Sittin Around

Well today marks the 4th day on the truck, and it has been spent sitting around.  The load on the truck when I was picked up had 7 stops, 3 left when I was picked up, two in Brooklyn, and one in Jersey City.  Well the warehouse was closed for the weekend, so we had to sit and wait around until today to unload it.  Meanwhile Saturday morning we went up to Brooklyn, got to the first stop fairly easily, and unloaded.  We then proceeded to head for the second stop, which we got lost getting too, but eventually got there and unloaded.  We hung out in Jersey City all weekend, and delivered the Jersey City load at 8:30am local time.  Waited on dispatch all day for a load and never got one.

We eventually moved on to the Bloomsbury, NJ T/A truck stop, where we are currently sitting.  Dispatch closes at 5pm, so we have to wait until tomorrow for a load.  I haven't driven yet and I am really anxious to do so. 

Watching everyone scramble around this super crowded truck stop has me really wondering how rusty I will be doing backing maneuvers.  I feel very confident that driving will come right back to me, and that I will have no problems getting back behind the wheel, but backing into a hole or a dock... I don't know, I will do some practice hopefully tomorrow at a less crowded truck stop.  

This last few days though because of sitting has been a good time to get to know my boss and co-driver, and for him to get to know me.  We have a lot of things in common that I didn't expect which is good, and he is very easy to get along with and laid back.  There is a bit of cultural difference though, but nothing I can't live with.  Overall I think we will get along well and do well together.  

Getting back to the driving issue, I found out yesterday that in March I will be solo for 2 or 3 weeks while he takes some home time.  I am actually pretty happy about that because it will give me some time to get used to this truck and do some practicing if need be doing backing maneuvers without feeling like I am being watched by my 'boss'.

The truck itself is quite nice, and I am glad that I was able to get back on the road in this equipment.  The truck is a Volvo 780, has a built in fridge, microwave, 120v power outlets all over the place, XM Satelite radio, and a good sound system, so I cannot complain about creature comforts.  All I need to worry about getting is my own laptop, and a descent camera so I can get back to my photography hobby I picked up while driving before.

After leaving the house, despite my attempts to make sure I didn't forget anything, I forgot my expensive toothbrush and toothpaste that I got for Christmas, which I am upset about, as well as a few articles of clothing I did not want to forget.  Oh well, that is life, no matter how hard you try to set everything up, you will always forget something.

Well wish I had more to say on this post, but I don't.  It's been a long boring weekend, and I just can't wait for tomorrow to come with a load.  Good chance the load will either go to Florida, or somewhere out west.  I am really hoping for a Florida load so that I can stop in South Carolina and pick up some of my belongings that are down there.  In the mean time, stay tuned, I will put up a post tomorrow with an update as to what is going on, until then, keep on truckin.

P.S., I would love to hear back from my readers, so don't be afraid to comment!