Happy Sunday!
Another day in paradise - otherwise known as Williston, Vermont. Looking at a map, I was almost shocked to realize how far up north I actually am. I only did that because my buddy Fin kept mentioning how Canada is just across the lake. Really? Shows you how much attention I have paid to the countryside around me, Montreal is only 99 miles from here.
Well, I've looked at the beautiful scenery and mountains and taken a lot of pics, but not a map of the region. It would be interesting to drive up to Canada, but I don't know about driving a rental car over there. I actually have my passport with me.
Anyway, I have one run scheduled to me for a 2:00 pm start time. That kind of does in any chances of doing any traveling excepting by truck lol. And today starts The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Brake Safety Week .
That's just another excuse for them to pull over trucks and do inspections. Coronavirus be damned lmao, we're going to inspect those trucks! And there just happens to be a weigh station on both the north and south bound sides of I-89 where I have to travel through to get to the plant in New York. Get past those two stations and there is no way they can pull trucks over on the rest of the route, there is literally no place to pull over. If a truck breaks down in any of that area, it's taking up the entire lane and blocking traffic lol.
I don't know the condition of the brakes on any of those trucks, I can look at the brake linings to determine if they have enough padding. They are going to be inspecting hoses and valves and such.
If I get pulled over, it is what it is, it's part of trucking but I'd far rather be in my own truck right now, I know it's in great shape!
I'm beginning to go stir crazy. Simply because the lack of work. One run? That's only 4 to 5 hours and it's done. I'm at 10 days as of today here, that's 3 grand, nice number, time to go home! But they're dragging it out, extending it further and further. At two weeks, I'll be putting my foot down if it goes that far and declaring that that is the maximum amount of time I agreed to be up here. I said it twice to my manager in his office before I left, undoubtedly he has forgotten that declaration, but I'll be reminding him of it.
Amazingly, the friend of Taylor's who has been staying at the house for - 2 weeks I think - lives in Maine. That's only a hop, skip and a jump away as well. I haven't been to Maine since I was a child.
A few things I hope not to forget if they ever try to make me come up here again. 1 - a kitchenette. There's 2 huge grocery stores not half a mile from this hotel. I could be preparing my own food and eating much healthier and according to my diet if I were in a kitchenette.
2. Drive my own truck up here - which is what they originally proposed. And I was for, btw. Then I know what I'm driving is road worthy and won't have to speculate what we will be driving.
3. Know what we will be hauling. I want to know what product it is, if I've hauled it and if not, that they understand - the management where I'll be going - that they will have to train me. However long that takes. I don't mind learning new things, at the same time I don't need pissy management thinking simply because I've hauled Cryo I must, somehow, magically understand how other cryo operations work.
4. A definitive return date. A "no later than this date you will return home". Because right now? It's still up in the air. It wouldn't shock me in the least if they tried to keep us up here another weekend. As if our lives are expendable, they just move it further and further out. The other driver has a family and kids, I don't have that but I still want to go home! Thursday marks 2 weeks. Well Friday in reality but we spent all day friday in transit coming up here so I'm counting it as well.
They leave so much up in the air. Even the driver that trained me up here? He had only been delivering this stuff for 2 weeks. Lol, my training was green as well. He did a good job, but apparently he left out a bunch of important information that he apparently thought wasn't necessary. Just the actual process of hooking up the trailers to the rail where the plant has it's piping to deliver the gas from the trailers to the plant. An operation they have well off from the rail - like at least 500 feet away.
This go with the flow mindset I've tried to take doesn't work out. They just take advantage of it. I won't refuse another journey like this, but I'll want specifics before I make a decision. That's the gist of it, or they can move onto the next driver. It's almost guaranteed they will need drivers up here to haul LNG this winter. They had to fill 100 open spots with drivers from around the country, in advance for just such an operation. Not the same one as I did before but not far from it. The other driver said he volunteered for this one so that when winter comes around and they start asking, he can say he already did his gig, someone else's turn. Good thought, I suppose.
So there it is. My Sunday morning. It's 8:30 am and I'm thinking of attempting to try to find a restaurant that actually serves breakfast that isn't 10 miles away.
Hmm, The Skinny Pancake, right by the water. Or Panera which is right down the street. Not much else I can find that has breakfast fare.
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Panera it was, just a breakfast sandwich and coffee. Prices around here to eat out are pretty outrageous. $15 for that. Just another reason not to want to eat out all the time, tho the $40 allowance for food every day seems to be enough to not go starving.
