I swear, one of these days I'm getting an order for Reno...

[gridlore]

I knew today was going to suck. Really, I knew going in that I had to take one box to the Steel Place With The Tiny Yard in Modesto. I also knew that there was a good chance that I'd be asked to extend myself and cover M-W-F stops today. But what really happened was beyond the pale.

We had two drivers out today. One is on vacation, and the other is a prick, but their absence was felt. This led to me doing more Fremont stops than usual, which delayed me getting up into the Livermore area. Even got Modesto done in fairly short order, but after that I had three stops: San Ramon, Pittsburg, and Oakley.

I made my San Ramon drop, and was on Hwy 4 East at Willow Pass when Tim the Boss pings me. After establishing my location and status, he asks if I can do a pick-up at Pacific Galvanizing. Which is in Oakland. Head, met dashboard. "Yeah, I can do that." I reply. I know Tim wouldn't call me unless there was no other option, since he knew the kind of day I was having.

So from Pittsburg, I go to Oakland. Where I am loaded with about ten orders stacked on 3.5 pallets. I say that because two of the orders were galvanized pipe, in two different lengths. The shorter pipe had been bound to a pallet and stacked on the pallet with the larger pipe.

After breathing zinc fumes for a bit, I was finally loaded up and ready to head back. Coming down 880, I happened to glance in my mirror and notice several pipes merrily rolling around my truck bed, and the upper pallet leaning over in a precarious, but currently safe position.

"Shit" was said frequently.

I'm on my 3rd beer. I think I've earned it.

And now a question, do y'all like the maps I add to these posts? I figure since most of you reading this are not local or not completely familiar with Bay Area roads and small towns, they provide a useful aid. Plus, I like playing with GoogleMaps.

Comments

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

The maps are fun. So If they are fun to make, why not? Since they aren't embedded, but just a link, we can either look or not look. Some times I get exhausted just looking at them.
So long as I don't run into any of your pipes on 880 as I'm tooling around, I just hope they don't damage anything on the truck.
Have a fourth beer, they're small. ;)

[firestrike.livejournal.com]

I usually don't pull up the maps, but I grew up in the Bay Area. On th other hand, I suspect that they're helpful/interesting for the barbarians.

Bottom line: It amuses you and doesn't hurt your readers, so go for it.

[benkenobigal.livejournal.com]

The maps are very helpful for this East coast girl who doesn't know the area. :)

[johno.livejournal.com]

Even knowing the bay area, the maps give me a real feel for your routes.