Just Another Day Punching The Clock

Watching the morning sun as it is becoming a presence here gave me a thought. I figured I would take a walk, then have some breakfast. After that, I would throw my stuff together and get over to Johnsrud and get my gear and my truck and then return here to gather my suitcase. Then, hopefully I will be headed to Fargo to get more of my stuff for the truck assembled and loaded up. The best battle plans never make it to the battle field...we shall see.

I got my A-OK from Ron yesterday and we had some fun driving in Cicero on Tuesday and then some St. Louis, narrow street action yesterday. It was a situation where we had gotten bad directions and I had a hunch. Ron would not let me act on my hunch. It turned out that he had wrote down the wrong street name and the two names sounded similar and I turned out to be right. We ended up on a dead end road and I had to back out then jack her around a narrow corner with parked cars and curbs to get back on track. No harm done and it did turn out OK. I have been lost and in a tight spot before and came out on top. Instinct will keep you out of trouble sometimes and other times it will bury you in up to your neck. Just depends on how well Murphy is feeling that day I guess.

I hope this day goes smoothly and I get on my way without too much trouble. This has been a long day coming. Dedication ;/

Rollin' Along to St. Louis

I finally got my marching orders after 9 days in the Hotel Des Moines (California?). There was a delay on my trainer getting to my location because he had these pesky kidney stones aggravating his life and he had to get through it without busting an organ. I am glad we waited. First of all, the three guys I worked with rated with me very high on the scale of professionalism. They blew away any memories of trainers from Crete, Werner...anywhere as far as I am concerned. It is easy to get to that conclusion. First of all, I already know how to drive a truck. I also know that there are some basics to tanker operation and there are also some tricks of the trade that will make my frigging life easier. These guys are just gushing with that good stuff that makes my life easier.

Anyway, I worked yesterday and today with Ron Brown and he has already cleared me to get into my own truck. We deliver tomorrow at St louie and then we deadhead to Des Moines to pick up my truck...:]

That is the cool part, I get to get into my own truck and nearly one and a half months of adventure and application come to fruition and I get to get paid to get home more often. More later Dedication

Oh Yeah

I really don't feel that way after the weekend that seemed like, in spite of the fact that I was in a hotel room, I felt like I was really in a waiting room. Today I am to go out with a gentleman named Ron and I am to train with him until Thursday. I need to express the fact that I am at this point in good shape when it comes to running the equipment and could probably do well to get my truck now. They want to err on the side of caution and I guess that is their game and their training program. I will not be harmed in any way by the extra training.

I was invited to a drivers' house named Robert yesterday for some good food and conversation. The only bad thing was the fact that they had cats. I love cats and petting them and the like. I am also deathly allergic to cats so that I must wash my hands and get the clothing that I am wearing off of my body as soon as possible. The longer the exposure, the greater the chances of me having an asthmatic attack. I came through it well however and no animals were harmed in my experiments. The nifty thing was the wildlife that was in Roberts' yard. There was a family of foxes and several deer and raccoons. They put out water and food for them and then leave them alone. We were talking on the porch 25 yards from the deer and all they did was look our direction. Cool.

Tim Russert passed away this weekend. Frankly, I learned more about the man after he died than I ever knew while he was alive. I did not care for the meet the press show and was oblivious to the life of an obviously well loved man.

Yesterday, we finally got a protection order served on an unruly neighbor. It is the one that has a husband that is a convicted rapist. Well, she got on a high horse on the 2nd of June and decided to yell at me and flip me off. It was the last straw in a long string of bullshit from her and I decided to put a stop to it. We will see what happens next. Gotta go Dedication "/