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Thu.Jan.13.2005

2:17 am EST        63°F (17°C) in North East, PA

Calendar of Updates

I meant to update this a couple days ago, but every day since Monday has been crazy. I arrived at the company's Pennsylvania yard Sunday night with a load that hadn't yet been scheduled for delivery; when that appointment was made on Monday (for later today), I was instructed to drop that trailer. I then made 550 miles between 5:00 pm Monday and 5:00 am Tuesday, picking up in northeastern Pennsylvania and delivering that load in Maine; after catching up on sleep, I went about 100 miles farther north in Maine, to the town of Jay, to pick up this load. Unfortunately for Yoopers, this isn't beer that I'm currently hauling to Rhinelander, WI, a city not very far at all from Da U.P..

Notice the temperature here along the Pennsylvania/New York state line on Interstate 90. It has been a very warm day for January. Unfortunately, as I proceed toward Rhinelander, that isn't going to last; on Friday night, when I am supposed to deliver this load, the low temperature is supposed to drop to -25°F (-32°C)! As best I can recall, that will be the coldest weather I have ever experienced; I remember one day in 1994 where my school took the day off due to -19°F (-28°C) temperatures and -60°F (-51°C) wind chills, but that's as cold as I can ever remember experiencing. Not even on a mid-winter trip to Yooperland in 2000 did it ever get that cold.

Other than driving, I really haven't managed to get anything accomplished lately. I suppose I can't complain, though, having seen what my first two payroll settlements of the year looked like. The purchase of a car draws nearer every week, and after that, I can start on my college "nest egg" and eventually get the hell out of trucking. I think I'll talk a little more about that in a future update (and I'll also remember to mention the things in The Da Vinci Code that really intrigued me, as previously promised), but at this point tonight, I can hear the sleep spirits calling my name.