Montgomery, AL

Ok I found out that is was the carrier (to whome Courtney, my agent, is contracted), who fronted me all that money while I was down. Korena, who works with Courtney, is something like a liason between the carrier and Courtney, and it was she who went to bat for me.

Remember: this is business, and they could have left me stuck there without a carrier, flat broke, and...I don't want to think about it.

Anyway, my first settlement check was kept by them to get some of that money back. I can't argue with that. But Korena is now trying to get them to pay me half of my checks til my balance is paid. I've got bills piled up, and owe road-use taxes.

What I actually spent was a little over 3k, but meanwhile I was racking up the weekly charges, and I had been advanced money on the load I never delivered.

Among the weekly charges are trailer rental, insurance, a 50.00/week (to 1k) bond deduction, transflo, and some other stuff.

However, after my most recent Damian APU repair, they've been running me pretty hard. I remember that Central Hauling (owner-operator side of Cal-Ark) was pretty damn efficient, but these guys take the cake. The load before last, I loaded twice within five miles of the truckstop I landed at. On the last load, I had to downright hustle about 14 miles from that delivery to get the load taking me to Midland GA.

That one paid peanuts, but now I know they probably have good freight out of this area. That was a backhaul, and they use those only to get you from point a to point b for a "real" load.

I also asked if they went to Texas e voila--they're planning to send me there. If that one delivers monday, I'll have a monster week.

NOW: I finally at long last got to my PO Box and got my "Thirty-Second Smile" electric toothbrush. It has two opposing sets of bristles: One for your uppers, and one for your lowers. The brushes are "U"-shaped, to sort of wrap around your teeth, and the bristles are angled accordingly. They wrap around your teeth, see?

You need to hold it between your thumb and one finger, as it sort of needs to move in your grip to work right.

Anyway, I tried it and was pretty shocked. I was bleeding from my gums. The thing had scoured some of my back teeth to the roots...which were partly exposed because my gums are trying to recede. Plus, I felt it get all the way behind my back teeth.

COOL! My sonic care toothbrush never got into that area, no matter how hard I tried. So I guess I had those nasty bacteriae mining away with impunity! Not anymore--this thing WORKS!

Of course, now my teeth hurt again. But this time I knew it was a good hurt. I rinsed with ACT, and resumed my aloe-vera gel treatments.

Aloe Vera is not snake oil. It kills just about all bacteria, and penetrates all seven layers of skin. This is one of the reasons it works so well for healing: without infection, you heal faster. It came in handy for me recently when I burned myself on a hot pipe. Second degree: I've had this kind before, and a major infection set in almost immediately.

But with this, I just perieodicly rubbed some aloe-vera gel on it and never had to worry. It's true.

Anyway, I get the Gel. "Juice" can legally be less than one percent real aloe. Gel, legally, has to be mostly real aloe-vera.

I rinse with it and then swallow it. Then I put a little in my tea. You've got to be careful because it's like Ex-lax and you can get in trouble with too much. I'm convinced that aloe-vera is a big reason I've kept all but one of my teeth.

A day later, my gums/teeth don't hurt anymore, and my gums didn't bleed this time. Thirty-Second Smile really works, and so does Aloe-Vera.

Texas...cool.

Owner-Ops Only

Everybody else will be bored.

OK I'm taking on loose metal turnings in Worcester and expect to carry 42,000 lbs.

I plotted two routes to Buffalo. One is US 20, and I avoid most of the tolls. I haven't been on 20, but I see some meanderings which usually indicate hills. It's also upstate New York, and I bet it goes through a lot of towns.

It's tempting--in fact it looks a lot like the 20 I take through Ohio to avoid I-80 tolls. I might try it.

If I take 90 I know what I'll have. With 42k I should average 6.2 mpg. Taking 20 will cut that down, as I'll be hitting hills slow and stopping/starting a lot. On 90 I'll get there fast, whereas 20 takes me at least two more hours.

53.29 is my EZ Pass rate. What about fuel?

Well, with 42k and assuming the worst (lots of stoplights and a few bad hills) I reckon 5.2 mpg. It's 416 miles so that's 80 gallons. The toll road would give me 6.2 mpg's and I'd burn twelve fewer gallons. Just using the lowest rate alonmg that route, which is 2.99 cpg, that rounds off to 36 bucks. The difference is about 17 bucks.

But wait! There's more! The twelve gallons give me about eighty miles of range. This might mean the differnce between paying 2.99 now, a lower price later. Plus, the cheapest fuel on this route is ON I-90, so I'd have to get up there anyway.

Also, I consider wear and tear. 90 is smooth. 20 would abuse Herbie much more. I want to preserve him.

Then there's the chance I can deliver later today rather than tomorrow if I take the fastest route. (I won't bother checking. I like surprises.) Get empty early and I can get to the next pickup early--if Courtney has it ready for me yet, or can at least give me a city.

Then there's the variables: Traffic and construction on 90. That plus terrain and obstacles on 20. (I also haven't ckecked for low bridges and weight restictions either. On that road a re-route up to 90 isn't hard).

I also estimate conservatively. 6.2 are the lowest mpg's I get on I-90; I could get up to 6.4. 5.2 on the low side is a guess. Probably a safe one. And then there are probably a lot of cops on 20 waiting for a hill to tug me up over the speed limit on 20.

Then there's my mental health. I see myself getting angrier and angrier every time I have to use up my brakes going down a hill I should be using for momentum--because there might be a cop waiting for me. Then angrier when I hit the bottom of the next hill at near the legal speed limit and am going 30 mph at the top...knowing I've just burned a whole extra gallon of fuel for no good reason.

Angrier at the clown in front of me who thinks physics is what you do in the bathroom, and stifles me going up a hill. Stopping and starting and stopping and starting...

Guess which way I'm going. It's worth the extra 17 bucks.

So there.

CORRECTION: I completely forgot the MA. tolls. Probably another 22 bucks or so. Call it an extra 40 bucks I paid to avoid insanity.

But now I go from here to Philly, know all those roads, and know I can avoid the tolls without beating Herbie up or burning all my fuel.

Cookin (Worcester, MA)

Well, I just added up what I've made so far and feel much better now. I've had a couple 60+ mile deadheads, but the average is actually lower than I had at USA. With my former company...sometimes 300 or more miles (no I aint kidding).

Don't like it much up here. It's like somebody kicked over an anthill. And the ants all drive cars.

Oh, and you can ignore the speed limits here. You can go 20 miles over or 15 miles under if you want, in any lane you want. Just match speeds with a big truck, set the cruise, and wait for the turn signal as he closes in on the guy going 50 mph in front of him. Great fun! You get to watch him hit the brakes and holler at you!

Tolls everywhere. That's a drawback--I'm learning that the company moves a lot of freight up here in New England. Many drivers reguse to drive the northeast because of the tolls and stupid ants driving cars. And having to run over curbs on ancient streets built for wagons.

But this is just my first couple weeks. Courtney did mention a twice weekly from Ohio to here, for example. After I've run around randomly for awhile, I'll ask about that, or something like it. If a lot of their business is up here, then that's that, but...

Well, here: If I drove out here from Ohio and back twice a week, I could take I-76/I-80 (etc.) and avoid a lot of the tolls--and even most of the ant-hills full of careening spastic cars. But then James, the driver who referred me to Medallion and Courtney, said he's got a sort of circular regular route, and that sounded great.

I just had to tell her I need to get back to Ohio when it's convenient. I ordered some stuff and got a phone call informing me that I had enrolled in a money-saving program for only 24 bucks a month and if I didn't like it all I had to do was call the number in the mailing to cancel--otherwise they'd just take the money off my card.

Yeah. So I need to cancel that.

"But it doesn't cost you anything just to look---"
"I didn't want this! Cancel it right now!"
"--have to do is call the num--"
"No-take me off right now!"
"--?"
"Wait what did you ask me? NO! Nevermind! What's the freaking number I gotta call to cancel?"
"--certificate from Wal-Mart--"

And of course there's the stuff I DID order. And of course Damien has stopped charging my batteries again. Yeah it's about three months. That's about right for his alternators. It's under warrantee, but I have to get to Sapp Bros or Colyer's to get it fixed. That's Clearfield PA between here and there, or Cincinnati.

...where I got my POS trailer, which I'll probably need to take back before I can replace it. No rush on that, though. After I got some grease on the sliders that part got better, and I think the pins partly stuck because of all the rust. 2 pitted surfaces stick more. I left about half a pound of rust at my last pickup. Had to wear my wraparound shades or I might be in a hospital with rust in my eye. That's real bad.

Boring. I know.

Anyway, I'm still happy. Best deal I've ever had. My next one picks up tomorrow morning, goes to Buffalo, and pays really well. No cheap fuel between here and there, but I've still got some range...damn I'm boring my own self!

Speaking of which, when I need to sleep I turn my Sirius radio to the classical music station. Knocks me out. Plus I'm reading a pretty boring book. Almost like I wrote it!

I guess adversity does make you stronger. Damien's alternator going out hardly bothered me this time. Plus I've changed some stuff. Like I've plugged my microwave and toaster oven into him, bypassing both his alternator and my batteries. If I cook something while I'm rolling, I can reach behind me and turn him on and off.

Plus now I can toast a Tortino's pizza without overheating my inverter.

Since he's been reliable as for a/c for some time now, I don't even hate Damien much anymore. Maybe this alternator will be the one to outlive it's warrantee! Yeah...positive vibes...

-Yawn- yeah...sorry. Okbye.

In My Humble DaVinci-like Opinion

1: Quit calling football players "labor". That's pretty insulting, when the rank and files of most unions can't afford to attend a damn football game. Sure they work out hard for several months a year, but they're millionaires living a dream. Give me the league minimum for two years and I own a tavern or a couple apartment complexes or something. Labor? Wow.

2: Owners buy, build, and run businesses. They market, lease, account, pay taxes, etc. and make it possible for employees to be employed. Jobs come from the private sector. Risk-taking entrepreneurs and very smart people create them.
In this country, you get to own things. You make it or buy it, and it's yours, period.
NFL owners are entitled to make as much of a profit as they want. The head of the Players Association hears them complain of diminishing returns and pending losses, and he says he'll be reasonable and invites them to open up their books to him.
This guy is not a real american. He's an employee, and thinks he has the right to stick his nose in his bosses books and determine what he should be paid. No doubt, he intends to generously permit his boss to keep two percent of the dividends if he takes a salary cut as CEO. Maybe he'll even be able to net the league minimum!.
Yes, the owners want an eighteen percent reduction in pay. That's because the last deal was horrific and the employees "own" two thirds of the revenues!!! The owners got screwed, and want it to stop!
Kevin, you have NO RIGHT to see your owner's books. You have a right to force a lockout and blame the owners for it. You have a right to wreck football. But you have no more right to your boss's books than you do to barge into my house and help yourself to my TV. I bought the house and TV. It's mine. Your boss bought the team. It's his.

3: I wouldn't have you on my team either. They need players, not uninvited partners. PLAYers.

Yay (Apex NC)

They finally fixed it, but hang-ups with the invoice (it was like they just had to kick/stomp me a couple more times) had me scrambling for the load Courtney had arranged. (It was 1600 friday, and I gather they don't get a lot of weekend stuff--I would have been stuck).

So far, by the way, I've only run (in one case partly run) three loads for them, but I don't think I've deadheaded over 35 miles once. Plus, the next loads are lined up in advance. This is too small a sample to be definitive, but so far they're the most efficient people I've run for.

When the other day another driver took my load, he told me my trailer was crap. I was surprised, because I was used to hauling junk worse than that. I was also pleased--Courtney had already told me that he'd told her that, and is going to send me someplace to get a better one.

My trailer is functional but has a freakish amount of rust for an '07, and some old sidewall repairs that he said were substandard. The company wants to look good: cool. More practicly speaking, the corrosion came into play vs. me when I tried to move the sliders with a load on. First I had to beat the pins out with my sledge hammer, and then it took a running start to make them slide.

Common enough for any trucker--but one with a newer-looking undercarriage usually slides better.

Anyway, I made it to the shipper 30 minutes before they closed despite horrendous traffic and a bad route I plotted because I had no time to waste (ran over some curbs, bullied spastic 4-wheelers, etc.) (OK I just mean that I had to take wide turns and they had to stop short when they saw me; you have to move quickly sometimes to make sure they see you before they seal you off from the rest of your turn).

This one came from Lansdale, PA here to Apex NC. It delivers monday. I'd planned to hit a truckstop, but got bad info (plus failed to do my normal research-my bad) and my truckstops had no parking for me.

It's a real nice area with woods, though. I'm secure here near their back fence. I'd prefer to be inside and on a door already, but it's fenced off, so I'll have to wake up at 0645 monday. Probably later I'll search for Wal-Marts so I can restock my food (I'm out). This is a secure drive with the reciever's company trailers parked in it, so I can slap a padlock on it and drop it for an hour or so.

This load paid about a buck a mile. That's a backhaul rate, but Courtney needed to get me to a better area, plus to get me to the next load she wanted me on--which pays a great deal more.

Plus, her buck a mile isn't the same as my former company's buck a mile. When they said it's a buck a mile, they meant gross. I'd do the math in my head for 72% of that. When Courtney gave me the total pay (which I calculated at 1.00/mile), she meant "to the truck"--what I would get paid. So far, my two backhauls paid 20% more than the ones I got from my old company.

My former company finally responded to my email in which I warned them that I was about to go to the Attorney General and seek other legal remedies. "Warning" is the right word, since they're embroiled in a civil war there, and my side was chosen for me. Junior is owed 90k, for example--and he's the guy I'm bugging for money.

I was finally able to talk to him, and found this out. He's also apparantly re-checked my application, as he was careful of what he said, like I might be taping him or something. When I asked him: "Would my going after them from the outside help you or hurt you?", he said "I'd never tell you what to do, but basicly all that would happen would be all the creditors would come in and it's get broken up." "Bankruptcy?" "Yes, that's what the assholes would do".

Junior is trying to hold onto at least twenty company trucks as they dissolve the old company and form a new one in which he has bottom-line authority and control of the books. He needs those trucks so he can hold onto certain of his contracts. If I sic any dogs on them, it probably means they lose all the trucks and trailers, too.

AND we probably never get paid anyway.

All the same, I did get 250 from them, which I was able to put on my repair bill. I still asked Courtney for 1800, because I was close to empty, and the 35% I'd get put onto my fuel card (like a debit card, plus we use it at the pump) wouldn't be enough to keep me out of trouble. Plus I'd had a flat re-inflated, and if it didn't hold air I'd need to get it patched.

I'm still running underwater here, flat broke, in debt, etc., but feel great. I made it all the way here without any electrical issues, so at least Philly Freightliner did a proper job of it. The new harness is warranteed. My APU is running fine. Got a load right away and a high-paying one monday. Can go shopping tomorrow and be all set.

I haven't added everything up yet, but I know I owe Courtney 827 for the tow, 1800 for the repair, and at least 500 for the hotel. They were very interested in when I'd mailed in my first bills, and I get the distinct impression I've really dented their operating fund; they need that cash-flow.

I want to have them just intercept all of my settlement checks til I'm square, but I got my monthlies coming due--however half would be no problem. All I need is enough to retain internet/prepass for weigh stations, BestPass for tolls, Driver's Legal, Lifelock, etc., and otherwise don't spend much (except for hotels--which I won't for now, and hope I'll be too busy to consider.)

They haven't addressed that with me yet. I could also send them a check or e-check. That way I could calculate my balance and bills and send them everything I wouldn't need. They might not have an easy way to intercept monies to drivers for legal reasons or something.

I don't care! Repaying them is priority one and who cares how? And I CAN--I just love being in control again!

When I get my next load, I'll feel even better. So far, I haven't been able to "shop around" (http://www.findfuelstops.com/?gclid=COmQ45mB0ZkCFR9hnAodCVnytw) for my fuel. Last time I got 60 gallons and paid an extra 20cents per gallon because I couldn't make it here.

My next load will put enough on my fuel card (paid when you pick up the load--a kind of advance) to top of here where it's cheap. This will give me a 1200-1400 mile range, and I should be off and running; all set for controlling my fuel costs from then on.

Junior and Ed at my former company appear to be more sympathetic to me now, and Ed said to call back monday, as they expect to have some larger payments ready by then.

I've heard that before, and the reason I was angry enough to try to take them down was the fact that I've heard it about eight times, and each time...nevermind old news. But now I'm quite sure: The assholes promise Junior. He promises me. They stiff Junior. He stiffs me. I blame Junior, but it's not him.

Now I feel bad about ever yelling at anybody there. Except Dee, the bookkeeper. She and her boss are corporate raiding crooks.

I was tempted to ask for a small percentage of the new company in lieu of what I'm owed, but hate complications, and want to keep my head down.

Anyway, I'm just so lucky. Yeah the last couple weeks were hell, but they didn't cut me loose and now my harness is solid from top to bottom. Now I'm back and running--and I'm GLAD that awhile ago I got rejected by other companies, because these guys pay better, keep deadheads low, and so far keep me really busy. No Qualcom or other BS.

Yeah it'll take awhile to rebuild my maintenance fund and stuff, but every mile I run takes me closer. Life is good.

Reality Is

Believe it or not, the rest of my harness was alledly delivered today, but of course the work wasn't done, so here I am again.

Big surprise: At 4 pm Ed at Jamestown tod me Junior was gone. I said "Oh--we're doing this again?" and Ed hollered that I should call "that bitch from hell" and hung up on me.

Ed's explosion didn't bother me--that's just Ed. It told me, however, that he himself was boiling over, because the intra-company cabal was STILL screwing everybody!

I did just what he suggseted, and called the bitch from hell. I told her that at noon tomorrow I was calling the attorney general and tha they were about to get investigated. (Ed might have made a mistake hanging up on me.)

Afterward, when Brian the desk guy at Philly Freightliner (which should be avoided at all costs) almost predictably informed me that my truck wouldn't be ready til tomorrow--I called Courtney.

While updating her and asking for more money (dammit), I also asked her: If she were stiffing her drivers, who would scare her. (She knows all about my situation. Since she's shelling out for all this, I'm sure she's kinda irked too). She conlulted her associate Corina, who I gather has some legal background. They'll get back to me.

Meanwhile, I can't trip over nickels on my way to dollars, and will focus on running all the loads I can get for them.

They can't get away with this. It's war now. But I can do what I need to on the internet and phone without losing one precious mile. I care less for the money now than I do about justice.

I emailed Randy and Brian--I don't know if my actions will help or hurt the good people at my former company, and I'm asking them to either tell me to back off, or to help me.

Since all along Junior could have at least approved some smaller payments, I think I'm being about as reasonable as I can. 100 drivers got stiffed. That's a class-action suit, aint it? What am I missing here?

DAMMIT

Now they say that MOST of my new engine wiring harness was delivered, but not all of it! And they can't find the rest of it! OK I got an 'o4 and it's a Mercedes I got that this harness isn't common anymore--but...now I got part of it but not all of it...

I've been aware that THEY have been out to destroy me ever since in some past life I did something real bad or something...but...are you KIDDING ME? Every freaking time I think it can't get worse it DOES!

The guy told me that if the "rest of" the harness doesn't show up in a second Fedex "overnight" shipment tomorrow, it could take up to another WEEEEEEKKKK to get the rest of it! They can't "find" it on the internet. They say it "doesn't exist, unless that's because it's in transit...but it did exist when we ordered it, but didn't show up with the rest of the harness"...

Nothing makes my blood boil more than a bunch of people kicking and stomping somebody after they've stopped moving. I mean, it's just so evil and sick. The cruelty is beyond my comprehension.

Goddammit get up off me you bastards!