Day 120 of 365: The Blaus
I'd originally had something else planned for my 365 pic today, but do to one thing or another, it didn't turn out. What can I say? It's been busy as hell around this place, and today we had moved a lot of trucks through the bays. I'd taken this at the last minute as sort of a poor ditch effort. All considered I thought I'd try something else today, being as the pic hadn't been what I'd wanted, and the day had sort of reminded me of one I'd written about a few years back.
An old blog post I'd written a few years back. Enjoy.
"The blaus"
originally written May 19th , 2006
Putterin' down York road after a robust day at work, and feeling a very euphoric sense of gratification with myself and my crew this week, I drifted off into a deep inner monologue conversation with myself. It has been one hell of a week, and we'd done it with a skeleton crew. But now, as I'm admiring the windmills on the bench, and the wheat sprouts in the fields, our accomplishments underplay the dead dogged tiredness that was gnawing at the bottom of my feet, and the nagging pain kicking me in the back.
That's when I started wondering to myself. Another useless thought to add to the list of useless thoughts and information, endlessly collecting and clogging up my mind.
By a show of hands who thinks which is worse. "The blau" tired’s or "This day just kicked my ass" tired’s? For the last few weeks they have been pulling dozens of refer trailers off the fleet, and bringing them to us to be de-identified and cleaned up for trade. Typically my job, you could say is really quit physical. I'm always on my feet, and on the move, watching, repairing, directing my crew, insuring the operation runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible. It leaves me exhausted by days end, and seems to make for a viable excuse to do little more then ly around in front of the television set and drink cold lager at days end.
Then there are times when say they pull two dozen refer trailers off the fleet to be traded. The de-identifying process is no big thing, a little tedious, but requiring little physical rigger. A little know how, a little patients, a good eye, and the right home brew mix of some rather nasty chemicals...
De-ided and it's on to the cleaning. A bit more tedious, and by far less physical for me. Before I continue I have to stress that by no means am I down playing the work a professional truck driver endures. They are required to keep the keenest of attention of everything around them, in a vehicle that typically spans more then eighty feet in length, and has as many blind spots as visible spots. (For thou’s of you motorists that have never been behind the wheel of a big rig remember one thing. If you can't see the drivers face in his mirror, he can't see you) but this sucks, at least an over the road driver gets a change of scenery.
Sitting behind the wheel of a run down Freightliner Century for a better part of the day, playing the part of "Drop and hook donkey". The Blaus begin to set in.
After the trailer is De-ided I move it out of the detail bay, and run it around the building to one of the wash bays. Wash the trailer, and again, run it around the building to the wash out bay. Washed out, and it's over to the lot, where I drop it, and hook up another, and repeat the entire process, with very little physical activity detected all the while.
It's probable that the most physical parts of this would involve lowering the landing gear, releasing the king pin from the fifth wheel, and oh yes, flipping the switch that dumps the tractors air bags, and after a day of this, I feel exhausted. "The Blaus" .
How does one explain that to the wife, well enough to justify sweats, beer, and televison? "Baby bear, I'm just to tired to mow the lawn tonight, I had to spend the entire day, in a spacious, all though be it ugly, air conditioned environment, with a cold beverage at my beacon, and you know, sometimes the radio just didn't play a song I liked. My radio station changen' finger is spent".....
Well needless to say, the lawn is mowed, and I'm left to ponder...Which is worse. Blaus or Ass kickedness tired?
Static
Wednesday, August 27th. 2008
Day 120 of 365: The Blaus
I'd originally had something else planned for my 365 pic today, but do to one thing or another, it didn't turn out. What can I say? It's been busy as hell around this place, and today we had moved a lot of trucks through the bays. I'd taken this at the last minute as sort of a poor ditch effort. All considered I thought I'd try something else today, being as the pic hadn't been what I'd wanted, and the day had sort of reminded me of one I'd written about a few years back.
An old blog post I'd written a few years back. Enjoy.
"The blaus"
originally written May 19th , 2006
Putterin' down York road after a robust day at work, and feeling a very euphoric sense of gratification with myself and my crew this week, I drifted off into a deep inner monologue conversation with myself. It has been one hell of a week, and we'd done it with a skeleton crew. But now, as I'm admiring the windmills on the bench, and the wheat sprouts in the fields, our accomplishments underplay the dead dogged tiredness that was gnawing at the bottom of my feet, and the nagging pain kicking me in the back.
That's when I started wondering to myself. Another useless thought to add to the list of useless thoughts and information, endlessly collecting and clogging up my mind.
By a show of hands who thinks which is worse. "The blau" tired’s or "This day just kicked my ass" tired’s? For the last few weeks they have been pulling dozens of refer trailers off the fleet, and bringing them to us to be de-identified and cleaned up for trade. Typically my job, you could say is really quit physical. I'm always on my feet, and on the move, watching, repairing, directing my crew, insuring the operation runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible. It leaves me exhausted by days end, and seems to make for a viable excuse to do little more then ly around in front of the television set and drink cold lager at days end.
Then there are times when say they pull two dozen refer trailers off the fleet to be traded. The de-identifying process is no big thing, a little tedious, but requiring little physical rigger. A little know how, a little patients, a good eye, and the right home brew mix of some rather nasty chemicals...
De-ided and it's on to the cleaning. A bit more tedious, and by far less physical for me. Before I continue I have to stress that by no means am I down playing the work a professional truck driver endures. They are required to keep the keenest of attention of everything around them, in a vehicle that typically spans more then eighty feet in length, and has as many blind spots as visible spots. (For thou’s of you motorists that have never been behind the wheel of a big rig remember one thing. If you can't see the drivers face in his mirror, he can't see you) but this sucks, at least an over the road driver gets a change of scenery.
Sitting behind the wheel of a run down Freightliner Century for a better part of the day, playing the part of "Drop and hook donkey". The Blaus begin to set in.
After the trailer is De-ided I move it out of the detail bay, and run it around the building to one of the wash bays. Wash the trailer, and again, run it around the building to the wash out bay. Washed out, and it's over to the lot, where I drop it, and hook up another, and repeat the entire process, with very little physical activity detected all the while.
It's probable that the most physical parts of this would involve lowering the landing gear, releasing the king pin from the fifth wheel, and oh yes, flipping the switch that dumps the tractors air bags, and after a day of this, I feel exhausted. "The Blaus" .
How does one explain that to the wife, well enough to justify sweats, beer, and televison? "Baby bear, I'm just to tired to mow the lawn tonight, I had to spend the entire day, in a spacious, all though be it ugly, air conditioned environment, with a cold beverage at my beacon, and you know, sometimes the radio just didn't play a song I liked. My radio station changen' finger is spent".....
Well needless to say, the lawn is mowed, and I'm left to ponder...Which is worse. Blaus or Ass kickedness tired?
Static
Wednesday, August 27th. 2008