I hate being away from the internet, especially when I'm spending the night in places like Houston, TX. That's where all of this started, three nights ago. The connection manager for my wireless card decided to take a sabbatical from reality. It tries to work, but just can't seem to get all the steps right.

So, I called Sprint and spoke to a Tech Support person (it was a guy or at least sounded like a guy, could've been a girl impersonating a guy, but as we weren't using our webcams I couldn't tell). Anyway Tech Supporter asks the basic questions like what's wrong, what have I done to fix it, why I broke it, you know, regular cover my ass because it's definitely not our fault questions. Then I hear a muffled "oh, shit" and know it's not my fault.

So, we do a work around. The Sprint connection manager is still unable to function, but the Windows connection manager works just dandy, and it's Vista, too!

That said, I'm back online.

So, I delivered the candy bars to the Kroger warehouse in Houston. Not a nice place to go. I have a list of delivery locations that are not nice, this one went right to the top. I had three loads for this customer, one for grocery and two for deli. I was sent to deli. I was there ten and a half hours. I thought that was horrible, but I was talking to another of our drivers in La Porte, TX, where we were picking up bulk frozen Chinese sweet peas, and he (it was a he, I can say that with assurance, not that I looked, you can tell sometimes) said there was a Wal-Mart D/C somewhere in Kansas where he spent over fifteen hours.

I delivered the peas last night in Bells, TN, and spent the night in the truck stop. Tonight I'm in Jonesboro, AR, doing nothing as I don't pick up a load until Monday morning.

Not having internet access between Houston and Bells left out Bogue Chitto, MS. I spent the night in the truck stop there. You can't imagine how much I wanted to Google Bogue Chitto the night before last. The name sounds so interesting. According to BogueChitto.net, the name comes from Choctaw for Big Creek. The Choctaw lived in the area before being sent on the Trail of Tears to a better life in Indian Territory. (Interestingly, the town of Bogue Chitto is currently in the Mississippi Choctaw Indian Reservation.) The Bogue Chitto River runs through the area and where it crosses I-55 it looks like a big creek. Of course, this is the northern end of the river, it is much larger where it joins the West Pearl in the Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge.

For the record, I am currently very pissed with my employer. I am scheduled to be home on the 16th so I can go to my shrink on the 17th. The load I'm picking up on Monday delivers in Massachusetts on Wednesday meaning I will not get home in time to make my appointment.

The only good thing about having a lot of time off not doing any driving is it gives me lots of time to write. I finally finished Chapter 17 of The Artists and Chapter 2 of the new book. I'll start of Chapter 18 of The Artists tomorrow, unless someone at the company sends me a load heading toward home, like I have a fairy godfather.