Tomorrow will be another long one and then... well... so will Monday. The ever-present conundrum persists. In order to finish off a week with 3,636 miles and $1,400+ in wages, I have to work a lot. I still haven't found a way around this inconvenient truth.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
3/20/10
Lousy internet connection here in Hicksville Caneyville, Kentucky tonight so we'll keep this short and sweet. No alarm clock, no traffic, good weather, and 630 miles behind me. Any questions? Good.
Tomorrow will be another long one and then... well... so will Monday. The ever-present conundrum persists. In order to finish off a week with 3,636 miles and $1,400+ in wages, I have to work a lot. I still haven't found a way around this inconvenient truth.
Tomorrow will be another long one and then... well... so will Monday. The ever-present conundrum persists. In order to finish off a week with 3,636 miles and $1,400+ in wages, I have to work a lot. I still haven't found a way around this inconvenient truth.
Friday, March 19, 2010
3/19/10
I get an e-mail message every morning that lists various driving vacancies in the Detroit area. Most available jobs back home seem to involve way too much work for way too little money, meaning that they don't catch my eye. Today was no different, but I did see something that stood out to me. CDL instructors make $12.50 an hour? Dude, I made more than that delivering pizzas fifteen years ago. Makes you feel really confident about that 77,000 pound vehicle lumbering down the highway next to you, eh? So I had my head on a swivel for a little while today, at least until I remembered that nobody knows how to drive anyway. Then I got a nice pre-plan and forgot the whole thing... until now.
I got to my consignee in Cortland at 7:45am and drove into the drop yard, then hopped out to ask the security guard whether or not I would be dropping my trailer there. Nope. Not only was it a live unload, but it was also for a different company. It turns out that there are two companies that share the same warehouse and work together to build whatever it is that they build. I snaked my way around a few tight corners and then got settled into a loading dock that I didn't even know existed. I'll be damned.
After I was empty, it was time to head up north for my next load. I was picking up in the quaint little village of Gouverneur, New York. The directions to the shipper seemed pretty straightforward but they did include some skinny stretches once I got off US-11 and onto NY-58. I headed into the shipping office and checked in, only to be told that my load was ready at the warehouse back in town. The directions to that place... awesome.
I'm quoting as exactly as possible. "Go back down Main Street. After you pass the gas station, take a left on Reed. Then a quick left on Prospect. Turn into the driveway between the two blue houses (Spot #1 in the photo). You'll see a big brick building. At the end of the building, there's room for you to turn around (2). Then you'll back around the corner and into the warehouse. The dock is in there (3)."
"The driveway between the two blue houses" had to be my favorite part of the directions. Sounded like a clue from Scooby Doo or something.
Once I got spun around and backed in, I was loaded with another 44,000 pounds. I can't seem to get a break from the heavy stuff lately. If that's what it takes to get pre-plans and make money though, then it's a tradeoff I'll gladly make. Speaking of pre-plans and making money, this bad boy is going to Laredo. Laredo is a long way from Upstate New York, in case you weren't aware. Beauty.
I got down onto the Thruway and stopped at the last service plaze before Buffalo to call it a night. The end of the quarter is coming up, so I wanted to knock out my annual safety training before I forgot. This is a place where I knew I would have a good internet connection, so here we are. Now I've finally learned that I should hold onto the handle when I climb out of my truck, so that's nice. And I've also learned that gusty wind will affect a light trailer more than a heavy one, so that's nice. And I'm qualified for another year of safety bonuses as long as I don't crash. That's probably the nicest part of the deal.
I'm due in Laredo by Tuesday morning so it looks like a balls-out kinda weekend will be in store. Probably around 600 miles a day should get me there by Monday night.
I'm not sure whether or not it's proprietary information so I won't link or quote it here, but those of you who work for Con-way might be interested in the open letter from our CEO regarding this week's proceedings on Capitol Hill. In short - Congratulations. ♫ You traded in your Chevy for a Cadillac-ac-ac-ac-ac-ac (plan)... you oughtta know by now... ♫ I wish The One™ would just hurry up and punish us for our excesses. I feel so excessively excessive. Considering how much people whine about our coverage, I can't wait to see how awesome the "acceptible" plans will be.
I got to my consignee in Cortland at 7:45am and drove into the drop yard, then hopped out to ask the security guard whether or not I would be dropping my trailer there. Nope. Not only was it a live unload, but it was also for a different company. It turns out that there are two companies that share the same warehouse and work together to build whatever it is that they build. I snaked my way around a few tight corners and then got settled into a loading dock that I didn't even know existed. I'll be damned.
After I was empty, it was time to head up north for my next load. I was picking up in the quaint little village of Gouverneur, New York. The directions to the shipper seemed pretty straightforward but they did include some skinny stretches once I got off US-11 and onto NY-58. I headed into the shipping office and checked in, only to be told that my load was ready at the warehouse back in town. The directions to that place... awesome.
I'm quoting as exactly as possible. "Go back down Main Street. After you pass the gas station, take a left on Reed. Then a quick left on Prospect. Turn into the driveway between the two blue houses (Spot #1 in the photo). You'll see a big brick building. At the end of the building, there's room for you to turn around (2). Then you'll back around the corner and into the warehouse. The dock is in there (3)."
"The driveway between the two blue houses" had to be my favorite part of the directions. Sounded like a clue from Scooby Doo or something.
Once I got spun around and backed in, I was loaded with another 44,000 pounds. I can't seem to get a break from the heavy stuff lately. If that's what it takes to get pre-plans and make money though, then it's a tradeoff I'll gladly make. Speaking of pre-plans and making money, this bad boy is going to Laredo. Laredo is a long way from Upstate New York, in case you weren't aware. Beauty.
I got down onto the Thruway and stopped at the last service plaze before Buffalo to call it a night. The end of the quarter is coming up, so I wanted to knock out my annual safety training before I forgot. This is a place where I knew I would have a good internet connection, so here we are. Now I've finally learned that I should hold onto the handle when I climb out of my truck, so that's nice. And I've also learned that gusty wind will affect a light trailer more than a heavy one, so that's nice. And I'm qualified for another year of safety bonuses as long as I don't crash. That's probably the nicest part of the deal.
I'm due in Laredo by Tuesday morning so it looks like a balls-out kinda weekend will be in store. Probably around 600 miles a day should get me there by Monday night.
I'm not sure whether or not it's proprietary information so I won't link or quote it here, but those of you who work for Con-way might be interested in the open letter from our CEO regarding this week's proceedings on Capitol Hill. In short - Congratulations. ♫ You traded in your Chevy for a Cadillac-ac-ac-ac-ac-ac (plan)... you oughtta know by now... ♫ I wish The One™ would just hurry up and punish us for our excesses. I feel so excessively excessive. Considering how much people whine about our coverage, I can't wait to see how awesome the "acceptible" plans will be.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
3/18/10
Think you've seen it all? Think again. There's some kind of Washington, D.C. reference to be made here, but I'm not feeling witty tonight. In the context of today, oddly enough, Washington proved to be nothing more than a minor nuisance.
I got to the consignee at 11:45am, ahead of my 1pm appointment. The security guard was kind enough to sign me in and direct me to a parking space, but he said that we're not supposed to arrive more than a half hour early. Okay then. Good to know. I was told to check in with the receiving office at 12:45pm so I had an hour to kill. During that hour, each driver who arrived after me walked into the receiving office. None of them walked back out to their trucks though, so I just followed my instructions and waited until 12:45pm. I suspected that they were all standing around and waiting for the receiving people to start the afternoon shift. Might as well relax in the comfort of my truck if that's the case.
Once I walked inside, I found that the other drivers were in fact standing in line and waiting to check in. From my position at the back of the line, it took fifteen minutes to reach the window. Still a favorable trade-off for the hour of sitting in my truck, as far as I'm concerned. I had to hire a lumper to unload the freight, so there were some procedural steps to take, but otherwise the unloading was quick and easy.
On my way out of Virginia this morning I had received a pre-planned assignment, so I knew that I would be heading to Baltimore once I was empty. Another of our drivers, it turns out, had received the same pre-plan. Once our directions arrived via satellite, he asked if I had been to the shipper before. In point of fact, yes, I had been there once. So he said that he was going to follow me since he doesn't know his way around the area very well. I said that this was probably a good idea, since the directions were pretty weird anyway. Then, as I sat on my bunk double-checking a Google map to confirm that I was thinking of the right place, my colleague took off on his own. Whatevs.
It was a quick hop up I-95 and through the tunnel. I swung off the exit and found that I had caught up to my CTL coworker. We needed to take a left at the end of the exit ramp. He took a left. So far, so good. Then, where the directions said to go straight to the customer 1/4 mile on the right, we actually needed to take another left. He started to go straight, but got stopped at a red light. I got into the left turn lane next to him and motioned for him to follow me. It was a protected (green arrow) left turn and I had stopped far enough back to keep anyone else from getting into the turning lane, so he was able to swing in behind me as I made the turn. The little side street where that turn took us wouldn't look like a truck route to anyone but, like I said, I had been there once before. The street wound around another corner and then it was time to proceed 1/4 mile to the customer on the right. "I'm sure glad you caught up to me. I never would have found this place," said he, as we walked into the shipping office. Yeah, tell me about it. I learned the hard way.
We were loaded quickly and released onto I-95 right at 4:30pm. That's always a treat. Heavy traffic and construction. Good stuff. Then I-695. More of the same. I-83. Ditto. Just a long hassle of a day, once all was said and done.
Unlike on the previous occasion, I wasn't dropping this load off in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Rather I'll be taking it to the consignee in Cortland, New York for an 8am delivery tomorrow. I had enough hours to reach the consignee tonight, but the parking situation up there might be a little sketchy. I've picked up drop/hook loads at the same customer before, so I suppose there's a chance that this delivery may also be a drop/hook. (Stop summary says it's a live unload.) Even if I could deliver early though, the drop lot isn't roomy enough for me to spend the night. And the little truck stop down the street from the customer wouldn't be very likely to have a spot for me at 10pm on a weekday. On a different occasion I may have decided to give it a go and let the chips fall where they may. I'm out of patience today though, so Harford, Pennsylvania will have to do.
I'll have to hit the road as soon as my ten hour break is over in order to reach Cortland before 8am. Boo! Alarm clock. Boo! After my delivery, the smart money would be on making a run from the same location to the Menlo place in New Jersey. Did it once. Did it twice. Each of those two previous trips was on a Tuesday though, so we'll see. Things are usually a little different once we approach the weekend.
The upshot from today was that I got a little over 300 miles, all with the northeast premium tacked on. Could be worse, could be better. Any kind of decent Friday and Saturday will have this week looking just fine.
In a perfect world I would get some kind of assignment passing close to home. I signed up for a Chase checking account recently. I deposited $100 to open the account and they gave me $100 today. Nothing comes without strings, of course, but this deal seems pretty fair. No fees as long as I use the debit card five times a month (otherwise $6/month) and I have to keep the account open for at least six months. I make numerous debit transactions every day, so no problem there. One catch though - the new debit card is probably sitting on my kitchen table, along with the rest of my mail. I'm not sure I want to go home right now, so we'll just leave it in the hands of fate. If I don't pass through Michigan soon, I may have to pay one or two $6 fees before I get my hands on the debit card. In exchange for $100, I'll still consider it a good deal.
I got to the consignee at 11:45am, ahead of my 1pm appointment. The security guard was kind enough to sign me in and direct me to a parking space, but he said that we're not supposed to arrive more than a half hour early. Okay then. Good to know. I was told to check in with the receiving office at 12:45pm so I had an hour to kill. During that hour, each driver who arrived after me walked into the receiving office. None of them walked back out to their trucks though, so I just followed my instructions and waited until 12:45pm. I suspected that they were all standing around and waiting for the receiving people to start the afternoon shift. Might as well relax in the comfort of my truck if that's the case.
Once I walked inside, I found that the other drivers were in fact standing in line and waiting to check in. From my position at the back of the line, it took fifteen minutes to reach the window. Still a favorable trade-off for the hour of sitting in my truck, as far as I'm concerned. I had to hire a lumper to unload the freight, so there were some procedural steps to take, but otherwise the unloading was quick and easy.
On my way out of Virginia this morning I had received a pre-planned assignment, so I knew that I would be heading to Baltimore once I was empty. Another of our drivers, it turns out, had received the same pre-plan. Once our directions arrived via satellite, he asked if I had been to the shipper before. In point of fact, yes, I had been there once. So he said that he was going to follow me since he doesn't know his way around the area very well. I said that this was probably a good idea, since the directions were pretty weird anyway. Then, as I sat on my bunk double-checking a Google map to confirm that I was thinking of the right place, my colleague took off on his own. Whatevs.
It was a quick hop up I-95 and through the tunnel. I swung off the exit and found that I had caught up to my CTL coworker. We needed to take a left at the end of the exit ramp. He took a left. So far, so good. Then, where the directions said to go straight to the customer 1/4 mile on the right, we actually needed to take another left. He started to go straight, but got stopped at a red light. I got into the left turn lane next to him and motioned for him to follow me. It was a protected (green arrow) left turn and I had stopped far enough back to keep anyone else from getting into the turning lane, so he was able to swing in behind me as I made the turn. The little side street where that turn took us wouldn't look like a truck route to anyone but, like I said, I had been there once before. The street wound around another corner and then it was time to proceed 1/4 mile to the customer on the right. "I'm sure glad you caught up to me. I never would have found this place," said he, as we walked into the shipping office. Yeah, tell me about it. I learned the hard way.
We were loaded quickly and released onto I-95 right at 4:30pm. That's always a treat. Heavy traffic and construction. Good stuff. Then I-695. More of the same. I-83. Ditto. Just a long hassle of a day, once all was said and done.
Unlike on the previous occasion, I wasn't dropping this load off in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Rather I'll be taking it to the consignee in Cortland, New York for an 8am delivery tomorrow. I had enough hours to reach the consignee tonight, but the parking situation up there might be a little sketchy. I've picked up drop/hook loads at the same customer before, so I suppose there's a chance that this delivery may also be a drop/hook. (Stop summary says it's a live unload.) Even if I could deliver early though, the drop lot isn't roomy enough for me to spend the night. And the little truck stop down the street from the customer wouldn't be very likely to have a spot for me at 10pm on a weekday. On a different occasion I may have decided to give it a go and let the chips fall where they may. I'm out of patience today though, so Harford, Pennsylvania will have to do.
I'll have to hit the road as soon as my ten hour break is over in order to reach Cortland before 8am. Boo! Alarm clock. Boo! After my delivery, the smart money would be on making a run from the same location to the Menlo place in New Jersey. Did it once. Did it twice. Each of those two previous trips was on a Tuesday though, so we'll see. Things are usually a little different once we approach the weekend.
The upshot from today was that I got a little over 300 miles, all with the northeast premium tacked on. Could be worse, could be better. Any kind of decent Friday and Saturday will have this week looking just fine.
In a perfect world I would get some kind of assignment passing close to home. I signed up for a Chase checking account recently. I deposited $100 to open the account and they gave me $100 today. Nothing comes without strings, of course, but this deal seems pretty fair. No fees as long as I use the debit card five times a month (otherwise $6/month) and I have to keep the account open for at least six months. I make numerous debit transactions every day, so no problem there. One catch though - the new debit card is probably sitting on my kitchen table, along with the rest of my mail. I'm not sure I want to go home right now, so we'll just leave it in the hands of fate. If I don't pass through Michigan soon, I may have to pay one or two $6 fees before I get my hands on the debit card. In exchange for $100, I'll still consider it a good deal.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
3/17/10
I spoke with my brother Jake earlier. He's been drinking all day. I spoke with my buddy Frank earlier. He's been drinking all day. I spoke with my buddy Melissa earlier. She's been drinking since she got off work. Ahh, how unfortunate to be the sucker who drives for a living. Since I don't really have any means to escape the truck this evening, not even my Swedish buddy Sjoe will be able to celebrate Lá Fhéile Pádraig. Woe is me.
I did get to sleep late though, so I suppose all is not lost. It was a pretty standard drive up I-95, through Richmond, and into Ruther Glen, Virginia. Not a whole lot of anything to discuss on that front. I'll have to cover around 110 miles tomorrow before 1pm, so good enough. As long as I can tolerate the stench emanating from D.C. as I go by, I should have no problems.
I guess I'll leave you folks with a little palate cleanser to lighten the mood tonight.
A few years ago, Jacques Chirac, the French Prime Minister, was sitting in his office wondering what kind of mischief he could perpetrate against the United States when he was interrupted by a telephone call;
"Hallo, Mr. Chirac?" a heavily accented voice said.
"This is Paddy down at the Harp Pub in County Sligo, Ireland. I am ringing to inform you that we are officially declaring war on you!"
"Well, Paddy," Chirac replied, "this is indeed important news! How big is your army?"
"Right now," said Paddy, after a moment's calculation, "there is myself, me cousin Sean, me next door neighbour Seamus, and the entire dart team from the pub. That makes eight!"
Chirac paused. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have one hundred thousand men in my army waiting to move on my command."
"Begorra!" said Paddy. "I'll have to ring you back!"
Sure enough, the next day, Paddy called again. "Mr. Chirac, the war is still on. We have managed to get us some infantry equipment!"
"And what equipment would that be, Paddy?" Chirac asked.
"Well, we have two combines, a bulldozer, and Murphy's farm tractor."
Chirac sighed, amused. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 6,000 tanks and 5,000 armoured personnel carriers. Also, I've increased my army to one hundred and fifty-thousand since we last spoke."
"Saints preserve us!" said Paddy. "I'll have to get back to you."
Sure enough, Paddy rang again the next day. "Mr. Chirac, the war is still on! We have managed to get ourselves airborne! We've modified Jackie McLaughlin's ultra-light with a couple of shotguns in the cockpit, and four boys from the Shamrock Pub have joined us as well!"
Chirac was silent for a minute and then cleared his throat. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 100 bombers and 200 fighter planes. My military complex is surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we last spoke, I've increased my army to two hundred thousand!"
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!", said Paddy; "I'll have to ring you back."
Sure enough, Paddy called again the next day. "Top o' the mornin', Mr. Chirac! I am sorry to tell you that we have had to call off the war."
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Chirac. "Why the sudden change of heart?"
"Well," said Paddy, "we've all had a long chat over a bunch of pints, and decided there's no foo-kin way we can feed two hundred thousand prisoners!"
I did get to sleep late though, so I suppose all is not lost. It was a pretty standard drive up I-95, through Richmond, and into Ruther Glen, Virginia. Not a whole lot of anything to discuss on that front. I'll have to cover around 110 miles tomorrow before 1pm, so good enough. As long as I can tolerate the stench emanating from D.C. as I go by, I should have no problems.
I guess I'll leave you folks with a little palate cleanser to lighten the mood tonight.
A few years ago, Jacques Chirac, the French Prime Minister, was sitting in his office wondering what kind of mischief he could perpetrate against the United States when he was interrupted by a telephone call;
"Hallo, Mr. Chirac?" a heavily accented voice said.
"This is Paddy down at the Harp Pub in County Sligo, Ireland. I am ringing to inform you that we are officially declaring war on you!"
"Well, Paddy," Chirac replied, "this is indeed important news! How big is your army?"
"Right now," said Paddy, after a moment's calculation, "there is myself, me cousin Sean, me next door neighbour Seamus, and the entire dart team from the pub. That makes eight!"
Chirac paused. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have one hundred thousand men in my army waiting to move on my command."
"Begorra!" said Paddy. "I'll have to ring you back!"
Sure enough, the next day, Paddy called again. "Mr. Chirac, the war is still on. We have managed to get us some infantry equipment!"
"And what equipment would that be, Paddy?" Chirac asked.
"Well, we have two combines, a bulldozer, and Murphy's farm tractor."
Chirac sighed, amused. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 6,000 tanks and 5,000 armoured personnel carriers. Also, I've increased my army to one hundred and fifty-thousand since we last spoke."
"Saints preserve us!" said Paddy. "I'll have to get back to you."
Sure enough, Paddy rang again the next day. "Mr. Chirac, the war is still on! We have managed to get ourselves airborne! We've modified Jackie McLaughlin's ultra-light with a couple of shotguns in the cockpit, and four boys from the Shamrock Pub have joined us as well!"
Chirac was silent for a minute and then cleared his throat. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 100 bombers and 200 fighter planes. My military complex is surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we last spoke, I've increased my army to two hundred thousand!"
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!", said Paddy; "I'll have to ring you back."
Sure enough, Paddy called again the next day. "Top o' the mornin', Mr. Chirac! I am sorry to tell you that we have had to call off the war."
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Chirac. "Why the sudden change of heart?"
"Well," said Paddy, "we've all had a long chat over a bunch of pints, and decided there's no foo-kin way we can feed two hundred thousand prisoners!"
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
3/16/10
Have I ever told you folks about the ice skating exhibition that I attended many years ago with my ex-wife? I just tried a couple of Google searches of my blog and nothing turned up, so I guess maybe I haven't. Anyhow, I used to work at Pizza Hut back in the day. While I was making dough and sauce and such in the morning, I would listen to the local Detroit radio station and call in whenever they had some kind of giveaway. I was Caller X a handful of times, winning various prizes. One of the prizes was a pair of tickets to Stars on Ice or some such thing. So my wife and I drove out to Auburn Hills and checked out the show.
There were two people sitting in my section that I'll never forget. An old hillbilly guy and his wife. They fit in among the figure skating crowd about as well as I did, which is to say not at all. So the skaters would come out and perform their little routines to the music and then pose for applause once they were finished. The guy in my section would stand up and shout, for each and every performer, "More sugar! More sugar!" To this day, I have no earthly idea what he meant. Also to this day, he's inextricably associated with sugar in my mind. Yeah, I have issues.
Given the bizarre connotation of the word 'sugar' for me, one might suspect that I would remember that it's sugar, not paper, that is shipped out of Clewiston. We get our paper loads from Palatka, up toward Jacksonville. So I had the right idea but the wrong commodity when I made my guess last night. I was sent to the sugar plant in Clewiston this morning for my next load. Just as heavy as paper and the factory is just as smelly. But technically I guess there's a difference.
It didn't take too long for them to load my 45,600 pounds of freight and send me on my way. I'm headed to Maryland, so today's route took me up US-27 to I-4 and then over to the coast. As I fought my way through the traffic on US-27, I spotted a van that made me laugh out loud. I thought about snapping a picture, but the traffic was heavy and I'm not all that handy with my new phone yet. You'll have to settle for one from the interwebs.
That's funny, man. I don't care what anybody says. Sums up my impression of US-27 in rather efficient terms. Freaking blue hairs.
I got through Jacksonville in decent shape, although things did come to a stop for a few minutes right around the I-10 split. Then the traffic through Georgia was flowing pretty well. Plenty of construction but no major delays. As I got up toward Savannah, I decided that I would go into South Carolina and stop at either Exit 8 or Exit 68 for the night. I'm generally prone to procrastination so Exit 8 seemed more likely. Once I got up there though, I figured that another hour on the road tonight wouldn't be too bad. This would cut down on tomorrow's drive and I knew that there was a SubWay at the truck stop off Exit 68. Bad call.
About five miles up the road, everything came to a dead stop. A foodservice truck pulling double trailers had gone off into the trees. A few other trucks were parked along the shoulder, along with cops and paramedics and other such people. Both traffic lanes were getting through, but the pace was about 2mph. Then, after another few miles, stop again. A truck was broken down in the right lane. Not off to the right or anything. Smack dab in the middle of the right lane. So everyone in the big traffic pileup from the accident site was forced to move into the left lane in order to get by. Okay, rolling along... stop again. Left lane closed for construction. With so many cars bunched into such a tight space, the previous jam just repeated itself. That last sixty miles wound up taking a little over an hour and a half.
I still got settled in before my hours ran out though, so good enough. For the second time in a row, I actually managed to get an afternoon delivery appointment. I'm due in Jessup, Maryland at 1pm on Thursday. I don't really care to park at the T/A up there tomorrow, so I'll most likely stop somewhere short of D.C. and then finish off the run on Thursday morning. You know what that means for tomorrow, right? No alarm clock. Beauty. And, despite the delays, I got to the SubWay here in Canadys before it closed for the night. Beauty.
About all that is missing at this point are the parachuting bears tracking down Bin Laden. How sweet would that be?
There were two people sitting in my section that I'll never forget. An old hillbilly guy and his wife. They fit in among the figure skating crowd about as well as I did, which is to say not at all. So the skaters would come out and perform their little routines to the music and then pose for applause once they were finished. The guy in my section would stand up and shout, for each and every performer, "More sugar! More sugar!" To this day, I have no earthly idea what he meant. Also to this day, he's inextricably associated with sugar in my mind. Yeah, I have issues.
Given the bizarre connotation of the word 'sugar' for me, one might suspect that I would remember that it's sugar, not paper, that is shipped out of Clewiston. We get our paper loads from Palatka, up toward Jacksonville. So I had the right idea but the wrong commodity when I made my guess last night. I was sent to the sugar plant in Clewiston this morning for my next load. Just as heavy as paper and the factory is just as smelly. But technically I guess there's a difference.
It didn't take too long for them to load my 45,600 pounds of freight and send me on my way. I'm headed to Maryland, so today's route took me up US-27 to I-4 and then over to the coast. As I fought my way through the traffic on US-27, I spotted a van that made me laugh out loud. I thought about snapping a picture, but the traffic was heavy and I'm not all that handy with my new phone yet. You'll have to settle for one from the interwebs.
I got through Jacksonville in decent shape, although things did come to a stop for a few minutes right around the I-10 split. Then the traffic through Georgia was flowing pretty well. Plenty of construction but no major delays. As I got up toward Savannah, I decided that I would go into South Carolina and stop at either Exit 8 or Exit 68 for the night. I'm generally prone to procrastination so Exit 8 seemed more likely. Once I got up there though, I figured that another hour on the road tonight wouldn't be too bad. This would cut down on tomorrow's drive and I knew that there was a SubWay at the truck stop off Exit 68. Bad call.
About five miles up the road, everything came to a dead stop. A foodservice truck pulling double trailers had gone off into the trees. A few other trucks were parked along the shoulder, along with cops and paramedics and other such people. Both traffic lanes were getting through, but the pace was about 2mph. Then, after another few miles, stop again. A truck was broken down in the right lane. Not off to the right or anything. Smack dab in the middle of the right lane. So everyone in the big traffic pileup from the accident site was forced to move into the left lane in order to get by. Okay, rolling along... stop again. Left lane closed for construction. With so many cars bunched into such a tight space, the previous jam just repeated itself. That last sixty miles wound up taking a little over an hour and a half.
I still got settled in before my hours ran out though, so good enough. For the second time in a row, I actually managed to get an afternoon delivery appointment. I'm due in Jessup, Maryland at 1pm on Thursday. I don't really care to park at the T/A up there tomorrow, so I'll most likely stop somewhere short of D.C. and then finish off the run on Thursday morning. You know what that means for tomorrow, right? No alarm clock. Beauty. And, despite the delays, I got to the SubWay here in Canadys before it closed for the night. Beauty.
About all that is missing at this point are the parachuting bears tracking down Bin Laden. How sweet would that be?
Monday, March 15, 2010
3/15/10
Remember this part from yesterday? Yeah. The damned black hole got me this time. After sleeping until 11am and then grabbing a cheeseburger from the little diner at the farmer's market where I spent the night, it was time to head south. The drive down to the Miami suburbs was nothing particularly notable. I got to the consignee at 12:30pm and checked in. Then I got to sit... and sit.They started unloading my trailer around 2pm. From that point it didn't take too long. I sent in my empty call before the trailer was completely empty, in hopes of getting a new load assignment before I would be forced to leave and find a parking space. My strategy didn't make any difference. No new assignment. I was empty at 3pm and then had to figure out where to go.
Smart money tends to be on a paper load leaving Clewiston whenever I'm down this far. So I could head up US-27 and find somewhere. Then you know what would happen. My next pickup would be back in Miami. So I bit the bullet and drove into the shithole truck stop in Hialeah Gardens, right around the corner from today's delivery. Since the flat rate for parking is $14 a day (no hourly pricing), I fully expected to get a new assignment as soon as I got settled in. Alas, it looks like CTL's $14 won't be wasted this time around. I'm still here. #1 on the board at 3pm and #1 on the board at 9:30pm. Bummer.
At least it's a beautiful night to sit and watch the cars go by. And they have these little sandwiches on some kind of yellow Cuban bread. Not on the level of a SubWay Italian BMT with double meat, mind you, but pretty good in their own right.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
3/14/10
The world is an interesting place. One day, you might find yourself headed into the black hole of trucking known as southern Florida. Then, out of the blue, you might get an e-mail. Before you know it, you've stumbled onto a parking spot (one of the Miami area's best-kept secrets) within a short hop of your consignee. A new friend has taken you to a local establishment for an excellent dinner, where 'all you can eat' is not just a slogan. Your Swedish buddy Sjoe has enjoyed... well... you know... that stuff that your Swedish buddy Sjoe enjoys. You've watched Boondock Saints 2 on a screen that would dwarf every television that you've ever known. (Yeah, you've already seen it a few times, but shit, it's a pretty awesome movie. And one of your best high school buddies is on the soundtrack, just for good measure.) And it's all because of what? Because you log on to your Google account every evening and post a few words about the mundane details of your daily travels. The world is certainly an interesting place. I know we've already covered the pleasantries, but here's to you, Mr. Rick.
It's a weird dynamic that takes place. I'm not a very likable fella, for the most part. I make no secret of this. Sit across the table from me and, unless you're a hot little blonde, I don't have a whole lot to say. Whatever I do say will probably not be worth hearing. Anyone who knows me has either written me off or learned to tolerate me. Occasionally though, whether in Phoenix, Fort Lauderdale, Iowa City, Cleveland, Central Arkansas, Southern Missouri, Central Michigan, or various other points within America, I hear from someone who has checked out this blog and thinks that I might enjoy some time away from my truck. With some of you, I've managed to catch up and kill a few hours. With others, the timing hasn't yet worked out. In either case, you should know that I do appreciate the sort of feedback and camaraderie that I really didn't expect when I set out to answer the question - "What's it really like out there?" You guys are A-ok in my book.
Okay, enough with the sissy business. Let's talk trucking. Umm... shit. Not much to say about that. Six hours of driving down I-95 and the turnpike. Parked in Pompano Beach. 1pm delivery tomorrow. Blah blah blah. See what I'm saying? Every day seems pretty much the same out here from my perspective. I'll either pick up a load, deliver a load, or just drive all day. Sometimes things will go well and sometimes they won't. You guys who tune in to read about it are the ones who make all of this typing worthwhile.
Thanks.
Addendum: The local deaf girl is adorable. I almost felt bad for dismissing her without consideration. She actually said, "Please." It has been several years since a broad said that word to me. Hmm.
It's a weird dynamic that takes place. I'm not a very likable fella, for the most part. I make no secret of this. Sit across the table from me and, unless you're a hot little blonde, I don't have a whole lot to say. Whatever I do say will probably not be worth hearing. Anyone who knows me has either written me off or learned to tolerate me. Occasionally though, whether in Phoenix, Fort Lauderdale, Iowa City, Cleveland, Central Arkansas, Southern Missouri, Central Michigan, or various other points within America, I hear from someone who has checked out this blog and thinks that I might enjoy some time away from my truck. With some of you, I've managed to catch up and kill a few hours. With others, the timing hasn't yet worked out. In either case, you should know that I do appreciate the sort of feedback and camaraderie that I really didn't expect when I set out to answer the question - "What's it really like out there?" You guys are A-ok in my book.
Okay, enough with the sissy business. Let's talk trucking. Umm... shit. Not much to say about that. Six hours of driving down I-95 and the turnpike. Parked in Pompano Beach. 1pm delivery tomorrow. Blah blah blah. See what I'm saying? Every day seems pretty much the same out here from my perspective. I'll either pick up a load, deliver a load, or just drive all day. Sometimes things will go well and sometimes they won't. You guys who tune in to read about it are the ones who make all of this typing worthwhile.
Thanks.
Addendum: The local deaf girl is adorable. I almost felt bad for dismissing her without consideration. She actually said, "Please." It has been several years since a broad said that word to me. Hmm.
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