Seven is a pretty popular number, right? Some people go so far as to say that it's lucky? Well, seven dead-stopped traffic jams on I-95 is a few too many for me. Weekends are supposed to be the easy times. The traffic was a lot lighter than it would be during the week, but people kept crashing into each other. Then, of course, everybody has to stop and stare...
So yeah, pretty annoying trip today. I flipped on my CB to see what they were saying about DC. Nothing good, so I stopped short for the night. We'll see if my luck is any better tomorrow morning.
The workout tonight didn't feel like I had made any progress at all, but after comparing against last week I guess I made a few steps in the right direction. Usually, after a long dormant period, my muscles will respond with big leaps early on and then taper off. This time around, I'm trimming calories at the same time. I think that is the biggest reason that I couldn't kick the reps a little higher tonight.
[Workout A]
Incline Press - 2nd set added 5 pounds & maintained reps, 3rd set also added 5 pounds & lost 3 reps
French Press - 2nd set added 5 pounds & lost 3 reps, 3rd set maintained weight & added 1 rep
Side Laterals - Maintained weight all three sets, added 3 reps to final set
Seated Calf Raise - Added ten pounds & did same 85 reps
Squat - Added 20 pounds to each set & maintained reps
That's what I would call a mixed bag of sorts. Not as bad as I thought while I was sitting out there in the parking lot though. Back on the road in the morning.
Okay, I think I got it squared away. I can neither confirm nor deny this news report. Apparently thousands of people need to know that I am not the requisite 35 years of age until 2011. (Funny stuff anyway. Thanks Jess.)
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
8/15/08
What's up with the people of Massachusetts today? They're usually a cranky bunch of bastards up there. Not today though. From the guy at McDonald's to the receiver at my customer to the truck driver parked next to me there to... well, everyone really (even the cops directing traffic)... they all seemed to be in a pleasant mood today. I even saw a few skirts that have me reconsidering my long-held lack of attraction to Irish girls.
My trip this morning was quick and easy. The guy at the dock apologized for taking a while on account of being shorthanded. Honestly though, they got me empty more quickly than a lot of places do. Once I pulled around the corner and parked, I cranked up the A/C and crawled into bed. Head hits pillow --> load is assigned. Last night was the second night in a row that I slept well and today was the second day in a row that I was tired. Whatever. I went to leave the same way that I came. Nope. Road closed. The officer directing traffic told me how to get back to the highway and all was well.
On to Clinton for some cereal headed to North Carolina. We've seen this movie before. I was scheduled for 7pm. I had time to get there before 7pm, but not if I took a break first. So I headed straight there. Holy mother of all detours! That first detour in Agawam was a piece of cake. The one in Clinton was Super Trucker material. The officer directing traffic made it sound quick and easy. No. It was not quick and easy. Picture a neighborhood in your local community where the streets are a little tight for someone driving an SUV. Now throw in a few monstrous hills and intersections at weird angles. Just for kicks, add some churches and schools and shit. Yep, that's the one. There's a bridge right before the street on which the shipper is located. That bridge is closed for construction, so I got to cruise through the neighborhood. Given the terrain, we're not talking 'down one more block and turn left.' It was a pretty crazy route. Ce n'est pas bon, as our newest Neville Chamberlain wannabe would say.
I got there. This time my trailer was loaded and ready. This meant that I could head down the road today instead of taking a break at the shipper. Groovy. I asked the shipping guy if there was a better way out of town, on account of how badly that detour sucked balls. He gave me a route through town and out to the west. That worked okay... or did it? Yeah, actually the directions were fine. It was a pretty tight squeeze in some spots but nothing terrible. There was however, as we say from time to time, a twist.
And now, for the latest installment of You Can't Make This Shit Up...
I turned onto the access road for I-190 and checked my mirrors as I tend to do. I caught a glimpse of my trailer number, as I tend to do. I don't normally pay attention to the numbers once I'm rolling, but something made me look again. It didn't exactly look wrong, but something didn't seem right either. Observe here, the trailer that I was pulling.
So I took a peek at my paperwork, just to be sure. Doh! Observe now, the trailer that I am currently pulling. What are the odds, seriously?
Hey, what's wrong with backtracking ten miles and snaking your way through a little town again when you're having fun, right? My first confirmed case of dyslexia, I guess.
So I headed out, again. Back through Clinton, again. When I got down to I-90, it was a parking lot. No big surprise there on a Friday afternoon. The toll booths to I-84 tend to back up all the way to Worcester. At least I got to pass a few million people who were waiting to pay, once I got to the exit. No lines for the EZPass lane. I made it through Hartford and decided that I have no desire to tackle the Bronx today. I started out tired as it is. By the time I got through there, my patience would be just about gone and parking wouldn't be too plentiful, so I've ducked off in Connecticut for the night.
This load delivers at 6am Monday. I'll knock out half tomorrow and the rest on Sunday. I already know that I can park at the consignee so, grumpy security guards notwithstanding, I'm set up pretty well. My first week back to work wraps up at a tidy 3,044 miles plus $35 in stop pay and $59 in northeast pay. Better than a kick in the balls.
My trip this morning was quick and easy. The guy at the dock apologized for taking a while on account of being shorthanded. Honestly though, they got me empty more quickly than a lot of places do. Once I pulled around the corner and parked, I cranked up the A/C and crawled into bed. Head hits pillow --> load is assigned. Last night was the second night in a row that I slept well and today was the second day in a row that I was tired. Whatever. I went to leave the same way that I came. Nope. Road closed. The officer directing traffic told me how to get back to the highway and all was well.
On to Clinton for some cereal headed to North Carolina. We've seen this movie before. I was scheduled for 7pm. I had time to get there before 7pm, but not if I took a break first. So I headed straight there. Holy mother of all detours! That first detour in Agawam was a piece of cake. The one in Clinton was Super Trucker material. The officer directing traffic made it sound quick and easy. No. It was not quick and easy. Picture a neighborhood in your local community where the streets are a little tight for someone driving an SUV. Now throw in a few monstrous hills and intersections at weird angles. Just for kicks, add some churches and schools and shit. Yep, that's the one. There's a bridge right before the street on which the shipper is located. That bridge is closed for construction, so I got to cruise through the neighborhood. Given the terrain, we're not talking 'down one more block and turn left.' It was a pretty crazy route. Ce n'est pas bon, as our newest Neville Chamberlain wannabe would say.
I got there. This time my trailer was loaded and ready. This meant that I could head down the road today instead of taking a break at the shipper. Groovy. I asked the shipping guy if there was a better way out of town, on account of how badly that detour sucked balls. He gave me a route through town and out to the west. That worked okay... or did it? Yeah, actually the directions were fine. It was a pretty tight squeeze in some spots but nothing terrible. There was however, as we say from time to time, a twist.
And now, for the latest installment of You Can't Make This Shit Up...
I turned onto the access road for I-190 and checked my mirrors as I tend to do. I caught a glimpse of my trailer number, as I tend to do. I don't normally pay attention to the numbers once I'm rolling, but something made me look again. It didn't exactly look wrong, but something didn't seem right either. Observe here, the trailer that I was pulling.
So I took a peek at my paperwork, just to be sure. Doh! Observe now, the trailer that I am currently pulling. What are the odds, seriously?
Hey, what's wrong with backtracking ten miles and snaking your way through a little town again when you're having fun, right? My first confirmed case of dyslexia, I guess.
So I headed out, again. Back through Clinton, again. When I got down to I-90, it was a parking lot. No big surprise there on a Friday afternoon. The toll booths to I-84 tend to back up all the way to Worcester. At least I got to pass a few million people who were waiting to pay, once I got to the exit. No lines for the EZPass lane. I made it through Hartford and decided that I have no desire to tackle the Bronx today. I started out tired as it is. By the time I got through there, my patience would be just about gone and parking wouldn't be too plentiful, so I've ducked off in Connecticut for the night.
This load delivers at 6am Monday. I'll knock out half tomorrow and the rest on Sunday. I already know that I can park at the consignee so, grumpy security guards notwithstanding, I'm set up pretty well. My first week back to work wraps up at a tidy 3,044 miles plus $35 in stop pay and $59 in northeast pay. Better than a kick in the balls.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
8/14/08
Well, 685 miles today. That's a long day. Not a whole lot else to say really. I will say that, if I lived near the New York Thruway, I wouldn't mind having one of those jobs hauling doubles across here every day. That would be a sweet gig. This is a pretty nice ride, except when the snow gets three feet deep and such.
Tonight's workout is a slow count shaping kind of thing. It's more about squeezing the muscles until they burn, so the numbers won't matter a whole lot. I'll go ahead and post it before I step outside. I'm not sure how much I'll feel like typing after I'm done.
[Workout C]
Concentration Curl
Standing Calf Raise
Forearm Curl
Reverse Crunch
I have about 135 miles or so to my customer, so it will be an early morning for me. Hopefully I can get empty quickly and grab some steady work for the weekend.
Tonight's workout is a slow count shaping kind of thing. It's more about squeezing the muscles until they burn, so the numbers won't matter a whole lot. I'll go ahead and post it before I step outside. I'm not sure how much I'll feel like typing after I'm done.
[Workout C]
Concentration Curl
Standing Calf Raise
Forearm Curl
Reverse Crunch
I have about 135 miles or so to my customer, so it will be an early morning for me. Hopefully I can get empty quickly and grab some steady work for the weekend.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
8/13/08
I got a beep this morning at 8:30am telling me to go get some tires and take them down to Lafayette. There was another run stacked behind it, so the day started right. At 8:34am, I was sitting in the front seat and wiping the crap out of my eyes when an old Armenian dude came up to my window. He started giving me shit about parking on private property and such. I told him that I was just writing down my directions and that I would be gone in a minute. He started on some rant about people parking overnight and how he needed to get the police involved and all that. Dude, a truck sitting on a lot next to a loading dock designed for trucks isn't going to hurt anyone. I think the Russians might need to skip over Ukraine and Estonia on their path to world domination, just to give that guy something better about which to worry. I'm glad I got my assignment and woke up before he showed up. He might have really been pissed if he knew I spent the night.
Down to Monee for a quick drop/hook. 39 miles... two hours. Guess that 'skipping Chicago rush hour' part didn't quite pan out. There was a truck flipped over on the ramp from I-55 to (I think) I-294 northbound, so everything was backed up on I-55. I saw trucks being forced to back down the serpentine ramp as the police stopped traffic in the right lane. Crazy. Then I got on I-294 southbound and it looked okay for at least a couple of minutes. Ten miles per hour max for the rest of the way until I hit I-57.
The drop/hook part was quick and easy though. Then I retraced my route down to Lafayette with a nice 6,000 pound load. Another quick drop/hook on that end had me headed to Kouts, Indiana for a pickup going to Massachusetts. Dude. There was a detour. That seemed easy enough. I don't know if signs were moved for the construction or if (more likely) I'm just an idiot or what exactly happened. Long story short... I got lost. Not 'out in the woods with no compass' lost. After all, the numbered routes are mainly north/south or east/west in that part of Indiana. I don't know what the hell was going on, but every time I thought I found another way to go, there was damn construction blocking my route. I got there eventually.
Obviously, I wasn't in the greatest of spirits when I got to my shipper. Then I realized where I was. That was the shipper at which an old CFI driver threatened to kick my ass. That memory put an instant smile on my face. Those guys had me loaded quickly like they always do. I thought about heading east on US-30 to save the company a few bucks on tolls and trim a few miles. I have to be in Massachusetts by 9am Friday though, so I'm not dicking around. I headed up to the Indiana Toll Road instead. Straight across I-90 from here the rest of the way.
Today added some pretty good miles to my week. I'll be at 2,172 (plus $35 stop pay and $24 northeast pay) when I get empty on Friday morning. With two days' worth of dispatches left, I should end up making a few bucks.
I was pretty jelly-legged this morning, so the jumprope got the day off. Hamstrings aren't exactly used to getting worked and I hit them pretty good last night. A day to let my pitiful body rest was probably a good idea anyway.
Down to Monee for a quick drop/hook. 39 miles... two hours. Guess that 'skipping Chicago rush hour' part didn't quite pan out. There was a truck flipped over on the ramp from I-55 to (I think) I-294 northbound, so everything was backed up on I-55. I saw trucks being forced to back down the serpentine ramp as the police stopped traffic in the right lane. Crazy. Then I got on I-294 southbound and it looked okay for at least a couple of minutes. Ten miles per hour max for the rest of the way until I hit I-57.
The drop/hook part was quick and easy though. Then I retraced my route down to Lafayette with a nice 6,000 pound load. Another quick drop/hook on that end had me headed to Kouts, Indiana for a pickup going to Massachusetts. Dude. There was a detour. That seemed easy enough. I don't know if signs were moved for the construction or if (more likely) I'm just an idiot or what exactly happened. Long story short... I got lost. Not 'out in the woods with no compass' lost. After all, the numbered routes are mainly north/south or east/west in that part of Indiana. I don't know what the hell was going on, but every time I thought I found another way to go, there was damn construction blocking my route. I got there eventually.
Obviously, I wasn't in the greatest of spirits when I got to my shipper. Then I realized where I was. That was the shipper at which an old CFI driver threatened to kick my ass. That memory put an instant smile on my face. Those guys had me loaded quickly like they always do. I thought about heading east on US-30 to save the company a few bucks on tolls and trim a few miles. I have to be in Massachusetts by 9am Friday though, so I'm not dicking around. I headed up to the Indiana Toll Road instead. Straight across I-90 from here the rest of the way.
Today added some pretty good miles to my week. I'll be at 2,172 (plus $35 stop pay and $24 northeast pay) when I get empty on Friday morning. With two days' worth of dispatches left, I should end up making a few bucks.
I was pretty jelly-legged this morning, so the jumprope got the day off. Hamstrings aren't exactly used to getting worked and I hit them pretty good last night. A day to let my pitiful body rest was probably a good idea anyway.
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