8/15/09

The degeneration of the republic continues... United States senators in a tweet-pissing match, seriously? One more reason that I choose to abstain from this Twitter business. I'm convinced that it will be our downfall.

Nothing in particular stands out about the day on the road. I tend to view this as a positive. My ten hour break was over at 6:45am though. You can take this as a negative. Mixing in a fuel stop and a minor delay for a bizarre-looking accident on I-80 in Pennsylvania, I got to my consignee around a half hour ahead of schedule. The drop/hook in Gouldsboro was a basic affair in a wide open drop lot. Beauty.

I had seen that the truck stop in Gouldsboro was full as I passed on my way to the drop, so I pulled off into a parking area at the end of the industrial drive to await my next chore. I was #4 on the board and it was a Saturday afternoon. That ain't exactly the ideal circumstance. I got an assignment after a few hours though. Good enough.

Next on the agenda was an 88 mile deadhead to the damned water place in Breinigsville. I never had any major disagreements with those guys until the infamous Dunn Incident. Now I think that I'll just hate them forever. What can I say? That's how I roll.

A glance at my truck stop directory didn't provide any encouragement. I could stop at a place on I-80 tonight, pay for parking, and then have an hour or so left to reach the shipper tomorrow. I could hope to find a spot at a tiny place on PA-33 tonight, pay for parking, and then have a half hour or so left to reach the shipper tomorrow. I could go straight to the shipper, try to snag a spot in their staging area, and sit for a day with no food or restroom facilities at my disposal. Or I could go a few miles past the shipper and stay in New Smithville for the night. My directory said that the place in New Smithville had a large parking lot so I decided to give it a shot. The traffic was fairly heavy but moving well the whole way, and then it was time to park this beast for the night. Shit. Now I remember. I've been to this place before. Not exactly a state-of-the-art parking arrangement. I found the least shitty spot among the few that were open and did a pretty good job of getting angled in, if I do say so myself.

Now... listening to the ballgame for a while. Then I guess I'll have to do some reading or something. I need to find a way to stay awake all night and then go to sleep tomorrow morning. I have to pick up at 9pm and then deliver in South Carolina on Monday. The delivery is a drop/hook, so I could probably get a late ETA for Monday, but they'll probably make me run all night anyway. Why? Well, because they're nihilists, of course. Might as well try to flip my schedule tonight, just to be safe.

The deadhead was enough to kick my week up to 2,067 miles, plus a few more bucks in northeast pay. Given the factors that I mentioned on Thursday, you can take this as a positive.