Sunday, August 1, 2010

8/1/10

Try this one on for size.  I left my last stop at 4:15am tonight.  As I pulled out of the loading dock, I hit the 'scan' button on my truck's radio.  The first song sucked.  So did the second...  I rolled into the dairy to drop off my trailer full of empty cases at 5:45am.  During the hour and a half drive from Owosso to Livonia, I never stopped the radio from scanning the stations.  When I heard a song that I didn't like, I just waited a few seconds and then the station changed.  When I heard a song that I liked, I sang along for a few seconds and then the station changed.  It simply never occurred to me to stop the scan.  I'm not sure what to make of that one.  I wasn't really tired or anything.  Just had a short attention span, I suppose.

If we back things up to figure out how I wound up in Owosso at 4:15am, we'll find that I initially was assigned to two loads today.  My first run had a stop in Monroe and another in Toledo.  My second run had stops in East Lansing, St. Johns, and Owosso.  A couple of hours before my scheduled 4:15pm pull, I got a call from work.  Things had changed.  Some dude couldn't make his last scheduled run so the board had to be shuffled a bit.  No more Monroe/Toledo run for me.  Now I was going to start with the East Lansing/St. Johns/Owosso run and then take a four-stop run on the overnight shift.  My pull time was set for 6:15pm.

I wasn't too thrilled about the change, mainly because the run that I gained would pay about the same amount as the run that I lost, but it replaced more miles and fewer stops with fewer miles and more stops.  I'm not a big fan of more stops.  Whatever though.  This is what I do.  Just have to suck it up and get the job done.

I checked out directions to my newly assigned four stops and wrote down the relevant information, then kicked back and relaxed for a while.  I had been all set to go at 4:15pm, so now I had two hours to kill.  Then the next call came.

Another guy had lost his prescription glasses.  He had a pair that he could use, but they were sunglasses.  This meant that he couldn't drive at night.  (No, I do not care to speculate on whether or not this was a bullshit story.)  There was one load with some long miles but only a couple of stops on it, so the dispatcher put Mr. Sunglasses on that one.  He would be able to finish up with that one before the sun went down.  This switch then set off a chain reaction.  This guy went to this load, that guy went to that load, all the way down the line.  Eventually they got to me.  Hey, guess what wound up happening to my schedule.  Some other dude got my newly assigned four-stop run and I got my previously assigned two-stop run.  Woulda been nice to start at 4:15pm then, eh?

All in all, the night went fairly smoothly once I finally got started.  I was at the dairy at 5:45pm and I was back in my mother's car at 6am.  For a shift that paid $265.48, that's fair enough.  I had to burn some time waiting for another US Xpress guy to leave the dock at my last stop in Owosso.  Then I found that their power jack was broken.  I got the pleasure of lumping nine pallets of milk (2,200 pounds apiece) with a manual jack.  Good times, good times.  It's always something at that damned Owosso location.  I'm under the impression that our man Brent lives out there somewhere.  I may have to get him on the case.

So may day off has begun a couple of hours later than it should have, but it's all good.  I may manage to sleep at some point along the way.  I thought I was stopping by my parents' house to hang out with the dog until the folks get home, but ole Molly isn't here.  My brother must have her over at his house or something.  Guess I'll just do some laundry and relax then.  I picked up some ground beef and seasonings on the way over, so I'm going to see what kind of gourmet burger arrangement I can produce before I nod off.  A little 'wake and grill' in the afternoon should be A-OK.

An hour and a half of radio listening in five-second increments?  What is that?

Saturday, July 31, 2010

7/31/10

We're going to have to break with protocol for a moment this evening.  It has been my standard practice that once an image is posted on this blog, it is not to be reused in a future posting.  I have a plentiful supply of this stuff, so there's no need to recycle the pics.  Unfortunately though, there is one image that has appeared here in a prior post and must now appear one more time.

My three stops today were out in the northern suburbs.  After getting a call this morning (a call that I actually expected this time around) I was assigned to take a trailer to Rochester, Lake Orion, and Bloomfield.  The trip over to the first store wasn't bad.  The dairy guy there was a proactive sort, so things went quickly and easily.  I was more than content to let him pull the freight out of the trailer, given that the pallet jack at that store was one of the herky-jerky ancient models.  I'm getting better as the days go on, but I still don't like those damned things.  I had most of the empties staged and ready to put into my trailer by the time he got the last pallet of milk into the cooler.  Nice and efficient.

Then the next leg of the trip was short and sweet, over to I-75 and up to Lapeer Road, then straight on into Lake Orion.  Upon arrival at my second store, I found a Pepsi truck in the loading dock and a US Xpress truck waiting behind him.  I still harbor a bit of animosity toward US Xpress drivers in the wake of the Atlanta incident, but I kept that to myself.  The fella today only had a few pallets to drop and the Pepsi guy was done a few minutes after I arrived.  I got backed in within a half hour or so.  Good enough.

One last stop to go and we'll wrap up a quick and easy weekend shift... or... no.  I dropped down onto I-75 and then caught Square Lake Road over toward Telegraph Road.  My last store was a few miles to the south on Telegraph.  Review that graphic above for a moment, if you must.  Then compare.

See those pretty orange signs on the right?  There was a steady stream of them, along both sides of the road, for the entire stretch from I-75 to Telegraph.  They say that the right lane is closed.  See all those assholes in the right lane?  They weren't making life any easier for anyone.

Now, as we approach the end of the clusterfuck, the bastards are still trying to gain that last position.  Can't be behind a big truck when everyone is going 2mph now, can we?  Normally Square Lake dumps three lanes of traffic onto the three or four lanes of Telegraph, but Telegraph is presently down to one lane in this area.  The little cross street that you can see on the right is only one short block before Telegraph, so the construction people or engineers or whatever were forcing the traffic on Square Lake down to two lanes at this light - one lane to continue straight and one to turn right onto Telegraph.  (No left turns here.  It's a Michigan thing.)  I was just thankful that they had the right two lanes closed on Square Lake and not the left two.  I wouldn't have been able to turn from a one-lane road onto another one-lane road if I were against the curb.  Having room to swing a little wider was quite helpful.

I got into the first turnaround above Square Lake and then headed back southward.  The next 'Michigan left' would be at Long Lake Road.  That one was a doozy.  The turnaround lanes aren't always wide enough for a big truck in the first place, but I can usually get through the ones near major intersections without a problem.  In today's case, the outside half of the damned turnaround was gone.  It was obvious that I would be adding to the collection of tire tracks cutting across the grass and mud.  No skin off my nose there, but I only missed the big wooden pole on the corner by a few inches.  Shit damn.

The place had a mofo of a loading dock to top it all off but, quite frankly, I could post about loading docks every day if I really wanted to.  It amazes me that companies spend millions of dollars on these stores and it apparently never occurs to them that they may need trucks to deliver their shit.  They just get ready for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and some stock boy says, "Hey, where's them trucks gonna unload?"  The navigability of the stock rooms is another such topic - I could say it every day.  It would get old.

I got down Telegraph to I-96 without too much further difficulty, so that was good.  I even managed to scoot over to our little fuel stop and top off the tanks before the rain moved in.  I took one of the older trucks with a manual transmission today.  It didn't occur to me until I was headed back to the dairy that I had never bothered to figure out where the fuel gauge was.  I saw that I had air pressure and oil pressure this morning, then I left.  The fuel gauge was tucked in a weird spot a little lower on the dashboard.  It was pretty low by the time I stopped.  Good thing I only had to drive 97 miles today, eh?

Condensed version - Worked 6.75 hours, much of which was spent stuck in traffic or waiting for a loading dock.  Earned the daily minimum of $138.08 and squeaked over $1,100 for the week.  Worst week thus far in terms of money, but that's plenty for me.  I enjoy the easy days.

By the time I dropped off my trailer at the dairy and my paperwork at the terminal, tomorrow's assignments were on the board.  I have two trips tomorrow - one down to Monroe and Toledo for two stops and then one out to the northwest for three stops.  My pull time is 4:15pm and I happen to be off on a Saturday night for a change, so... bye.

Friday, July 30, 2010

7/30/10

I think that the oddsmakers at the Fenian Godfather Handicapping Service might want to start updating their resumés.  "The risk would be that they end up pulling me in early again and I've only had a few hours of sleep, but I'm under the impression that the manpower is more lacking on the late shift this time around. I'll play the odds."  I'm such a sucker.  At least the dispatcher dude didn't call until 10:30am today.

I was expecting to pull my first trailer at 6pm today and then return to the dairy for a second load on the overnight shift.  Not so fast, my friends.  A special order came up and I was going to need to cover it.  Once I heard the details, I was quite content to get out of bed and get ready for work.  Three pallets to Ferndale and another three pallets to Sterling Heights.  The load was scheduled for 1:30pm and paid $84.58, plus my $15 incentive for taking a second run.  After I had made the two quick and easy stops, I would return to the dairy and pull my originally scheduled load.  Instead of running until 7am tomorrow, I would be wrapping up around midnight tonight.  Not bad.

The paperwork wasn't ready when I got to the dairy, so I had to hang around for twenty minutes or so.  As I watched the time ticking off the clock in my truck, it occurred to me that I would be crossing Detroit right in the middle of rush hour.  Bummer.  Still though, catching almost a hundred bucks for a few hours of work couldn't be too terrible.

My drive over to Ferndale was pretty straightforward.  The store is located at the corner of 8 Mile and Wyoming so there's plenty of traffic in the area, but I had been there once before.  On that first trip, I made the mistake of entering the store's parking lot from 8 Mile.  Bad move.  There was no room for me to spin around and face in the correct direction once I got into the lot, so I wound up having to back around the corner of the store and between parked cars in order to get pointed the right way.  Thank God it was late at night, giving me a sporting chance of navigating the parking lot without running over anyone.  No such drama today though.  I came in via the side driveway on Wyoming and circled behind the store.  Once I got around to the loading docks I was already pointed to the south, as I needed to be.  Beauty.

Getting from Ferndale to Sterling Heights on a Friday afternoon... if you don't know, I'm not gonna tell you.  Seriously.  The freeway was pretty much a parking lot from Royal Oak to Troy.  I got to my second and last stop eventually though.  The dairy guy basically did all of the work for me, although it really was only three pallets.  I grabbed three stacks of empty cases from outside so that I could shove them into the trailer after homeboy was finished.  He got all the milk out and I got all the empties in.  Fifteen minutes - sayonara.  Beauty.

As I headed back toward the dairy to retrieve my second load, I got a call from the dispatcher.  I've essentially concluded at this point that I should never answer the phone, but I answered it today.  The dispatcher was wondering how far I was from Livonia.  Around 10-20 miles was my best guess.  That was perfect, I was told.  There had been a change in plans.  Instead of pulling my three-stop load and spending seven or eight hours delivering milk, I would be taking a trailer from our other dairy and making a Grand Rapids turn.  Six bucks more in pay - good.  One fewer hour of work - good.  No dealing with insane loading docks or pallet jacks for the rest of the day - excellent!  I probably wouldn't mind phone calls from dispatchers if they always made my life easier like this one did.

I rolled into Livonia and dropped off my trailer full of empty cases a short time later.  As I rolled past the guard shack, my phone rang again.  Yep, it was work calling.  Dude, don't even tell me that I'm getting stuck back on a milk delivery run.  "Hey Joe, one more change in plans..."  Shit.  What now?  This call actually turned out to be another one that made my life easier.  Instead of taking a trailer from Livonia to Grand Rapids, then bringing another one back to Livonia, I would be bobtailing out to G.R. and then bringing a loaded trailer back with me.  Beauty.

My drop/hook (without the drop) went perfectly and I got back to Livonia by 11:15pm.  Inspection done by 11:30pm and we have ourselves a ten-hour day.  For another $250 in earnings, I think I can handle that sort of schedule.

Wait a minute.  The estimate for a small dent and some scratches on my car is $1,400?  Damn.  Maybe this trucking stuff is just completely the wrong line of work.  Maybe I need to start scamming insurance companies.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

7/29/10

Pop quiz, hotshots - What would be the first thing to go through my mind at 11am today when I rolled out of bed and went to take a piss?  If you mentioned any form of relief that my phone had yet to ring, or something referencing the fact that I still was in bed at 11am, then you've passed the quiz.  For the rest of you - extra homework.  Go back and read the posts for the last week or so and write a 200-word paragraph by tomorrow.

I thought that my no-car-having status would get me out of a little family dinner at my parents' house tonight.  My aunt and uncle are in town from Florida.  My father invites them over for a fish fry once a year or so and ole Uncle Jim goes hog wild on the perch and walleye.  I would have been content to sit at home on my last day off before a long weekend of work, so I offered my lack of transportation as an excuse.  Mom called my bluff and offered to pick me up this afternoon, since she too had the day off.  Win some, lose some.

It wasn't too bad hanging around with the folks, I suppose.  My sister's kids are behaving better as the years go by, so it was good to get a chance to visit with them for a while.  My uncle sat outside drinking beers with my father instead of getting on my nerves, as he's been known to do during past visits.  This was helpful.  (My aunt has always been a more pleasant guest.)  I wound up hanging around and watching Boondock Saints with my brother before I took off.  Another of those flicks that you can see hundreds of times and still enjoy watching.  Shockingly enough, my little brother had never seen it.  Now he'll have to check out the sequel and he'll be back on track.

Then it was time to head on homeward.  The more curious among you may be inclined to wonder how this part of the night was handled, given that my car is in some shop on the other side of town.  When I tell you folks that I seem to lead a charmed life, I'm not kidding.  I can't find a reason for it, but things just somehow tend to fall into place for me.  My parents are heading out for their annual hillbilly family reunion this weekend.  My sister (an airline employee) has arranged for the travel.  The flight to Knoxville will be free for her and the kids.  My parents also fly free, as I understand it.  My brother gets a buddy pass and pays something like $100.  My sister's husband is dropping everyone off at the airport in the morning, since he has to stay home and not work all... rest of his life, or whatever.

The net result of the deal is that Mom's SUV, Dad's truck, and my little brother's car are all sitting in Lincoln Park this weekend with nobody driving them.  Pretty good weekend for a fella to be one car short, eh?  I can't explain it.  This stuff just happens.  Ergo I deserve to be duly chastened whenever I slip up and start whining about the little things that don't go my way from time to time.  I really do know better.  In any case, Mom handed me her spare keys before she went to bed, so I guess the SUV is my assigned transpo for the weekend.

The weekend dispatcher was working at Quickway tonight for some reason.  He called and gave me tomorrow's assignment (Brighton, Flint, and Livonia stores), then told me that I was almost certain to have a second run.  There still were several loads to be sorted out when he called.  My pull time is 6pm, so it would behoove me to stay up pretty late tonight.  If I do catch a second run, then I'll most likely be working well into Saturday morning.  This means that I should sleep late tomorrow.  There's only one way to make that happen, so I'm gonna try and burn the midnight oil for a while here.  The risk would be that they end up pulling me in early again and I've only had a few hours of sleep, but I'm under the impression that the manpower is more lacking on the late shift this time around.  I'll play the odds.

Speaking of odds - and I'm just asking here - what are the odds that your resident Whitey would be given a pass for this one?  Per usual, I think I know what The One™ was trying to say here.  I'm not going to start some sort of fake moral crusade or anything.  His point was simply poorly expressed.  I just ask for a little consistency.  The rest of us don't have teleprompters at the ready, so maybe we should be forgiven once in a while if the words don't come out quite right.  That's fair enough, isn't it?  Haven't we seen enough people crying in front of a television camera and apologizing for racist statements that they never actually made?  I say yes.  We've seen enough.

I'm enjoying a few beers to round out the night here and I started to get a little hungry.  I didn't really want to cook anything.  A little snack just seemed like it would be nice.  So... I just found a bag of peppered beef nuggets that I bought last week and then forgot about.  They were on top of the fridge, behind my buddy's box of cereal.  When I tell you folks that I seem to lead a charmed life, I'm not kidding. I can't find a reason for it, but things just somehow tend to fall into place for me.
There have been Visits to this here blog dohickie.