loved ones where ever you are!  And remember.....wake up smiling, it makes a world of difference!