1/10/08

Monday night, I was pretty burned out. I stopped in Illinois, ordered a pizza, stayed up late and just unwound for a while. Tuesday morning, after I slept in and before I took off, I got a message from CTL asking when I would be rolling. I replied that I was taking off soon, but I could only drive seven hours. Their next message said, "Don't be late on this load." Ummm, wasn't planning on it, but okay. I replied that the load would be there on time and left it at that.

Wednesday I took a break in Arkansas on my way to Texas. I got a message from CTL while I was there, indicating that I was on the late board and they needed me to update my status. I informed them that I was 650 miles from Laredo at that point and, once again, the load will be there. I could have gotten into a crying match about how tight the dispatch was and its borderline legality, but I just said it would be there. I accepted the load and I would deliver the load.

I rolled into Laredo in the middle of the night (this morning). The guy in the inspection bay was kind enough to inform me that I could deliver the load... between 9am and 8pm today. Dickheads. I got that "late board" message on my way from California to Illinois. I was there an hour early and could have been probably another hour ahead if I wanted to. I got two such messages on the way from Illinois to Laredo. I altered my route to Laredo (angling over to I-35 and down) and started the last leg a little earlier than I was supposed to, just to put my employer's mind at ease. I showed up early and was told basically, "Tough luck dude. Might as well go to bed for a while." Either that's a load of bullshit or I just need to get off the road for a few days, or both.

So I got up this morning and went over to the broker. "Make a right on Sara and the customer is on the left," were basically the directions. So I made my right on Sara, I saw the customer's building on the left, and I turned into what looked like the back lot. Nope. I needed to make a left on some other street in order to get to my broker. The lot into which I turned belonged to another company. Icing on the cake - no U-turns. They had some kind of gravel lot and you could see the deep grooves where people have spun trailers around. So they told me I had to back out of the lot, onto the street, and go the other way. So as I tried to inch back onto the street for ten minutes, watching one cocksucker after another speed up to cut me off, I wasn't enjoying my day a whole lot. Some dude from the security booth eventually told me that I could pull in, back into a slot, and then pull out forward. I just had to promise not to make a U-turn. Sounds good amigo.

Around the corner at the correct broker, it was the usual Laredo chaos. I hate Laredo. I did manage to find a place with two open slots next to each other, so backing in was easier than usual. And then it was time to wait for something. For what, I don't know.

I'm #65 on the board as I sit at the local gas station, but I am highlighted for home. I just got a note telling me to have an annual inspection done, so I guess I'll head back to the terminal and let those guys do their thing. Assuming I get a load today, I can leave Laredo at... midnight. Fucking feds.