8/25/07

Even a blind Godfather finds a nut once in a while. My plan to make the rest of my run to North Carolina less stressful worked to perfection.

I left the Maryland scales after my eight hour break and encountered very little traffic passing around D.C. My fuel stop was not at all crowded. I got green lights from my Pre-pass at every scale that was open. I made the run within the time left before I had to take my two hour break. The lady at WalMart didn't display the usual sense of self-importance possessed by most rent-a-cops. She was polite and helpful. The load was a drop/hook so I didn't have to wait at a dock. The drop area had plenty of space to set up and back in. I picked up a clean empty that only took a minute to sweep. I had a pre-plan so I didn't have to sit around and wait for an assignment. The 35 mile drive along state highways to my next pickup only took me through two towns and only required one tight turn. The shipper was easy to find and, once again, I encountered a polite and helpful security guard. The drop lot there, while not exactly spacious, had enough room to make a fairly easy back into an empty space. When I got to a CAT scale and weighed my axles, they were perfectly balanced. I had a Hardee's patty melt for lunch and it was much better than expected. The drive back north was nice and smooth. I got a chance to stop in at JR Cigars on exit 97 and, once the rent-a-cop made me go to a neighboring parking lot, picked up some nice stogies. I usually order from them online, but it was cool to get a chance to browse the selection. Between the miles I've been running this wek, northeast bonus pay, and stop pay, I'm earning plenty of money on this paycheck. I found a pull-through parking spot right up front when I got to my stop for tonight. So as much as yesterday I didn't have the kind of job I wanted, today I had exactly the job I wanted.

If only my 70 hour clock weren't catching up with me, I could be at my delivery right now. As it stands, I'll run about five hours or so in the morning to get there. It's another drop/hook so I won't be sitting at a dock there either.

That's not to say the day has been a perfect one. I've had a decent internet connection for most of the day (at least until I got here) so my computer has been downloading updates as I drove along. Some installed without issue, but not all of them. I have a Pantech PCI card for my Sprint internet service. When I broke my old computer I had to stop in Mississippi and get a new one. Of course, it had Vista installed. My Pantech card was not Vista compatible, so I had to find a workaround to get my internet access back. I've been using the workaround since then, several months now. Today I was notified that the software to run the Pantech card with Vista is now available and ready to install. Once I installed it, I had no internet access. Shit. So I ran System Restore and tried to go back. Failed. Tried another restore point. Failed. Another. Failed. Eventually I got one to work, so now it's a matter of seeing if I've taken off any software that I should have left alone.

Now I think I'll go for a jog and then sleep with no alarm clock. I have no idea how long I'll sleep, but whatever my body decides to do is what I'll go with. This load has to be delivered by 00:01 on Monday morning, so I have all day tomorrow to work with.

Originally, I thought I would be able to get a restart under this load, but the dispatch puts me in Bedford, Pennsylvania to soon for that to happen. I'll have to fight the 70 hour clock for a few days and hope they can keep up my momentum.