Is it possible to approach a town called Menomonie without thinking of The Muppet Show? I think not.
After making my drop/hook, I found myself on the board at #1. That's usually a good start. Unfortunately though, there was no assignment forthcoming. There was a truck stop around the corner from my consignee, so I parked and kicked back to relax for a while. At some point during the afternoon, I stepped forward from the bunk to change the channel on my radio. I saw that there was a dude in a car stopped in front of my truck. You don't tend to see that every day in the truck parking area, but I didn't think much of it. Maybe a driver was being dropped off or picked up from time at home or something. Then the fella held up a camera and took a picture of my truck. Okay, now that's a little weird. I'm not quite sure what to make of that one.
Around 6:30pm, I finally got a new assignment. My next pickup will be tomorrow morning in Antigo and the run will take me to the Cleveland area. Pretty decent miles overall, but I had to make a quick decision on how to handle the scheduling. There's always an element of uncertainty in giving up a parking space late in the day. On the other hand, getting out of bed early enough to cover 160 miles by 9am is not really my style. I decided to hit the road and then let the parking sort itself out as I went along. As the evening wore on, I rolled the dice and passed on several truck stops along WI-29. I was hoping to catch a break at the BP in Wausau. There were only a couple of spots open when I got here, but one is all I need. Beauty.
I can't, for the life of me, figure out how my Tigers are still in first place. They are though, for now...
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
8/11/09
I really do love my mother and all, but that alarm at 7am this morning was pretty brutal. I think I would have been content to sleep until noon. Breakfast is truly overrated... or something. I did manage to doze off for a little while after I got back home though, so I guess all's well that ends well.
I headed up to work later in the morning and grabbed my loaded trailer. The dispatcher gave me a nice late ETA for tomorrow so I could take my time on the way to Wisconsin. Not surprisingly, I was feeling a little sluggish by the time I got out to Western Michigan. A good long nap did the trick and I got back on the road shortly before my Tigers started their game against those dirty little thugs from Boston. The game, complete with a bench-clearing brawl and a lengthy rain delay, lasted long enough to keep me entertained all the way to the Wisconsin welcome center on I-90. That's enough for today.
I have until 10pm tomorrow to reach Menomonie and make my drop/hook on the back end of this run. I'm sure I'll get there much sooner, but I am most certainly not setting an alarm tonight. My little respite at home has, per usual, left me feeling more worn out than I do after a few long days on the road. My log book is stocked full of hours and I have a long break scheduled for the beginning of September. Time to get settled back into the routine and do some driving... I think.
I headed up to work later in the morning and grabbed my loaded trailer. The dispatcher gave me a nice late ETA for tomorrow so I could take my time on the way to Wisconsin. Not surprisingly, I was feeling a little sluggish by the time I got out to Western Michigan. A good long nap did the trick and I got back on the road shortly before my Tigers started their game against those dirty little thugs from Boston. The game, complete with a bench-clearing brawl and a lengthy rain delay, lasted long enough to keep me entertained all the way to the Wisconsin welcome center on I-90. That's enough for today.
I have until 10pm tomorrow to reach Menomonie and make my drop/hook on the back end of this run. I'm sure I'll get there much sooner, but I am most certainly not setting an alarm tonight. My little respite at home has, per usual, left me feeling more worn out than I do after a few long days on the road. My log book is stocked full of hours and I have a long break scheduled for the beginning of September. Time to get settled back into the routine and do some driving... I think.
Monday, August 10, 2009
8/10/09
What comes to mind when you open your eyes in the morning? For me, it's apparently not what I would hope that it was. No, in point of fact, it seems that I think of padlocks. I rolled over this morning, looked at the clock, and then realized that I left my padlock on the trailer that I dropped yesterday. Shit.
So then... a really quick (and completely convenient) trip down to Temperance it is (at 6am). Win some and lose some, I suppose. My trailer hadn't been moved so I was able to retrieve my lock without any issues.
I probably should have gone to the Secretary of State and renewed my license after my morning drive, but instead I went back home and took a long nap. Sue me. I got an assignment several hours later. Since the loads out of Michigan tend to be overnight beer or water runs, I was happy to find that I didn't have to leave until tomorrow morning. Beers at the pub (even during a Tigers' loss) are clearly better than working all night.
My next assignment will take me from the Taylor yard up to the northwest corner of Wisconsin. I thought that I had managed to fly below the radar for a while, but apparently an informant sold me out to Mom. Now I get to go to Pete's Place for breakfast at 7am and then head to work. That's exciting. No chance that I'll have a hangover tomorrow, of course. No chance at all.
I wish that I had more to say tonight but I don't. Buzzes are notoriously unforgiving.
So then... a really quick (and completely convenient) trip down to Temperance it is (at 6am). Win some and lose some, I suppose. My trailer hadn't been moved so I was able to retrieve my lock without any issues.
I probably should have gone to the Secretary of State and renewed my license after my morning drive, but instead I went back home and took a long nap. Sue me. I got an assignment several hours later. Since the loads out of Michigan tend to be overnight beer or water runs, I was happy to find that I didn't have to leave until tomorrow morning. Beers at the pub (even during a Tigers' loss) are clearly better than working all night.
My next assignment will take me from the Taylor yard up to the northwest corner of Wisconsin. I thought that I had managed to fly below the radar for a while, but apparently an informant sold me out to Mom. Now I get to go to Pete's Place for breakfast at 7am and then head to work. That's exciting. No chance that I'll have a hangover tomorrow, of course. No chance at all.
I wish that I had more to say tonight but I don't. Buzzes are notoriously unforgiving.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
8/9/09
The small victories just keep on coming. The last time I was home, I took a survey for some company. They were asking "transportation professionals" to answer some questions about travel plazas. I do get paid for my work. Therefore I am, technically speaking, a professional. I checked a few boxes, entered my address, and dropped the survey in a mailbox, expecting nothing more than to be added to someone's junk mailing list. I was supposedly entered into some kind of drawing as thanks for my participation, but we all know that nobody actually wins those drawings, right? Hey, look at that, I won a $25 Visa gift card. I'll be damned.
I got up bright and early this morning and made the trip across to Temperance. I wasn't on a numbered route, but I wasn't too worried about it since I was out in the sticks. All those roads are made for tractors and shit, or so I thought. Yeah, so I thought. 25 ton weight limit, eh? Oh well, not exactly anything you can do once you're already heading down the road. Onward we go. I got to the consignee without incident and checked in with the security guard. Closed for the weekend but I can drop anyway, eh? So I could have slept as late as I wanted to, eh? Or I could have gotten rid of the load last night, eh? Oh well, at least I got to head out for that delicious BOGO steak deal in Dundee last night.
After making my drop/hook, I called the Taylor terminal to see what was what. I was #24 on the board and nowhere near any truck stop. The dispatcher said that it was up to me. I could stay down there or I could head back to the terminal, but either way I wasn't going to have another assignment until tomorrow. Gee, let me think about that one. Go home and take the day off or park my ass somewhere out in the boondocks? Tough call. I cruised up Telegraph to Eureka and then turned onto Racho toward the yard. What the...? Apparently there was some kind of trucking convention in Taylor this weekend and I never got the memo. There were exactly zero open slots for me to drop my trailer. There were exactly zero open slots for me to park my truck. There were at least a dozen additional trucks, four of them with trailers, parked out in the middle of the yard. What the...? I've seen that yard crowded before. I've never seen anything like this morning.
After I sat and caught up my logbook, packed up my overnight bag, and other such menial tasks, someone pulled out from a slot on the north side of the yard. Okay then. Trailer dropped. One down, one to go. Since I still had nowhere to put my truck, I parked by the vacuum and gave my floor a thorough scrubbing. By the time this was done, a couple of trucks had left the bobtail parking area. Truck parked, homeward bound. Beauty.
One tends to gather quite a bit of unopened mail after a couple of months on the road, so I had to spend a little time sifting through all that. The highlight, of course, was my $25 Visa gift card. Woohoo! Otherwise though, just a peaceful and lazy day. 'Much-needed rest,' I think they call it. Tigers won. White Sox lost. I've moved from #24 to #19 on the board. Hopefully I don't shoot up too fast tomorrow morning. It would be pretty nice if I got a chance to renew my driver's license before heading out. My birthday is next month so I'll have to deal with those Secretary of State peckerheads sooner or later.
I do think I'm supposed to win another award for staying home and relaxing, rather than heading out and carousing. I did have to make a trip to my parents' house and retrieve a couple of packages, but otherwise today has been all about the R&R. The authors of the 70 hour rule should be pleased. Maybe I'll get another $25 gift card... or something.
I got up bright and early this morning and made the trip across to Temperance. I wasn't on a numbered route, but I wasn't too worried about it since I was out in the sticks. All those roads are made for tractors and shit, or so I thought. Yeah, so I thought. 25 ton weight limit, eh? Oh well, not exactly anything you can do once you're already heading down the road. Onward we go. I got to the consignee without incident and checked in with the security guard. Closed for the weekend but I can drop anyway, eh? So I could have slept as late as I wanted to, eh? Or I could have gotten rid of the load last night, eh? Oh well, at least I got to head out for that delicious BOGO steak deal in Dundee last night.
After making my drop/hook, I called the Taylor terminal to see what was what. I was #24 on the board and nowhere near any truck stop. The dispatcher said that it was up to me. I could stay down there or I could head back to the terminal, but either way I wasn't going to have another assignment until tomorrow. Gee, let me think about that one. Go home and take the day off or park my ass somewhere out in the boondocks? Tough call. I cruised up Telegraph to Eureka and then turned onto Racho toward the yard. What the...? Apparently there was some kind of trucking convention in Taylor this weekend and I never got the memo. There were exactly zero open slots for me to drop my trailer. There were exactly zero open slots for me to park my truck. There were at least a dozen additional trucks, four of them with trailers, parked out in the middle of the yard. What the...? I've seen that yard crowded before. I've never seen anything like this morning.
After I sat and caught up my logbook, packed up my overnight bag, and other such menial tasks, someone pulled out from a slot on the north side of the yard. Okay then. Trailer dropped. One down, one to go. Since I still had nowhere to put my truck, I parked by the vacuum and gave my floor a thorough scrubbing. By the time this was done, a couple of trucks had left the bobtail parking area. Truck parked, homeward bound. Beauty.
One tends to gather quite a bit of unopened mail after a couple of months on the road, so I had to spend a little time sifting through all that. The highlight, of course, was my $25 Visa gift card. Woohoo! Otherwise though, just a peaceful and lazy day. 'Much-needed rest,' I think they call it. Tigers won. White Sox lost. I've moved from #24 to #19 on the board. Hopefully I don't shoot up too fast tomorrow morning. It would be pretty nice if I got a chance to renew my driver's license before heading out. My birthday is next month so I'll have to deal with those Secretary of State peckerheads sooner or later.
I do think I'm supposed to win another award for staying home and relaxing, rather than heading out and carousing. I did have to make a trip to my parents' house and retrieve a couple of packages, but otherwise today has been all about the R&R. The authors of the 70 hour rule should be pleased. Maybe I'll get another $25 gift card... or something.
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