Musta' Been a Monday

DATELINE: FREMONT, IN, 10:00 p.m. EDT

Miles Today: 254

D'you remember a couple days ago when I wrote that I'd had my favorite kind of day on this job--just driving, making lots of paid miles? Well, today was my least favorite kind--lots of waiting around at BOTH delivery AND pickup, and toss in waiting for a repair to boot! But let me pick up the story from where I left off yesterday, after the hit-and-run and while waiting for guidance about getting my truck fixed.

Shortly after I signed off, the Road Assistance Department sent me to the TA that was just 3 miles down the highway (I-80/94 in Gary, IN) to have their shop fix up my broken mirror post. They took a quick look and determined that they didn't have the necessary part (the whole mirror and post assembly, actually) and couldn't get it until this morning. So we determined that I'd make my delivery in the morning (it was only 10 miles away), then return to the TA for the repair. So I found a spot in the TA's lot (it's a big lot, and many spaces were still open) and spent the night there.

This morning I woke up far earlier (4:36) than I wanted to (6:00) and couldn't get back to sleep. So I eventually (a little before 6:00) got up and headed inside for a shower. Then it was back to the truck to kill some time before heading to my delivery.

The delivery appointment was for 8:00, so I figured I'd get there a bit early and got rolling at 7:00. It was indeed a short trip, and I arrived at 7:15. Unfortunately, the place didn't open up 'til 7:30. When I signed in at 7:30, I learned that the lady who handles my customer (this place was a warehouse that receives and holds materials for many different companies) didn't get in and start 'til 8:00. So it was back to the truck to wait some more.

At 8:00 I was back inside. By 8:15 I finally had a dock assignment, and drove over and backed in. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. Apparently the dock team had a meeting, and they didn't even touch my truck 'til after 9:00. A long while later, I noticed it had been quiet for a few minutes in my trailer, so I walked inside to see it they were done. Nobody was around, and my trailer was still 1/2 full (I guess that's the pessimistic view in this circumstance). Break time does rule; this musta' been a union shop.

I could run on and on, but in the interest of brevity (whaddaya mean, "Too late"?), I'll just say that I didn't get out of there 'til 11:00. I then drove the 10 miles back to the TA and started the process of waiting there. Most of which was waiting out the repair authorization process. In the end it turned out that the mechanic just used some wire (he said it was a coat hanger; I asked if it was a DOT-approved coat hanger) to temporarily hold the broken part of the mirror post together. Fine by me, as long as it would hold the mirror in a place where I could get it angled correctly for a proper view down the side of the truck and the adjacent lane. And it does. When I get to a terminal I'll see about a permanent repair.

So I was done with the shop there around 12:15 or 12:20. When I got back in the truck, I already had my next assignment (of course, I had told Dispatch NOT to assign me a load 'til I told them I was done with the repairs). But it worked out OK, 'cuz the pickup was in Manteno, IL at 1:30, and I had just enough time to get there on schedule. Which I did. Then more waiting began.

They got me into a dock right away, and they got started loading reasonably soon, but they never seemed to finish. This place has one of the newer generation of docks with red and green lights at each door to indicate to the driver when s/he can move in or out of the dock (green) or has to stay put 'cuz they're working in the trailer (red). Once my dock light went red after docking, it didn't go back to green.

Now, this load (and presumably me with it) is going to Shelton, CT (just west of New Haven) for a Wednesday morning delivery. 875 miles (or probably more; the 875 is what the load assignment quoted). That meant I needed to get rolling so I could eat up as many of those miles today as possible before my 14-hour driving window ran out. But, of course, it stayed red. A "normal" load process takes about an hour; less--sometimes much less--if the dock is an efficient operation. This afternoon, I didn't get green 'til I'd been there for almost 2-1/2 hours. When I went in to get the paperwork after being green-lighted, the guy there *itched and moaned about their computer system messing up.

A side note: Something seems to have been going on with computers today. While I was sitting at my delivery this morning, my daughter called from home and said her laptop would not connect to the internet--it said it didn't have a wireless adapter installed, which of course it does. Later I found out that the situation resolved itself without intervention or explanation. This evening, when I first turned on my laptop, it "stalled" when booting up my Verizon Access Manager program (MY internet connection), stopped responding at all, and it looked for a while like I was going to have to just let the battery run down in order to even get the thing to shut off so I could even restart it. After a while it did go into hibernation and let me sign back on. I did restart it then and since, everything's been fine. Now back to today's story.

Anyway, at 4:15 (CDT) I was finally free to start eating up the road to CT. I made the obligatory stop to weigh my truck (perfect on the first attempt) and another quick stop to grab a bite to eat, and managed 3-1/2 hours of driving before stopping for the night at a Service Plaza along the IN Turnpike. The last one before Ohio, actually. My time was running short, otherwise I would have made for the Toledo area. But this place is fine; it has a McDonald's and Dairy Queen along with a convenience store. Since I can't get started 'til 7:00 (EDT)tomorrow morning (remember, I gotta take a full 10-hour break, and I stopped at 9:00 EDT), I'll be able to grab breakfast under the arches if I so choose.

So it was another long day for relatively few paid miles. That's what really burns my biscuits about this job--having to wait while shippers and receivers eat up my hours that I could be driving. Makes me really appreciate the companies that know what they're doing on the docks and get me in and out fast.

Thanks for looking in today. Send in your comments and questions (note to reader dennis the accompanist: read that again, it says "10+", not "110", but thanks for writing in), and keep on truckin'.