I Actually made it home for Christmas

I've certainly not kept up with this blog as I intended, but working for this flat bedding company isn't quite what I expected either. I've only been home for a few brief hours at a time since Thanksgiving and have only been home for about five days total since I started in late October. Since I'm only in truck stops to fuel I never have internet access either, so keeping up with the web has been impossible.

This company--and after talking to other flat bedders, I believe this is pretty true of flat bed companies in general--flagrantly ignore log book rules. If you're not willing to work 70 to 90 hours a week (when you can only work 60 legally, then you're going to run into problems. I refuse falsify my log book, and as a result I run out of hours before the end of the week and get stuck out on the road, not getting home until late Saturday night if at all. (We begin again on Sunday afternoon.) It's a price I'm willing to pay in order to not be involved in criminal activity, but I know I'm the exception rather than the rule.

What I particulaly "love" about the situation is how they can communicate that this is unwritten company policy while being completely committed to the actual rules on paper. If a driver gets caught by the DOT with a logbook violation the company will be properly horrified at said driver and the terrible driver will be disciplined appropriately. Meanwhile, what they teach in training and through their dispatchers is how to get away with falsifying your log book.

I think my dispatcher is beginning to figure out that I'm not kidding when I say I'm not willing to falsify my log book, and as a result, I expect things to get better, but if it doesn't, so be it.

Anyway, that's the reason I haven't posted in a long time. Other than that, being out on the road is great. I love the lifestyle and the sort of work that it is. I'm not sure how long my body can take flat bedding because it is hard work, but for now I'm certainly happy with my decision.

It's trivial, I know, but one of the more memorable items of the last six weeks was stopping at a Chinese Buffet in downtown Gilmer, TX. They had crawdads on the menu. (I never thought of crawdads as Chinese before!) That sort of cultural blending and uniqueness is one of the many things that makes being out on the road so great.

Who knows when I'll actually get back to Sioux City long enough to fire up the computer, so until next time, happy travels.

Category Posted: General