I'm not the jealous type of person for the most part, but they were playing golf in Mississippi today. That made me jealous.
The drive was a pretty easy affair, across Louisiana and angling up through Mississippi into Alabama. I had enough hours to go further, but it was a pretty good day so I stopped while I was ahead. Back when I was a somewhat civilized and classy individual, I learned to enjoy a good cigar. Part of enjoying it is knowing when to let it go. You hang on too long and you end up with overheated smoke that tastes like ass. Days out here can be like that too. Know when to say when.
So I have a few hundred miles to drive tomorrow ahead of my Monday morning drop. So far the truck is doing pretty well. On quite a few hills it went all the way over with no problem. A few other hills caused it to sputter pretty badly, but it still seems to hold its speed fairly well. My computer says I got 7mpg today so I guess whatever the issues is, it must be tolerable. I am just glad there's only 7,000 pounds in the box. If I actually needed all kinds of horsepower to pull the hills, we might have some problems. Things will get a hell of a lot steeper by the end of tomorrow's drive, so I'm preparing for a rough ride. Hopefully the load coming back south will be a light one too. We'll see...
So I got a few messages from wise gamblers asking about the Super Bowl. They're wise because they know that they should bet against whatever I think will happen tomorrow. The only catch fellas (and I'm sorry to break it to you) is that I was over .500 on the NFL this year. I wasn't real good, but I wasn't real bad either. So I can't be counted on to back the wrong team like I always do with college football. Be that as it may, I've seen the line as low as -12. I would be all over New England at that mark. The AFC was -16 before the playoffs, and that was back when there were good NFC teams (Dallas, Green Bay) in the pool. I think the New York population has bought this thing down way below where it should be. So, the rule now is that New York probably wins outright, but like I said it's not as sure a thing as college football. Sometimes I get the NFL right.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
2/1/08
I know I tend to be a rather unlucky fellow in matters of life, but somehow this truck driving thing just seems to go my way. Well, not completely, but for the most part at least. About five minutes after last night's blog entry, I got a beep...
I headed in and expected to hear some shitty run that I was being assigned, to be taken after I made my drop this morning. Instead I was told to leave my loaded trailer on the yard for a local driver to take in the morning. (I do despise Laredo deliveries, so this was very sweet news.) Then I was given the choice between an 800-something miler to Mississippi for Monday, a whatever miler to Illinois (that's where it's really cold) for Monday, or a 1284 miler to Tennessee for Monday. The longest one isn't always the best one, but in this case I took the Tennessee run because it's right on I-75 (Loudon, TN) and we always have shit running back and forth around Knoxville. It was a calculated move on my part. Plus I figured Tennessee shouldn't be quite as cold and snowy as Illinois, even if it is on the chilly side.
I rolled out of Laredo this morning and headed up US-59 toward Houston. Things were going smoothly when my truck decided to play some games with me. It started sputtering pretty badly going up a hill. I basically concluded that it was going to stall. It didn't stall, or even lose a lot of speed actually. It just kept sputtering, sometimes violently. Then it started running fine again. A few miles later, more sputtering on another hill. Across the top of the hill, everything was fine. This repeated a few times, so I pulled into a truck stop to have a look (as if I would know what was wrong if I saw it). Nothing is dripping, nothing is broken, and nothing is loose. That's about all I can tell. I put in a call to road service to see what they had to say. "Maybe fuel filters." Nope, brand new. "Maybe loose bolts on the turbo." Every bolt that I can see is tight, but I have no idea what a turbo looks like. They said I should stop at the T/A in Ganado if I could make it there, so they could have a look. I drove the hundred miles or so to Ganado, only having issues whenever a long climb or abrupt increase in speed (leaving a town, e.g.) presented itself.
I got to the T/A and explained to the dude that the engine was sputtering any time it reached back for a little extra horsepower. He asked how it was idling. It idles fine. He asked how fast it goes before the problem comes up. Really, the speed is irrelevant. If I'm cruising at 65mph on flat terrain, it's fine. If I'm accelerating from a given speed to a higher speed, or trying to pull a hill, we have issues. He took a look, saw whatever I saw apparently, and said there was nothing he could do. He mentioned the turbo thing too, so maybe that's my issue. I don't know.
So I placed another call to road service to see what they wanted me to do. The guy asked me what model of fuel filters had been put on. I checked. They were the right ones. He thought maybe they were too tight, so I checked that too. I could rotate them by hand, but they were pretty snug. He said that's about right. Oil is good. Fuel isn't low. So the conclusion was that I needed a dealer to look at the engine.
Apparently nothing good can happen if you have engine trouble in the Houston area. The road service guy named a few places and, each time, said that CTL doesn't like to use the place in question. There was some place north of Houston on 59 that is apparently okay to use, but they closed at 8pm. It would be a pipe dream to think I had time to get through Houston during a Friday rush hour and up to the location in time. Then there was some place in Louisiana that was open until noon on Saturday, but that was too far away. Then there was the Peterbilt place in Houston, but I called and they couldn't get to my truck until Monday at the earliest. So I basically had to say screw it and keep driving. I guess I could have made CTL send someone to take this load and then sat in a hotel all weekend, but that sounds pretty shitty to me. The truck runs fine 90% of the time, so I'll just have to deal with it until I catch a break. As long as I keep the boost gauge thing from going over 20, I seem to do okay. Only the climbs are a major issue. The hills in Tennessee... shit, I don't even want to think about it. We'll deal with that one in a couple days.
As all this was going on, I got my next load assignment. Not just a plan summary, but an actual assignment. I've never seen that before. Even when we're pre-planned like this, we don't get the assignment until we're empty. The reason is that we respond to that assignment and then get dispatched. I wasn't sure what to do, so I shot a message to my fleet manager. He told me to confirm the assignment once I'm empty so that's what I'll do. I'll be picking up in Loudon, Tennessee and going to... Laredo, Texas. Creative planning there, eh? At least I'll be familiar with the route. I have to admit that the number of pre-plans does seem to be on the rise. We were told that we would see more of that after the merger and for a while we really didn't. Speaking only for myself here, I have definitely seen more pre-plans in the last month or two. I guess anyone who reads this on a regular basis could tell me if it's just my imagination. Not a ton of pre-plans by any means, but definitely more than before. That's what it seems like to me.
So I suppose the truck issue is going to be played by ear for a few days here. I hope I don't have to pass on that next load, as the miles will fit nicely within my available hours in the early part of next week. Then I can bobtail to a shop in Laredo or something.
I'll finish up with 3,216 miles for this week, in addition to $35 for the cleanout at UPS and $35 for the extra pickup in Ohio. Pretty good week. Sunday (first day on the next check) will be burned finishing off this run, but I already know I'm getting a few good days of work starting Monday so I'm feeling rather fortunate. At least I'll be as fortunate as the engine situation allows me to be. As long as my truck gets me to Tennessee and then back to Laredo, things will be A-OK with me. I may very well take it in the ass for a couple days trying to get my truck fixed down there, but I'm trying to stay optimistic.
I headed in and expected to hear some shitty run that I was being assigned, to be taken after I made my drop this morning. Instead I was told to leave my loaded trailer on the yard for a local driver to take in the morning. (I do despise Laredo deliveries, so this was very sweet news.) Then I was given the choice between an 800-something miler to Mississippi for Monday, a whatever miler to Illinois (that's where it's really cold) for Monday, or a 1284 miler to Tennessee for Monday. The longest one isn't always the best one, but in this case I took the Tennessee run because it's right on I-75 (Loudon, TN) and we always have shit running back and forth around Knoxville. It was a calculated move on my part. Plus I figured Tennessee shouldn't be quite as cold and snowy as Illinois, even if it is on the chilly side.
I rolled out of Laredo this morning and headed up US-59 toward Houston. Things were going smoothly when my truck decided to play some games with me. It started sputtering pretty badly going up a hill. I basically concluded that it was going to stall. It didn't stall, or even lose a lot of speed actually. It just kept sputtering, sometimes violently. Then it started running fine again. A few miles later, more sputtering on another hill. Across the top of the hill, everything was fine. This repeated a few times, so I pulled into a truck stop to have a look (as if I would know what was wrong if I saw it). Nothing is dripping, nothing is broken, and nothing is loose. That's about all I can tell. I put in a call to road service to see what they had to say. "Maybe fuel filters." Nope, brand new. "Maybe loose bolts on the turbo." Every bolt that I can see is tight, but I have no idea what a turbo looks like. They said I should stop at the T/A in Ganado if I could make it there, so they could have a look. I drove the hundred miles or so to Ganado, only having issues whenever a long climb or abrupt increase in speed (leaving a town, e.g.) presented itself.
I got to the T/A and explained to the dude that the engine was sputtering any time it reached back for a little extra horsepower. He asked how it was idling. It idles fine. He asked how fast it goes before the problem comes up. Really, the speed is irrelevant. If I'm cruising at 65mph on flat terrain, it's fine. If I'm accelerating from a given speed to a higher speed, or trying to pull a hill, we have issues. He took a look, saw whatever I saw apparently, and said there was nothing he could do. He mentioned the turbo thing too, so maybe that's my issue. I don't know.
So I placed another call to road service to see what they wanted me to do. The guy asked me what model of fuel filters had been put on. I checked. They were the right ones. He thought maybe they were too tight, so I checked that too. I could rotate them by hand, but they were pretty snug. He said that's about right. Oil is good. Fuel isn't low. So the conclusion was that I needed a dealer to look at the engine.
Apparently nothing good can happen if you have engine trouble in the Houston area. The road service guy named a few places and, each time, said that CTL doesn't like to use the place in question. There was some place north of Houston on 59 that is apparently okay to use, but they closed at 8pm. It would be a pipe dream to think I had time to get through Houston during a Friday rush hour and up to the location in time. Then there was some place in Louisiana that was open until noon on Saturday, but that was too far away. Then there was the Peterbilt place in Houston, but I called and they couldn't get to my truck until Monday at the earliest. So I basically had to say screw it and keep driving. I guess I could have made CTL send someone to take this load and then sat in a hotel all weekend, but that sounds pretty shitty to me. The truck runs fine 90% of the time, so I'll just have to deal with it until I catch a break. As long as I keep the boost gauge thing from going over 20, I seem to do okay. Only the climbs are a major issue. The hills in Tennessee... shit, I don't even want to think about it. We'll deal with that one in a couple days.
As all this was going on, I got my next load assignment. Not just a plan summary, but an actual assignment. I've never seen that before. Even when we're pre-planned like this, we don't get the assignment until we're empty. The reason is that we respond to that assignment and then get dispatched. I wasn't sure what to do, so I shot a message to my fleet manager. He told me to confirm the assignment once I'm empty so that's what I'll do. I'll be picking up in Loudon, Tennessee and going to... Laredo, Texas. Creative planning there, eh? At least I'll be familiar with the route. I have to admit that the number of pre-plans does seem to be on the rise. We were told that we would see more of that after the merger and for a while we really didn't. Speaking only for myself here, I have definitely seen more pre-plans in the last month or two. I guess anyone who reads this on a regular basis could tell me if it's just my imagination. Not a ton of pre-plans by any means, but definitely more than before. That's what it seems like to me.
So I suppose the truck issue is going to be played by ear for a few days here. I hope I don't have to pass on that next load, as the miles will fit nicely within my available hours in the early part of next week. Then I can bobtail to a shop in Laredo or something.
I'll finish up with 3,216 miles for this week, in addition to $35 for the cleanout at UPS and $35 for the extra pickup in Ohio. Pretty good week. Sunday (first day on the next check) will be burned finishing off this run, but I already know I'm getting a few good days of work starting Monday so I'm feeling rather fortunate. At least I'll be as fortunate as the engine situation allows me to be. As long as my truck gets me to Tennessee and then back to Laredo, things will be A-OK with me. I may very well take it in the ass for a couple days trying to get my truck fixed down there, but I'm trying to stay optimistic.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
1/31/08
You guys who make the porno noises while you're taking a shit - what's up with that? Is it that painful? Or is it that pleasurable? Or is it... I don't know... what? What the hell is up with all the noise?
Anyway, even aside from the porn-shitters, today was a pretty weird one. I hung out in Lancaster all morning. For some reason I just didn't feel like getting out of the shower. I don't know if it's the nozzle that lines up with my chin, the water pressure dropping every time someone flushed a toilet, or the cold draft that was pouring in over the door. For some reason though, it felt like I could hang out in there all day. Once I got prune hands, I decided that was enough. I watched a couple of movies and then headed south.
What's up with the wind? Seriously. Is there anywhere in this country where it's not blowing a hundred miles an hour this week? Between the gusts and the shitty surface on I-35, it was a bitch driving for the most part today. For a while I was leaning far enough left to make Hillary Clinton and V.I. Lenin proud. And I think we all know how I feel about the 'no trucks in left lane' stretch there. I was officially back on road rage alert.
I got a message from the shop telling me it was time for fuel filters, so I fought my way through Austin and got to the T/A in New Braunfels. The guy said it would be a little while, but I was ready for a little break anyway. I also needed a mud flap for my truck and the shop added a tractor lube and trailer inspection to the menu. Four hours later... I was rolling again.
The part of the trip after I left the T/A was a hell of a lot better. The wind was gone and the traffic was lighter. I rolled into Laredo a little while ago and heard what I expected to hear. The broker opens at 9am. I was dispatched to be here at 2am, why? Whatever man. I got on the board at #5 so there's a pretty good chance I'll be assigned to something before I drop this one off tomorrow. It's been a long time since I've seen Laredo with this few trucks. All I ever hear is how slow the freight is and how everyone's sitting, but I just keep rolling.
It sounds like the weather back home is a bitch these days. I wouldn't mind staying down south here for a while. The last couple of times I've been to Laredo, I've requested home time and headed north. This time I'm not going home, so I guess there's a chance I'll stay out of the real cold stuff for a few days.
Anyway, even aside from the porn-shitters, today was a pretty weird one. I hung out in Lancaster all morning. For some reason I just didn't feel like getting out of the shower. I don't know if it's the nozzle that lines up with my chin, the water pressure dropping every time someone flushed a toilet, or the cold draft that was pouring in over the door. For some reason though, it felt like I could hang out in there all day. Once I got prune hands, I decided that was enough. I watched a couple of movies and then headed south.
What's up with the wind? Seriously. Is there anywhere in this country where it's not blowing a hundred miles an hour this week? Between the gusts and the shitty surface on I-35, it was a bitch driving for the most part today. For a while I was leaning far enough left to make Hillary Clinton and V.I. Lenin proud. And I think we all know how I feel about the 'no trucks in left lane' stretch there. I was officially back on road rage alert.
I got a message from the shop telling me it was time for fuel filters, so I fought my way through Austin and got to the T/A in New Braunfels. The guy said it would be a little while, but I was ready for a little break anyway. I also needed a mud flap for my truck and the shop added a tractor lube and trailer inspection to the menu. Four hours later... I was rolling again.
The part of the trip after I left the T/A was a hell of a lot better. The wind was gone and the traffic was lighter. I rolled into Laredo a little while ago and heard what I expected to hear. The broker opens at 9am. I was dispatched to be here at 2am, why? Whatever man. I got on the board at #5 so there's a pretty good chance I'll be assigned to something before I drop this one off tomorrow. It's been a long time since I've seen Laredo with this few trucks. All I ever hear is how slow the freight is and how everyone's sitting, but I just keep rolling.
It sounds like the weather back home is a bitch these days. I wouldn't mind staying down south here for a while. The last couple of times I've been to Laredo, I've requested home time and headed north. This time I'm not going home, so I guess there's a chance I'll stay out of the real cold stuff for a few days.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
1/30/08
What I needed today, following yesterday's headache, was a nice non-eventful ride down to Lancaster. That's what I got, so the motorists of Texas don't need to fear any impending road rage from me... at least for now.
The weather was nice, the traffic was light, and the drive was right in that 7-8 hour range that I like. Knowing I was stopping at a terminal, I had no need to arrive early so I stopped and took a couple of breaks along the way. It was just what the doctor ordered.
I was taking a nap in Texarkana this afternoon when my satellite system beeped and woke me up. Damn recruiting contest results. I honestly don't give a shit about who wins a new pickup, but I swear they only send those messages when I'm trying to sleep. I am curious though about the number of people who stick around for a couple of years after these guys recruit them. I tend to think it's not a very high percentage. I'm not going to bash people for trying to make a few extra bucks. That's the American way, so if the company is going to pay the bonus they might as well go for it. I just know that some of the scenarios painted for people by some of these "driver recruiters" are pretty rosy. From some of the stuff I read on certain drivers' personal websites, I would call 'bullshit' in a hurry. But I guess somebody must be sticking around or the company wouldn't shell out the big bonuses.
Tomorrow... Laredo. Friday... the world!
The weather was nice, the traffic was light, and the drive was right in that 7-8 hour range that I like. Knowing I was stopping at a terminal, I had no need to arrive early so I stopped and took a couple of breaks along the way. It was just what the doctor ordered.
I was taking a nap in Texarkana this afternoon when my satellite system beeped and woke me up. Damn recruiting contest results. I honestly don't give a shit about who wins a new pickup, but I swear they only send those messages when I'm trying to sleep. I am curious though about the number of people who stick around for a couple of years after these guys recruit them. I tend to think it's not a very high percentage. I'm not going to bash people for trying to make a few extra bucks. That's the American way, so if the company is going to pay the bonus they might as well go for it. I just know that some of the scenarios painted for people by some of these "driver recruiters" are pretty rosy. From some of the stuff I read on certain drivers' personal websites, I would call 'bullshit' in a hurry. But I guess somebody must be sticking around or the company wouldn't shell out the big bonuses.
Tomorrow... Laredo. Friday... the world!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
1/29/08
Well, I think I've set a new personal record. It usually takes a couple of weeks on the road before I'm ready to park the truck and walk away. This time I got there on day six.
I woke up at the customer and chased around a bunch of Filipino guys who didn't speak English. My appointment was 7am, so of course the shipping lady showed up at 7:20am. The dock guy was a real prick. The paperwork says it's 48,000 pounds for half a trailer. Obviously that's bullshit. It's pretty heavy, but nowhere near that heavy. The traffic from Columbus to Cincinnati was a bitch. And that was the good part of the day.
The second stop had a horseshit dock setup. The guy in the little office told me to wait in my truck and someone would let me know which door to use. Some other guy started bitching at me for sitting where I was told to sit. Their paperwork says it's 6,000 pounds for twenty pallets. Obviously that's bullshit. It's nowhere near that light. The traffic around Cincinnati and into Kentucky was a bitch. That was the part where I started to get annoyed.
Going down I-65 it was windier than shit. There were a couple of pretty intense storms that had everybody riding their breaks. I have no idea how much weight I'm actually pulling, but it's pretty damn heavy. Up and down hills. Downshift, upshift, ride the brakes. Downshift, upshift, ride the brakes. Rinse, recycle, repeat. I-65 was closed for an accident or something (no CB here) so we had to take a convoluted route through some hick town and back down to the highway. That was a fun hour of idling. People don't know how to drive. Slower traffic keep right? Nah, that's a myth. And that was the part where I became thoroughly pissed.
Into Tennessee... I would have given my left nut for about fifty miles of flat terrain tonight. Every climb, five slower cars and trucks would pass me and get in front of me. On the way down, I would try to convince myself to just stay back and wait it out. And they would get slower... and slower... so I would pass them and we would do it again on the next hill. Over and over and over. And that was the part where I had to actually convince myself not to run someone off the road.
Then it flattened out a little and I was able to set the cruise. So of course I would roll along just fine for a few miles with nobody in front of me and nobody on my left. Then I would approach a slower car and put on my turn signal to pass. And suddenly the left lane was the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Every fucking time. And that was the point that I saw the bridge to Arkansas and thanked my lucky stars that the drive was over.
They say tomorrow is another day, so I guess it would have to be better than today. Hard to imagine it being any worse. I'll head to Lancaster tomorrow and then Laredo Thursday. That should give me a solid chance to get some miles in before Saturday night and wrap up a nice paycheck. The way today went though, I'm not in the mood to be an optimist so we'll just wait and see.
I woke up at the customer and chased around a bunch of Filipino guys who didn't speak English. My appointment was 7am, so of course the shipping lady showed up at 7:20am. The dock guy was a real prick. The paperwork says it's 48,000 pounds for half a trailer. Obviously that's bullshit. It's pretty heavy, but nowhere near that heavy. The traffic from Columbus to Cincinnati was a bitch. And that was the good part of the day.
The second stop had a horseshit dock setup. The guy in the little office told me to wait in my truck and someone would let me know which door to use. Some other guy started bitching at me for sitting where I was told to sit. Their paperwork says it's 6,000 pounds for twenty pallets. Obviously that's bullshit. It's nowhere near that light. The traffic around Cincinnati and into Kentucky was a bitch. That was the part where I started to get annoyed.
Going down I-65 it was windier than shit. There were a couple of pretty intense storms that had everybody riding their breaks. I have no idea how much weight I'm actually pulling, but it's pretty damn heavy. Up and down hills. Downshift, upshift, ride the brakes. Downshift, upshift, ride the brakes. Rinse, recycle, repeat. I-65 was closed for an accident or something (no CB here) so we had to take a convoluted route through some hick town and back down to the highway. That was a fun hour of idling. People don't know how to drive. Slower traffic keep right? Nah, that's a myth. And that was the part where I became thoroughly pissed.
Into Tennessee... I would have given my left nut for about fifty miles of flat terrain tonight. Every climb, five slower cars and trucks would pass me and get in front of me. On the way down, I would try to convince myself to just stay back and wait it out. And they would get slower... and slower... so I would pass them and we would do it again on the next hill. Over and over and over. And that was the part where I had to actually convince myself not to run someone off the road.
Then it flattened out a little and I was able to set the cruise. So of course I would roll along just fine for a few miles with nobody in front of me and nobody on my left. Then I would approach a slower car and put on my turn signal to pass. And suddenly the left lane was the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Every fucking time. And that was the point that I saw the bridge to Arkansas and thanked my lucky stars that the drive was over.
They say tomorrow is another day, so I guess it would have to be better than today. Hard to imagine it being any worse. I'll head to Lancaster tomorrow and then Laredo Thursday. That should give me a solid chance to get some miles in before Saturday night and wrap up a nice paycheck. The way today went though, I'm not in the mood to be an optimist so we'll just wait and see.
Monday, January 28, 2008
1/28/08
My relay was scheduled to go off at 9am, so I got up at 8am. The gorgeous clerk at the truck stop turned down my breakfast invitation, but she did tell me that the place used to be a BP. Yeah, so last night I got pissed at nobody in particular for nothing in particular. I sent a message this morning, apprising CTL of the situation, so I guess it's up to them to fix the location info.
9am arrived and I got a message from someone at CTL informing me that the inbound driver had arrived. Yeah, okay. There were ten empty spaces on either side of me at that point, so I don't think I was hard to find. A few seconds later a guy came (walking) around the corner. He was parked on the row behind me, facing the other way. My first reaction was to wonder why in the hell he didn't just park next to me, but he told me that he and his wife had shown up around 2am and had taken the one spot that they found. Fair enough. It was polite of them to hang out and wait until 9am, rather than wake me up at 2am I suppose. I was awake at 2am anyway, but there's not really a reason for someone to expect that.
So the relay went off without a hitch and I headed south. I took whatever Illinois highway I was on, down to US-24, and then over to I-65. That kept me well clear of the Chicago area. Then it was a ho-hum drive down and across to Cincinnati. The drop/hook at that ConWay was about the easiest one I've had. They didn't need it in a dock so I dropped it out on the yard. My empty was right next to it. I hooked up, checked it over, and took off.
Shortly before I got out of Illinois this morning, I received a pre-plan for my next load. The first stop was in Obetz, outside Columbus. It's always handy to know ahead of time where to go when you get an empty. It was onward to I-71 and up to the Columbus area. I got here a little while ago and found what looked like a locked yard. Upon closer inspection, there was an open gate at the far end of the warehouse. It made for a pretty tight U-turn to get in, but I'm probably experienced far beyond my years with that shit.
Once I'm loaded here, I'll head to Batavia for another pickup on the way to Laredo. Miles are always good, right? Today got me up to 480 miles for the week, the run to Batavia will be 111, and the run to Laredo is another 1,384. That probably puts me in Laredo sometime Friday. Getting out of there unscathed before the weekend settles in could give me a solid week. Sitting in Laredo... not so good. But I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, the miles I have, the unloading pay, and the pay for tomorrow's extra stop are a pretty good start.
The day had a little bit of a shadow over it after I got a call from a colleague. He informed me that a couple of mutual friends had been in a pretty bad accident. It sounds like they're a little banged up but otherwise they'll be okay. I was able to talk with one of them and she definitely sounded drained, if nothing more. As many things as we try to control out here, it only takes one variable that's beyond our control to make all the difference. I'm not one to discuss matters of faith publicly, so I won't get into all that. For those of you who are the spiritual types though, maybe keep the millions of drivers out here in mind tonight. There but by the grace of God...
9am arrived and I got a message from someone at CTL informing me that the inbound driver had arrived. Yeah, okay. There were ten empty spaces on either side of me at that point, so I don't think I was hard to find. A few seconds later a guy came (walking) around the corner. He was parked on the row behind me, facing the other way. My first reaction was to wonder why in the hell he didn't just park next to me, but he told me that he and his wife had shown up around 2am and had taken the one spot that they found. Fair enough. It was polite of them to hang out and wait until 9am, rather than wake me up at 2am I suppose. I was awake at 2am anyway, but there's not really a reason for someone to expect that.
So the relay went off without a hitch and I headed south. I took whatever Illinois highway I was on, down to US-24, and then over to I-65. That kept me well clear of the Chicago area. Then it was a ho-hum drive down and across to Cincinnati. The drop/hook at that ConWay was about the easiest one I've had. They didn't need it in a dock so I dropped it out on the yard. My empty was right next to it. I hooked up, checked it over, and took off.
Shortly before I got out of Illinois this morning, I received a pre-plan for my next load. The first stop was in Obetz, outside Columbus. It's always handy to know ahead of time where to go when you get an empty. It was onward to I-71 and up to the Columbus area. I got here a little while ago and found what looked like a locked yard. Upon closer inspection, there was an open gate at the far end of the warehouse. It made for a pretty tight U-turn to get in, but I'm probably experienced far beyond my years with that shit.
Once I'm loaded here, I'll head to Batavia for another pickup on the way to Laredo. Miles are always good, right? Today got me up to 480 miles for the week, the run to Batavia will be 111, and the run to Laredo is another 1,384. That probably puts me in Laredo sometime Friday. Getting out of there unscathed before the weekend settles in could give me a solid week. Sitting in Laredo... not so good. But I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, the miles I have, the unloading pay, and the pay for tomorrow's extra stop are a pretty good start.
The day had a little bit of a shadow over it after I got a call from a colleague. He informed me that a couple of mutual friends had been in a pretty bad accident. It sounds like they're a little banged up but otherwise they'll be okay. I was able to talk with one of them and she definitely sounded drained, if nothing more. As many things as we try to control out here, it only takes one variable that's beyond our control to make all the difference. I'm not one to discuss matters of faith publicly, so I won't get into all that. For those of you who are the spiritual types though, maybe keep the millions of drivers out here in mind tonight. There but by the grace of God...
Sunday, January 27, 2008
1/27/08
Easy drive on the turnpikes for the most part this morning. Indiana has the automated ticket dispensers like Ohio now. That's probably cheaper than paying someone to hand out tickets, but I liked the people handing out the tickets. They made life just a little easier. I'm not a big fan of trying to get close enough to grab the damn ticket without clipping my mirror on the pole. Oh well, my opinion and a dollar...
I thought the UPS delivery might be a pain in the ass, and I guess in a sense I wasn't disappointed. You would think that weekends would always be easier since there are no UPS trucks buzzing around. This particular location was so overrun with trailers that it was a royal pain. Normally a good number of the trailers are on the road, but not on a Sunday, so I got to do the obstacle course. I had to circle around a couple times and do some super-trucker backing, but I managed to drop my loaded trailer without any major issues.
Back at the empty lot, I got to make my usual choice between a kick in the balls or a thumb in the eye. There were two empties, neither of which I thought I could get out of its respective spot. One was backed in along a 90 degree row, but there was a UPS trailer set up horizontally across from it. I started to back under it, but there was no way I could have pulled it with the UPS trailer in the way. The other was in a 45 degree row. Another UPS trailer would have blocked my (forward) escape route with that one too. Beauty. If you're wondering whether or not it's fun to back a trailer through a 45 degree parking space between two other trailers and try to leave yourself a way to drive out, the answer is 'no.' It's not much fun at all. Lots of getting out and looking, lots of cursing UPS, but I got it out (backwards).
Then the trailer was full of cardboard. I had to back up to a dumpster and clean it out. That's one of those things that isn't really what I signed up for when I took this job, but at $35 for twenty minutes of work, I won't complain too much. It seems more than fair to me.
So, it was a Sunday afternoon, I had an empty, and I needed to find somehere to go. I had come off of I-294, so I went a little further north to the service plaza and parked for a while. On a Sunday afternoon, about all I could hope for was a deadhead to set up for Monday. A few hours went by and I started to think that my hopes wouldn't be realized. Then a little before 8pm I was assigned a relay picking up a little further west on I-80 and delivering to ConWay in Cincinnati tomorrow. I decided to head out and park at the relay point tonight, rather than drive over in the morning. I knew that giving up a parking spot ("the known") and hoping to find another spot at a new location ("the unknown") can be a gamble in Illinois. Still, I thought it was early enough that I should come out okay.
My directions told me that I would be making the relay at a BP. The exit ramp signs said that the BP was to the north. I turned north. No BP. I had to go about five miles down before I found a John Deere place that looked like it was big enough for me to turn around. It was tight, but I spun it around and headed back south. Still no BP, so I crossed the highway. Maybe I had misread the exit ramp sign. Nope, no BP there either. I went along looking for a place to turn around... yet again. There was a BP about a mile and a half down, but it had no parking lot at all. I was half tempted to park there on the sidewalk and wait for someone to bother me. Then maybe I would still be pissed off enough to start a fight. I thought better of it though, and continued on my way. I eventually (6 miles later) found an intersection that allowed me to do a quasi-U turn. I made the left onto an adjoining highway, then just never straightened the wheel until I was headed back north. And back across the highway...
You know what the BP is? It's the fucking T/A. The gas pumps out front (for cars) sell BP gas. If you want to set up a relay at the T/A, just fucking say "T/A," not "BP." Stupid. By the time I got here, I found a full parking lot. I guess "the unknown" wasn't on my side this time. I found an out-of-the-way spot along the back and sat tight for a little while. As I suspected, it didn't take long until someone left and I was able to grab his spot before anyone else showed up. And thus concludes another glamorous day on the road.
The relay here is set up for 9am Central tomorrow. Then it's 300-something miles to Cincinnati. It's not a big-time day, if that's all I get tomorow, but it's not terrible either. A bunch of 350 mile days, with an occasional long one mixed in, can pay pretty well.
I thought the UPS delivery might be a pain in the ass, and I guess in a sense I wasn't disappointed. You would think that weekends would always be easier since there are no UPS trucks buzzing around. This particular location was so overrun with trailers that it was a royal pain. Normally a good number of the trailers are on the road, but not on a Sunday, so I got to do the obstacle course. I had to circle around a couple times and do some super-trucker backing, but I managed to drop my loaded trailer without any major issues.
Back at the empty lot, I got to make my usual choice between a kick in the balls or a thumb in the eye. There were two empties, neither of which I thought I could get out of its respective spot. One was backed in along a 90 degree row, but there was a UPS trailer set up horizontally across from it. I started to back under it, but there was no way I could have pulled it with the UPS trailer in the way. The other was in a 45 degree row. Another UPS trailer would have blocked my (forward) escape route with that one too. Beauty. If you're wondering whether or not it's fun to back a trailer through a 45 degree parking space between two other trailers and try to leave yourself a way to drive out, the answer is 'no.' It's not much fun at all. Lots of getting out and looking, lots of cursing UPS, but I got it out (backwards).
Then the trailer was full of cardboard. I had to back up to a dumpster and clean it out. That's one of those things that isn't really what I signed up for when I took this job, but at $35 for twenty minutes of work, I won't complain too much. It seems more than fair to me.
So, it was a Sunday afternoon, I had an empty, and I needed to find somehere to go. I had come off of I-294, so I went a little further north to the service plaza and parked for a while. On a Sunday afternoon, about all I could hope for was a deadhead to set up for Monday. A few hours went by and I started to think that my hopes wouldn't be realized. Then a little before 8pm I was assigned a relay picking up a little further west on I-80 and delivering to ConWay in Cincinnati tomorrow. I decided to head out and park at the relay point tonight, rather than drive over in the morning. I knew that giving up a parking spot ("the known") and hoping to find another spot at a new location ("the unknown") can be a gamble in Illinois. Still, I thought it was early enough that I should come out okay.
My directions told me that I would be making the relay at a BP. The exit ramp signs said that the BP was to the north. I turned north. No BP. I had to go about five miles down before I found a John Deere place that looked like it was big enough for me to turn around. It was tight, but I spun it around and headed back south. Still no BP, so I crossed the highway. Maybe I had misread the exit ramp sign. Nope, no BP there either. I went along looking for a place to turn around... yet again. There was a BP about a mile and a half down, but it had no parking lot at all. I was half tempted to park there on the sidewalk and wait for someone to bother me. Then maybe I would still be pissed off enough to start a fight. I thought better of it though, and continued on my way. I eventually (6 miles later) found an intersection that allowed me to do a quasi-U turn. I made the left onto an adjoining highway, then just never straightened the wheel until I was headed back north. And back across the highway...
You know what the BP is? It's the fucking T/A. The gas pumps out front (for cars) sell BP gas. If you want to set up a relay at the T/A, just fucking say "T/A," not "BP." Stupid. By the time I got here, I found a full parking lot. I guess "the unknown" wasn't on my side this time. I found an out-of-the-way spot along the back and sat tight for a little while. As I suspected, it didn't take long until someone left and I was able to grab his spot before anyone else showed up. And thus concludes another glamorous day on the road.
The relay here is set up for 9am Central tomorrow. Then it's 300-something miles to Cincinnati. It's not a big-time day, if that's all I get tomorow, but it's not terrible either. A bunch of 350 mile days, with an occasional long one mixed in, can pay pretty well.
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