11/18/09

After spending the morning trying (unsuccessfully) to get my job classified as having been saved by the stimulus package, I decided that I might as well call the terminal and get on the ready board for realsies this time. It was worth a shot to try and get a few million bucks out of the deal, I thought. It turns out that I'm not very well connected though, so it's time to get out and earn a living again.

I was either #12 or #19 on the board at the time, depending on whom you believe. In either event, I had reached #7 by the time I ran out of things to do at home and headed up to my truck. Good enough. Once I got to #2 I received an assignment. It was a head-scratcher, of course, but what else is new? I headed inside.

As I stood behind a couple of guys at the dispatch window, the dispatcher got on the PA and made an announcement asking me to check with him if I was in the building. Woohoo! Front of the line for me! He told me that the folks in Joplin were on the phone and they had a dedicated run in Ohio that "went sideways," whatever that means. The load needed to be picked up in Columbus by 12:30am and then delivered 88 miles away in Monroe, Ohio by 3:30am. Anyone who had driven to Taylor today and then gotten on the board today would have run into 14 hour issues. Guess who had been on the board without working all day. Awesome.

It was a nice and easy trip to Columbus, allowing me to ease back into the whole truck driving thing a little. Then I made a quick drop/hook before heading over to the Cincinnati suburbs and checking in. Mine was the third of three delivery appointments, so I got to kick back for a while. Now I'm at the dock awaiting my turn to be unloaded. I'm hoping that I can park here once I'm empty, or else I might be in for a hell of a time at this ludicrous hour. Then who knows? We'll have to see what kind of work will fit in either before correction: 9:30am 10:30am (when yesterday's 14 hour clock expires) or after I've had ten hours off tonight. The weekend is just around the corner, so there's a chance that I can catch something long to keep me moving.

11/17/09

I once worked at McDonald's for a week. Have I ever told you that story? I got a job there when I was in high school. After having completed only a few training shifts, I broke my ankle in a baseball game. I went in and explained to the manager that I would be on crutches for a while and she said that it was no problem. Just let her know when I could come back. I went back to the restaurant six weeks later and the manager was excited to put me back to work, or so she said. When the next schedule came out, I called the restaurant to see which shifts I would be working. I wasn't on the schedule. Rather than seek clarification with a simple phone call to the manager, I went to work at the local movie theater. Screw it. That McDonald's job was pretty dumb anyway.

Why the little trip down memory lane this evening? Well, I didn't seek employment elsewhere tonight, but I did experience the exact same 'who gives a shit' reaction that I felt so many years ago. After spending the day running to and fro, tying up loose ends and tending to some social matters, I stopped by the terminal. I loaded up my clothing and supplies for the next month or so and then headed inside to have the dispatcher put me on the board. He was all flabbergasted by something but I was in no hurry, so I stood at the window and waited. And I waited. And I waited.

After hearing the dude freak out every few minutes when the phone rang, I wrote down my truck number and left it on his keyboard, with a note that I needed to get on the board whenever he had a chance. Then I headed home. That was four hours ago. I'm still not on the board. As a follow-up to their non-payment for my trip from the Kenworth dealership to the terminal last Friday, we can view this as another failure in basic competence on the part of the Taylor dispatchers. (For the record, they generally seem to do a good job. Not this month though, as far as my little slice of the business is concerned.) I could call the terminal now or I could call the night crew in Joplin. Either approach would probably get me on the board after I endured a few minutes of moronic discourse.

You know what though? Screw it. My job is pretty dumb anyway. Instead of going to work at the theater this time, I'll just stay home until tomorrow and take it from there. I ate a massive dinner tonight and I'm not in the mood to do anything anyhow. My evening's entertainment, for lack of a better description, even had to be curtailed because I was feeling like a damned slug. Such a tragedy.

11/16/09

Spending the first half of your day sleeping off a hangover is not good, mmkay? By the time I rolled out of bed and got moving, there wasn't much chance that today would be very productive. I think I'll shoot for getting all loose ends tied up by tomorrow afternoon and then see about getting the hell out of town for a while.

I'm a marginal NFL fan at best, especially concerning non-Redskins games, but I decided to head out and watch the Monday night game anyway. Poor Brady Quinn. When you're a dude with a decent arm but somewhat sketchy accuracy, the last thing you need is to play behind a line that couldn't block my grandmother. Oy. That was tough to watch.

Guess we should see if there's any sleep in store for me tonight. The running of the errands is likely to take some time. Best to get up before noon, I think.

11/15/09

♫ It's another November evening
As you remember your way home
You mete out your aggressive tendencies
On what's left of your blackened soul
You've come to this conclusion
As you're dragged from another bloody fight
You've reached the edge where you decided
That you've lived out your whole life

Another busted knuckle
Taken down by a kick to the balls
You've wasted time wasting time
As life's shadows grow so tall

It's another busted knuckle
It's a fight you'll never win
And now you bow your head in shame
For a sin no one forgives ♫

I don't know, man. Nothing particular stood out about today but sometimes you have to wonder when you'll cross the line. As I ride in a car, drinking beer on a Sunday afternoon, returning home from another pathetic loss by a team that really has nothing to do with me, one might conclude that the boundary is being tested. I don't know. All things considered, my life is pretty good. We'll have to leave it there for now.

Probably not going back to work tomorrow, but you never know. My vision is blurry enough right now that I fully expect to sleep late tomorrow. Once I wake and drink a bunch of water, we'll take stock of the situation and proceed from there.