Another day, another eleven hours of driving... There won't be any eleven hours of driving tomorrow though. The feds are breathing down my neck, so I'll have a shorter day as a matter of law.
I headed across I-10 and I-210 to L.A., then Up I-5. The traffic was light by California standards and the weatherman was mercifully wrong. There was rain here and there in SoCal, but no snow in the mountains. In point of fact, the road was clean and dry by the time I got to Grapevine. The rest of the drive up to Lodi was nice and smooth. I can't complain.
If the forecast for tomorrow is correct, there will be another storm coming in off the coast. I'm a little screwed up with the timezones and sleep patterns, but I think I should head north as early as possible to try and beat the snow through the mountains. Better get to bed and try to sleep for a while.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
2/6/09
This driving all day stuff gets pretty tiring, doesn't it? Given recent months' business levels, I had started to forget. I got rolling early this morning and jammed out a full eleven-hour shift. My audiobook of Ender's Game lasted all the way to Quartzsite. Incidentally, my eleven hours also lasted all the way to Quartzsite. Beauty. I burned a few more books onto CD's while I was home, in preparation for some long days here and there. Getting into a good story seems to pass the time a little better than the usual radio fare does.
The weather forecast looks about like I expected it to look for this weekend. I'm now fondly remembering the days of 'SUV's are keeping California from getting the rain and snow that it needs.' The guy on the weather channel radio in the truck stop said that the snow will get down to the level of the passes outside L.A. Good times in store for me this weekend, I'm sure.
The weather forecast looks about like I expected it to look for this weekend. I'm now fondly remembering the days of 'SUV's are keeping California from getting the rain and snow that it needs.' The guy on the weather channel radio in the truck stop said that the snow will get down to the level of the passes outside L.A. Good times in store for me this weekend, I'm sure.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
2/5/09
Oh, if only every trip to Laredo were like this one. I got in last night, dropped my trailer off this morning, made another local drop for a quick twenty bucks today, waited at the yard for an hour or so, and then got my ass out of town. Traffic was light by Laredo standards all day. My drop lots were very easy to navigate. All was right with the world.
I was #3 on the board after spending the morning running around Laredo. I stopped for some lunch on the way back to the terminal and then expected to settle in for a while. I got called in by the dispatcher and I was a bit surprised by what he had to say. "Hey dude, an order just came in for a load going to Portland. Do you want that one?" I'm not a big fan of the left coast, generally speaking, but after taking last week off I need an economic stimulus. I accepted.
I had to take an empty over to a broker and have it loaded. The guys there were prompt and polite, which is always a plus. Then it was off to the races. I angled over toward Eagle Pass, avoiding Satan's Driveway once again, and then caught up with I-10 in Fort Stockton. By the time I got to the big truck stop in Plateau, I was pretty well worn out.
From here it looks like I'll go across into the People's Republic and then up I-5, I guess. I could shave a hundred miles or so by angling up U.S. highways through Utah. Snow and mountains and all of that sounds like a drag though. I still might catch some sticky stuff along the coast, but I'll take my chances over there. The 55mph speed isn't so bad as long as everyone else goes a little faster. In any case I don't guess I'll have much fun dragging this 44,000 pound load around.
Aside from the weather, my 70 hour clock is going to be the other major obstacle. I'm due in Portland by noon Pacific time on Monday. I think I should be able to pull this one off, driving the last stretch with the hours that I'll pick up at midnight that day. I'll need some cooperation from the weather and traffic and other such forces beyond my control. Then my log book will be completely fried and I'll have to take a day off. For a week of 4,236 miles plus my $20 in local pay, I'll handle it. There aren't a lot of $1,630 paychecks coming my way these days. Probably after they pass that big spending bill I'll make $1,600 every week, but not yet.
I was #3 on the board after spending the morning running around Laredo. I stopped for some lunch on the way back to the terminal and then expected to settle in for a while. I got called in by the dispatcher and I was a bit surprised by what he had to say. "Hey dude, an order just came in for a load going to Portland. Do you want that one?" I'm not a big fan of the left coast, generally speaking, but after taking last week off I need an economic stimulus. I accepted.
I had to take an empty over to a broker and have it loaded. The guys there were prompt and polite, which is always a plus. Then it was off to the races. I angled over toward Eagle Pass, avoiding Satan's Driveway once again, and then caught up with I-10 in Fort Stockton. By the time I got to the big truck stop in Plateau, I was pretty well worn out.
From here it looks like I'll go across into the People's Republic and then up I-5, I guess. I could shave a hundred miles or so by angling up U.S. highways through Utah. Snow and mountains and all of that sounds like a drag though. I still might catch some sticky stuff along the coast, but I'll take my chances over there. The 55mph speed isn't so bad as long as everyone else goes a little faster. In any case I don't guess I'll have much fun dragging this 44,000 pound load around.
Aside from the weather, my 70 hour clock is going to be the other major obstacle. I'm due in Portland by noon Pacific time on Monday. I think I should be able to pull this one off, driving the last stretch with the hours that I'll pick up at midnight that day. I'll need some cooperation from the weather and traffic and other such forces beyond my control. Then my log book will be completely fried and I'll have to take a day off. For a week of 4,236 miles plus my $20 in local pay, I'll handle it. There aren't a lot of $1,630 paychecks coming my way these days. Probably after they pass that big spending bill I'll make $1,600 every week, but not yet.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
2/4/09
They were limited in the number of open scholarships due to recent recruiting successes, yet the Irish managed to be the lead story on news updates around the country all day. Welcome aboard, Mr. Te'o.
I was pleasantly surprised when I slept until the sun came up this morning without any interruptions. Then I checked on the recruiting progress of Mr. Weis and company before hitting the road. We've had some last second defections in recent years. Today though, the 16 verbal commitments all signed on the line which is dotted. After I drove for a few hours, the update guy on Fox Sports Radio broke in with the surprise announcement of our 17th (and best) new recruit of the year. Good day for Our Lady.
Once I got past the Dallas area, I realized something disturbing. I was tracking along a timeline that would put me in Austin at 5pm. Given that The One seems to have lost his ability to perform miracles according to recent headlines, I wasn't too happy about the prospect of fighting my way through the traffic. Even if he did get me through Austin and San Antonio at the speed limit the last time around, today was probably not going to be quite so pleasant. Instead, I decided to check out a tip that I was given a while ago. I angled down on Farm Road Whatever and caught up with US-281, then ran that down to San Antonio. I've never done cocaine before, but they say it only takes once before you're hooked. I think I might know the feeling now. Holy smokes. I may never drive down Satan's Driveway again. The route lengthened my drive by about twenty miles but it lowered my blood pressure by about twenty points. I owe a tip of the cap to Tron for that one. Good lookin' out, my brother. There was construction on the west side of the San Antonio loop, but otherwise everything was as smooth as silk.
I got into Laredo a little while ago and went through the inspection bay. The fella over there didn't like one of my trailer tires so I had to drop it on the repair aisle. Then the night dispatcher told me that I'll have to check with the local dispatcher in the morning about directions to my broker. It seems that there are conflicting addresses in the system for this load. The local dispatcher gets in at 7:30am and my original instructions said that this load has to deliver by 9am. Hopefully my trailer has a new tire by the time I figure out where I'm going.
Getting to Laredo on a Wednesday night is about a hundred times better than getting here on a weekend. I was #18 on the board when I checked in, meaning that I should most likely be out of here by some time tomorrow. With 1,900 miles on the books so far and three days to go, we just might see a return to normalcy for at least one week. Here's a weird one though... I was home all of last week so this Friday's paycheck was due to be a zero. The $70 for my trip into Indiana (this week) is actually being paid on last week's check though. It really doesn't make a whole lot of difference when I get the $70, but now at the very least I will be kept current with my insurance premiums and such. It will also be amusing to see my 401(k) transactions; .0002 shares of XYZ Fund or something.
I was pleasantly surprised when I slept until the sun came up this morning without any interruptions. Then I checked on the recruiting progress of Mr. Weis and company before hitting the road. We've had some last second defections in recent years. Today though, the 16 verbal commitments all signed on the line which is dotted. After I drove for a few hours, the update guy on Fox Sports Radio broke in with the surprise announcement of our 17th (and best) new recruit of the year. Good day for Our Lady.
Once I got past the Dallas area, I realized something disturbing. I was tracking along a timeline that would put me in Austin at 5pm. Given that The One seems to have lost his ability to perform miracles according to recent headlines, I wasn't too happy about the prospect of fighting my way through the traffic. Even if he did get me through Austin and San Antonio at the speed limit the last time around, today was probably not going to be quite so pleasant. Instead, I decided to check out a tip that I was given a while ago. I angled down on Farm Road Whatever and caught up with US-281, then ran that down to San Antonio. I've never done cocaine before, but they say it only takes once before you're hooked. I think I might know the feeling now. Holy smokes. I may never drive down Satan's Driveway again. The route lengthened my drive by about twenty miles but it lowered my blood pressure by about twenty points. I owe a tip of the cap to Tron for that one. Good lookin' out, my brother. There was construction on the west side of the San Antonio loop, but otherwise everything was as smooth as silk.
I got into Laredo a little while ago and went through the inspection bay. The fella over there didn't like one of my trailer tires so I had to drop it on the repair aisle. Then the night dispatcher told me that I'll have to check with the local dispatcher in the morning about directions to my broker. It seems that there are conflicting addresses in the system for this load. The local dispatcher gets in at 7:30am and my original instructions said that this load has to deliver by 9am. Hopefully my trailer has a new tire by the time I figure out where I'm going.
Getting to Laredo on a Wednesday night is about a hundred times better than getting here on a weekend. I was #18 on the board when I checked in, meaning that I should most likely be out of here by some time tomorrow. With 1,900 miles on the books so far and three days to go, we just might see a return to normalcy for at least one week. Here's a weird one though... I was home all of last week so this Friday's paycheck was due to be a zero. The $70 for my trip into Indiana (this week) is actually being paid on last week's check though. It really doesn't make a whole lot of difference when I get the $70, but now at the very least I will be kept current with my insurance premiums and such. It will also be amusing to see my 401(k) transactions; .0002 shares of XYZ Fund or something.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
2/3/09
I think it's high time we had ourselves a multiple choice quiz...
You walk out of a building with your paperwork in hand. As you step onto the pavement at the base of a stairway, you see an attractive young lady standing nearby, smoking a cigarette. She smiles at you. What do you do?
Option A: Ignore her. She probably wants to give you cancer with her secondhand smoke or something.
Option B: Smile back at her and say hello. A friendly acknowledgment is always a good thing in this cynical society.
Option C: Step on a sheet of ice, have your feet fly out from under you, and go sprawling arse over tit onto the pavement.
Choose according to whatever criteria you like, but I know one thing for certain. Option C will make you look (and feel) like a douchebag. I'd rather not discuss how I know this. You'll just have to accept that I know.
Hopefully you passed the multiple choice quiz. Now let's talk truckin'. The following is an aerial shot of this morning's shipper.
I had to take my empty trailer from where I spent the night (A), around the corner of the building and drop it on the shipper's gravel lot, then return to the dock area and hook up a loaded trailer. Okay, sounds easy enough. I hopped in the truck and drove around the corner. I saw no gravel lot. I saw a fenced area to my left (B). It had a few cars inside but nothing that looked like a drop lot. Going in there didn't sound too good, since there didn't appear to be a way out.
I went a little further along the driveway and saw another area to my left. This area was full of parked cars, but appeared to lead to an opening into another section of the property (C). I saw what looked like a dropped trailer through the opening. Okay, I guess we'll give this one a shot. I hung a left into there and drove to the end. Shit. Can't make a turn to the left or the right. So I got to back out of there, between the rows of cars, and try something else. Maybe I could get around to the next aisle to my left and get at the opening from there. I swung through a gap in the cars and followed the other aisle back to the far end of the lot. Oh boy. This was gonna be tight.
Hey, I'm a truck driver damnit. I wiggled my truck and trailer through the opening and into the other part of the property. Dear Lord, what had I done this time? I was now located between (C) and (D) on that original picture. That trailer that I had seen from afar was parked at a dock. There were no other docks. There was no way to turn around. Ah yes though, there was another opening leading to yet another part of the property (D).
I squeaked through that opening and saw those two trailers backed against an outdoor dock. This couldn't be the gravel lot, could it? I hopped out and walked around. Definitely no gravel. I saw a lady walking into a building so I flagged her down. She said that the drop lot was back at the end of the property where this whole fiasco had begun. Sweet. That gate below the word 'Madison' in the above picture was not functional. My only way out would be through the parked cars. Good times. Good times.
I made it by a few inches and swung back out to my right onto the main road. After heading back down to the east end of the property, I pulled into the main driveway. I looked into that fenced area one more time. It must have been the right place, but there was no damn drop lot. I got out and went for another walk before pulling in there. This time I found a guy who took a few minutes and pointed out what I needed to do. Okay, okay, I get it. There was really a drop lot in there after all.
I can't imagine why I didn't see it. Oh wait, yes I can. Here's what the drop lot looked like this morning. Al Gore is still invited to kiss my ass.
There was around an inch of ice on top of the gravel, allowing this morning's fresh two inches of snowfall to make a smooth white blanket over everything. Oh well, you live and learn I guess. There were no other trailers on the lot (as you can see) so I just blindsided my trailer in there and didn't concern myself too much with its alignment. I was backing up a little incline on solid ice so that took a few minutes to handle, but good enough. I got the trailer dropped and then grabbed my loaded trailer from the docks.
What? You mean to tell me that I still had to drive today after all that? That sucks. I am due in Laredo by Thursday morning and I'm aiming to get there tomorrow night. I needed to reach Gurdon, Arkansas today in order to leave myself one day's drive to Laredo. 660 miles from Madison to Gurdon in eleven hours would require a pretty decent pace. What was that guy's name again? Al Gore? Yeah, screw him. I'm sure that US-421 into Kentucky is normally a lovely little drive, but I have a distaste for skinny twisting mountain roads when they're covered in snow. It's just a quirk of mine, I guess. The odds of covering 660 miles today were looking pretty long while I was gripping the wheel tightly and cruising at a cool 30mph. I-71 was pretty shitty too, but the roads dried out below Louisville and I finally was able to put my foot to the floor. I hung a right onto the Western Kentucky Parkway and followed my preferred route down onto US-51 to Memphis, actually getting to Gurdon within my eleven hours today. Beauty.
Speaking of Western Kentucky, I think the residents there need to strongly consider coming up with a name for their recent ice storm. The trees along the parkway looked like someone had dropped a bomb on that area. When a weather event causes dozens of deaths and countless people are still stranded for several days, there is supposed to be a public outcry. Geraldo Rivera is supposed to show up and demand explanations. Clueless celebrities are supposed to make ignorant statements. If the folks in the hills of Kentucky can come up with a catchy name for their storm, I'm sure they'll get the same sympathy. Or maybe not. I don't know. Just an idea.
You walk out of a building with your paperwork in hand. As you step onto the pavement at the base of a stairway, you see an attractive young lady standing nearby, smoking a cigarette. She smiles at you. What do you do?
Option A: Ignore her. She probably wants to give you cancer with her secondhand smoke or something.
Option B: Smile back at her and say hello. A friendly acknowledgment is always a good thing in this cynical society.
Option C: Step on a sheet of ice, have your feet fly out from under you, and go sprawling arse over tit onto the pavement.
Choose according to whatever criteria you like, but I know one thing for certain. Option C will make you look (and feel) like a douchebag. I'd rather not discuss how I know this. You'll just have to accept that I know.
Hopefully you passed the multiple choice quiz. Now let's talk truckin'. The following is an aerial shot of this morning's shipper.
I had to take my empty trailer from where I spent the night (A), around the corner of the building and drop it on the shipper's gravel lot, then return to the dock area and hook up a loaded trailer. Okay, sounds easy enough. I hopped in the truck and drove around the corner. I saw no gravel lot. I saw a fenced area to my left (B). It had a few cars inside but nothing that looked like a drop lot. Going in there didn't sound too good, since there didn't appear to be a way out.
I went a little further along the driveway and saw another area to my left. This area was full of parked cars, but appeared to lead to an opening into another section of the property (C). I saw what looked like a dropped trailer through the opening. Okay, I guess we'll give this one a shot. I hung a left into there and drove to the end. Shit. Can't make a turn to the left or the right. So I got to back out of there, between the rows of cars, and try something else. Maybe I could get around to the next aisle to my left and get at the opening from there. I swung through a gap in the cars and followed the other aisle back to the far end of the lot. Oh boy. This was gonna be tight.
Hey, I'm a truck driver damnit. I wiggled my truck and trailer through the opening and into the other part of the property. Dear Lord, what had I done this time? I was now located between (C) and (D) on that original picture. That trailer that I had seen from afar was parked at a dock. There were no other docks. There was no way to turn around. Ah yes though, there was another opening leading to yet another part of the property (D).I squeaked through that opening and saw those two trailers backed against an outdoor dock. This couldn't be the gravel lot, could it? I hopped out and walked around. Definitely no gravel. I saw a lady walking into a building so I flagged her down. She said that the drop lot was back at the end of the property where this whole fiasco had begun. Sweet. That gate below the word 'Madison' in the above picture was not functional. My only way out would be through the parked cars. Good times. Good times.I made it by a few inches and swung back out to my right onto the main road. After heading back down to the east end of the property, I pulled into the main driveway. I looked into that fenced area one more time. It must have been the right place, but there was no damn drop lot. I got out and went for another walk before pulling in there. This time I found a guy who took a few minutes and pointed out what I needed to do. Okay, okay, I get it. There was really a drop lot in there after all.
I can't imagine why I didn't see it. Oh wait, yes I can. Here's what the drop lot looked like this morning. Al Gore is still invited to kiss my ass.
There was around an inch of ice on top of the gravel, allowing this morning's fresh two inches of snowfall to make a smooth white blanket over everything. Oh well, you live and learn I guess. There were no other trailers on the lot (as you can see) so I just blindsided my trailer in there and didn't concern myself too much with its alignment. I was backing up a little incline on solid ice so that took a few minutes to handle, but good enough. I got the trailer dropped and then grabbed my loaded trailer from the docks.What? You mean to tell me that I still had to drive today after all that? That sucks. I am due in Laredo by Thursday morning and I'm aiming to get there tomorrow night. I needed to reach Gurdon, Arkansas today in order to leave myself one day's drive to Laredo. 660 miles from Madison to Gurdon in eleven hours would require a pretty decent pace. What was that guy's name again? Al Gore? Yeah, screw him. I'm sure that US-421 into Kentucky is normally a lovely little drive, but I have a distaste for skinny twisting mountain roads when they're covered in snow. It's just a quirk of mine, I guess. The odds of covering 660 miles today were looking pretty long while I was gripping the wheel tightly and cruising at a cool 30mph. I-71 was pretty shitty too, but the roads dried out below Louisville and I finally was able to put my foot to the floor. I hung a right onto the Western Kentucky Parkway and followed my preferred route down onto US-51 to Memphis, actually getting to Gurdon within my eleven hours today. Beauty.
Speaking of Western Kentucky, I think the residents there need to strongly consider coming up with a name for their recent ice storm. The trees along the parkway looked like someone had dropped a bomb on that area. When a weather event causes dozens of deaths and countless people are still stranded for several days, there is supposed to be a public outcry. Geraldo Rivera is supposed to show up and demand explanations. Clueless celebrities are supposed to make ignorant statements. If the folks in the hills of Kentucky can come up with a catchy name for their storm, I'm sure they'll get the same sympathy. Or maybe not. I don't know. Just an idea.
Monday, February 2, 2009
2/2/09
Ahh yes, one of those kinda days. When I got up this morning and checked in with my first shipper, they said that they were running about an hour behind on account of a power failure. I can't say that I was terribly disappointed there, as an extra hour of sleep sounded fine with me. It was a late drive out there from Taylor after the game last night. There were far fewer parked cars on the lot when I finally did back in, compared to my last time at that shipper, so maneuvering wasn't too difficult this morning. At least I was off to a decent start today.
I got a few pallets of stuff there and then headed down to Lafayette for my second pickup. They didn't have their shit together today either. Some freight was ready but was missing paperwork. Some paperwork was ready but was missing freight. Long story short... another lengthy nap.
Okay now, on to Frankfort for the third pickup. Umm, maybe? The guy there said that he didn't have any shipments for me. There was a box of something with a packing list on it. The address on the packing list was the address to which I was delivering. Probably my freight, right? Not according to homeboy in the shipping office. I called Joplin and told them what was going on. Shortly thereafter, I received a message instructing me to proceed to my consignee in Anderson. Good enough for me. Whatever dude.
That drive across to Anderson was every bit the pain in the ass that I remembered it to be. I got there and checked in with the receiving guy. Go to this door... that door's occupied... no, go to that one... hang on, over there. While I was dicking around with that situation, I received a message saying that I was on the late board. I double checked to make sure that I had sent my forms on time. Yep. Whatever dude.
Once I was empty, I got my next assignment for the load heading to Laredo. I had just enough time to get to the shipper within today's 14 hour clock and they had overnight parking, so I headed back out to the road. Ten minutes later I got a call from the Taylor terminal, asking if I picked up in Frankfort. I explained to the dispatcher that I was at the shipper in Frankfort, I was told that they had no freight, and I was instructed to make my delivery in Anderson. "Yes or no, did you pick up any freight in Frankfort?" Uh, no. "Okay." Whatever dude.
I got down to the shipper in Madison and found a nice little hockey rink in front of the loading docks. Backing in to a tight spot when it's almost impossible to move backward... that's pretty fun. I'm sure they'll tell me to go somewhere else when I check in tomorrow, but this will do for now. Long day. Most of the driving was on two-lane roads, so I think I'll be glad to hit the interstates for a while tomorrow. If I keep the pedal down I should be able to make Laredo in two long shifts from here.
I found that my Sprint connection has no connectivity here and I had some things to do online tonight. That's unfortunate. After screwing around with my cell phone for a while, I figured out how to set it up as a bluetooth modem. The process of using the phone's browser to find a WAP website that showed how to set up the PC connection was a pretty tedious process, but I got 'er done by golly. I guess something good came from this day after all. I'll be damned. The connection is a little slower than my usual speed with my Sprint card but it's good enough. AT&T seems to have service in some areas where Sprint doesn't, so now I have a fallback option.
I got a few pallets of stuff there and then headed down to Lafayette for my second pickup. They didn't have their shit together today either. Some freight was ready but was missing paperwork. Some paperwork was ready but was missing freight. Long story short... another lengthy nap.
Okay now, on to Frankfort for the third pickup. Umm, maybe? The guy there said that he didn't have any shipments for me. There was a box of something with a packing list on it. The address on the packing list was the address to which I was delivering. Probably my freight, right? Not according to homeboy in the shipping office. I called Joplin and told them what was going on. Shortly thereafter, I received a message instructing me to proceed to my consignee in Anderson. Good enough for me. Whatever dude.
That drive across to Anderson was every bit the pain in the ass that I remembered it to be. I got there and checked in with the receiving guy. Go to this door... that door's occupied... no, go to that one... hang on, over there. While I was dicking around with that situation, I received a message saying that I was on the late board. I double checked to make sure that I had sent my forms on time. Yep. Whatever dude.
Once I was empty, I got my next assignment for the load heading to Laredo. I had just enough time to get to the shipper within today's 14 hour clock and they had overnight parking, so I headed back out to the road. Ten minutes later I got a call from the Taylor terminal, asking if I picked up in Frankfort. I explained to the dispatcher that I was at the shipper in Frankfort, I was told that they had no freight, and I was instructed to make my delivery in Anderson. "Yes or no, did you pick up any freight in Frankfort?" Uh, no. "Okay." Whatever dude.
I got down to the shipper in Madison and found a nice little hockey rink in front of the loading docks. Backing in to a tight spot when it's almost impossible to move backward... that's pretty fun. I'm sure they'll tell me to go somewhere else when I check in tomorrow, but this will do for now. Long day. Most of the driving was on two-lane roads, so I think I'll be glad to hit the interstates for a while tomorrow. If I keep the pedal down I should be able to make Laredo in two long shifts from here.
I found that my Sprint connection has no connectivity here and I had some things to do online tonight. That's unfortunate. After screwing around with my cell phone for a while, I figured out how to set it up as a bluetooth modem. The process of using the phone's browser to find a WAP website that showed how to set up the PC connection was a pretty tedious process, but I got 'er done by golly. I guess something good came from this day after all. I'll be damned. The connection is a little slower than my usual speed with my Sprint card but it's good enough. AT&T seems to have service in some areas where Sprint doesn't, so now I have a fallback option.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
2/1/09
I got up and called the 800 line to check on my board status this morning, hoping like hell to hear that I was still #4. I had a hard time falling asleep last night so I wanted to nod off for a while longer. I was still #4. Beauty.
Around an hour or so after that I awoke again and found that I was assigned to a load. I called the local dispatcher in Taylor to get the rundown. I'm picking up outside Grand Rapids tomorrow morning and then heading to Indiana. There are two extra pickups along the way, tacking another $70 onto my week right at the beginning. It's always nice to get off to a good start on the money end when I leave home, but it's typically best to avoid the highly skilled driving until I've been back on the road for a day or two. As for tomorrow, we've seen this movie before. Snow and everything. This should be exciting. I don't have a Florida run tacked on this time, but I do have a planned run to Laredo after I get empty tomorrow night. Fair enough. Provided that I get through tomorrow's stops without hitting anything, I should make it to Laredo with a couple of days to spare before the pay week ends.
I think I'm going to hang around and watch the football game with some friends tonight, then drive out to my first shipper. As I recall it, they should have enough room for me to park and spend the night. It was pretty warm today so I'm thinking that their lot should be passable for me. Quite a bit of the snow around here is melting. If not I'll figure out something else. I always do.
Good news for all the Stillers fans out there! I am projecting --> Arizona 31, Pittsburgh 24. We all know how consistently I get these things wrong. I just can't go against that guy from Royal Oak who sings The Heat Is On, especially after he gave Rod Tidwell that big contract. He still owns the Cardinals, right? Hang on a second. I'm getting confused. Anyway... go Cards!
Around an hour or so after that I awoke again and found that I was assigned to a load. I called the local dispatcher in Taylor to get the rundown. I'm picking up outside Grand Rapids tomorrow morning and then heading to Indiana. There are two extra pickups along the way, tacking another $70 onto my week right at the beginning. It's always nice to get off to a good start on the money end when I leave home, but it's typically best to avoid the highly skilled driving until I've been back on the road for a day or two. As for tomorrow, we've seen this movie before. Snow and everything. This should be exciting. I don't have a Florida run tacked on this time, but I do have a planned run to Laredo after I get empty tomorrow night. Fair enough. Provided that I get through tomorrow's stops without hitting anything, I should make it to Laredo with a couple of days to spare before the pay week ends.
I think I'm going to hang around and watch the football game with some friends tonight, then drive out to my first shipper. As I recall it, they should have enough room for me to park and spend the night. It was pretty warm today so I'm thinking that their lot should be passable for me. Quite a bit of the snow around here is melting. If not I'll figure out something else. I always do.
Good news for all the Stillers fans out there! I am projecting --> Arizona 31, Pittsburgh 24. We all know how consistently I get these things wrong. I just can't go against that guy from Royal Oak who sings The Heat Is On, especially after he gave Rod Tidwell that big contract. He still owns the Cardinals, right? Hang on a second. I'm getting confused. Anyway... go Cards!
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