Well, not a whole lot to say today really. The flip side to not making much money this week is that I haven't worked much this week. Today saw me cover a few hundred miles into New Jersey and put my feet up for a marathon of (hopefully) good football. Since I've mainly watched Notre Dame this season, I haven't seen a whole lot of good football.
The route to the east of D.C. is closed for construction this weekend, so I had to take the long way around. Other than that though, it was a ho-hum kind of day. It's cold and dreary but the traffic was about as light as you'll ever see for a trip up I-95.
Those camouflage uniforms that the Army players are wearing look pretty cool. They might as well make that their regular uniform instead of looking just like another gold pants wearing college team.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
12/5/08
Damn the board. Damn it all to hell. I was #1 for the better portion of the day yesterday, but had to come off the board once my 14 hours ran out and I could no longer drive anywhere legally. When I got up this morning, I sent in my form to put myself back on duty. Then I was #3 on the board. Damn the board.
It only took until noon for me to get an assignment so I guess that wasn't so bad. The assignment itself... not so good. I had to deadhead eighty miles to the south and grab a load heading for Massachusetts. For those keeping score at home, this week winds up at 1,825 miles (yeah, seriously), plus $35 in stop pay and $33 in northeast pay. Total gross - $761.50. Ouch. That's unfortunate. My spending in November could easily be described as profligate. I have some catching up to do, so sub-$800 pay weeks are not what I hope to see. Oh well, maybe next week the manufacturers will have shaken off the Thanksgiving hangover and gotten their shit together.
The trip down to the shipper was quick and easy. I got to watch a really groovy safety video after I checked in. Then the people there completely disregarded every rule espoused by the safety video. What can you do? Just go with the flow, I say. I was loaded with three boxes weighing in at a combined total of 4,700 pounds. That's pretty sweet.
Then it was time to trudge back up I-95 for a while. I was planning to stop in Colonial Heights for the night and then split the trip into two short legs from there. The damn drivers down there weren't cooperative with respect to my wishes, so I never made it over to that exit. I guess it was just as well to go ahead and get through Richmond tonight anyway. By the time I fought through the rush hour traffic down there, I had reached the T/A in Ashland. And that closes the book on another delightful day on the road.
I'm due in Holden, Massachusetts on Monday morning. Since the schedule for this weekend will be so light, I'll probably try to get some driving done early tomorrow and then settle in for some football. I'm too poor to get a motel room though. Hopefully I can find a place with a fast internet connection and watch some video streams. Alabama plus the points and Oklahoma minus the points would be my plays if I were inclined to make a wager or two. I'm usually wrong though, so Florida and Missouri fans should be smiling by the time tomorrow is over.
It only took until noon for me to get an assignment so I guess that wasn't so bad. The assignment itself... not so good. I had to deadhead eighty miles to the south and grab a load heading for Massachusetts. For those keeping score at home, this week winds up at 1,825 miles (yeah, seriously), plus $35 in stop pay and $33 in northeast pay. Total gross - $761.50. Ouch. That's unfortunate. My spending in November could easily be described as profligate. I have some catching up to do, so sub-$800 pay weeks are not what I hope to see. Oh well, maybe next week the manufacturers will have shaken off the Thanksgiving hangover and gotten their shit together.
The trip down to the shipper was quick and easy. I got to watch a really groovy safety video after I checked in. Then the people there completely disregarded every rule espoused by the safety video. What can you do? Just go with the flow, I say. I was loaded with three boxes weighing in at a combined total of 4,700 pounds. That's pretty sweet.
Then it was time to trudge back up I-95 for a while. I was planning to stop in Colonial Heights for the night and then split the trip into two short legs from there. The damn drivers down there weren't cooperative with respect to my wishes, so I never made it over to that exit. I guess it was just as well to go ahead and get through Richmond tonight anyway. By the time I fought through the rush hour traffic down there, I had reached the T/A in Ashland. And that closes the book on another delightful day on the road.
I'm due in Holden, Massachusetts on Monday morning. Since the schedule for this weekend will be so light, I'll probably try to get some driving done early tomorrow and then settle in for some football. I'm too poor to get a motel room though. Hopefully I can find a place with a fast internet connection and watch some video streams. Alabama plus the points and Oklahoma minus the points would be my plays if I were inclined to make a wager or two. I'm usually wrong though, so Florida and Missouri fans should be smiling by the time tomorrow is over.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
12/4/08
All day, staring at the ceiling, makin'
Friends with shadows on my wall
All night, hearing voices telling me
That I should get some sleep because
All night, hearing voices telling me
That I should get some sleep because
Tomorrow might be good
For somethin'
One of those days. I got started early and made my drive to the consignee. No big news along the way, just a lot more hilly terrain. I arrived and checked in with the forklift guy. He proceeded with an obscenity-laced spiel about how they were getting too much paper and the machines were all loaded and yada yada yada. As if I give a damn. Once a dock opened up, I backed in and waited. It only took an hour or so to get empty once I was at the dock. Given the dude's attitude, I was expecting to wait longer.
It was around 2pm so I headed to the local truck stop to see if I could find somewhere to park. The place was listed as having a small parking area, but at that time of day I was pretty optimistic. The next closest option would be another twenty miles away. When I pulled into the lot I found two empty spaces. Excellent. Those two spaces were empty for a reason. Bogus. They were difficult to access, given the arrangement of the lot. I had to spin back toward the fuel island and then make a really sharp blindside turn back into my spot. After I got out to look four or five times, an old dude stood at the back of my trailer and helped me finish up the job. Good lookin' out, my brother. (We won't discuss the guy who showed up after me and made parking in the spot next to mine look easy.)
I was #2 on the board so I expected a little bit of time to pass before I got some work. Yeah, some time passed. In fact, it's still passing. I'm up to #1 now, but my 14 hour clock doesn't have a whole lot left to offer. Looks like Wilson, North Carolina will probably be home for the night. The paycheck terror threat level has been upgraded to orange. I need something pretty good for the weekend or I'll definitely fall below $900 for the week.
I don't want to end my post on a sour note though, so I'll share this happy news with you. I found a way to make my limp look less pitiful. I just bank my cap to the side and let my pants sag. I'm a gangsta! Hey, ridiculous is much better than pitiful in my little world.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
12/3/08
Well, I was able to walk without too much difficulty today. That's always a good start. My ankle isn't exactly feeling super, but it has definitely been worse before. The rest of the day? Eh, whatever.
I got up nice and early and I was rolling as soon as my ten hour break was complete. The drive to my consignee was exactly forty miles and took a little over an hour. The last fifteen miles or so were pretty damn slow. As I followed the directions to the customer, I could have sworn that I had been taken back in time to CDL school in Detroit. Go down one shithole ghetto street and make an insanely tight right turn onto another shithole ghetto street. Park next to some decrepit old building and try to figure out what to do next. Yep, just like CDL school in Detroit.
I wound up having to back onto a side street in order to get turned around and pointed in the right direction, then back from the main street into the dock area of the customer. Fortunately the traffic on that particular street wasn't nearly as heavy as that of the surrounding streets. I don't think I caused any terrible delays for anyone. Those guys had me unloaded rather quickly and I was back in the SOL parking situation.
Yesterday I was out in the sticks with nowhere to park. Today I was in the 'hood with nowhere to park. I dropped down I-77 to the turnpike and stopped at the service plaza on the westbound side. I figured that I could get on I-71 and go in pretty much any direction from there once I got an assignment.
By the time I grabbed a quick breakfast I got that assignment. I wasn't completely headed in the wrong direction, so that was nice. I would have been better off if I were still on I-77, but I only wound up going ten miles or so out of the way once all was said and done. The drive to my next shipper was a twisting and winding one through the hills of Central Ohio. For the second day in a row, I got a load from an outside broker. This one is paper going from Coshocton, Ohio to Wilson, North Carolina. A nice 41,000 pounder to drag through the mountains. Groovy. The shipper took a couple of hours to have me rolling, but it wasn't too terrible.
Yeah, this paragraph... whatever. Down I-77 through West Virginia with a heavy trailer. Use your imagination.
Once I got past Wytheville, Virginia I was getting close to my 14 hour limit. I decided to stop at a little truck stop in Austinville to use the restroom and check my directory for somewhere to park. The truck stop in Austinville has a small parking lot so I assumed that I wouldn't find a space there. Hey, how about that! I got the last spot. I'll have to knock out another three and a half or four hours in the morning to reach my delivery point from here.
So we tacked on some pretty decent mileage today. The deadhead was a little over a hundred miles and the loaded trip is five hundred something. With Thursday, Friday, and Saturday still to come, I might just pull out a good week somehow.
I got up nice and early and I was rolling as soon as my ten hour break was complete. The drive to my consignee was exactly forty miles and took a little over an hour. The last fifteen miles or so were pretty damn slow. As I followed the directions to the customer, I could have sworn that I had been taken back in time to CDL school in Detroit. Go down one shithole ghetto street and make an insanely tight right turn onto another shithole ghetto street. Park next to some decrepit old building and try to figure out what to do next. Yep, just like CDL school in Detroit.
I wound up having to back onto a side street in order to get turned around and pointed in the right direction, then back from the main street into the dock area of the customer. Fortunately the traffic on that particular street wasn't nearly as heavy as that of the surrounding streets. I don't think I caused any terrible delays for anyone. Those guys had me unloaded rather quickly and I was back in the SOL parking situation.
Yesterday I was out in the sticks with nowhere to park. Today I was in the 'hood with nowhere to park. I dropped down I-77 to the turnpike and stopped at the service plaza on the westbound side. I figured that I could get on I-71 and go in pretty much any direction from there once I got an assignment.
By the time I grabbed a quick breakfast I got that assignment. I wasn't completely headed in the wrong direction, so that was nice. I would have been better off if I were still on I-77, but I only wound up going ten miles or so out of the way once all was said and done. The drive to my next shipper was a twisting and winding one through the hills of Central Ohio. For the second day in a row, I got a load from an outside broker. This one is paper going from Coshocton, Ohio to Wilson, North Carolina. A nice 41,000 pounder to drag through the mountains. Groovy. The shipper took a couple of hours to have me rolling, but it wasn't too terrible.
Yeah, this paragraph... whatever. Down I-77 through West Virginia with a heavy trailer. Use your imagination.
Once I got past Wytheville, Virginia I was getting close to my 14 hour limit. I decided to stop at a little truck stop in Austinville to use the restroom and check my directory for somewhere to park. The truck stop in Austinville has a small parking lot so I assumed that I wouldn't find a space there. Hey, how about that! I got the last spot. I'll have to knock out another three and a half or four hours in the morning to reach my delivery point from here.
So we tacked on some pretty decent mileage today. The deadhead was a little over a hundred miles and the loaded trip is five hundred something. With Thursday, Friday, and Saturday still to come, I might just pull out a good week somehow.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
12/2/08
I'm contemplating a lawsuit for false advertising. I saw this banner ad saying that I should click if I need a girlfriend. I don't really need a girlfriend, but seriously, look...
Who wouldn't click, right? Yeah well, the girls on that site don't look like her. Not even close. And the ones who are halfway decent looking don't seem to have much interest in washed-up guys who drive trucks for a living and straddle the line between reason and madness. I think it's a classic bait and switch move. I should start interviewing lawyers the next time I have a chance. They shouldn't be allowed to get away with this.
Anyhow, impending legal battles aside... I got up bright and early to finish off my run from the weekend. My drop/hook on the back end was nice and quick, then I was on my way. On my way to where exactly? By golly, we didn't have an answer to that question. I had no place to park at the consignee. The truck stop where I spent last night was 30 miles away and not likely to be near my next destination. What to do, what to do? Driving up to I-64 seemed like the best solution. I could go east (toward Lexington) and park at a rest area. Or I could go west (toward Louisville) and park at the Flying J. We pick up more freight in the Louisville area, so I went west. Around three hours after I parked, I got my next assignment. Picking up in Lexington, of course.
Since I was much further from Lexington than I had been when I made my drop this morning, I had to haul ass to make my pickup time. I got there though, and the order was a quick one. They put five big plastic containers on my trailer and sent me on my way. There was a second pickup in Georgetown, maybe fifteen miles from the first stop. Those guys put another 23 of the plastic containers on. The only catch was that they still had to empty #'s 22 and 23. That took a while. Eventually they got everything loaded and I stood up to go get my paperwork...
Mayday! Mayday! Man down! I was blessed with more things in this life than I could ever hope to count. I was not blessed with strong ankles. My left ankle is the one that I broke a few years ago during a baseball game. That one feels fine right now. The other one... not so much. I had been sitting so long that my right leg had somehow gone completely numb. I was not aware of this when I stood up. I didn't feel my foot hit the ground when I took my first step. I did, however, feel the pain shoot up my entire right side when my ankle rolled over. Sonofabitch. The ligaments in that ankle are like the elastic in a sock that you've had for far too long. They've been torn and stretched and pretty much destroyed repeatedly throughout my life. So, like that old elastic, they just don't offer much support anymore. My foot came down wrong and that was all she wrote. And now I have a nasty purple ankle to keep me company for a little while.
At least I would be able to set the cruise... haha, I was just about to say... oh nevermind. Of course I couldn't set the cruise today! I got to go through Cincinnati at rush hour. Lots of just downright lovely pedal action between the accelerator and the brake. Just what my ankle needed. I was able to get up to Seville, Ohio tonight before my 14 hour clock ran out. I only covered 410 miles in total today, but the (dumbass) rules are the (dumbass) rules.
Between the 55mph speed limit in Ohio and that traffic jam in Cincinnati, my 8:30am delivery appointment isn't doing me any favors. I should have plenty of time for a ten hour break here and then the last 40 or 50 miles of driving. You just never know what kind of bullshit you'll run into at that time of day in a major city. Guess we'll find out soon enough.
The week isn't off to a racing start for me, but once my extra $35 in stop pay for this run is tacked on I'll be over $170 today. One good one after I get empty and then something long for the weekend will do just fine.
Who wouldn't click, right? Yeah well, the girls on that site don't look like her. Not even close. And the ones who are halfway decent looking don't seem to have much interest in washed-up guys who drive trucks for a living and straddle the line between reason and madness. I think it's a classic bait and switch move. I should start interviewing lawyers the next time I have a chance. They shouldn't be allowed to get away with this.
Anyhow, impending legal battles aside... I got up bright and early to finish off my run from the weekend. My drop/hook on the back end was nice and quick, then I was on my way. On my way to where exactly? By golly, we didn't have an answer to that question. I had no place to park at the consignee. The truck stop where I spent last night was 30 miles away and not likely to be near my next destination. What to do, what to do? Driving up to I-64 seemed like the best solution. I could go east (toward Lexington) and park at a rest area. Or I could go west (toward Louisville) and park at the Flying J. We pick up more freight in the Louisville area, so I went west. Around three hours after I parked, I got my next assignment. Picking up in Lexington, of course.
Since I was much further from Lexington than I had been when I made my drop this morning, I had to haul ass to make my pickup time. I got there though, and the order was a quick one. They put five big plastic containers on my trailer and sent me on my way. There was a second pickup in Georgetown, maybe fifteen miles from the first stop. Those guys put another 23 of the plastic containers on. The only catch was that they still had to empty #'s 22 and 23. That took a while. Eventually they got everything loaded and I stood up to go get my paperwork...
Mayday! Mayday! Man down! I was blessed with more things in this life than I could ever hope to count. I was not blessed with strong ankles. My left ankle is the one that I broke a few years ago during a baseball game. That one feels fine right now. The other one... not so much. I had been sitting so long that my right leg had somehow gone completely numb. I was not aware of this when I stood up. I didn't feel my foot hit the ground when I took my first step. I did, however, feel the pain shoot up my entire right side when my ankle rolled over. Sonofabitch. The ligaments in that ankle are like the elastic in a sock that you've had for far too long. They've been torn and stretched and pretty much destroyed repeatedly throughout my life. So, like that old elastic, they just don't offer much support anymore. My foot came down wrong and that was all she wrote. And now I have a nasty purple ankle to keep me company for a little while.
At least I would be able to set the cruise... haha, I was just about to say... oh nevermind. Of course I couldn't set the cruise today! I got to go through Cincinnati at rush hour. Lots of just downright lovely pedal action between the accelerator and the brake. Just what my ankle needed. I was able to get up to Seville, Ohio tonight before my 14 hour clock ran out. I only covered 410 miles in total today, but the (dumbass) rules are the (dumbass) rules.
Between the 55mph speed limit in Ohio and that traffic jam in Cincinnati, my 8:30am delivery appointment isn't doing me any favors. I should have plenty of time for a ten hour break here and then the last 40 or 50 miles of driving. You just never know what kind of bullshit you'll run into at that time of day in a major city. Guess we'll find out soon enough.
The week isn't off to a racing start for me, but once my extra $35 in stop pay for this run is tacked on I'll be over $170 today. One good one after I get empty and then something long for the weekend will do just fine.
Monday, December 1, 2008
12/1/08
Pretty easy day today, as expected. As I got further north, it got colder. As it got colder, it snowed more. So far the roads are in decent shape so we'll have to see what things look like in the morning. I got up to the Bluegrass Parkway and then realized that I needed to figure out where I would park for the night. Damn trip planning... There is a little truck stop along the way, but it's a half hour or so from my delivery point. Unfortunately I didn't see any better options in my directory. So here I am.
I'm scheduled to deliver tomorrow at 8am. Then I'll be in good shape vis a vis my loogbook and available hours. Hopefully I can get a good start to this week. I'm due back home in less than three weeks, so I could use a little cash if you know what I'm sayin'.
I'm scheduled to deliver tomorrow at 8am. Then I'll be in good shape vis a vis my loogbook and available hours. Hopefully I can get a good start to this week. I'm due back home in less than three weeks, so I could use a little cash if you know what I'm sayin'.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
11/30/08
Well, that was a fitting drive for this weekend. Cold. Rainy. Dreary. An inordinate amount of traffic for a Sunday. People slowing down repeatedly for no apparent reason. The Irish and the Redskins approve, or something.
I knocked out 500 miles today and got to Hurricane Mills, Tennessee before stopping for the night. This will leave me around four and a half hours of work for tomorrow. Then I'll make my drop/hook on Tuesday morning and see what the week will have in store from there. One thing's for certain - Notre Dame won't lose next weekend. So I have that going for me... which is nice.
I knocked out 500 miles today and got to Hurricane Mills, Tennessee before stopping for the night. This will leave me around four and a half hours of work for tomorrow. Then I'll make my drop/hook on Tuesday morning and see what the week will have in store from there. One thing's for certain - Notre Dame won't lose next weekend. So I have that going for me... which is nice.
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