12/5/07

We're all behind our baseball team. Go get 'em Tigers. World Series bound and picking up steam. Go get 'em Tigers. There'll be joy in Tiger Town we'll sing you a song, when the Bengals bring the pennant home, where it belongs. We're all behind our baseball team. Go get 'em, Detroit Tigers. Go get 'em Tigers!

Today was a good day, regardless of how my job went. That's not to say my job was bad today, just that it wouldn't have mattered. Dave Dombrowski sacked up and did the job he's paid to do. What good is it to have a bunch of talented minor leaguers when they won't see the field any time soon? We needed a third baseman and we needed an established starter. We got both. Nice job! I almost feel guilty typing this from Florida, since the Marlins just got bent over. But anyway...

I fell alseep at some point early in the morning after watching 3:10 to Yuma. It was a good flick. Interesting characters, well-acted, cool story. But, in typical 21st century fashion, the conclusion was a real deus ex machina. I think screenwriters are just lazy.

I got rolling around 11am and headed into Georgia. This is the second time in a row that Georgia has been crawling with cops, so I suspect that budget troubles plague the old Peach State. I popped in at the T/A in Cartersville to get that light replaced, then headed south again. Traffic around Atlanta was, well, traffic around Atlanta. What are you gonna do?

The rest of the drive was pretty cool. I took a couple of breaks to make sure I showed up at the customer after they were closed and gone for the night. Pretty good move, as this parking lot is tight. Nothing says "oldest city in America" like a nice shiny new strip mall. As new as the place is, the loading docks seem to have been an afterthought. Pretty typical. I took a flyer and passed the building in order to approach the back from the north, guessing that the docks would face south. They do. Sweet. Coming around behind these stores, if you're facing the wrong way, can be a real bitch. There's not exactly room to turn around back here, so you have to circle back out and find a place in the parking lot between the light poles and grass islands and shopping cart corrals and abandoned cars and all the rest of it. My directions to the second drop say "real tight backing" so I also have that to look forward to, which is nice.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," they say. If someone gives you a horse, don't check his teeth to see how old he is. Just be glad they gave you a horse. That's the lesson I have to keep in mind today. I had planned to highlight for home when I got to the last drop tomorrow morning. Go through my benefits information, get a few little things touched up on the truck, and prepare for a busy month of work while people come off the road for the holidays. Halfway through Georgia... I don't have to tell you. You know what happened. Preplan. I never get them when I want them. It's always when I have something else in mind. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

The preplan that I got left quite a bit to be desired. I'll be empty in Lake Mary tomorrow morning and they sent a plan summary for a load leaving Jacksonville on Friday and delivering in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday. That's not a lot of miles and those two cities mean beer, which is less than fun. The beer distributor in Columbia is no picnic when it comes to backing and parking and all the rest of it, so yeah. So, tomorrow will consist of the short trip down to Lake Mary and a pretty short deadhead back up to Jacksonville. Right about the time I started cursing the planners, one of them called my cell phone.

He said that they sent me a preplan. Yeah, no shit, I already replied to it. What's up? He then asked if I got the info for the load that was stacked behind it, because it wasn't showing that it went through on their end. I took another look. Nope, just Jacksonville to Columbia. He informed me that, after the beer load, I'll have a run going from South Carolina to Nogales. So, not heading home any time soon, but "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," right? Miles are miles, so I ain't complaining.

The oil gauge hasn't stuck any more since a few days ago, and the steering seems okay. I think there might be an issue with the pump, but it felt right today so I'm just going to go with it. I'll likely highlight for home from Nogales, so I can have things in order before the holidays. That was the best time of year for me to make money last year, so I'm hoping for a repeat.