Lazy days

Someday I'll have to figure out how to rig a hammock in a parking lot.

The evening was pleasantly cool, but I woke up twice in a sweat. The first time I ran the truck long enough to cool it down. And to recharge the battery--I'd been running the fan in the sleeper (didn't do much good).

The second time, I said heck with it and got up.

I've talked about the joys of sleeping in a metal-and-fiberglass tent before, so I won't belabor it. But it still surprises me sometimes, when I go to bed on a 70-degree night and wake up in a Turkish bath.

Glad I don't work for Truckbert.

The day promises to be well and truly hot. And not very exciting. I'm due for home time tomorrow, and I ended up getting back to town a day early. Which means they can't send me very far and still get me back in time for the next driver to take the rig. And for some reason people don't ship huge amounts of freight on a Sunday anyway. So in all likelihood I'll sit around all day, looking for places that are fairly cool and quiet,* and checking the truck every so often for a satcom message telling me my dispatcher has worked a miracle and found me something to do.

Someone might suggest I go home--it's close enough. But technically I'm still on duty. They MIGHT find a load I can take a hundred miles, with a load over there I can bring back. And if they do I need to prove I'm willing to earn my keep. At least until tomorrow.

I've talked to several drivers who were waiting for their trucks to get out of the shop. Breakdown pay is rather nominal. And on a Sunday, I'm not the only one waiting for a little action. But (due to some oddities about the division I work for) I am the only one here right now who's paid for days when they can't find me a load.

So I sweat a bit and fight boredom. It could be worse.

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*qt's Law of TV-Lounge Selection: your ability to deal with the show everybody else is watching is inversely proportional to your ability to do something else instead.
(In other words, if you have to go out and do something, one of the four shows you actually like will of course be on. If it's 95 outside and there isn't another chair in the truck stop, the entertainment in the TV lounge will be unbearable and impossible to ignore.)