Gi-Gi Roxx - The Ravings of a Lunatic

Well the load faery did finally come and visit me. The same evening on which I posted my last blog I received a load assignment! I was thrilled. It picked up in VA Beach the following morning and was bound north to Connecticut. It was a tight one though, but I made it okay. I picked up the load first thing Tuesday morning, was loaded and ready to roll in less than an hour. I had to go north up the coast pretty much and I was really worried that I'd end up hitting inauguration traffic along the way. So to avoid the major headache that was probably bound to be on I-95, I took a more rural route heading up US-17, picking up US-301 and then finding my way to I-97 and up from there. OMG that was the best decision I've made in months! It was a beautiful drive and I very leisurely I made my way north, seeing relatively little traffic. I listened to the Inauguration on my XM radio and was overwhelmed with a massive mix of emotions. I prefer not to get into that part of my life here tho...

I delivered a load to the Wal-Mart DC in Sutherland, VA on Saturday afternoon. I drove to the Pilot T/S in Colonial Heights to shut down for the night after I was done. I parked at 4pm Saturday and have been sitting here waiting for freight ever since. There are about 13 other big orange trucks parked in the lot here as well, that also have not moved since Saturday. Some had been here when I arrived, others arrived after I did. It just really sucks being in an area with such soft freight. And I'm starting to disbelieve the "it's just the beginning of a new year and commonly slow this time of year" bullsh*t. I don't recall sitting around at all this time last year. I may not have had many miles each week but I was certainly not parked for more than 24 hours. Right now I'm closing in on 48 hours of layover pay at least, so the paycheck I'll get next Friday for this week won't be soooo bad, but I can see myself having to cash in my vacation pay to ...

Just figured I'd post some recent foto's I've snapped along the way over the course of the past few weeks. Enjoy! Taken in Chicago, IL. I was passing under an overpass, got stopped in traffic underneath for a couple minutes and figured I'd take a snapshot of the support structure that was filled with filthy trash. The sign said "Low Clearance 13"." but I made it... as did all the other big trucks before and behind me. I was a little nervous though. The load I picked up in Chicago consisted of 7 pallets of generic wax paper to be sold at Dollar General stores in the east. I had to hang out on the dock and count the pallets as the loader put them on the trailer. I am just glad it wasn't too many, I may have lost count! haha Icy conditions existed on I-68 in Maryland a couple weeks ago. As I progressed along the highway from the I-79/68 split in Morgantown, WV the ice got thicker and thicker on the foliage. I took this foto at what was probably th...

Well I finally went to see a Dr. about my ailing health situation. He said I'll survive. I suppose that should be enough to make me jump for joy... but I still don't feel 100% and can't really celebrate a victory I've yet to actually accomplish. But I do feel a lot better than I did before! Let see... my 3 stop load got relayed and I spent nearly 48 hours sitting at the Sadler's TS in Dunn, NC resting and working on getting well. I couldn't take it anymore and made myself available for a load and ended up having to drive over to the coastal area of NC to the port in Morehead City. First stopping in New Bern to acquire an empty trailer. I didn't know heading into Morehead City that it was going to be at the actual ports, since none of my assignment macros indicated as much. So I was driving along, following my directions and ended up at the port entrance and thought to myself... "well crap. I don't have a TWIC card." The officer at the gate appr...

Okay, so I finally got rolling again on the 6th of Jan. I picked up a load in Ohio and headed back to my house for one last night at home (I got really spoiled with all that time off, okay!). I hit the road early Wed. morning and made it to our terminal in Carlisle, PA...already exhausted for the day. Thursday morning, I hit it again and made my delivery in CT around the one o'clock hour I believe it was. I was starting to feel really icky by this time, but figured I'd shake it with some Zicam and Vitamin C. As I was being unloaded I received my next work assignment which would take me into Mass. to pick up a preloaded trailer and head south towards Savannah, GA. With enough time to get the load and put a couple of hours of highway behind me left on my day, I did just that. I was pooped and was glad to have found parking at a travel plaza on I-95 in CT. I'm learning that while there are usually a few parking spaces available at these plaza's just before sundown, it...

Well I was enjoying some time off. Now I'm just getting annoyed. I took time off for New Years. I got home the evening before New Years Eve and was supposed to only have three days off. I'm still at home... wondering if I will ever get a load. I guess you could say I'm on "standby" but from what they're telling me, I won't be going anywhere until maybe tomorrow, Monday the 5th. Now don't get me wrong, I really enjoy having some extra time to spend with my sweetie and sleep in my own bed for a few more nights. But I'm sitting around here, getting bored and going shopping... spending money I'm not making. Plus I have to be ready at practically a moments notice in case they do find me a load or need me for a load save or something. UGH.... that also means I don't get to enjoy a few more ice cold brewskis. Bah, humbug. How is everyone else moving along out there?