Enjoying North America while earning a living...: March 17, 1991, 2011

About this blog's layout...BLOG UPDATED ONCE PER DAY...

I follow my journal daily by writing under the daily title, "FIRST 5 YEARS:" The first five years will strictly follow my 5 year journal. If I find the day I am writing about to be boring, I will either write about thoughts I remember(placed under the title of "SECOND 5 YEARS"), write a trucker tale(placed under "A Trucker's Tale"), give a helpful trucker hint, ask a "student driver" question or do something.....When a location appears after the day of the week after "FIRST 5 YEARS:", it is where I am at the start of that day((IE: FIRST 5 YEARS: (Sunday-Kansas City, Missouri))..... I would encourage those that find themselves enjoying North America to follow me day by day.....REMEMBER: THIS IS A BLOG ABOUT WHAT LIFE IS LIKE FOR A TRUCKER THAT DOES NOT HAVE A DAILY ROUTINE ROUTE(called a "dedicated" route). THERE WILL BE MANY TIMES WHEN THE ROUTING, SCENERY AND DAY'S ACTIVITIES WILL BE SIMILAR(boring???) TO PREVIOUS DAYS; THAT'S TRUCKING! THERE WILL BE DAYS WHEN THE ROUTING, SCENERY AND DAY'S ACTIVITIES WILL BE TOTALLY NEW; THAT'S TRUCKING. Frustrations? I mention the frustrations I had as a driver. I loved my job while earning a living and realized that all jobs have frustrations; truck driving is, and was, no different..... Many pictures on this blog can be left-clicked and made larger.....Questions?...Please E-mail PT at fabalt2000@centurylink.net

March 17, 2011

March 17, 1991, 2011

FIRST 5 YEARS:(Sunday-Chemung, New York)
I was up and ready to leave the pickle park at 5:15 AM EST and it was so beautiful out. Left west on Hwy 17 and then took I-390 the the north. I stopped at our fuel stop in Dansville, New York and fueled(79 gallon) and asked directions for the best way to the Buffalo area. The directions I got were to go north on I-390 to Hwy 36 north to Hwy 20 Alt. west. I followed these directions with a warning from the drivers to not worry about the low underpass signs of 12ft 6in(our trucks can get under them). I found the assembly plant along Hwy 5 and it didn't have receiving open today.

I went back to the Exit 57 truckstop off of I-90 to spend the night and was not impressed with the dustiness of the parking lot. I was talking to a couple drivers--not from my company--and I said I was going to get a room for the night. One driver asked if we could share one as they are cheaper that way. I said yes and we checked in. He paid me half the room and I turned in the recept for my 20 dollar reimbursement.

I took my computer in and did some typing and the other driver was somewhat impressed. He asked me if I knew how to write OK. I said I was pretty good and had a decent background. He then asked if I could help him with his application he was doing for another company. I said yes. He handed me an application filled out so poorly that I was surprised he got through the 2nd grade. It was BAD... I rewrote it for him and he filled it out on a blank application he had. The part that surprised me was the work history section. He had three pages of work history with different trucking companies. Under one of the sections where he had to write about himself, his last sentence was, "When I work for a company, I am 100 % loyal"...this after he's working for the company he was with at the time while looking for another job....

I fall asleep watching TV...