I saw the witch doctor this morning and he finally released me back to full duty. About damn time. I then went to the yard to see what needed to be done while waiting for my truck to be repaired. They wanted me to take the day cab (ugh) and pick up a military truck in Oshkosh.
It's been a long time since I drove a day cab. It sucked. When you're used to driving a truck with a long hood and long wheel base a snubby nosed, short wheel base day cab is a very nasty ride. It's very bumpy and turns corners far too sharply for my comfort.
But, ya has to do what ya has to do, so I drove it up to Oshkosh to pick up the truck. I really should have stopped for a bite to eat on the way but I wanted to get the truck picked up and make it back to the yard in time to go get my own truck from the shop.
Yeah. Right.
The factory was having a bad day. Another of our drivers was there trying to pick up a fire truck but it didn't want to run. He'd been there for 2 hours when I showed up. While I was waiting around for them to screw around with the fire truck "A" from dispatch showed up driving the truck of another driver who is currently on vacation. I don't think I've ever seen the short shit behind the wheel before. We were under the gun to get 10 trucks picked up and since there wasn't anyone else available the boss had sent him. I'm sure he was pissed.
I wound up waiting around for about an hour before calling in to dispatch to fill them in. By that point the driver waiting for the fire truck had been told it would be tomorrow and had left, and "A" had backed to the ramp spot he had vacated. I told "D" in dispatch what was going on (they couldn't seem to actually find the trucks "A" and I were supposed to pick up - how do you misplace a couple of armor plated trucks?) and we were just standing around jerking off. "D", thinking he was being funny asked "Each other?" I shot back "No, but we could use a pivot man so come on up."
The idiots finally located the trucks and loaded them on our trailers. I then had to day cab it over to GE and pick up a compressor. By this point I was not only starving but also out of smokes. I was just a tad on the grumpy side. Those guys were screwing off and in no hurry to load me until I got pissed and told them if they wanted the fracking thing to get where it was going they'd best load it right fracking now or I was leaving without it. My patience had yielded the road to hunger and nicotine withdrawal.
They loaded me right up.
I stopped on the way back to the yard to grab a sandwich and some smokes to tide me over. While I was scarfing down the sandwich I got a call from the shop telling me that my truck wouldn't be ready until Monday. Well frack a fracking pony with a fracking broom stick!
I dropped the load at the yard, badgered the shop foreman out of the keys for the company van, and came to the hotel. The lady at the desk told me that she was really booked up over the weekend and didn't have any smoking rooms available. I told her that was just fine, gimme a nonsmoking room and an ashtray. I couldn't care less what the sign on the outside of the room door says. Being as I am a regular guest she obliged.
I had dinner and a couple of brews at Appleby's and am now settled in for the weekend. So much for being home by Monday night.
Frack.