You know who I hate? Well obviously I hate Illinois Nazis, but you know who else I hate? Yard dogs. Not all yard dogs, but the ones who drop my trailer about six inches from the one on my left. I really hate those guys. I had to crawl under a JB Hunt trailer, on wet ground, only to find out that there was no possible way for me to raise the landing gear even enough to scoot the trailer out a little bit. So I released the fifth wheel, pulled out from under my trailer, backed under the JB Hunt trailer, raised the gear an inch or two, moved that trailer over to the left, backed it in, and dropped it with the gear still up a little bit. Whoever gets that one will probably face something similar to what I faced this morning, but I think I have the gear in a position that he'll be able to scoot it out once he backs under it. Pain in my ass. And thus began another glamorous day in the life of this here truck driver...
At some point last night I had received my instructions, telling me which trailer to pick up and where to take it. Just like the first time I picked up at that customer, I was heading to Cedar Springs, Michigan. Beauty. So, after checking it over, I pulled the trailer to the guard shack to pick up my paperwork. "Sorry sir, there's a problem with your paperwork. They'll have to straighten it out in the morning." Since it was 3am locally, I sent a message telling CFI to call and get it straightened out. Then I went back to bed.
Apparently my fleet manager starts work before 5am (Missouri time) because he replied within a few minutes. First he asked what was the problem with the paperwork. How in the hell would I know? That's why I sent the message telling them to handle it. A few seconds later he sent a message saying that I need to send in my loaded call so I can be dispatched. You know... nobody would suggest that CFI is staffed by a bunch of Mensa candidates. I think that much is obvious. My fleet manager, however, has always seemed like a fairly competent individual. The flap last week in Hazleton, followed up by this nugget of brilliance, makes me wonder. I calmly replied that no, I can't send in my loaded call because no, I don't have any paperwork. Then I went back to bed again.
After a few hours the security guard woke me up and said they had my paperwork ready. I sent in my loaded call at that time. Then, true to form, I got a reply telling me that the CSR's in Joplin were working with the customer to get my paperwork ready. Didn't I just send in the information from my paperwork? Wouldn't that suggest that it had already been handled? Priceless. Anyhow, they finally dispatched me and I was on my way. I got an ETA of 4am Sunday, when I know the customer won't be open, but whatever. It's not worth arguing. It's a drop/hook so I'll just go to sleep in their yard once I make the switch. The first time they sent me to this place, I was dispatched for 7:30am on Memorial Day. The way my hours fell, I had to wait until midnight on Memorial Day and then drive seven and a half hours nonstop to make it on time - only to find that they were closed and I could have gotten there later if I wanted to. This run looks like it will shake out in a similar way. My 70 hours will be gone sometime Friday. Then I'll be in the old 'wait for midnight' mode until I run the last couple of days and make the drop.
Without my XM, I've had the misfortune of trying to bounce around the local AM stations and find something worth hearing. No luck there really, but I did hear some weather forecasts that left me feeling rather fortunate. Apparently Washington is due for more snow tonight and Idaho is expected to get hit pretty hard. I made it across the mountains today on mostly clean and dry roads. I stopped in Missoula to call it a night. Since I only pick up two hours on Friday, I was looking at a total of around twenty-six hours over the first three days of this run. I'm not a big fan of eleven hour days, so I decided to space the time out a little. That way I don't wind up sitting for twenty hours, a couple of days from now.
To prove just how shallow and one-dimensional I am - all is forgiven vis a vis CFI and the shitty month that I had. My paycheck will be for 6,351 miles plus northeast and holiday pay. Good enough. These long runs bore the living hell out of me, but they served as CPR for a rather lifeless pay period so I won't complain.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
11/27/07
It looks like I made a good call by getting to North Bend yesterday. Apparently it got pretty nasty up on Snoqualmie Pass last night and they had to shut it down for a while. Everything was cool when I came across but I guess that didn't last. Later today I heard on the radio that chains were still required for CMV's up there. Even a blind squirrel... I suppose.
My trip was pretty easy this morning. Tiger Summit was the hill that I remembered from before, but it was below the snow line so it was just rainy and slow. No biggie. I got to the customer a couple of hours early, but they unloaded me quickly anyway. I had to drop the trailer in the dock, then wait over by the office and go back for the trailer once it was empty. Again, no biggie.
Once I was empty I had to implement my 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. I saw a spot where it looked like nobody was parking. If I asked them whether or not I could park there, they would most likely say no. So I didn't ask. I just pulled aside and put my feet up for a few hours. Then I got my beep and headed south...
A whopping fifteen miles south, that is. This is one of those "to be determined" loads. I headed down here and dropped my empty this afternoon, but they're supposed to let me know where I'm going by tomorrow morning. Stop me if you've heard this one before, but another day wasted is not what I was looking for. The last time I picked up at this place, I got a nice long run to Michigan, so I'm hoping for something like that. I don't really care where it goes, but that 2,000 mile type thing would do wonders for my paycheck right now. About the only other thing I'm hoping for is that the snow in the mountains gets cleaned up before I have to head out of town.
I walked over to the Full Belly Deli and grabbed some lunch. I spotted the two cute girls inside as I was parking my bobtail, but I actually went in because I was hungry, believe it or not. They make a hell of a grilled Italian panini sandwich. Pepperoni, salami, mozzarella, Provolone, pesto, mmm... good stuff. So now I'm stuffed and I'm not sure what the bathroom situation looks like at this place. That might be an issue in a few hours. Anyhow, I'm scheduled to roll at 6am (my time) so we'll see how it goes.
My trip was pretty easy this morning. Tiger Summit was the hill that I remembered from before, but it was below the snow line so it was just rainy and slow. No biggie. I got to the customer a couple of hours early, but they unloaded me quickly anyway. I had to drop the trailer in the dock, then wait over by the office and go back for the trailer once it was empty. Again, no biggie.
Once I was empty I had to implement my 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. I saw a spot where it looked like nobody was parking. If I asked them whether or not I could park there, they would most likely say no. So I didn't ask. I just pulled aside and put my feet up for a few hours. Then I got my beep and headed south...
A whopping fifteen miles south, that is. This is one of those "to be determined" loads. I headed down here and dropped my empty this afternoon, but they're supposed to let me know where I'm going by tomorrow morning. Stop me if you've heard this one before, but another day wasted is not what I was looking for. The last time I picked up at this place, I got a nice long run to Michigan, so I'm hoping for something like that. I don't really care where it goes, but that 2,000 mile type thing would do wonders for my paycheck right now. About the only other thing I'm hoping for is that the snow in the mountains gets cleaned up before I have to head out of town.
I walked over to the Full Belly Deli and grabbed some lunch. I spotted the two cute girls inside as I was parking my bobtail, but I actually went in because I was hungry, believe it or not. They make a hell of a grilled Italian panini sandwich. Pepperoni, salami, mozzarella, Provolone, pesto, mmm... good stuff. So now I'm stuffed and I'm not sure what the bathroom situation looks like at this place. That might be an issue in a few hours. Anyhow, I'm scheduled to roll at 6am (my time) so we'll see how it goes.
Monday, November 26, 2007
11/26/07
Well, North Bend it is. I got here around 3pm local time and the place was already pretty damn full. I got into a spot, no thanks to the lazy bastards who just park wherever they feel like it and block the lanes for the rest of us.
The drive was another uneventful affair today. I did learn a couple of things - (1) Ricola soothes my throat better than Hall's and (2) they appear to have some issues with crystal meth in the Pacific Northwest (judging by all of the billboards). I had loaded a bunch of comedy CD's onto my USB flash drive so, combining that with my FM transmitter, I had several hours of entertainment to fill the void left by my XM radio. The weather ranged from a low of twelve degrees to a high of thirty-eight, depending mainly on the elevation in a given place. Some of the higher spots had icy patches here and there, but nothing to get excited about.
My Sprint internet service here is terribly slow again, so I sprung for the $4.79 one-day deal from T/A. My inbox has been piling up on me for a few days and I have some time to kill, so what the hell? At least it works for a change. I tried three or four different wifi hotspots over the last two days and none of them were even usable. I guess, in hindsight, that kept me from wasting time but it was still disappointing.
I have to go about thirty miles or so to make this delivery tomorrow. It's mostly on a state highway (18) that I believe I traveled once before. As I recall it, there was at least one pretty steep hill and the forecast tonight looks pretty shitty so I'll leave myself plenty of time for tomorrow. The appointment is 9am, which is noon for me, so I can still have a pretty relaxing morning. I guess now I'll get cracking on all the stuff I didn't get to over the weekend. No XM, no internet, and no cell phone... it was almost like the early 1990's!
The drive was another uneventful affair today. I did learn a couple of things - (1) Ricola soothes my throat better than Hall's and (2) they appear to have some issues with crystal meth in the Pacific Northwest (judging by all of the billboards). I had loaded a bunch of comedy CD's onto my USB flash drive so, combining that with my FM transmitter, I had several hours of entertainment to fill the void left by my XM radio. The weather ranged from a low of twelve degrees to a high of thirty-eight, depending mainly on the elevation in a given place. Some of the higher spots had icy patches here and there, but nothing to get excited about.
My Sprint internet service here is terribly slow again, so I sprung for the $4.79 one-day deal from T/A. My inbox has been piling up on me for a few days and I have some time to kill, so what the hell? At least it works for a change. I tried three or four different wifi hotspots over the last two days and none of them were even usable. I guess, in hindsight, that kept me from wasting time but it was still disappointing.
I have to go about thirty miles or so to make this delivery tomorrow. It's mostly on a state highway (18) that I believe I traveled once before. As I recall it, there was at least one pretty steep hill and the forecast tonight looks pretty shitty so I'll leave myself plenty of time for tomorrow. The appointment is 9am, which is noon for me, so I can still have a pretty relaxing morning. I guess now I'll get cracking on all the stuff I didn't get to over the weekend. No XM, no internet, and no cell phone... it was almost like the early 1990's!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
11/25/07
You know what's annoying? Waking up in a state, driving all day, and then going to bed in the same state. This trip is like one big enigma. It's so damn boring that I can't stand it, but there's nothing around to distract me so I just keep on driving.
I knocked out nine hours today and then pulled in for the night. My 70 hour clock is feeling the strain of the hard running, so I can only work eight hours tomorrow. I could have done eleven today and six tomorrow, but why bother?
My internet connection here is utterly pathetic. I've been trying to reply to a few e-mails for fifteen minutes now and it looks like tonight's just not the night. I even tried connecting to the Siricomm service here, but that doesn't appear to be working either. Montana apparently goes in the North Dakota camp concerning internet service - painfully slow and/or nonexistent. Luckily for me, I have no plans to move out here any time soon.
I'll have enough hours to get to the T/A in North Bend tomorrow, so that's the strategy I guess. I've never had much luck parking any closer to the Seattle area, so I'll stay there tomorrow night and then finish off the run on Tuesday morning. I imagine today was my last free pass regarding traffic and parking. Tomorrow the holiday weekend is over and it's back to reality.
I knocked out nine hours today and then pulled in for the night. My 70 hour clock is feeling the strain of the hard running, so I can only work eight hours tomorrow. I could have done eleven today and six tomorrow, but why bother?
My internet connection here is utterly pathetic. I've been trying to reply to a few e-mails for fifteen minutes now and it looks like tonight's just not the night. I even tried connecting to the Siricomm service here, but that doesn't appear to be working either. Montana apparently goes in the North Dakota camp concerning internet service - painfully slow and/or nonexistent. Luckily for me, I have no plans to move out here any time soon.
I'll have enough hours to get to the T/A in North Bend tomorrow, so that's the strategy I guess. I've never had much luck parking any closer to the Seattle area, so I'll stay there tomorrow night and then finish off the run on Tuesday morning. I imagine today was my last free pass regarding traffic and parking. Tomorrow the holiday weekend is over and it's back to reality.
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