Good Night From II

We ALLLLL have days when we are driving and thinking to ourselves that we want to tell someone off or hang it up and go work for someone else. I know I do. But I also know that in the big picture I have a pretty good gig.

Hang in there HousTank.

Completing a home time, getting back on it tomorrow early AM from Jurupa Valley with a new trainee. Our first dispatch is to Spokane, WA, so we will immediately be getting up into the colder and slicker regions of the country. My trainee has several years experience, but all at least five years in the past, and has to complete 200 hours of training. IMHO that's a bit of overkill for training, but I do look forward to having a trainee at the wheel that has a clue.

Last couple of days took my wife up to San Jose and got her situated nicely with her sister-in-law in a great little apartment. She'll get a car from her sister, so now I've got the Honda. Getting back to Jurupa Valley I'll now be able to use a car during my home time instead of driving home, but now I'll need to figure out how to move that car back up to Lathrop for home time come Christmas. I think I'll fly from Sacramento to Ontario next home time, then drive the car back up to Lathrop.

I developed another crack in the windshield, but declined to put my truck into B Service early and take care of it in Jurupa Valley. Although the mechanics are ASE certified, they've lost my confidence when it comes to trouble shooting and doing things RIGHT. I'll wait to replace the windshield until I take a 34 with my trainee and get a B Service at the same time. Anything is better than letting the JV guys work on my truck again.

 

And hopefully he's willing to listen to a trainer with recent experience. Heck, maybe you both can teach each other a thing or two. That's the best kind of training.

 

I always seem to learn something from every trainee. Everyone comes to this with a different background and perspective. Whether it's trying to connect a key concept with their background that "learns me" or whether something they do differently than I would have done for setting up for a back, I'm open to learn something from everyone.

 

Sigh nitemare load pick up in okc at clearwater, take to Houston, tx to grocery warehouse. Pu at 2200 on 10th deliver today at 2100 np easy, but I sit at Clearwater for 6 hours to get loaded. My 14 is up so go to terminal to take 10 and must likey t-call load. Because now I won't get there until 2330. Did macro 22.........

10 am this morning I msg DM if csr happen to reschedule load for 2330 or if it has a open window. Which I did not think there was since its a grocery warehouse which I despise going to, don't know how refer guys do it. And this the response I get back from DM ...." CSR says head there, they should take you at 2330" which means CSR is to lazy to call and if they dont take driver then we will have to reschedule.

 

Lancaster, TX.

Still.

I got my DOT physical done yesterday, but not in time to get the papers in before they went home.
Brought them in early this morning, but it was later this afternoon when they finally got sent to Phoenix so I could get the safety hold lifted.
Then I'm sent a plan that doesn't pick up until tomorrow at 1800, delivering the next morning at 0400. What fun.
I took it because there are a lot of trucks sitting here and I had no idea when something else might come up.

At 1900 I get a request to do a local load from here to Dallas, delivering at midnight.
'Please take it and you will have an mt and be able to get set up for your next load...'
I turned it down.
I don't plan on being up that late, and by the time I got finished with that load finding somewhere to park would be impossible.

 

At the Virginia Welcome Center Rest Area on I-77 SB. Suffering with the flu, but still drove 400 today. I hate being sick away from home.

 

Doing a 12 at an Indie TS outside of Madison WI on I-39.

Got into Minooka IL this morning just as the arctic blast front came through. Rain to sleet with howling winds. Pretty darn cold..and kept getting colder all day. The receiver had no empty trailers and planners were taking too long to find one so I went to my list of places nearby that we do D/Hs at found one a few miles away in Joliet. Got past their gate guard and found 5 15-series trailers sitting there mty. Like hitting the Jackpot. Had Houston attach one and took off for Morris. Delivered the Costco in Madison and scored another new trailer to take to the shipper for a live load in Janesville WI in the morning. Then it's off to Laredo for a Friday morning drop at a broker on Bob Bullock Loop.

My DM called me today asking if I was ready to start on the Walmart Blitz out of the Baytown DC. Of course I said yes since I've done the Blitz the last couple of years. All out and back drops from Baytown to four smaller regional DCs in TX and LA hopefully till after Christmas. She said to give her a yell when I'm a couple hours from Laredo. I can do that.

 

Riiiight.... See this is why I'm taking off to somewhere else. Even if it means back to Ag hauling. Not as good as pay, but at least you could get someone in the office to shoot straight w/you 90% of the time. And yeah I get it, bigger operation - bigger problems. But it doesn't justify the conditions of having (being forced, more like) to take the initiative of contacting the customer to find out PRECISE info.

 

I was down in Laredo last week ... new rule, you pull a trailer into the terminal it gets inspected ... mt, loaded, live or drop