The Seven Day Water Challenge

          Recently, I came across an article on Facebook titled “I Drank Nothing but Water for Seven Days and This Is What It Did to My Body.”  I was intrigued because I know I need to drink more water, so I clicked on it.  There’s 10 minutes of my life I wish I could get back.  I was hoping for something profound, but what I found was an opportunity for a narcissist to show off a dozen creepy selfies with her water bottle.  The great epiphany?  The author had caffeine withdrawal headaches for a few days and spent more time in the bathroom.  Seriously?  I would love to see this girl on “Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader?”

          I decided to take my own 7-day challenge.  My sub goal was to drink the recommended amount of water for me.  Body weight divided by 2 = the number of ounces of water daily.  150 lbs = 75 ounces.  I’ve also heard that anything non-carbonated and non-caffeinated (milk; juice) counts towards water consumption.

          Days 1, 2 and 7 I did not hit my ounce goal.  On day 5 I caved and had a diet soda; day 7 I caved and had an energy drink.  I had 1 bottle of milk, no juice.

          So, what happened?

    1.   I lost 3 pounds.  Woohoo!

    2.   Being properly hydrated, I didn’t experience the nosebleeds I usually do from the lack of humidity in the Rocky Mountains.

    3.   My sock line was noticeably reduced. (Drinking carbonated drinks causes water retention and usually at night I have sock lines from my legs swelling.)

    4.   Without the rollercoaster of spike/crash from energy drinks, my energy level was consistent throughout the day and I slept better.

          Moral of the story?  Drink more water, my peeps!  You’ll feel better.  No great epiphanies here either, but at least there’s no creepy selfies!

Handicapped Bathroom Stalls

                A couple of months ago, I raised an absolute RUCKUS on my Facebook page by making the comment that it really ticks me off to see someone use a handicapped bathroom stall who obviously doesn’t need it. I was told I was judgmental and just because someone doesn’t have a wheelchair or a walker doesn’t mean they don’t need hand rails or elevated seats.  I was surprised by how much flack I caught over that comment.

          Of course, I can’t tell just by looking at someone if they need that stall, but I can say for certain that there were two people in the Love’s in Lodi, CA that evening that definitely didn’t...  the 12(ish) y/o girl - who was skipping through the store bumping into people – and me.

          If there is a line and that stall comes open when it’s my turn, I won’t take it.  I went into a restroom once where the only stall that had toilet paper was the handicapped stall.  I grabbed some paper and went to another stall.

This is one of those issues that really lights me up.  I have a sister who had a leg amputated above the knee. She uses a walker or a scooter when she’s out in public, so yes, this is personal.  While I can’t tell on sight who may or may not need that stall, I don’t ever want to be the reason someone who legitimately needs it can’t get to it.

Just a Girl in a Truck

          I took this picture the other night at the Love’s in Salina, UT.  Yes, my foot is on the steering wheel and no, I did not need a crane to get it back down. 

          When I bought this nail color last summer, I laughed like a hyena when I realized it was the same color as my truck.  Apparently, I’m more single-minded than I knew.

          There are times when being a woman in a truck is a real challenge for me.  I like to girl up sometimes.  I’ve always been a tomboy, but there are also times when I’m a real “girly-girl.”  You won’t catch me wearing a dress in a truck, but I do care about my appearance.  I find it interesting that it’s never been the guys working at the truck stops being rude when I take a long time in the shower, but the women.  I don’t think they think about how much time personal care can take because they go home to their own bathroom every night.

          There are also times when being a woman is an advantage.  Some dock workers will put my load locks up for me, but they don’t usually do that for guys.  I’ve been allowed to use restrooms at customers to find out later that the same forklift driver told a guy that they didn’t have restrooms for drivers.  It’s crazy, but I think the pros outweigh the cons overall.

          Really, I’m just a girl in a truck… out here doing a job, just like everyone else.  Do I look better doing it?  Maybe to some.  Do I do the job better than others?  Probably, but I’m sure there are many that do it better than I do.  I’m just out here doing what I love, to the best of my ability.

No Opportunity Wasted

                Several years ago at the public library, I stumbled across the book “No Opportunity Wasted: Creating a List for Life” by Phil Keoghan.  

          This book really changed my philosophy about goal setting.  Like most of the population, before reading this book I had a “bucket list.”  I had a list of things I wanted to do someday, before I die.  Part of the problem with that philosophy is I don’t know when I’m going to die, so it’s hard to plan events leading up to it.  The other part of the problem – at least for me – is that putting anything in the context of “someday” puts it too far out there for my nerd brain.  I need more structure than that.

          I changed my mind from a “bucket list” to a “NOW list.”  One of the goals that came out of reading this book the first time was a cross-country bike trip.  When I say bike I mean bicycle, not motorcycle.  I put a five-year timeline on that goal, not even owning a bicycle or knowing that two years into that timeline I would be climbing back into a truck.  So, no, I didn’t reach that goal; but I do own a bike now, I’m working on increasing my endurance, and I’m in the beginning stages of planning a bike trip next summer with my niece.  One of the tricks to reaching a goal is knowing when to be flexible.  That initial five-year timeline is out, but I’m still working towards accomplishing that goal.

          I bring this up because my first idea for the bike trip was to ride US 50 from Sacramento to Washington D.C.  I have run a portion of US 50 twice in the past three weeks that I’d never been on before so I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.  People think I’m crazy when I tell them I want to do this.  I don’t remember which personal development coach said it, but I heard one say, “If at least three people don’t tell you you’re crazy, then you’re not being creative enough.”

          I’m okay with people thinking I’m crazy.  After all, not every driver is writing a blog for their company.  If I hadn’t had that “crazy” idea and acted on it, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now, living out my dream of being a freelance writer.

Graduation Day

Yes, this really is me in a dress.

          I am a proud little sister this week!  Out of five kids, my sister Margaret is the only one of us to have a college degree.  The rest of us have done other things (i.e. truck driving school) but Margaret is the only one with a diploma from a university.  Both of our parents have passed and there have been plenty of times in my life where I have thought “I’m really glad they’re not here to see how badly I’ve screwed this up.” Sunday afternoon when I watched Margaret walk across that stage I was thinking “I wish Mom and Dad were here to see this.”

          I asked Margaret if she would mind if I posted about this here after I realized a second blessing this weekend – being able to go there in my Freymiller truck.  My second summer here, I got disgruntled and started calling other companies.  One of the things I was asking when I made those calls was about time off… can I take time off wherever I want? More than one company told me no, I could only take time off at “home.”

          One of my favorite things about Freymiller is I can take time off wherever I want... within reason, they have to be able to get a load that goes there.  I have taken time off in Indiana, Alabama, North Carolina and even Wyoming.  I’ve been able to spend holidays with different family members, made it to my sister’s graduation and got to see one of my best friends get married - without having to fly or drive my own car to do it.  This takes a great burden off me not to have to take extra time off and incur the expense of travel.  I admit that this is a major benefit for me because I’m cheap, I hate flying and driving long distances in a car.  I don't think I need to mention how much more comfortable the ride is in a Kenworth 660 than a Pontiac Sunfire either.

Elk City Tornado

·         Picture courtesy of and used by permission of OKIE Livin

·         https://www.facebook.com/okielivin/

          Tuesday evening I was down in Elk City, OK to pick up a load when the tornado sirens went off.  When I left OKC about 4:00, I assumed a quick trip down, drop and hook, straight back and home by 9:00.  You know what they say about assuming, right?

          News9 reported 1 confirmed fatality and at least 100 structures damaged with more than 50 destroyed.  The tornado has been estimated to be an EF2.  I’ve lived most of my life in the Midwest, so while this isn’t my first experience with a tornado, it is the closest I’ve come to seeing one.  I think I was about 5 miles from the path of the tornado, but I’m not familiar enough with Elk City to say for sure.

          I was sitting in the storm shelter with warehouse employees, office employees and other drivers - listening to them chatter - but staying mostly quiet.  I was praying for the safety of people who didn’t have the luxury of a storm shelter when I had the strangest thought.  “God, you know how I feel about moving into a truck, I need you to keep her on her wheels out there.”  I wasn’t concerned about my safety; one of the office people had made the statement that the shelter was built to withstand 300 mph winds.  I was more concerned about my truck.  My concern doubled when I remembered that my phone was sitting on the dash.

          By the time all the excitement was over and I got out of there; I had been there for almost 4 hours.  I didn’t get home until after midnight, undamaged but exhausted.  I’m certainly not looking forward to a repeat performance.

          Many prayers are going up for the victims of the tornado in Elk City and for the safety of all those who live in tornado prone regions.

Clyde Watanabe (favorite peeps)

          I’ve not been shy about the fact that I think I am blessed to work with an amazing group of people. I’m also not shy about stating that I think I have the best DM (driver manager, aka dispatcher) at Freymiller; Clyde Watanabe.  That’s not to say that the other DM’s aren’t great; they’re just not Clyde.

          Clyde has been around Freymiller for about 17 years and in the trucking industry for over 40 years.  (I think he started working when he was 10.)  When he decides to retire, you’ll probably hear my sobs all over the country.  I tell him that when he’s not there when I expect him to be, I get separation anxiety.  If he only knew how true a statement that is!

          What I love most about Clyde is he knows his drivers.  When a situation is coming, he knows how I will handle it before I even know it exists.  He is also on top of what’s going on.  If I have a question, he usually knows the answer.  If he doesn’t, he has it for me within a few hours.  He’s never left me hanging. He is also very even tempered.  I had one driver tell me “I love Clyde, it doesn’t matter how whacked out I get, he still stays calm.” 

          When I asked Clyde what he likes to do when he’s not at work, he mentioned hanging out with his homeless friends.  You can tell a lot about a person by how he treats people who can do nothing for him.  It’s easy to throw money at problems in our society, but not everyone makes time in their busy life to get into the trenches.  Clyde walks the talk.