How do they do it?

Thursday, November 17^th, 2011

      Today I am spending the night in Edmonton, AB. It is cold. Damn cold. The low tonight is going to get down to -23*C which is -9.4*F. It is mid November. I've just driven into snowstorm number two for the season, and I have decided that winter this early is a bit too early. I suppose I could drive to a truck stop, but they are all on the far Northeast end of the city, and I mean far. We're talking about a good hour drive in this weather, 45 minutes in good conditions. So yeah, screw that. I'm better off just hanging out here and waiting the 15 hours until they can possibly take me. Wow. I must be friggin' nuts or something. On the upside, there is no temptations to spend money on tasty and fatty truck stop food, or internet for that matter. There are bathrooms at such places though and coffee. But I have all I need barring a toilet, which I've seen on a truck before. Kinda stinky and no thanks.

      Between the crazy cold and the rough day yesterday, I'm going to have to go ahead and say that I do not want anything to do with trucking in Canada. Put more positively, I'm finished trucking in foreign countries. I figure if I say that I won;t go to Mexico either. Truth be told, I didn't want into the Canada fleet to begin with. I was fairly sure that Canada in winter would suck, and here I am, right. Ok, it does not suck. It just isn't for me. Or a bunch of Canadians either. I saw 5 accidents between Red Deer and Edmonton. Five. These are people that all live here. How safe does that make me feel?

      Conversely, I did see a guy haul three trailers (triples) pass me on AB 2. Good for him. I'm impressed by his driving prowess. Perhaps in another life time or in a parallel Universe I could aspire to such feats of truckin'. But I'm here now, and this is just a means to an end. No more, no less. (three shall be the number of the counting and the number of the counting shall be three...) So yeah. Fact of the matter is that I do not need to do this, but I am choosing to do this, so I figure that I should do it on my own terms, which leads me to consider options.

      I could go back to Swift, my old company. I know where all the terminals are, I know a good portion of the customers, and I know how the computers operate. The only potential downside would be to get a truck that I can not stand up in. For the most part, they treat you well enough. They tend to run all over the U.S. which is nice when you can get into places like Texas and Louisiana eh winter. Sure the trucks are governed at 62, but no big deal. I'd normally bet set at 60 here. Another bit of a bummer for that option is the lack of A.P.U's . No auxiliary power units to charge up my batteries with and for a.c. in the summer. The pay is about what I am making here so that bit is a wash.

      Another prospect is going back to Schneider (no relation). They've been blowing up my inbox to drive team for them. At this point I am beginning to consider that as a possibility. As a team we'd be driving something stupid like 6,000 miles a week. Teams will usually earn $0.42 per mile split (or .21 per mile each) and that works out to some serious money (1260 ish a week). Schneider is now doing electronic logs, but for a team that wouldn't matter so much. You'd always be rolling (except to use the bathroom and shower). The obvious downside to this is that you would be a team. , working with someone else in a very small space. That may be tricky. The best part about this prospect is that Schneider would find you a partner. So who knows how that would work out. Maybe really well. And I could earn what I felt like I need like... almost twice as fast.

      The other option I'm considering at this point (I know there are so very many... I am blessed with great liberty to choose) is to stay with this company but get off the Canadian fleet. The upside to this is fairly simple, I don;t have to move out of my truck. Sweet. Inertia! I've been developing a good relationship with my DM, and he's quite helpful. I like the family feel of it all. Should I go this route, I'm fairly certain that I'd be driving the I-5 corridor all day long. In and of itself, that is not a bad thing. That mountain just south of Ashland, Oregon might be a bit ugly in the winter though. Despite that, there seem to be a number of convenient drop yards scattered about the northwest, which is a bonus.

      I just got back from a walk down to the music store. Awesome! I played a bit of “Dust in the Wind,” for myself, strummed a bit on a banjo and browsed the lessons section. When I say “a” banjo, I mean “the” banjo. For the amazing number of guitars, both acoustic, but mainly electric, there was only a single banjo. It was quit lovely, and had a great tone. It also cost $829. No thanks. I'm not into dropping that kind of money yet. Especially when I can get a complete starting kit for $189. While I understand that I am worth the expense, it doesn't fit in with my current spending plan. For a second, I thought I saw another banjo, but I was mistaken, for it was a banjitar, a hideous chimera of cross-breeding, mocking me with its deceptive appearance. I hung it right back up. It just screams “I am too lazy to learn two instruments,” in my ears. Maybe next time I encounter one, I will give it a chance and pick out a bit of “Dust in the Wind” on that one. Even mutants need love, right?