8/23/07

I caught a pretty big break in terms of the timing of today's run. I thought I was scheduled for midnight, so I planned to arrive at 11pm. My appointment was actually 11pm, so I'm lucky I was there. The construction in Pennsylvania almost conspired against me, but I pulled it off.

Before leaving Indiana I got a shower and a shave, then donned the all-important Notre Dame t-shirt for today's drive. The season is almost upon us and I'm getting a little restless.

I was taking US-30 across Indiana and Ohio because I really wasn't in the mood to use the turnpike on this run. I'm not sure exactly why. I just didn't feel like it. 30 is a pretty mellow ride for the most part. If the Eagles ever do a sequel called Life in the Granny Lane, I think they should hire me as a lyrical consultant. Nobody observes the 55mph limit for trucks in Ohio. I'm one of those Irish guys with bad luck though, so I keep it at 55. Today I had a Swiftie pass me, most likely at his 65mph maximum, right in front of a cop. No reaction. The day I decide to follow the crowd across Ohio will be the day some cop just caught his wife screwing his brother and he'll take it out on me.

The timing worked out perfectly for me in terms of hitting the jog up 71 to 76 and past Akron after rush hour. For a relatively small city, Akron gets a hell of a backup going in the afternoon. Then into Pennsylvania and bring on the hills. 44,000 pounds pretty much sucks on I-80, but such is life.

I checked in with the customer and the guy directed me to a dock across from the rest. As far as the docks at that customer go, this was the easiest to reach. Cool. You know though... I've been at this for a while now and I think I've gotten the hang of it for the most part. Every now and then, I have to wonder. I lined up the trailer, squared away the tractor, eased it back to the dock. Everything sounds cool, right? Yeah, I forgot to open the doors. What a jackass. Oh well, I guess you're never too experienced to look like an idiot every now and then. First I walk into the office at the last minute, then I don't know that the doors need to be open to get the freight out.

Once I got empty I was left with the task of finding a place to lay down for the night. As I suspected, the nearest truck stop was full. I headed up that way, even though I didn't expect to have a spot available, because we pick up freight from a Michael's distribution center in a neighboring industrial park. I have a hunch that's where I'll go in the morning. We'll see. Anyhow, on a previous trip I accidentally found an area of the industrial park that hasn't been developed yet. It's back in the middle of nowhere such that I won't be bothering anybody, so this is home tonight. Sometimes you have to create your own rest area out here.

This pay period is like night and day compared to the last one, at least so far. Eight days in the books and I'm at 3717 miles. Let's hope it keeps up. Another day or two of good running will leave me up against my 70 hours though. I'm hoping something picking up tomorrow and occupying my weekend will be in the cards, but that Micheal's DC would throw a wrench in those dreams. Most of the loads out of there go somewhere within a day's drive. Time will tell. Time will surely tell.