STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 21610: Sticking around Saint Louis

Life Day 21605: Passing through Las Vegas

At long last, about 1400, on the 3rd, I recieved a PrePlan which picked up in Woodland, CA and delivered in Las Vegas, NV. After locating and hooking to an empty trailer in our terminal in Sparks, I left for woodland about 1500. I arrived at 1815, did the drop/hook and the paperwork, then drove to our Lathrop, CA terminal for fuel and a quick MMM walk. At 2045, I left Lathrop and drove to Madera, CA where, after a modicum of contemplation, I decided to stop for the night. Since this was Labor Day weekend, my load wasn’t scheduled to deliver until Tuesday afternoon, so I fugured why over-tax my old body by too much needless exertion. I had been up since 0630, and I was off for enough hours in Sparks to do a 70-hour re-start of my Logbook, so my “workweek” was just beginning.
On Labor Day, I labored, a little. I left Madera at 0945 and drove to Bakersfield. I stopped just long enough to walk the MMM. At 1300, I drove the rest of the way to Las Vegas, arriving at the Wild Wild West about 1830. I sampled another delicious menu selection from the Black Bear Diner (Swiss Steak), then went back to the WWW to veg & geek until I retired for the night about 2330.
On Tuesday, the 5th, I arrived at the consignee at 1300, the scheduled appointment time. I had already accepted a PrePlan which delivered ASAP in Salt Lake City. It took about 3 hours to unload. At 1600, I drove to the shipper, which was clear across town, but still in Las Vegas. I arrived at 1630, did the drop/hook and the paperwork, and drove to Scipio, UT. I arrived at 2230. I did a quick MMM walk, then drove the rest of the way to Salt Lake City. I arrived at 0045 and went to bed. I’ll deliver this load tomorrow AM after some rest. It was a long day.

Faith In Humanity Restored, Somewhat??

During my last extended visit to Las Vegas before Labor Day weekend, I lost track of my shaving kit. On the 30th, I went in to thw WWW to ’spruce up’ and use the ATM. Since the ATM is on the way to the restroom, I stopped by there first. I put my shaving kit on top of the ATM while I conducted my business. After that, I forgot about it as I walked away from the ATM toward the restroom putting my ‘loot’ away. As soon as I got to the restroom door, about 35 ft from the ATM, I realized I didn’t have my shaving kit, and returned to the ATM to retrieve it. BUT, IT WAS GONE. Mind you I had traveled a total of 70 ft, in about a minute. I asked at the Security Desk if anyone had turned in a shaving kit. The Officer cousulted his lost item list and said that it hadn’t been turned in. I also checked with the Sports Book betting desk and the Bartender, but to no avail. I had to purchase all new stuff for a shaving kit to the tune of about $25.00. I had a spare bag already. Later in the day, I checked back with Security, but it still hadn’t turned up. This made me wonder what the H___ had happened in America. Who would want someone else’s shaving kit. It contained nothing valuable to anyone else; used razor, shaving cream, used toothbrush and toothpaste, an almost empty bottle of Brut aftershave, etc, etc. The handle on the bag was almost completely torn off. Like I said, nothing of value. So why was it taken?
As it turns out, it wasn’t. The next day I was sitting at the Bar having my morning caffine (iced tea) when I casually mentioned to the waitress that someone had taken my shaving kit. She said that she had found one on top of the ATM and turned it in to Security yesterday AM (she is the one person that I didn’t ask about it at the time). This, of course, sent me immediately back to the Security Desk. This time I looked over his shoulder when he was checking his list. I saw an entry for a “travel kit”. I said that was probably it. I was asked to describe the contents, which I did. Sure enough, it was there all the time. MY FAITH IN HUMANITY IS RESTORED, SOMEWHAT. I’m glad to know that no one stole it, but I have to wonder at the calibre of the Security staff at the WWW, whose synapses are so rusty from lack of use that they couldn’t make the connection between a “shaving kit” and a “travel kit”???????? I guess the old addage is true: When you pay minimum wage, you get minimum wage help.
Oh well, nothing lost….. I guess I just bought the replacement items for the contents of the kit a bit prematurely.

Life Day 21601: Rabid in Reno

When I went to bed Thursday night, my plan was to leave Vegas about noon, drive to Reno, drop the load, then get another load out on Saturday. That all changed about 0300 when the A/C on my truck stopped working again and started blowing hot air instead. It was so hot I couldn’t get back to sleep. At this point, I had 2 options. First, I could try to TCall the load in Henderson, then get the truck repaired in the Vegas area. The second was to go ahead and make the run, then get it repaired in Reno. I opted for option 2 mainly because getting a truck repaired in Vegas is usually at least a 2 day ordeal because of sheer volume of business. I left Vegas about 0500, while it was still relatively cool. With the windows open, it was noisy, but bearable. By the time the sun was all the way up, I was climbing to higher altitudes and it was cooler. I made it as far as Hawthorne before I had to pull over and take a nap. I slept for about 3 hours until the heat woke me up again. I drove the rest of the way to Reno, delivered the load, then drove to our terminal in Sparks to put the truck in the shop. I arrived about 1730 only to find out that the shop closed at 1700 on Fridays. I went next door to the shop at the Petro truckstop, got the authorization for repair at an outside facility, and checked in at the Service Desk. To my utter amazement, I had no wait. The mechanic hooked up the A/C serviving machine to see if there was any Freon in the system. There was, so he bagan troubleshooting. After a couple of hours, he said that the problem was in the wiring in the dash, or in the Control Panel and it would have to go to Freightliner, because Petro Corporate would not allow their mechanics to tear into wiring under the dash. Too much can go wrong. Anyway, after paying (via the Swift account), I pulled out of the shop and parked in the lot. At that point, I realized that the A/C was now working. Either he inadvertantly fixed the problem when he was checking all the electrical contacts in the system, or this infernal contraption is possessed by sadistic demons who like to exert their power at their whim. Given all the maintenance problems i’ve had with truck, i’m inclined toward the latter. Anyway, after such an easy fix, inadvertant or not, I decided to treat my truck to a bath at their truck wash. Again there was no waiting. After that, I decided to treat myself to a good steak dinner. I went to Outback Steak House just across the freeway. It was good and filling. The MMM enjoyed their ‘doggie bags’. After that, I went to bed. It was cool enough here to sleep without idling the truck, so that’s what I did.
Today, Saturday, September 2nd, i’ve been waiting for a PrePlan all day and geeking on the computer. As of the time of this posting (2230), i’m still sans PrePlan.