Yesterday was a rather frustrating day, but at least it ended well. I got to the shipper, got into the dock in relatively few attempts (probably within 15 minutes, maybe even 10), then waited. And waited. What should have taken two hours took nearly four. Then, due to the weight of the load (39,900), I had to find a scale. Well, there were none along my route until I crossed the state line, so I had to backtrack fifteen miles... only to find out that the place refused to accept anything but cash. I called support shift to find out what I should do - or at least to get authorization to go another 40 miles out of route - then had to go to another scale... only to find out the company credit card wouldn't work there, forcing me to pay for it myself, though at least that will be reimbursed. To add insult to injury, the only DOT scale I passed on the whole trip was closed, thus meaning I'd never have been in trouble even if I was overweight. So, essentially, I drove 75 miles and wasted nearly four hours for absolutely no reason.
At least, once I got to the delivery point, everything went well. I found it in one try, then had to drop the trailer at the very end of a row, such that I had the entire length of the parking lot to back into there. Straight line backing is something I have down just about pat; I can drive in reverse without too much trouble, it's just the fancy cornering required to get into a dock that I have a hard time with.
After dropping the trailer, I went to the Green Bay OC and put my truck in for maintenance. I spent nearly an hour just chatting with the mechanic, since neither of us really had anything better to do. I told him the few things that were wrong with the truck, such as the windshield wipers and a blown power outlet; apparently both things are fairly simple to fix. The mechanic even said he'd look into getting my truck outfitted with a heater so I don't freeze during the winter, which would resolve the only major complaint I have about the job. Though I could have gotten the work it needed done within an hour, I found out that the hotel would let me have an early check in for Saturday, so I went to the hotel anyway. So I'll be checking out tomorrow, despite checking in at 5:30AM. So once my 34-hour restart is done around 2PM tomorrow, I'll be hitting the road and heading south, hopefully to find that it's somewhat warmer.
Am I the only one that ever leaves comments on here? Well anyway, I figured out why i got the rejection letter. They are no longer hiring in Florida. There's apparently a truck shortage/cost of fuel/too many drivers staying on issue going on. So turnaround is not what it used to be. Good thing you got on when you did. i waited too late.
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