3/28/08

On balance... good enough. I had a pretty cool morning and a throroughly annoying afternoon today. I headed south on US-220 out of Roanoke around 8:30am. I think I've driven that road before. In any case, it was a fun ride with an empty trailer. I pretended I was on a roller coaster and I didn't even have to buy a ticket. The 100 mile trip took exactly two hours. Directions to the customer were accurate and easy to follow. The people in the shipping office were friendly and helpful. The dock area had tons of room to maneuver. All good up to that point.

At the dock, I was chatting with the guy in the truck next to me. I won't mention his company's name, because I can't verify what he said, but the conversation about miles was fairly interesting. He was asking a lot of questions - average weekly miles, pay per mile, length of haul, etc. I was answering politely, but not really asking any questions of the other fella. It may or may not come as a shock to you fine folks that I honestly don't give a rat's ass about the companies for which other people work. Anyhow, he asked if we get a lot of long runs. I said not really, estimating that the vast majority of my runs are under a thousand miles. Then I noted that this one is 1,530 miles, so that's not bad. He said, "I knew my company was screwing me." Apparently he is getting 1,300 paid miles to go from Danville to Laredo; 230 miles less than I get. My actual route will be closer to 1,490 miles, as I take US-59 out of Houston instead of going over to I-35, but it pays 1,530. If he's telling the truth, that's a pretty severe hosejob that he's getting. My old bootleg version of PC Miler says that the route I take is the 'truck shortest' route. That guy's company is chiseling around 200 miles from his pay. Bum deal.

Then I had to drive some more. This load was like a 42,000 pound albatross around my neck all afternoon. Up the hills, down the hills, and up, and down. Every time I would think I could settle in, someone would wind up in front of me going 45mph. Any time I tried to get into the left lane and go around, we would hit a hill. So I had a hell of a time getting any momentum. That was pretty much the story of my afternoon - one big test of patience. If the test is scored based on not running people off the road, I suppose I passed. If the test is scored based on not screaming obscenities and cursing Isaac Newton all day, I failed miserably.

I stopped in Buford, Georgia and called up one of my cousins. My will to be on the road had expired, so I figured I might as well hang out here for the night. I guess we'll grab some dinner and see what's what. My dispatch has me due in Laredo at 3am Monday (when the broker will be closed, duh...), so I'll knock it out in a couple of ten hour days from here.

I did get my layover pay (from a couple weeks ago) on today's check, so that's pretty cool. I didn't, however, get my missing $17.50.

This brings me to the exciting news. I am proud to debut a new weekly segment of the blog, titled Where In The World Is The Godfather's UPS Pay? Here's how the game is played. I'll give you three clues. Then, anyone who guesses correctly each week will earn a share of the $17.50
(minus taxes, handling fees, fuel surcharge, environmental recovery fund fee, and closing costs. Net payment estimated at $0.00).

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THE GODFATHER'S UPS PAY?
EPISODE ONE

1. Home to twenty million people
2. Important base for Allied forces in WWII
3. Gained independence in 1948

Have at it!