11/23/07

I could say, with 100% accuracy, that this job has been almost exactly what I expected it to be. In the big picture, perspective-based sense, that would be completely true.

I could also say, with equal accuracy, that hardly anything in the day-to-day routine goes the way you picture it before you get out here and do it. Today was almost exactly like the kind of day I pictured before I started this job.

I always pictured real long days on the road, cruising vast distances with minimal stopping. In reality, eight hours is a pretty typical day and I've had as many two hour days as eleven hour days. On the longer ones, I usually stop a few times for no other reason than boredom. Today I ran just short of eleven hours and only took a quick piss break.

I never pictured sitting in stationary traffic for no particular reason on an almost daily basis. Most days, whenever I get close to a city, we'll come to a stop at least once but there won't be any apparent reason for having done so. Today I took I-90 straight through Chicago and never dropped below the posted speed limit.

I never pictured all of the ways that incompetent office personnel could find to waste my time. Today I was in the middle of a long run so the office didn't exist as far as I was concerned.

I never pictured the amount of time that it could take to load a trailer. I've had full loads put on in ten minutes, so I know it can be a quick process, but I've also had half a trailer take five hours. Today I was already loaded and ready to roll once I drove to work in the morning.

I never pictured the asinine places into which shippers and receivers would ask us to back our 53' trailers. I've had some where, even after I got the trailer in the door, I looked outside and thought, "I'll never get out of here." Today, there were no docks to bump or drop yards to navigate.

I always pictured myself just setting the cruise slightly below the speed limit and letting it ride. In reality, there is always someone going slower. Try driving 50mph on the interstate sometime. You'll still run someone down and have to make your way around. I guarantee it. Today I ran 60mph in Michigan, 65mph in Indiana, 55mph in Illinois, and 65mph in Wisconsin. I rarely had to leave the right lane or disengage the cruise.

All of this just confirms a previously held view of mine. If every day of the year fell on a holiday weekend, I would absolutely love my job. They don't, and thus I don't, but today was exactly what the doctor ordered. I got to Hudson, Wisconsin, just outside Minnesota. That's plenty of ground covered for today and with no aggravation.

I even got a kick out of seeing all of the full arms and smiling faces as I rolled through the towns and suburbs, especially Chicago. Analysts expect a sharp decline in consumer activity in response to rising gas prices. Anybody who knows anything about America knows our attitude when it comes to Christmas shopping - 'Fuck gas prices. I want to see my kids smile.' I guess I'll try to catch on with one of these think tanks. It sounds like people get to make shit up and get paid for it.

Well, I guess that's all for today. Skipping yesterday to visit with family has left me pigeonholed into a hard-running weekend, so I have a lot more ground to cover tomorrow.