Hometime

Just pulled into the house Friday 8am not too bad. Fortunately it's in between Selma, Al and Laurinburg, NC so I didn't have to go to far out of route for my hometime. I'll continue on to Laurinburg Sunday morning to grab my load and start my next 2 weeks out.

Have a good weekend
Bookerz out

Some people are just boneheads

Wake up just after midnight. 1 hour before the alarm clock goes off.
Fire up the truck and the coffee maker. Had to put an inverter in the truck. The amount of coffee I like to drink would send me to the poor house if I bought it and then I'd have to stop too often.
That done I looked around and there is this man walking around the parking lot. And he see's me cause I have to lights in the truck on. I'm thinking to myself I told these guys last night I don't want my wheels shined. So avoiding eye contact but still checking out what he's doing I realize he wearing a flak vest. I initially think through my still not quite awake state " Shining wheels has gotten tough". Finally it dawns on me "rent-a-cop" duh. Perhaps the Columbia Flying J is not in the best neighborhood.

Anyway I get rolling (after the coffee's done)roll into the consignee at 9am. Semi open appointment 7-12. Go in to talk to the receiver and he says your LATE. If you had been any later it would have cause a problem because I have to load my trucks. I explained that the W/A said 7-12 but that I would get right on it and unsecure the load. Working faster than my normal frantic pace I uncover the load. Once done I waited and I waited 40mins after the load is totally ready to go they touch the first piece of glass. If I'm anal about anything it's about being late, but more on that later.

Right before they touch the glass the y ask "Do you have the landing gear all the way down cause if you don't the trailer rocks when we unload the glass?" Just to let you know the landing gear being down can stop it from rolling, BUT there was no way it was going to stop this bonehead from rocking the trailer. Tap, tap tap tap he would hit the button that controls the crane to adjust the cradle to hook up to the glass. Tap, tap tap tap tap tap he would slowly move the glass. I understand being careful but if you move 4 tons of glass 2mm at a time it will cause a rocking motion until you finally get it away from the trailer. (DUH DUH)
After they finally get me unloaded the truth comes out

Come to find out I wasn't late. I was later than he wanted because it gets hot, I've already soaked my shirt, my pants with sweat and you want to whine at me because it gets hot in ALABAMA. Cry me a Flipping River. I pride myself on being mister customer service but this was too much. Alas I kept all that on the inside until I got here (my venting place).

Well onto more positive note. I got DH orderes back to Laurinburg to pick up a load going to Jackson MS for Tuesday (1245 miles). Typically run to the midwest after that things are looking up.

Have a good day
BOOKERZ

Mileage since march

03/09/09	Glass	301	Laurinburg	NC	Loganville	GA	301
03/10/09	DH	420	Loganville	GA	Greensboro	NC	721
03/11/09	Glass	287	Greensboro	NC	Arlington	VA	1008
03/16/09	DH	98	Arlington	VA	Hanover	PA	98
03/16/09	Brick	694	Hanover	PA	Atlanta	GA	792
03/18/09	DH	47	Atlanta	GA	Villa Rica	GA	839
03/18/09	Vehicles	754	Villa Rica	GA	Rockford	IL	1593
03/18/09	DH	81	Rockford	IL	Ottawa	Il	1674
03/18/09	Glass	539	Ottawa	Il	Brampton	ON	2213
03/22/09	DH	797	Brampton	ON	Laurinburg	NC	797
03/23/09	Glass	532	Laurinburg	NC	Cheswick	PA	1329
03/24/09	DH	532	Cheswick	PA	Laurinburg	NC	1861
03/24/09	Glass	233	Laurinburg	NC	Statesboro	GA	2094
03/31/09	DH	641	Statesboro	GA	Laurinburg	NC	641
03/31/09	Glass	326	Laurinburg	NC	Atlanta	GA	967
04/01/09	DH	326	Atlanta	GA	Laurinburg	NC	1293
04/01/09	Glass	124	Laurinburg	NC	Salisbury	NC	1417
04/01/09	Racks	124	Salisbury	NC	Laurinburg	NC	1541
04/03/09	Glass	701	Laurinburg	NC	Manchester	NY	2242
04/06/09	DH	76	Manchester	NY	Syracuse	NY	76
04/06/09	Vehicles	825	Syracuse	NY	Rock Island	IL	901
04/08/09	DH	275	Rock Island	IL	Green Spring	WI	1176
04/08/09	Glass	676	Green Spring	WI	Concord	ON	1852
04/09/09	DH	45	Cambridge	ON	Concord	ON	1897
04/09/09	Stone	200	Cambridge	ON	Clayton	MI	2097
04/13/09	DH	687	Clayton	MI	Fletcher	NC	687
04/13/09	Blgd Mats	414	Fletcher	NC	Elizabeth town	NC	1101
04/14/09	DH	371	Elizabeth town	NC	Russellville	SC	1472
04/17/09	Blgd Mats	729	Russellville	SC	Archbold	OH	2201
04/19/09	DH	253	Archbold	OH	Ottawa	Il	253
04/21/09	Glass	887	Ottawa	IL	Anjou	QC	1140
04/27/09	DH	944	Anjou	QC	Laurinburg	NC	944
04/27/09	Glass	976	Laurinburg	NC	Greenwood	AR	1920
04/28/09	DH	135	Greenwood	AR	Oklahoma City	OK	2055
04/28/09	Glass	615	Oklahoma City	OK	Owatonna	MN	2670
04/28/09	DH	363	Owatonna	MN	Ottawa	IL	3033
05/01/09	Glass	543	Ottawa	IL	Etopicoke	ON	3576
05/04/09	DH	795	Etopicoke	ON	Laurinburg	NC	795
05/04/09	Glass	117	Laurinburg	NC	Youngsville	NC	912
05/05/09	DH	221	Youngsville	NC	Richburg	SC	1133
05/05/09	Glass	452	Richburg	SC	Hebron	OH	1585
05/06/09	DH	98	Hebron	OH	Piqua	OH	1683
05/06/09	Steel	622	Piqua	OH	Hamilton	NC	2305
05/08/09	DH	177	Hamilton	NC	Laurinburg	NC	177
05/11/09	Glass	509	Laurinburg	NC	Madison	TN	686
05/11/09	DH	509	Madison	TN	Laurinburg	NC	1195
05/12/09	Glass	367	Laurinburg	NC	Villa Rica	GA	1562
05/14/09	DH	367	Villa Rica	GA	Laurinburg	NC	1929
05/15/09	Glass	293	Laurinburg	NC	Covington	GA	2222
05/16/09	Layover	341	Laurinburg	NC	Laurinburg	NC	341
05/16/09	DH	293	Covington	GA	Laurinburg	NC	634
05/18/09	Glass	625	Laurinburg	NC	West Babylon	NY	1259
05/20/09	DH	224	West Babylon	NY	Towanda	PA	1483
05/22/09	Blgd Mats	697	Towanda	PA	Greenville	SC	2180
05/29/09	DH	204	Greenville	SC	Laurinburg	NC	204
05/29/09	Glass	1233	Laurinburg	NC	St Jaques	NB	1437
06/01/09	DH	841	St Jaques	NB	Mt Holly	PA	841
06/02/09	Glass	407	Mt Holly	PA	Wilkesboro	NC	1248
06/02/09	DH	179	Wilkesboro	NC	Laurinburg	NC	1427
06/04/09	Glass	293	Laurinburg	NC	Covington	GA	1720
06/08/09	DH	293	Covington	GA	Laurinburg	NC	293
06/08/09	Glass	714	Laurinburg	NC	Jackson	MS	1007
06/15/09	DH	534	Jackson	MS	Wichita Falls	TX	534
06/15/09	Glass	1229	Wichita Falls	TX	New Castle	PA	1763
06/15/09	DH	217	New Castle	PA	Carleton	MI	1980
06/17/09	Glass	637	Carleton	MI	Owatonna	MN	2617
06/17/09	DH	494	Owatonna	MN	Mt Zion	IL	3111
06/17/09	Glass	685	Mt Zion	IL	Mt Holly Springs	PA	3796
06/22/09	DH	454	Mt Holly Springs	PA	Laurinburg	NC	454
06/25/09	Glass	1189	Laurinburg	NC	Riviere Du Loup	QC	1643
06/25/09	DH	40	Riviere Du Loup	QC	Riviere Ouelle	QC	1683
06/27/09	PM	694	Riviere Ouelle	QC	Vineland	NJ	2377
06/29/09	DH	157	Vineland	NJ	Mt Holly Springs	PA	157
06/29/09	Glass	138	Mt Holly Springs	PA	Moorestown	NJ	295
06/29/09	DH	138	Moorestown	NJ	Mt Holly Springs	PA	433
06/30/09	Glass	247	Mt Holly Springs	PA	Hauppauge	NY	680
06/30/09	DH	247	Hauppauge	NY	Mt Holly Springs	PA	927
07/01/09	Glass	124	Mt Holly Springs	PA	Pedricktown	NJ	1051
07/01/09	DH	124	Pedricktown	NJ	Mt Holly Springs	PA	1175
07/02/09	DH	656	Mt Holly Springs	PA	Laurinburg	NC	656
07/06/09	Glass	795	Laurinburg	NC	Etobicoke	ON	1451
07/08/09	DH	57	Etobicoke	ON	Brantford	ON	1508
07/09/09	Glass	324	Brantford	ON	Bloomsburg	PA	1832
07/10/09	DH	116	Bloomsburg	PA	Conshohocken	PA	116
07/13/09	Steel	512	Conshohocken	PA	Newton	NC	628
07/13/09	DH	138	Newton	NC	Laurinburg	NC	766
07/15/09	Glass	807	Laurinburg	NC	Concord	ON	1573
07/20/09	DH	807	Concord	ON	Laurinburg	NC	807
07/20/09	Glass	714	Laurinburg	NC	Jackson	MS	1521
07/20/09	DH	527	Jackson	MS	Tulsa	Ok	2048
07/21/09	Glass	615	Tulsa	Ok	Owatonna	MN	2663
07/22/09	DH	363	Owatonna	MN	Ottawa	IL	363
07/28/09	Glass	1943	Ottawa	IL	Los Angeles	CA	2306
07/29/09	DH	19	Los Angeles	CA	City of Industry	CA	2325
07/31/09	Back hoes	1554	City of Industry	CA	Alamo	TX	3879
07/31/09	DH	575	Alamo	TX	Wichita Falls	TX	575
08/04/09	Glass	886	Wichita Falls	TX	Atlanta	GA	1461
08/04/09	DH	99	Atlanta	GA	Bynum	AL	1560
08/05/09	Fiberboard	300	Bynum	AL	Barnwell	SC	1860
08/05/09	DH	171	Barnwell	SC	Laurinburg	NC	2031
08/07/09	Glass	674	Laurinburg	NC	Tamarac	FL	2705
08/08/09	DH	642	Tamarac	FL	Richburg	SC	642
08/11/09	Glass	464	Richburg	SC	Louisville	Ky	1106
08/11/09	DH	246	Louisville	Ky	Mt Zion	Il	1352
08/13/09	Glass	705	Mt Zion	Il	Kitchner	ON	2057
08/15/07	DH	802	Kitchner	ON	Laurinburg	NC	802
08/17/09	Glass	293	Laurinburg	NC	Covington	GA	1095
08/17/09	DH	293	Covington	GA	Laurinburg	NC	1388
08/17/09	Glass	184	Laurinburg	NC	Lenior	NC	1572
08/18/09	DH	184	Lenior	NC	Laurinburg	NC	1756
08/19/09	Glass	579	Laurinburg	NC	Secaucus	NJ	2335
08/21/09	DH	579	Secaucus	NJ	Laurinburg	NC	579
08/24/09	Glass	531	Laurinburg	NC	Selma	AL	1110
08/24/09	DH	531	Selma	AL	Laurinburg	NC	1641
08/25/09	GL	797	Laurinburg	NC	Brampton	ON	2438
08/27/09	DH	42	Brampton	ON	Cambridge	ON	2480
08/28/09	Stone	457	Cambridge	ON	Lemont	IL	2937
08/28/09	DH	197	Lemont	IL	Mt Zion	Il	197
08/31/09	Glass	657	Mt Zion	Il	Concord	ON	854
09/01/09	DH	807	Concord	ON	Laurinburg	NC	1661
09/02/09	Glass	479	Laurinburg	NC	Bridgeport	NJ	2140
09/07/09	DH	479	Bridgeport	NJ	Laurinburg	NC	479
09/09/09	Glass	712	Laurinburg	NC	Elkhart	IN	1191
09/08/09	DH	163	Elkhart	IN	Ottawa	IL	1354
09/09/09	Glass	543	Ottawa	IL	Etobicoke	ON	1897
09/10/09	DH	57	Etobicoke	ON	Brantford	ON	57
09/14/09	LM	811	Brantford	ON	Greenville	SC	868
09/14/09	DH	195	Greenville	SC	Laurinburg	NC	1063
09/15/09	Glass	559	Laurinburg	NC	Cuyahoga	Falls	1622
09/15/09	DH	559	Cuyahoga	Falls	Laurinburg	NC	2181
09/17/09	Glass	531	Laurinburg	NC	Selma	AL	2712

Week 37 Miles

Kinda on a whacked out driving schedule this week. Getting up at 12 or 1am and driving to the consignee getting there about 9 or 10 and driving a few hours toward the next destination. Usually (or ideally) I get there the night before for the am delivery but that hasn't been possible all week.

Still got to deliver the Selma, AL load tomorrow. Got to the Columbia SC Flying J and called it a day a little over 400 mi to the consignee in the morning then we'll see what up.
Week 37 Mileage

09/10/09	DH	57	Etobicoke	ON	Brantford	ON	57
09/14/09	LM	811	Brantford	ON	Greenville	SC	868
09/14/09	DH	195	Greenville	SC	Laurinburg	NC	1063
09/15/09	Glass	559	Laurinburg	NC	Cuyahoga	Falls	1622
09/15/09	DH	559	Cuyahoga	Falls	Laurinburg	NC	2181
09/17/09	Glass	531	Laurinburg	NC	Selma	AL	2712

I don't believe I'll be able to close another load the week so the total for the week will be 2712.
Our weeks close Saturday at midnight also the miles attributed to that load are credited when the load delivers. In other words a load that picks up on Friday but delivers on Monday will be put in for the pay period associated with Monday.

Starting Anew

I've deleted everything that I entered last year and decided to start it anew. this weekend I'm planning to get a aircard so I won't have such a difficult time finding net connections. That should allow me to post alot more regularly.


Well its been almost a year now since I've changed careers and started driving a truck. I chose Maverick Specialized for several reasons.

1. They would have me as a newbie.
2. Main Terminal for specialized division relatively close to the house.
3. Time at home every 2 weeks. (gotta keep the wife happy)
4. Excellent mileage rate compared to most other companies taking on newbies.
5. Ninety percent positive or neutral comments on the forums.
(most unusual considering how much truck drivers like to complain)
6. Good training program.

The recruiter was spot on so no complaints in that department. Around May they eliminated layover pay, but I had only been able to collect it 3 times since I started so no skin off my back.
YTD I'm averaging 2100+ paid miles a week. That includes the first week of the year with zero miles. Jan and Feb really sucked so if I was to exclude them I'm quite sure the average would be a lot higher. I've been in the retail industry for the last 20 years with various companies and unless you get into upper management the pay left a lot to be desired. In other words it wouldn't take many miles to surpass what I was making. Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb after you deduct the cost of living out on the road I averaged little better than I was doing before. Since then I've done considerably better and I get to see the country a bit.

Bookerz out