Another day, another dollar. I headed over to the Pepsi distributor this morning. After checking in, I was told that the only restriction Pepsi puts on the forklift guy is that he can't unload if anything has tipped over. I would have to straighten things up if anything had tipped. I opened the doors, the straps were still in place, and everything was good.
I headed out to the truck to catch up my log book and check my e-mail. A little while later, the forklift guy came out with the bad news. Halfway into my trailer, a pallet of Mountain Dew had tipped forward. The guy seemed almost embarrassed to make me go in there and straighten it out. Why? Because there was no freaking way it was my fault. If you turn corners too hard, things tip sideways. If you don't strap things in properly, they tip backward. The only way they tip forward, in the middle of the damn trailer, is if they were loaded by a jackass. The pallet of water that should have kept the Mountain Dew in place was about a foot off-center in the trailer, leaving nothing in front of an eight-high pallet of 20 ounce bottles. The Mountain Dew probably tipped before I even left the plant. I played the good sport and set the pallet back up, reminding myself of how out-of-shape I'm getting as I did so.
Not long after that, I was empty. I headed to the local truckstop in Roswell to grab some food and put my feet up for a bit. There were two other CFI trucks there, but according to the computer I was #1 on the board. Something in the back of my mind said, "There won't be any freight anywhere near here today." Yep, I was right. After sitting for half the day, I got dispatched to pull my empty to El Paso and go on the board. 203 miles is better than nothing I guess. When I got here this evening I was #4, so I began another movie watching spree.
Not long ago, I got my next assignment. I'll be pulling a load out of here in the morning and taking it to Calexico. That's a good day of running for me, even though I really despise California. It's hard to believe my miles for this month are anywhere near decent, with all of the sitting lately, but that run tomorrow will put me over 3,500 for the month, nine days in. Not setting any records, but considering the way my time seems to be wasted every other day, it's not bad either.
The most recent flick I watched tonight was Man On The Moon. I don't know if the movie was just pure crap or if Andy Kaufman was really that uninteresting. I'm not into that "If you don't get it, you're just not hip enough" crap. This stuff just wasn't very good. Hopefully my Vongo library has something better for me before I hit the sack.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
8/7/07
"Patience is the companion of wisdom." - St. Augustine
I'm always trying to learn to be more patient, and I do okay, but today was another tester. I got hoodwinked by the Idle-Aire chick into signing up for the service last night. She was a flirty little thing and I didn't feel like arguing for my right to park without paying, so I gave in. Eventually though I wound up with a good evening away from the truckstop, along with a little TLC. I had almost forgotten what that was like. So, as you can imagine, I woke up today feeling like a stud, ready to take on the world. But the world wasn't ready for me, apparently.
I headed over to the Pepsi plant in Denver. My directions took me to the corner of 38th and Brighton. There's a guard shack. There's a gate. There are some trucks. Okay, here we go. The smartass remark from the security guard seemed like an unnecessary way to direct me to the other side of the plant, but whatever. I had to go in, turn around, and drive around the block. Go in - check. Turn around - check. Then wait... It took fifteen minutes for everyone to get through the gate and I was at the back of the line.
On to the other side, and wait... Three trucks ahead of me checking in. Now my turn. "Turn your CB to channel 30 and we'll call you when you have a door." I don't have a CB, so I gave her my cell #. The more I do this 'no CB' thing, the more I like it. Instead of listening to static for four hours (yeah, you read that right, four hours) while I waited for a door, I just chilled out and waited for a phone call. And waited, and waited... Four hours later (didn't know if I mentioned how long I waited) I decided to lay down and take a nap. The head hits the pillow, the phone rings. Uncanny in their timing sometimes.
Back to the other side of the plant where I was earlier in the day. Backed into the dock, dodging traffic and parked vehicles as I got set up, but didn't hit anything. That's always good. Squared away, set the brakes, and wait...
Two hours at the dock, waiting, then ready to roll. Get to the gate, and wait... The security guard couldn't figure out if the freight matched the bills, so she held me for a half hour. Then, into Denver rush hour, and wait... Very little movement for about twenty miles. Then to the south and into the rain, and wait... People driving 35mph on the freeway.
Okay, rain's cleared up, speed limit 75, here we go! Yeah, 75 my ass. It's only 75 if you don't get stuck behind some 80-year-old douchebag who thinks it's his constitutional right to hold up traffic on the interstate at 45mph. I was too heavy to accelerate into the left lane, so I just had to grin and bear it. Twenty miles later, old man river finds his exit and we're ready to roll. Wait a minute. Why are they stopping, why are they stopping, why are they stopping? Aww, construction, how nice.
So yeah, long day leaving Colorado. And the reward for the hassle was a long night of dragging 45,000 pounds up and down mountains and through the Godforsaken wilderness until 3am. This run can basically kiss my ass. I could seriously use either a 12 pack or another round with that chick in Denver right about now.
But, they say tomorrow is another day.
I'm always trying to learn to be more patient, and I do okay, but today was another tester. I got hoodwinked by the Idle-Aire chick into signing up for the service last night. She was a flirty little thing and I didn't feel like arguing for my right to park without paying, so I gave in. Eventually though I wound up with a good evening away from the truckstop, along with a little TLC. I had almost forgotten what that was like. So, as you can imagine, I woke up today feeling like a stud, ready to take on the world. But the world wasn't ready for me, apparently.
I headed over to the Pepsi plant in Denver. My directions took me to the corner of 38th and Brighton. There's a guard shack. There's a gate. There are some trucks. Okay, here we go. The smartass remark from the security guard seemed like an unnecessary way to direct me to the other side of the plant, but whatever. I had to go in, turn around, and drive around the block. Go in - check. Turn around - check. Then wait... It took fifteen minutes for everyone to get through the gate and I was at the back of the line.
On to the other side, and wait... Three trucks ahead of me checking in. Now my turn. "Turn your CB to channel 30 and we'll call you when you have a door." I don't have a CB, so I gave her my cell #. The more I do this 'no CB' thing, the more I like it. Instead of listening to static for four hours (yeah, you read that right, four hours) while I waited for a door, I just chilled out and waited for a phone call. And waited, and waited... Four hours later (didn't know if I mentioned how long I waited) I decided to lay down and take a nap. The head hits the pillow, the phone rings. Uncanny in their timing sometimes.
Back to the other side of the plant where I was earlier in the day. Backed into the dock, dodging traffic and parked vehicles as I got set up, but didn't hit anything. That's always good. Squared away, set the brakes, and wait...
Two hours at the dock, waiting, then ready to roll. Get to the gate, and wait... The security guard couldn't figure out if the freight matched the bills, so she held me for a half hour. Then, into Denver rush hour, and wait... Very little movement for about twenty miles. Then to the south and into the rain, and wait... People driving 35mph on the freeway.
Okay, rain's cleared up, speed limit 75, here we go! Yeah, 75 my ass. It's only 75 if you don't get stuck behind some 80-year-old douchebag who thinks it's his constitutional right to hold up traffic on the interstate at 45mph. I was too heavy to accelerate into the left lane, so I just had to grin and bear it. Twenty miles later, old man river finds his exit and we're ready to roll. Wait a minute. Why are they stopping, why are they stopping, why are they stopping? Aww, construction, how nice.
So yeah, long day leaving Colorado. And the reward for the hassle was a long night of dragging 45,000 pounds up and down mountains and through the Godforsaken wilderness until 3am. This run can basically kiss my ass. I could seriously use either a 12 pack or another round with that chick in Denver right about now.
But, they say tomorrow is another day.
Monday, August 6, 2007
8/6/07
Headed over to the customer today, 10:30am local time for my 11:30 appointment. Then the bastards pretty much screwed my day. The instructions indicated that this was a live unload. When I got there, I was told that I would have to drop my trailer, leave the premises, and return at 3pm local time to retrieve the empty.
So I did what I was told. Went back, got the empty, headed back over to the truckstop that I stayed at last night and this afternoon. Full. Okay, I'll go over to the T/A. Wrong turn. Where the hell I ended up, I have no idea. I wound up driving 50 miles today, and went nowhere.
As I was trying to find my way back to Denver, the communications system beeped with my next run. Cool, where am I headed? Nowhere. The next load picks up, in Denver, tomorrow afternoon. Shit! If those chickenheads had just pulled the freight off of my trailer like they were supposed to, I most likely would have gotten out of here today. Now, a day wasted.
When I finally found my way back to the T/A, there was only one parking space in the whole place, at the Idle-Aire island. No idling allowed. I'm not paying $2.50 an hour or whatever it is, just to have A/C for the night, so I'm stuck with mother nature. Luckily, a storm blew through and cooled things down a bit. If it stays like this overnight, I'll be able to enjoy the peace and quiet.
I have a bunch of convoluted instructions for the load tomorrow, but they involve a CB, which I don't have. Instead of trying to figure it out I'll just head over tomorrow and do what I'm told. The fact that I have to weigh empty before heading over and make sure I'm light enough obviously tells me that this sucker is going to be heavy. I'll run down to Roswell, New Mexico tomorrow night and hopefully find a place to park at the customer, unless they're a 24-hour outfit, in which case I'll get unloaded when I get there.
I can't figure out what the hell is going on with my EV-DO connection here. I'm in a major city, so it's on the broadband network. The connection keeps bouncing between wicked fast and nonexistent. Oh well, maybe I'll watch a few movies instead of pissing off people on the message boards tonight.
So I did what I was told. Went back, got the empty, headed back over to the truckstop that I stayed at last night and this afternoon. Full. Okay, I'll go over to the T/A. Wrong turn. Where the hell I ended up, I have no idea. I wound up driving 50 miles today, and went nowhere.
As I was trying to find my way back to Denver, the communications system beeped with my next run. Cool, where am I headed? Nowhere. The next load picks up, in Denver, tomorrow afternoon. Shit! If those chickenheads had just pulled the freight off of my trailer like they were supposed to, I most likely would have gotten out of here today. Now, a day wasted.
When I finally found my way back to the T/A, there was only one parking space in the whole place, at the Idle-Aire island. No idling allowed. I'm not paying $2.50 an hour or whatever it is, just to have A/C for the night, so I'm stuck with mother nature. Luckily, a storm blew through and cooled things down a bit. If it stays like this overnight, I'll be able to enjoy the peace and quiet.
I have a bunch of convoluted instructions for the load tomorrow, but they involve a CB, which I don't have. Instead of trying to figure it out I'll just head over tomorrow and do what I'm told. The fact that I have to weigh empty before heading over and make sure I'm light enough obviously tells me that this sucker is going to be heavy. I'll run down to Roswell, New Mexico tomorrow night and hopefully find a place to park at the customer, unless they're a 24-hour outfit, in which case I'll get unloaded when I get there.
I can't figure out what the hell is going on with my EV-DO connection here. I'm in a major city, so it's on the broadband network. The connection keeps bouncing between wicked fast and nonexistent. Oh well, maybe I'll watch a few movies instead of pissing off people on the message boards tonight.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
8/5/07
Rolling across Nebraska today, it occurred to me that people actually live there. I wonder if anyone ever told them they could leave. That has to be the most boring state, aside from North Dakota of course. But hell, the last time I crossed North Dakota, at least there were a few hot chicks on Harleys. The biker ladies in Nebraska could, I'm almost certain, throw me a pretty good beating if I stepped out of line.
I did see a driver pull into the rest area before North Platte and hop out with his kid. They grabbed their fishing poles and headed for the woods. That was pretty neat. My hat's off to the guys who can keep a family together while they're out here. There are a lot of sacrifices to be made, that's for sure.
The last time I ran 80 to 76 and into Denver, there was a hellacious blizzard going on. I kept hearing drivers on the CB, "Better park it CFI, they're closing the gates." Every time I got to a gate, it was open, so I kept rolling. Then when I got to North Platte, the guy closed the gate right behind me. My traction was solid, my load was heavy, I had no problems, so I kept rolling. Then some people coming out of Colorado, "76 is a 30 mile sheet of ice CFI, better park it." I didn't see any ice, so I kept rolling. 76 was actually better than 80. There were three seperate big rigs blown over on their sides by the wind gusts, but I was so heavy it really didn't affect me. Today's drive into Denver was not exactly the same. Warm, sunny, and boring! C'est la vie.
Now I need to get my winning percentage in Hearts back over 40%. That North is a real son of a bitch. He stuck me with the Queen six times in a row.
I did see a driver pull into the rest area before North Platte and hop out with his kid. They grabbed their fishing poles and headed for the woods. That was pretty neat. My hat's off to the guys who can keep a family together while they're out here. There are a lot of sacrifices to be made, that's for sure.
The last time I ran 80 to 76 and into Denver, there was a hellacious blizzard going on. I kept hearing drivers on the CB, "Better park it CFI, they're closing the gates." Every time I got to a gate, it was open, so I kept rolling. Then when I got to North Platte, the guy closed the gate right behind me. My traction was solid, my load was heavy, I had no problems, so I kept rolling. Then some people coming out of Colorado, "76 is a 30 mile sheet of ice CFI, better park it." I didn't see any ice, so I kept rolling. 76 was actually better than 80. There were three seperate big rigs blown over on their sides by the wind gusts, but I was so heavy it really didn't affect me. Today's drive into Denver was not exactly the same. Warm, sunny, and boring! C'est la vie.
Now I need to get my winning percentage in Hearts back over 40%. That North is a real son of a bitch. He stuck me with the Queen six times in a row.
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