11/21/07

Easton, I hardly knew ya.

I got an empty today at 11am and my assigned load picked up at 8am, so I guess you can figure out that much. So another missed load, what's the difference, right? That's honestly how I felt this morning, but some of the nonsense surrounding the whole deal had me all worked up.

I went back to the drop lot in Hazleton at 5am, a full three hours ahead of my scheduled appointment at the place in Easton. What say you, Mr. yard dog? "Maybe another hour or so." That's fine, I could leave at 6am and still make my appointment with no trouble.

Okay, it's 6am, how about now, Mr. yard dog? "It's gonna be a while, but they're gonna dump eleven empties when they get done." Freaking useless. I need one empty, not eleven. I need to know when, not "a while."

So I called CFI and got some dude on the phone. I told him what was going on, then he put me on hold. When he came back, he said that they were trying to get a hold of someone at the customer to see when they would get me an empty. Yeah well, most office types aren't taking phone calls at 6am. Besides, why would anyone think they have any real idea, when they've been lying to me since last night? So I got unassigned from my planned load.

Around 9:30am, after getting another runaround, I shot a message to CFI. I apprised them of the fact that I had been at the customer for 14 hours, I still had no empty, and I do need to eat this month. I imagine that last bit of sarcasm did the trick, prompting a defensive reply from my fleet manager. He said I wasn't planned on anything because I said I would board in the morning and I never did. Ummm... At that point, I went from 'pissed but dealing with it' to 'I'll punch you in the mouth.' I never boarded? Kiss my ass pal. The rough draft of my response read, "Okay genius, how in the fuck am I supposed to board with no fucking empty?" Once my editors got through with me, the final version (the one I actually sent) said, "I can't board without an empty."

My fleet manager then put me on the board with no empty and said he was calling this mysterious guy who apparently has the power to make empties appear. I was told they were calling the same guy last night and we see how that went. A short time later, the mystery man sent me a message saying that the trailer in door #32 was empty and I could pull it once the light turned green. I sat in front of it for an hour. The light never turned green. Finally the yard dog brought me an empty from some other door.

This was a pretty big customer of ours (which is why there are no names listed here) and I guess all we can do is put up with their shit when this happens, but that was unacceptable. If a loaded trailer comes in, an empty goes out. If an empty comes in, a load goes out. There's no excuse for what I dealt with there. If they're seeing a shift in their business, they need to get excess empties in there to accomodate the changes. If not, they just need to get their heads out of their asses. Either way, that's time for which I won't get paid and I can't do anything about it.

Tired of my whining yet? I sure as hell am. Okay, let's try this on for size: I got a load assignment right around the time I finally got an empty trailer. Pick up in Telford, about 70 miles away. Okay. And... go to Kent, Washington, 2,830 miles away. Beauty. So thanks for all of the offers, but it looks like I may not have to sell a kidney for rent money after all. This run got me up to 4,053 miles and I'll have four more days, after I'm empty, until the month is through.

I was planning to tend to some business matters at home on the 29th, but this run will force me to reschedule since I deliver in Washington on the morning of the 27th. I was already leaning toward staying out, since my income has been so pathetic this month. This way, they just made the decision for me.

I found that I had to take a break every couple of hours today, on account of not feeling so great, but I still got halfway across Ohio before my 14 hour clock ran out. My strength is definitely not 100%, but I think my biggest issue was the neck pain. Through drills and forced habit, I'm compulsive about checking my mirrors every few seconds. Each time I turned my head today, my neck hurt like a bitch. Then, the next time, it would be worse. And so on, and so on, until eventually I would pull over and lay down for a spell.

Along the way, I missed the turn where I-80 and I-76 cross. Nothing new for me. I'd say I miss at least one turn a day. I was passing a guy, then I needed to be in the right lane, then he sped up... Anyhow, getting to the point - My unintended route took me through a couple of towns. I know that some people lament the effect that Wal Mart has had on small towns in America. I stopped in at the one on OH-14 just south of the turnpike and I got a new work coat for $15. For deals like that, they can run a whole state out of business as far as I'm concerned. (I recommend California.)