Near Tulsa, Oklahoma. Using my new computer. Actually, it's probably more of a notebook. Much smaller than my other laptop and much easier to carry around. I'll probably get a remote keyboard for it and just keep it in the truck. Maybe. I mean, I think I can get used to this job, but I'm on probation for 90 days I think it is. I don't know of any trucking companies that don't have a probation period. Basically, if you screw up, you are toast.
Anyway, I just got "here". Here, being a QuikTrip convenience store. I was looking on the map, the destination is 28 miles from here and is literally out in the middle of nowhere. I was afraid that if I drove there, there wouldn't be any place to park. I asked a local truck driver that was parked here as well if he knew of any places up there, he said not at all. There aren't any. Well I'm stuck here til 7:00 am and it's only 7:00 PM right now. So, I'm well out of the way at this convenience store, off to the side of it, at an entrance that not a single car has used since I parked here, out of view of the front of the store, hopefully they won't mind this giant tanker truck sitting here with 10000 gallons of cryogenics that is highly volatile parked here lololol.
Well I don't know exactly how many gallons, but this truck is loaded right at 80,000 pounds. The company mandates that you fill it up to the maximum. That's nice, but we don't load the trucks so I don't worry about that. However. I pulled into a weigh station today. They told me to pull over and bring in my paperwork. I brought in half of it, forgetting the other half. The half I brought in was the hazmat stuff. I completely spaced the registration and related stuff. So, back out to the truck, pull out 3 packets and back in there. I have never seen so much paperwork for one truck in my entire life until I entered this world of hazmat. I'm not complaining, per se, but I haven't been doing this long and it's easy to overlook a piece of paper that you need. I really have to think about all of this - for now. If I'm with this for any length of time, it will become second nature.
I'm really just getting my mind into this place being "the" place for a while. It's a 2 year old truck - tho they won't have us in these things too long, they don't want to pay the rental contract. Much cheaper and the trucks are set up the way they want them to be to have their own. I am not holding my breath on that, tho, not after everything else. And also not after seeing how long it took for corporate to get us trucks at Ferguson. 6 to 8 months. I don't really care now. I have a new mattress in here and the cigarette smell is all but gone. Still a bit, but I but 2 more of the smelly trees in here and it's pretty nice now. Just was so disgusting sleeping on that other mattress. Gross, actually. I would literally feel more comfortable sleeping on the ground outside than sleeping on that nasty thing.
Okay, I don't have a power inverter yet so I want to finish this entry and post it before this computer runs out of power. I keep getting distracted with people texting me lol. Anyway, the wind is absolutely howling out here. Truck is getting rocked back and forth. Kinda glad I'm not driving in this, this just started a while ago after I got here. I'll be spending a while getting used to the nuances and dangers of driving loaded tanker trailers. I'll tell ya one thing, if I'm on an exit ramp that is like a cloverleaf and it says 20 mph, I'm going 15 mph or less. I'm terrified of rolling over a tanker. I've seen it happen far too many times. The outcome is never good.
well I need to get stuff done here, gonna end this one short.
