What I look like now.

This is what 15 years of being in the Trucking industry looks like. Still metal. Still play guitar. Sometimes I still drive a truck.

Hello? Is This Thing Still On?

Wow. I did not realize I still have access to this platform. I started this back in 2008 before You Tube turned into your source for "vlogs" and how-to content. I still remember hearing the word "blog" for the first time and wondering "What the hell is a blog." Then I created one. Without going into my archives I beleive I started this on The Trucker's Report website where the message board (remember those?) had a blog section. I started Downtime on the blogger page and then did a second page called From The Schoolbus To The Truck where I pretty much copied and pasted everything from the Trucker's report blog and posted it here. My last real post was 2013 except for the music post I made in 2016. What is interesting is that I only have 14 followers but according to my home page it has had 53,377 views. Weird. So much has changed. I don't even know where to begin. I imagine that none of the 14 followers are still following me so we will start here. Hi. My name is Snorelord and this is my story....

THE FINAL CURTAIN

Final Transland Post.

April 15th 2008 is when I started driving for TCSI/Transland. In 15 days I will have been with them for 6 years. It seems fast but also a long time ago. I am a much different driver now. I know so much more about the game, but I still desire to learn more. Especially about the business side of it. In six years I have gone from rookie to trainer. I have had 4 trucks. Two of which were brand spanking new. I should be expecting a third one within the month. I have blogged my adventures and have given you the ups and downs. My blog has gotten Transland some drivers. There was even a whole thread on Truckersreport.com message board about me, my blog and how this company was treating me. Here are some of the things I am learning. 1. Cheap freight is the root of a lot of evil in this industry. Anytime I have long dock times, bad shippers, and bad recievers I noticed these are poorly ran customers that barely pay anything. 2. For a trucking company to do well you need two things: 1. Strong freight base and 2. Treat your drivers well. Companies that are huge like Swift, Werner etc have a strong base but it's quantity not quality. However they do not treat their drivers well. Then you have a small 5 truck company that treats drivers like gold but then does not have the base. 3. The more one knows the more one can understand.

Going Back To Cali

So after five years I finally get a run going to California. Only two states I haven't been in with Transland. One California, two Nevada. Don't get me wrong I have been there plenty of times riding with Dad, hell I was born in Oceanside but I haven't driven there.This was an easy dunnage load with a reload coming straight back to Springfield, MO. So I leave Friday AM giddy as a kid. I barely get ten miles out and BOOM! I blow a trailer tire. I pull into Hoods at exit 69 and managed to get rolling within the hour. Friday night I make it to Amarillo where I enjoyed a steak at the Big Texan. (No I did not try the 72 oz steak!) The last time I was at the restaurant was with my Dad. After dinner I went to bed. Saturday I drove to Winslow, AZ where I found the Walmart I knew had an abandoned truck stop right next to it. I did my shopping and I tried to decide if I wanted to spend the night there. Giving the amount of panhandlers and homeless I figured I wouldn't rest well so I moved down about 20 miles and stayed at a rest area. After the light rain storm I climbed the rocks, took pics of my beloved desert. I LOVE IT OUT WEST! Sunday would be the exciting day. I haven't been on I40 West of Flagstaff in over 25 years. I was in awe of the spectacle. I got to Barstow and stopped for the night. I had an open window Monday am and I knew I couldn't sleep at customer, Barstow was a safe bet. Monday AM approached I left in a good time and took a route to Santa Ana hoping for little delay as possible. But still managed to to brush rush hour and it took 2 hours 45 minutes to go 119 miles. I have to say NOTHING looked familiar. Absolutely nothing. I got into town made my delivery and pick up and headed out. I was hoping for a trip down memory lane but I recognized absolutely nothing. Oh well. it was a fun easy run. I got to as far as Big Cabin on Wednesday when my second tire blew out. All in all I enjoyed it. I love running west. I love the scenery, the roads, and there is less people. Now excuse me while I open a cold one and enjoy my home time.

My newest video.

Boycotting Pilot and Flying J

How about an update eh? Well I have managed to gain weight. I was off track. It is to the point that I feel I need to do something drastic to detoxify me from my addictions with the foods. I wholeheartedly believe that processed, restaurant, and fast foods have chemicals in the ingredients that create the addiction. I know that studies show corn syrup is one of those components. It basically whacks the hormones off course. Some people our more prone to it than others. Going primal/paleo is my only choice. Luckily I have an ally from an unusual place. Pilot/Flying J Travel Centers. Yes you read that correctly. Here is why. When I first started driving Pilot and Flying J were separate entities. Flying J for the most part was better. They had a fresh deli where one can buy salads, carrots, celery, fresh sandwiches etc. Pilot only sold Hot dogs and egg rolls. When Pilot bought out the Flying J I figured the fresh stuff was gonna go away. But the merger actually improved things to a certain point. BUT in the last year I have noticed that things have gone down hill and greed is taking over. It's all little things but they are adding up. So little that I am not sure if anyone else has noticed. Here are some examples: Prices have gone up. They are in that supermarket racket where you can save money by using their card. The problem with that is that I see my points get used when I have already payed cash on occasion. Next the quality of food is way worse. I used to get the chicken wings. They used to be good. Over the last 6 months they have gotten smaller. I asked a Pilot manager and he even admitted that they have been getting smaller. I asked why and he just said "cheaper". In the past if you bought fuel you got a free coffee. Then it turned into "buy 4 get the 5th free." Now it's buy 9 and get the 10th free. Coffee is almost 2 bucks now so if you buy $18 worth of coffee you get one free. The worst part is the coffee used to be good. I don't know if they have switched sources or what but the coffee sucks now. It's not worth a dollar. The wifi you pay for sucks and does not work half the time. The stuff that is still good (like the pizza)is incredibly bad for you. So my thoughts are why give this corporation another dime of my cash. So here is my move. I am no longer buying food there. It's overpriced and lame. I will eat strictly out of the truck. I will make my own coffee. In fact I will use their coffee machines for hot water for my tea. I will fill my thermos up. That is until they start charging for hot water. I am boycotting Pilot/Flying J. You see my company says it's mandatory to fuel there. So I can't avoid them all together but every time I stop and don't spend money inside it will be like giving them the finger each time. Other than fuel and cat scale tickets I will not spend another minute in their ridiculously long lines at the register. My showers are free so I will still take advantage of that. My last purchase I used my points to buy another cooler. So now I have one for meats and one for fruits and veggies. This boycott will save me money, save me calories, and save me the stress of dealing with their "the driver is not first priority" mentality. Pilot can stick it. So at times when I am feeling hungry my hatred for them will be the fuel I need to beat this addiction. Thank you Pilot.