Moving to America, the road to American Citizenship, Green Card, Dating, travel and marriage to an American amongst others; are what this blog is about. Living abroad - Georgia, Eastern Europe, near Russia, teaching English Second Language and other adventure filled experiences. Please, take a moment and indulge, if not live vicariously!
Growing up in a farm, far away from everything, including school; we had to get up very early just to be able to catch the only bus and then walk forever to get to school. From there, I was shipped to boarding school, where we had to be up at 4am for 5am mass, everyday but the weekends. Don’t worry, we still had church on weekends, just not at 5am. It was a Catholic school. I say all that to say, Being a morning person is ingrained in me. Right now, I’m blogging you at 4:40am inside a truck, while I wait for dispatch to confirm my load information. I checked in before 4. I’ll wake up at 2 for a 4am call time, bo problem but please don’t make me work nights!
I’d an evening time delivery in Colorado state. I did most driving during the day in hopes that they would let me deliver early, then I can go to bed as usual. When I arrived at the location and saw what looked like hundreds of trucks in the staging area, I knew that wasn’t to be! I found a spot, shut my curtains and called it a day. The guard had my number. They’d call me when it was my turn. The called around 1am. I mean! It’s already tomorrow by then! I was dazed and confused. There was a long line into the place. Line went as far as down the street. Instead of waiting to catch the line when it got to where I was, I realized that I might wait forever. Nobody was going to let me in in front of them. I drove out of the staging area to catch the line where it ended.
Earlier, when I checked in, the guard had told me to move my tandems to the back. Meaning, slide the trailer on the wheel base, as far back as you can. They tend to do this to make sure the trailer door is not out of synch with the doc door. I think. I’m out in the street, half awake at 1am looking for somewhere to turn around. Company truck has a camera which gets triggered when you make illegal moves such as making a U Turn. Which is what I was fixing to make. I saw a bridge ahead of me, And decided to go make my turn there. It was a bridge from one direction of traffic to another. Perfect! As I entered that block, I saw a NO TRUCK 🚛 sign. Great! I make my turn into the bridge as wide as possible so as not to hit anything. The truck felt funny. I didn’t fit in like I expected to, having been as wide as I was. I almost make it out of the bridge but I had a conundrum. One more move and you could either lose the bumper to the curb or end up in the river with trailer tire. Story of my fcking life!
I go forward some and hit the curb with my low suspension Freightliner bumber. Now, the truck won’t move. Stuck on the curb. Fck! I didn’t wanna be there too long, lest the cops. No trucks, remember? I get out of the truck to evaluate. I didn’t know how strong the bridge was. Did it have the capacity to carry my loaded trailer as long as I was on it? There must be a reason they said no trucks. If it’s the size of the bridge, I might be in trouble! Well, I was already in trouble. Long story long, I ended up having to get out of the truck, pull the bumper out from the tractor. It was already broken but semi hanging on. Now what do I do with this hiant piece of plastic! That thing is HEAVY! Do I liter and leave it here? It had my registration number. Someone was gonna be able to trace with that! Do I put it inside the truck? Yeah. Let’s try that. Maybe the shop will be able to screw it back on. Dod I mention how heavy that thing was? I managed to poke it into the passenger door. I needed an extra set of hands to pull it inside as I pushed up. I didn’t have an extra pair of hands! Gosh! I was just trying to join the line! Wtf!
I hot it inside the truck, i had to break boxes I had and put them on my bed and lean the thing against my bed. The bumper wasn’t designed to go into your bedroom. Finally! A sigh of relief! Into the truck and off to the line. After I go unloaded, the sun was was rising. My favorite time of day! I drove 5 miles to the company yard in Denver. I went to the shop straight away. They kept my bumper to dispose of it for me, drilled my registration plate to the truck and told me they didn’t have a new bumper for me. I drove that busted as truck looking like that for months! I tell you what? In a sea of whitr Freightliner trucks; It was easier to spot.
I found out months and months later that a truck / trailer behave differently when the tandems ate slid all the way back. This is how come I ended up stuck on a bridge. Had I know that……
I have to tell you, when my Truck stop date didn't go great with the online guy, I felt a sense of relief. I did continue to chat with guys online. I was on a number of dating sites. Some of the guys were as well, one guy, from Utah, was even messaging me on both sites. Actually, two guys! Both from Utah, come to think of it. Both of them were good looking. One was totally my type, he had outdoorsy pictures, bikes, boats, trucks; good looking but not too much, athletic; he could totally get it. He would send me one message at a time. It never was a conversation. He was more interested in meeting up as well. Kinda like Truck stop. He'd be like let me know when you're in town. Sure! The other guy from Utah was from the same town I used to deliver in out there. He and I would exchange several messages. He was good looking, but in a way that was like, alright! Why are you on these sites? Are you a catfish? I even asked his Pink t-shirt wearing self to video call.
I just attached a picture of when my truck was stuck in a ditch. That story is in the previous post. Now that my lover boy, Derrick and I have officially broken up, in my heart; what's next? I didn't waste too much time before going on the dating sites to see who all is in there. Much to my chagrin, it was majority of the guys I left there a year prior when I started dating Derrick. Man! Funny thing about dating sites is, the more things change in the world, the more they stay the same in dating sites. This was my experience when I would go off and on them. What's your experience like on there?
Happy new month of September, Everybody! How was August for you? For me, well, let’s just say, I’m glad it’s over! Keep on trucking, right?
We left off when my truck was stuck in a ditch in the middle of America, trying to find my way to Walmart. One of the few times I’d driven in Montana in the daytime, now this. You’d think it would be the other way around!
A lovely couple going for a walk, saw my giant truck blocking traffic. You must understand, I’m trying to make a U-turn (not advisable in a semi-hauling a 53 ft trailer), I went into a shoulder type deal and went as wide as I could, in order to be able to utilize all the space available. I just about made it out but my last left wheels of the trailer got stuck.
I’d asked my Driver Manager to keep me along the routes that don’t snow too much as I was still new in truck driving. I had also never driven in snow, period. I’m originally from South Africa, where it doesn’t snow. At least, it didn’t all the time I lived there. When I lived in New Jersey and Salt Lake City, I didn’t drive there. And I pretty much moved as the snow season started in both areas. California is my home base now and it doesn’t snow in Southern California (the part I live in). Driving a semi truck in snow would’ve been a combination of things I’d no experience in. My manager agreed and put a note on my profile.come winter time, October-ish, There I was, being routed from west coast to East coast and back and back along the i80. If I weren’t there, they shipped me along the nothern most states, Montana, which is bordering Canada.
Snow up to my Hips!
As if my first day on the job didn’t show me how much this manager cares about me; I was still stunned that he wasn’t a man of his word. He kept me strictly along the routes that were snowing all winder! What choice did I have than to put my big girl panties on and suck it! Pun intended! I would hear about freeway closures due to snow. I hoped that wouldn’t happen to me but stayed prepared, in case it did. Lo and beFcking hold, one afternoon, on my way west on the i80, in Wyoming - my favorite state to driving in in winter… not second being Nebraska and Colorado …! It was nearing shut down time for me when I started seeing trucks lined up along the freeway. I was like mh! Lots of traffic! It was also evening, so I also thought that they were done for the day. I found a spot, squeezed in, shut my curtains and called it a day.
Who’s gonna tell me what’s going on in the outside world? I don’t talk to anyone, No cb radio, I don’t listen to AM/FM radio in the truck either. Following morning, I cooked some meat, freshened up and got on my way. There were still long lines of trucks along the freeway. “Wow! People are starting late today! Interesting!” I thought. I had parked right outside a TA truck stop, I needed fuel, so I requested my manager to open up my fuel card to let me fuel there. No! Not this rocked scientist right here! He made me drive ten minutes to the next spot for fuel. Guess what? I ran out of fuel right by the islands! I was a few feet (maybe a metre) away from the hose. The thing wasn’t long enough to reach my hole, haha sorry! I had to call the office to ask them to send help! Can you imagine?
I didn’t have cell service, so I had to leave my truck blocking the way, go inside and ask to use their phone. “You are caller number…….. 4 in line, thank you for calling road side services !” The company had to approve a call “out” for someone to come “out” to me from the very truck stop I was! Imagine that! If someone were to do the unthinkable and listen to a truck driver, the company wouldn’t have had to pay extra for a call out I’d have fueled where I was initially but what do I know? I’m only the person driving the truck that had zero fuel in it.
The food looked incredible in there! I didn’t indulge i made somewhat of a mental not to check that place out if, God forbid, I ended up in that neck again. Not long after my call, someone walked from the service center to the fuel area to put diesel in my fuel filter and get me going. I drove a few feet, filled up and headed on my way. . . Ish! While I was waiting on the phone, I was panicking. The patrons in the store, were like, “you sound like you’re in a rush! You’re not going anywhere!” I thought they were being funny. Of course I’m not going anywhere; I’ve no fuel in my truck. Duh! Then I realized, they weren’t kidding. The roads had been closed for almost 2 days due to snow and ice. Oh sht! It was the universe’s way of stopping me from being stranded in the middle of nowhere. At least now, I was in a place with wifi etc. Kinda! There was zero parking, As I’d mentioned earlier. I still had to leave the premises. I ended up down the road, on a made up shoulder off the freeway, by my lonesomeness.
Luckily, I had cooked food and spare and I could walk to the truck stop for their services. It always works out in the end. And if it doesn’t, it’s not the end yet.
I wasn’t stuck for long. I kept checking online for openings etc. “but Brook! You said you didn’t have cell service in Wyoming?” I know, dear brethren! Every now and again, I’d get one more bar. I swear to heavens, the wind was blowing signal my way. I don’t know how else to explain that sht. Before I knew it, there were a bunch of trucks coming the opposite way. The roads were opened. I got on the i80 Freeway, and caught up with life.
One time, I was driving via Montana state. Just before I entered Montana my logs got weird. The computer showed that I had been driving longer than I was and that I needed to take a 10 hour break. What the ef? I’d just started with my day! Anywho! I called my manager, nothing he could do to help. What a surprise! I had to pull over and take the break lest I got pulled over at the truck scale and ended up in trouble. I tried to think positively. Take the rest and get up super early the following day. I started early the following morning. It’s my first time driving in Montana, there are mountains everywhere (hence the name?), it’s pitch dark out, snow and black ice, it was a literal nightmare! Snow was accumulating on my windshield. The wipers were getting frozen in place. Speed limit was like 25 miles ph (40kmh). Snow ploughing vehicles every now and then. Thank goodness for them! The whole experience felt like a weird dream! I’d no cell service. I’m not someone who likes the dark. I need sunlight. For my overall mood, wellbeing, whatever, I need the brightness of day.
Eventually, the sun came out. The snow was melting. It seemed like the darkness never occurred. Joy really does come in the morning!
The more time I spent by myself on the road, the more time by myself I needed. I started cutting people out that not only didn’t add value into my life but who took away some of my positivity. You know those people who, after talking to them, you’re like, wtf?!? Yeah, them! People who try to be me and then turn around and try to out-me me. Err, no mam, Pam! I was me first! I’m the original me! Wtf. I ended up with good ole Derrick. My boo thang!
I saw Derrick a couple of times while on the road my first six months or so. Then, we missed each other, schedule wise. He went to Colorado to be with his family. I was in Oregon/ Idaho. I remember calling him while I was there to check up on the fam situation. He was whispering. I’m like, can you talk? He said yeah. Then why are you whispering? He’s like, why do you think? I’m here to tell you, I still don’t know know the answer to that! I was left wondering if this is another case where he acts like I don’t exist in his life. Where I’m being hidden. Mhh!
As time went on, I had to take stock of that relationship. We were talking less and less on the phone. I wondered if we would’ve still been talking if I didn’t reach out. I slowly started to not initiate conversation. Derrick and I weren’t supposed to be husband and wife. It was something to do for me and I have a feeling the same applied to him. We just didn’t discuss that. I had to think to myself, what happens when I’m done? How would I break things off? I’d never want to be the cause of someone else’s pain. I had to really think about all this. Who knows? Maybe he was thinking the same thing as well. I blinked and it had been a week since we had spoken. I thought to myself: is this it? Do We just keep not talking forever and ever?
I would think about Derrick and be relieved that things ended the way they did. Then I’d miss talking to him and be sad that we didn’t end up as friends. Then I’d be angry that he didn’t at least end things, then I’d wonder if I ended things or did he?
Do I need closure? Closure is a facade!
I was in Montana one day. I needed to take a break. When I saw that there was a Walmart nearby, I started y way there. I soon lost cell signal and my truck GPS froze. Who am I gonna call? I was at a t-junction when I reached literal crossroads. I’d no idea whether to go left or right. As someone who is direction challenge, I almost always pick the wrong side. Of course, I don’t know that at the time until it’s too late. I picked the wrong direction and ended up in a ditch…
Youtube.com/BabalwaBrook
And @BabalwaBrook on all social media
Shout out to those of you who have stayed in touch. I see you!
My first year of trucking was not easy! I had my truck to myself - that was a positive. I had long distance trips which I could schedule however I wanted as ling as I made the appointment. Some places want you there not a moment too soon, such as Walmart. They might give you a door an hour early, but that's it. What I would do is, I would try to be more than 24 hours early. Then I would look up the nearest company terminal to the customer and call my manager. I would ask my manager if I could drop my load at the yard and call it a day for that load. Why? Because, I would be free to take the next load, and do it all over again. If they didn't have a load for me after taking mine off me, they would have to pay me for sitting for 24 hours. But if I was sitting with that gosh darn load, I wouldn't get paid extra. See what I'm saying? Those of you who found this blog as part of your research before getting into trucking, find out about T-calling your loads. That's what this is called.
I enjoyed meeting fellow truckers and having long conversations about all kinds of things while doing laundry in the company yards. I only did my laundry in company terminals. It was my way of doing errands at home. The company has terminals all across the country, so that helped. Sometimes we would introduce ourselves, sometimes not. Just talk and call it a day, everybody into their little trucks / aka apartments, and do it all over again next week I have lists on my phone; lists of truck stops that are close to grocery stores, especially Walmarts. Walmarts that have truck parking, Mom and pops truck stops that have groceries and or Wi-Fi.
When I came back from training with Carlos, I had to start packing my sht at home. I had made up my mind while on the road with him that I was going to give up my apartment and live full time in my truck. The company yard is closer to my boyfriend's place than my LA apartment, so I was going to be able to see Derrick one way or another. He could come check out my #TruckerLife or I could go over to his place or whatever. His presence in my life wasn't going to be the deciding factor of whether or not Iw as going to pay rent for an apartment I wasn't using. He was already one of the motivating factors of why I went into trucking. I didn't tell my boo, Derrick that I was putting in a notice though. I didn't feel like being judged or lectured. My mind was made up, regardless. In fact, I didn't tell anybody.
I packed most of my stuff but kept things like beds still in their own place because I was planning on taking a few days off once my lease was officially up, rest in the apartment one last time and then make the move. I found myself a mailbox. I searched and searched for one close to a freeway, one that I'd be able to pop into while driving a truck, and be able to pick up my mail. It had to be one whose lobby stays open 24/7, so I can always have access to my box. No pun intended. I found one in Ontario, the address I keep linking to on my blogs and youtube channel. This one stayed open 7 days a week but not 24/7. I searched for storage where I was going to store all my stuff. I did donate my furniture. The charity places didn't want clothes. I did a few trips from my place to storage. It's one of those things that look like they can be done in no time at all but end up taking so long! The afternoon of my move, which happened to be Derricks birthday but I mistook his date for a different date because of how we write dates in South Africa and how they do them in The States. Oopsie! I am famous for not forgetting birthdays and this is the one I f*cked up. Imagine that! And I was moving, maybe if I were at home, chilling, it would've occurred to me. If we had those kinds of relationships where I could tell him I was moving out of my apartment, and he would bring his truck and help me move, maybe it would have come up (no pun intended haha).
In the process of moving all by myself, I decided to call a stranger. Someone I hadn't seen since my great escape.
Press Play!
Calvin! Yes, him! Our beloved WASband! There were items of mine I knew he liked from when we lived together, so I gave him first dibs. He dropped what he was doing and was there in no time, flat. This was going to be my first time seeing this person since moving out and there I was moving out again. Was I looking forward to the meeting? No but I wanted to let him have the things and I didn't think he was going to kill me that day. If he wanted to, that would have been the perfect day cos nobody knew he was coming, or that I was moving. Spoiler alert! He didn't kill me!
How was the meeting? I had talked to him since moving out so it wasn't like this person came out of nowhere. To answer your question. I don't know. He got emotional, and ran towards me for a hug. I smiled, it wasn't bad. He also helped me load my stuff into my car. Not long after ex hubs arrived, did charity truck arrive as well. They took what was theirs and left. They were quick. I vacuumed and left. Calvin postponed his appointment with his customer to help me finalize everything. He took some of the stuff that didn't fit into my car and put in his car to bring to me at the storage at a later stage. That was nice.
Back to my lists, I also have a list of truck stops that have post USPS (US post) drop boxes. I learned that this was necessary when I wanted to mail my notice to apartment management. The letter was stamped and good to go but I had to figure out how to find a mail drop box. Later on, I noticed that some truck stops have FedEx, UPS and USPS boxed. When you live your life entirely on the road, these are not the little things. They're a big deal. They make your life convenient.
Day before what I thought would be Derrick's Birthday, I brought it up. He was like "when is my birthday?" My heart sank! I immediately knew what I did with the date! I missed my boo boo's birthday, wtf? To top it off, I was with my ex that day, haha! Oh well! He wasn't an ass about it. We did talk on his birthday, we talked everyday, it's just that I didn't make it special. That made me feel not good considering how special he had made my birthday.
My plan, being on the road, was that when I happened to have a load in Southern California, I would arrange to see Derrick. I would also arrange a formal hang out time on my off days, etc. Well, it so happened that whenever I was in town, he would either be out of town with his boys, like that one time! Or he would be at his parents, out of state. I wouldn't tell him I was coming, I would first find out where he would be and then say it. When I came back after his birthday, I made sure to take him to a place he liked. We went to an expensive Sushi place. Luckily for his ass, he deserved it! The food was so good! It was a fun, relaxed night out, then back to his place, then to the truck the following day or two.
My fridge was big enough to fit food for two weeks. I would buy food to cook for the week ahead and store food for the following week, and stock up the following week etc. Meaning, I always had back up, just in case someone would try to catch me with my pants down. It wouldn't happen. My diet at the time was just meat. And Eggs. Once in a while, I would go completely vegetarian. I guess my body would be craving veggies. Other than that, just meat, no fruit, no vege.
My evenings came early because I started my days early. I wanted to make sure I always found parking at the end of the day. I didn't want to be trying to squeeze into the last parking spot either. I would then, use wet wipes to freshen up, I always took off my shoes in the driving area and had mats in my sleeping area. I would watch some tv shows while eating dinner. I had fridge and microwave, so warm meals. I would then finish the tv shows in bed. I talked to Derrick on Facetime every night as well. Sometimes for hours, depending on everyone's schedule.
I get up 2 hours before work, do a little meditation, do my gratitude journal, sometimes I do this at night, as I'm going to update it now after this blog; drink 2 liters of warm liquids, could be herbal tea and or apple cider vinegar, shower and then get on the road. By the time I drive, I will be feeling nice and relaxed. There's nothing worse than rushing cos you didn't want to get out of bed early. And there's nothing worse than being late due to your own fault. I love the feeling of not being bothered when someone cuts in front of me, of of even letting a bunch of people in because I'm in no rush. OF course, I don't let them all in at once, cos you've got to consider other road users.
I would love to hang out and do another blog but I've been up since 1:30 and I've got to get up at 3 tomorrow. let me unwind and go to bed. Thanks for stopping by!
I showed up for my exam. First, they put you through a written test just
like DMV (traffic department). I passed, missing one or two only. Then I went
out with the the intimidating driving guy to do backing and maybe the road…. On
condition I pass the backing part.
Here we go again, dear goodness!
I took a couple of Jolly Ranchers candy and headed out. This time, I was going
to be tested on an automatic, versus the stick shift from
last time! I think this is better but a lot of drivers say backing in a manual
transmission truck is better Oh well!
I got in the Freightliner truck; I’d no idea where what was. i learned in a
Stick Volvo Truck and went on the road in a Kenworth for a month! I had to
adjust the mirrors and seats etc. Forget all those, I didn’t even know how to
turn on the engine! The scary looking guy had to show me! The Kenworth gear
lever is on the right side of driver, on the floor. The Freightliner’s is by
the steering wheel. Mh kay! This should be interesting! Whenever I step onto
the gas pedal, Scary tells me to take it easy! It was all too much
luckily, I made it.
Back into the yard. Cue the PTSD from trucking school! I had to back into a
slot between two trailers. Great! I set up good. I’d a good feeling about it.
I’m pretty sure I set up how Carlos yelled at me not to set up,
in week 3! I backed that thing once and got it all the way in. I pulled forward just a
little bit to make 100% sure it was within lines. I fcking passed! Whew! Thank
you, stars!
Someone give me my fcking truck!
They congratulated me, told me to go downstairs to meet my new Driver Manager.
I did. He told me my truck was waiting for me outside. I went out there and
searched and looked and…
Solo Driver Brook
It was beautiful! I tried to
visualize
this truck while I was out with my trainer, Carlos. I didn’t know what Color I
wanted it to be but I know I didn’t want it to be blue. The ones we trained
with that I sucked in, were blue. Nobody needs that kind of PTSD (post
traumatic stress disorder)! I kept seeing it white in my visions. I would try
and push that image aside and have it be grey or something cool but nah!
The truck was locked with the curtains to the sleeper shut. I tried peeking in
to see if It had a fridge inside. I was so caught up in that, you can’t even
imagine! I knew I was going to cook in the truck. It was important that I have
all the tools of the trade! I didn’t feel like having to buy a truck fridge! I
jumped up and held onto the side mirror, peeked inside and what did I see? A
giant ass refrigerator. It was gonna be a good day on the road for this
trucker!
I went back to the Driver manager, by the way, about him: I had talked to him
before, asking about something or another. He introduced himself and gave me
his card, this was before we knew he was going to be my manager. After he
shook my hand, I shook my head to myself and said, pls don’t let him be my
manager. I just didn’t wanna think it was a match. Lo and be fcking hold! He
was to be my manager! When I went back for the truck key, I was told that I
needed to go to some class with the yard jockey (the guy whose job is to move
trailers around all day long). I was ready for my first load, now these mutha
truckers are telling me to go attend some class. Class for what? I literally
just passed my final test, man I please just do what I was told was next in
line? Ughhhhhhhh! I asked driver manager what the class was about. He told me
he had no idea but was just told so himself. Great!
I go find the yard dog (another name for yard jockeys). He was with a fee
other truckers. They asked if I was there for the “close quarters” blah blah
blah class as well. The close what? Apparently, because of the accident I told
you about
here; I had to be taught how to get out of tight spaces in reverse. OK, Fine! But
I hit the pillar face forward! I wasn’t backing out o’ nuthn! (Which, I’m
sure, sounds even worse). You congratulate me for passing everything,
including backing and then tell me I don’t know how to back because I had a
situation NOT backing. Fckkkkkkkk! Let my people go! The yard guy (another
name for a yard dog haha, just kidding), put a truck in different
scenarios and made us back out of them. He first taught us HIS WAY of setting
up. Now, I have to forget everything I learned while out there strictly to
learn and memorize what this guy is teaching me last minute after my
graduation. What kinda mind fck is this? When I tell you, I was devastated!
Angry! I was more angry than anything else! I asked
my group
of truckers; my classmates and I have a chat group on our phones, if they knew
about that class. They told me it was a new thing. I was lucky enough to be in
the first group. Nice!
At the end of the day, some of us were let to go n their merry way. I was in
the group that was NOT, because you know, I wasn’t good at backing, obviously.
The guy was telling me I needed to trust myself. Well, I did when I passed my
exam the first time but there’s something about being told, actually, we’re
kidding, you’re not good enough to go on the road yet, that makes you feel
like, well, YOU’re not good enough! OK? It’s in the afternoon, I had a load to
try and find keys to this gosh darn truck they assigned me to that was locked.
And I had a load to deliver. I’m not good enough to be set free and be the
trucker I fcking wanna be but I was good enough to be used to deliver a loard
down the road in a locked truck without a key mh kay! I see yall! I gave
the guys in the shop, they cut me a key, I made my way to the truck. At this
point, I was rushing. And I hadn’t even met the truck’s inside yet. I was
flustered and overwhelmed. And I kinda wanted to quit. I am not sure who put
me on a load when I was clearly still in school. The whole thing was fcked. I
got into the truck, drove around the yard, looking for the loaded trailer I
was supposed to deliver. I didn’t know then that I could just request (read:
demand) to be removed from a load. I arrived at this place, that I, Spoiler
alert: have never been back to since. It looks like it was gonna be a breeze
to back into. It took me forever. It was dark outside, I was having a day from
hell and I had just been told over and over again, I didn’t know how to back,
so I didn’t know how to! They unloaded me, I headed back to the yard. It was
around 1am at this point. Did I mention I was having a day from hell?
I get back to the yard, park, go to the back of the truck to sleep, no
mattress! Normally, you get two, one for each bunk. It’s a double bunk in
there. I had none. The shop was closed. I wasn’t about to drive from the
Inland Empire to Pasadena (my apartment) that hour of the night after the kind of day I had (hint: it was straight
from hell). I went to dispatch office and requested a hotel room. They
normally give you one when you need it. Not me! They told me I live close
enough to drive. Kay! I held the tear drops with everything I had and texted
one of my classmates about the kind of day (from hell haha) I was having. He
told me He was in the terminal as well and I could borrow his bunk mattress.
Wow! A turn around! Am I dreaming? Spoiler alert: I wasn’t cos I wasn’t in bed
yet, like a normal person should be at 2am. Mind you! I had class at 8am!
Welcome to
my trucking nightmare, folks!
Click above to see the inside of my new truck, filmed just as I walked in for
the first time!
I just posted a bunch of photos and videos and links and and and and all that stuff disappeared because cellphone blogging thanks Apple!
Let’s see if I’ll remember everything I typed here cos when you update, you get info you’ve been keeping in your memory out, to make room for more memory stuff. At least, That’s what I do! Here goes nothing…
The truck looked good. I was excited to make it home…
Engine.
In our pretrip inspection, we have to open up the hood (bonnet) and see if everything looks normal. We also have to kick all 18 wheels to check abnormalities.
What’s up!
I’m smiling, partly because I had spent some tome with my boo thang, Derrick. It’s always a good time over there. He cooks, we bum on the couch and watch lots of tv and he’s hilarious. I’m thankful for all the reasons I have to smile.
Passenger’s seat
Is that a long cellphone charger cable or am I happy to see you? I like to have chargers plugged in all over the place. I’m all about convenience. Speaking of which, they have electric outlets situated conveniently in the sleeper berth. They also have several car charging ports in the driving area. We do appreciate all that. I tell ya, if they had bathrooms in these trucks, I might really love this lifestyle!
My favorite part: memory foam bed
The blanket is from The now defunct, Queen Latifah talk show. I told you about the amazing Christmas episode I was there for, where I got so much good sht! Read all about that here. Sidebar: I placed a book on my bed for staging purposed only. When last did I read a book? Actually, not that long ago. I just hadn’t really been reading at the time this photo was taken.
Kitchen area
I told you my fridge was huge! It’s a double freaking door for a small ass truck space! I hit the jackpot with this one!
I brought my microwave from home, which went well with my Silver fridge. I also brought the InsaPot to cook in, as you can see up top. If you follow me on YouTube and Instagram, you’ve seen my instapot cooking videos. If you don't, Please do.
Driver’s seat
Hindsight: having driven several trucks since the beginning, I can safely say, this Freightliner was one of my favorite
Below is what I ate while out with my trainer Carlos in his truck that didn’t have a fridge
Press play
I went through quite the roller coaster writing this particular blog. I did it over a couple of days, reliving some moments wasn’t fun, some were cool and then deleting material and having to redo was frustrating. If you enjoyed it, please post a comment below, it’ll make it worth the trouble.
A few of the State lines I crossed for your perusal!
Utah rest area.
Carlos was nice enough to suggest this. I’d thought of it but didn’t wanna be too forward. I pencilled the idea for when I’m alone on the road in my own truck.
When he offered to take the pics, I wasn’t gonna say no. It was generous of him. The picture below was the first one he took of me. It was also my first time in Colorado.
Welcome to Colorful Colorado!
I totally recommend a drive through Colorado. It’s such a beautiful one! I don’t necessarily recommend driving a truck through Colorado in winter. If you’ve done this route before, you know exactly what I’m talking about!
Indiana
I believe Indiana is in the Midwest. This is an FYI that may not quite be useful cos I’m not too sure how factual it is.
Not a state line, obvi
I woke up in the middle of the night needing to use the restroom. Carlos was driving. We were headed to North East. That’s the New York state region. Seeing us crossing Connecticut state on the GPS was a little nostalgic. I hadn’t been to Connecticut since I lived there. If you dig through, you will find blogs about my experiences there. I was fresh off the boat from South Africa. You. Can imagine the memories that flushed through my mind as We passed through. The above picture was taken in a restroom in New York. I was like man, I’m really cross country trucking! (Even though I wasn’t technically the one doing the driving!). We also drove through New Jersey. Even if just a bit. I did live there for a couple of months as well, back on the day.
Feeling Peachy in Georgia
It must be from all the reality TV shows I’ve been watching, but I was extra excited to set foot in Georgia… The state not the country! I’ve Already been to the country, still waiting for my T-shirt. Insert eye roll emoji here.
AZ.
St. Louis
Oklahoma
Nevada / California border
I parked right across the border and ran from California to Nevada to take the following picture.
Week three into training was very challenging. I may have been partially responsible for this! I have this thing at the back of my mind, that, when sharing space with someone; it’s all good for the first two weeks. Come week 3 and the tail pops right out of where they had been hiding it and you get to see their true colors. I might be wrong! Maybe it’s week 4 or year 7. This was my experience in my time of having roommates.
This is not my house, nor his, it’s a freaking tiny truck I better suck it up, butter cup! It was hard though. No pun! I got tired of the permanent whispers on the phone 24/7 between Carlos, My trainer and his wife, doing all the driving, while he parks at Walmart and buys more food, when it’s his turn, all the little things! We were still getting along. I just was sick of the situation.
One night, Carlos was driving, I was asleep. My routine was to wake up more than an hour before start and shower we would, obviously use separate showers. He would hang out in the truck shop after showering; I think he would be having breakfast. I would go straight back to the truck and have my breakfast, then, pre-trip inspection, preselect music, and drive. When my ten hours or so on duty was up, We would switch after I did my post- trip inspection of the truck.
I drove daytime as I mentioned before. He drove nights - but I would almost always wake up to the truck parked and everybody sleeping, so, there’s that.
One night, I was asleep and woke up on the side of the freeway! Don’t freak out! I was still in the sleeper berth of the truck, just, we were stopped on the side of the freeway. Carlos was outside. We had orange cones next to our truck like breakdown situation. “What happened?” Tire explosion!
Looking at the tire, I couldn’t even tell you how that must’ve happened. You’re probably smarter than me and have already figured it out. In which case, Bravo! It was much darker outside than it seems in these photos.
Luckily, nothing weird happened to the rest of the truck. I mean, I didn’t even realize what had happened. I slept right through it. Hopefully Carlos didn’t!
He waited for help while I went back to sleep. I needed my sleep. I’m the one doing most of the driving, plus he was on the phone... as usual.
Speaking of accidents and tire situations; I had one of my own!
One morning, I remember waking up in Oklahoma. We were in a random truck stop, in a fuel spot (I forget the name). Carlos was snacking on something delicious as usual, insert drooling emoji! He asked if I wanted to drive us to a truck stop with a shower. I wasn’t trying to say no in any learning opportunity as I was there to learn. This was not the norm. I was still in my night gown. I’m not sure what possessed him to make me drive braless in a night gown. It was such a weird predicament. I was half asleep. I miscalculated a turn and ended up hitting a random cement pillar with the back tires. All I heard was an explosion. That woke me up!
He freaked out! I didn’t. Delayed reaction, remember? I sometimes have to fake being upset when something happens and it’s my fault. I feel bad that the other person affected may think I don’t care. So, of course! I went ahead and put my hands over my head: OH MY GOSH! Oh nooo! I’m so sorry! I was sorry! I didn’t feel bad but I was not upset. It happens. I’ll be upset later or the following day!
That’s the damage caused to the rim
That wasn’t the time to point fingers about being made to drive half asleep in my nightgown. I put on decent clothing and called for help. We sat there for two to three hours. I wish he’d just let me sleep longer.
Eating deez nuts while waiting for mechanic. Press play!
While waiting for help, I went inside the convenience store to get hot water.
Maybe the tire explosion didn’t wake me up cos this happened:
Don’t try this at home! It burns like a mofo
Mofo is Short for mother fcker. You’re welcome! (I think!) i sat there and burned like heck while this think was shriveling in my hand (no pun intended). The guy was nice enough to offer me a foam cup. Much smarter than Our trucker in training here!
En route back to California , it’s the last week of my training. It was only a few days before I hit my total number of training hours. When I did the math, I realized that I’d still be in Texas when that happened. Both Carlos and I live in California. He had a Vegas tripped planned for after my training. At first, I was nervous that that was going to infringe upon my training time. But now that I was almost done, I was ready to head back. He was chilling. I overheard him talk to dispatch about how he didn’t mind another load that would take us out out of the way. He was in no rush. Well, I was! I wanted to get the heck out of that truck! Go take a bath in my apartment, sleep in my California king... and with him! Just be home, man!
I researched what my options were. Apparently, I would have had to start over with my training if I wanted to get out of that truck AFTER my training. Go figure that sht out and make it make sense! If you don’t like your trainer, you’re allowed to quit, good luck finding one that you like. There have been stories of mentors who shut the curtain and poop while you’re sitting in the driver’s seat, driving. Imagine that sht! Pun intended! Just so you know, there are no toilets inside semi trucks!
There have been other versions of weirdnesses as well. I hit the jackpot when it comes to that. Carlos had a nice personality, he liked to shower, he even wore cologne. He really wore that cologne one time we were in Denver, Colorado. We arrived in the evening. He told me he had friends from high school that he wanted to catch up with. Carlos is in his late forties. But I get it. I have contact with my high school people and I’m not that much younger than him. He really made himself nice! He looked better than when his wife came over. While he was gone, I looked at my map app, saw that there was a Walmart a mile away, and I walked there. 1mile=1.6km. I bought things I had no business eating, like buns and M & M chocolate slaps. I think I also bought a Cadbury’s slab. Those are hard to resist because I grew up on Cadbury and they don’t always have it here in the States. They never have my favorite, Top Deck. I settle for Dairy milk. I don’t know when Carlos came back because between eating myself to a comma and the walk, I was nice and relaxed.
I must say, it was nice to be home alone for a change. That was the second time. The first was when we were in California and he spent the night at hime with his lovely wife. He took his laundry with him that night.
I sucked it up, buttercupped some more until we got back to Cali. I was due to be tested on what I learned during training. We’re supposed to do no less than 40 backs while out there. I hope I did. Carlos had a notepad where be was ‘recording’ everything. Except, not really! He started to try to remember everything while we were back at the company base. I was amazed! What was this guy doing all along? He wasn’t driving, so!
Any who, They scheduled me for the test the following day. Carlos had promised to take me to the spot where we would be tested to reverse and let me practice a few times. After he finished fake remembering what we did on the road, he ran right out of that thing as if be heard another tire explosion. He screamed for me to lock the truck and text him where I left the key. I was shooken! This is how we part ways? Where’s my practice run?
I took my sht, which stayed in suitcases anyways. Story of my life. I placed the key somewhere safe, sent Carlos a text; blocked Carlos and left! See ya mutha trucker!
Two weeks into riding with my truck driving trainer, we went to this giant truck stop, Lord knows where. We were going to take a break and shower there. It was in the middle of the day, probably noon-ish. I browsed around, quickly for an open space or 3 side by side, for my amateur self to park. I found one where there were two side by side spots. I pulled up to set up, got out of the truck to double check all around my truck. Carlos freaked the freak out! He asked me where I learned how to set up like that? I literally set up the same way I’d been setting up since I started with him. It was so surprising to me that he saw something different about what I did. I was completely thrown off!
When I told him that that’s how he taught me to set up, he completely denied it and told me he wouldn’t have asked me if he’d seen me do that before. He was very frustrated by the whole thing, I could tell! I wanted to fix the problem but how? This is what we’ve been doing for two weeks. He’d complimented me on how improved I was on backing, based on the set up I was using. This was doing a number on my confidence on this person, and everything he’d taught me! I can’t stand inconsistent people! I can’t stand people who do one thing and then deny it. Imagine being in school and then halfway through it, being told everything you knew was false? Did you just waste half your training? What the eff?
Anywho, I set it up how he wanted to do me this time around. He was telling me how the way I did it was fine too but it was for well experienced people. That’s how HE does it but it doesn’t mean I should do it the same way. What the actual fck was going on here? Dude was freaking out over something that’s not wrong. That he himself does. He wonders where I could’ve learned it. Could it be he taught me? Long story short, If I was a countdown to the end of training before, i was Really was doing it now.
Cut to, one time we were going to be driving to Southern California. This was exciting cos we did most of our driving far from home. I was looking forward to the chance of perhaps bumping into my boo thang; Derrick. I told D that we were going to be Cali side. He was going to be in the desert, camping with his group of friends.
Lo and beFreaking Hold, turns out our route was going to pass by where they were. I called him: no answer. Left him a message s to why I called. I told him I could pull into a gas station if he wanted to come say hi. I was so excited by this spontaneous opportunity. Derrick not only didn’t pick up the phone, he didn’t text back either. It wasn’t until my mentor sympathized with me that I got sad over this. I wondered if there’s something about this relationship that I keep missing. People seem to have similar reaction towards this Derrick guy’s actions towards me and I seem to be bothered s much as outside people. Am I the fool here?
We went on to meet up Carlos’ wife who did show up. So, now, ure really getting to see what it’s like when people love each other. They show up, haha. I laugh because, oh well!
We parked at this giant Flying J, one of the national truck stop chains. They have a Denny’s restaurant and other spots. I’d met wifey before, remember Day One? I’ve now heard all kinds of stories about their relationship dynamics. It was interesting to see her under that light. Also, I was about to spend more time with her than before. She invited me to have breakfast with them at Denny’s. That was nice. I had a cobb salad and tea. They sat right across from me, he was being lovey dovey... Having heard his version of how they met, I thought it’d be interesting to hear hers. She told me that she had received random emails from dating sites who offered free happy hour membership. Her friend told her to join. She was going to be able to chat with guys for free during the happy hour window. She wasn’t looking as she was in a relationship the time.
She joined for the heck of it. Carlos had told me they met pn a truck driver’s dating site. The wife is considering being a truck driver, so she wanted someone on the same path to date (no pun). She told me that she started getting messages from truck drivers for some weird reason. She didn’t know why this was as she hadn’t joined a truck driver specific site. This was all news to Carlos. He was like: wait! So you weren’t ont he same truck driver’s site I was on?
She: no! For what?
He: I thought you joined it because you wanna become a trucker? Why did you think One of my first messages to you was about trucking?
She: It was?
He: I asked you if you had a CDL? (CDL stands for Commercial Driver License)
She: I had no idea what that was! I thought you meant California Driver License!
Listen! They don’t serve popcorn at Denny’s! This sht was movie material. I’d my own opinions about this relationship/ marriage based on the stories I heard. To be front row, viewing this mess first hand, was quite something! These people got married based on how they met and how they met was a pure misunderstanding. He thought she has plans to become a trucker. She doesn’t! He’s even told me she will join him on the road, to which I said: no offense but my gut feeling tells me she won’t! I mean, sorry!
The conversation ended up back on a normal footing, we ate, I took my leftovers with me, they paid. Very nice of them. Back on the Truck, back on the road again!
I heard back from Derrick. He told me he was backing, moving things into and out of truck and Camper. They were heading back home that morning. At that point, it didn’t really matter what was going on. The boat had been missed. Or the truck. I wasn’t mad. I think he didn’t want to go out of his way to go say hi. I can’t prove it, so I let it go. Also, he might have had to tell his friends who he was going to greet and nobody knew Of my existence. In my opinion. Derrick also told me that even if he hadn’t missed my calls, he wasn’t going to be able to haul an entire pick up truck and camper to meet me. Except, I was hauling an even bigger vehicle and trailer so, mh kay dude. This was not my ball and chain, the love of my life. That kind of thing stung a little but it wasn’t devastating. If any of this makes sense to ya.
