I'm a Rebel...

You probably all are wondering why I'm a rebel, and more importantly, did I finally break down and pay for internet while on the road? Well, all of your questions will be answered in this blog post, so read on:

To explain why I am a rebel I need to do some explaining about how the system works. See, on our Qualcomms (which is our on board messaging system which runs off satellites, and acts more or less like instant messaging) we get a Preplan, which is a load, and on this preplan it tells us where we are picking up and when, also where it is going and when it needs to be there. We then have to accept the plan or reject it (you generally aren't supposed to reject them unless you have a good reason). Well come Friday afternoon I got a preplan for a load from southern Idaho (near Boise) to Irvine California. So when I was done with my current load I was waiting for my dispatch (which is when the load is actually assigned to you, and you get all the details you need) I was looking at a map and trying to figure out how they would send me. I eventually got the dispatch with a fuel route (which tells you which highways and freeways to take, also where to fuel up). The fuel route was completely different than what I expected. I took out my atlas and followed it along, and discovered that the computer that comes up with the fuel route (it's kind of like mapquest designed for trucks) must hate me. The fuel route basically had me going through every major city north of San Diego in California. I looked at my route that I came up with and it took me through Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, other than that it was open roads. I then sat down and figured the mileage for both routes. In short I basically threw the fuel route to the wind and took my own route. The one kink in my plan was that I was assigned a fill up in Reno Nevada, and my route took me no where near that, so I ended up stopping in Las Vegas and sending in a request for emergency fuel. Not the first time I've had to do that, but the first time when I was so far off route. So far either no one has noticed, or no one cares. I guess I'll find out tomorrow when the regular staff comes in. There shouldn't be a problem, so long as I get the load there on time, but this is the first time I've gone off route, so I'm not sure. Oh, I should mention the reason I did this was mainly because I didn't think I could get the load there on time given the hours I could drive, and the terrain and traffic conditions on the given route.

As for me having internet. This one will be a little shorter. I'm currently in Southern California, and while driving here it was around 90 degrees. Now my truck has a great electric heater, but no electric air conditioner. Which means that I would have to idle the truck so that I wouldn't cook in the cab while sitting. Unfortunately the state of California has a law against idling trucks, so that doesn't work very well. So I ended up paying for a service called Idleair with is this thing which hooks to the window and provides cold/hot air with a thermostat, power, internet, TV, basically all the comforts of home. So I kind of am paying for internet, but it's just a package deal. Also, I'm going to be here like 15 hours, so I figured it was worth it.

That's about it for now. For those of you on the West side of Washington, I should be there this Fridayish, so I'm looking forward to seeing all of you.

Finally a Real Truck Driver

Well, I'm a real truck driver now. I've been out for two weeks on my own, and if that wasn't enough, I have a CB radio too. This first outing took me to two new three new states, Utah, Nebraska, and Colorado. I also passed through Nevada, Wyoming, and Iowa. Iowa was cool, not because of the state so much (the roads were rather bumpy and hilly), but I got to my destination a day early, a destination close by Dubuque, and thus was able to spend most of a day with Ellery, Anna, and the kids.

Apart from the new states I visited, this two week outing also had some other firsts. I had my first load where I couldn't actually fill up my gas tank because I would be over weight (over 80,000 pounds), so that was exciting. Also, in Denver (which was my destination in Colorado) I blocked two intersections and had to back up in order to not take out a light pole. No one honked, but I doubt they were very happy about it either. But I haven't hit anyone yet (although I did hit my fair share of curbs, again in Denver....I don't think Denver, at least the parts I was in, was meant for trucks), so I still have a good driving record.

After such a short period I already know my least favorite part of the job, finding the darn places. It's not so bad when they are large mills or something, but my last two loads I had multiple deliveries to stores, so not only did I have to try to find more places, but the places where hard to get into and out of, and was all together unpleasant. So I'm pretty sure I'm going to get an iPhone sometime soon, mainly for its mapping ability. I'm hopping it will make my least favorite aspect of the job more pleasant.

Finally, I should explain why I haven't updated in a while. Well, most of the truck stops have internet, but most of them make you pay for it, something I've been reluctant to do since I still don't have much money. I should start to have more money soon, but the way the paying works, I've only had small paychecks to date due to when I got my paper work in on my loads. Thus, I didn't want to spend the money to get online. Hope no one was too disappointed by my lack of communication.