Going on such a long trip right out of the gate, I expected fatigue to be an issue for a few days. It usually takes me a while to get into the swing of driving. So far, that hasn't been the case. I managed to knock out another 620 miles in one shot today, so I'm doing pretty well. The light weekend traffic was helpful, but I think the expedited NFL Draft was also a pretty good thing. The day doesn't seem to drag on as much when there is something new to hear every ten minutes. That six hour debacle last year wasn't so cool. The quicker pace is a huge improvement. My 'Skins... I'm reserving judgment.
I think I'll cut the corner and go down to Roswell tomorrow. Then, as long as I'm not abducted by green guys, I will have a little over 500 miles left for Monday.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
4/25/08
I won't pretend that I was eager to get back to work, but it actually felt good to do something useful for a change.
I stopped by the terminal last night to get an empty assigned and have them dispatch me to my pickup. Much to my (pleasant) surprise, there was a 10am-5pm window so I told the dispatcher to put me in at 2pm. That allowed me to sleep in today. Beauty.
Today's drive was mostly in Michigan, but it contained quite a bit of variety. I started east on I-94 and got off the freeway in Hamtramck, then headed up Van Dyke through some of the more sketchy neighborhoods on the west side. Then it opened up to a bunch of farm country. My customer was in a quaint little part of Michigan known as "the thumb." I don't know exactly what they have up there, other than a lot of fertile soil and a ton of satellite dishes. The pickup was quick and easy, then I was headed back south to catch up with I-69 and venture westbound. The rest of the drive was all on the interstates. Through Flint and Lansing in the afternoon... no traffic. Groovy. Then on down and past Chicago... no traffic. Groovier.
I got a good 560 miles done today. My appointment is for early Tuesday morning, so I'll have three decent days of driving to go from here.
You know what today is, don't you? Yep, it's payday. I got a $25.50 reimbursement so the handling of my $15 insurance premium with no pay will have to remain a mystery. My net pay was $10.50 this week. The other mystery is...
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THE GODFATHER'S UPS PAY
EPISODE 4
1) A completely landlocked country
2) Attained recognized independence less than thirty years ago
3) Experienced inflation of over 100,000% as recently as 2008
Go ahead gumshoes. Find my damn money. Now I guess I'll see if the pitter patter of rain on my roof can put me to sleep.
I stopped by the terminal last night to get an empty assigned and have them dispatch me to my pickup. Much to my (pleasant) surprise, there was a 10am-5pm window so I told the dispatcher to put me in at 2pm. That allowed me to sleep in today. Beauty.
Today's drive was mostly in Michigan, but it contained quite a bit of variety. I started east on I-94 and got off the freeway in Hamtramck, then headed up Van Dyke through some of the more sketchy neighborhoods on the west side. Then it opened up to a bunch of farm country. My customer was in a quaint little part of Michigan known as "the thumb." I don't know exactly what they have up there, other than a lot of fertile soil and a ton of satellite dishes. The pickup was quick and easy, then I was headed back south to catch up with I-69 and venture westbound. The rest of the drive was all on the interstates. Through Flint and Lansing in the afternoon... no traffic. Groovy. Then on down and past Chicago... no traffic. Groovier.
I got a good 560 miles done today. My appointment is for early Tuesday morning, so I'll have three decent days of driving to go from here.
You know what today is, don't you? Yep, it's payday. I got a $25.50 reimbursement so the handling of my $15 insurance premium with no pay will have to remain a mystery. My net pay was $10.50 this week. The other mystery is...
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THE GODFATHER'S UPS PAY
EPISODE 4
1) A completely landlocked country
2) Attained recognized independence less than thirty years ago
3) Experienced inflation of over 100,000% as recently as 2008
Go ahead gumshoes. Find my damn money. Now I guess I'll see if the pitter patter of rain on my roof can put me to sleep.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
4/24/08
Well, I guess it was good to get back on the road again... sike! I got up this morning and called the local dispatcher to have him put me on the board. He told me I was #5, so I asked what the freight looked like for today. He suggested that staying home for a while probably wasn't a bad idea, since it would be at least a few hours before they assigned me anything. So I got to go back to bed. Beauty.
When I woke up later in the morning, I was #7. Strange? Yes. I know they have some 'priority' deal that gets certain teams to the head of the line, but I always thought teams were on a seperate board from the rest of us. In any case, I got to chill at home for a while longer as I inched my way up the board. I got my assignment this afternoon - picking up somewhere 125 miles from here tomorrow morning and then going to Nogales. So, the upshot is that I caught another full day off (at home) and I'll still knock out well over 2,000 miles for this pay period. That's a pretty decent script as far as I can tell.
I'll head out bright and early tomorrow and hopefully make my way down the road a bit before I get sleepy. I never went to the yard and checked my Qualcomm today, so I don't know the timeline for certain. If I had to guess, I would think they're expecting me in Nogales on Monday morning, so that probably means I will have a few long days ahead.
Now I guess I get to watch some hockey. Since my predictions are always 100% accurate (Stop laughing), I'm going to say the Red Wings, Pistons, and Tigers will all bring home the championships for 2008. How about that? A week ago the Tigers sucked, and now I'm on the World Series bandwagon. It's just too bad we can't play Texas all year long.
When I woke up later in the morning, I was #7. Strange? Yes. I know they have some 'priority' deal that gets certain teams to the head of the line, but I always thought teams were on a seperate board from the rest of us. In any case, I got to chill at home for a while longer as I inched my way up the board. I got my assignment this afternoon - picking up somewhere 125 miles from here tomorrow morning and then going to Nogales. So, the upshot is that I caught another full day off (at home) and I'll still knock out well over 2,000 miles for this pay period. That's a pretty decent script as far as I can tell.
I'll head out bright and early tomorrow and hopefully make my way down the road a bit before I get sleepy. I never went to the yard and checked my Qualcomm today, so I don't know the timeline for certain. If I had to guess, I would think they're expecting me in Nogales on Monday morning, so that probably means I will have a few long days ahead.
Now I guess I get to watch some hockey. Since my predictions are always 100% accurate (Stop laughing), I'm going to say the Red Wings, Pistons, and Tigers will all bring home the championships for 2008. How about that? A week ago the Tigers sucked, and now I'm on the World Series bandwagon. It's just too bad we can't play Texas all year long.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
4/23/08
19 runs? 19 freaking runs? Groovy. I guess we just need to play shitty teams like Texas every night.
I actually entertained thoughts of going to work this afternoon, but it didn't happen. I slept a little late, then headed up to the yard to get a few things squared away. Since the worst of the winter seems to have passed (likely on account of global warming), I figured I would lighten up on the sweatshirts and jackets and such. So I was pulling stuff out of there when I saw that the coax cable to my TV was unplugged. I found that there is no place to plug it into my new truck. Clever detective that I am, this led me to a conclusion. I haven't watched my TV since I got the new truck. This, then, led to a follow-up conclusion. It was time to take the TV out of the truck. Ditto for the inverter that I still haven't had connected (and haven't missed). Ditto for the broken CB, the books I've already read, etc. The truck is looking pretty sparsely supplied now, just how I like it.
Then... oh hell, I grew up here, it's no surprise. I decided to give that 'T' endorsement test a shot at the Secretary of State. The two minute test took me a grand total of three hours. I was allowed four wrong and I got one wrong, so I guess that's not so bad. The one I got wrong was ambiguously worded, so I'm not even sweating that one. Major difference from the hazmat scenario where I was basically clueless. So that ate up my whole afternoon.
I got the apartment cleaned up a little, wrapped up the rest of the laundry and such, then kicked back for one last evening of leisure. Mom called to say that my brother's birthday gift had arrived, so I headed over for a little early party deal. When I was younger, I got used shit from a garage sale on my birthday. Now they get the latest gadgets. I guess that it's best not to be the oldest one when you grow up in a poor family. He was pretty happy so that was cool. My sister's kids were spending the night with Grandma too, so I got to see them. All in all, it was a pretty cool day.
I have to report to work by 7:30am, so I guess it's time to get to bed. Every mini-vacation must end at some point.
I actually entertained thoughts of going to work this afternoon, but it didn't happen. I slept a little late, then headed up to the yard to get a few things squared away. Since the worst of the winter seems to have passed (likely on account of global warming), I figured I would lighten up on the sweatshirts and jackets and such. So I was pulling stuff out of there when I saw that the coax cable to my TV was unplugged. I found that there is no place to plug it into my new truck. Clever detective that I am, this led me to a conclusion. I haven't watched my TV since I got the new truck. This, then, led to a follow-up conclusion. It was time to take the TV out of the truck. Ditto for the inverter that I still haven't had connected (and haven't missed). Ditto for the broken CB, the books I've already read, etc. The truck is looking pretty sparsely supplied now, just how I like it.
Then... oh hell, I grew up here, it's no surprise. I decided to give that 'T' endorsement test a shot at the Secretary of State. The two minute test took me a grand total of three hours. I was allowed four wrong and I got one wrong, so I guess that's not so bad. The one I got wrong was ambiguously worded, so I'm not even sweating that one. Major difference from the hazmat scenario where I was basically clueless. So that ate up my whole afternoon.
I got the apartment cleaned up a little, wrapped up the rest of the laundry and such, then kicked back for one last evening of leisure. Mom called to say that my brother's birthday gift had arrived, so I headed over for a little early party deal. When I was younger, I got used shit from a garage sale on my birthday. Now they get the latest gadgets. I guess that it's best not to be the oldest one when you grow up in a poor family. He was pretty happy so that was cool. My sister's kids were spending the night with Grandma too, so I got to see them. All in all, it was a pretty cool day.
I have to report to work by 7:30am, so I guess it's time to get to bed. Every mini-vacation must end at some point.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
4/22/08
If there were any doubt as to whether or not I would leave tomorrow, that doubt was erased by what I accomplished today - nothing. So I'll spend tomorrow tying up all loose ends and getting ready to hit the road again on Thursday morning. I may get on the board tomorrow night if I'm feeling rested, but those overnight logistics runs have a way of popping up when I do that.
I'm thinking about getting my 'T' endorsement tomorrow, just for shits and giggles. I took a look at the manual today and it doesn't seem too tough. The only catch is that they use a bunch of terminology that means nothing to me. Maybe I'll try it, maybe not. I came to the conclusion today that I'm really not convinced of the benefits of moving to a different type of work anyway. Things seem pretty tough around the old hometown these days. Probably better to be able to go where the freight is.
After watching the cut-up of the Blue and Gold Game tonight, I'm more optimistic about the team than I was on Saturday. Apparently the view from the corner of the endzone doesn't always tell the whole story. Go Irish!
I'm thinking about getting my 'T' endorsement tomorrow, just for shits and giggles. I took a look at the manual today and it doesn't seem too tough. The only catch is that they use a bunch of terminology that means nothing to me. Maybe I'll try it, maybe not. I came to the conclusion today that I'm really not convinced of the benefits of moving to a different type of work anyway. Things seem pretty tough around the old hometown these days. Probably better to be able to go where the freight is.
After watching the cut-up of the Blue and Gold Game tonight, I'm more optimistic about the team than I was on Saturday. Apparently the view from the corner of the endzone doesn't always tell the whole story. Go Irish!
Monday, April 21, 2008
4/21/08
Okay, the quandary has begun. I'm pretty much bored and tired of being home, but I have exactly zero motivation to go back to work. I headed up to the truck and grabbed a few things, then bummed around town all day. I stopped at a local pub to watch the Tigers and found that my ex-girlfriend's sister-in-law was pulling pints. I don't know if she recognized me or not, but she was polite enough.
I did get a chance to check out Ben Stein's new movie in the afternoon. Nothing that would be too surprising I suppose, but it was a fairly entertaining expose. I'll ask once again - If you have the facts on your side, why in the hell would you be so afraid of the discussion? I could ask that question concerning pretty much any issue that tries to mix science with politics. In each case, those of us who are told that we believe in a "flat earth" are also the ones who are told we should shut up. Maybe these folks in the "consensus" don't have such an ironclad case? I dunno. I'm just a truck driver.
So, long night of watching movies and clearing out my hard drive tonight. Lunch with Mom tomorrow, so I guess I'll get some sleep.
I did get a chance to check out Ben Stein's new movie in the afternoon. Nothing that would be too surprising I suppose, but it was a fairly entertaining expose. I'll ask once again - If you have the facts on your side, why in the hell would you be so afraid of the discussion? I could ask that question concerning pretty much any issue that tries to mix science with politics. In each case, those of us who are told that we believe in a "flat earth" are also the ones who are told we should shut up. Maybe these folks in the "consensus" don't have such an ironclad case? I dunno. I'm just a truck driver.
So, long night of watching movies and clearing out my hard drive tonight. Lunch with Mom tomorrow, so I guess I'll get some sleep.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
4/20/08
After waking up and grilling the remaining food from the weekend, it was time to pack up and head home. The net assessment is that the weekend gets two thumbs up. I was feeling like shit by the time it was all over, but I guess that's the price you pay when you refuse to grow up.
I got back home in time to see the Tigers lose and then to see the Red Wings eliminate Nashville. Then some movies rounded out the night. I'm not sure exactly when I'm going back to work, but it will be some time in the next three or four days. Tomorrow I should get a few things done around home so I don't end up scrambling at the last minute.
I got back home in time to see the Tigers lose and then to see the Red Wings eliminate Nashville. Then some movies rounded out the night. I'm not sure exactly when I'm going back to work, but it will be some time in the next three or four days. Tomorrow I should get a few things done around home so I don't end up scrambling at the last minute.
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