6/19/08

4:30am - the line between grownup and juvenile, I guess. That's when I normally (juvenile) manage to fall asleep but today I (grownup) started work at 4:30am. Yuck.

The idea was to make it to the consignee a few hours early and try to catch another assignment today. By 9am it was time to give up the dream. I was tired as hell, so I ducked into a rest area and slept for a couple of hours. On the positive side, I've made it back above the Mason-Dixon line (where I belong) and the weather is much cooler. I haven't had to idle my truck to sleep for the past few days. Even this morning with the sun up, I was able to crack the windows and it was plenty cool enough for me to doze off.

After I woke up and continued eastward, I realized that I still hadn't been given a drop number for the shipment. The stop location information for the customer in Wilkes-Barre said that a drop number was required, so I sent a message asking if one had come through yet. When I got within ten miles of the consignee, I still hadn't received a reply to that message, so I called. The lady on the phone spoke with the customer service people and told me that I didn't need one. As I pulled into the consignee's driveway, I got a reply to my satellite message. Same thing. CSR says we don't need a drop number. Good enough.

The drop yard was nice and easy to navigate and I found a good empty trailer. By 'good' I mean that everything was working properly and, just as importantly, it was squeaky clean inside. Five minutes that I don't have to spend sweeping out a trailer are five good minutes in my book. I had spotted a gravel area near a building with a 'for lease' sign as I drove to the consignee, so I headed back over there with my empty to wait for my next assignment to come through. I was #1 on the board with a few hours still available today.

It didn't take long to get that next assignment, so that was cool. I was sent to drop off my empty at a new customer in New Jersey. The good news was that I had until midnight to cover 140 miles. The bad news was that I started today at 4:30am, so I was only legal until 6:30pm. Ahhhh, New Jersey at rush hour... nice.

As I headed south on the Pennsylvania Turnpike toward I-80, I had an inclination to turn on my CB. I really don't know why. I never have my CB on unless there's something about which I want to hear. Today though, for whatever reason, I reached up and turned the knob. I caught the tail end of a conversation in which some local guys were telling some long haul guys how to go further east on some back road and then catch back up with I-80 eastbound. Quick decision time as I passed through the toll booth. I decided that there must be a reason for five big trucks to be turning down a road that didn't look all that inviting, so I skipped I-80 and followed along. Good call. It turns out that I-80 was being closed off and on for construction and it was backed up for several miles. We came out past the east end of the work zone and cruised right along on a wide open freeway. Sweet.

After fighting my way through the parking lot known as I-287 this afternoon, I got to the new customer and looked for someone in charge. Habla Ingles? There was one white dude at the far end of the docks. I guess I would be considered a racist by today's standards, since I assumed that he was the boss. My assumption was correct and he told me that I could drop my empty in any open door. Groovy. It turns out that they have contracted us as what the guy called "our in-house carrier." So we'll be pulling freight for them on a regular basis, drop/hook style. You gotta start somewhere though, so I was giving them the first empty trailer to load.

After that I had to call Joplin again. The Qualcomm system won't let me put myself on the board without an empty trailer, so I had to ask a dispatcher to do it for me. He said that he did and that I was #1 again. Cool. Not having anywhere to park, I hopped on the Jersey Turnpike and went north a few miles to the first rest area. Even with a bobtail, parking was tight. I found another bobtail parked in a space, so I backed in behind him and headed in for some dinner.

When I came back out, I found that I was not on the board. Normally I would have just let it slide until morning, since I didn't have the hours to go very far anyway. I needed to get on the board and request home time though. I know I was just home recently, but my medical card expires next week and my father's 50th birthday party is next Saturday. The most efficient thing to do is just to head home and get my physical done up there. I've worked my ten days so I'm entitled to request home time. I sent a message asking why I wasn't on the board. I quickly received a reply saying that it was fixed. After verifying that I was on the board, I immediately put in my request. Thirty seconds later, I got a load assignment. I'm guessing that they were assigning me the load as I was sending my request, since it's going to North Carolina. It should be fine though. We have shippers all over down there and I should have an easy time heading north.

After I accepted the load, I got a message telling me to correct my response with the proper trailer number. Son of a bitch. Here we go. I answered with a message explaining that I have no trailer and then waited for the next reply. The reply never came through. Directions to the shipper came through. Directions to the consignee came through. The stop summary information came through. No answer on the trailer situation, no dispatch to the shipper, no message about northeast pay, and no fueling recommendations. Basically I'm in limbo. The CTL web portal says that I'm still assigned to the load (I'm number zero), it indicates that my home time request is active, and it does not indicate that I've been dispatched to go anywhere. The curse of the nonexistent trailer strikes again.

I called a little while ago and spoke with some chick to find out what they were going to do with me. I'm sure she means well. We'll just leave it at that.

I tried to help out by suggesting that the ConWay in Newark may have an extra trailer laying around. The response - "Sure, probably, call me if you find an empty," was not quite satisfying to me so I'll talk to my fleet manager in the morning. I'm not going anywhere without a dispatch. For starters, I expect to be paid for miles that I drive in service of my employer. Secondly, I'm not going anywhere near that Godforsaken location unless I know for sure that my employer wants me there. Thirdly, whoever set me up to drop my empty at the new shipper may have had something in mind as far as picking up a new wagon. In the past, I've gone to repair shops and such to retrieve trailers that have been serviced. For all I know, that's what they wanted me to do this time as well. Fourthly, since my home time request and this load assignment appear to have passed one another in satellite orbit, they may end up changing their minds about sending me to North Carolina. It wouldn't be the first time. Since I don't know for sure, I'm staying put until morning. My presently assigned load picks up at 12:30pm on the west side of New Jersey. I'll have plenty of time to get a trailer and get over there after the Joplin starting lineup gets to work tomorrow.