Another transcontinental move, this one funded out of my pocket. I've done do-it-yourselves in the past. Believe or not, employer-paid relocations have their own problems. In the last move, for instance, they insisted on (unnecessary) repacking stuff I had in storage (because they and the company would only stand behind freshly packed belongings). what should have been no more than than 2 helpers in 2-3 hours turned into 1.5 days and more people. That was on top of the 2-3 weeks to get the move funding approved, and then we had to look for when they had sufficient staffing to do the job. (I'm sure some readers think, cry me a river; at least they paid for it.)
At least three points to make here: usually it stipulates that if you quit, you have to repay, say, a prorated amount over the first year of employment. But you have no say over their cost structure or choice of vendor. I don't know how much it cost my employer, but probably more than twice if I had handled it personally. Second point: don't forget the opportunity costs of a delayed start: I could probably have started 2-3 weeks earlier. Third, there's a quid pro quo in terms of compensation. For example, lower moving costs means higher salary.) Oh, and not to mention waiting for your goods to arrive with movers: I had to stay at an Arizona hotel for nearly 2 weeks and had to book half a day of my own time off work to receive the goods. If you work something like UHaul, you can hire some helpers at the other end to unload your truck, e.g., before your first day.
Billboard of the year: "Regulation without representation is tyranny." The most annoying: the beef jerky ads for some outlet in NM or AZ. "You will be telling your grandchildren about this jerky years from now: 25 miles to go." "Beef jerky so fresh you can almost hear it moo. Only 20 miles away!""Your granny will want to know how you got her recipe for jerky. Just 15 miles off. " "Your hiking buddies will want to know how you make this tasty jerky; it'll be our secret. 10 miles!" "Don't be the jerk dad who forgets to bring home our world-famous jerky: 5 miles and counting!" "The moment you've been waiting for all day: we're at the NEXT EXIT; let's hope you make it before the life-altering jerky is all sold out." "Wait: you drove past without getting jerky? You were reading that boring blogger's post again, weren't you? You can always take the next exit and double-back." (Okay, maybe I embellished a little. You can get a little bored out there.) Ironically it worked on me indirectly. Let's just say some "free" breakfasts for hotels/motels along the highways are not substantive. If you discount stuff like instant oatmeal and cereal, there may be little protein and you're left with maybe packaged bakery items like blueberry muffins. (Some may have a buffet pan of egg and/or sausage which is better but not fresh, somewhat dry texture.) So Sunday morning when I went to feed the moving truck's insatiable thirst for gasoline (roughly 20-25 gallons for half a tank; rough estimate: about 10 MPG; your rate may vary), I stopped by the convenience store and looked for something other than chips; I might opt for my grad school exam prep favorite, Hershey's with Almonds bar (hey, it worked for me) or maybe a Snickers, although I haven't had one in some time--too many carbs). So I picked out--a giant jerky stick. Jerky lovers will tell you that's not "real jerky" (in fact, I have a moving box full of jerky packages from Internet sources and Sam's Club)--but the stick did provide what my body was craving.
Being single has its challenges; I had done UHaul moves in the past, e.g., when I moved to Wisconsin, West Virginia, and South Carolina. I can only drive one vehicle, so usually I've had to tow my car. This creates challenges, because you can't backup the UHaul with a towed vehicle. And if you have a larger UHaul, it's virtually impossible to make the usual u-turn. So you have to figure right angles to move the truck or wider u-turns. This usually requires a lot of open, empty parking or an elliptical turn,say, around the back of a hotel. (You often can't tell from the front.) This is not an endorsement (I have no material interest in any brand discussed in this or other posts; do your own due diligence), but I've had some success with Days Inn, Quality Inn, and Hampton Inn. Sometimes they'll specify, e.g., you need to park in the fire lane or along the side curb of the property or simply a remote unoccupied strip of parking spaces. Gassing up also has its complications; I needed to find an empty left aisle of pumps and I typically needed to cut into the driving lane in front of the pumps to accommodate the location of the gas tank door, a few feet behind. Other than one car who started to enter the lane I was going into, no real issue; I did have to wait for this one old guy in Virginia who was also filling up empty gas cans. It turns out I did eat lunch at gas stops (sometimes you have an attached Subway, a Dairy Queen, Arby's, whatever); I really didn't want to block other motorists, depending on the circumstances. For example, I went to a Pilot's (similar to Love's) which sold hot dogs (various types, including jalapeno cheese: YES!) rotating on a grill. It had a condiments bar (including hot peppers and jalapeno ketchup: YES!), but I couldn't figure out where the buns were (answer: in a drawer below the grill: note to managers: label the drawers). So you could pick up a couple of hot dogs and a huge fountain drink for like $5 and change. I originally thought of going into a neighboring McDonald's, but didn't want to wait to place and fulfill the order. I did go into an adjoining DQ in New Mexico (different gas chain); I shouldn't be surprised by how many ice cream cones they sell. [For dinner, many of these hotels were within walking distance of a diner like Denny's or a fast food place.]
Some truck tips: at multiple times during the trip, I found my ignition key wouldn't start up (wouldn't move) and in other cases I couldn't shift gears starting up the truck. In the former case, working the steering wheel back and forth while simultaneously trying to turn the key did the trick. In the latter case, pressing down on the (manual) brake should enable gear shifts. Some other notes: you turn on the headlights with a far left dial, but you control high beams through the left lever. Also, you're lucky if you can maintain 50-60 mph going up hills or inclines; you start feeling like the fat kid in gym class where everyone else is leaving you in the dust.
Let me tell you: it can be boring driving over 2500 miles in 3.5 days. In fact, I got so bored riding mountains up and down in eastern Tennessee, I started my own arrangement of McCartney's "The Long and Winding Road". I wish I had brought some of my backlogged podcasts with me. A really interesting one I listened to recently was frequent Econtalk guest Mike Munger's interview on slavery and racism. (Munger, a former political candidate, is also a "bleeding heart libertarian" who supports a guaranteed income.) When the US government blocked the transatlantic slave trade, you had the typical law of supply and demand: scarcity made existing slaves more valuable. Munger explained how Southern slave owners managed to delude themselves that they offered their slaves a better life than expected in their native African heritage, how they prided themselves in investing in their slaves, etc. This is no exoneration of the evil institution of slavery, but you need to understand what motivated people to embrace such an institution.
Worst drivers in my opinion? Ft. Worth. Super-aggressive and dangerous. But you can find them anyway. The lane weavers, the bottlenecks (bottleneckers are bad, too; I'm talking here about slow drivers who cause unsafe conditions as drivers contend for the passing lane. I don't know if there is a computer game that lets you blow away hostile drivers, but there should be.
Not to mention almost endless road work, lane closures/merges. Dude, when nobody is in a right lane and the left lane is bumper-to-bump, there's a reason, and it's not an invitation to jump to the top of the line. Of all places, Monahans in West Texas had stop and go for maybe a few miles. The left lane we were in was a crappy road, while it looked like the other lane was freshly paved. Go figure.
FINALLY, I hate, hate, HATE computerized driving instructions. I have missed job interviews and/or jobs because of misleading directions. In WV, more than once I found myself suddenly on a one-lane dirt road, completely lost and no obvious area to turn around.
Now major highway intersections in large cities can be difficult with propagating splits, lane changes, etc. It's tough enough changing lanes on the open highway, but in congested cities? Great driver mirrors, though. I always planned my gas stops around major cities. In fact, this trip I didn't stop at one rest stop; I just coordinated bathroom breaks with gas purchases, maybe every 4 hours.
I didn't mind some workarounds, e.g., in Little Rock, AR. Now I knew from the directions from Mapquest (Google prioritized others; I wanted a more Southern approach via I-10, 20, 30, 40, 81) they were working some bypass from I-81 to I-70, this one involving VA-7 and a US route. In the back of my mind I wanted to keep it simple. I hoped to end the day off an I-70 exit. I was battling the sun going down, and I lost a few miles shy. I could have sworn incidental knowledge during my 2014 commutes from MD to WV I had seen exit signs for I-81. I believe the directions said something like after you turn onto VA-7, you should come to a ramp for the US route within 4 miles or so. Unfortunately, I had not memorized the T-intersection; after several miles no sign of a route, and then I tried to drive back to I-81 (easier said than done) I was tired and was now trying to find a hotel in pitch black in an unfamiliar area. I wanted to confirm I-81 meets up with I-70 (yup, just a few miles north briefly going through WV into MD). I got a hotel room off a WV exit and confirmed the direct intersection. Oh, and I found a Google reference to a VA-7 option, but it seemed to suggest something like a 23-mile drive to the route in question.
Part of the reason I bypassed Google (I think in some searches I found a Southern option) is their preferred route, while perhaps saving a few miles, were fairly complex, e.g., take this Arizona highway, next 177, then 277 and then 377, maybe a stutter step here or there: just too much work. KISS (Keep it simple, stupid).
Another example of puzzling map directions dealt with I-70 ending at the Baltimore Beltway. The target is north of Baltimore. But they targeted the Glen Bernie (S), not the Towson (N) exit. The former gets you to I-95 sooner but you have to pay $2 (or more) in a tunnel toll. Now the latter has issues (e.g., some congestion near the I-83 exits), but I rarely traveled to the city via the south loop and I-95 unless the client was there.
