Rough Life!

Hey we have a rough life but someone has to do it! We learned a new game last time we were at home called Bocce Ball. We added the game to the many other unnecessary items I carry on the truck but at least this one does not weigh much. The object of the game is to place your color ball the closest to the white ball that has been previously throw. One of the nice things about the game is it is easy to play, not easy to win, and very easy to pick up and throw back in the truck when you get a load. The other nice thing about the game is it gets you out of the truck and doing something!

We were at a Flying J truck stop south of Cincinnati this past week with another FedEx Custom Critical couple and decided to get the game out. We quickly found out the men where much better at this game then Lisa and I were. We did not stop trying and then had to laugh over some of the places we threw our ball. We had a lot of fun playing and look forward to getting the game out and trying again. I really need a lot of practice as I have a tendency to throw the darn ball way to far as I do not think I have grasped the concept of this game. Now if this was one of the million or so card games I know I would have no problem!

Back on the road

Over Stimulation is what happens to me when I am in a huge group of people anymore. When I used to work in the" Normal" world I dealt everyday with a broad range of people and personalities all day long and thought nothing of it. Now in the truck where I can control my environment which usually means talking on the phone, listening to books on my IPOD, or listening to Podcasts I can control my environment and noise level. I will admit that the Freightliner M2 has a lot of background noise as this truck is not quiet but I have learned to tune the road noise out. I have found that even going into a very loud resturant can be very trying on my nerves and I often leave unsettled.

When we go to an event like the Expedite Expo or to the FedEx Custom Critical offices in Green where I am able to talk face to face with many people that I normally just email with I find that I have a lot to say and listen to that can not be shared in an email. There are so many people you want to see and only so many hours in the day so everything is crammed into a few hours. The lack of time can become very frustrating as you know it could be a year before you get to see most of these people again. You at least get to scratch the surface of what you want to say to your friends and the new friends you meet and then you all go your seperate ways.

I look forward to the truck shows, our time spent at the FedEx Custom Critical offices, and the different trucking activies we are involved in but I have found that when I get back into the peace of the truck it takes me a few days to recover. After you have crammed in as much networking as possible in a few hours getting back into your truck is like crawling into a protective cacoon of solitude. Both worlds are awesome and we as drivers can enjoy the best of both worlds. We can step into the corporate world or the truck show world and then step back out to our controled enviroment to regroup for the next exciting event.

Expedite Expo 2009

We are getting the truck cleaned up so we can be in the line up in front of the Roberts Center in Wilmington OH. Once the truck is all shined and the tires lettered it rains! We end up wiping the truck down once again before we go inside to clean up for the reception. This year marks the 10 year anniversary of http://www.expeditersonline.com/ and was the brainchild of Lawrence and Debbie McCord. EO has been instrumental in getting many expediters into the business and then spreading the knowledge to keep their businesses afloat. This was our 6th year of attending the Expo and this one was one of our favorites with a lot of firsts. We had many impromptu meetings of forum members and below is pictured Dynamite 1, 1/2 of Team Caffee, Terry of TerryandRene', Jeannie, Piper1 who are all contributors to the forums.

This year I was the host of a workshop on Networking that lasted two hours. I had lots of help from other forum members and moderators and really felt as if we reached a lot of people. Our attendees included drivers who have been driving for many years to people just starting to research a career move. All seemed to enjoy the workshop with very few taking the time to leave their chair without hurrying back. I was also interviewed live on the Dave Nemo show on Friday morning. When I found out this was really going to happen I almost had a stroke and then went into general panic mode. Between the support of Bob and Henry Albert who got stuck practicing with me over and over again I made it through the interview and actually had a very good time. I have no clue what I said or what questions were asked but I know the time just flew by and I was not done talking! Good grief I think I have become a chatterbox.

I would really like to thank Henry Albert for all of his patience and the awesome job he did showing his Cascadia to the Expedite Crowd. If you have not read his blog here is the link: http://sliceoftruckerlife.com/blogs/henry-albert/
Eric of ebsprintin also was really instrumental in keeping me on track of what I wanted to get across in the workshop.
This Expo was the best one I have been to and the time just flew by. I know by the time we had our "liftgate" bbq the last night I was totally exhausted and brain dead! Cannot wait till next year so we can do it all over again.

It’s all about ME - Networking

I have a workshop coming up at the Expedite Expo and the topic is networking. The more I think of this subject the more circles I draw all intersecting the nucleus which is me. When I came up with this topic for the workshop I thought wow how simple we network every day without even trying. I listen to different trucking shows on the trucking channel 171 on XM such as Kevin Rutherford show which keeps me in the loop of upcoming industry changes. We belong to various professional trucking groups such as the 20 Group http://www.cdlofit20group.org//portal.php which is a group to share ideas on different arenas of trucking. I talk to other drivers within our company, often discussing rates, good and bad parts of the country for freight and upcoming freight trends for the months ahead. I talk with our contacts within the company we are leased to, to stay abreast of upcoming changes with policies and to stay informed of current events such as the upcoming equipment on board recorder (EOBR). I talk to other expediters on ways to make life on the road more interesting, ideas to manage our possessions in the sleeper such as using expandable curtain rods in our freezer to hold food in place, easier ways to cook and eat healthy on the road, and ways to make each day even better then the last. We talk to drivers from other areas of trucking on how the economy is affecting them and how they are staying ahead of the game. One idea that has really made me stop and think was our personal appearance and how we portray ourselves to our customer and even other drivers. We attend truck shows to get the chance to see new and innovative products and also to interact with other drivers. We have learned better and safer ways to secure our freight which in the Expedite world is a huge concern. At one show a neighbor had a telescoping ladder that was awesome as it took up so little room for storage and this new item was soon added to our supplies. I am also involved with various trucking sites sometimes as a lurker, sometimes as a poster, and in others as a moderator. Expediters Online http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/ started us in the Expedite world and is one site I spend a part of each day reading. We have found in some networks we are the student trying to learn everything discussed and in other networks we are the teacher sharing what we have learned. In all instances we are still the benefactor of each network we are a member of.

Lincoln County Fair

Hang Glider ride with my Zack and Jen
Long legs belong to Zack, white tennis shoes are Jen who had a hard time keeping them clean as there was a lot of mud
I wore my mud boots and had great fun sloshing right through the middle of the mud puddles

Tractor Pulls where loud and awesome to watch!

Demolition Derby was great fun on Friday night with lots of cars

Mule Jumping was the highlight of the fair and this mule jumped 58" from a standstill to win the event!

Our house is AWESOME

I did not think it was possible to get any more spoiled but here it is! Just go out the laundry room door and load the truck. You just have to enjoy country living. We go a couple extra days over the 4th before we pick up our next load going to the west coast so we went home. Worked in the yard, stained the back porch, went fishing, went to a horse training clinic, and was even able to get a sunburn. Boy did it rain and rain though on the 4th the little creeks were amazing to see. After we get done unloading the truck we can take a break on the porch and just listen to the frogs croaking, chickens crowing, and the 4-wheelers out running around. In our part of the woods people run over to see their neighbors horseback, or on driven mules or on their 4-wheelers and the cops just seem to turn a blind eye to all.

Bad Day / Good Day QUALCOMM

The QC rules our life when we are out here on the road and we have grown accustomed to the exigencies that are thrust upon us by the obnoxious BEEP. When you hear the beep your first thought is it a fleet message? a safety message or just maybe a load?

This year the beep has more often not been a load which is very disappointing after you have sat very long. When there is load offer on the QC you can go from agony to giddy in 1/2 a second. First item on the QC is date of pickup and delivery and if they are a few days apart you start thinking awesome long load. Next is pickup city and state and delivery city and state and that can get your heart racing when the load is going to a place you enjoy driving. Next is miles and pay and that is the crucial part of the message. If the load pays well there is no decision we reply with yes we want it, if the load is mediocre we have to discuss and that is where the delivery city and state comes into play how bad do you really want to go there? If the load pay is bad the reply is a no and then on comment lines will be how much we can run the load for. Sometimes we get what we want by more often we do not.

When you get out of the truck you put yourself on the phone meaning if a load comes to the truck the message is redirected to your phone and you can listen to the details and then respond appropriately. Before we go to bed we put ourselves on the phone so the message will wake us up and first thing in the morning I put us back on the QC as it is much easier to read a screen then listen to a message.

The QC been can take you from being totally down in the dumps to ecstatic in about 2 minutes if you get the load you want. You can be bickering and picking at each other out of boredom to being the best of friend once again by that darn beep. In your dreams you will hear the beep and get up to look even knowing the darn thing is asleep.

When talking to guys at our company before the QC and having to stop and use the payphone and sit inside and wait for the payphone to ring we will take the QC any day of the week. It is nice when you can go home and take the collar off that the QC tethers you to the truck with.