Slow cooking and BBQ histories revealed

Texas, home of BBQ and Slow Roasting. Having been here for the last  36 hours, it is very apparent as to why. How people survived here before air conditioning of some sort is beyond me. The temp here has been in the 100's for the last two days and most of my fuel is going towards idling just to keep myself from being the next succulent morsel found in the back of a van that was slowly boiled in his own juices to perfection. Seriously, it's that hot here. The temptation to take a pump spot under the shade of the fuel island overhang is very high, yet the idea of having to move to another truck stop because I was kicked out seems to be a reasonable prevention.

The pic I added was one from walking while I was still in Florida. It was a night night out, sun was going down and on top of all that, it was cool out. Wind blowing just enough to have a very slight chill on it. Mmm, yes I can almost remember what that felt like. Unlike now where all I can see in my head is this..

Lone Star State, my ass. The start is too damn close.

Needless to say, it's a bit warm out here..

Start of a new week...

Almost done with my first delivery. I had the opportunity to spend the weekend at my wife's grandparents house. Got to catch up with my sister in law and grandparents.  Just being back in Charlotte was tough, I had forgotten a lot about what I had gone through to be where I am today. I enjoyed being reminded.
Soon this delivery will be done and I will start the new week with being busy busy. Here's to hoping.

*Tap tap* Is this thing on?

Well I spent my first night at a truck stop.

To be fair, the mattress that is in the back of the van is quite comfortable. The problem, as it turns out, that keeping the van idling for power and a/c is not economical at all. I went from a half tank to a quarter tank in 6 hours. Aside from that, I slept well.

So it was another day of sitting around. I called my dispatch a couple of times to make sure that I was actually active in the system. Come to find out, it was just a slow day of sales. No sales, no trucking, makes a sad Obie. So when 6pm rolled around, I figured that I would not waste any more fuel and swapped my port of call from Canton Ohio to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Oh look, a bed I can borrow and shower I can use. The real threat of being stuck without a load for the weekend is a big one, so I might as well position myself in an area that I am comfortable and not waste fuel.

Its kind of depressing that I don't have anything to do yet but after talking to a few drivers, that actually happens but the month usually balances out and you will long for a day that you can just take a break. Which is something I am looking forward to.

So I am hanging at a friends house in PA and I am tired as hell. So I will just get some sleep while I can and hope I get some load offers tomorrow.

A day of rest

Sleep is such a wonderful sensation. Sometimes the act of sleeping is enough to make someone forget what is going on. Such is the way for me when I sleep. The difficult part is waking up suddenly to a sound, real or imagined, and having it jar me to wakefulness. That has happened the last couple of nights because I am taking a prescription every 8 hours. The alarm that is set goes off in the 3am time frame, which at its best, is a confusing time by its own right. Looking around and wondering where I am and what's going on is quite scary until I can realize where I am,

Today is a day of rest before going the last 2 hours to my training site. After sitting down and talking with my new "Boss", the job is actually looking better and better. There is still that hanging apprehension that I feel known as that "Other Shoe". Whether it exists and whether it will fall, I believe, is totally up to me and how *I* play this game. For it is a game now, one that has high stakes. If I don't play it right or well, I risk the well being of myself and my family, however if I am able to understand this game and bring it into a realm that I feel I can control and manipulate properly so i have the advantage, the possibility of making some good money is there.

For now, I will not think on it. Today is a day of rest and unwinding my brain. I had a few Guinness last night when I came in, which helped me relax a bit and absorb the ideas and happenings of the last few days. Today I will meet some new people that I will joke and laugh with. From there, who knows...