Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: happy
  • Music: Nyssa in the bed, purring raspily.

Home at last, home at last.

After an exciting evening chasing around San Francisco, visiting the freaky alien demon suede kittyfaces at Borderlands Books, and helping Kate get her glasses to fit right, I returned to the safety of the East Bay...where my mother promptly abducted me off to meet up with my baby sister, the trucker, in Brentwood. In the parking lot of an Office Max.

Did I mention that it was after nine o'clock by that point, and that I hadn't really eaten anything besides a McDonalds ice cream cone since lunch? Oh, and that my new CD finally arrived today -- at least according to the UPS website, as I hadn't yet had visual confirmation?

Yeah, it was a night.

But now I'm home, and I've confirmed the existence of the CDs. Yes! One thousand copies of Red Roses and Dead Things have joined the general clutter of my home. Actually, right now, they're increasing the specific clutter of my bedroom. Not precisely what I'd call optimal, but as it allows me to sign and number the pre-orders (to the degree that I can manage before a formal shipping party), I suppose I'll cope.

It's a damn pretty CD, too. It came out even better looking than I was hoping it would.

So that's my Friday night. Having signed and numbered the first ten CDs, I will now proceed to my bed, where I will probably dream of being crushed to death beneath a hail of disks. Because that's how this works. Good-night, world.
Tags: family, filk, good things, horror movies, in the wild, mad science, my mom is nuts, recording
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  • 14 comments
...go 3 levels up... Expand

seanan_mcguire

January 25 2009, 03:39:43 UTC 8 years ago

It may just be the company she's with. Having listened to her description of the working conditions and requirements, I can't imagine why anyone would want to do it -- which says to me that she's probably getting rooked.

paul_carlson

January 25 2009, 05:15:08 UTC 8 years ago

You'd be surprised, and not happily, I'm afraid.

I participate on a trucker's forum, and hear plenty of stories. (Even the relevant Wikipedia articles will give you a hint.)

There is a huge turnover in trucking companies' drivers, because of major dissatisfaction, and the resultant run-up in enticements for new/replacement workers. Long haul trucking is a hard life, and virtually no companies have a really good reputation. (It's partly their own economics, and partly the massive economic pressures and multi-layered regulations.)

Still, for a diligent person with frugal habits, it can pay quite well.
More so, if and when a driver becomes an owner-operator.

One thing she'll need to know . . . will learn real quick . . . is which truck stops to utilize or avoid, and where not to park for the night. (The guys know already, and for the same common reasons.)

A good source of info is John McPhee's book Uncommon Carriers, and its first and final chapters, about an independent hazmat hauler.