Mail Delivery | Team No Sleep

  So, my new boss is hot! i.e. handsome and tall. California guy lookswise. Not necessarily my type, just saying! It was around 11pm that I first met him. He had asked me to go to work even though I had just had an entire day of traveling across a couple of states. I tried to reason with him but he told me that they really needed me. Someone had just quit. I don't know if it's quitting or AWOLing if it's at the time of your shift. I was adamant that I was in no condition to drive that night from how tired I was. One thing about truck driving,

Trucks, Plains and Automobiles. California to Washington, Via Arizona

Here’s a story I haven’t told on the blog. Press play then send hugs

I talked to my landlady about my new venture ahead. I was sad to be leaving so soon. I had already taken a liking to my new housemates, i.e. landlord and his wife. She told me I was welcome back anytime, I may have shed a tear. She gave me gift, lots of gifts and a suitcase to put them in.See this video for what exactly I got! Tom, the landlord wasn't home, so I was going to miss him, or he was going to miss me! It's also all systems go with my pre-prepared meals for the week ahead. We're taking it with me to Washington! If you think I'm going to throw away good enough food, you'd better think again, my friend. You know what happened when I was uhm expelled. I took that food along with me to two different homes. And I didn't even know where I was going to end up! Why wouldn't I fly across two states with freshly prepared meals to a hotel that I know will have a refrigerator? I know this because I called in advance and asked. 

I committed to working the Washington for minimum of a month. The deal was that I was going to be put in a hotel but there would be times where I would have to spend the night in the truck. What that meant was that I had to also pack as though I was going to live in the truck full time. That's a different kind of animal to staying in a residence and traveling to work daily. All that AND I had cooked food to take with me as well! Man! Also, I like to prepare my own meals, what's gonna happen when I'm out there? I don't want to have to buy fast food. these were all real concerns I didn't have that much time to entertain but had to. By the way, my car wasn't going to be able to stay at Tom's (my landlord) because I had told them I was moving out.

My Path to Financial Freedom

Press Play!

The Above video is follow up to previous blog.

Why do I think I told you this, but I find no trace of it on these pages? A couple of years ago, a really great gal I know from doing background work, offered the services of her husband to me. I took her number and let her know that I would reach out when I was ready. You know, because beggars / choosers? Just kidding, she had just offered because, apparently her husband is very good with personal finance stuff and loves to help people. It did seem too good to be true. I was living with my lovely then husband, Calvin at the time. All my energy was going towards survival but I never forgot the offer. A Few years later, I am now working as a trucker, I'd saved a decent amount of money for buying a house. We were in the middle of a pandemic, I was sitting with what I considered a ton of money. Opportunity cost anybody? My head was spinning, and my hands itching.

Honey, we're going to Washington!

 The guy from downstairs I mentioned on the previous blog? He should have not looked me in the eye after what he did or didn't do upstairs! I found the toilet seat closed. Never trust a closed toilet seat! I have brothers and I have lived with men. Just because someone closes the toilet seat, doesn't mean they're such a gentleman, they must've picked it up before they used the toilet. Also, ladies, and some of you gents, who sit on the toilet; just because the toilet seat isn't wet, doesn't mean it's clean. I know guys who will wipe their pee with tissue after wetting the seat. I sometimes prefer them leaving it all the way up. But that's also a false sense of security because, they probably put it up AFTER using it. I know! I have more issues than Vogue! Back to the (t)issue at hand: I don't take my own advice by flushing before I lift the toilet lid. And that was not a good move! That fcking Air BnB guest had had a number two and didn't bother to flush! Who are you leaving this movement for, Sir? What theeee phuckkkk? I was so mad! And pressed. Instinctively, I flushed as soon as I saw it. I wanted it to disappear, sht! ( no pun intended sht). Afterwards, I went to the landlady equipped with my translator. I told her what had happened.

Welcome to The Shit Show!

Alright, let's go straight to the shit show first job with the temp agency!  I had to drive one hour to the hotel where they park bobtails. Bobtails are just the tractor / head part of the tractor/trailer. I was to leave my car there, take a tractor where I was to pick up a trailer in another location. I logged on into their in truck computer device. I punched in destination where I was picking up trailer and drove... around... in circles. I had the destination in my cellphone maps as well for backup. As someone who wasn't familiar with the area, I didn't want to take a chance in that residential area and end up with a bridge on top of my trailer. That's the reason for my patience in driving around in circles. It got to the point where I contacted the manager and asked him what was up with the truck computer. He told me those don't work for directions, to use my cellphone. Well, thanks for telling me that beforehand! And it's my cellphone, will I be remunerated for its use? In 200 ft, stay on the left lane; said the GPS lady as I was stuck in the middle lane during rush hour traffic in Southern California. There was no way I was going to be able to squeeze in. Definitely not in a truck.I made it to the first USPS (United States Postal Services) location.

Real Estate buying and selling

 Waking up in my second new home felt good.

My New Room

My landlord's room was right next to mine. There's another room on the other side of mine; vacant. There are a few other closed doors on the upstairs floor. We also have a laundry room near my bathroom, so that was convenient. There are plenty of closed doors downstairs as well. the house is humongous! When I first arrived the previous day, I bumped into a stunning young lady at the main door. I was like 'Woah! you're gorgeous!' I mean, I was literally stunned. Turned out, she lives at the house as well. 

Thank Goodness for AirBnB!

 I made it to my Air BnB, thank Gosh! The guy was nice and welcoming. He had a nice black matt finish Porsche in the garage, which we passed on the way to the house entrance. He rents out several rooms in his house. I booked one whose entrance was outside by the pool. When we walked into the main house, I got a little confused and asked. That's when he told me a lot of people always ask for that room blah blah blah. That was weird, cos how would I have known about it if it weren't available when I made my reservation. That's gonna already leave a weird taste in one's mouth (she said). He led me upstairs to my room, through many entrances and nooks and crannies and then showed me another way out the house. I assured him I was going to get lost there. I'm not great with directions.

Driver, Give me your Truck Keys

 Where were we? Bed Bugs in the truck. After having survived a rat in a truck. Only to get fired abruptly. The countdown was on. They wanted me out within two hours of being terminated. I was crying to my sister, who was, unfortunately in a different time zone, and thus, in the middle of the night. Sorry, Pru and thank you; and I was packing. When you've put everything neatly in its place, it doesn't seem like you have a lot of stuff until it's time to move out! That was the case here! After talking to my sis, I called my ex husband, Calvin. He was very good in making me feel better about the way forward. He told me that he had an appointment with a client but would postpone, or do whatever it took to help me move. That was comforting to hear. I did tell him not to make any moves until I let him know. I guess I more so needed some sort of security blanket more than anything else. It's always crucial for me to do things for myself, so that was going to be my first option; failing which, I would then reach out to the wasband.Thanks again, Cal, I know you read my blog!

Bed Bugs in My Truck

 OK. We've all now established that our dearest #TruckerBrook has been fired from my the one and only trucking job I've ever had. Two years in and they were done with me. They gave me two hours to vacate the premises. Must've been an hour for ever year I worked for the company. How Generous! This, after having endured Bed Bugs in their trucks for the first time in my entire life. First, I'd no idea what was biting me but I had super itchy pimples. Whenever I did some Googling, I kept seeing Bed bugs in my results. What are these people talking about? Why do they all think it's bed bugs? The trucks have lights inside but none bright enough to be able to see like you would in your at home bathroom or kitchen. You know, your most brightly lit rooms at home? I have lost things such as credit cards or such, that are dark, simply from the truck not being well lit enough for me to see the dark colored cards. I searched fort he bugs along the rim of the mattress and couldn't see a thing.

Drug Test | Being Fired?

 (continued from previous blog) That was close! Imagine if I had actually gotten fired? I thought to myself! It wasn't out of the realm of possibility. I had a feeling the ladies in the office hated me. They all did. That is out of the realm of possibility. Generally, people like me. I get along with people and never really show how I feel about someone in certain environments because, what's the point, really? So that it's awkward? And then what? 

I went out, happy to prove to the guard that I was right that WAS my truck! I wasn't stealing it! And I wasn't fired!  I did what I needed to do out there, came back without any issues at the gate with the guard. I went to my parking spot, by my trailer. I always reserve an empty trailer, that I keep lock while I'm on my off days cos you never know and looking for an empty trailer is no fun. They will have you go from company to company looking for company trailers. The companies don't want to part with the empties because where are they going to load when their customers place orders? Not fun! And for someone who gets paid per mile, you can end up being paid $0. They put one zip code that they sent you from and the one you went to. Which can be the same zip code (postal code). Thereby totaling 1 mile or zero miles. Hours of work for no pay. That sht heartless af, if you ask me! Some folks will get paid $50 to $100 or whatever random figure, per empty trailer. It just depends on who is doing the dispatching and who's doing the hunting. In my case, I was only working with the same three ladies who wished I were dead, so.