Getting there...

On Thursday all the kids had a day off school and we went down to the border, to hand in my old work permit and apply for my new one. After what seemed like ages trying to get into the States, we were eventually turned around with the proof we needed that we had left the country and we came back to the Canadian side ready to try our luck. The reason I say this is you are not supposed to exchange your permits this way as they say the border is not a processing office and they have more important things to deal with. So after a good bollocking and alot of puffing and sighing, he eventually changed the permit. (Now I can get paid from the start and I don't have to volunteer while I wait for my permit.) The kids got bored very easily and I think he might have took pity on us as they looked very fed up.
We had the permits in our hands at lunch time, so I rang my new boss up to find out what the next step was and he told me to come straight to the feed lot east of Iron Springs and load my first trailer full. I drove directly there and met him in the pouring rain. (When I say pouring it drenched me in two minutes flat) There was about five of our wagons loading and Jim had already loaded mine, so I stood and watched the other guys get their cows on and it was off to the plant to get rid of them. This was my second time this week driving with the Eaton fuller transmission, but this time I had someone to impress with my skills, as the boss wants to know that you are not going to kill his truck. Needless to say I didn't impress, but he did bare with me and by the end of the day I was able to get by without using the clutch and not too much grinding..
When we got to Brooks it was great to not turn right where the reefers go. The amount of time I have spent in this place, you would think I was part of the furniture. Waiting for trailers to be ready was my worse nightmare and to go straight on and wait 10 minutes before I unloaded was like a breath of fresh air. (Even though the reality was, it was not that fresh) Once I had backed on the chute the adrenalin started pumping as it was time to get in the trailer. Armed again with my trusty giant rattle, I opened the back door and they started to walk off. The size when you are stood up close is phenomenal and as they rumble past, I started to build up my courage. Once those on the back had come off, I ran up the ramp opened the door to the top deck, turned and legged it. (There wasn't actually any need for this as they didn't come straight away, but better safe than sorry) I think I thought I was the cow whisperer, as they didn't need any coxing off.
The emptying of the dog house is supposed to be the hardest of unloading but they came off just as easy..
The loading was, however a completely different thing. When you are taking animals off a trailer they are looking for an escape route out of their confinement, but when you are loading you are trying to coup them up so they don't want to go in. Again though, I must have been talking fluent moo, because they walked, just where they were supposed to go.. I think it will get harder in time, as I get animals that are a bit more problematic. But only time will tell..

Day one at new job...

Got up at 5 this morning to get to work for half past... The body is going to need a bit of training to start getting up at this time again. H&R was more of a "start at reasonable hour and work late sort of a job.." I'm sure I'll get used to it, but the wife might be a different matter.
I drove up to High River to pick up (skinnies), but they were 700 pounds themselves so not so small. Apparently (fats) are a lot easier to deal with, but I suppose that's only if they don't kill you first.
I stood back and watched the loading of the animals at first, learning how to prod them and where to stand, which was interesting.. Little did I know that after a 2 hour drive I would be getting in with them..(alone)
After the initial fear and armed with a giant rattle, I proceeded to lead them off.. More to follow..

The Soldier

One of my favorite poems:

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Working the system.

I think there is definitely a trick with H&R and you have to learn to work the system to suit yourself. Sometimes you have to be very underhand in your attempts to get home and get the miles in.. I would always arrive in Calgary with a load, after my dispatcher had gone home, and offer to bring a trailer down to Lethbridge for another lad so he would not have to come up, regardless of whether I had the hours to do it or not. That way there was never the opportunity for them to reset me in Calgary. If I brought a load that passed through Lethbridge to go to Calgary I would OFFER to drop it in the yard, have a quick 36 and go south for them again.. 99% of the time they would tell me to drop the trailer and be ready to go as soon as the hours were spent. The one thing I was never able to get on top of was the waiting at the meat plants for a trailer and when you don't have any other options, I don't think you ever will. If you have a family and you want to be home at the weekends, this is possible but you won't earn any money.. All the best work leaves on a Thursday/Friday for Monday delivery. If you start doing these runs you can normal get there and back in a week and earn the money. The trouble is then trying to get back on the road again with a job that allows you to keep this up consistently. You might leave on a Saturday the next week and before you know it the weeks are rolling and you have lost a weeks money..I don't think the Canadians are so bothered with constantly trying to get home. They seem to work for a bit and then have some time off. I was always trying to get a pattern in my work and this might be the European in me, struggling with the Canadian way.
I am moving to another company on a TWP to haul Cattle mainly down into Washington. This was my original plan many moons ago and the paperwork has finally come. I will update more but I have to get my trailer now..

Change of plan...

On Wednesday I submitted my resignation letter to H&R Transport. I will finish on May 28th. This means as a family we will have to retract our application for permanent residency on the PNP program.. I will keep you posted

100 Degrees

I just had to pinch myself.. I was moaning about the temperature to MYSELF.. I am officially sweating my tits off. Fancy complaining to yourself about the heat, when this time 3 months ago, I couldn't even feel my fingers and if you tried hard enough you could of snapped those tits clean off.
I have decided to embrace it. I am going to go and sprawl out on the grass and catch some sunburn instead, while I wait for the back load.

Truck Trouble..

Not a lot to really say about the truck, other than its on its last legs... I have coxed it around another trip to Wisconsin and its in dire need of some TLC. I'm hoping to get it into the shop tomorrow and hopefully it will be new again by next Monday....(when I come back to work)

Failing that I'll just take on another one.. Maybe that would be a better idea...