Well, I got a little over 600 miles in today. Depending on the weather in Oklahoma and Missouri tomorrow, this timeline might need some adjusting. Looking at my log book, I'm going to run out of hours on the 14th. Then, when midnight of the 15th rolls around, I'll be legal again. So I'll be, according to the dispatch, due in Taylor three hours later. According to PC Miler, that will be right on the edge of workability. As long as there are no major slowdowns, I think I can pull it off.
I was noticing that my truck has been burning oil a little faster than usual lately. That's usually a sign that it's due for a PM service. The shop sent a message this morning - "Truck due for service." Damn I'm good. Or I guess it could be bad, since I don't really keep track of the miles in-between. I probably should pay more attention. So I stopped at a T/A and got that done. I also had a bad light on this trailer that I picked up. And they threw in some steering fluid. That should hold me over until I get to the dealership in Michigan.
Some days just seem easier than others. Today went really smoothly. Even I-25, which has to be one of my least favorite highways, was pretty mellow today. I was rolling along and looked up to see "Welcome to Texas" and thought damn, that was quick. It was only nine and a half hours of driving, but due to the log book issue there was no need to go eleven today. I'll spread out the hours that I have left so hopefully I can maintain some sense of balance without sitting for twenty hours on the 14th.
I guess it's time to watch Transformers. A friend of mine says it's pretty good, so I had better not be disappointed.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
12/11/07
I think it's more tiring to sit around and wait for work than it is to work. I didn't sleep very well last night either (big surprise), so I guess that doesn't help. I got rid of my loaded trailer this morning and went on the board. I didn't check my number right away, but a couple of hours later I was #10. So I sat and waited, all day.
A little after 4pm I got my assignment. I was heading over to the yard I used on my first trip to Nogales. From there I was heading home, at least temporarily. I never really know for sure whether or not they're going to send me into Canada, but I don't have any pressing issues this time around so I get home when I get there.
They didn't fuck around with this dispatch, scheduling me into Taylor at 3am on the 15th. Why 3am, seriously? I hate how they do that. This load was shipped in June. Now suddenly I have to use exactly the available hours to get to Taylor and have them tell me to come back in the morning for my customs paperwork? Annoying. This is another of those situations where I could probably call and whine about it and they would move the time back, but we'll see how the next couple of days go. I only went three hours out of Nogales this evening before I had had enough, so I have some tough running ahead of me. No more flexibility like I had on the last trip. My breaks will have to stay at ten hours and I'll have to stay focused.
I'll get home on the 14th or the wee hours of the 15th, and this kicks my miles over 5,900 so that's good. The fact that I'll get home loaded is always helpful. Whenever I get home I'll run the truck over to Kenworth and get it fixed up. Then I'll have a fresh log book, ready to run hard through the holidays.
A little after 4pm I got my assignment. I was heading over to the yard I used on my first trip to Nogales. From there I was heading home, at least temporarily. I never really know for sure whether or not they're going to send me into Canada, but I don't have any pressing issues this time around so I get home when I get there.
They didn't fuck around with this dispatch, scheduling me into Taylor at 3am on the 15th. Why 3am, seriously? I hate how they do that. This load was shipped in June. Now suddenly I have to use exactly the available hours to get to Taylor and have them tell me to come back in the morning for my customs paperwork? Annoying. This is another of those situations where I could probably call and whine about it and they would move the time back, but we'll see how the next couple of days go. I only went three hours out of Nogales this evening before I had had enough, so I have some tough running ahead of me. No more flexibility like I had on the last trip. My breaks will have to stay at ten hours and I'll have to stay focused.
I'll get home on the 14th or the wee hours of the 15th, and this kicks my miles over 5,900 so that's good. The fact that I'll get home loaded is always helpful. Whenever I get home I'll run the truck over to Kenworth and get it fixed up. Then I'll have a fresh log book, ready to run hard through the holidays.
Monday, December 10, 2007
12/10/07
You know how, in elementary school, there was always the one slow kid in class? You knew you shouldn't laugh when he said something stupid, but you just couldn't help yourself. Then, what did we do? We'd egg him on and get him to say even more stupid stuff so we could amuse ourselves a little more. After all, the poor kid didn't know how dumb he sounded, right? What was the harm in getting him to open his mouth every now and then? If you know what this is about, rest assured that I have some confessing to do when I get back to Detroit, but it's just so damn funny sometimes I can't help myself. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, that's probably just as well.
So... today... I was in no mood to drive this morning so I didn't drive this morning. I got going a little while after noon. Fortunately, I got far enough south last night to avoid the nasty stuff. Apparently half of Oklahoma has no power? Damn. On my route it was a rainy and dreary day, but the temperature never got below the 40's. Aside from stopping for dinner in Lordsburg, I stayed on the road all day.
About the only thing notable along the way was some kind of INS situation going on in the middle of I-19, a little way south of Tuscon. There was a car sitting sideways in the median, with ten border patrol cars around it. As I rolled south from there, I saw three more with their lights blazing as they raced toward the scene. I don't know if it was drugs or what the deal was, but they were bringing in the cavalry for something.
I learned something about my job today. Apparently Nogales is like Laredo in terms of how we get rid of our loaded trailers. I had only been to Nogales once and I dropped my trailer on a yard similar to the one in Calexico, grabbed another loaded trailer, and headed north. I assumed that that was our yard and we could drop or hook freight as we pleased. Wrong. It turns out that we use different brokers for different loads. I'm at some ghetto warehouse within spitting distance of Mexico right now, but there's nobody here. There are also no CFI trailers here, so I'll have to wait for someone to take this one in the morning and see what they're going to do with me from that point. I put in a request for home time when I got here, so I'll be routed that way sooner or later. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping they steer me clear of Joplin. I'd like to hang on to my 70mph truck for a little longer.
So... today... I was in no mood to drive this morning so I didn't drive this morning. I got going a little while after noon. Fortunately, I got far enough south last night to avoid the nasty stuff. Apparently half of Oklahoma has no power? Damn. On my route it was a rainy and dreary day, but the temperature never got below the 40's. Aside from stopping for dinner in Lordsburg, I stayed on the road all day.
About the only thing notable along the way was some kind of INS situation going on in the middle of I-19, a little way south of Tuscon. There was a car sitting sideways in the median, with ten border patrol cars around it. As I rolled south from there, I saw three more with their lights blazing as they raced toward the scene. I don't know if it was drugs or what the deal was, but they were bringing in the cavalry for something.
I learned something about my job today. Apparently Nogales is like Laredo in terms of how we get rid of our loaded trailers. I had only been to Nogales once and I dropped my trailer on a yard similar to the one in Calexico, grabbed another loaded trailer, and headed north. I assumed that that was our yard and we could drop or hook freight as we pleased. Wrong. It turns out that we use different brokers for different loads. I'm at some ghetto warehouse within spitting distance of Mexico right now, but there's nobody here. There are also no CFI trailers here, so I'll have to wait for someone to take this one in the morning and see what they're going to do with me from that point. I put in a request for home time when I got here, so I'll be routed that way sooner or later. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping they steer me clear of Joplin. I'd like to hang on to my 70mph truck for a little longer.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
12/9/07
So, that notorious lack of discipline of mine...
First test, get some sleep - failed. As usual, I tossed and turned and didn't manage to nod off until way too late. I just need a way to get my brain to shut off, but we're not allowed to drink aclohol so what's a fella to do out here?
Second test, get rolling early - failed. The alarm went off at 5am. I looked at the clock, said "screw this," and went back to bed. I rolled out of the sack around 9am and got going a little while later.
Third test, stay on the road all day - passed with flying colors. 705 miles is a pretty good day's work. From here it will be less than 600 miles to Nogales so I'm in good shape. That's a good thing since I've basically pigeonholed myself into making it by tomorrow. I haven't done the math to see if there is time for this ten hour break plus another one, but it shouldn't matter either way. I should get there tomorrow evening (or tomorrow night if I get a late start).
As I rolled across the rest of Louisiana and into Texas it was in the mid-70's with a few clouds. Nice. Then the temperature started to drop... like a brick. By the time I got to Dallas it was 35 degrees. In Abilene, it was down to 31. I was kicking around the local AM stations and they were forecasting freezing rain tonight, more bad weather tomorrow, and generally miserable conditions. Well that's not good. After I stopped in Midland for fuel though, the temperature started to rise again. Hopefully I am angling far enough south to avoid any icy stuff. I have a timeline to keep. When I rolled into Pecos a couple of hours ago, it was 41 degrees. That works for me. Let's hope it keeps up.
I really have no idea when my body will decide to shut down for its customary five hours, so I'll just fall asleep whenever it happens and wake up whenever I wake up. It was days, then nights, then days again... now I don't know. The yard in Nogales has parking for us, so I can get there any time before noon on Tuesday. That means that there's no particular reason to get going early tomorrow if I'm not feeling awake yet.
Along the way today, I had a phone conversation with my trainer from last summer. If I had to envision a person who is the absolute opposite personality from myself, he would definitely make the short list. Still, it's entertaining to catch up every now and then to see what's new. I thought I saw his truck pass in the other direction on I-20 (wasn't him), so I gave him a call. His perspective on the whole hullabaloo concerning the pay structure and the trucks being turned down and all the rest of it was pretty interesting. Apparently, in his twenty years with CFI, he's seen this pattern a few times before. Changes are made, people threaten to quit, a few of them do quit, most of them end up coming back in six months, and things settle in until the next time. I'd say that sounds about right, based on my experience in other lines of work. He seems to agree with me that those of us who keep our heads about us will be better off if a bunch of people do actually quit. Same freight/fewer drivers=more money for me. That's my take.
First test, get some sleep - failed. As usual, I tossed and turned and didn't manage to nod off until way too late. I just need a way to get my brain to shut off, but we're not allowed to drink aclohol so what's a fella to do out here?
Second test, get rolling early - failed. The alarm went off at 5am. I looked at the clock, said "screw this," and went back to bed. I rolled out of the sack around 9am and got going a little while later.
Third test, stay on the road all day - passed with flying colors. 705 miles is a pretty good day's work. From here it will be less than 600 miles to Nogales so I'm in good shape. That's a good thing since I've basically pigeonholed myself into making it by tomorrow. I haven't done the math to see if there is time for this ten hour break plus another one, but it shouldn't matter either way. I should get there tomorrow evening (or tomorrow night if I get a late start).
As I rolled across the rest of Louisiana and into Texas it was in the mid-70's with a few clouds. Nice. Then the temperature started to drop... like a brick. By the time I got to Dallas it was 35 degrees. In Abilene, it was down to 31. I was kicking around the local AM stations and they were forecasting freezing rain tonight, more bad weather tomorrow, and generally miserable conditions. Well that's not good. After I stopped in Midland for fuel though, the temperature started to rise again. Hopefully I am angling far enough south to avoid any icy stuff. I have a timeline to keep. When I rolled into Pecos a couple of hours ago, it was 41 degrees. That works for me. Let's hope it keeps up.
I really have no idea when my body will decide to shut down for its customary five hours, so I'll just fall asleep whenever it happens and wake up whenever I wake up. It was days, then nights, then days again... now I don't know. The yard in Nogales has parking for us, so I can get there any time before noon on Tuesday. That means that there's no particular reason to get going early tomorrow if I'm not feeling awake yet.
Along the way today, I had a phone conversation with my trainer from last summer. If I had to envision a person who is the absolute opposite personality from myself, he would definitely make the short list. Still, it's entertaining to catch up every now and then to see what's new. I thought I saw his truck pass in the other direction on I-20 (wasn't him), so I gave him a call. His perspective on the whole hullabaloo concerning the pay structure and the trucks being turned down and all the rest of it was pretty interesting. Apparently, in his twenty years with CFI, he's seen this pattern a few times before. Changes are made, people threaten to quit, a few of them do quit, most of them end up coming back in six months, and things settle in until the next time. I'd say that sounds about right, based on my experience in other lines of work. He seems to agree with me that those of us who keep our heads about us will be better off if a bunch of people do actually quit. Same freight/fewer drivers=more money for me. That's my take.
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