Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

Basically got live loaded at San Bernardino HP. They used the same trailer I dropped.....41k lbs. Heaviest load Ive seen out of there.

 

Yeah mines a tad under 44,000,had just enough time to do the requirement.

Hanging in Tucumari tonight,it's a little cooler,dash only reading a 100.

 

Taking a week off.

Started hometime a day early. Technically wasn't supposed to start until tomorrow, but I finished my previous delivery only an hour from the yard, so they had me hook a trailer full of tobacco from Kenbridge and drop it at the yard. DM said it was cool with him if I started a day early, said "Talk to you next Friday. NO, wait, I'll probably call you Thursday night to set you up a Friday load."

And that, my friends, is just the sort of thing I like to hear.

Got up this morning, took my car to the shop to get it repaired. Was a quick fix (idle controller needed replacing). Walked in the door just in time to hear my phone ringing. (I have a bad habit of treating my cell phone like a landline and not actually taking it with me when I go somewhere.)

Answered the phone, it was my DM. "So...uh...you just taking a 34 or what?"

Several mischievous replies immediately suggested themselves, but I played it straight.

"Do you...not remember our conversation from yesterday?"
"Man, I got 40 drivers to keep track of."
"I'm on hometime my dude. I ain't coming back until next week."
"OH THAT'S RIGHT. F***. Where's my brain at? Sorry about that."
"No worries. 'sall good."

I know that some will consider this Yet Another Example Of Abilene's Rapid Decline(tm). But I thought it was pretty human and pretty funny.

 

Yeah, got a new DM recently myself and *some* of the new ones don't seem half bad. Makes it easy not to sweat small stuff like this.

I've no shortage of things to complain about with this place since the sale and I'm maybe too open about that. But I'm currently sitting at home on the next to last day of my final vacation week this year, which was granted without the usual notice because my wife had to be admitted to the hospital and there's no one else to watch our toddler. Now, I usually don't have to make more than one short notice request a year and it's never been for vacation time. But when I've had an emergency at home, it's never been anything but, "go take care of business," before the sale or after. Maybe I should call out the positives more often, but it's pretty telling that even as much as I've #####ed about this place over the years I still haven't gone looking for another job.

 

As one that has voiced opinions in the past, I too will definitely say that anytime you “need to be” somewhere, anywhere, Abilene made it happen.

 

That attribute alone is worth its weight in gold.

 

Went bowling again today, this time at the bowling alley near my apartment.

The bowling alley near my house is the WORLD HEADQUARTERS for the AMC bowling lanes company. That always makes me laugh. The world HQ for the largest bowling alley company in the US is in Mechanicsville, VA.

Bowling is expensive. That's why I don't do it more often. $60 for two games for three people each + shoe rental. Jeez. You'd think they'd be cutting discounts to get people in during these plague-ridden times. The bowling alley at the Petro in Columbia, SC is much cheaper.

I did break 100 though. I used to be in a bowling league as a teen, and I got my mojo back around the 10th frame of the first game. I still ain't *good*, but I'm no longer embarassing myself when I go out there.

 

We're on a fall league. Me, the Mrs, her sister, and sister's husband. It's every other Saturday night, so you don't get burned out too bad. I have a 140 average. Notr good, not bad.