Well, sometimes you need a day off and sometimes you just get one. Today I just got one. I woke up and headed to Salina this morning. The coolest part of the ride was the little kids asking me to blow the air horn for them. I still get a kick out of that. I got to Bosselman's and topped off the fuel tanks, then pulled in and laid down. I was #11 when I went on the board, so I knew I had plenty of time for a nap. Little did I know I had time for a lot more.
Here's the puzzling thing to me. I was dispatched from Colorado to here, some 425 miles. They paid me and paid for the fuel, but why? I'm under the control of Kansas City dispatch from here, but they already had ten trucks in the area this morning. It would seem to me that, if you're going to spend a couple hundred bucks in fuel and wages to move a truck then there would be a reason behind it. I'm now #7 on the board, so obviously there wasn't much freight to move from this area today. Personally I'd rather get the 425 miles and spend a day here than stay at the gas station in Colorado for a day and get no miles, but it doesn't seem like smart business. This truck stop is a much better place to spend a day than the Joplin terminal as well, for that matter, so I guess I can't complain too much.
I spent some time watching movies, some time downloading music, some more time watching movies, and some more time downloading music. The Dropkick Murphys put a new song on their MySpace page, so that was pretty cool. I'm looking forward to their new CD release in a few weeks. I thought I was getting hungry earlier, but after spending a couple of hours watching one portly driver after another walk by, I decided to go for a walk and take a shower instead. Man, I've gotten lazy and put on a few pounds lately, but some of these guys really need to be concerned for their health.
Miles so far are sitting just over 4,000 for the month, so a good week is in order. It will be tough to crack 6,500 on this check, but I'm still hoping for 6,000. I heard from another driver that the tractor shop in Joplin was backed up pretty badly last night, so I have my fingers crossed hoping that they get caught up before I get routed through there. I would seriously not like to spend a day in Joplin for a simple repair. My hunch is that a bunch of the people going to Joplin for the meeting today were having some fix-it work done, so they should be gone before I get there. I guess I'll find out soon enough.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
8/10/07
Today seemed like a pretty eventful day, even though in hindsight I guess I didn't do all that much.
I started off covering the last hundred miles to get to my first stop in Denver. Halfway up there, my communication system beeped with a message from my fleet manager. He said that the shop needed me in Joplin to repair my MobileMax console, so he was highlighting me for Joplin. My MobileMax has been pretty sketchy since I got this truck last year. I've had it in the shop a couple of times and it does work better than it used to, but I still have to pull the fuse and reset it every now and then. So, I have to wonder, why now? Further to that, why would the shop initiate a repair visit when I've learned just to deal with it? I'm pretty cynical about things, so I assume that this is a bullshit excuse to get me back there and turn my truck down. Since they've lowered the company speed limit to 65mph but left the trucks able to run 70mph, I've been expecting the day to come when they neuter my truck a little further. I guess we'll see.
Being highlighted for Joplin isn't a big deal to me, per se. I get paid by the mile, so they can send me wherever they want to. In addition, it's been a while since my truck had a bath and one of my drive tires is going to be due for a swap out before too much longer, so getting through there will give me a chance to have those things done. My only concern right now is centered on the fact that a bunch of drivers have headed to Joplin for tomorrow's monthly drivers' meeting. The big topic of discussion is supposed to be the Conway merger and people are all anxious to hear more about it. If I get stuck there this weekend with fifty trucks ahead of me, I'll be fairly pissed to say the least.
When I got to the stop in Denver, I was oh so pleased to see that I had to back in from a busy street lined with parked cars on both sides. I found a better way in though, pulling into my customer and then angling into the lot across the street, leaving me a pretty basic back-up into the dock. No biggie.
After they got me empty there, I headed for my second stop in Englewood. The directions were pretty easy to follow, so I had that going for me. I had to proceed past the main entrance to the facility and use the east drive back toward the docks. The damned east drive was this weird serpentine thing up a hill with cars parked on both sides. Now, this entrance was specifically built to accomodate traffic to the docks. Why in the hell wouldn't they just make it a straight driveway? It wasn't terribly difficult to navigate, but I have no idea why anybody would design a truck entrance that way. After I checked in and waited for the previous truck to leave my assigned dock, I spun around and got set up. As I rolled back toward the dock from a pretty weird angle, I heard a loud bang. Fuck! What could I have hit? I set the brakes and hauled ass to the back of my trailer. I wasn't within ten feet of anything. Then I heard the same bang again. It was freaking thunder. There was a storm a few miles to the west and the thunder rolling across the warehouse had a weird sound to it. I looked like a jackass, but hey, I didn't hit anything.
Once I got empty there, I was faced with a pretty common dilemma. It's pretty common in urban areas at least. I could drive twenty miles back into Denver and go to a crowded truck stop or I could drive twenty miles to the south and hope that the little gas station in Castle Rock had a spot for me. I chose to go away from Denver even though I had a suspicion my next load would be in Denver. The dirt lot in Castle Rock only had one truck in it, so I grabbed a spot. After I took a few minutes to use the facilities and get some lunch, I got my next assignment. Deadhead to Salina, Kansas and go on the board? That's a weird one. We don't have a drop lot in Salina. They didn't direct me to any specific place in Salina. Just go to Salina. Whatever. I'll get there tomorrow and set up shop at the Flying J until they decide what to do with me.
When I checked the route from Castle Rock to Salina, the prescribed approach was to head back up around Denver to I-70 and roll east. Here's where the little devil on my shoulder starts talking to me sometimes. As a general rule, you never take one of these trucks down a road unless you know it's okay to go there. I, however, get in the mood to fly by the seat of my pants every now and then. As I looked up at the mountains, I couldn't resist. I headed up some county road and went on an adventure. How often will I get a chance to go exploring around there with no weight in the wagon? I'm pretty sure I wound up going about twenty five miles out of my way, but it was pretty fun. I ran up and down some canyons. I saw some beautiful estates up there. I actually saw a bison ranch too. Holy shit those things are huge! I'm a city boy, so I always pictured a bison as being just a weird-looking cow. Some of them were about twice as big as the biggest cow I've ever seen. Pretty cool.
I caught up with I-70 over in the eastern part of Colorado and rolled into Kansas. Even without my little detour, I didn't have enough hours to make it to Salina tonight, so I've pulled into a rest area here with about 150 miles left for tomorrow morning. I'm not in a terrible hurry to get there and have them tell me to come to Joplin, which is probably what they'll end up doing.
I started off covering the last hundred miles to get to my first stop in Denver. Halfway up there, my communication system beeped with a message from my fleet manager. He said that the shop needed me in Joplin to repair my MobileMax console, so he was highlighting me for Joplin. My MobileMax has been pretty sketchy since I got this truck last year. I've had it in the shop a couple of times and it does work better than it used to, but I still have to pull the fuse and reset it every now and then. So, I have to wonder, why now? Further to that, why would the shop initiate a repair visit when I've learned just to deal with it? I'm pretty cynical about things, so I assume that this is a bullshit excuse to get me back there and turn my truck down. Since they've lowered the company speed limit to 65mph but left the trucks able to run 70mph, I've been expecting the day to come when they neuter my truck a little further. I guess we'll see.
Being highlighted for Joplin isn't a big deal to me, per se. I get paid by the mile, so they can send me wherever they want to. In addition, it's been a while since my truck had a bath and one of my drive tires is going to be due for a swap out before too much longer, so getting through there will give me a chance to have those things done. My only concern right now is centered on the fact that a bunch of drivers have headed to Joplin for tomorrow's monthly drivers' meeting. The big topic of discussion is supposed to be the Conway merger and people are all anxious to hear more about it. If I get stuck there this weekend with fifty trucks ahead of me, I'll be fairly pissed to say the least.
When I got to the stop in Denver, I was oh so pleased to see that I had to back in from a busy street lined with parked cars on both sides. I found a better way in though, pulling into my customer and then angling into the lot across the street, leaving me a pretty basic back-up into the dock. No biggie.
After they got me empty there, I headed for my second stop in Englewood. The directions were pretty easy to follow, so I had that going for me. I had to proceed past the main entrance to the facility and use the east drive back toward the docks. The damned east drive was this weird serpentine thing up a hill with cars parked on both sides. Now, this entrance was specifically built to accomodate traffic to the docks. Why in the hell wouldn't they just make it a straight driveway? It wasn't terribly difficult to navigate, but I have no idea why anybody would design a truck entrance that way. After I checked in and waited for the previous truck to leave my assigned dock, I spun around and got set up. As I rolled back toward the dock from a pretty weird angle, I heard a loud bang. Fuck! What could I have hit? I set the brakes and hauled ass to the back of my trailer. I wasn't within ten feet of anything. Then I heard the same bang again. It was freaking thunder. There was a storm a few miles to the west and the thunder rolling across the warehouse had a weird sound to it. I looked like a jackass, but hey, I didn't hit anything.
Once I got empty there, I was faced with a pretty common dilemma. It's pretty common in urban areas at least. I could drive twenty miles back into Denver and go to a crowded truck stop or I could drive twenty miles to the south and hope that the little gas station in Castle Rock had a spot for me. I chose to go away from Denver even though I had a suspicion my next load would be in Denver. The dirt lot in Castle Rock only had one truck in it, so I grabbed a spot. After I took a few minutes to use the facilities and get some lunch, I got my next assignment. Deadhead to Salina, Kansas and go on the board? That's a weird one. We don't have a drop lot in Salina. They didn't direct me to any specific place in Salina. Just go to Salina. Whatever. I'll get there tomorrow and set up shop at the Flying J until they decide what to do with me.
When I checked the route from Castle Rock to Salina, the prescribed approach was to head back up around Denver to I-70 and roll east. Here's where the little devil on my shoulder starts talking to me sometimes. As a general rule, you never take one of these trucks down a road unless you know it's okay to go there. I, however, get in the mood to fly by the seat of my pants every now and then. As I looked up at the mountains, I couldn't resist. I headed up some county road and went on an adventure. How often will I get a chance to go exploring around there with no weight in the wagon? I'm pretty sure I wound up going about twenty five miles out of my way, but it was pretty fun. I ran up and down some canyons. I saw some beautiful estates up there. I actually saw a bison ranch too. Holy shit those things are huge! I'm a city boy, so I always pictured a bison as being just a weird-looking cow. Some of them were about twice as big as the biggest cow I've ever seen. Pretty cool.
I caught up with I-70 over in the eastern part of Colorado and rolled into Kansas. Even without my little detour, I didn't have enough hours to make it to Salina tonight, so I've pulled into a rest area here with about 150 miles left for tomorrow morning. I'm not in a terrible hurry to get there and have them tell me to come to Joplin, which is probably what they'll end up doing.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
8/9/07
I was in one of those deep states of sleep this morning. You know the kind where you wake up thinking you were in the middle of something really important, but you just can't remember what it was. Sound sleep is a rarity for me, so I enjoy a good restful slumber whenever it comes my way. Then, about a half hour before my alarm was set to go off, the communications system beeped me back to reality.
The relay that I was supposed to haul to Calexico was running behind, so they pulled me off of that load and put me on one that was already on the yard. Nice. I got to avoid going to California, exchange 600 miles for 700 miles, and get rolling earlier than expected. I can't complain there.
Heading up through New Mexico today, there was apparently a practical joke being played on truck drivers. There was very little traffic and there were very few construction zones. Every time there was a construction zone though, the speed limit was 45mph, the zone was 50 yards long, and it was at the bottom of a ravine. So instead of being able to coast down a big hill and get a run at the next one, I found myself starting at 45-50mph and struggling up the next climb each time.
This was one of the windier (is that a word?) days I've experienced in quite a while. This load is 15,000 kilograms, so not light by any means, and it seriously felt like I was leaning sideways for much of the trip. Most trips through the southwest, or even on the central plains for that matter, will have gusty winds in certain places, but this one had solid strong winds pretty much from start to finish.
Aside from a nap this afternoon, it was a long day of good running. I did manage to sleep pretty soundly for a couple of hours this afternoon. You know the kind where you wake up thinking you were in the middle of something really important, but you just can't remember what it was. When I woke up, I got out to throw some oil in the beast. I swear that the southwest is like some form of punishment for our country. It's freaking unbearable out there. I'm usually singing a different tune in January, but for now I'm glad to be heading back north. I hopped back into the air conditioning post-haste.
I'll have two drops tomorrow afternoon in the Denver suburbs, then hope like hell to get something nice for the weekend. I'm not too excited about the possibility of picking up at that Pepsi plant again, that's for sure.
On two different shows today, I found myself unable to come to a conclusion about a topic that's in the news. This was pretty rare for me. My opinions may very well be wrong half the time, but I can always form an opinion. There's this rapper fella by the name of D'Mite. Actually he says he's a poet and not a rapper, but whatever. The topic of discussion was his song being played on BET. I found it to be funny if nothing else, but the gist of the debate is whether or not a song, laced with profanity but preaching a positive message, is good or bad. A few samples:
"Read a book, read a book, read a motherfuckin' book..."
"Your body needs water, so drink that shit..."
"Raise your kids, raise your kids, raise your Goddamn kids..."
I don't know man. It's hard to justify that kind of language being a positive influence for teenagers. At the same time though, if they're going to hear the language telling them to get bitches and hoes and guns and drugs, maybe this is one step forward. I imagine that it would bother me a little more if I had kids, but I don't, so I just chuckle. I still have to give him credit for finding a way to make me waffle on an issue.
The relay that I was supposed to haul to Calexico was running behind, so they pulled me off of that load and put me on one that was already on the yard. Nice. I got to avoid going to California, exchange 600 miles for 700 miles, and get rolling earlier than expected. I can't complain there.
Heading up through New Mexico today, there was apparently a practical joke being played on truck drivers. There was very little traffic and there were very few construction zones. Every time there was a construction zone though, the speed limit was 45mph, the zone was 50 yards long, and it was at the bottom of a ravine. So instead of being able to coast down a big hill and get a run at the next one, I found myself starting at 45-50mph and struggling up the next climb each time.
This was one of the windier (is that a word?) days I've experienced in quite a while. This load is 15,000 kilograms, so not light by any means, and it seriously felt like I was leaning sideways for much of the trip. Most trips through the southwest, or even on the central plains for that matter, will have gusty winds in certain places, but this one had solid strong winds pretty much from start to finish.
Aside from a nap this afternoon, it was a long day of good running. I did manage to sleep pretty soundly for a couple of hours this afternoon. You know the kind where you wake up thinking you were in the middle of something really important, but you just can't remember what it was. When I woke up, I got out to throw some oil in the beast. I swear that the southwest is like some form of punishment for our country. It's freaking unbearable out there. I'm usually singing a different tune in January, but for now I'm glad to be heading back north. I hopped back into the air conditioning post-haste.
I'll have two drops tomorrow afternoon in the Denver suburbs, then hope like hell to get something nice for the weekend. I'm not too excited about the possibility of picking up at that Pepsi plant again, that's for sure.
On two different shows today, I found myself unable to come to a conclusion about a topic that's in the news. This was pretty rare for me. My opinions may very well be wrong half the time, but I can always form an opinion. There's this rapper fella by the name of D'Mite. Actually he says he's a poet and not a rapper, but whatever. The topic of discussion was his song being played on BET. I found it to be funny if nothing else, but the gist of the debate is whether or not a song, laced with profanity but preaching a positive message, is good or bad. A few samples:
"Read a book, read a book, read a motherfuckin' book..."
"Your body needs water, so drink that shit..."
"Raise your kids, raise your kids, raise your Goddamn kids..."
I don't know man. It's hard to justify that kind of language being a positive influence for teenagers. At the same time though, if they're going to hear the language telling them to get bitches and hoes and guns and drugs, maybe this is one step forward. I imagine that it would bother me a little more if I had kids, but I don't, so I just chuckle. I still have to give him credit for finding a way to make me waffle on an issue.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
8/8/07
Another day, another dollar. I headed over to the Pepsi distributor this morning. After checking in, I was told that the only restriction Pepsi puts on the forklift guy is that he can't unload if anything has tipped over. I would have to straighten things up if anything had tipped. I opened the doors, the straps were still in place, and everything was good.
I headed out to the truck to catch up my log book and check my e-mail. A little while later, the forklift guy came out with the bad news. Halfway into my trailer, a pallet of Mountain Dew had tipped forward. The guy seemed almost embarrassed to make me go in there and straighten it out. Why? Because there was no freaking way it was my fault. If you turn corners too hard, things tip sideways. If you don't strap things in properly, they tip backward. The only way they tip forward, in the middle of the damn trailer, is if they were loaded by a jackass. The pallet of water that should have kept the Mountain Dew in place was about a foot off-center in the trailer, leaving nothing in front of an eight-high pallet of 20 ounce bottles. The Mountain Dew probably tipped before I even left the plant. I played the good sport and set the pallet back up, reminding myself of how out-of-shape I'm getting as I did so.
Not long after that, I was empty. I headed to the local truckstop in Roswell to grab some food and put my feet up for a bit. There were two other CFI trucks there, but according to the computer I was #1 on the board. Something in the back of my mind said, "There won't be any freight anywhere near here today." Yep, I was right. After sitting for half the day, I got dispatched to pull my empty to El Paso and go on the board. 203 miles is better than nothing I guess. When I got here this evening I was #4, so I began another movie watching spree.
Not long ago, I got my next assignment. I'll be pulling a load out of here in the morning and taking it to Calexico. That's a good day of running for me, even though I really despise California. It's hard to believe my miles for this month are anywhere near decent, with all of the sitting lately, but that run tomorrow will put me over 3,500 for the month, nine days in. Not setting any records, but considering the way my time seems to be wasted every other day, it's not bad either.
The most recent flick I watched tonight was Man On The Moon. I don't know if the movie was just pure crap or if Andy Kaufman was really that uninteresting. I'm not into that "If you don't get it, you're just not hip enough" crap. This stuff just wasn't very good. Hopefully my Vongo library has something better for me before I hit the sack.
I headed out to the truck to catch up my log book and check my e-mail. A little while later, the forklift guy came out with the bad news. Halfway into my trailer, a pallet of Mountain Dew had tipped forward. The guy seemed almost embarrassed to make me go in there and straighten it out. Why? Because there was no freaking way it was my fault. If you turn corners too hard, things tip sideways. If you don't strap things in properly, they tip backward. The only way they tip forward, in the middle of the damn trailer, is if they were loaded by a jackass. The pallet of water that should have kept the Mountain Dew in place was about a foot off-center in the trailer, leaving nothing in front of an eight-high pallet of 20 ounce bottles. The Mountain Dew probably tipped before I even left the plant. I played the good sport and set the pallet back up, reminding myself of how out-of-shape I'm getting as I did so.
Not long after that, I was empty. I headed to the local truckstop in Roswell to grab some food and put my feet up for a bit. There were two other CFI trucks there, but according to the computer I was #1 on the board. Something in the back of my mind said, "There won't be any freight anywhere near here today." Yep, I was right. After sitting for half the day, I got dispatched to pull my empty to El Paso and go on the board. 203 miles is better than nothing I guess. When I got here this evening I was #4, so I began another movie watching spree.
Not long ago, I got my next assignment. I'll be pulling a load out of here in the morning and taking it to Calexico. That's a good day of running for me, even though I really despise California. It's hard to believe my miles for this month are anywhere near decent, with all of the sitting lately, but that run tomorrow will put me over 3,500 for the month, nine days in. Not setting any records, but considering the way my time seems to be wasted every other day, it's not bad either.
The most recent flick I watched tonight was Man On The Moon. I don't know if the movie was just pure crap or if Andy Kaufman was really that uninteresting. I'm not into that "If you don't get it, you're just not hip enough" crap. This stuff just wasn't very good. Hopefully my Vongo library has something better for me before I hit the sack.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
8/7/07
"Patience is the companion of wisdom." - St. Augustine
I'm always trying to learn to be more patient, and I do okay, but today was another tester. I got hoodwinked by the Idle-Aire chick into signing up for the service last night. She was a flirty little thing and I didn't feel like arguing for my right to park without paying, so I gave in. Eventually though I wound up with a good evening away from the truckstop, along with a little TLC. I had almost forgotten what that was like. So, as you can imagine, I woke up today feeling like a stud, ready to take on the world. But the world wasn't ready for me, apparently.
I headed over to the Pepsi plant in Denver. My directions took me to the corner of 38th and Brighton. There's a guard shack. There's a gate. There are some trucks. Okay, here we go. The smartass remark from the security guard seemed like an unnecessary way to direct me to the other side of the plant, but whatever. I had to go in, turn around, and drive around the block. Go in - check. Turn around - check. Then wait... It took fifteen minutes for everyone to get through the gate and I was at the back of the line.
On to the other side, and wait... Three trucks ahead of me checking in. Now my turn. "Turn your CB to channel 30 and we'll call you when you have a door." I don't have a CB, so I gave her my cell #. The more I do this 'no CB' thing, the more I like it. Instead of listening to static for four hours (yeah, you read that right, four hours) while I waited for a door, I just chilled out and waited for a phone call. And waited, and waited... Four hours later (didn't know if I mentioned how long I waited) I decided to lay down and take a nap. The head hits the pillow, the phone rings. Uncanny in their timing sometimes.
Back to the other side of the plant where I was earlier in the day. Backed into the dock, dodging traffic and parked vehicles as I got set up, but didn't hit anything. That's always good. Squared away, set the brakes, and wait...
Two hours at the dock, waiting, then ready to roll. Get to the gate, and wait... The security guard couldn't figure out if the freight matched the bills, so she held me for a half hour. Then, into Denver rush hour, and wait... Very little movement for about twenty miles. Then to the south and into the rain, and wait... People driving 35mph on the freeway.
Okay, rain's cleared up, speed limit 75, here we go! Yeah, 75 my ass. It's only 75 if you don't get stuck behind some 80-year-old douchebag who thinks it's his constitutional right to hold up traffic on the interstate at 45mph. I was too heavy to accelerate into the left lane, so I just had to grin and bear it. Twenty miles later, old man river finds his exit and we're ready to roll. Wait a minute. Why are they stopping, why are they stopping, why are they stopping? Aww, construction, how nice.
So yeah, long day leaving Colorado. And the reward for the hassle was a long night of dragging 45,000 pounds up and down mountains and through the Godforsaken wilderness until 3am. This run can basically kiss my ass. I could seriously use either a 12 pack or another round with that chick in Denver right about now.
But, they say tomorrow is another day.
I'm always trying to learn to be more patient, and I do okay, but today was another tester. I got hoodwinked by the Idle-Aire chick into signing up for the service last night. She was a flirty little thing and I didn't feel like arguing for my right to park without paying, so I gave in. Eventually though I wound up with a good evening away from the truckstop, along with a little TLC. I had almost forgotten what that was like. So, as you can imagine, I woke up today feeling like a stud, ready to take on the world. But the world wasn't ready for me, apparently.
I headed over to the Pepsi plant in Denver. My directions took me to the corner of 38th and Brighton. There's a guard shack. There's a gate. There are some trucks. Okay, here we go. The smartass remark from the security guard seemed like an unnecessary way to direct me to the other side of the plant, but whatever. I had to go in, turn around, and drive around the block. Go in - check. Turn around - check. Then wait... It took fifteen minutes for everyone to get through the gate and I was at the back of the line.
On to the other side, and wait... Three trucks ahead of me checking in. Now my turn. "Turn your CB to channel 30 and we'll call you when you have a door." I don't have a CB, so I gave her my cell #. The more I do this 'no CB' thing, the more I like it. Instead of listening to static for four hours (yeah, you read that right, four hours) while I waited for a door, I just chilled out and waited for a phone call. And waited, and waited... Four hours later (didn't know if I mentioned how long I waited) I decided to lay down and take a nap. The head hits the pillow, the phone rings. Uncanny in their timing sometimes.
Back to the other side of the plant where I was earlier in the day. Backed into the dock, dodging traffic and parked vehicles as I got set up, but didn't hit anything. That's always good. Squared away, set the brakes, and wait...
Two hours at the dock, waiting, then ready to roll. Get to the gate, and wait... The security guard couldn't figure out if the freight matched the bills, so she held me for a half hour. Then, into Denver rush hour, and wait... Very little movement for about twenty miles. Then to the south and into the rain, and wait... People driving 35mph on the freeway.
Okay, rain's cleared up, speed limit 75, here we go! Yeah, 75 my ass. It's only 75 if you don't get stuck behind some 80-year-old douchebag who thinks it's his constitutional right to hold up traffic on the interstate at 45mph. I was too heavy to accelerate into the left lane, so I just had to grin and bear it. Twenty miles later, old man river finds his exit and we're ready to roll. Wait a minute. Why are they stopping, why are they stopping, why are they stopping? Aww, construction, how nice.
So yeah, long day leaving Colorado. And the reward for the hassle was a long night of dragging 45,000 pounds up and down mountains and through the Godforsaken wilderness until 3am. This run can basically kiss my ass. I could seriously use either a 12 pack or another round with that chick in Denver right about now.
But, they say tomorrow is another day.
Monday, August 6, 2007
8/6/07
Headed over to the customer today, 10:30am local time for my 11:30 appointment. Then the bastards pretty much screwed my day. The instructions indicated that this was a live unload. When I got there, I was told that I would have to drop my trailer, leave the premises, and return at 3pm local time to retrieve the empty.
So I did what I was told. Went back, got the empty, headed back over to the truckstop that I stayed at last night and this afternoon. Full. Okay, I'll go over to the T/A. Wrong turn. Where the hell I ended up, I have no idea. I wound up driving 50 miles today, and went nowhere.
As I was trying to find my way back to Denver, the communications system beeped with my next run. Cool, where am I headed? Nowhere. The next load picks up, in Denver, tomorrow afternoon. Shit! If those chickenheads had just pulled the freight off of my trailer like they were supposed to, I most likely would have gotten out of here today. Now, a day wasted.
When I finally found my way back to the T/A, there was only one parking space in the whole place, at the Idle-Aire island. No idling allowed. I'm not paying $2.50 an hour or whatever it is, just to have A/C for the night, so I'm stuck with mother nature. Luckily, a storm blew through and cooled things down a bit. If it stays like this overnight, I'll be able to enjoy the peace and quiet.
I have a bunch of convoluted instructions for the load tomorrow, but they involve a CB, which I don't have. Instead of trying to figure it out I'll just head over tomorrow and do what I'm told. The fact that I have to weigh empty before heading over and make sure I'm light enough obviously tells me that this sucker is going to be heavy. I'll run down to Roswell, New Mexico tomorrow night and hopefully find a place to park at the customer, unless they're a 24-hour outfit, in which case I'll get unloaded when I get there.
I can't figure out what the hell is going on with my EV-DO connection here. I'm in a major city, so it's on the broadband network. The connection keeps bouncing between wicked fast and nonexistent. Oh well, maybe I'll watch a few movies instead of pissing off people on the message boards tonight.
So I did what I was told. Went back, got the empty, headed back over to the truckstop that I stayed at last night and this afternoon. Full. Okay, I'll go over to the T/A. Wrong turn. Where the hell I ended up, I have no idea. I wound up driving 50 miles today, and went nowhere.
As I was trying to find my way back to Denver, the communications system beeped with my next run. Cool, where am I headed? Nowhere. The next load picks up, in Denver, tomorrow afternoon. Shit! If those chickenheads had just pulled the freight off of my trailer like they were supposed to, I most likely would have gotten out of here today. Now, a day wasted.
When I finally found my way back to the T/A, there was only one parking space in the whole place, at the Idle-Aire island. No idling allowed. I'm not paying $2.50 an hour or whatever it is, just to have A/C for the night, so I'm stuck with mother nature. Luckily, a storm blew through and cooled things down a bit. If it stays like this overnight, I'll be able to enjoy the peace and quiet.
I have a bunch of convoluted instructions for the load tomorrow, but they involve a CB, which I don't have. Instead of trying to figure it out I'll just head over tomorrow and do what I'm told. The fact that I have to weigh empty before heading over and make sure I'm light enough obviously tells me that this sucker is going to be heavy. I'll run down to Roswell, New Mexico tomorrow night and hopefully find a place to park at the customer, unless they're a 24-hour outfit, in which case I'll get unloaded when I get there.
I can't figure out what the hell is going on with my EV-DO connection here. I'm in a major city, so it's on the broadband network. The connection keeps bouncing between wicked fast and nonexistent. Oh well, maybe I'll watch a few movies instead of pissing off people on the message boards tonight.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
8/5/07
Rolling across Nebraska today, it occurred to me that people actually live there. I wonder if anyone ever told them they could leave. That has to be the most boring state, aside from North Dakota of course. But hell, the last time I crossed North Dakota, at least there were a few hot chicks on Harleys. The biker ladies in Nebraska could, I'm almost certain, throw me a pretty good beating if I stepped out of line.
I did see a driver pull into the rest area before North Platte and hop out with his kid. They grabbed their fishing poles and headed for the woods. That was pretty neat. My hat's off to the guys who can keep a family together while they're out here. There are a lot of sacrifices to be made, that's for sure.
The last time I ran 80 to 76 and into Denver, there was a hellacious blizzard going on. I kept hearing drivers on the CB, "Better park it CFI, they're closing the gates." Every time I got to a gate, it was open, so I kept rolling. Then when I got to North Platte, the guy closed the gate right behind me. My traction was solid, my load was heavy, I had no problems, so I kept rolling. Then some people coming out of Colorado, "76 is a 30 mile sheet of ice CFI, better park it." I didn't see any ice, so I kept rolling. 76 was actually better than 80. There were three seperate big rigs blown over on their sides by the wind gusts, but I was so heavy it really didn't affect me. Today's drive into Denver was not exactly the same. Warm, sunny, and boring! C'est la vie.
Now I need to get my winning percentage in Hearts back over 40%. That North is a real son of a bitch. He stuck me with the Queen six times in a row.
I did see a driver pull into the rest area before North Platte and hop out with his kid. They grabbed their fishing poles and headed for the woods. That was pretty neat. My hat's off to the guys who can keep a family together while they're out here. There are a lot of sacrifices to be made, that's for sure.
The last time I ran 80 to 76 and into Denver, there was a hellacious blizzard going on. I kept hearing drivers on the CB, "Better park it CFI, they're closing the gates." Every time I got to a gate, it was open, so I kept rolling. Then when I got to North Platte, the guy closed the gate right behind me. My traction was solid, my load was heavy, I had no problems, so I kept rolling. Then some people coming out of Colorado, "76 is a 30 mile sheet of ice CFI, better park it." I didn't see any ice, so I kept rolling. 76 was actually better than 80. There were three seperate big rigs blown over on their sides by the wind gusts, but I was so heavy it really didn't affect me. Today's drive into Denver was not exactly the same. Warm, sunny, and boring! C'est la vie.
Now I need to get my winning percentage in Hearts back over 40%. That North is a real son of a bitch. He stuck me with the Queen six times in a row.
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