Detroit, MI

Today was one of those days where almost anything that could have gone badly did. I really wish I didn't have to wake up at all. Basically, I found out that I had a really, really tight schedule for this next load. I also overslept a bit, making my drop even tighter. I had no problems on the highway, but once I tried to find my exit, things quickly fell apart. I somehow missed the street I was supposed to turn on immediately after getting off the Interstate. I then found it, but couldn't find the side street I needed to turn on, which resulted in screaming, hair pulling, crying, and extreme frustration. After about twenty minutes, I found what looked like the right place... only it was the wrong entrance to the place, forcing me to go back out on the street and try again.

Upon arriving at the correct entrance, I was just told to drop the trailer anywhere. That wouldn't be so bad, except that there were only two empty spaces in the entire facility, both of which were in rather awkward positions. It took me thirty minutes just to get the trailer dropped, as well as even more frustration. If I weren't already so worked up, I might have had a slightly easier time of it, but it's kinda hard to back a trailer in when you're unable to even see straight.

By the time I got out of there, it was about 11:30PM. I then had to bobtail over to a place about 15 miles away to pick up an empty trailer. The directions I had were lousy, though; they directed me to an industrial park without telling me which entrance to use or where within the park I needed to go to find someone who could tell me where I was supposed to go. I ultimately drove by it, forcing me to turn around AGAIN, though this time it was easier as I didn't have a 53' trailer to worry about.

I then found the empty trailer and it was in good condition. The problem? The lot that I was in was completely unlit and my backup lights don't work unless the parking brake is set, rendering them completely useless for backing. Also, when I tried to leave, because it was completely dark, I nearly drove straight into a concrete barrier; I stopped dead just six inches short of hitting it at about 10mph. A little careful, creative backing got me out of there, but not without making me even more shaken up.

Driving to the next place - where I dropped the trailer and am waiting to pick up my load - was also an adventure. I couldn't go back out the way I came in; I needed to make a left turn to get to the Interstate and it was a right turn only back onto the road. There was a U-turn lane, though, which allowed me to get back toward the Interstate. Once on the highway, things were fine until I got to the exit I needed and found it was closed. The ONLY exit they had closed was the one I needed. I took the next ramp, then saw that other cars were turning around and going back to the "closed" exit by using the eastbound exit, since only the westbound ramp was closed. I took the same approach.

Thankfully, I found this place without incident, as I actually had useful directions this time (something like: turn here, then at the first light, then it's the first building on the left). I then was told to drop my trailer in a dock and to come back to find out about my load. I was able to drop it without any significant problems, though I did run over a 2-by-4 they were using as a wheel chock, which scared me for a moment. When I came back up, though, I found out that I needed a trailer number to get the load. I then called support shift to find out that this load isn't ready yet, despite being told it was pre-loaded and available to pick it up by 11:30AM. Frustratingly, I can't even start working until 12:15PM, since my break won't be up until then, which puts me 45 minutes behind schedule on a run that has NO spare time to begin with.

It's 557 miles from here to where I'm delivering. I have to be there by 9AM Central time Saturday. I won't be able to leave here until, at best, 11:45AM central time, and that's assuming that I wake up, get the paperwork, complete my pre-trip inspection, and be on the road within 30 minutes. Even under that "best" case scenario, I have 21 hours to make a 12-hour drive (at 50mph, rounding up, which is how the company supposedly calculates things) and take a 10 hour break. Now, last time I checked, 12+10=22, and I only have 21 to work with. This means that I can't afford any stops whatsoever, have to take the bare minimum break, and still have to make up at least one hour on the highway. Granted, this is a fairly pessimistic estimate, but considering how things have gone the last couple of days, I'm wondering if it's all too accurate.

In any event, before any of this can happen, I need to get at least eight hours of sleep. Despite sleeping in until 3PM today, I'm already exhausted and just want to pass out in the sleeper. Hopefully nine hours of rest will be enough for me to feel reasonably well in the morning.