The difference between tonight and today was like... well, it was like the difference between night and day.
The daytime was a pretty mellow affair. Lots of mountains, a few snow storms, pretty decent roads, not much traffic, plenty of boredom.
Tonight I made a call to the Oregon 800 number to see what was what. They said that Cabbage was snow packed and icy and that chains were required from mile 221 to mile 252. Okay, we'll just put in at the Flying J at mile 265 and head back out in the morning.
At mile 285... chain law. Shit. I got hoodwinked. Fucking 800 numbers.
So I pulled over and cracked the side box. It took me a bit to figure out how the damn things worked, but I had a pretty good idea. Then I realized something. Your humble blogger does not have the ability to put chains on tires. I'm not talking about the willingness. I did try. I moved up and back. I tried different approaches. I don't have the ability. I wrestled with those damn things for what seemed like an eternity. I was out of breath, dirty, covered in snow, and generally discouraged. So I hopped back in the truck to take a break, warm up a little, and see what I could come up with. I had managed to get the chains mainly on the tires, but I couldn't for the life of me get them centered.
Just then, the overhead street lights shut off. I assumed that there was a reason, so I called that damn 800 number back. No more chain law. Beauty.
At that point I decided that I might as well not stop at that Flying J. If they just lifted the chain law, they probably just plowed the road. Now is probably as good as ever. Let's go. I must admit that I'm at least a little disappointed. I had read some website that said Cabbage has the tightest turns on the interstate system. I'm calling bullshit on that one. I'm not an engineer, so I don't know how you measure the tightness of turns, but I've been on nearly every interstate in this country. There are a lot of turns tighter than those ones.
I had to chuckle as I rolled past all the guys who chained up while I was cursing the state of Oregon. My incompetence got me across the mountain a little faster. According to the little chart before the steep part, my max speed was 18mph. I came down at 24mph. What can I say? I'm a rebel.
Anyhow, down the other side of the mountain it was just a little rainy. Of course, at that point it was time to call it a night. Story of my life.
It will be a couple hundred miles into Portland from here. Apparently the beer distributor is open on Sunday (according to my dispatch) but we'll have to see.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
12/28/07
The wind woke me up this morning. I looked out the window, and it seemed like my truck was leaning about ten or fifteen degrees to the right. Then the gust let up and the truck settled back down. Then more wind. Since I was hooked to an empty trailer, I took this as a sign that it was going to be a long day. Today was a long day...
It didn't take long to get started. I hopped in the trailer to sweep it out. The breweries are picky so I got it nice and clean, but froze my balls off in the process. Then I headed out of the truck stop. I was behind a tanker pulling doubles, but we were both making our way slowly up an icy embankment and toward the freeway ramp. About the only rule there is not to stop. Go as slow as you need to, but don't stop. A car came flying up the ramp, looking like he was going to cut off the tanker. "Don't do that. Don't do that. Don't do that. Don't do that. DON'T DO THAT!" hollered I. He did. He cut right in front of the tanker. Ergo, the tanker had to stop. Ergo, he got stuck. Ergo, I had to stop. Ergo, I got stuck. Ergo, a line of cars formed behind me as the source of the trouble went on his merry way.
Eventually the cars behind me made their way around. Then I was able to back down the hill to a spot where my tires could touch pavement. With a little momentum and no weight, I was able to scoot around the tanker and up the hill. There was a dry spot about thirty yards ahead of him, so I pulled over and headed back to see if he needed any help. Maybe we could throw some chains on his tires or chip away the ice or something. It just seemed like stopping was the decent thing to do. After all, it was ten degrees outside. He said that he had called his shop and someone would be there in a few minutes. That was enough to convince me that he didn't need my help. After all, it was ten degrees outside.
On I-25 the road surface unfortunately mirrored that of the side street. Ice, ice, and more ice. I've always thought that I-25 was my least favorite highway, but that was more related to the mountainous and arid portions in Colorado and New Mexico. Now, with the addition of the debacle that is Wyoming in the winter, it's official. I-25 is the worst highway in America.
It should come as no surprise that I-25 in Colorado was clean and dry, despite last night's snowstorm. Once at the brewery, I was informed that they would need a bobtail weight. Some of the breweries do that while others don't. On my first visit to one that does, I have to wait in line, scale with my empty, drop my empty, wait in line again, scale my bobtail, pick up my loaded trailer, wait in line again, and scale loaded before leaving. Oh, how I love inefficient buraucratic wastes of time. I did get good news though, as my load was ready when I got there. Always remember the good stuff, right?
I got my dispatch and decided that it was a damn good thing my load was ready early. They have me set for 11am Pacific on Sunday. Think the customer will be open? Let's just say I have my doubts. If the load had left tonight, as scheduled, I would have had to pull two straight long overnight shifts to make it. The overnighters don't bother me per se, but with the road conditions I prefer to have the slight benefit of the sunlight and better visibility. As it worked out, I headed a couple hundred miles west tonight. I can put in a full day tomorrow and then finish off Sunday morning. The forecast for Pendleton, Oregon says rain and snow for the next couple of days so that mountain might be fun for me. It looks like I'll probably wrap up tomorrow somewhere just short of there and then run into Portland on Sunday when it is supposed to be a little warmer. Let's hope...
I'm going to take a few minutes now and share a little story. Some people, through this blog or through the message boards, occasionally ask me about coming to work for CFI. A common comment is that they appreciate hearing thoughts from someone who isn't trying to recruit them. I am not really accustomed to receiving many compliments, but I do take this as a compliment. As I've always maintained, my own selfish preference would be that CFI never hired another driver. That would mean less competition for loads and more money for me. That being said, I try my best to be as candid and honest as possible. For some people, CFI is a great fit and I tell people as much. For inexperienced drivers, I dare say it's one of the best options out there. A question that pops up quite a bit recently is whether or not people should come in amidst the "changes" related to the merger. Since there really haven't been any changes, I can only assume that they're reading some of the message board vitriol and getting confused. Maybe my little story here will resonate with some of you, maybe not. Either way, it's my blog so I'm telling it.
When I was at U of M, I was working as a NAFTA analyst for a large customs broker and going to school at night. The job involved a lot of paperwork and tedious phone calls. I really hated it, but I have always led a fairly expensive lifestyle and I needed the money. I started delivering pizzas on weekends for extra beer money and such. By pure accident, I wound up in charge of the pizza place and quit my job at the customs broker. At the age of nineteen, I had my first general manager job, at Pizza Hut.
We did annual performance reviews of the hourly employees back then. Those who got a poor review received no pay raise. Those with an acceptable review got a nickel an hour. Those who got a good review got a dime. I was allowed three "exceptional" reviews among my thirty employees, netting those people a whopping fifteen cent hourly raise. It's pathetic, I know, but that was the system. My typical employee worked around twenty hours a week. The vast majority got the ten cents, because the money they made was so pitiful and I appreciated the work they did. I was a GM at Pizza Hut for two years, meaning I went through this process twice while I was there.
Both times, I lost a handful of employees because they didn't get the fifteen cent raise. Let's think about this for a second. At twenty hours a week - Five cents equals a dollar raise. Ten cents equals two dollars. Fifteen cents equals three dollars. I shit you not. I had employees, who had always enjoyed their jobs, quit... over a dollar a week.
The majority went to other pizza places in the area. I know for a fact that Little Caesar's, where a few of them ended up, was starting people at minimum wage. I used to have beers with their GM on Sunday nights. So these people went from a job that started at $6/hr to a job that started at $5.15/hr, simply to protest the extra dollar a week that they thought they deserved. Inevitably, they would come into Pizza Hut and order breadsticks or something, so they could hang around and tell their friends how great they had it elsewhere. Then they would be asking me for a job in a few months because they were only getting ten hours a week at their new places of employment. If I had an opening I would take them back. If not, I wouldn't.
What is my point here? People are not always intelligent when it comes to their work and their pay. The sense of personal entitlement that these teenagers felt caused them to make irrational and emotional decisions regarding their employment. It seems painfully obvious to me that many people never outgrow this sense of personal entitlement. So, when they determine (for whatever reason) that they deserve something, they continue to make irrational and emotional decisions. There have been no changes related to the merger with ConWay, save the trucks being turned down to 65mph. If this was a good job six months ago, it's a good job now. If it sucks now, it sucked six months ago. If it was better to work at Little Caesar's than it was to work at Pizza Hut, then this was true before the performance review. Yet the changes, or lack thereof, spawned the discontent.
People also don't seem to outgrow the need to "stop by" their old employer and tell everyone how glad they are to have left. I'm not going to blast any trucking companies here, because I don't know enough about them or how they work for a given employee. I will say that people who will blast CFI for turning the trucks to 65mph, and then pimp a (nameless) company that is going to 62mph, are not very bright. People who will go to a company that pays teams less than CFI does, simply because pet owners don't have to "earn" the same pay as non-pet owners, are not very bright. People who will criticize CFI's "benefits" for things like a lack of vision coverage, when vision coverage typically provides savings exactly equal to the premiums paid, are not very bright. So, when you see them inevitably spout off about how bad CFI sucks now, my best advice would be to consider the source. They weren't saying that a few months ago and it was the same job at that time.
In summary, don't stay away from CFI because some people are factually challenged. Stay away because I don't want you taking my miles.
Cheers.
It didn't take long to get started. I hopped in the trailer to sweep it out. The breweries are picky so I got it nice and clean, but froze my balls off in the process. Then I headed out of the truck stop. I was behind a tanker pulling doubles, but we were both making our way slowly up an icy embankment and toward the freeway ramp. About the only rule there is not to stop. Go as slow as you need to, but don't stop. A car came flying up the ramp, looking like he was going to cut off the tanker. "Don't do that. Don't do that. Don't do that. Don't do that. DON'T DO THAT!" hollered I. He did. He cut right in front of the tanker. Ergo, the tanker had to stop. Ergo, he got stuck. Ergo, I had to stop. Ergo, I got stuck. Ergo, a line of cars formed behind me as the source of the trouble went on his merry way.
Eventually the cars behind me made their way around. Then I was able to back down the hill to a spot where my tires could touch pavement. With a little momentum and no weight, I was able to scoot around the tanker and up the hill. There was a dry spot about thirty yards ahead of him, so I pulled over and headed back to see if he needed any help. Maybe we could throw some chains on his tires or chip away the ice or something. It just seemed like stopping was the decent thing to do. After all, it was ten degrees outside. He said that he had called his shop and someone would be there in a few minutes. That was enough to convince me that he didn't need my help. After all, it was ten degrees outside.
On I-25 the road surface unfortunately mirrored that of the side street. Ice, ice, and more ice. I've always thought that I-25 was my least favorite highway, but that was more related to the mountainous and arid portions in Colorado and New Mexico. Now, with the addition of the debacle that is Wyoming in the winter, it's official. I-25 is the worst highway in America.
It should come as no surprise that I-25 in Colorado was clean and dry, despite last night's snowstorm. Once at the brewery, I was informed that they would need a bobtail weight. Some of the breweries do that while others don't. On my first visit to one that does, I have to wait in line, scale with my empty, drop my empty, wait in line again, scale my bobtail, pick up my loaded trailer, wait in line again, and scale loaded before leaving. Oh, how I love inefficient buraucratic wastes of time. I did get good news though, as my load was ready when I got there. Always remember the good stuff, right?
I got my dispatch and decided that it was a damn good thing my load was ready early. They have me set for 11am Pacific on Sunday. Think the customer will be open? Let's just say I have my doubts. If the load had left tonight, as scheduled, I would have had to pull two straight long overnight shifts to make it. The overnighters don't bother me per se, but with the road conditions I prefer to have the slight benefit of the sunlight and better visibility. As it worked out, I headed a couple hundred miles west tonight. I can put in a full day tomorrow and then finish off Sunday morning. The forecast for Pendleton, Oregon says rain and snow for the next couple of days so that mountain might be fun for me. It looks like I'll probably wrap up tomorrow somewhere just short of there and then run into Portland on Sunday when it is supposed to be a little warmer. Let's hope...
I'm going to take a few minutes now and share a little story. Some people, through this blog or through the message boards, occasionally ask me about coming to work for CFI. A common comment is that they appreciate hearing thoughts from someone who isn't trying to recruit them. I am not really accustomed to receiving many compliments, but I do take this as a compliment. As I've always maintained, my own selfish preference would be that CFI never hired another driver. That would mean less competition for loads and more money for me. That being said, I try my best to be as candid and honest as possible. For some people, CFI is a great fit and I tell people as much. For inexperienced drivers, I dare say it's one of the best options out there. A question that pops up quite a bit recently is whether or not people should come in amidst the "changes" related to the merger. Since there really haven't been any changes, I can only assume that they're reading some of the message board vitriol and getting confused. Maybe my little story here will resonate with some of you, maybe not. Either way, it's my blog so I'm telling it.
When I was at U of M, I was working as a NAFTA analyst for a large customs broker and going to school at night. The job involved a lot of paperwork and tedious phone calls. I really hated it, but I have always led a fairly expensive lifestyle and I needed the money. I started delivering pizzas on weekends for extra beer money and such. By pure accident, I wound up in charge of the pizza place and quit my job at the customs broker. At the age of nineteen, I had my first general manager job, at Pizza Hut.
We did annual performance reviews of the hourly employees back then. Those who got a poor review received no pay raise. Those with an acceptable review got a nickel an hour. Those who got a good review got a dime. I was allowed three "exceptional" reviews among my thirty employees, netting those people a whopping fifteen cent hourly raise. It's pathetic, I know, but that was the system. My typical employee worked around twenty hours a week. The vast majority got the ten cents, because the money they made was so pitiful and I appreciated the work they did. I was a GM at Pizza Hut for two years, meaning I went through this process twice while I was there.
Both times, I lost a handful of employees because they didn't get the fifteen cent raise. Let's think about this for a second. At twenty hours a week - Five cents equals a dollar raise. Ten cents equals two dollars. Fifteen cents equals three dollars. I shit you not. I had employees, who had always enjoyed their jobs, quit... over a dollar a week.
The majority went to other pizza places in the area. I know for a fact that Little Caesar's, where a few of them ended up, was starting people at minimum wage. I used to have beers with their GM on Sunday nights. So these people went from a job that started at $6/hr to a job that started at $5.15/hr, simply to protest the extra dollar a week that they thought they deserved. Inevitably, they would come into Pizza Hut and order breadsticks or something, so they could hang around and tell their friends how great they had it elsewhere. Then they would be asking me for a job in a few months because they were only getting ten hours a week at their new places of employment. If I had an opening I would take them back. If not, I wouldn't.
What is my point here? People are not always intelligent when it comes to their work and their pay. The sense of personal entitlement that these teenagers felt caused them to make irrational and emotional decisions regarding their employment. It seems painfully obvious to me that many people never outgrow this sense of personal entitlement. So, when they determine (for whatever reason) that they deserve something, they continue to make irrational and emotional decisions. There have been no changes related to the merger with ConWay, save the trucks being turned down to 65mph. If this was a good job six months ago, it's a good job now. If it sucks now, it sucked six months ago. If it was better to work at Little Caesar's than it was to work at Pizza Hut, then this was true before the performance review. Yet the changes, or lack thereof, spawned the discontent.
People also don't seem to outgrow the need to "stop by" their old employer and tell everyone how glad they are to have left. I'm not going to blast any trucking companies here, because I don't know enough about them or how they work for a given employee. I will say that people who will blast CFI for turning the trucks to 65mph, and then pimp a (nameless) company that is going to 62mph, are not very bright. People who will go to a company that pays teams less than CFI does, simply because pet owners don't have to "earn" the same pay as non-pet owners, are not very bright. People who will criticize CFI's "benefits" for things like a lack of vision coverage, when vision coverage typically provides savings exactly equal to the premiums paid, are not very bright. So, when you see them inevitably spout off about how bad CFI sucks now, my best advice would be to consider the source. They weren't saying that a few months ago and it was the same job at that time.
In summary, don't stay away from CFI because some people are factually challenged. Stay away because I don't want you taking my miles.
Cheers.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
12/27/07
I know a guy. He's some kind of senior citizen fella that pulls a tanker. Anyhow, he used to work for CFI. Before I started here, he mentioned that one of the things that was nice about CFI is that they aren't afraid to move the power to wherever the freight is. I wasn't too sure what that would really mean to a driver, having never experienced how the process works, but it turns out he was right. They do sometimes move us a long way to get a load and that is a good thing when you get paid nothing for sitting. Today I received, to the best of my recollection, the longest deadhead I've ever had. After I got unloaded in Great Falls I was immediately dispatched to Fort Collins, Colorado. That's some 720 miles away. I've had a handful of deadheads of over 500 miles, but I think this is my longest. I get paid the same empty or loaded, so CFI has to eat the cost of moving the truck and I don't have to sit and wait. I don't know who in Joplin made the call in this case, but whoever it was - Good lookin' out my brother.
From Fort Collins, I'll be hauling a load of beer up to Portland, Oregon. That will be another 1,170 miles or so. There's still hope yet for this to be a nice paycheck. With holiday pay and stop pay and border pay and the rest of it, I'll be approaching the $2,000 mark. Then I hope for one nice-paying run to close it out. Any time I've left Oregon or Washington with a load, the miles have been nice. Since there will still be a day left in December when I get up there, I have a shot.
I headed back down through central Montana on the state and U.S. highways from Great Falls to Billings. A funny thing occurred to me as I was a couple of hours into the drive. US-12 is the same street that runs across about three miles north of my house. There it's called Michigan Avenue, but it's the same US-12. There are movie theaters, bars, restaurants, stores, and such. In Montana... umm... maybe Kevin Costner dancing with some wolves or something. Not much else.
After a nice afternoon nap in Billings, I got back on the road and rolled on into Wyoming. I had the cruise set at 65mph and the radio blasting, just enjoying the ride. Then the road was pointing south and my truck was pointing west. Oops. Didn't see the ice coming. Better get off that cruise control. The rest of the ride was pretty damn slippery. Here's something I don't understand; There aren't that many highways in Wyoming. They obviously have a prevalent winter weather pattern here every year. Why in the hell do they do such a piss poor job of maintaining the roads? It's five degrees outside right now, so the salt wouldn't help, but it was sunny and in the high 20's today. Some salt on the roads would have allowed all of that moisture (now known as ice) to evaporate. Can they just not afford it or what?
In any case, I stopped in Evansville for the night. I have a few hours to go in the morning, then I'll take a break at the brewery to prepare for my nighttime dispatch from there. I've never gone across Cabbage before, so that will be something new. I'm obviously hoping for good weather. I seriously don't know how to use tire chains. I'm not entirely stupid, so I'm sure I can figure it out, but I'll just keep my fingers crossed. The Denver radio stations are saying they got blasted pretty good tonight, but my connection is so slow right now I have a hell of a time getting any weather reports to load. Since I don't have to go all the way down into Colorado, the highway should be in decent shape for me by tomorrow afternoon when I get to Fort Collins.
Now I think I'll load my latest game of Civilization III and wrap up my epic battle against Bismarck and the Germans. I've refrained from going nuclear in order to placate the Chinese, but they're starting to piss me off. This thing might get crazy.
From Fort Collins, I'll be hauling a load of beer up to Portland, Oregon. That will be another 1,170 miles or so. There's still hope yet for this to be a nice paycheck. With holiday pay and stop pay and border pay and the rest of it, I'll be approaching the $2,000 mark. Then I hope for one nice-paying run to close it out. Any time I've left Oregon or Washington with a load, the miles have been nice. Since there will still be a day left in December when I get up there, I have a shot.
I headed back down through central Montana on the state and U.S. highways from Great Falls to Billings. A funny thing occurred to me as I was a couple of hours into the drive. US-12 is the same street that runs across about three miles north of my house. There it's called Michigan Avenue, but it's the same US-12. There are movie theaters, bars, restaurants, stores, and such. In Montana... umm... maybe Kevin Costner dancing with some wolves or something. Not much else.
After a nice afternoon nap in Billings, I got back on the road and rolled on into Wyoming. I had the cruise set at 65mph and the radio blasting, just enjoying the ride. Then the road was pointing south and my truck was pointing west. Oops. Didn't see the ice coming. Better get off that cruise control. The rest of the ride was pretty damn slippery. Here's something I don't understand; There aren't that many highways in Wyoming. They obviously have a prevalent winter weather pattern here every year. Why in the hell do they do such a piss poor job of maintaining the roads? It's five degrees outside right now, so the salt wouldn't help, but it was sunny and in the high 20's today. Some salt on the roads would have allowed all of that moisture (now known as ice) to evaporate. Can they just not afford it or what?
In any case, I stopped in Evansville for the night. I have a few hours to go in the morning, then I'll take a break at the brewery to prepare for my nighttime dispatch from there. I've never gone across Cabbage before, so that will be something new. I'm obviously hoping for good weather. I seriously don't know how to use tire chains. I'm not entirely stupid, so I'm sure I can figure it out, but I'll just keep my fingers crossed. The Denver radio stations are saying they got blasted pretty good tonight, but my connection is so slow right now I have a hell of a time getting any weather reports to load. Since I don't have to go all the way down into Colorado, the highway should be in decent shape for me by tomorrow afternoon when I get to Fort Collins.
Now I think I'll load my latest game of Civilization III and wrap up my epic battle against Bismarck and the Germans. I've refrained from going nuclear in order to placate the Chinese, but they're starting to piss me off. This thing might get crazy.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
12/26/07
I'm 31 years old. I'm not nearly old enough to have achieved that wisdom or enlightenment or whatever you old guys call it. I did, however, learn a pretty valuable lesson a long time ago. My reaction to various things in life will be almost entirely shaped by my expectations with respect to whatever those things are.
I fully expected to be dispatched to deliver in Great Falls sometime tomorrow morning. After I got unloaded at the first drop, I headed north. A little while later, my dispatch came through - 4pm today. No great shakes there. It was only a 320 mile drive. But, since I had expected tomorrow morning, I thought it was great. Getting empty today would allow me to go on the board and, even if not assigned a load today, get something first thing tomorrow. Excellent.
Ten minutes later I got a new appointment time. Tomorrow morning at 7:30. Bogus. If that had been the original dispatch I wouldn't have been thrilled but it wouldn't have bothered me. It would have met my expectations. Since I was given the expectation of getting empty today, the new dispatch time sucks. By the time I send in my empty call, the planners will already have started assigning freight. Maybe that costs me, maybe not. If I were on the board today though, I would have been sitting there waiting for them when they got to work in the morning. It's all in the expectations. It's one thing to sit here and acknowledge this. It's another to try not to be disappointed. Oh well, just another day I guess.
The drive was pretty easy today. Driving these U.S. Highways with no towns for 50 miles is actually better than driving the interstate as far as I'm concerned. There's hardly any congestion, the speed limits are more than adequate, and it just has a more relaxing feel to it. I got to the Flying J in Great Falls a little while ago. From here, it's about five miles to the place where I deliver in the morning.
I'm still a boy with a dream at this point, but I think by tomorrow I may have to discard my theory about getting great miles during the holidays. The year is quickly approaching its conclusion. Getting empty today, rather than tomorrow, would have made a pretty big difference. It wasn't meant to be. So, depending on what comes over the satellite in the morning, I'll either take a big step forward or just settle into a ho-hum pay period. I'm still hoping though...
I fully expected to be dispatched to deliver in Great Falls sometime tomorrow morning. After I got unloaded at the first drop, I headed north. A little while later, my dispatch came through - 4pm today. No great shakes there. It was only a 320 mile drive. But, since I had expected tomorrow morning, I thought it was great. Getting empty today would allow me to go on the board and, even if not assigned a load today, get something first thing tomorrow. Excellent.
Ten minutes later I got a new appointment time. Tomorrow morning at 7:30. Bogus. If that had been the original dispatch I wouldn't have been thrilled but it wouldn't have bothered me. It would have met my expectations. Since I was given the expectation of getting empty today, the new dispatch time sucks. By the time I send in my empty call, the planners will already have started assigning freight. Maybe that costs me, maybe not. If I were on the board today though, I would have been sitting there waiting for them when they got to work in the morning. It's all in the expectations. It's one thing to sit here and acknowledge this. It's another to try not to be disappointed. Oh well, just another day I guess.
The drive was pretty easy today. Driving these U.S. Highways with no towns for 50 miles is actually better than driving the interstate as far as I'm concerned. There's hardly any congestion, the speed limits are more than adequate, and it just has a more relaxing feel to it. I got to the Flying J in Great Falls a little while ago. From here, it's about five miles to the place where I deliver in the morning.
I'm still a boy with a dream at this point, but I think by tomorrow I may have to discard my theory about getting great miles during the holidays. The year is quickly approaching its conclusion. Getting empty today, rather than tomorrow, would have made a pretty big difference. It wasn't meant to be. So, depending on what comes over the satellite in the morning, I'll either take a big step forward or just settle into a ho-hum pay period. I'm still hoping though...
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
12/25/07
In my quest for fame and notoriety, I think I've finally arrived. I got a note from my fleet manager yesterday mentioning that he heard about my blog. I had to chuckle as I tried to remember the last time he pissed me off and I wrote about it. I'm pretty sure it's been a little while though, so I think we're okay there.
People always talk about that show with the ice road truckers. I've never seen it, but today I got to live it for a while. Not so bad. For the first hundred miles, I don't believe my tires ever touched asphalt. I-80 was pretty lousy, but the state and U.S. highways were far worse. It might have been a problem, but as it turns out there was nobody on the road today. The bad part about the slick roads is always the speeding up and slowing down. With nobody in front of me, I could just let it roll and stay off the brakes so it wasn't that terrible. It wasn't any fun, but it wasn't terrible. My truck was doing it's best Spy Hunter smokescreen impersonation with the blowing snow, so I have no idea if anyone was behind me for a couple of hours, but there was nobody in front of me.
After I got through Lander, I saw the first signs of road maintenance since leaving I-80 in Rock Springs. The roads were a little wet and a little snowy, but not too bad. Then past Riverton it was perfect. Clear blue skies, clean dry pavement, and not a soul on the highway. Sweet.
I got another reminder today of one of my favorite things about this job. Yesterday there was the Provo Canyon situation, which may or may not have been legal. Today there were two spots that were just beautiful. First was the stretch of WY-28 winding through the mountains near South Pass City. That would have been a little better if I weren't worried about sliding off a cliff, but I got a chance to sneak a peek here and there. Then, north of Shoshoni, US-20 wound it's way through a huge canyon. I don't know what it's called, but it's every bit as picturesque as Glenwood Canyon in Colorado and a much easier drive. That was on the clean roads too, so I was able to enjoy it a little more.
For perspective, I'm a city boy. My idea of "getting away from it all" involves hopping a plane to New York and disappearing among the crowd for a week or so. I'm not what you would call a nature lover. Sometimes though, the view is pretty spectacular. I could always work in an office and drive out to Wyoming for leisure, but seriously, no. It's cool to have a job that puts me in those places every now and then.
The topper came a little further along the way. I might be the only one left who thinks that Beavis and Butthead are hilarious, but I almost lost it when I rolled through Meeteetse...
The next stretch after that was actually the slickest part of the trip, but I had such a dumbass grin on my face that I didn't pay much attention. For about ten miles, we're talking full-on hockey rink up and down hills and around curves.
Then upon rolling into Powell, I was reminded that I'm retarded. By the measure of every standardized test I've ever taken, my IQ is in the exceptional range. Personally, I have my doubts. I didn't realize until I got here that I had no idea where I was going. I never got directions from my employer, only an address. I meant to check Streets & Trips to get an idea before I left this morning, but I never did. So I found a parking lot and stopped to take a look. Then I passed the place and had to drive a couple of miles to find a turnaround spot. I sent in directions, but I have no idea who is working today or if they'll actually put the directions in the CFI computer. Oh well, at least I did my part. Now I get to hang out on the street until morning and then see what tomorrow holds.
Merry Christmas everyone.
People always talk about that show with the ice road truckers. I've never seen it, but today I got to live it for a while. Not so bad. For the first hundred miles, I don't believe my tires ever touched asphalt. I-80 was pretty lousy, but the state and U.S. highways were far worse. It might have been a problem, but as it turns out there was nobody on the road today. The bad part about the slick roads is always the speeding up and slowing down. With nobody in front of me, I could just let it roll and stay off the brakes so it wasn't that terrible. It wasn't any fun, but it wasn't terrible. My truck was doing it's best Spy Hunter smokescreen impersonation with the blowing snow, so I have no idea if anyone was behind me for a couple of hours, but there was nobody in front of me.
After I got through Lander, I saw the first signs of road maintenance since leaving I-80 in Rock Springs. The roads were a little wet and a little snowy, but not too bad. Then past Riverton it was perfect. Clear blue skies, clean dry pavement, and not a soul on the highway. Sweet.
I got another reminder today of one of my favorite things about this job. Yesterday there was the Provo Canyon situation, which may or may not have been legal. Today there were two spots that were just beautiful. First was the stretch of WY-28 winding through the mountains near South Pass City. That would have been a little better if I weren't worried about sliding off a cliff, but I got a chance to sneak a peek here and there. Then, north of Shoshoni, US-20 wound it's way through a huge canyon. I don't know what it's called, but it's every bit as picturesque as Glenwood Canyon in Colorado and a much easier drive. That was on the clean roads too, so I was able to enjoy it a little more.
For perspective, I'm a city boy. My idea of "getting away from it all" involves hopping a plane to New York and disappearing among the crowd for a week or so. I'm not what you would call a nature lover. Sometimes though, the view is pretty spectacular. I could always work in an office and drive out to Wyoming for leisure, but seriously, no. It's cool to have a job that puts me in those places every now and then.
The topper came a little further along the way. I might be the only one left who thinks that Beavis and Butthead are hilarious, but I almost lost it when I rolled through Meeteetse...
The next stretch after that was actually the slickest part of the trip, but I had such a dumbass grin on my face that I didn't pay much attention. For about ten miles, we're talking full-on hockey rink up and down hills and around curves.
Then upon rolling into Powell, I was reminded that I'm retarded. By the measure of every standardized test I've ever taken, my IQ is in the exceptional range. Personally, I have my doubts. I didn't realize until I got here that I had no idea where I was going. I never got directions from my employer, only an address. I meant to check Streets & Trips to get an idea before I left this morning, but I never did. So I found a parking lot and stopped to take a look. Then I passed the place and had to drive a couple of miles to find a turnaround spot. I sent in directions, but I have no idea who is working today or if they'll actually put the directions in the CFI computer. Oh well, at least I did my part. Now I get to hang out on the street until morning and then see what tomorrow holds.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Monday, December 24, 2007
12/24/07
Hahahaha, Tarvaris Jackson... hahahaha! I only got to watch the first quarter, but it looked a lot like last week's game against Chicago for that poor kid. Just out of his league man.
So... my plan summary said that I was to receive a relay in Salt Lake City at 3am Mountain. So, I set my alarm for a half hour before. When I woke up, I still hadn't received the information on the inbound truck and trailer. That's unusual. I sat around until 3am came and went, then hopped back in bed. I guessed that it was one of those imaginary ConWay loads. Sometimes ConWay will tell CFI that a load needs to go from here to there. Then CFI will get the trucks all lined up to relay the load across the country. Since the freight is time-sensitive, we have to be at the relay point early enough to take a full ten hour break. That way we can run a full shift without stopping once we get the load. Then sometimes ConWay calls CFI back and says, "Just kidding." Then the drivers have all wasted a day preparing to pull a load that doesn't exist. Maybe that's what happened to this relay, maybe not. I don't know.
In any case, they beeped me at around 8am to say that I was being re-assigned. I would be heading about 60 miles south and getting loaded for one stop in Wyoming and a second in Montana. I went down to the shipper and found that it was actually a drop/hook. The trailer was ready. The paperwork was ready. Not bad. Then, back to the north.
I got off I-15 at the exit for US-189 and ran it up through Provo. They had signs along the way saying, "Overweight and overheight vehicles, including 53' trailers, prohibited in Provo Canyon/US 189." Now, I think they probably meant that you aren't supposed to take a 53' trailer through the canyon. I think so, but I don't know. The wording was ambiguous enough to let my curiosity get the best of me. Maybe they meant the overweight/overheight part applies to 53' trailers, right? In that case, I was neither overweight nor overheight. Good enough for me. Into the canyon I went.
About four miles in, I saw something that I was hoping not to see. There sat a sheriff, hanging out and monitoring traffic. As I approached, he inched out toward the road. Shit. Well, you win some and you lose some. I started preparing my best, "Sorry sir, I misunderstood the sign." Then I passed him. He pulled out onto the road... and headed south. Beauty. Either my interpretation was good enough for the law or he just had better shit to do. Either way, it was onward and northward for me.
I kept waiting to see a reason that they didn't want 53' trucks going through there, but I couldn't find one. The lanes were nice and wide. There were no prolonged climbs. There was no snow on the road. There were no tight turns. There were no towns. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. In point of fact, it was about the nicest ride I've had in the last few months out here. I guess the locals just don't want these big ugly trucks screwing up their view.
I got up to Little America and stopped for a break. The rest of the trip is a little over 300 miles, but I don't have to be there until the morning of the 26th. I was planning to head a little further north today, but I don't know man. It's all off the interstate once I hit Rock Springs. There are no 24 hour truck stops on my route and tomorrow is Christmas, so I'm not too confident that I will find a place open with adequate restroom options along the way. I'm probably better off spending the day here and driving up tomorrow. An eight hour drive with no restrooms I can handle. A day and a half, not so much. My brother got me a couple of books for Christmas, so I guess I'll do a little reading.
So, what's the net result of the day's events? Lost a 500 mile run, replaced by a 518 mile run plus a 58 mile deadhead. I can't deliver this until the 26th, which makes tomorrow a lost day. But the original plan would have probably had me sitting tomorrow anyway. Plus, I have something like 320 miles from the first drop to the second one. At least that's some more miles plus a few bucks for the extra stop. All in all, it probably worked out better for me in the long run. By the time I drop in Montana I'll be right around 3,000 miles for the pay period. I'm still holding out hope for a strong finish to the year. Then apparently we'll have a five-day pay period as we transition to weekly pay. Then it will settle in to a paycheck once a week.
So... my plan summary said that I was to receive a relay in Salt Lake City at 3am Mountain. So, I set my alarm for a half hour before. When I woke up, I still hadn't received the information on the inbound truck and trailer. That's unusual. I sat around until 3am came and went, then hopped back in bed. I guessed that it was one of those imaginary ConWay loads. Sometimes ConWay will tell CFI that a load needs to go from here to there. Then CFI will get the trucks all lined up to relay the load across the country. Since the freight is time-sensitive, we have to be at the relay point early enough to take a full ten hour break. That way we can run a full shift without stopping once we get the load. Then sometimes ConWay calls CFI back and says, "Just kidding." Then the drivers have all wasted a day preparing to pull a load that doesn't exist. Maybe that's what happened to this relay, maybe not. I don't know.
In any case, they beeped me at around 8am to say that I was being re-assigned. I would be heading about 60 miles south and getting loaded for one stop in Wyoming and a second in Montana. I went down to the shipper and found that it was actually a drop/hook. The trailer was ready. The paperwork was ready. Not bad. Then, back to the north.
I got off I-15 at the exit for US-189 and ran it up through Provo. They had signs along the way saying, "Overweight and overheight vehicles, including 53' trailers, prohibited in Provo Canyon/US 189." Now, I think they probably meant that you aren't supposed to take a 53' trailer through the canyon. I think so, but I don't know. The wording was ambiguous enough to let my curiosity get the best of me. Maybe they meant the overweight/overheight part applies to 53' trailers, right? In that case, I was neither overweight nor overheight. Good enough for me. Into the canyon I went.
About four miles in, I saw something that I was hoping not to see. There sat a sheriff, hanging out and monitoring traffic. As I approached, he inched out toward the road. Shit. Well, you win some and you lose some. I started preparing my best, "Sorry sir, I misunderstood the sign." Then I passed him. He pulled out onto the road... and headed south. Beauty. Either my interpretation was good enough for the law or he just had better shit to do. Either way, it was onward and northward for me.
I kept waiting to see a reason that they didn't want 53' trucks going through there, but I couldn't find one. The lanes were nice and wide. There were no prolonged climbs. There was no snow on the road. There were no tight turns. There were no towns. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. In point of fact, it was about the nicest ride I've had in the last few months out here. I guess the locals just don't want these big ugly trucks screwing up their view.
I got up to Little America and stopped for a break. The rest of the trip is a little over 300 miles, but I don't have to be there until the morning of the 26th. I was planning to head a little further north today, but I don't know man. It's all off the interstate once I hit Rock Springs. There are no 24 hour truck stops on my route and tomorrow is Christmas, so I'm not too confident that I will find a place open with adequate restroom options along the way. I'm probably better off spending the day here and driving up tomorrow. An eight hour drive with no restrooms I can handle. A day and a half, not so much. My brother got me a couple of books for Christmas, so I guess I'll do a little reading.
So, what's the net result of the day's events? Lost a 500 mile run, replaced by a 518 mile run plus a 58 mile deadhead. I can't deliver this until the 26th, which makes tomorrow a lost day. But the original plan would have probably had me sitting tomorrow anyway. Plus, I have something like 320 miles from the first drop to the second one. At least that's some more miles plus a few bucks for the extra stop. All in all, it probably worked out better for me in the long run. By the time I drop in Montana I'll be right around 3,000 miles for the pay period. I'm still holding out hope for a strong finish to the year. Then apparently we'll have a five-day pay period as we transition to weekly pay. Then it will settle in to a paycheck once a week.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
12/23/07
Sometimes timing is everything. I got through most of Wyoming last night, then they closed I-80 behind me this morning. As the winds kicked up last night, I thought about turning in early. The fact that I decided to keep moving then paid off today. Snow started kicking up as I left Wyoming, but the accumulation was still light at that time. If I were a little later, that too might have been a problem.
I'm not a meteorologist and I guess that's a good thing. I would tend to think that the windward side of the mountains would have worse conditions than the leeward side, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Down the west side and into Salt Lake City everything was clean and dry.
I got to the ConWay yard and checked in, only to be told that they had no empties. Yeah, nice. Here we go again... I dropped my trailer, although it took twenty minutes to get out from under it. Freaking icy drop lots. Then, I caught a break. Apparently they had one guy breaking down loads today and I went looking for an empty right after he brought one out. Sometimes timing is everything.
Over at Sapp Brothers, I put my feet up and hoped for the best. I wasn't sure about what kind of freight to expect, but I got an answer about an hour later. They have me scheduled to take a relay here at the truck stop tomorrow morning and then pass it off to another driver in Sparks. That's a good 500 mile day for tomorrow, so I have no complaint there.
Waiting for Santa in a casino? Maybe.
I have to get some sleep on account of an early relay tomorrow, so I won't be able to watch much, but you guys know where my heart is tonight:
I'm not a meteorologist and I guess that's a good thing. I would tend to think that the windward side of the mountains would have worse conditions than the leeward side, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Down the west side and into Salt Lake City everything was clean and dry.
I got to the ConWay yard and checked in, only to be told that they had no empties. Yeah, nice. Here we go again... I dropped my trailer, although it took twenty minutes to get out from under it. Freaking icy drop lots. Then, I caught a break. Apparently they had one guy breaking down loads today and I went looking for an empty right after he brought one out. Sometimes timing is everything.
Over at Sapp Brothers, I put my feet up and hoped for the best. I wasn't sure about what kind of freight to expect, but I got an answer about an hour later. They have me scheduled to take a relay here at the truck stop tomorrow morning and then pass it off to another driver in Sparks. That's a good 500 mile day for tomorrow, so I have no complaint there.
Waiting for Santa in a casino? Maybe.
I have to get some sleep on account of an early relay tomorrow, so I won't be able to watch much, but you guys know where my heart is tonight:
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