11/5/07

Honestly speaking, I have a pretty crummy attitude about my job right now. That being said, I know I have a crummy attitude and knowing is half the battle, or something like that. I'm stuck in the midst of a perfect storm of bad luck that is going to make for a whopper of a lousy paycheck. Luckily for me, the check that hit my bank account today was enough to pay my bills for November. Otherwise I might have had some issues.

Element 1 of the perfect storm: I worked the first day and a half of November finishing a run for which I was paid in October.

Element 2: I sat at the shipper all day waiting for the load to Florida.

Element 3: The run to Florida was only a little over 300 miles, following a 30 mile deadhead.

Element 4: I delivered on a Saturday afternoon in a state that doesn't seem to produce a whole lot of outbound freight.

Element 5: I picked up (today) a load that covers 1,260 miles and delivers on the 8th. Not good.

Element 6: I have plans set for the 14th. This means that I will need to highlight for home by the 9th. I'll be in Jersey on the 8th, so the safe move will be to highlight when I get there. The one time I decided to press my luck and wait a day, I got a five day run to California. I can't take that chance this time around.

Element 7: My last few working days of the pay period will see the planners trying to rout me to Michigan, while the last two days of the pay period will see me sitting at home. This essentially means there is no hope for a big finish to the pay period.

So yeah, that's what I've got going for me. I drove down to Clewiston overnight as planned. The sugar plant smelled like ass, but otherwise it was a pretty straightforward pickup. Then, when I was loaded, I sent in my empty call. I got my dispatch and saw that the 4am appointment Thursday was real. Shit. So I went sightseeing. I don't even know exactly what my route was (I was just picking a direction each time I reached a crossroads), but I cruised here and there and wound up checking out Disney World along the way. There's a Motel 6 right down the street from Disney World with "Truck Parking" on the marquee, so I'll file that one away for future reference. I only drove a total of nine hours. I could have done the full eleven but, like I said, my attitude sucks right now. I stopped in at the Love's in Ormond Beach to set up camp for the night. I'll roll again some time after midnight.

I did face a minor medical emergency today. I don't want to be too dramatic but, as I understand it, I was within mere minutes of starving to death. In an amazing act of heroism, the folks at Arby's sprung into action and saved the day. That was too close for comfort.