ROUTE: Pontiac, MI to Memphis, TN: 834 miles (763 loaded + 71 deadhead)
Tuesday 02/17 was a long work day, technically 17.5 hours! This assignment was supposed to pickup at 6:00pm, but the shipper is a 24/7 facility and the load was drop-and-hook so basically I could pick it up at anytime that day. The day had three assignments overlapping and the idea was to pick this one up and head to the terminal on my way to Memphis. On Wednesday, I could use part of the 10-hour DOT Break to go to the dentist. Things don’t always work out as planned.
My day started at 8:30am and I had an hour drive to complete the 02/16 Assignment. From there I had a one-hour drive to pick up another load that was technically only due the following day but since they are also a 24/7 facility and a drop-and-hook then I could deliver it early. It was just under 300 miles so easy to do in about five-hours. I left that shipper at 3:30pm and delivered it at 9:30pm because I was tired and stopped for a nap. There were unexpected delays at the consignee that forced me to leave there just before 11:00pm. The drive was supposed to be just an hour but due to bad weather it took me almost two.
I arrived at the shipper for this assignment just after midnight, and even though I had done a Split to be able to legally extend my 14-hour DOT Maximum Workday, I had just enough time left on my clock to complete the procedures for the pickup. When truckers run out of hours DOT Regulations allow us to use the truck on Personal Conveyance (PC) to get to the closest truck stop to shut for the night not to exceed 30 miles and not to go back to our home terminal. Our terminal was 45 miles away and there were no truck stops in the vicinity in that direction. Therefore, I had to drive in the opposite direction for 15 miles in order to stay compliant and I arrived at that truck stop at 2:00am. My dentist appointment was at 9:00am. I was an hour away and had to comply with the DOT Break of ten-hours. Fortunately, I managed to change to appointment to 2:00pm.
Wednesday 02/18 I started my day at noon after the mandatory 10-hour break, drove an hour to the terminal and made my 2:00pm dentist appointment. Went food shopping at Walmart, had a late breakfast at a favorite Mexican restaurant next to Walmart, fueled the truck at our terminal and headed out to Memphis at 5:00pm. I was under the impression that the consignee had strict hours that stop receiving shipments at 3:30pm, so it was going to be tight as I had just over 700 miles to drive and needed another 10-hour break. I drove six-hours non-stop and shut down at a Rest Area to minimize the transit time between the highway and a truck stop.
Thursday I started my day at 9:15am, barely above the minimum 10-hour break and drove six-hours non-stop to arrive at the consignee at 3:15pm, just under the 3:30pm cutoff! I then realized that I was delivering to a different consignee that was a 24/7 facility so I didn’t have to push myself so hard on the drive. Guess I need to pay more attention to the assignments or I’m just getting old.
BOOK REVIEW (1): The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas (2024), FICTION – RATING (**)
The story felt like it was built upside down. First came the ending with a dramatic twist and the rest of the story was constructed so to reach the climax with as much thunder as possible. The narrative is extremely slow in the first half. The second half feels rushed to get to that final twist. There’s questions left unanswered and it purposely misleads to get to that last surprise.
Two sisters: Alice and Natasha (Tasha). One a brilliant research doctor married to a wealthy entrepreneur and the other a mom of twins stuck in a blue-collar life married to a mechanic. A third sister, Holly, is mentioned continuously and associated with a tragedy. It’s intended to create suspense but obviously she will play a major role at some point.
The two sisters swap lives for a week. Tasha and her husband spend a week vacationing at Alice’s Venice, Italy, luxury apartment. Alice and her husband watch the twins during that week in the apparently safe small quaint town where Tasha lives. Three days into the vacation Tasha and her husband almost get mugged in Venice and the same night Alice’s husband is murdered in what seems as a burglary gone wrong in that quaint town. Alice is left for dead or was it a deliberate attack and which sister was the target on both instances as the physical resemblance between them is uncanny.
Police incompetence is needed to keep the story running as there’s another death in that quaint town in the backyard of Tasha’s home. To add to the drama we learn what happened to Holly and that subplot gets a life of its own.
At best it was a three-star book but with the absurd ending it dropped to two.
BOOK REVIEW (2): My Husband Next Door by K.L. Slater (2025), FICTION – RATING (***1/2)
The pace is slow and clearly aimed to mislead but the ending is good and ties all the pieces together with a certain logic. A solid 3.5 stars rating.
I was confused at the start as the title suggest some whacky romance novel with a happily married couple living in separate house on the same street separated by one house in between their homes. Instead it starts with an abduction which is the premise of the plot and the weird marriage arrangement is the backdrop.
The main characters are Silvi (45yo) and Matt (35yo), married with a 10 year age difference between them. Silvi’s daughter Jessy is pregnant and living with her boyfriend, Ed. The owner of the house that sits between their properties moves to Portugal and rents it to Brenda, a retired nurse who quickly becomes a strong presence in Silvi’s life. The secondary characters are Ed and Matt’s best friend, Naige. As well as the police inspector in charge of the abduction investigation. A lot of twists and turns, some predictable others highly unlikely.
Overall mildly entertaining without complete absurdities to derail the plot.
