Networking

We are in SNOWY Denver CO all week for a CMC offered by Kevin Rutherford.

In this wonderful economy it is amazing that there are over 100 Owner Operators here at this conference as the price for the conference was not cheap nor was the hotel. Education is part of our key to having a successful business and the old saying this is how I have done it forever does not work. We are in a huge time of change with lower rates, higher costs and more competition. We have made the choice to stay ahead of the game by education and networking. Attending seminars and trucking shows can be a hard choice to make as we are taking time out of our schedule and not being available for a load. We have toned down some of our travel to these events and are trying to stay more informed by listening to educational shows on the radio, through reading, trucking forums, and also the network of people we stay in contact with. We have an awesome network of friends in different divisions of trucking. We have Henry Albert who is an alternate to the OOIDA board, we have Miguel from Detroit Diesel who is a component specialist, we have Vince who has just had his own authority a few months, we have Craig who is leased to Schneider is their program where they find their own loads, we have Lawrence who is the owner of Expediters Online where I am a moderator, we have Leo who is a fleet owner and then we have a awesome list of expediter friends.

We have found that by caring about our industry and drivers we are the ones that are really enriched. Everyday we learn from our friends on something that is happening in the trucking industry. If we (I)get out of kilter and try to make a goofy decision one of our friends will set us (me) straight pretty quick. With the network of friends and the involvement we have in trucking organizations we are constantly amazed at how much fun we have and how much pride we take in our choice of a way to make a living. Who would have ever thought that “just being a truck driver” could be such a rewarding career. I know our families are constantly amazing at how much more we are involved with our life styles then we were when we had the typical 9 to 5 jobs and could not wait for Friday and the weekend.

More on CMC when I can post my pictures of an awesome group of people.

Barnapalooza 2009

Most of the people involved with Barnapalooza and a few friends were able to pre order shirts and many ordered shirts the night of the party. The Shirts were awesome... and will become an annual item. Nicki our oldest daughter in the front was the prime organizer of this event and Josh the Awesome DJ the guy on the left hand side took care of music, lights, fireworks and provided a skeet thrower. Brandy our youngest daughter is next to Josh and is still trying to get back into civilian life after her last tour of Iraq. I the proud mom of my daughters and I am next to Brandy. Bob the proud dad has both arms thrown in the air on the other side of the pic.
As the day of Barnapalooza started we were awakened to rain and just knew that it was going to be a muddy mess but nope the weather cleared and it was a nice day and evening. In the afternoon we loaded up the skeet thrower and shot off a few hundred rounds. Had great fun and I found out I was a little rusty but was still able to hit a bird. As Josh started setting up the barn with lights for the dance several of us settled into a game of Phase Ten. We then got the bon fire started and the evening was just perfect to stand around the fire or be a stump sitter as it just took the bite off of the evening. We had awesome BBQ from Big Sticky's in Troy MO and the guests all brought side dishes. Wow was there some awesome food. After the dinner the sun had went down and Josh shot of fireworks that would have a made a few towns embarrassed as they were just amazing. I am sure that a few of the small towns around were able to see our fireworks. This was also a BYOB and one neighbor makes homemade wine. Neither Bob or I drink much but that homemade wine was just awesome and I enjoyed several different types. I know this was a barn dance but nope no Country Western was really played. All rock and some Hip Hop and a little alternative. After a little wine when the music started my toes just started tapping. I cannot dance nor even after drinking do I think I can dance but I sure had fun trying and I tried danceing a lot. Josh the DJ knows me to well and he did a count down of how long I would be up and he was right it got to midnight and I was DONE! We had about 50 people at our little barn dance and I believe we have become the talk of our new community and it will be hard to top what all we had at our party! Plan are all ready being draw up for next year and we believe the party may start a little earlier with croquet and shooting and maybe even a little volleyball weather permitting. Get your t-shirt now.... 2010 Barnapalooza is on the way...

What's Missing?

One of the hardest things to me about being on the road is not having animals. Some of you know that we have been able to buy a house out in the country once again and get away from our city apartment. We have been lucky enough to move into a community were there are LOTS of animals such as dogs, cats, chickens, cattle and horses. We acquired three outdoor cats with the house that we are gradually spaying and neutering. We were a little late on the spaying as the stork just delivered 6 kittens 4 to one mother cat and 2 to the other mama kitten. This time at home a neighbor had a cow die with a month old calf and they had made plans to be gone for a few day and we would be at home and we graciously offered to take on the calf and bottle feed "Cookie" three times a day. Now our neighbor thinks we did them a huge favor when in reality we were in seventh heaven to be able to feed Cookie, brush the horses and give them treats, and while Brandy our daughter would feed the calf I was able to throw a line in the pond and do a little fishing at the morning feeding. The neighbor is still thanking us for taking care of the calf and we are thinking we should pay her for the pleasure it gave our daughters and me to be able to be around livestock again! We were really lucky that we were able to be home at the time they wanted to leave. We really feel lucky to once again be in the country to wake up to the sound of chickens crowing and cows lowing in the morning instead of our normal truck stop noise. Even with all of this the call of the road comes once again and I cannot wait to get back out there and see some more of our wonderful country!

Michigan

We often handle inside pickup and deliveries using our lift gate and pallet jack. Today will be another one of those loads. When we received the load offer we noticed the load was picking up at the same customer and delivering to the same customer in Indiana. We as usual decided to drive to the pickup location and see if we could spend the night on their property and not fight traffic first thing in the morning.

What we have found is sad but more and more common in this state. Nice business office area with the buildings and the parking lot well maintained and larger then the area most Super Wal-Marts take up. But only a few businesses in here are open the rest or empty buildings. It appears we are picking up the remnants of this business and taking the load to the main office. We have been doing more of this lately and the last one was a Wells Fargo branch. These are not fun loads as you know a lot of peoples hope and dreams have been dashed and they are trying to pull their lives back together.

For us though the money is good to move this equipment as someone is willing to pay extra to have their office equipment carefully handled. We will go in and usually gather the computers each one being carried out and blanket wrapped and then secured so as not to move in transit. We have an air ride box so all will travel safely to the destination where the process will be reversed.

We added our Lift Gate and our extra freight handling equipment after we bought the truck when we saw the earning potential for a little bit of work and extra care that we give to the customer. This added service has more then paid for our lift gate and equipment and put additional revenue in our pocket.

City Lights

Luckiest person ever has to be me!

Since I start driving between 2 and 3 in the morning I am able to see the downtown lights of many cities and not much traffic. There are so many awesome downtown lights in the United States that I cannot imagine seeing this will ever get old. I cannot even think of a favorite but there are some I really enjoy. If you have read The Fountain Head by Aynn Rand (fictional) I believe her lead character Rourk built a building in downtown San Antonio. One of the fun things about just driving through these cities is you get to make up what the building is used for and if you want who built them. In downtown Nashville you have the Bat Building where I believe Batman lives and the best way to see this building is to be coming from the north on I65 going south. Now in Memphis you have a triangle building that I believe is a civic center. Very cool looking building. In Charlotte you have a very tall building with lots of white lights and I have not decided what that building is used for. Some of these downtown light you get to drive through. Columbus OH is one and so in Buffalo NY boy am I always glad there is not much traffic so I can be a looky lou and crane my neck to see all of this. It is also fun to drive though is Kansas City as you get to go under some of the walk ways but the road is so twisty turny I do not get to see much as I have to drive slow and easy so as not to wake Bob up by screeching around the corners!

I should really enjoy seeing Manhattan NY as you can see the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building but I just associate that area with to much tension and to much traffic and while driving I cannot enjoy any of it.

If it is snowing and early in the morning another city that can just about give you goosebumps with the lights is downtown Chicago! Wow do they have some buildings. I know part of why I like that city is that we had so much fun with Brandy when we would go see her and wander around the downtown area.

We all know that the number one city for lights is Las Vegas and I enjoy seeing the lights as you come into the valley since as you get close to the hotels it is overwhelming and just not as stately as some of the other cities I am able to see first thing in the morning.

Now you should see how goofy I get at Christmas time and some of the lights we get to see...

Well we are lucky and lucky to see some of the amazing sites we get to see.

Has everyones turn signal bulbs burned out?

Pet Peeve here:

Worst part of my Pet Peeve is truck drivers who cannot use their turn signals and whip in and out of traffic. We are professionals here and want to be treated as such and then you have these IDIOTS who cannot even be bothered to hit their turn signals. Now I know their lights probably work because even with Pre Pass we still end up in at least one scale a day. For you guys not lucky enough to have Pre Pass or drive a truck this system is pretty awesome but that is a discussion for another day. When we go through a scale we are looked at as we cross the scale and also weighed and at times pulled around back so the DOT can give us a little closer look. Needless to say usually all of our lights work as none of us want to go behind the scale. The next one that drives me nuts in the Police. What traffic school did they go to where they were not educated on the use of turn signals? It amazes me how seldom we see an officer of the law not use a turn signal maybe they are above the law? Then we have the young person talking on the phone while holding it. Now we all know we have to have our priorities and if you are driving and talking on the phone there are just not enough arms to use the turn signals. How about the young mother that whips in front of us at as we are coming to a red stop light and causes us to hit our brakes harder then planned? Then you see the top of the child's head in the car seat and are very glad you brakes held.

I know we are a straight truck but when we are loaded heavy we have a hard time stopping or avoiding some of these people that whip in and out.

I see no reason to not use your turn signals and this is a very easy habit to get into. Maybe this could become a very doable New Years Resolution? We are lucky have a LOUD reminder if we forget to use our turn signals as we have the Lane Departure Warning System and if you do not turn your turn signal on when changing lane you get those wonderful electronic rumble strip sounds in your ears! Maybe all vehicles need to have some kind of reminder before switching lanes.

Ok enough pet peeve for one day... I have several other Pet Peeves also.

Staying Awake and getting my eleven hours driving in

How do you do it?


We split our shifts at about 3 in the morning to about about 3 in the afternoon. I am a morning person so I am the lucky one to watch the sun come up! Sometimes I find myself going through a drowsy period and have different ways to combat this. I will often stop which I hate to do as it wakes Bob up for a bit then he goes back to sleep. If we are on a surveillance load it is really rough to stop as the other one has to get up and sit in the front seat. I listen to a lot of books on my IPOD and as long as the topic is good with a good reader I often do not get sleepy at all. If I have a slow book or reader I have to take a break. That is when it gets lively in the truck! Since another is sleeping there is no singing out loud and neither of us can sing even if we think we can. I have some pretty radical music I listen to on my IPOD and no slow or sappy songs allowed. This usually perks me up pretty quick. I also keep the cab cool and I eat pumpkin seeds which are a pain to shell. We both drink a lot of water and I usually only have one cup of coffee in the morning which I make as soon as I get up. I eat breakfast running down the road which consists of finger food. I like crackers and cheese and berries not to much though as a full stomach also can make me drowsy. As the day progresses I will listed to my IPOD and catch up on my podcasts that I really enjoy; A way with words , Stuff you should know, 60 Minutes, and The word Nerds. Then I listen to my small Pioneer radio which record XM shows I like. I usually listen to Kevin Rutherford's show Business and Beyond and some of Dr. Laura' show. Then it will be back to my books on the IPOD. I try to get a mixture of learning books and also some just for fun books. I have to admit the just for fun books often take a back burner to my learning books or self help books. Yep I need a lot of help so I have a lot more listening to do. I am often on the phone with my head set catching up with the lives of other drivers and my girls. Once Bob gets up and is starting to stir around I take my IPOD off as he will want to know how close are we to delivery, where we are at, what the weather is like, what the traffic is like and where the next fuel stop is. There are areas of the country that are just so pretty you cannot take it all in and you want no distractions from the IPOD and you feel so lucky to be seeing all of this wonderful country. At times when going into a city or the traffic gets tricky and you do not need any distractions I will take my IPOD off and just I will just keep my eyes on the road. It is really amazing how fast my shift will fly by and then Bob starts driving and it is time to catch up on my computer work and get receipts entered. It is amazing how much there is to do in the truck to keep us our here on the road.

Unexpected Home Time

We unloaded within 300 miles of the house Friday morning and did not get a load so we choice to come home instead of spend the weekend at a truck stop.

I like to plan and that sounds funny in our line of business as we never know what we are going to be doing just about any minute of the day or night! But I have scheduled home times and this was not one of them.

When you get home and know you are not here long how far do you clean the truck out? Do you get everything laundered and back in the truck? Do you scrub the floors and wipe down the truck? or do you just do as much laundry as you have to and enjoy being home?

Well I love mail so my first thing no matter when we come home is to sort the mail, file what needs to be filed, get the permits that always come while we are gone in a pile for the truck, get all magazines in the pile for the truck, and see if we have any correspondence our daughter might have missed that needs a reply or a check. She does a great job at this and it is not often that I have an over due bill. I keep up with all of my bank statements on line so I do not have do any of that at home just file the statements. When I finish that I am back to my decisions and decide to wash everything in the truck including the dog! Molly hates to come home as she gets a bath and has to put up with 3 outdoor cats and our daughters two indoor cats. And she is not the center of our attention while at home. She hates the house and if she gets near the truck she tries to get in.

I then have to decide make something I have in the truck for supper or go to the grocery store? The grocery store almost always wins out as I have a few more options while at home when cooking and today I am going to introduce her to a new recipe I received from a fellow truck driver that I made in the truck and it is awesome. She is a true pasta lover and this is a great sauce.

We will be back on the road tomorrow and my stress will be gone from having this unexpected break!

A Code of Ethics Checklist

I drive to protect the motoring public and myself.
I do my best to present a neat, clean appearance.
I maintain and operate my vehicle in a safe, professional manner at all times.
I comply with all safety rules, regulations, and laws.
I treat shipper/receiver personnel with courtesy and respect. Despite what they do, I act professionally.
I am courteous to all other drivers.
I set a good example for less experienced large vehicle drivers.
I am always professional when dealing with four-wheel vehicle drivers.
I practice driving defensively every day, and I avoid:
Speeding
Deliberately tailgating other vehicles
Driving aggressively
“Getting back” at other drivers

I work to improve highway safety by reporting:
Crashes to traffic safety agencies
Unsafe drivers
Unsafe road conditions
Situations that could cause a crash
I do my best to deliver my load safely and on time.
I take pride in my profession and encourage other drivers to do the same.
I do my best to inform the motoring public about how to share the road safely with trucks.

Source: South Carolina Trucking Association

The above list is awesome and a great code to live by. I have a problem with one of these items that I am constantly trying to work on. I am able to control road rage in the truck until it comes to a lane being closed and the cars that just insist on trying to cut me off. They wait till the last second to get over when I have been in line for up to several miles and I just have a very hard time backing off and letting them in. Since our truck is smaller I am often able to "tail gate' the car or truck in front of me and make the car on the shoulder stop and try to push their way in behind me. I am have been working at trying to relax more in these situations and just worry about getting on down the road and if a car squeezes in who cares.

I have also found that when faced with a rude clerk or forklift operator I want to get rude right back in their face. That is why Bob now deals with most of these situations. When we have a inside delivery and pickup, or a load that needs specialized wrapping and handling I will help but I let Bob take the lead and I follow. He is very good at dealing with unreasonable and rude people.

We will continue to put our best foot forward and try to lead by example.