Well I did go out in someone else’s truck on the evening of 23rd. It was a team truck, same make as mine, but only four months old. Only one team member brought the truck to Woodstock and I had to take her with me to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where I was dropping her off to stay with family over the Christmas holidays. It was really bad weather going down with icy roads and snow etc. Normally I would have parked up for the night, but it was an urgent load plus Jan wanted to get home to her family so I took it easy with it been a light load so I didn’t lock the brakes up on the trailer all the time. Then the last hour or so of the journey, I could speed up as the roads were clear again. We got down there at 1130pm. I dropped the trailer, then dropped Jan off, then it was off to my reload in Pictou, Nova Scotia. I remember getting there at 315am, I asked how long it would take to load, and was told about an hour so I asked them to knock me up when it was ready, as I wanted to get straight back home with it been Christmas eve. Next thing I knew, was Emma ringing me waking me up at 9am throwing fits cos I was still in Nova Scotia
I was loaded, still parked on the bay. It looked like they had tried to knock me up as the seal for the trailer was put on my door handle. I guess I was tired I got back that afternoon. Spent a lovely Christmas day with Emma, kids and friends, then my truck got back that night, so I went back out on the road on Boxing Day. My load went to Loudon, Tennessee. My reload was from Algood, Tennessee, going back to Toronto. I unloaded really quickly then set off to the yard, to drop the empty trailer, so I could bobtail over to my reload, which would be ready in about an hour, but as im on way to the yard, they call me and ask if I would mind doing them a favour and going to reload my trailerI already had. The customer wanted to load it by 6pm and I just had to drop it at the yard and go for my reload which was ready sometime after 6pm. I thought ok, that fills the gap, so off I went. Yeaaaaa Right. 10pm before im loaded. I dropped the trailer, got to my reload to find another one of our trucks had took my load, and his load was not ready for a couple of hours. I was not happy at all. Another 16hr day and not getting any extra pay for it. That’s the biggest down side to this job. Because you only get paid for the miles you do, and the customers don’t care how long they take to load you. One day you could drive for 8hr and earn $200 then the next day due to off loading and loading, you may end up doing 16hrs and only earn $150. it’s a pain, but you have to accept it if you want to do this job. Im a really laid back kind of guy, so normally I would not fuss, but this time it really spoilt my plans. This was the night before New Years Eve, so my plan was to pick up my load and drive for two and half hours out of Toronto leaving me ten and half hours to do New years Eve so I could be back to see the New Year in with my family and friends. Luckily in Canada, we are allowed to drive up to thirteen hours in one go, provided you have enough hours left, so because of the delays, the only way I could be back in time, was to take advantage of my waiting time, allowing me to be able to set off early enough in the morning and drive the thirteen hours to get back before midnight. I stopped for 10mins on the way and that’s it, getting me back by 10pm then it was party time. Emma had dropped our car off at the yard so I could get home without her leaving the party. Its funny seeing the New Year in here in Canada, as we have six time Zones. I could actually see the New Year in at Woodstock, then drive ten minutes down the road and cross the border into the US, and see the New Year in again on their Midnight. Cool hey! New Years Day I expected dispatch chasing me, but I heard nothing. I already had my paperwork so it was just a case of getting in my truck, hooking to my trailer and going. I was just about to pull out the yard just before mid day when one of the head mechanics knocked on my door and told me the truck needed to go to the dealer for some warranty work they had discovered that morning. So I took it up to the dealer where the on call mechanic had come in especially to fix it. Emma came to get me from there as it was going to take five hours to fix. Once back on the road that evening. My load was going to Fayetteville, North Carolina. Wicked somewhere warm Saying that though, the weather in North America has just been as whacked out as the UK. California as had unbelievable amounts of rain causing floods and mud slides. The Mid West have had a lot more snow than normal. Here in Woodstock, we have had a really mild winter so far. Last year once the snow arrived, it never left till the end of March. This year, its snowed then warmed up and melted it again or rain has washed it away. Christmas day I could see the grass again. When I took the Christmas Tree to the garden rubbish on New Years Day, I didn’t need my coat. mind you, I do sometimes walk around in just a T shirt at zero degrees anyway. It doesn’t feel cold when there is no wind. The temp in Fayetteville was in the twenties, 
I was well impressed. Pity I didn’t have my shorts with me
my reload was ten minutes down the road, which took me back up to the cold in Toronto. Then I had a load coming back to Woodstock. By the time I got there Wednesday night driving through some white out conditions, I had already done ten and half hours driving, but my reload had to be in Moncton, New Brunswick by 5.30am so the only way I could get it there in time was to continue on another two and half hours to get it there before 530am. Another thirteen hour day. I was down there by 2am. 430am they wake me to give me a loading bay number. 530am they wake me to back on the bay, then they keep waking me driving on to the trailer with the fork lift bouncing me up and down, then 830am they wake me to give me my paperwork back. I then parked up in the truck stop at the end of the street. Then 10am one of our drivers wake me up to see if I had any spare straps, so I gave up at that point about getting anymore sleep. just another typical day been a truck driver. My reload was in our yard in Moncton which was going to Illinois, but I just needed to bring it back to Woodstock. I was due home today anyway for my time off, so I didn’t see the point in going anywhere else, so I came home a day early. Im due back out on Monday, so till my next update. I will leave you with some pic’s of my travels. Buy for nowwwwww 
I think they went over board
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