11/22/09

It occurred to me as I was driving this evening that I've been running my ass off for the last few days. The weekends are usually the times when we take it a little easier out here. Over the last three days, I've spent 12.75, 11.75, and 11 hours on duty, respectively. I'm paid by the mile so of course it's good to keep moving, but damn. I'm getting a little tired. I don't think I'm supposed to be parked where I am tonight either, so I'll have to set my alarm for 4:30am to make sure I'm sitting awake by the time anybody arrives. That way I can pretend that I just got here or something. Alarms suck. That's my policy.

I was up this morning, without an alarm clock, around a half hour before it was legal for me to start working again. So I bummed around and had some breakfast, then hit the road. It was pretty warm and rainy as I left Missouri. Thus, I suspected that I might see a bit of snow after I made it further north. Little did I know that it would get even warmer as I moved away from the equator. Weird. Score one more for the CO² I suppose. The rain was off and on all day but the overall drive was pretty easy. Light load and weekend traffic and so forth.

Upon arriving at my consignee in Waukesha, I saw what looked to be a pretty tight driveway so I stopped on the street and took a walk around the building. The driveway wasn't all that tight after all and there is plenty of room for me to park for the night. Given the nature of the place though, I suspect that I'm sitting where the employees will park in the morning. There is a sign out by the next driveway saying that all semi trucks must park on the street and check in, but I think that one is for an adjoining business. There are 'No Parking' signs on the street and it's not all that wide, so I'm definitely not spending the night out there. Then again, this place doesn't even seem to have a loading dock so I don't know where I'll end up getting unloaded. That adjoining business with the 'park on the street' sign has two docks. Whatever. My appointment is for 6am. If someone needs to park here before I'm up at 4:30am, then they'll just have to knock on the door and wake me.

I spotted a McDonald's with truck parking when I got off I-43, about ten miles back down the road. As nearly as I can tell, that's where I'll have to go once I'm empty unless I get a pre-plan before then. I would have to go further than ten miles to find a truck stop and I have no idea which way I'll be headed next. At the very least the McDonald's location should be a practical one, since I'll be able to move easily in any direction from there whenever my next assignment does come through.