10/6/08

I don't even know you, whoever you are, sitting there and reading a computer screen right now... but I'll bet that your day started better than mine did. My dispatch instructed me to deliver by 7am Central. So I woke up in a driving rain at 6:30am and drove around the corner to my consignee. Nobody home. I assumed that 7am must be starting time, so I would just have to hang around for a bit.

A guy walked in shortly after 7am and informed me that the place didn't open until 8am. Okay, could be worse. I would just have to hang out for an hour, right? Not entirely. The nice fella gave me directions to a different warehouse. He had a habit of saying "left" as he motioned to the right and saying "right" as he motioned to the left. Fortunately, he mentioned a Budweiser building that I had seen on my way in last night. I asked if there would be a place for me to park over there while I waited. "Yeah, but it's gonna be a fuckin' bitch getting in there. There's this guardrail on the right... The last fuckin' guy had to try about eighteen times to get into that fuckin' dock." Sweet.

I managed to piece together the directions to the other warehouse. Damn, dude. He wasn't kidding. Absolutely no room to maneuver and lots of rain just to make it extra fun. It took a solid half hour for me to get more or less squared away in the (outdoor) dock. My trailer was a little off the perpendicular and my truck was askew, but it was as good as it was going to get. I didn't have my trailer doors open on account of the driving rain, so I was going to have to pull forward and try to find my way back to the dock one more time once someone showed up to unload me. And thus began my day...

After I sat there for about an hour, the same guy from the first warehouse pulled up in front of me and stepped toward my truck. He apologized and told me that we would be going to yet another warehouse, where I would be unloaded. I followed him out of the industrial park and into a neighboring cluster of warehouses. He pointed toward my destination and headed back to the original location. Fortunately for me, this third warehouse actually had a decent setup for a loading dock. This looked better to me than trying to get back into that outdoor dock. So I backed in again and waited. Shortly thereafter, I felt my trailer start bouncing and they had me unloaded fairly quickly.

Then I headed across town to get my pre-assigned load. When I showed up at the shipper, they couldn't find my load information. Somewhere along the way they figured it out. This was originally a load scheduled for their internal carrier, but it was brokered out to us. I had to head down the street to a different warehouse and get loaded there. Okay then. I was loaded quickly and on my way. Five and a half hours after starting my day in Winfield, Kansas, I finally left Winfield, Kansas.

The drive down to the eastern suburbs of Dallas was pretty decent. I caught pretty much every red light once I left the interstate though. One of those things, I guess. At the consignee, the lady behind the desk had no idea what to do with me. She started off by saying that I was at the wrong place. I was having none of that. Then she said that I might be at the right place. Okay, getting warmer. She needed to talk to her boss but he was in a meeting. So I waited a while longer. After the meeting adjourned, the supervisor came out and got everything cleared up. I backed into a dock and had to disconnect from my trailer in order to get unloaded.

Then I was empty and that was that. I employed my 'don't ask, don't tell' policy and pulled off behind the consignee's drop lot to park for the night. If I asked, they might tell me not to park here. Since I didn't ask and thus they haven't told me so, I can't be breaking any rules, can I? I'm #13 on the board as I write tonight. I think I should be moving somewhat early tomorrow but you never really know.

The early feedback from worldwide markets seems to suggest that I was right about the phony bailout package. Hopefully, for the sake of all of us, time will prove me wrong. This workout thing is becoming a source of consternation to me as well. While an Angels fan clinging to the possibility of living to play another day might get a chuckle, I tend to enjoy the attention of attractive women whenever I am able to garner it. Looking like a truck driver does not help my cause. Tonight... rainy weather and a muddy drop lot. What the hell?