From the Qualcomm:
Thurdsay, 10/1/09,
12:11 - ME: Going to wait at the Flying J - I'm out of cigs.
13:02 - 007: U have a load coming here to del in SC in the am.
13:04 - ME: Ok - get me back in time for stress test Monday AM. I can't miss it - my medical certificate expires 10/13.
13:08 - 007: Already worked out
13:08 - Me: Cool! Thx much.
13:38 - Me: Do you know when it'll be here? What truck? What Trlr?
13:48 - 007 Local bringing it in - not sure - sorry.
13:50 - me: Ok. Thx anyway.
(I'm thinking, "This is just great. I wish she'd told me earlier, so I could'ave been trying to sleep.")
14:02 - Me: One last question - where to in SC? So I can figure when I need to leave.
14:17 - 007: Rock Hill SC
14:24 - Me: Might as well say Charlotte - looks like the best way. 500 miles by the time it's said and done. 9 hours. Whatever. I'm going to bed.
(I was gonna have to drive all night. Why didn't she tell me earlier?)
14:28 - 007: 42 (Trucker slang for 10/4 or OK.)
14:29 - 007: Do you want me to call you when load gets here?
14:30 - me: No - I'll check with guard when I get up. Thanks anyway.
14:32 - Me: Time started at 3am today, so I'm taking 10 now. Is there some way the guard can dispatch me tonight? So qquam won't go off?
14:43 - 007: I'll tell him.
14:45 - me: Good deal. Thx
14:54 - 007: Bills are here now. Sending now. Bills will be with guard.
(She meant she was dispatching me now. I guess they can't dispatch somebody from the yard without the bills.)
14:55 - me: Ok.
When you're telling yourself, "I gotta get to sleep; I gotta get to sleep; I gotta get to sleep...." it's hard to get to sleep. So when 7:30PM rolled around, the time my 10 hours was up, I was already tired. I hooked to the trailer, picked up the bills at the guard shack, and headed towards Rock Hill SC.
BTW - LonnieMac told me the other day he was leaving AMX. I reckon he'll miss the golf cart ....
NEXT DAY
Friday, 10/2/09
00:38 - me: I hate doing an overnight trip after I've been up all day. I got to shut my eyes for a while.
It was for the record more than anything else because nobody was in the office. I made it to the Petro at Carnesville GA before I decided I was becoming a safety hazard. I set the Screaming Meanie for 3 hours. When it went off I got up and started driving again, but I was having to stomp my feet on the floor to stay awake. I was praying too. After the sun started coming up it got a little easier to keep my eyes open, and I delivered shortly after 8:00AM eastern. Only an hour or so late.
07:38 - 007: Load and take to Montgomery and drop it and get an empty trailer and go home.
Shipper and Consignee information was "TBA" (To be announced) - call broker. Another mystery load.
07:45 - me: Ok thx.
08:06 - me: Broker says it loads a 5pm, but they might have it ready early. If it's ok with y'all, it's ok with me. (All I knew at that point was that I was exhausted. I thought I could get some sleep in the meantime.)
08:11 - 007: 42
10:32 - 007: Driver will be in Montgomery 07:00 on AM to get this load.
10:34 - me: I'm pretty sure I won't be there.
10:45 - 007: No. I'm telling you you need to be there no reason not to be this load has to be delivered on time monday driver can not wait for you to get into montgomery late tomorrow you need to take your break now and when your load is ready you will have your full break behind you and drive it to montgomery.
(If I'd been sleepy at all, 007 just squashed it. Ever try to sleep when you're mad?)
10:51 - me: I'll do the best I can. That's all I'll commit to.
10:53 - 007: 430 miles is all it is so they will be expecting it there.
10:53 - me: Like I said, the only thing I'll promise is the best I can do. If I find myself nodding off tonight because I can't sleep now - you can bet I'm going to stop for a while.
11:11 - me: When y'all planned this, did y'all know it wouldn't load until 5PM? Because the load info says 7:00AM....
11:16 - 007: Load at five you would have full break. (What!!??)
11:22 - me: I logged off here at 10:15AM. Now I'm wide awake and couldn't sleep if I had a bottle full of sleeping pills. I was awake all day yesterday, did the run last night on 3 hours sleep, and you're telling me to do another overnight on no sleep? Like I said, I'll do the best I can. I'm not a machine.
11:24 - 007: We are doing this to get you home so lets not forget that.
11:27 - me: I knew something like this was going to happen. It always does. This is the last time I'll say it - I'll do the best I can do. The matter's closed as far as I'm concerned.
At that point I went ahead and called Whatagreatguy because 007 and Princess Leeya have gotten in the habit of telling me to call him when their plans fall through. I got his voice mail and left a message that (paraphrasing) I would probably he told to call him anyway, and I was just beating 007 to the punch. I told him the Qualcomm messages pretty much said it all; and that I hated to run it illegally; and that I didn't want to have a wreck because I was too tired to drive, etc.
I hoped the message made sense, because I could barely remember where I was. Almost immediately after I hung up, he sent the following:
11:50 - Whatagreatguy: 10/4 Best you can do. Whatagreatguy.
11:51 - me: I promise - it'll be my best. Thanks much.
Bless his heart, Whatagreatguy just get banged around in the middle of everybody's arguments.
NEXT DAY
Saturday, 10/3/09
03:50 - me: I'm afraid to drive any further until the sun comes up. Fog is so thick I can't see and I'm exhausted.
Again, it was for the record more than anything else. I was only 75 miles from Montgomery by this time, but the fog was messing up my perception of things around me - kind of like Black Dog hallucinations (from the movie Black Dog), or white line fever, maybe. It happens to drivers who are extremely fatigued. Anyway, I slept a couple of hours, and made it to the Montgomery yard around 8:30AM this morning:
08:32 - me: Where's the driver that wants this load so bad? I expected hin/her to be here with baited breath the way 007 pushed me to get here. What a crock...."
8:37 - me: I feel like throwing up I'm so exhausted, and the driver's not even here. I should'ave taken 10 when I needed to instead of when 007 wanted me to.
09:08 - me:...I'm taking 007 off my Christmas card list.
(And seriously thinking about changing her name to "Pusher".)
