Support Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and Enjoy Popcorn

My two boys, Alex and CJ are in Cub Scouts. They are selling Trail’s End Popcorn to raise money for Scouting, the Pack and for individual things like camping trips and such.

Alex is in his third year in Scouting, and is a Bear Scout. CJ is in his first year of Scouting and is a Tiger Scout.

Did you know you can help them earn their own way in Scouting? Just click the link below and place your order. You can also bookmark the site and order at anytime throughout the year.

There are new products offered online, like flavored almonds and a limited edition BSA tote. 70% of your purchase will be returned to the boys’ account, their pack,  and their council. Online purchases help us fund fun, educational activities and help more kids experience all the things that make Scouting great.

To place an order from either or both of my boys, please visit the link at the bottom of this post.

Thanks for your support, Alex and CJ.

Alex and CJ love the outdoors and would really like to go to summer camp in 2010. You can help them by placing an order for Trail's End Popcorn.

To order from Alex, please use this link: http://www.trails-end.com/estore/home_alt.jsp?_requestid=79008

To order from CJ, please use this link:http://www.trails-end.com/estore/home_alt.jsp?_requestid=79064

SocialVibe

Last night was an uneventful night of driving my butt off, so I won’t bore anyone with details.

However, I found this new item here on WordPress that interested me. It is SocialVibe. You will see a new item at the top of the sidebar. When you click on the link for the charity listed, money is donated to my charity of choice. The best part is, it does not cost you a dime! Totally free, and only takes a minute.

Do me a favor, and every time you visit my blog, click the link and help raise money for the many soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who have served and continue to serve our great nation in both Iraq and Afganistan.

Thank you!

Wednesday, Sept 23, 2009

Hey all. Today, Wednesday 9/23/09, I am sitting in Peru, NY. It has been a long week, but a good week, already.

I came out of the house last Sunday night, and had 3 loads already assigned to me that would carry me thru Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning. Freight is heavy, which is good!

Sunday night I headed to Quakertown, PA and hooked up to a load of paper towels and napkins going to 2 Costco stores. The first store was scheduled for 4 AM just outside Richmond, VA. Then I had to be in Glen Allen, VA for a 7:30 appointment for the second store.

After making the two deliveries, I deadheaded to Gordansville to sleep. After my mandatory 10 hour break (sweating in an 80+ degree truck – AC was out) I got up at 9 PM and drove to Martinsville, VA for a drop and hook. This was a load of cardboard boxes going to the Baltimore area for 8 am Tuesday.

I arrived at the consignee an hour early after driving the night away. It amazes me how much traffic is on the beltway of Washington DC in the middle of the night.

Then I deadheaded to Carlisle to get the AC repaired. They didn’t want to do it at first, but eventually gave in. Their reason was that it was not hot out!!!

After the repairs were completed, I got on the road at 10 pm and headed to Quakertown to drop the empty trailer and get a load of Dixie ware going to WalMart in Johnstown, NY. I completed this load at about 5 am this morning, and realized I had just enough time to make it to Plattsburgh, NY for my break before picking up a load at the Georgia Pacific plant there.

Enroute to Plattsburgh, I took a 5 minute stretch break, found a quick geocache, and still had plenty of time to reach the shipper…Or so I thought!

About 15 minutes away from the plant, DOT (Dept of Transportation) had opened the weigh station. I thought I would be waved thru since I was empty, but alas, they were looking at everyone.

They nailed me with an out of service notification for a kink in the airlines for the trailer brakes. It was something I had asked maintenance to repair, but had been told it was not an OOS issue. The maintenance guy was wrong. An hour and a half later, post DOT inspection and repairs, I am sitting with no hours to work until tonight, and only 15 minutes from the shipper.

So far this week, I have driven almost 1600 miles, and am now assigned 3 loads that will carry me into Saturday and cover about 1100 more miles.

On a side note, this post was typed on my iPhone using the WordPress application. Too small of a keyboard for long posts as I have fat finger syndrome, but very easy to use otherwise!

Weekend Wrap Up

Well, since my last post, I was able to make it home safely, but very late on Friday night.

After sitting in Plattsburgh, NY for close to 20 hours waiting for the product to be made so I could delivery it to Quakertown, PA, the dispatcher decided to give me a similar load in place of the one I was assigned. It was identical product going to the same destination. Funny thing is that it had been ready and loaded for 4 days. Ahhh, the life of a driver.

After parking at midnight at home, I was picked up and had to run home for a much needed shower and coffee. Then it was off to drop the wife at Chorale practice and my daughter at her very first paid babysitting gig. It sure is nice to have her finally earning her way. Now to find jobs for the boys! HAHA Is child labor legal still? Just kidding. Saturday afternoon was pleasantly quiet with little to do, but attend Mass.

My wonderful wife let me sleep in on Sunday morning until 10 AM, since I was going to work that evening. We spent the afternoon at the Jim Thorpe /Panther Valley Pony Football game. My older son is the left offensive guard for Jim Thorpe. It was a great game, Jim Thorpe won 12 – 6!!!

After the game, I was dropped off at the truck. I squared things away, did my trip planning for a run from Quakertown, PA to Midlothin, VA  and a second stop in Glen Allen. Not a difficult run to make, however, as I type this, I have not slept in 24 hours, so this is going to be a short post.

Tonight, I pick up a load in Ridgeway, VA and deliver by 8 AM in Hanover, MD. Again, not a particularly challenging run, but I like easy runs.

I will be posting pictures on this blog soon. Just too tired tonight, err I mean this morning.

480 Miles All In 1 State

Hey all, another long day completed. Today I covered 480 miles in the state of New York. I never even left the state. Pretty cool.

My day started out in Malden-On-Hudson, NY at a service plaza on the NY Thruway about 85 miles from my delivery point. I was delivering a load of toilet paper to the Wally World Distribution Center in Johnstown, NY. Pretty cool town, Johnstown. There is a shrine to Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.

The oldest known portrait of Kateri Tekakwitha, painted after her death by Father Chauchetiere.

She is called “The Lily of the Mohawks,” the “Mohawk Maiden,” the “Pure and Tender Lily,” and the “Fairest Flower among True Men.” I count myself lucky to have been able to drive past the shrine, but alas, I was unable to stop and check the place out, as there was no room for me to park my big rig. Someday, I would like to stop and pay her a visit.

After dropping the load of toilet paper a Wally World. I hooked up to an empty trailer and took off south on the NY Thruway for Montgomery, NY. When I got to my shipper, it was pouring heavily and I had to try and manuever the trailer into a tight dock to get a load of 540 PECO (brand) pallets going to the Georgia Pacific plant in Plattsburgh, NY. The real trick here was not the lack of room, but more the 2 inches of slippery mud, that caused the trailer to slide left and right and not go where I wanted it. After a few attempts, I managed to get it into the dock.

From Montgomery, I took off north on the NY Thruway to Plattsburgh, after scaling the rig. My total rig weight was 66,160 lbs. Not maxed out, but heavy enough to make the Adirondacks a slight challenge. I pulled into the GP plant at 6:30 pm, only to realize that I was 17 hours ahead of my schedule for the week. My load back to Pennsylvania is scheduled to be ready at noon tomorrow. I hope it is ready earlier.

So, that was my day in a nutshell. We will see what happens tomorrow.

Same Company, Different Job

Hey all. Sorry for another long delay in mrecent sporadic postings.

Last Monday, I changed accounts that I drive for with in Schneider National. No longer am I working on the Dedicated Flex Fleet. Not knowing what account I would be working, or for how long, or where.

I am back at my old account. Georgia Pacific out of Quakertown, PA. I will be working in the Northeast. Running dedicated loads for Georgia Pacific. Mainly I will pull out of the warehouse in Quakertown, the plant in Bradford, PA and the plant in Plattsburgh, NY. Delivery areas will be limited to Washington, DC to the south, NYC to the east, Upstate NY to the North, and Pittsburgh to the west.

This account, while limited in territory, makes up for it in challenging places to drive a truck. Just imagine, trying to make a store delivery in some of those cities with a vehicle that is 72 feet long.

I will post pictures of areas I visit and sights I see, as often as I can.

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A New Direction

My blog, which has been dormant for quite awhile, is going to take on a new direction.

No more bashing of politicians I don’t like. OK, that is a lie, just not nearly as much as I did in the past.

No more inane posting of random interweb findings. OK, that too is a lie, but it will be limited.

I plan to try to blog more about my adventures in life, trucking, and geocaching.

Of course, if I happen to write an article or find a conspiracy theory, or other item I find truely interesting, I will reserve the right to post that as well. After all, this is MY blog.

I will continue to reserve the right to delete comments I find inappropriate, as I have done in the past.

Tell me what you think. Feel free to comment if it pertains to the post. Also feel free to rate the post as you see fit.

WordPress for iPhone

I am trying out this app for the iPhone. It allows me to write blog posts from my phone.

Double Edge Films presents “INK”

In the next few weeks, an Indie film written and directed by Jamin Winans titled Ink opens at select theaters across the country. It is classified as an Action / Sci-Fi / Fantasy film. Not only do I want to see this film because of the it just looks really good, but I actually went to high school with one of the actors, Maiz Lucero.

Since I have not seen it yet, but I eagerly await it coming to a theater near me, I will paste the plot summary from iMDB.com here:

As the light fades and the city goes to sleep, two forces emerge. They are invisible to us except for the power they exert over us in our sleep. These two groups battle for our souls through our dreams. One force supports our hopes and gives us strength through good dreams. The other force leads us toward desperation through our nightmares.

There are other forces in the world we don’t know. One of these is the brutal mercenary named Ink. Ink is on a mission for those who give the nightmares though he has his own unknown purposes.

Tonight as the city sleeps, the 8 year old Emma awakens in the dream world. Before she can catch her breath, she is ripped from her sleeping body by Ink.

The fight is on for Emma’s life, as Ink races her through the many dimensions of the dreamworld. To save her, the dream-givers marshal all their resources. They focus in the real world on winning back the soul of Emma’s tragically broken father, trying to pull him out of his ever-increasing downward spiral.

The motion picture Ink is the allegorical story of good and evil and those trapped in between. No matter how safe you feel, evil may find you. But no matter how far you’ve fallen, redemption is possible.

To read more about this film, to include photo galeries, trailers, and dates and locations, check out these links:

Double Edge Films Community

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ink/55404284537

TWITTER: http://www.Twitter.com/DoubleEdgeFilms

DOUBLE EDGE FILMS WEBSITE: http://www.DoubleEdgeFilms.com

DOUBLE EDGE FILMS BLOG: http://www.DoubleEdgeFilms.blogspot.com

CAFE PRESS SWAG STORE: http://www.CafePress.com/DoubleEdgeFilms

INK FAN WEBSITE: http://www.repercussionsmagazine.com/ink/

YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/DoubleEdgeFilms