Monday morning. I'm quite surprised to still be at home. I'm sure USX was not pleased that I wouldn't pick up that load last Friday, but I didn't expect them to let me sit all weekend. I set my PTA for Saturday morning. Since then I've checked the satcom in the truck pretty much on an hourly basis, but I've received not a single message.

Well, I'm sure my dispatcher will get me rolling today. She's been pushing for me to get going, even if it meant getting into another truck. Once she realizes that I didn't get a load out over the weekend, she'll shake some bushes. Or I think she will, anyway. I'll be getting switched over to a solo board soon. I've wondered if that's the reason I've fallen through the cracks here, because no one really knows what to do with me. Actually, I don't believe that's it so much as that I've just fallen through the cracks.

All I know is that if USX intended to let me sit over the weekend as punishment for not picking that load up Friday, it backfired. That sort of punishment only works when you're on the road. It's not a punishment to make you sit at home and play Everquest II.

Anyway, I'm going to shower and start loading the truck. I don't know when I can expect a load, but if they do as they usually do, they'll give me something that has to pick up right away. No one at USX believes in fair warning. But then, I've always sort of believed that they have a habit of letting things go until the last minute, and then scrambling around to get it taken care of. Their solution has always been to dump it into someone else's lap and scream at them if they can't pull it off. If they give me a load that picks up 30 miles away in 30 minutes, I'd better make sure that I can be ready to go. Otherwise I'm not doing my job.