10/7/08

I'm gonna kick someone. No, seriously, I'll do it. Today the peckerheads woke me up with another message asking us to stay off the phones on account of my fleet manager being away from work. I was tempted to call and tie up the phone line just so I could yell at someone, but I went back to bed instead. I was up pretty late last night and I was in no mood for that shit two hours after I finally fell alseep.

Pretty early in the morning, I got a load assignment. I had to shoot over to Dallas and make a drop/hook, then head west. My load wasn't ready yet so I wound up hanging around at the shipper for most of the morning. It was good to go right at noon (the scheduled time).

From there, I was headed off to the mountains west of Roswell. I think that this is my first trip west of I-35 since... hell, I don't even remember the last time I was this far west. Selective amnesia, I'm sure. I'm not a big fan of the West. I got out to Abilene before it was time for a nap. My customary hour and a half had me feeling good again, so the rest of the drive wasn't bad. The nighttime part of the trip was mostly just me and the road with very few other vehicles going in either direction.

I rolled into Ruidoso Downs and started scouting the signs, looking for some hint to help me. This is one of those locations that doesn't tell you much - 2172 Highway 70. Late at night in a little two-stoplight town, it ain't so easy to see the addresses on the buildings. I knew that I was looking for a Sears. My suspicion, however, was that it wouldn't be the kind of Sears that we have back home. I was right. At the last second I spotted a little building with a sign that, fortunately for me, was illuminated. I turned into what I thought was the driveway and realized that I had missed the mark. Again fortunately for me, the parking lots were connected so I was able to swing around into the Sears lot. Not so fortunately for me, the loading dock is insane. I had to continue into (yet another) neighboring lot and pull a 180 to get somewhat set up. Then it was... the play by play would be pretty long and boring, but suffice to say it sucked. Once I open the doors in the morning and back in the rest of the way, there will be concrete walls within six inches of my trailer on each side.

This load has a second drop a couple hundred miles away from here tomorrow. That will tack on a few more bucks in mileage pay, plus my $35 for the extra stop. What is tomorrow, Wednesday? I'll be over $500 by the time I'm empty with plenty of the week still to come. I guess it's starting to come together pretty well.

Hey, more good news! We all entered the 60-day corporate paper market today. I always wanted to be an institutional lender. According to the esteemed senator from Arizona, he wants us (the taxpayers) to eat a massive write-down of upside down mortgages too. Sweet! I just wish I had bought a house that I couldn't afford a few years ago. Then I could get a handout and my shitty little apartment could be used as a field office for ACORN or something. Dueling handouts with 28 days to go. God help us.