Thursday, December 1st, 2011
Ah, delivery day. This is what pays the bills. It has been said that anybody can drive a truck forward, but you only get paid if you can drive it backwards. Upon reflection this is not entirely true, since you can drive forward, drop or relay the trailer and have somebody else back to the dock, but whatever. That is a fairly uncommon occurrence.
There are all sorts of places to deliver too, staffed by a wide array of people. Fairly generic statement of the obvious, but this is a big part of the job for me. I discovered today one of the key elements to me enjoying this particular occupation. It's the people at either end of the process. For the most part, people are fairly neutral. Neither here nor there. There are days when nothing in the world you do can make somebody smile. I've learned to let angry dogs sleep in their own filth, not to mix metaphors (or make one up for that matter). Then there are days like today. At the first stop, the people were fast and friendly. Almost to the point of hilarious. I really enjoyed the brief time spent there. The third stop was friendly but slow, so I got plenty of time to banter with the staff and just observe the general confusion of a newish store. The second store was as quick as I've ever seen. A well-oiled machine. I did not have much time to flap my gums at these people, but instead they offered a lesson.
Well, they didn't technically offer a lesson, so much as I learned an important one from them. These were like the cool kids in school. All buddy-buddy, gambling on sports games and generally paling around. Awesome. The first store had said that these guys were a bunch of clowns (and they were just about right) so I had some expectations. Some part of me was hoping to find some approval or acceptance in this group for some reason, which leads me to the rational conclusion that part of me still seeks outside approval from others. This is something I've been working with my entire life, and it is good to see how far I've come since my youth, especially High School. That said, there is still a bit to learn for me there yet.
Speaking of learning, I discovered another part of the job I really enjoy. Deadlines. There is a certain amount of tension in getting to the next stop on time, and I could feel my body tense up in the solar plexus and lumbar regions as time passed. I kept looking at the clock, wondering how I was doing for time. Heh. While I enjoy deadlines now and again, I wouldn't want my life to be governed by the all of the time. Just like I enjoy driving the Plains now and then, every day all week would be a bit tiresome (or challenging if you prefer).
Crossing the border back into the States today was fairly easy, although I was worried that they might have found my fruit and been upset at me for telling them I had none. It was a short lived care as they passed me through the giant X-ray Shed. This time, I got to get out of the truck and into a safe little bunker-like room and watch the machine do it's thang. Pretty sweet to watch.
Back in the seat and heading down I-29 in North Dakota, life gets a bit dull. The landscape is absolutely flat, barring a few ponds and prairie potholes. I started to zone out and get bored. Then it occurred to me that boredom is merely the absence of creativity. There is plenty to do whilst driving along a flat, straight stretch of road. I began to self observe. There is always time to work on the mental and spiritual aspects of life, no matter what the situation. Step back and take a breath. Nothing is ever so important. Really. That has been my saving grace!
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