9/13/08

God.



Country.



Notre Dame.



And don't you forget it.

9/12/08

Lesson of the day - Relying on unreliable people tends to lead to disappointment. When people at the last minute start hemming and hawing around, yeah. So I didn't go to Chicago today.

My brother and I are going to head for Indiana here in a few minutes, but we basically blew off everyone else potentially involved with the trip.

Tailgaiting in the rain --> Here I come!

9/11/08

Ahh yes, bumpy roads and rattling teeth. I must be home. The leftover hours from my 11 got me past Indianapolis this morning, then I slept like a baby for my two hours to complete the split. The trip across the two lane US-24 to Toledo went unusually quickly and here we are.

So, seven years eh? I don't have anything clever to add to what you'll already hear on every TV show and radio show today. I know that my sense of anger toward those animals hasn't waned over the past seven years though. In a sense, I guess that makes me an intolerant moron full of phony patriotism, at least according to what the people on TV tell me. I don't need to understand the savages. I don't need to appreciate their views. There are 30,000 Muslims in the town right next to me and they seem to be getting along just fine with America. The ones who would kill innocent people deserve whatever hell we can unleash upon them.

So as we look at the path that we as individuals in this country have followed, I suppose that there's no reason to be surprised. First we were all shocked and "together." Then we were "resolved." Then some years went by and we faded back into our usual way of life and did away with the pretense that more than half of us can ever agree on much of anything. I guess this part, twisted as it may sound, is the most impressive to me. It's not impressive that we still tend to think less of each other when we disagree. I would prefer that this was not the case. What impresses me is that thousands of people, day after day and without recognition for 364 days a year, have allowed us to be this way. I never go into a day wondering if this is the next 9/11. There's something to be said for that, and I don't suppose I'm quite able to find the words.

When I look at the world in which we live, it should be alarming that the NYPD does more to combat terrorism than most national governments do. Think about that one for a minute. In reality though, it's not surprising at all. When I read a recent poll that shows a minority of people outside our country believing that we were attacked by Al Qaeda seven years ago, I know all that I need to know. Against this background, you'll have to excuse me if I can't manage to give a rat's ass what the rest of the world thinks of our politics and our policies. On our worst day, we are immeasurably more blessed than anyone who has not been fortunate enough to live in the United States. A sincere thanks to all of you who have made this possible.

9/10/08

Four One score and a dozen years ago my father brought forth on this continent a new boy, conceived in Michigan, and dedicated to the proposition that not all beers are created equal...

Yeah, one of those days where you get a bunch of calls from people who really don't have much to say, but you are supposed to pretend to have a conversation for at least a few minutes. I don't know. It's nice I guess.

Most of today's drive was through rural terrain so the traffic was light. There was some kind of issue in Missouri that forced us off the highway for a few miles. Then the Illinois scales... I don't even know what was going on at the Illinois scales. By the time all was said and done, that was fifteen minutes that I'll never get back. When I got to Brazil, I heard SubWay calling my name. By the time I ate my sandwich and sat for a while, driving further tonight didn't sound so appealing.

I'll take my eight hours here and then clear Indy before the morning rush. Then another two hour break will get me plenty of hours to reach home base and that will be that.

In honor of that great moment in time at 10:10am on this date during our country's glorious bicentennial, I will quote two great philosophers - Mr. Preston and Mr. Logan. "Be excellent to each other, and party on dudes."

9/9/08

Ahh, another day, another dollar. It was nice and cloudy in Lancaster, so I got a decent amount of sleep. As I left the Dallas area, it was a little rainy. I had to do my best Pole Position impersonation to wind my way around the slower traffic but it wasn't bad.

I drove about eight hours and got to West Memphis tonight. From here, it's either one long shift plus a few hours or two shorter shifts to get home.

Notre Dame opened at -4 against Michigan and now they're +1 1/2. The over/under is 35 1/2. I sincerely hope I'm not driving all the way down there to watch them lose 13-10. I've already accepted that the Tigers will probably get their asses kicked on Friday in Chicago. My hopes for a good weekend are resting with Saturday. At least I'm not from Bulgaria.

[Workout B]
One-arm Row - Added ten pounds to last set, same reps
Curl - Same weights, added two reps
Front Lateral - Same weights, added two reps
Stiff-legged Deadlift - Same weights & reps
Hammer Curl - Same weights, added one rep

To quote the manager from Major League - "It's startin' to come together, Pepper. It's startin' to come together."

9/8/08

After getting up and pulling my trailer over to the broker, I wound up hanging around the terminal all day. I guess freight is pretty slow so far this week. By 7pm, I had only made it to #23 on the board. Sometimes being highlighted to go home has its priveleges though. A load came in, bound for Canada, so I jumped everyone and got my assignment.

The drive up I-35... well, it wasn't that bad. I actually got through San Antonio and Austin at the speed limit. Then... stop. There was construction in Austin's northern suburbs and we were down to one lane. It wasn't terribly long, but I'm still looking for that elusive trip along Satan's Driveway with no delays. Maybe next time.

The dispatcher was originally going to put me in Taylor by 8am Thursday. That didn't sound too cool to me though, since I had been up all day and really didn't feel like pushing myself to cover a lot of ground. There is no appointment for the Canadian leg of the run yet, so he kicked me back to 3pm on Thursday. That's a little better. I was able to get up to Lancaster tonight and I can knock out three reasonable driving shifts from here. Then it will be off to Chicago and South Bend for the all-important sporting festivities of the weekend.

As a good lesson in the cost of procrastination, I didn't lift weights last night and it's raining tonight. Guess we'll have to skip an off day this week. Damn.

9/7/08

Bah. So much for my hopes of moving northward today. I was #49 when I went to bed last night and, after sitting in Laredo all day, I'm #38. Eleven trucks? All day? Really? Damn.

I dropped my trailer this morning at the terminal, on account of the broker being closed on Sundays. I assumed that I wouldn't be here to deliver it tomorrow. Yeah... when you assume and whatnot. I guess I'll have to hook it back up and take it around the corner in the morning.

I need to be home by Friday afternoon, but I don't anticipate this being a problem. Today was just one of those days that get wasted sometimes. So yeah, bah.

I don't have a whole lot to say, so we'll throw it over to The Anchoress for a story befitting the title of this blog. Enjoy.