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It has been a while since I posted in here, mostly because I haven't been doing anything that interesting. Besides trying to close on a house, I have also been doing a regular loop between Parma, Ohio, and Lake Orion, Michigan. Basically running stamped parts from GM's Metal fabrication plant to their assembly plant. It isn't the best paying run, and only goes three times a week, but with my savings of eating at home and the extra time to deal with the house stuff it is perfect. It should also last just long enough to get everything done and us moved before I need to find another run. The assembly plan in Lake Orion currently is making the Pontiac G6, and since Pontiac is going away as a brand, so will the car. So at the end of September the plant will be shutting down for a year or so for retooling. Eventually it will reopen and assemble whatever small car GM ends up putting there. Apparently Michigan gave them a huge tax incentive to keep a plant there, beating out Spring Hill, Tennessee, and Janesville, Wisconsin. The odd part about that is the Spring Hill Plant was just redone to do the Chevrolet Traverse (which is moving up to be assembled in Michigan as well), so is a very up to date and versatile assembly line.

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Romulus, Michigan: Terminal

After a very poor week I find myself with a half way decent load, that seems to be so trouble prone that I am wondering why I even bothered. It sounded simple, pick up a relay in Romulus, Michigan and take it to Terra Haute, Indiana, of course for some reason they never are that simple. My plan was to drive up here from Toledo, Ohio, at around midnight, grab the trailer and head on to the delivery. Apparently the first truck had mechanical difficulties, so they had to have a second truck recover the load, which got moving out of Toronto, Ontario, at around when it should have been getting here to Romulus. Yes, this load is out of Canada, so that means it also has to clear customs, which can sometimes take a while.

After getting the load from dispatch, my next call from them was about how it might be a bit late, and to call in first to see if it is in Romulus, before I leave Toledo. My first call to dispatch was at 10:30PM last night, the load had just gotten moving and should make it to Romulus somewhere between 1 and 2AM. So I crawled back into bed and tried to get some more sleep. My next call to them was at around 1AM to check on if the truck had made it through Customs yet, it was about thirty minutes away from the border. So I get dressed and load up my car, head to the truck, pack it, and give them another call. This was at about 1:45AM, the truck wasn't through customs, so I tell them to call me once it is through, and fall asleep.

I woke up just before 4AM, first a bit bleary eyed, since I fell asleep with my contacts in, then I made another call to dispatch, the truck had cleared customs at around 3:30AM, thanks for calling me guys. I get to Romulus at 5AM, find the trailer fairly quickly, hook up and am ready to go, right? Wrong, during my pretrip I find a light out, no big deal, and a missing mud flap, around a $100 fine in Michigan. So I check the shop, the one mechanic that is on duty, just got in, and he can't do anything on trucks until he does a yard check. So I call breakdown, after they do some checking, they tell me to wait until the mechanic here can fix me. So now this load that was supposed to deliver at 8AM this morning will now get there sometime this afternoon.

Off to the shop..

Back at GM in Mansfield, now to get unloaded, and then who knows.

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