4/11/10

On the positive side of the ledger for today, I found a nice reliable video stream of the Tigers game.  They were basically getting killed for most of the game and then put on a ferocious rally to come back, eventually tying the score and then winning the game with two out in the bottom of the ninth.  I also found a video stream of the Red Wings game.  It was a tough back-and-forth affair that the Wings ultimately won in overtime.  I also found a video stream of final round coverage of the Masters.  I'm not a big Mickelson fan, but it was pretty cool that his wife was able to be there and celebrate the win with him, after all that she has been through.

On the negative side of the ledger, I had time to watch all three of those broadcasts... and a couple of movies... and a handful of assorted YouTube clips.  Yeah, one of those days.  I was #1 on the board after making my delivery this morning and heading over to the local truck stop in Buckeye.  I stayed at #1 all day until a little while ago.  Now, since nobody was kind enough to pass along my assignment earlier in the day, all of the truck stops are full and I'll just have to stay here until the crack of dawn.  My next pickup is scheduled for 7am in Miami, Arizona, around 120 miles from here.  Peckerheads.

I'm picking up at some kind of mining outfit so it's a pretty safe bet that I'll be pulling yet another wicked heavy load across to Illinois this week.  Another few days of shitty MPG and frustrating travels are probably in store.  Such is life.

4/10/10

I had the day off today, so whatever blog content we may be able to generate will have to come by way of my Swedish buddy Sjoe.  He was fortunate enough to catch up with our man J.T. while I was stuck at the truck stop in Avondale.

It turns out that there is a shopping mall on the other side of I-10, not too far from the Pilot.  Sjoe headed over there this morning and got himself a pretty little red Diamondbacks ball cap and a new pair of shoes, leaving himself prepared for the afternoon's festivities.  Then J.T. showed up and things proceeded from there.

Sjoe, world traveler that he is, happens to be a big fan of the home team in whichever city he finds himself.  I'm a die-hard Tigers fan, so I find this sort of approach to be distasteful, but the Swede marches to his own beat.  He and J.T. headed downtown and grabbed a bite to eat, then took in the game between the Diamondbacks and Pirates.  Pittsburgh came out on the winning end of this one, much to the chagrin of my Swedish buddy and his local host.  The ballpark was nice though, as evidenced by the following photos.

Unfortunately for my Swedish buddy and his fellow D'backs (not to be confused with d-bags) fans, things didn't work out for the home team tonight.  After making peace with the fact that Arizona's manager left Danny Haren in to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning, already trailing by a score of 5-0, Sjoe had to accept that he would be a fervent supporter of the losing team.

Dinner at a local steak house helped to dull the pain, after which the Swede stopped by the truck stop to share his thoughts with me.  He was apparently struck by the virtual silence of the crowd at Chase Field, having Comerica Park in Detroit (my hometown) as his baseline comparison.  The Swede has attended ballgames in numerous cities.  He never likes to see a lackluster performance by the home team or, equally important, the home team's faithful supporters.  In many cities, the intensity of the crowd is overwhelming.  Alas, this was not the case in Phoenix.  In a southwestern city populated largely by northern and midwestern transplants, intensity is bound to be lacking.  Chase Field was not exactly rocking tonight.  C'est la vie.

Tomorrow morning will bring a return to the world of trucking for me.  My Swedish buddy Sjoe will most likely go away for at least a few days.  I have to deliver in Buckeye by 6am and then we'll turn things over to the desk jockeys to see if they can find some freight for me.  One more full week of work should take us to the point where it's time to head home.

4/9/10

We're nearly four years into this truck driving experiment of mine.  The first time that I went to bed amidst comfortable temperatures and awoke shivering, I thought, "Hmm, hadn't thought of that."  When you sleep in the comfort of your own home in Metro Detroit, temperatures don't tend to drop terribly dramatically within the span of a few hours.  And when the temperature does drop, your thermostat will usually compel your heater to kick on and blunt the effect.  On the road, this is not the case.  The second, third, and countless other times that I've fallen alseep comfortably and awakened shivering, I've thought, "Okay, that's the last time."  Yeah, I've been wrong... every time.

My truck's temperature readout said 58° last night when my sleep-inducers kicked in and sent me to bed.  When the chill forced me to open my eyes and take stock of the situation this morning, holy shit.  I flipped the switch for my bunk heater and found its progress to be lacking, so I climbed out of bed and fired up the truck.  Was it really 24° ouside?  You've got to be shitting me.  So there I was in my underwear.  (For your own sake, don't try to picture that.)  Once I had managed to throw some clothes on and stop shivering, there wasn't much chance that I would be getting back to sleep.  Might as well start driving.  And thus begins another glamorous day in the life of this here truck driver. 

I had warmed up and gotten my act together by the time I reached the Pilot in Jamestown, where I topped off the fuel tanks and grabbed a bite to eat.  Those microwaved breakfast burritos are really a lot better than people might think.  Across into Arizona and onto I-17, I encountered scant traffic and good driving conditions.  The trip down through the canyons proved to be rather uneventful, with the exception of a few dropped phone calls, and the Tigers managed to win their third game out of four in the young season, so all was right with the world.  I decided to press my luck and continue into the Phoenix area.  No traffic on AZ-101 and a pull-through parking space at the Pilot in Avondale.  Beauty.

The biggest negative of the day (aside from my frozen gonads this morning) came when I tried to buy a baseball cap for my Swedish buddy Sjoe.  He's apparently a Diamondbacks fan or something.  Alas, no quasi-Disney wannabe Mighty Ducks caps to be found at the Pilot.  Just a bunch of college football stuff.  Bummer.  The Swede will have to look elsewhere.

It's more than a little amusing to me, in an Inconvenient Truth sorta way, that my truck is idling right now.  The temperature readout says 89° and the sun is shining brightly.  Elevation changes or no elevation changes, a 65° move in the span of seven hours is just crazy.

Completely off topic (to whatever extent my own gibberish on my own blog can be off topic):  I've always kinda sorta had a crush on Janine Turner.  You know, from a shallow male 'I wanted to get with her when my mother watched her on General Hospital and I was too young to know that I wanted to get with her' perpsective.  Now, in light of a recent article, I may really be in love with the gal.  Ain't that something.

4/8/10

The best thing about the arrival of spring is that, for at least two hundred miles a day, the driving of my truck is merely a background occurrence.  With my XM Radio pumping out the play-by-play, I can stay alternately frustrated or pleased with what I'm hearing and the miles just disappear behind me.  When my route involves the sheer boredom that is I-40, this seasonal benefit is amplified significantly.  (More pleased than frustrated today.  The Tigers are now on pace for 108 wins and Miguel Cabrera is on pace for 108 homeruns.)

When I set out from Texas this morning, I was just under 800 miles from Avondale, Arizona.  With my delivery scheduled in Buckeye, I intend to spend the weekend in the Phoenix area.  The last few miles to Buckeye can wait until Sunday morning.  At this point I haven't managed to wear out my welcome yet, so it looks like our man J.T. and I will get a chance to hang out for a while on Saturday.  As such, I planned to cover somewhere around 400 miles today and leave the same amount for tomorrow.  The ballgame took care of half the trip and I handled the rest on my own.  391 miles on the road brought me to Milan, New Mexico, which I suspect is exactly like Milan, Italy.  Or maybe not.  I don't know.

As noted above, tomorrow's drive should be somewhere on the order of 400 miles.  Depending on how early I get out of bed, I may cruise on into Avondale tomorrow or I may stop short somewhere along I-17.  Apparently there's one of those hot rod races or something this weekend, so I won't be inclined to roll into the Phoenix area on a Friday afternoon.  I'm presently bored beyond belief though, so maybe I'll go to bed early and then get rolling early.  That's a pretty tough task for me to pull off, but you know, maybe.  The weather is still cool and nobody is parked next to me, so I have a sporting chance.