Something New

DATELINE: BROOKS, KY, 8: 15 p.m. EST

Well, today saw a little different twist on the usual "stuff" that goes on in this job. As you recall from yesterday's report, I was in limbo regarding the load I was hauling. I was too short on hours to make the delivery on time and I was waiting to hear from Dispatch about whether someone would come relieve me of the load or if they'd reschedule the delivery date. Well, I never did get a message back from Dispatch, but around 10:00 p.m. another USA driver did show up at the truck stop to take the load. Good communication skills in that Dispatch group. But wait, it gets better.

Around midnight I got another load assignment for a pickup in Louisville at 7:30 this morning. The load was bound for Anderson, SC and due for delivery at midnight tonight. So it required a one-day haul for the 400-ish mile trip. Now, I still only had 6 hours available to drive today, so I obviously couldn't make that jaunt within the hours of service reg's. I sent a message in letting Dispatch know that fact, and they "wired" back that "The freight side is working on it", meaning they were checking their options about reassigning the load or rescheduling the delivery. Anyway, I again never heard anything back, so after a short night of sleep I got up and headed over to make the pickup. (It was around 30 miles away.)

When I arrived at the shipper, I sent in my "Arrived at Shipper" message to let Dispatch know I was there (and on time). After I checked in and got ready to back to the dock they assigned me, I had a message on my Qualcomm box. Dispatch was telling me that I didn't have an assignment and not to pick up the load; another driver had been assigned the load. (Hah! I was on time! He was late! But do you think I get any credit for that?) So I had to go back into the office, give them their paperwork back, and tell them, "Never mind." Afterwards I headed over to a Pilot just south of town (Louisville, remember?). So I've been killing time today ever since; napping, taking a walk, playing poker, and Facebooking. But I do have an exciting development to report.

I've been assigned my first student, and he's up in Vandalia, OH waiting for me. Now it's just up to Dispatch (not them again!) to get me there tomorrow (Friday). I'll get up early in the morning, let them know I'm ready for a load, and then wait for them to find and assign me something. Let's just see how long that takes this time around.

So that's today's scoop. Thanks for taking a peek today. Drop me a line, and keep on truckin'.