Wednesday, December 9, 2020

 Another very long day. You'd think a mere 420 miles of driving wouldn't be a big deal.  Nope, the driving part isn't.  In fact, a good portion of it is on I-80, a turnpike, everyone is speeding and you get on down the highway in quick fashion.

It's the waiting on a rental car info, then getting a ride to the airport - 30 minutes away - getting the car at the airport - getting back to the yard, loading my stuff into the car out of the truck - and THEN you get on the Interstate.

At the other end, today anyway, was pleading with them to get some of these rental cars back to Enterprise!  I had 3 of them there!  Finally, the manager was there and he helped me get two of them back, the third is the one I drove in there today. 

So tomorrow, I will get - another rental car - and go back there, drop off both cars, drive another tractor back and be done  with this ordeal.  

You see, I didn't expect any of this. I was told two trips from Amarillo to Pennsylvania, there wasn't any mention of shuttling 4 tractors from point A to point B.  Or all of the hassle it involves.  If they were long trips, it would be worth it, but it's only 210 miles each way.  If I didn't have to deal with rental cars, I'd be done with this by now.  Oh well, one more day of this stuff and it's over. Whether they have something else for me to do - I will find out Friday morning.  

That has been the other ordeal. Getting a room. At the same hotel. Every night.  These people running this place had never heard of a crew fax before and they were totally clueless.  They said it didn't even exist at first, but after the fax shows up, now they have to deal with it.  Mostly by making phone calls.  Again, I have been all over the eastern half of this country with this company, they do crew faxes all the time.  It's not new, it's not unknown, it's just this place that doesn't know about it. Like, have they never had a truck driver in here before?  It's not just limited to truck drivers, but trucking companies use it a lot.

But maybe not. You can't bring a tractor-trailer rig in here, that's impossible.  It simply isn't set up for trucks, it wouldn't be able to make any of the turns.  But a tractor only? I can take one of those just about anywhere a car can go.  

Well the hotel ordeal is over.  My manager said today he had gotten me a room for the next 4 nights - but forgot to tell me about it last night, hence I checked out this morning.  So, he's gotten me this room until Friday morning, when I intend on getting out of Dodge.  High tail it out of here. He can send me somewhere else, Friday will only mark a week out here on the road.  I promised two weeks and I"m down for two weeks. Just not this kind of two weeks!  

I'm only 676 miles from Burlington, they could send me over there for a week or two and finish this off there and then, yes, please fly me home.  Okay, I'd like to be home or near there for Christmas. Like if I'm not home on Christmas day, be home the next day or the day after.  Really, tho, they were asking for people in Vermont, I'd go there for a week and a half or so and help out there, I'm sure people are wanting vacation time and needing drivers to fill in.  

But, I'm only going to say I"m down for whatever when I call him Friday - assuming this IS done on Friday. I've gotten lucky that these 3 trucks that have been sitting forever didn't break down on the way up here.  I've got that last one, but someone just brought that in from somewhere else, so I have relative assurance it will make it another 210 miles and after that? I don't care lol.  

And what AM I missing?  A hot meal, thanks.  I get done with the day and everything is closed or closing by the time I get here. Great restaurants in walking distance, they all close early. Must be a covid thing.  

OHH and the shop foreman today!  It's the yard where I'm taking these trucks.  I come walking in through the back door the shop  - it's the only way to get to the office from the yard - and he comes jumping out of a truck he's working on - you can't walk through here without a mask on!!!!!!!!!!

Notwithstanding the fact that neither he or his 2 employees are wearing masks.  I had to hold back the laughter at his sheer hypocrisy or making - comments lmao - and I just put it on and kept walking through there.  He's an authoritarian, I saw that from the get go 2 days ago.  He thinks he owns the place.  I tend to ignore such people unless they get in my face. It instantly seemed to me to be a better choice to just put on the mask than point out the fact that none of them are wearing one. He would just complain to whoever about it and I would look like the villain. He didn't want to hear about the issues with the first truck I brought in there - it was just an FYI statement, not a demand to fix it, I'm not going to be driving it so it's not my problem.  He gave me a look, that will be on the BOTTOM of my priority list!  

I said nothing further to him after that and haven't had any issues with anyone else at either end of this ordeal, at least.  

But yes, I want my hot meal. A nice, thick, juicy steak would be great.  I did score a rotisserie chicken at the Kroger's down the street. It was good, but not the same as a full meal.  

Did I say I'm missing a hot meal?  Oh, I guess I did. lol

Well I'm tired. Time to go to sleep. 


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