[Malaki86]

It's going to be 65 and sunny at home today. Makes me think that spring has finally arrived.

One thing's for sure - it's perfect weather for emptying out my truck today so I can say good riddance to my current company. I just have to get unloaded (2 stop load) this morning, drag the empty trailer back to the yard and start the fun.

[Malaki86]

HAHAHAHAH - I just realized something:

Last spring, the place I worked (same place I'm at now) drove me literally insane. I quit the job without notice and it was all I could do to keep myself from abandoning the truck and the load alongside the road. The date: March 23rd.

I should've made yesterday my last day - LOL

[Orangetxguy]

Ummmmm. Did Mal find a new position?


or win the Lotto??

[Malaki86]

I start orientation at Celadon on Monday. Should be in the truck and rolling on Wednesday.

But - I'd rather win a few 10's on millions

[RostyC]

We started spring here last week. It was 70 degrees for almost five days in a row. I stayed outside doing chores the whole time the sun was up. I got my greens planted in the garden as well.

[Jackrabbit379]

It's been in the 70's here for last few weeks. We did get 2" of snow last weekend. I would say it is spring here, but the Mesquite trees haven't budded yet. The Mesquite trees are the last trees to bud. When the Mesquite trees bud out, winter is most likely over. They very seldom get fooled. Like I said, they haven't budded yet, so winter aint over yet.

[Roadhog]

Best of luck with the new job Mal :thumbsup:

It was a mild winter for us this year. I'm now supporting Global Warming, because it sent all the bad storms South this year.

Still have some ice on the lakes, but most of the snow is gone.
Trout & Salmon fishing season begins in mid-April.
That's what we all look forward to. Best time to fish is an hour before sunup, and it's usually always in the 30's-40's.

S-m-o-k-e-d -- s-a-m-m-i-n -- mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm


mess o' browns & rainbows

[Malaki86]

We had the worst winter in years in WV. Not only a lot of snow, but the crap took forever to melt.

[RostyC]

That fish second from the left is one big mother if he can wear pants.

[Malaki86]

That's big?!?! We have sunfish that size around here.

J/K, of course. But, I've pulled plenty of bass out of the local lakes in that size range. Channel cats around here average 2x that size.

Makes me wanna dig out the ol' fishing gear and hit the lake.

Got the truck emptied out yesterday. Now I just have to get all that stuff out of my Blazer and into the house for sorting. Fun there, but they're calling for rain all day today, anyway. I did manage to stir a little s**t up when I was leaving the company yesterday, which is always fun.

It started when my dispatch called me as I was cleaning out the truck needing to know when I'd be done because another driver needed it asap. I let him know and finished up. Before I left, the other driver came in and I was talking to him. He asked me what all was wrong with the truck, so I showed him my final write-up on it. He asked how bad the air leak was and I told him it takes 5 mins to lose all air when shut down, even bobtail. So, he refused to take the truck. It went around and around between that driver, myself and dispatch about the leak. Dispatch asked how long it'd had the leak and I told him it's been there since I was assigned the truck in August, and was written up on a daily basis because of it. But, our wonderful shop wouldn't fix it. Dispatch then asked for proof, so I went back to the truck and got the last 6 months of VIR's to show him. He then asked me to go let the company owner know about this, which I did. While in there, I told the owner that my #1 reason for leaving was the shops "not giving a s**t" about the trucks or what we wrote up on them. I told him that he's not only losing me, but every driver there is also frustrated to the point that they're ready to leave as well. Out of 4 drivers I talked to at the yard yesterday, all 4 were leaving for somewhere else. All 4 have been there a minimum of 5 years.

When I walked back to the truck to finish up, the shop foreman was at my truck. I guess someone called and b*tched him out. I had my shelving pulled out of the cabinets and stacked beside the truck. He asked what those boards were. I told him and he said that they stayed in the truck, in a VERY smart*ss tone. I told him that I had payed for the wood, I had cut them and I was taking them with me. He said something along the lines of "what if your next truck isn't a Columbia". I said "That's fine - I'll just put them on my wood pile at the house and light them on fire." He walked off in a huff, not too happy with me apparently.

One final edit:
For drivers in Columbia's (possibly other Freightliners) and their wonderful cupholders, here's an easy fix:
Get a piece of 3" (might've been 3 1/2") Schedule 40 drain pipe (you can measure the opening in the cupholder and compare it to the outside diameter of the pipe). Cut the pipe in a piece about 4-5" high. It'll pop right into the cupholder slot and works PERFECTLY. After I put that in, I never had a drink spill again. I also cut a small slot in it to accommodate a travel mug. That's the only thing I didn't bring home with me. I gave it to another driver who was shutting down for the day. When he put it in the cupholder, he was simply amazed at it - LOL