Pretty slow going across the bridge after midnight, but otherwise it was a nice simple three hour trip to Canada. The customer was right off the highway, so I was checked in and docked before I knew it. The forklift guy pulled most of the freight from my trailer and then sent me to a different dock to get rid of the rest of it. I couldn't find anyone with whom to check in over there, so I taped the bills to a post and hopped in the bunk. Screw 'em. I was tired. The guy at the first dock told me it might be "a while" until they got to me at the second one, so I wasn't in the mood to stand around with my thumb up my ass.
A few hours later, a dude came out and knocked on my door. I rolled down the window and he asked, "What can we do for you?" Umm, unload my trailer, maybe? He said it was all unloaded and he was just wondering what I was picking up. Nope, not picking up sir, just delivering. So I sent in my empty call and immediately got my next assignment.
Fucking 'need to know basis' bullshit. I was picking up at the same dock and heading to Illinois. Only, by this time, the guy had taken off because I told him I wasn't picking up anything. So it took a half hour to track him down and fill him in. He was visibly annoyed, since he was ready to load me when he came out in the first place. Yeah, take a number dude.
The shipper didn't have a fax for me to use, so I had to stop in at the Flying J in London. I sent in my customs paperwork and headed west. I let the Taylor terminal know that I would be stopping at the Pilot in Tilbury to pick up their return fax. What a convoluted bunch of bureaucratic bullshit that whole system is. If everything is electronic, why in the hell do we need to stop and pick up a fax? Is the barcode truly the be and end all of modern technology? Are the customs agents no longer capable of typing an entry number into their computers? Stupid. I sat at the Pilot for about an hour before I got my fax. This was a marked improvement over the eight hours I sat the first time I had to do this song and dance. Then on to the bridge... at shift change. Beauty.
By the time I got across, my 14 hour clock was toast. So I'm taking my break at the terminal. I thought about heading home, but sometimes a ten hour break at home is really more trouble than it's worth. I'm feeling pretty sluggish right now, so some sleep will hopefully find its way to me soon.
Today has me thinking that I am probably going to stick with my original decision to forego Canada loads in 2008. I have gone back and forth regarding whether or not I want to take Canada loads in the future, but I tend to think the answer is 'no.' The biggest downside to turning down the 'option' for Canada loads is that I'll miss out on a few chances to stop by home on the way up there. I get through home every couple of months or so, irrespective of actual home time, by virtue of Canada-bound freight. I don't know. Maybe I'll change my mind. For now though, I'm perfectly content to let someone else deal with that shit.
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