3/4/09

Going to bed in the morning and getting up at noon seems to be a pretty effective way for me to get rest. Maybe I'm a vampire or something, but I seem to sleep much better in the morning than I do at night. In my line of work though, this schedule can sometimes have its drawbacks. I have to deliver this load tomorrow morning and the trip was 640 miles from Laredo to Edmond. So it required a full day on the road. By leaving Laredo in the afternoon and driving so many miles, I would essentially ensure that the truck stops in the Oklahoma City area would be overflowing by the time I got there.

I would have two options then. I could try for a less crowded parking area to the south of Oklahoma City or I could head straight to the consignee and hope for the best. I really hadn't given the situation much thought by the time I rolled through the southern part of Oklahoma. Fighting the morning traffic while looking for a consignee with which I wasn't familiar didn't sound too great. Parking at a loading dock when I have a 10am appointment and there may be trucks scheduled ahead of me wasn't exactly ideal either. Given the two choices, I think I would rather be parked for the night and then deal with getting kicked out if and when it happens. So straight to Edmond it was. I'm pretty damn glad that I got here tonight. I don't know exactly what kind of business this is, but it's in a little strip mall off a very busy street.

I couldn't see any addresses from that busy street. As I crept along at 10mph, I saw a tiny sign by the driveway entrance of the strip mall; "Trucks use south entrance." I had no idea at that point whether or not this was my destination. I had been expecting more of an industrial kind of building. At least the sign mentioned trucks though. If it wasn't the right place I could hope to find room to turn around. The parking lot along the street looked tiny and unwelcoming. As I turned into the south driveway, it didn't look much better. I followed a narrow alley along to the back of the building and, much to my relief, spotted some open space and loading docks to my right. I got out and walked to the front of the building to see if I could find an address or a sign or something. Like I said, the view as I drove down the street told me nothing. There was a door on the front of the building with a company logo on it. I was indeed at the right place and my day was done. Beauty.

I think this would be a pretty good time for the gods of pre-planning to pull something out of their hats. There doesn't appear to be anywhere nearby for me to park and wait for another assignment once I'm empty tomorrow. Without a pre-plan, I'm probably trekking across Oklahoma City to wait at one of the truck stops. Then, if history is a guide, there will be a pretty good chance that my next assignment will take me in the opposite direction. Not much I can do about that right now though so I guess it's time for bed.