Jackson, Mississippi.

It's been a while. My last real entry was before I got home for Christmas. I've started to make an entry a couple of times, but never have. Things have been occasionally odd.

I guess I should catch up.

Christmas went well, I guess. Loretta loved the jewelry we brought her from Arizona. I kind of felt like we shitted Mama on her presents, but since I wanted to get her a computer, anything else was a letdown (for me). She didn't seem to think so, though.

We spent Christmas day with Mama and Loretta (and Doug and Margaret), but visited Mara's family the day after. Jerry Millwood gave Mama a turkey for making him some dressing, and between that and what Tonya and I bought, we had a nice spread for dinner.

We had planned to leave B&L Trucking after Christmas vacation, and had talked to U.S. Xpress about returning and about Mara training in Medway. Somehow, B&L got wind of it and called us. They offered us a black 2000 Volvo 660 if we would stay. Since prt of our reason for going back to USX was that Mara wasn't comfortable in that Peterbilt, we decided to give them one more shot.

We've been in the Volvo for several weeks now and have no problem with it. Mara is so comfortable with the idea of driving it that she's not going to Medway to train with USX. I'm going to train her in this Volvo.

Anyway, we got into the Volvo shortly after heading back out after Christmas. We left Beaumont (Texas) and delivered a load to Hammond, Louisiana. Then we picked up a load in Baton Rogue heading for El Segundo, California. Shortly after picking up, I developed a cough, which quickly became the flu or something. By the time we reached California, I was in bad shape. We delivered and laid up at everybody's favorite TA truckstop in Ontario, CA. U.S. Xpress didn't have any freight, so we parked on the 12th and didn't move again until the 16th. I didn't mind. I spent that time loading myself down with Tylenol Cold, Nyquil, and Robitussin; basically trying to force myself into getting better. By the time we were rolling again on the 16th, I had won the battle of wills and was feeling better (mostly). Just in time, too. I'd been sick for so long that I was just weary and close to tears.

We picked up a load in Irvine, California, which we delivered in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and from there we picked up a load in Valliant, Oklahoma, which we've yet to deliver in Lithonia, Georgia. We've requested a few days off in Kings Mountain so that Mara can get her CDL permit, and we're hoping that they'll send us in that direction once we deliver. I won't hold my breath, though. Knowing U.S. Xpress.

We're holding up here in Jackson because freight is slow. No one can determine if we can deliver this load early, so there was no point in running on in. If we went to Lithonia and couldn't drop the load at the customer, we would be stuck in the Atlanta area, late at night, trying to find somewhere to park. USX says there's no freight in the area, so even if we could drop the load, we might not be able to ge ta load out. Plus, right now we're stuck with the weekend people at U.S. Xpress, who are largely useless (Dan W___ and Tera H_____ have never been much help). For all I know, USX might send us on home from Georgia. It's a safe bet that the weekend idiots at USX won't know anything about that.

Anyway, that's about it.

I weighed a few weeks back and am now at 330 pounds. Something has to be done. I had gotten on a decent track before I got sick, but have been fucking off since. I figure I'll pick up some of those metabolism boosters some folks in KM have been trying while we're there, and will get back on a routine once we're back on the road.

We're waiting for B&L to give us our tax money. They've been holding back 4¢ per mile for our taxes instead of taking out taxes on us, and we're supposed to have it returned to us in one chunk. My estimates have put it as high as $1,200, but I would reasonably expect $700-800. If it's any less than that, then B&L is fucking us, and we might go back to U.S. Xpress. This Volvo was a hell of a carrot to dangle over our heads, and we'd like to stay in it and stay working for B&L. How they do us on these taxes will determine that outcome.

If we get that money, we're going to pay some bills, but we're also going to put some food in the truck. Since we have a refridgerator now, we should be able to eat better, and should be able to lose some weight.

We'll see. Myself, I expect B&L to fuck us. I hope they surprise me.