Testing

 Just a test to see if this still works.

Been a while

       Well I see it's been a very long time since I've written in here. I never hear from people complaining that I am not posting enough so I am not encouraged to post anything. So to begin, I am not working. Haven't since the 26th of May, 2014. I have a rather large diabetic ulcer under my left foot and I am unable to drive the big truck or do flatbed. I have been collecting UIC and they are cutting me off because they ONLY give you 15 weeks of benefits. I've paid in over $11,000 in the past 28 years and when it comes time to collect, they give me a lousy $450 a week and only for 15 weeks. So now I've applied for Long Term Disability from my work benefits so we'll see how long that takes. The large open wound on my foot is almost completely healed over but my doctor says that it sometimes takes up to a year before it is completely healed properly. Well I can't afford to be off that long because I have to keep borrowing money from people (they will remain nameless but only in this blog) to survive. I am deeply thankful for these loans and, unlike so many people that I have lent money to over the years, I will pay them back however long it takes. I always do. I put together a list of all people I have lent money to over the years that have not paid me back. I should put the list up here but what would it serve. Let's just say there are 7 people on the list and the total amount owing to me is a staggering $15,900. And 95% of that amount I will never see. Oh well. A valuable life lesson learned. Never lend friends money. It's a good way to reduce your amount of friends. So now if anyone asks to borrow money from me, with the exception of 2 or 3 people, I would just say, "Sorry, don't have it."
     Onward to better topics. So even though I have been off work all summer, I did manage to put some miles on my motorcycle. Went on several long rides with Lorna (my ex-wife and very good friend) and we always saw some nice scenery and had lots of fun. The old bike is still running good and it's still looking good for a '99. As far as the person on it, well...

     So other than riding, basically that's all I've been doing that's worthy of my time. I've been concentrating on getting my blood sugar under control and I have succeeded at that. I eat better food, cut back all sugars, take more vitamins and supplements that help lower my blood sugars, and even started making my own chili which also helps knocking my sugar levels down. Before this wound appeared on my foot, I was totally not looking after my blood sugar. I would not care about it and still ate tons of junk food. Normal readings on my glucose meter are suppose to be between 4 and 6 and you're allowed up to 8 on an empty stomach. Well, my levels were anything between 14 and 22! Dangerously high! And that was all the time, every day, for years and years. It took my coming very close to losing my foot to finally slap me hard in the face to smarten me up and start looking after my diabetes. After a month or so of getting serious and changing my eating habits, I now get readings between 4.7 to an occasional 10 or 11. But my average is about 7.5 so compared to what it was before, it is (excuse my outburst) FRICKIN' AWESOME!!! And because my levels have been so good, my foot is healing up nicely and as my doctor is shaking my hand, he said, "Congratulations! You get to keep your foot!" And trust me, that is a much better feeling than eating a chocolate bar would give me. Speaking of food, I'm hungry. It's lunch time. Time to go eat a nice garden salad, sprinkled with grilled chicken and chopped almonds. Til next time. TTYL.

My new book "EXIT" is now an EBOOK!!

So after a few people telling me that this new book of mine is a tad on the expensive side, and that I should convert it to an EBOOK, I finally decided to GET 'R DONE. First and foremost, I'm really excited about getting approved to offer my Ebook on iTunes!!!

My Ebook on iTunes

 

My Ebook on Blurb.ca

 

 

My Ebook on Lulu.com

 

New Book!!!

Wow. It's been a while since I posted anything here. It's almost 2013. Well I don't really feel like writing a whole bunch but what I do need to post is this:

It only took me 21 years to finally finish this book but here it is. It's all done! It's my first book and remember, I have no formal training or education in writing. I always wrote interesting and funny short stories in high school but never anything of this magnitude. If I receive enough positive feedback (or enough angry threats) I will write a sequel. Check it out!

Exit by Guy Marcel Pilon | Make Your Own Book

Okay NO MORE pictures of this truck AFTER these.

Okay, so these I took today when I went to Hamilton to pick up my load. It was the first trip I did with the new truck. My shifting was off since I wasn't use to the truck but I managed. It rode like a dream compared to that Freightliner I was driving. That truck was brutal. So the MACK was comfortable enough and the 505 HP MP8 Mack engine was peppy and very quiet. I had to keep turning down the stereo when it came time to shift because I couldn`t hear the motor. Had to go back to my rookie days when I had to keep looking at the tachometer to know when to shift. So, so far, I like it. By the time I do my 2 stops in Quebec (yuck) I should be all use to it. The next pictures I will take of this truck is when I get the new fuel tanks. They are all scored and scratched to ratshit. Looks really really bad. No mirror-like finish. And then, hopefully, before the tanks are changed, I will be hooked to my brand new MAC trailer with rolltite. I`ll be driving a 2011 MACK hooked to a 2011 MAC trailer. Holy MACKerel!! That`s all for now folks. Be courteous to truckers. Wave at them with all your fingers, not just ONE.

Little better pic of new truck

So there it is. My new truck. Outside. I'm all moved in and ready to go truckin'.

14 months of catching up.

        First of all, this is my first blog entry with Blogpost. I will be posting entries in here from now on since my other journal got completely wiped out by Bravenet. Why did this happen? I'm not knowing. Anyway, good thing I always do my posts first in Microsoft Word and then save them. Otherwise, I would have lost about 2 1/2 hours of typing and I would have went nuts and tried to kill someone. So Bravenet can kiss my ass. On with the show!

Good morning boys and girls. I see from the previous entry that it's been a very long time since I put anything in here. I've been a very busy beaver working my ass off and still trying to get out of my financial mess. Didn't think it was going to take this long but I'm definitely on the upswing. Things are going pretty good for me right now. Since my last entry I was working at J-Line and then I quit to go work for a van company in Burlington Called Customized Global Logistics. I did pretty well there at first and they were okay to work for but as usual I didn't make it there a year before things started slowing down and the pay checks were getting alarmingly smaller and smaller. So, as always, I bailed and went to work for a company that specialized in oversized loads. I was coerced by Dan to come and make lots of money doing these oversized loads. Well, right from day one I didn't getting along with the main dispatcher Ed. He was always telling me I didn't know how to fill out a logbook and didn't know how to drive certain distances in the proper amount of time. We had a few tiffs about it all. I was tired of being treated like I was a rookie and talked down to like I was 9 years old. Needless to say, I didn't like him at all.

 Then the final straw that broke my back was the long 45 day trip that ended up being my last trip for Precision Specialized Division. I started from Toronto and went down to Houston, TX and then to Laredo, TX. Unloaded then reloaded and headed up to Edmonton, AB. Unloaded and then reloaded in Edmonton and headed for California. From there I was really hoping to head home but no, they send me up to Kamloops, BC and then to Calgary, AB. On the way between Kamloops and Calgary, Ed calls me up and asks me if I want to pick up a load in Edmonton going to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Now I had never been to Alaska and I've always wanted to go up there but never had the opportunity. So I looked it up to see where Prudhoe Bay was. I was blown away as to where I found it. It was right at the very northern tip of Alaska. Deep into the Arctic Circle and right along the Arctic Ocean. Holy shit. So totally oblivious of the road I had to drive to get up there, I quickly agreed to go. I was pretty excited. Of all my friends and family, my trucker friends past and present, I was going to be the first to go to Alaska! Yahhhhh! I get loaded and off I go. Ed said not to rush and to take my time and to take lots of pictures. I did. So I didn't get a day away from Edmonton and things started going wrong. I lost my power steering. Found a Kenworth dealer in Grand Prairie, AB and proceeded to change the filter in the pump first but that didn't fix it. Then they changed the pump and that still didn't fix it. Next was the steering box and then the steering shaft going up to the firewall. AH, that did it. Powering steering fully restored. A full day lost and about $2500 of repairs. Head out again. I had pretty good weather all the way up there and no serious problems to deal with. Finding places to fuel up was an interesting challenge. All I had was a Husky credit card and they dried up at Fort Nelson, BC. So every time I needed to buy fuel I would have to call dispatch so they would give me a Visa number over the phone. Pain in the ass. Anyway, I get up into Yukon and it is very scenic and the traffic is virtually nil. It is very quiet and trouble free. The last 250 km or so before I got to the Alaska border was unbelievably rough. I mean the road was rough. So bad that sometimes you'd be clipping along at 105 kph and you'd see the road all broken up and you'd have to slam on your brakes to hit the bumps at 30 kph. And I had to really pay attention at all times for Caribou and Wood Bison standing in the middle of the road like they owned it. I saw quite a variety of wildlife up there. Along with the aforementioned, I saw Bald Eagles, fox, deer, lynx, moose, owl, squirrels and chipmunks. I think that's it. 

So I get into Alaska finally and I'm all full of piss and vinegar. I am like a new rookie driver that just got handed a brand new truck to drive. I was raring to go. But I really didn't know what I was in for. Everyone that I talked to up there said I was going to be driving on the James Dalton Highway. Didn't mean much to me but if I had ever watched the TV show Ice Road Truckers Season 3, I would have never gone up there. Especially in the winter. Hell no. I had to find out the hard way. I get up to the last truck stop in Fox, AK and camp there for the night. I have food, full tank of fuel, lots of water, anti-freeze for the truck, windshield washer, etc. But clearly I didn't have everything needed to tackle this ice road. Like decent tires and proper snow chains for the tires. First thing in the morning I take off early. 5:30 am local time. I head north for about 90 miles on ice and snow covered pavement. That was pretty dicey but I managed okay on that. Then I reach the point where I go by the sign that says JAMES DALTON HIGHWAY.  Whoopee. Now the Dalton is a 414 mile stretch of dirt road that is covered in snow and ice. I am there by 7:30 am and there are NO tire tracks on the road. Mistake number 1. I got up there too early. I get exactly 1 mile, that's ONE, UN, UNO, EINS, and I start going up a slight grade. Nothing huge but still a good pull. I get halfway up and I spin out. I hammer on the brakes. Tractor and trailer is locked up. Then the truck starts to slide backwards. I am totally no longer in control. The trailer starts to drift to the left. I try to steer to compensate. No good. I'm going backwards and starting to jack-knife and I can't stop it. I'm getting ready to grab my coat and bail out of there. To hell with it. But after a whole 5 or 6 seconds, I come to a stop with trailer just at the edge of the right side of the road and the tractor against the edge on the left side. My heart rate is going 900 mph and I feel light headed. I almost passed out. Well, it sort of felt like it. Never in my 26 years of truck driving have I ever felt that scared. It was a major TEN on the pucker factor! Now I'm across the road and thinking that if someone comes down the hill, they would most definitely smash into my truck. I quickly jump out in the -15c cold and start dragging my tire chains out and install them. Halfway through, this guy comes running up the hill and offered to help. He told me that he had called the south bound traffic on the CB and stopped them since I had the highway shut down. Then I didn't have the proper tool to tighten the cams on the chains. The guy says he had a few extra ones and he runs back down the hill to his truck and gets me one. He gives it to me and says I could keep it. Super nice guy!! I get all the chains on and my hands are half frozen and my left hand is cut up really bad and bleeding all the place. I jump in the truck and put it gear. I start to move but still spinning. I spin to the top and start to build up speed. Whoohoo! I'm gettin’ ‘er done! That is until I got to the 2 ½ mile hill. Fully chained and trying to build up enough speed, I got ¾ of the way up and I started spinning. I had all my chains on. What the hell! Now I'm blocking the frickin’ highway again and I can't go forward. My only option was I had to very slowly back all the way down the hill about ½ a mile. More nerve wracking drama! I managed to do it without wiping out or jack-knifing. I stop at the bottom and try to calm down before my old ticker gives out. I let traffic go by and another truck stops to help me out. I ask him, Les was his name, what my options were. He looks at my load, which was loaded too far back, looks at my dry-pavement-highway-tires, and my single tire chains. Les tells me I’ll never make up there to Prudhoe Bay with what I got. Especially with those useless chains I had. I needed “off road” chains that covered both tires together and had little nipples sticking out for maximum traction. My single chains were digging into the ice and gravel until the inside tire was sitting flush on the ice and thus causing the chained outside tires to spin raised off the ground. We call that NFG. No F$@#ing Good. So Les suggested that I drop the trailer and he would go and drop his at the bottom. Then he would come back up and hook to mine and take it up the hill, get turned around and bring it down to me at the bottom. At this point he was optimistic about me getting some proper chains and moving the load forward and getting me up to Prudhoe Bay. He was even willing to babysit me all the way up there since he was turning around and going back up that night. BUT, I was done. My nerves were completely shot. I was like a person that drowned, revived, and then asked to go back in the water right after. Um, NOOOO. I told Les that I was heading back to Fairbanks and calling ED and telling him that he was getting someone else to pull the trailer up there because it wasn`t going to be me. We even got into a fight over the phone because he insisted that I had the proper chains and tires and that I should take a deep breath and try again in the morning. I told him he was full of shit and that I didn`t have the proper chains. I was dead certain, especially after that conversation, that Ed was insane and he should be locked up immediately. So I failed miserably at making it up the James Dalton Highway AND I had missed making it into the Arctic Circle by about 56 miles. CRAP. I had also made up my mind that when I got home I was done with this company. I started talking to some friends about going back to CGL or J-Line. I got the ball rolling. So Precision found another local trucking company to haul my trailer up there and, I never told them this but, they used my trailer to haul a load back from Prudhoe Bay to Fairbanks. Fuck `em. So I parked for a day and a half waiting for my trailer to come back. Once it did, I headed all the way down to Boise, Idaho. 2700 miles empty. Picked up 3 train cabs 10` 6`` wide. Ran home with Dan. Unloaded in London, Ont and then headed to the yard. Once I got there, Ed took me down to the shop to give me shit about our little tiff we had on the phone. And then proceeded to lie to me about how I cost the company SO much money when they had to get someone to haul the load up to Prudhoe Bay for me and that it was my fault I didn`t make it yada yada yada. Little did they know that I knew exactly how much they made for me to go up there and then I also knew how much they had to pay the other company. That with running down 2700 miles empty to Boise confirms to me that they still made good money on the entire trip. Asshole. So we yelled and bitched, well I did most of the yelling. I was majorly pissed at him. I couldn't`t believe that they were blaming me for the whole fiasco. After keeping me on the road for 45 days and sending me up to Alaska without the proper equipment and more importantly, the proper knowledge. So I told him I was going to take 3 or 4 days off and he said fine. The following week I sat without so much as a phone call so I had made up my mind 100% that I was quitting. I was done. I made some more phone calls and within 2 days I was hired back on with J-Line Transport. I`ve been there for 2 ½ months now and they are awesome. They are keeping me very busy and the pay checks are very good. Then about 2 weeks ago, I get notified that I am to be getting a brand new 2011 Mack Pinnacle Rawhide Special Edition! Holy cow. Junior guy on the totem pole and here they are giving me a new truck ahead of everyone else. Pretty cool. Here is a crappy picture of it. They just got it in and they haven`t even plated it yet so I`ll have to wait til next week before I get my hands on it.

So there you have it. I am all caught up. I can rest easy now that all my fans can read this short novel and also rest easy. So excuse me. I have to go out now and BBQ some chicken for supper. C YA!