5/17/08

I used to go fishing every now and then. I'm more of an active type, so the laid back scene doesn't suit me too well, but sometimes it's nice to get out on a boat and knock a few beers back and enjoy our spot at the top of the food chain. They were fishing on Chesapeake Bay today. I was jealous. I believe I should get out with my father once or twice the next time I'm home.

Anyway, this drive down US-13 seemed a lot easier than the last one. I imagine the lighter weekend traffic was a big part of that, but I also didn't seem to catch as many red lights as last time. I dropped my trailer at the customer in Chesapeake, but they didn't have any empties. The security guard said that the empties were all locked up in a different yard, and that that yard wasn't open until Monday. A collection of CTL guys were already hanging around when I showed up, but I had received a pre-plan while I was in Delaware. This meant that hanging around until some unknown date and time was not an option. I needed to get an empty and head to Williamsburg for a beer run leaving tomorrow morning. So I called Joplin. Yeah, my favorite thing to do.

The nice young lady on the phone went to work in trying to find an empty. Beer runs are drop/hook deals, but she wasn't sure if they would let me pick up without taking in an empty. I was on the phone for a few minutes, then she said that they would send me a message and let me know what they would do with me. Not long after that, I got a satellite message saying that I would bobtail to the pick up. Works for me. Good lookin' out, my sister.

The dispatched miles to Williamsburg were 59, but it was more like a 35 mile drive. The customer in Chesapeake was along I-664, well outside what you and I would call Chesapeake, but Virginia is weird that way sometimes. I went back across the bay and up I-64 to look for a shopping mall. I've been spending a little too much time reading drivel on the internet lately and I think it's shrinking my brain. Usually a few good books will get that sorted out. The Patrick Henry Mall was pretty easy to access with my bobtail. I forgot that it was Saturday, so the packed parking lot caught me off guard. I wound up having to park WAY out in left field, and the bookstore was WAY out behind the first base side of the mall.

Once I killed some time, walking and shopping, I headed back out and called the automated load info line at the brewery. The scheduled time for me to pick up was 7am tomorrow, but I could jam the loaded dispatch onto this week's paycheck if I could get it before midnight (Joplin time). The load wasn't ready at that point, so my chances of getting it before my 14 hour clock ran out didn't look too good. When I called again a half hour later, we were in business.

It was maybe fifteen miles or so from the mall to the brewery. My trailer was in fact loaded, but hadn't been pulled from the dock area. I stopped and let the yard dog know that I would take it when he pulled it out, saving him a trip to the drop yard and back. By the time I found a bobtail parking spot, he was coming around the corner with my trailer. So I was loaded and dispatched for Myrtle Beach, with enough time left to get to the VA/NC border tonight.

That, my friends, is what we call a coup. Tomorrow, instead of getting loaded at 7am, I'll wake up whenever I wake up and drive for five or six hours. And I'll gladly take the pay for this run a week ahead of schedule, even if it does all wash out in the end. So we wrap up this week with 2,680 miles, plus a healthy dose of northeast pay. And there wasn't a drop of rain in sight today. As shitty as yesterday was, today may have been the exact opposite.

Somewhere within the past few days, I passed 240,000 miles driven. According to the company web portal, 240K is the level for my next "service award," whatever that means. I think 250K means a pay raise, so that sounds a lot more important to me. Maybe my service award will be a major award...