Millis OTR journal

Wassup y'all. @FalconsFan21 pointed out to me that I haven't posted in a while, so here I go. I'm sitting at a receiver and it looks like I'll be here for a while, might as well throw out an update. Seeing as how I've been back on the road for a week now, I'm way overdue. I got to my truck Tuesday morning, and was given a load that picked up in Medina (Go Bees! Lol) that went to Cherokee AL. The final was a dnh, as always. From there I was sent to Verona MS, which is very close to Tupelo. Birthplace of one Elvis Aaron Presley. That was an MTD load going to Menards in Plano IL. From there I was sent to the worst load I've ever had, bar none. I won't mention the name for obvious reasons. I like remaining employed, it tends to help with the bills. It picked up in downtown Chicago. Up til now, I've never had to go deep into that city. I had a load once that picked up on the fringes, but this was way deep into the belly of the city. To my complete surprise, it wasn't bad. The four wheelers were actually pretty decent drivers. The traffic was very heavy of course, but there was order to the chaos. I experienced a ton of courtesy from other drivers. I'm not used to that, it felt very surreal. So at least that part of the trip was good. The shipper was an absolute nightmare. There should never be a time where a condo truck with a 53 foot trailer should be anywhere near that place. What a joke. It took about 20 tries to get docked. Once I was docked (perfectly, I might add), I was told that I have to re-dock. They wanted me to finish in a position where my trailer was straight but my cab was jack-knifed so that tow motors could drive past the front of my truck. That's how friggin tight this place was. When I was docked straight, there was a couple of feet in front of my truck to the curb. What a joke. Opie warned me before I went that it was really tight there. He wasn't kidding. He apologized for giving me that load, it was all he had available at the time. Apparently there is a note in his system not to send rookies there. After 15 or 16 months of driving, I guess I hadn't thought of myself as a rookie anymore, but I guess I am, because I didn't do well at that place at all. Once I was re-docked, I sent him a message and told him as respectfully as possible that next time I'd rather sit for a day than ever go back there. I have never EVER done that before. I have never refused a load. But I won't go back to that place again, period. The trip out of the city was slow, but I was expecting that. I made it far enough down the road to make sure I could get to the final without taking a 30. Mission accomplished. I was intending to do laundry that night. Instead, I found the closest bar stool and had a nice cold beer. I felt like I definitely earned it. What a day. That load went to Cherokee, and I was given another load there that brought me here. I am currently at my final waiting to be unloaded. I'm in Jacksonville Florida. I got here last night and parked at the Pilot a couple miles away. That in itself was an adventure. Florida is a horrible place to find parking. I knew that ahead of time. I called Pilot a day in advance to reserve a spot and there were only 3 left lol. When I pulled in last night, every spot was full. I had to park in a fuel lane and let the manager know that I needed someone to move. I wasn't alone, there were 2 other truckers in the same boat. That poor woman had to knock on 4 doors to make trucks move. They weren't pleased, as you can image. I felt a bad, at least a little bit. But hey, that's why I planned ahead. The guy whose spot I took gave me a death stare, like it was my fault. If looks could kill, I wouldn't be sitting here typing this post. Oh well, it is what it is. Sorry brother, I know you're in a crappy position now, but that's not my fault. The manager thought she was going to have to call the police. Never a dull moment out here, that's for sure. I gave my truck a very thorough inspection this morning before I took off. You never know, man. Always watch your six. I have no idea where I'm going from here, and dry van freight is notoriously sparse in Florida. I might be sitting a while, who knows. The last time I came to this state I ended up with an accidental 34, and was then deadheaded to Georgia. I guess I'll see soon. Alright, that's it for now. I'll check in with y'all soon. Be safe out there in Truckerland. Keep the rubber side down, and check your pins. Peace.

 

Yup, I would absolutely recommend Millis. It's big enough to have plenty of freight, and small enough to feel like a family. The equipment is fantastic, and they won't jerk you around on pay or home time. I've been here for over a year and I don't have a single negative thing to say. Hope that helps

 

Sup y'all, here's an update to my update. I got a load immediately after getting unloaded, and was deadheaded to the Miller plant in Albany. I am not at all surprised about that, but I was a little shocked that the decision to send me there came so quickly. No comlaints here. I figured that Opie would wait for a bit to see if a load popped up that was closer. This load is going to Carterville IL, due Wednesday morning. Opie said they'd take it tomorrow if I could get there by 1pm. But, I needed to take this trailer to the shop and have the guys look at my landing gear. So, tomorrow won't happen. No biggie. I'm staying here at the terminal tonight, and getting an early jump on the Atlanta traffic in the morning. Hope all of you are doing well. Until tomorrow, peace y'all.