jormagund

In a truly modern digital world, I would be able to watch first-run movies on my laptop over the internet. Pay my ten bucks and get the ability to see the movie no matter where I am. Yeah... I know... piracy is quite obviously the main obstacle preventing something like that from happening... but damnit, I want to see movies. I'm anxious to see "Talladega Nights" but don't really have any practical way of doing so at the moment. I'm at a truck stop which is more or less in the middle of the Pennsylvania mountains. Sure, I could search Google for the closest theatre perhaps... but I'm still attached to a tractor-trailer that makes going to ordinary places and doing ordinary things anything BUT an ordinary undertaking. It sorta sucks. I'd love to be able to somehow overcome these problems with technology.

So I'm done working for today. I'm at the Flying J in Lamar, PA and it's quite beautiful here. Not even too hot. I could go a bit further today on my way towards Portland, Maine (Monday morning delivery) but this is really the last Flying J on the way... and it is my preferred truck stop. Mostly because ON AVERAGE they are cleaner than everywhere else, and the fuel prices are pretty good too.

Yesterday morning I made my delivery in Flint, Michigan. I'm not really too fond of Michigan overall to tell you the truth. Mostly due to a handful of minor annoyances which includes a completely ridiculous 15mph split speed limit. Cars go 70, trucks go 55. Well... at least according to the law. A stupid and dangerous law that a handful of states implement under the false guise of safety. I know I say this a lot, but isn't it crystal fucking clear that having all traffic moving at the same speed is very obviously the safest possible situation on the highway?

Blame your state legislators and / or governor next time you get annoyed at being behind a slow moving truck, folks.

Anyhow... I ramble on that pet peeve a lot, I know. On the positive side, the Flying J in Lansing, MI is one of the nicest ones I visit. Stopped there for lunch and a shower even though I'd never buy fuel in Michigan. From there I went south to Butler, Indiana where I picked up a load of doors from one of our most annoying customers. And here's why: This stop is always supposed to be a drop-and-hook of a pre-loaded trailer. In layman's terms this means my company keeps a handful of empty trailers at their location. The customer is supposed to load up these trailers on their own time and then we come by and get them. The idea is to save the driver the time of waiting around to be loaded. The problem is... the last three times (including yesterday) I've gone there, I have had to wait several extra hours for them to finish the job. Heck, I even intentionally went an hour late yesterday to give them extra time and minimize any possible hanging around I had to do. But to no avail. I got there at 6pm (the trailer was supposed to be loaded and ready to go by 5pm). I didn't pull out of there until 945pm. By then my daily window of legal working hours has already expired so I am pretty much FORCED to drive illegally to a decent place to stop and spend the night. I ended up going about 45 minutes away to the first open service plaza on the Ohio Turnpike.

I mean, it wasn't like I was in any particular hurry or anything, but I'm stuck at that fucking customer location for nearly 4 hours without anything to do. No net access there since the cell signal was nearly non-existant. I only carry simple foods in my truck so my dinner was cold cereal and soy milk. And I waste money running the engine to stay cool and keep out the bugs. Total bullshit. And I am routed to go home this weekend... but I wont. There's just no point in it. The load is about 950 miles which I am breaking up over today and Sunday. When exactly am I supposed to fit a day off in there and deliver in Maine by Monday morning? Impossible. So I'm not even going to bother driving through Rhode Island at all. I'll just do my laundry here at the Flying J.

I mean, I could really push it today... get into NY or NJ and then just do a few more hours tomorrow morning and be home. But why? I'd get a few hours at the house and STILL have to leave Sunday afternoon to drive the last few hours up to Portland. Instead of all that bullshit I'm just taking it easy.

Oh yeah... I'd said that I was going to have a picture without the hair... so here it is. The beard is a bit scraggly because I recently shaved it off and I'm just growing it back again. Was getting used to my new electric razor.



Final thought today: I truly do not care if people smoke. If you want to smoke, please be my guest. But I DO really wish more states would take the step of making it illegal in INDOOR public places (for example this truck stop I'm sitting in). I've had a shower. I'm wearing fresh, clean clothes. Yet the people on both sides of me are smoking and there isn't anything I can do about it other than go sit in my truck. That's crap. They should have to smoke outside or in THEIR trucks.

Again, I'm not trying to tell anyone they can't smoke. But their habit is making ME sick (and making me smell like I need yet another shower and to change my clothes AGAIN). Now THAT should be illegal.

EDITED at dinnertime: There is a guy fucking smoking AT THE BUFFET. Not at his table... actually up at the food area. That's the most disgusting and inconsiderate thing ever.