1/23/10

Whether we're discussing Olympic gymnastics or Bo Derek in her prime, the number 10 is often used to denote perfection. Oh, it's far from perfect, let me tell you. As I slept last night, my truck's battery rundown thing started beeping at me. It tends to do that because, for some reason, my truck's batteries don't last through a cold night very well. Normally this would be when I fire up the engine and let it run for a while. Since I was in New York, where idling is illegal, I just ignored the beeping. It stopped after a minute or two and the electricity, including that which keeps the bunk heater running, was turned off. Screw it, I thought. I could bundle up in my sleeping bag for a while.

Yeah, it was really, really cold by the next time I opened my eyes. This is the point where New York and the rest of these hippie-loving states can kiss my white butt. There's absolutely no rational reason that I can't run my truck to stay warm. I reached forward and cranked up the engine. Screw 'em. As I turned the heater knob to full-tilt red, I looked at the temperature readout above the steering column. Ten degrees. Not perfect.

Knowing what I told you yesterday about the wandering crack in my windshield, I cringed at the thought of what a 30° overnight drop in temperature was going to mean. Yeah, nothing good. Now, in addition to yesterday's damage, there's yet another branch veering off to the right side of the windshield. Son of a.

Once I warmed up a little, had some breakfast, and got rolling, the drive was a pretty easy one. Weekend traffic through Buffalo and Cleveland was no issue. The sky was sunny. Everything was groovy. Given what I knew about my windshield, and given what I thought it would mean in terms of my annual inspection, I decided to have the inspection done at the Petro outside Toledo. I drove past a few other T/A and Petro locations in order to do so, but there was a method to the madness. I didn't think it likely, but there was an outside chance that I would be told to relay my load and go to a dealership for a new window. With tomorrow being Sunday, this would mean a full day of sitting and waiting for the dealership to open. If this unlikely scenario were to unfold, I would much rather be close to home than somewhere in New York. Money was also a consideration. If I did have to relay the load, it would be better to give up the last couple hundred miles of the trip than to give up the last five hundred miles.

The guy at the Petro walked out, saw the window, and said that there was no reason to bother with the inspection. Bummer. Guess we'll be seeing a dealership in the very near future.

I also asked him to see if he could deal with a bad turn signal that I had. The left front one had burned out and, after I tried a new bulb with no luck, I concluded that the issue must be the wiring harness. Yeah, I know, I'm a regular engineer here. Mr. Goodwrench got it to work as a blinker but not as a marker light, so I guess he made some improvement in the situation. He did agree that the wiring harness was bad though. One more thing to handle at a Kenworth dealer. Somehow, through the process of dicking around with my turn signal bulbs, the guy managed to make the one on the right side stop working. He got it going again, after some struggles, but said that the wiring harness on that side also needed replacing. Yeah, add it to the freaking list, dude.

So it was time for the call to our road service department. The location of the inspection turned out to be a moot point in the end. The conversation went about as I expected. I had driven to the Toledo area and prepared for the worst just in case, but those guys usually aren't any more anxious to disrupt a loaded run than I am. Tonight was no exception. "As long as it's not in your line of sight..." was part of the conversation. I guess, at this point in time, that would depend on which direction I'm looking. The crack seems to have Manifest Destiny on its mind, but it's still not really in front of me yet. I can make it across Indiana. Once I get unloaded on Monday morning, I'll have to hop over to Joliet, Illinois and get the repairs done. Let's hope that they have the parts in stock and everything goes smoothly.

So, now that I get to keep all of my miles, we can review the particulars for the week and see that it was a pretty profitable one - 3,423 miles plus $113.90 in northeast pay. The budget here at Fenian Godfather Inc. calls for weekly revenue of $700 in Fiscal 2010. Any time we crack $1,400 in a week, we find those obnoxious early mornings and long drives a little easier to tolerate.

And, as an added bonus, Mom called to see what was new. I told her that I was in the Toledo area and she asked if I was up for some dinner. Well, does a bear shit in the woods?

Of course I'm up for some dinner. Nobody ever really needs to ask that question, I can assure you.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to develop a new style of prose before she gets here. It seems that someone has caught on to my little charade.

1/22/10

I'm not entirely sure why I've always been under the impression that Vermont was such a goofball state. Maybe it was Howard Dean or something. Ben and Jerry perhaps? I don't know. In the town of Brattleboro, they have a split speed limit. Don't want trucks barreling through at 65mph like everyone else, right? Well, not exactly. The speed limit for cars is 30mph. For trucks, the speed limit is 25mph. Now that's just stupid. Maybe I've been right all along. Or maybe those people just need to elect a Notre Dame man to get things straightened out for the motorists.

I got to the shipper in Manchester this morning at 7:20am, ahead of my 8am appointment. 7:20am equals 7:15am in the world of the log book, so the drive over there had consumed 45 minutes of my available time under the 70 hour rule. Minutiae like this really shouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but on days like today it all adds up.

I was loaded with various pieces of furniture and equipment that are being sent from a closing factory to one that is still operating. Much to my relief, the total weight came to just under 7,000 pounds. This made today's drive much more enjoyable. I crossed over on NH-101 to NH-9, then continued through Vermont on VT-9. "Goin' o'er the Hog Back," as one of the guys at the shipper put it. Mountains and curves and all of that jazz. With sunny skies, dry roads, and a light load, it was a pretty nice ride.

The pace was pretty slow through quite a few areas though. That 25mph part in Brattleboro wasn't really a big deal, as it only lasted a few miles, but there weren't any straight stretches of road so I had to mind my P's and Q's going in and out of the curves. Knowing that there were zero parking options until I hit the freeway in New York, I was checking the clock on a regular basis to try and gauge my progress.

In the end, I had no problem reaching the Thruway before my hours ran out. In fact, once I got to the first service plaza I saw a sign saying that the next one was 44 miles away. I had 45 minutes left with which to work, so I was able to press on a little further. Every last minute came in handy, once all was said and done. Now I'm set up nicely for the weekend.

I got another message today, telling me that my truck is due for an annual inspection. I knew this, of course, but I guess they have to stay on top of things until all of the trucks are good to go. I let my fleet manager know that my schedule hasn't been very workable this week, but that I'll have a chance to take care of it tomorrow. As far as I know this should be fine. Not much I can do about it today in any case, given that I am completely out of hours. The cold weather has caused a little crack in the corner of my windshield to start migrating in various directions, so I'll probably be forced to get that fixed, but I was going to have to do that anyway. It's not in my field of view yet, so I was hoping to wait until this trip is finished. We'll see what the inspector dude says tomorrow.

1/21/10

I can't listen to way people talk in Maine without thinking of this guy, so we'll just go ahead and outsource the first part of today's post...


I think he hit on most of the main points. When I left Kennebunk at 3am, things weren't too bad. As I moved further northward, Mr. Marley's observations were pretty close to the thoughts in my head. The turnpike was pretty damned icy once I got past Augusta. On US-1A from Bangor out toward the ocean things were even worse. Just a hilly, snowy, slippery pain in the ass. And yeah, there were a few times that I had to say, "This is bullshit."

After I got unloaded, the guys at the consignee suggested that I could park at the local grocery store. I turned out onto the main road and then, once I was moving (of course), my next assignment came over the satellite. Once I found a place to pull over, I saw that I needed to spin around and head back the way that I came. By this point though, the sun was out and the road salt was working on the ice and snow. Still a little slick in spots, but not nearly as bad as it had been on the way to Milbridge. As I made my way down I-95, I wound up getting to clean and dry roads for the rest of the day. Sort of like a mirror image of the earlier drive.

My next load is picking up tomorrow morning in Manchester, New Hampshire and heading to the Chicago area for Monday morning. Given the hours that I have remaining under the 70 hour rule, this was a pretty effective assignment. I wouldn't have realized that I could cover so many miles with what I had left, but it looks like it will all work out nicely. Beauty.

I cruised down to the T/A in Greenland, New Hampshire and parked for the night. Tomorrow morning's hop over to Manchester will hopefully be quick and easy from here. Once I get loaded, I'm hoping to get to the New York Thruway before my 5.75 hours run out. There aren't really any 'Plan B' options if I can't make it, given the route that I'll be taking, so I can scarcely afford to waste any time getting to the shipper.

As long as tomorrow brings no unforeseen issues, the weekend should set up nicely. I'll pick up plenty of hours to finish the trip before Sunday night and I'll also have enough time to get my truck's annual inspection done. Not bad at all. One more early morning to go...

1/20/10

We had heavy traffic in Buffalo. We had light traffic in Worcester. We had a snow storm in Syracuse. We had sunshine in Albany. We had flat land in Western New York. We had steep climbs in Western Massachusetts. We had cold weather along I-90. We had... well... even colder weather along I-95. This Tale of Two Cities motif could go only so far, I suppose.

This long day of driving may have been even longer if not for the damned feds. Eleven hours is the limit for one shift. That's plenty of hours as far as I'm concerned, but the inflexibility of the rules can lead to a problem. If I had driven eleven hours today, I would have found myself somewhere between Portland and Augusta. I think that there is a service plaza along the turnpike up there, but I seem to recall the parking being extremely scarce. I don't get to Maine very often, so my memory on the subject may not be 100% accurate, but I really can't take the chance and find out the hard way that I was right. If I drive the full eleven hours and then can't find a parking space, there is no provision in the rules allowing me to drive to the next truck stop or rest area. Some bureaucrat has decided that an eleven hour drive is just peachy, but eleven hours and twenty minutes - deadly.

So I had to play it safe and stop at the service plaza on the turnpike before Portland. And the mornings just keep getting earlier. To reach Milbridge by 8am, I'll probably have to leave here around 3am or so. It's a little over 200 miles from here to there, but I have no idea how long the drive will actually take. It's snowing, for starters. The pace of traffic wasn't bad this afternoon, but if the snow comes down all night, who knows? Plus the last fifty-something miles will be on U.S. highways, winding through various towns. Plus I need to make a fuel stop along the way. So yeah, I guess 3am it is. Fun times...

1/19/10

Early mornings, early mornings, early mornings... This is getting old in a hurry. I suppose that, given today's positive impact on the bottom line here at Fenian Godfather Inc., I shouldn't complain too much. But I still haven't found a way to reverse that annoying correlation between working a lot and making a lot of money. I'm trying though.

This morning's drive over to New Carlisle was quick and easy. I was checked in, unloaded, and sent on my way before my 8am appointment rolled around. I pulled off to the side of the customer's driveway in hopes that a new assignment would come quickly, given that I didn't know which way I was headed next. After a half hour with no sign of a new assignment, the call of nature dictated that I go... somewhere. Okay then, either back eastward to the Pilot in South Bend or westward to the next service plaza on the turnpike. My impression was that more of our shippers were located to the west, but the truck stop in South Bend was closer. It also seemed like a better idea not to get myself stuck heading one way on the toll road, just in case I had to go in a different direction.

So I headed to South bend. Of course my assignment wound up taking me back to the west (as if I had to tell you). Story of life. I was at the truck stop for a half hour or so, then it was time to head to the steel place in Kouts. My load wasn't ready when I arrived at the shipper, so I had a chance to kick back and relax for a couple of hours. Then, armed with my 43,000 pound payload, I was off and running once again.

This run is taking me to Milbridge, Maine for a delivery at 8am on Thursday. In the technical parlance of my profession, this schedule will require what is known as 'balls out' driving on my part. I blasted my way across Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania this evening before the 14 hour rule forced me to seek a place to park. An abandoned truck stop in Ripley, New York will do the trick for tonight, but we're just getting started. After ten hours of down time I'll have to get back on the turnpike for another long day of driving. I have no idea where another eleven hours on the road will take me, but hopefully there will be somewhere to park once I get there. Then one more ten hour break before I'll have to finish off the trip before dawn on Thursday.

Apparently I'm supposed to get an annual inspection on my truck as well, but that sure as hell ain't happening tomorrow. I can't afford to waste any time sitting around and waiting for a mechanic. This schedule is awfully tight as it is. Of course, I'll probably roll into the customer on Thursday and find that I could have arrived any time before 4pm or something. That seems to happen as often as not when I run my ass off to get somewhere. For whatever reason though, we're always dispatched to show up as ealy as legally possible.

The positive side of the deal will be that this week's paycheck should be better than those of recent weeks. I'll be empty on Thursday morning with 2,143 miles and a bunch of northeast pay already on the books. Any kind of mediocre Thursday-Saturday will leave me sitting pretty. I'm burning through hours in a hurry at this pace, so 'mediocre' is about the best that I can do through the weekend within the confines of the 70 hour rule, but that's fine. Maybe I'll get some sleep one of these days.

1/18/10

Never, and I do mean never, underestimate the ability of a Norv Turner team to choke in a big game. As far as you Chargers fans out there are concerned, you can think of us Redskins fans as the dude who used to date your girlfriend. We've already seen the things that you'll start to figure out.

I swear that there is some sort of biometric sensor in my truck, allowing the Qualcomm unit to figure out when I'm trying to sleep. If I take a nap in the afternoon, then the messages come through in the afternoon. If I take a nap in the morning, then the messages come through in the morning. Today, after scooting through Virginia and Maryland before the sun came up, I was pretty exhausted. I got onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike and pulled into the service plaza near Bedford. Once I was solidly settled into dreamland - ATTENTION! YOU HAVE ONE UNREAD MESSAGE! I sat up and took a look. Something about Haiti. Back to bed.

After another 25 minutes I was just starting to drift away and then - ATTENTION!... Son of a... I got up and looked again. Okay, I couldn't be too mad about this one. My delivery appointment tomorrow is 8am instead of 7am. Given how I feel about mornings, that extra hour is certainly welcome news to me.

I've said it plenty of times here and my opinion hasn't changed - eleven hours of driving is way too much for one day. My latest data point comes from, well, today. From Doswell, Virginia to the service plaza outside Elkhart, Indiana. That's a long drive. The reason I drove so far today was that, had I stopped any sooner, I would have been forced to start even earlier tomorrow. Quite a devil's bargain for someone like me who (a) prefers to start work at 10am and (b) considers 400-500 miles on the road to be plenty for one day.

This is all, of course, just part of the job that I choose to do. It is interesting though in the context of the upcoming ruling from the feds. As much as I would have no trouble saying that ten hours of driving per shift is probably better than eleven, it wouldn't really make a whole lot of difference in real life under the current structure. The appointments would still fit. Drivers would just have to shut down an hour sooner one day and start driving an hour sooner the next day. Personally, I would just go with a 600 mile daily limit and a 3,500 mile weekly limit. Get rid of the asinine regulations that say I could spend ten hours in a strip club and then start driving again, perfectly legally, but I can't sleep for six hours and then get back on the road. If they just went with a mileage limit, they could ensure 100% compliance by pulling the odometer readings from the satellite unit at midnight and people could rest whenever they felt tired. Yeah, I know, my opinion and a dollar...

Setting aside the length of the trip, today's drive went about as well as can be expected. There were a few slow spots getting through the construction zones on I-495 but the rest of the route was pretty clear. The only weather to mention was a little bit of dense fog in one of Pennsylvania's valleys. No big deal though. It looks like I'll have around 30 miles to cover in the morning to reach my consignee in New Carlisle. From there, who knows? There tends to be plenty of freight in this part of the country but there also tend to be plenty of trucks in this part of the country. I would like to think that I won't get stuck setting up for a Con-way run leaving Gary or South Bend on Wednesday morning, but history suggests that I probably shouldn't get my hopes up.

1/17/10

Okay. Picture yourself spending an evening with someone. This person looks over at you and says, "Not tonight, but tomorrow, I'm gonna give you something nice." Yeah, your eyebrows are raised now, aren't they? Then, not even five minutes later, she (or he, as the case may be) says to you, "Just kidding, I meant to say that to somebody else." Well, the metaphor is a bit of a stretch, but what are you gonna do when you spend your days and nights in a fiberglass box? As I sat watching football and talking on the phone last night, I received a pre-planned assignment for a pretty good run going from Gordonsville to Laredo. Then, a couple of minutes later, I got a message saying that they had sent the assignment to the wrong truck. No pre-plan for me. Bummer.

The tradeoff for stopping short and watching those two incredibly boring games yesterday was that I had to get on the road wicked early today. It sure seemed like a bad tradeoff as I wound my way down the road at 6am this morning, to say the least. After rolling into the distribution center and checking in with the security guard, I had to drop my trailer in a door and then drive my truck over to a separate parking area. Normally this process is just an extra hassle, but today it was actually good news. Being detached from the trailer meant that I could sleep for a while without getting bounced around by the forklifts. Beauty.

I told the lady in the receiving office that my CB was broken, so she said that she would send someone out to let me know when my trailer was empty. During the lengthy time that I didn't have a CB, I found that it was a hell of a lot better that way. Instead of sitting and listening to radio chatter until someone calls your truck number, you get to relax and wait for a phone call or a knock on the door. Thus, I was able to enjoy some peace and quiet while I waited today.

After an hour or so, I was awakened by a knock on the door and that was that. Back into the office, grab the paperwork, over to the door, hook the trailer, out to the security booth, close the trailer doors, down the street to the struck stop, try to go back to sleep. Not much luck getting to sleep again, but I was #1 on the board at least.

Of course, this made last night's pre-plan revocation seem even more strange. If I was the only one in town, then... I don't know. I suppose there could be plenty of reasons to bring in another truck for that load going from Gordonsville to Laredo. Maybe someone is trying to get home. Maybe it's team freight and has to get to Laredo quickly. Maybe it's a hazmat load and I can't pull it. Maybe someone else was on the board before me this morning and the load has been assigned to that person. Maybe there was something else that they needed me to pick up sooner. Or, you know, maybe there's no reason at all. I suppose that's a possibility too. Since I enjoy being an insignificant peon, I don't spend too much time worrying about stuff that is outside my control. I'm content to drive my truck and leave the rest to the folks who are paid to think. As long as I'm always on time and I don't crash, things seem to work out fine in the end.

So I wasn't too perplexed about that one, but the way the day turned out certainly left me scratching my head. After hanging out at the truck stop all morning I turned on the football game and kicked back to relax. Shortly after 3pm, having waited six hours for a new assignment, I was sent to the paper mill in West Point to pick up a loaded trailer that had been sitting there all day. I headed over and made my drop/hook, then cut across on VA-30 toward I-95. My 14 hour clock didn't have enough time left for me to get past D.C. tonight, so I had to settle for the truck stop in Doswell. Given that I'm due in Northern Indiana by 7am on Tuesday, it sure would have been helpful if I could have gotten the assignment sooner. That way I could have driven further this evening and left a more workable schedule for the rest of the trip. I'm not sure what would be the explanation for this one, but I guess it's not my area of expertise. It's best for me just to drive my truck and take things as they come.

My last few trips along I-95 have been less than enjoyable, so I'm leaning toward heading back out as soon as my ten hour break is over in the morning. I can leave here at 4:45am and maybe get past D.C. before the beltway becomes a total mess. I absolutely hate getting up so early in the morning, but it looks like that's probably going to be the way to go. At least the week is off to a good start in terms of miles.

Guess I'll catch the end of this AFC game and try to get some rest. Maybe we can get one exciting finish this weekend.