I went out for dinner last night. I didn't leave the terminal Thursday night. That night, I bought food from the guys who show up at the yard to peddle their wares. Now, if you usually tune in here for the hard-hitting news topics like crowded fuel stops or senile motorists, you might be wondering why I would bother with such mundane trivia as my dining habits. Well, the thing is - If I had gone out Thursday night, I would have learned of my most recent shitty luck a day sooner.
I don't know what those degenerates did to my truck, but it's way more fucked up than it was when I took it to the shop Wednesday morning. On my way here, I had trouble breaking 55mph with a 31,000 pound load against a strong headwind. Last night, it stalled whenever I reached 30mph, with no trailer at all. So I had to call CTL last night and tell 'em the truck ain't making it to Joplin. And I got to go back to the Kenworth dealer this morning. Nice.
I got there right when they opened. Then, shortly before they closed for the day, they told me I might as well get another room for the weekend. The truck ain't getting fixed until Monday. The CTL road service guys were testy about the fact that my truck is still broken, the Kenworth guys were testy about the fact that the CTL guys are testy, and I'm just basically pissed at the whole lot of them. If I had never been told to go to that shop, they wouldn't have broken whatever they broke. I should have been bobtailed to Joplin as soon as I got here, but we've already covered that.
When I talked to road service, they mentioned that they are supposed to assign me to an open truck after three days off the road. Well, fuckin' A man, let's do it. Get me the hell out of here. I was transferred to some dude who checked the Laredo inventory. No empty trucks. Story of my life. So I called the Laredo terminal to have them unassign me from my load and change my status back to 'shop.' Then it was back to the motel. I got the same room I had on Wednesday, so that's pretty exciting I guess.
I went out and watched Charlie Wilson's War after I got here. It was fairly entertaining, but didn't really make any permanent improvements to my mood. I guess it's time to grab a two-four and go old school style. Slainte!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
2/8/08
I think I should be pissed off right now, but honestly it's pretty damn amusing. It sounds like most people out here are worse off financially than I am, so I guess that plays a role. For a lot of people, these are the kinds of weeks that cause them to quit their jobs. They can't afford to have a bad week, so they overreact. Then they end up even worse off because they have to go through orientation with a new company and the first check is a few weeks away and all the rest of it. Honestly though, it just cracks me up that something so seemingly simple can be botched so badly.
When I went to bed last night, I actually thought I had been a little too hard on these guys, especially the Laredo dispatcher. He sent me a load assignment last night, with a 6,000 pound load going through Joplin. Considering that nobody at CTL seems to want to accept the fact that this truck shouldn't be pulling freight, I thought he had done a decent job of coming up with something light. It was pretty late and he dispatched me to be in Joplin Monday morning, so I went to bed and figured I would leave today.
This morning I was awakened by a phone call from the same dispatcher. He asked if the trailer that they assigned to me was loaded or empty. I told him I didn't know, as I had planned to hook to it today. So I went to check. Yeah, that trailer isn't here. So I went back on the board. He said "in the original spot" but I was #16 this morning when I checked, so I think he put me at the end of the line. Whatever.
This afternoon I got a plan summary for a load picking up here and relaying in Joplin. That sounds pretty good, right? Yeah, it is scheduled to be here at 00:30 MONDAY. I mean, what the fuck, seriously? I got here Tuesday evening man. I should have been dispatched at that time to bobtail to Joplin, arrived there Thursday, switched trucks, and gone about my business. CTL would have had to eat the cost of the miles and the fuel, which probably amounts to less than they'll spend in motel cost, layover pay and fuel by having me sit here in the 90 degree weather all week. Instead I spent two days waiting to get my truck fixed. My truck didn't get fixed. Then it will be another three days or so until I can leave, since apparently there is nothing coming through any sooner that would take me to Joplin. This is no way to do things. It's not like I requested time in Joplin or anything. When you request time off, you take what you get. No, they want this truck for trade-in. That's why I'm highlighted for Joplin. Since they're trading it, they didn't want to pay whatever it would have taken to get it fixed here (which sounds an awful lot like my original recommendation). That's why I'm still in Laredo. It's just one big comedy of inefficiency.
I spoke with my fleet manager earlier about a seperate pay issue on which I needed some clarification. He told me at that time that I would get the layover pay for having been here over 48 hours. That was when we thought I would be leaving today, so I guess now it will just be a lot more layover pay. I guess I can take some comfort in knowing that this shit hasn't happened to me before, and it shouldn't come up again for a long time. I like my job best when they just send me a load, I deliver it, and they send me another one. Nice and simple, no communication, no irrationality. I don't particularly like all of the phone calls and the weird decisions and all the rest of it. That stuff makes me think of better ways to do things, and that's not why I took this job. I prefer to be a trained monkey holding a steering wheel and nothing more.
The worst part about being stuck here really isn't the lost money for the week. I can afford that, even if I don't like it. The worst part is sitting around with nothing to do, so I wind up eating Mexican food all day. There are a few places down here that I really like, so I blow a bunch of money and get fat and all the rest of it. But hey, at least I'll be rested by the time I leave. Always look at the bright side, right?
Due to the structure of the layover pay system, I can't get that money paid until I get dispatched from here. I won't leave here until after this pay period ends. That means that my pay for the week will consist of a whopping 1,241 miles. What can you do? Get all worked up about it or just laugh it off and assume they'll make it up to me next week? I guess I'll take option 2. That seems easier to me.
When I went to bed last night, I actually thought I had been a little too hard on these guys, especially the Laredo dispatcher. He sent me a load assignment last night, with a 6,000 pound load going through Joplin. Considering that nobody at CTL seems to want to accept the fact that this truck shouldn't be pulling freight, I thought he had done a decent job of coming up with something light. It was pretty late and he dispatched me to be in Joplin Monday morning, so I went to bed and figured I would leave today.
This morning I was awakened by a phone call from the same dispatcher. He asked if the trailer that they assigned to me was loaded or empty. I told him I didn't know, as I had planned to hook to it today. So I went to check. Yeah, that trailer isn't here. So I went back on the board. He said "in the original spot" but I was #16 this morning when I checked, so I think he put me at the end of the line. Whatever.
This afternoon I got a plan summary for a load picking up here and relaying in Joplin. That sounds pretty good, right? Yeah, it is scheduled to be here at 00:30 MONDAY. I mean, what the fuck, seriously? I got here Tuesday evening man. I should have been dispatched at that time to bobtail to Joplin, arrived there Thursday, switched trucks, and gone about my business. CTL would have had to eat the cost of the miles and the fuel, which probably amounts to less than they'll spend in motel cost, layover pay and fuel by having me sit here in the 90 degree weather all week. Instead I spent two days waiting to get my truck fixed. My truck didn't get fixed. Then it will be another three days or so until I can leave, since apparently there is nothing coming through any sooner that would take me to Joplin. This is no way to do things. It's not like I requested time in Joplin or anything. When you request time off, you take what you get. No, they want this truck for trade-in. That's why I'm highlighted for Joplin. Since they're trading it, they didn't want to pay whatever it would have taken to get it fixed here (which sounds an awful lot like my original recommendation). That's why I'm still in Laredo. It's just one big comedy of inefficiency.
I spoke with my fleet manager earlier about a seperate pay issue on which I needed some clarification. He told me at that time that I would get the layover pay for having been here over 48 hours. That was when we thought I would be leaving today, so I guess now it will just be a lot more layover pay. I guess I can take some comfort in knowing that this shit hasn't happened to me before, and it shouldn't come up again for a long time. I like my job best when they just send me a load, I deliver it, and they send me another one. Nice and simple, no communication, no irrationality. I don't particularly like all of the phone calls and the weird decisions and all the rest of it. That stuff makes me think of better ways to do things, and that's not why I took this job. I prefer to be a trained monkey holding a steering wheel and nothing more.
The worst part about being stuck here really isn't the lost money for the week. I can afford that, even if I don't like it. The worst part is sitting around with nothing to do, so I wind up eating Mexican food all day. There are a few places down here that I really like, so I blow a bunch of money and get fat and all the rest of it. But hey, at least I'll be rested by the time I leave. Always look at the bright side, right?
Due to the structure of the layover pay system, I can't get that money paid until I get dispatched from here. I won't leave here until after this pay period ends. That means that my pay for the week will consist of a whopping 1,241 miles. What can you do? Get all worked up about it or just laugh it off and assume they'll make it up to me next week? I guess I'll take option 2. That seems easier to me.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
2/7/08
I make no secret of the fact that I am relatively clueless about trucking in general, and trucks in particular. I did, however, spend the bulk of my pre-driving life as a very successful businessman. The terminology and objectives may change, but smart business is just smart business. I'm having a tough time biting my tongue right now, but I'm hanging in there.
I took the shuttle from the motel to the Kenworth dealer this morning. Apparently the shuttle driver provides rides around Laredo to his family and friends, in addition to transporting motel guests, so the ride that took ten minutes last night was an hour today. I got a call from my fleet manager asking me how the truck was coming along, but I had no answer since I hadn't made it back to the dealership yet.
I hung out in the lounge at the dealership all day. At some point this evening, they moved my truck out to a parking space. Nobody thought it would be a good idea to tell me, but luckily that's exactly what I expected. Thus, I was checking on my truck every fifteen minutes or so. I talked to the guy at the counter, who handed me the keys and said the following: "It's probably not fixed. We were told by CFI that the truck is being sold and they don't want to sink a bunch of money into it. Hopefully you can make it to Joplin or something." That's a direct quote. Can anybody name the individual who suggested that CTL just bring me to Joplin two nights ago? It's just simple business, regardless of the industry, but it takes them two days of wasted time to reach that conclusion. Dumb. Then there was more.
I got back to the terminal and called the shop in Joplin. I needed a reimbursement number for my motel room, plus I wanted to see what bright ideas they had for me now. "If you have that kind of problem, your next load will probably go right through here." Are you fucking kidding me? Did I not just spend five minutes explaining that this truck isn't cut out for pulling loads and it hasn't been fixed? I asked if they could just bobtail me to Joplin. "I have no idea about that." Dumb. Yeah but hey, thanks for the reimbursement number.
So I told the story again, this time to the dispatcher at the terminal. Any chance of bobtailing to Joplin? "No, I can't do that." Well who in the fuck is going to have the problem when this truck dies on the side of the freeway? Not me. "I'll try to get you a light load." Anyone want to take bets on whether or not that was a straight-up lie? I'll throw my money on the side that says that guy won't be there when my turn comes up, and nobody will have any knowledge of our conversation. It's not only my time that has been wasted here for two days, by the way. A truck that isn't moving is a dead expense. This could have all been done by now. No motel expense, no dealership expense, no idling expense. Simple business is not the way they handle things in Joplin. They have to think about shit and waste money, then maybe they end up with the right conclusion or maybe they don't. Dumb.
So I'm #33 on the board. I asked the dispatcher if I was highlighted for Joplin and he said "yes" without looking at his computer screen. I'm biting my tongue and letting the people in charge run their company, but my patience is being tested. If I'm not out of here by tonight or tomorrow morning, my pay will become more of an issue and then we might have some words. Whatever man, I'm going to watch a movie.
I took the shuttle from the motel to the Kenworth dealer this morning. Apparently the shuttle driver provides rides around Laredo to his family and friends, in addition to transporting motel guests, so the ride that took ten minutes last night was an hour today. I got a call from my fleet manager asking me how the truck was coming along, but I had no answer since I hadn't made it back to the dealership yet.
I hung out in the lounge at the dealership all day. At some point this evening, they moved my truck out to a parking space. Nobody thought it would be a good idea to tell me, but luckily that's exactly what I expected. Thus, I was checking on my truck every fifteen minutes or so. I talked to the guy at the counter, who handed me the keys and said the following: "It's probably not fixed. We were told by CFI that the truck is being sold and they don't want to sink a bunch of money into it. Hopefully you can make it to Joplin or something." That's a direct quote. Can anybody name the individual who suggested that CTL just bring me to Joplin two nights ago? It's just simple business, regardless of the industry, but it takes them two days of wasted time to reach that conclusion. Dumb. Then there was more.
I got back to the terminal and called the shop in Joplin. I needed a reimbursement number for my motel room, plus I wanted to see what bright ideas they had for me now. "If you have that kind of problem, your next load will probably go right through here." Are you fucking kidding me? Did I not just spend five minutes explaining that this truck isn't cut out for pulling loads and it hasn't been fixed? I asked if they could just bobtail me to Joplin. "I have no idea about that." Dumb. Yeah but hey, thanks for the reimbursement number.
So I told the story again, this time to the dispatcher at the terminal. Any chance of bobtailing to Joplin? "No, I can't do that." Well who in the fuck is going to have the problem when this truck dies on the side of the freeway? Not me. "I'll try to get you a light load." Anyone want to take bets on whether or not that was a straight-up lie? I'll throw my money on the side that says that guy won't be there when my turn comes up, and nobody will have any knowledge of our conversation. It's not only my time that has been wasted here for two days, by the way. A truck that isn't moving is a dead expense. This could have all been done by now. No motel expense, no dealership expense, no idling expense. Simple business is not the way they handle things in Joplin. They have to think about shit and waste money, then maybe they end up with the right conclusion or maybe they don't. Dumb.
So I'm #33 on the board. I asked the dispatcher if I was highlighted for Joplin and he said "yes" without looking at his computer screen. I'm biting my tongue and letting the people in charge run their company, but my patience is being tested. If I'm not out of here by tonight or tomorrow morning, my pay will become more of an issue and then we might have some words. Whatever man, I'm going to watch a movie.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
2/6/08
My first car was a 1981 Oldsmobile 98 Regency. I sold it when I went to college. My dad fixed the little stuff that broke, but I had no real problems with that car. The back seat was awesome, but I'm just sayin'... When I moved back to Michigan, I bought a 1989 Mustang. That car was a piece of shit. After I spent as much money getting that damn thing repaired as I did to buy it, I swore that I would never buy another used car. Yes, I am now very cynical about mechanics. If it weren't for the fact that I'm completely illiterate when it comes to cars, I would tend to think that CTL was being taken for a ride tonight.
I drove over to the broker this morning and made my drop. Nothing special there. I did find it amusing that my truck showed absolutely no symptoms of the last few days' troubles. Our terminal sits on a road with a 60mph speed limit, so I floored it once I left the driveway. All good. Strong acceleration, no worries. Weird. Then I headed over to the Kenworth dealer.
I was hoping they would get me in quickly. They did. Less than 20 minutes in fact. I was further hoping to get back to the terminal and get on the board this afternoon. I didn't. The mechanics worked on my truck, off and on, all damn day. I hung out, played some computer games, watched some movies (Babel sucked ass, Trainspotting was decent), and waited for them to release my truck. Nope. I write to you this evening from the Corleone family's Texas estate, located in room 272 at the Family Garden Inn and Suites. They say my truck will be ready tomorrow, so there's still a good shot to get something good before the week wraps up.
The dealership had torches and grinders and all kinds of crazy shit going this afternoon. My instinct was that they were taking CTL for a few extra bucks, but like I said I don't know shit about trucks. They're saying it has a "fucked up" (their words, not mine) exhaust system, but what do I know? I do find it amusing that the damn truck could have just behaved long enough for one more trip and this wouldn't have been my issue at all. Such is life. If it's good to go tomorrow I'll be okay.
The hotel that the dealer, as well as CTL, told me to use is a pretty nice one. There's a courtyard with fountains and shit, so I managed to grab another bunch of those... err... iced teas... and hang out on the balcony for a while. I think that was good. My life is definitely short on serenity. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
I drove over to the broker this morning and made my drop. Nothing special there. I did find it amusing that my truck showed absolutely no symptoms of the last few days' troubles. Our terminal sits on a road with a 60mph speed limit, so I floored it once I left the driveway. All good. Strong acceleration, no worries. Weird. Then I headed over to the Kenworth dealer.
I was hoping they would get me in quickly. They did. Less than 20 minutes in fact. I was further hoping to get back to the terminal and get on the board this afternoon. I didn't. The mechanics worked on my truck, off and on, all damn day. I hung out, played some computer games, watched some movies (Babel sucked ass, Trainspotting was decent), and waited for them to release my truck. Nope. I write to you this evening from the Corleone family's Texas estate, located in room 272 at the Family Garden Inn and Suites. They say my truck will be ready tomorrow, so there's still a good shot to get something good before the week wraps up.
The dealership had torches and grinders and all kinds of crazy shit going this afternoon. My instinct was that they were taking CTL for a few extra bucks, but like I said I don't know shit about trucks. They're saying it has a "fucked up" (their words, not mine) exhaust system, but what do I know? I do find it amusing that the damn truck could have just behaved long enough for one more trip and this wouldn't have been my issue at all. Such is life. If it's good to go tomorrow I'll be okay.
The hotel that the dealer, as well as CTL, told me to use is a pretty nice one. There's a courtyard with fountains and shit, so I managed to grab another bunch of those... err... iced teas... and hang out on the balcony for a while. I think that was good. My life is definitely short on serenity. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
2/5/08
Oh, my poor truck. It's a fighter, but the poor thing is just struggling. The past couple days every overpass looked like Mount Everest. As if that weren't bad enough, today I had a 40mph headwind that forced the truck to use the turbo boost to maintain anything above 55mph. Bad, bad, bad day. I called road service on the way and they're having me go to the Kenworth dealer in Laredo after I drop this trailer in the morning. I told them that I could bobtail to Joplin if that made things any better. They said that they would have to fix the truck either way before it is traded, so it's better to be safe and get the work done here. Makes sense to me.
I started out westbound on I-10 this morning and things were okay. The bridges were pretty rough, but the route was generally flat and I was able to cruise along at 63mph without the boost kicking in and causing problems. Then, once I got through Houston and turned south, the wind was right in my face. I got a reprieve whenever I was going downhill, but otherwise this was probably the worst day of driving I've had out here. I managed to limp into Laredo a little while ago, so I'm sure I can get down the street half a mile to make this drop in the morning. Then the Kenworth dealer is right around the corner. I guess we'll just have to hope they're not too busy.
The silver lining is that, since they have me highlighted for Joplin to trade my truck, I should skip some people once I get on the board. It's a nice 70 degrees and breezy down here right now, so I'm not sure I'm in a major hurry to head back into the cold. But I guess I have to keep moving and earn a living one way or another, at least until I manage to find my fiance and tell her that we're engaged. Then I suppose she can support me.
I started out westbound on I-10 this morning and things were okay. The bridges were pretty rough, but the route was generally flat and I was able to cruise along at 63mph without the boost kicking in and causing problems. Then, once I got through Houston and turned south, the wind was right in my face. I got a reprieve whenever I was going downhill, but otherwise this was probably the worst day of driving I've had out here. I managed to limp into Laredo a little while ago, so I'm sure I can get down the street half a mile to make this drop in the morning. Then the Kenworth dealer is right around the corner. I guess we'll just have to hope they're not too busy.
The silver lining is that, since they have me highlighted for Joplin to trade my truck, I should skip some people once I get on the board. It's a nice 70 degrees and breezy down here right now, so I'm not sure I'm in a major hurry to head back into the cold. But I guess I have to keep moving and earn a living one way or another, at least until I manage to find my fiance and tell her that we're engaged. Then I suppose she can support me.
If anyone is passing through Hollywood, let Emmanuelle know I'm looking for her. Thanks in advance.
Monday, February 4, 2008
2/4/08
Well, when you start off with no hangover, that's a good thing, right? I had to get up wicked early, so I had the red eyes and dry mouth kicking, but I had no headache and actually felt pretty good. The drive up to my drop was uncongested and my truck was playing ball. So far so good.
My next pickup was scheduled for 1:30pm, about five miles from my drop, so I took the opportunity to catch a nice nap before I went to the shipper. I headed over around noon and found out it was a drop/hook and ready to go. The spot where I had to drop the empty was a real pain in the ass. No angle from which I could set up, no room for me to get at the landing gear once I backed it in, and no room for me to pull forward to straighten out. It took a while but I got it in there. Then I had to crawl under the trailer and unwind the landing gear, one inch at a time. That took a while. I'm not cut out for that kind of shit.
Then I headed south, a little nervous about how my temperamental truck would handle the 31,000 pound load in the hills. It was doing fine, so I was content to overlook the rain and slow traffic. In Alabama, that all changed. The weather cleared up, the traffic was rolling smoothly, and my truck decided to be a piece of shit. It was sputtering about as badly as it did the day I left Laredo, but the heavier load made it happen far more frequently. Today was a long, long day.
I would be inclined to pass off this load and just get to the nearest shop, even if it costs me some miles. I got a message this afternoon though, that has me hoping I can stick it out for a few more days. Apparently my little red truck has reached the end of its CTL career and I'm highlighted for Joplin to trade it in. If I can survive the trip to Laredo and then to Joplin, those guys can do whatever they want with this thing and I won't miss any time on the road.
I knocked out a good 600 miles tonight, so I should be able to make Laredo in one shot tomorrow. I was dispatched for Wednesday afternoon, but I want to unload this faulty truck as soon as possible so I plan to get there early.
If you made any money on the Super Bowl after reading my prediction, you're welcome. I have a special ability to completely misread the game of football and I'm happy to share it.
My next pickup was scheduled for 1:30pm, about five miles from my drop, so I took the opportunity to catch a nice nap before I went to the shipper. I headed over around noon and found out it was a drop/hook and ready to go. The spot where I had to drop the empty was a real pain in the ass. No angle from which I could set up, no room for me to get at the landing gear once I backed it in, and no room for me to pull forward to straighten out. It took a while but I got it in there. Then I had to crawl under the trailer and unwind the landing gear, one inch at a time. That took a while. I'm not cut out for that kind of shit.
Then I headed south, a little nervous about how my temperamental truck would handle the 31,000 pound load in the hills. It was doing fine, so I was content to overlook the rain and slow traffic. In Alabama, that all changed. The weather cleared up, the traffic was rolling smoothly, and my truck decided to be a piece of shit. It was sputtering about as badly as it did the day I left Laredo, but the heavier load made it happen far more frequently. Today was a long, long day.
I would be inclined to pass off this load and just get to the nearest shop, even if it costs me some miles. I got a message this afternoon though, that has me hoping I can stick it out for a few more days. Apparently my little red truck has reached the end of its CTL career and I'm highlighted for Joplin to trade it in. If I can survive the trip to Laredo and then to Joplin, those guys can do whatever they want with this thing and I won't miss any time on the road.
I knocked out a good 600 miles tonight, so I should be able to make Laredo in one shot tomorrow. I was dispatched for Wednesday afternoon, but I want to unload this faulty truck as soon as possible so I plan to get there early.
If you made any money on the Super Bowl after reading my prediction, you're welcome. I have a special ability to completely misread the game of football and I'm happy to share it.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
2/3/08
Screw Cesar Milan. I am the truck whisperer, and trucks are much more useful than dogs. I gave the old Kenworth a stern talking-to before we got rolling this morning. Apparently it listened. The incredible self-healing T-600? I don't know man. Accelerating, pulling hills, no trouble at all today. The main test came just east of Chattanooga. A truck was disabled on the right shoulder, it was raining, and traffic was at a dead stop. I had to accelerate from a standing start up a wicked steep hill to freeway speed. No problemo, senor. Beauty. Let's hope tomorrow's pep talk is equally effective.
I write to you this afternoon from the Corleone family's Tennessee estate, located in room 304 of the Econo Lodge. I saw a sign saying that it was $32.95 a night, with truck parking, and I'm 20 miles from my drop. A quick trip to the convenience store yielded a bounty of 18... err... iced teas. Mix in a call to Domino's and we've got ourselves an impromptu Super Bowl party.
It was a nice easy ride today. Even the rain didn't slow things down too much. Now I'm going to excuse myself and crack my first... iced tea... of the evening. Tomorrow's drop is about a half hour away, then I'll pick up in the same town and head for Laredo.
Patriots 48, Giants 17
I write to you this afternoon from the Corleone family's Tennessee estate, located in room 304 of the Econo Lodge. I saw a sign saying that it was $32.95 a night, with truck parking, and I'm 20 miles from my drop. A quick trip to the convenience store yielded a bounty of 18... err... iced teas. Mix in a call to Domino's and we've got ourselves an impromptu Super Bowl party.
It was a nice easy ride today. Even the rain didn't slow things down too much. Now I'm going to excuse myself and crack my first... iced tea... of the evening. Tomorrow's drop is about a half hour away, then I'll pick up in the same town and head for Laredo.
Patriots 48, Giants 17
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