I got off to a good start today. I showed up at 9am to my customer for a 10am pickup, but there were two trucks ahead of me so I expected a wait. I was pleasantly surprised when they told me to go ahead of the other trucks and back in. Twenty minutes later I was on my way. This seems to happen on a semi-regular basis, so I assume that something about the way the folks at CFI write their contracts is in play. I don't know, but it was nice not to wait.
My original plan summary said that I was to pick up today and deliver in New Jersey on the 26th. Since the run is 1205 miles, I could get there sometime on the 25th, so I was hoping the customer would accept an early delivery. When the dispatch came through I was surprised to learn that I am scheduled for 8am on the 25th. While this is definitely good news vis a vis my paycheck (one less day wasted) it presented me with an extra obstacle today. Without the extra wiggle room in my trip planning, I would have to drive a full day today and a full day tomorrow, starting as soon as I was loaded.
I remember the times when I would piss my mother off and she would tell me, "You just wait until your Dad gets home." Then I knew I was screwed. Today, Chicago was my Dad. I knew I would get there during rush hour, so there was never a question of 'if' the drive was going to suck, only 'when' it would begin. The last few times I've run 294 down to 80 and then across have been a total clusterfuck, so I decided to take 90 right through the belly of the beast and see if that was any better. I think, in terms of time, it wound up being about the same. It was a little better to me though, because at least there was some semblance of movement for most of the ride.
I'll have another long day of running tomorrow, hopefully finding somewhere to park that is close to my customer. New Jersey isn't exactly the roomiest state in the country, so I guess we'll see.
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