Getting Ready to Hit the Road with Magnum

So where have I been this week?

I've been everywhere, man....I've been everywhere, man
Crossed the deserts bare, man...I've breathed the mountain air, man
Of travel I've had my share, man...I've been everywhere

Sorry..... couldn't help myself......

In reality, last Monday, I rolled into Greensboro, NC after a rather busy week and weekend, and then was told I could go home for a few days if I wanted to. So I did. But Wednesday morning, dispatch called and had a hot load going from Raleigh to Central Pennsylvania and it had to be there by Thursday morning. So Lil' Man and I mounted up and took off. On the way up there, they found me a load to get back to the Carolinas so I could continue my hometime. Because of the time constraints, and the fact that what few truckstops there were had filled up, I was forced to drive it straight through. The last 30 minutes (miles) of the trip were through some serious fog and rain in the mountains near Shamokin on an old windy country road. There are still handprints in the steering wheel.

I picked up just outside of Lancaster and drove hard for Charlotte (and what a picturesque ride it was). Picked it up Thursday at 3 in the afternoon (in Amish Country) and had to be on the door by 11 am Friday. Made it with 30 minutes to spare. Mind you, I never drove illegal. 15 minutes into getting unloaded, dispatch called me (I was hoping to go home) to see if I could pick up a load of chicken just east of Charlotte. He said I was the only person in the area and I could drop it in Greensboro (see, he was trying to get me home) and he would figure it out from there. When I asked where it was going, he told me Minnesota (1332 miles = $$$$$). I couldn't resist!

Loaded out at 430 pm and took off for the midwest, and (you guessed it) that major snow storm that passed through and closed down Iowa on Sunday. Thank the powers for wireless internet..... I took a look at the radar, then I hooked north at Peoria, shot up through Wisconsin, and dropped down to the west of the storm. I may have seen 8 snowflakes the whole time. Then I shut down about 90 miles SE of my drop. The next morning, I was in Madelia backing into the absolutely TIGHTEST loading dock ever engineered by man. (If you don't believe me, ask IronRydr... he saw the picture). GOAL... GOAL...... GOAL..... not a scratch..... and no one around to say "That was pretty impressive". I can't stress how important (and inexpensive) it is to step out of the truck to see where you are.

While there, I got another load picking up that night at 10pm going to Moorhead and Fargo. Went back to the truckstop (and tried) to sleep. Got to the appointment 15 minutes early and was informed that it would be a couple more hours <sigh>. Finally got the green light, and off I went. Drove through the night (many thanks to Bob for calling me over and over to make sure I was still awake), and made all of my deliveries (5) this morning. I was so tired, I couldn't back Lil' Man up to save my life. But the job eventually got done.

So then I shot over to the shop to get a PM for Lil' Man along with a few other tweaks. Meanwhile, the Fleet Administrator took me out to lunch and then asked me if I would like to bed down in a hotel tonight so I could get a good night's sleep. And THAT my friends, is what makes me glad I joined Magnum. He wasn't buying me, he was thanking me. The company is small enough that everyone knows everyone.

Tomorrow, I run up to Park Rapids and loadout for Fort Worth. My understanding is that they are holding one for me in TX to get me to the Carolinas for Easter.

Other than that..... not much going on.....

 

Absolutely.... nothing is going to fall into your lap. And if it does, it's probably not worth it....

 

What they do is they call $.01 per mile of your mileage pay to be applied towards tuition, but they give that to you as part of your mileage pay. In essence, you would be getting it anyway.... It is not in addition to your mileage rate. at least that is the way I understood it.... but tuition reimbursement was not an issue for me, so I am not sure.... I could be wrong.

Sorry for the "that was absolutely useless" answer...... hehehehehe

 

pfffttttt!!!! hahahahahahahaha that's funny!