10/29/10

If I were to reflect on the last several years' experiences in my life, I think I would honestly conclude that I've become more patient with people than I once was.  Perhaps this is a natural consequence of growing older or perhaps it's a side benefit of having spent a few years more or less isolated from society.  Whatever the explanation behind this evolution may be though, I still have my limits.  When one of these limits is reached, I can sometimes be a little hasty in declaring that enough is enough.  Today... enough was enough.

I basically instituted a unilateral policy declaring that I will no longer answer questions about how my back is feeling or how my leg is feeling or any of that.  It's the same damned answer every day - I have no idea.  So, to the dispatcher at work, the security guard at the dairy, the receiving guy at my first stop, and anyone else who bothered to ask, I simply said that I don't want to talk about it anymore.  End of discussion.  Enough is enough.  In the unlikely event that there is some material change to the status quo, I'll be more than willing to tell people.  Otherwise, screw it.  Life with numb toes and random leg symptoms isn't the worst thing in the world.  You get used to it after a while.

Today's work schedule had the potential to be a challenge, but it turned out to be pretty easy in the end.  My load had four stops, with the third stop coming at a location with no loading dock.  The only way to make this kind of run work would be to leave the empties behind at my first two stops.  Then I could deal with the no-dock third delivery and the regular fourth delivery before circling back to the first two stores and picking up their empties.  It turned out that the second store only had two pallets of empties though, so I just took them with me and worked around them to deliver the milk at my third store.  And I still had plenty of room in my trailer for an easy delivery/pickup at the last stop.  This meant that, after completing my four stops, I only had to return to the first store to pick up empties.  That particular store is right on US-23 on the way back to the dairy anyway, meaning that stopping there at the end of my shift was no great inconvenience.  Good deal.

I've been pretty worn out lately and last night's sleep schedule wasn't helpful to the cause.  I may or may not have some sort of family gathering to attend tomorrow night though, so I had to man up and get to the gym after work tonight.  Not my most impressive workout by any stretch of the imagination, given the fatigue and general malaise that I was fighting.  I did manage to sling around enough weight to make it worth my while though.

Two loads tomorrow - a two-stopper and a one-stopper.  Assuming that I actually manage to sleep for a few solid hours tonight, this could be setting up to be the easiest $230 shift that I've had thus far.  I'll have to sneak a peek at my FloTV here and there to see how pathetic my Irish are, but I've concluded that they're hardly worth watching anyway.  Might as well make a few bucks.

10/28/10

You know what we don't do here at Tales from the Road?  We don't blow off the readers.  This blogging thing may require a little more work than people realize, but screw it.  Day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year, a handful of you degenerates have had something to say.  Your feedback is what makes it all worthwhile.

So in your honor, I say the following: I'm fucking tired, man.  My ass hurts.  I haven't slept worth a damn in three days.  I just drove 500 miles on my day off, had a steak dinner with an old friend, and drank a few weird drinks that claimed (accurately, as nearly as I can tell) to contain 8% alcohol.  I'm fucking tired.

We'll resume this chat tomorrow.

10/27/10

Imagine my surprise this morning when I became aware that my log book still has a Line 2. I've been sent to Tennessee with this sleeper cab before and still got my hotel money. Apparently now we're sleeping in the truck whenever a sleeper cab is available.

In a certain sense, it's just as well to hop in the bunk and go to bed for the night. It's a bit of a hassle to get a motel room for a quick 10 hour break anyway.

In another sense, it sucks balls. Since I'm not staying at a motel, I can't park at a motel. I had forgotten just how much I love looking for a parking space at a truck stop late at night.

Luckily for me, at the very least, I keep a pillow in my car for my pre-workout naps. Otherwise I may have been really annoyed.

The drive down was a pain in the ass, as could be expected with a 10am departure. Early rush hour in Cincinnati, late rush hour in Louisville, and the daily accidents were still being cleaned up in Nashville. (Those people really should take driving classes or something.)

After my drop/hook in Murfreesboro, the rest of the drive... was a pain in the ass. Go figure. There was construction on I-24 and those same awesome Nashville drivers haven't caught on to the whole 'merging' phenomenon. Good times. Good times.

Of course, by the time I got into Kentucky, the truck stops were full. After making passes through the Flying J, Petro, and Pilot, I hadn't found a spot. Since I do still get my meals reimbursed, I parked in the fuel island and headed in to get some dinner at Wendy's before trying the Shell station on the other side of the freeway. When I came back out to my truck, I spotted a parking space. How 'bout that.

Now we get to see if I can get some sleep amidst the idling trucks. Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in...

10/26/10

Technically speaking, I guess this blog is still occasionally centered around the experiences that I have as a truck driver.  This may lead some people to believe that I'm at least a little bit knowledgeable about the topic.  I'm really not though.  I probably know less about trucks and truck driving than half the people who have never set foot in a big rig.  For instance: Are you supposed to back into a loading dock when it looks like this?  I have no idea.

That back wheel was submerged past the axle, which leads me to believe that it probably didn't belong there.  You can see where the black matting around the edge of the dock door ends.  The dock itself sits a few inches above that level.  All I knew was that Mount Pleasant is two and a half hours from home and I had nine pallets of milk for those chuckleheads, so they were getting their damned delivery.

I heard from a few people today asking how bad the storms were.  To tell you the truth, I didn't notice much of anything.  It was pretty windy and there was some steady rain, but it was nothing like what I was hearing on the radio.  Guess I caught a lucky route.

I was a little bit up in the air about whether or not I should work out my arms after work tonight.  Since I incurred this back injury, I've stayed away from leg workouts and lengthy cardio sessions.  They just hurt too much.  So, with all of the workouts involving my upper body, the scheduling gets to be a pain in the ass (no pun intended).  I went at it pretty hard with my back workout last night, meaning that my biceps were fairly taxed by the end, so it would be preferable to leave a day of rest in-between before I come back and hit my arms.  Skipping tonight would throw the rest of the week off though.  I still hadn't decided how to proceed as I was driving back toward Livonia to drop off my trailer full of empty cases.  Then my dispatcher called with tomorrow's assignment and made the decision an easy one.  I worked out my arms tonight because there won't be any weight lifting tomorrow.

That assignment, you ask?