My return to LTL... with SAIA

Thanks, I'm pretty stoked to do it. I like the city work, but I really am at peace when I am running line.

 

It's a funny thing how stuff comes around in a circle, by way of learning more about what I enjoy, value, etc. My time at the cryo company was nice, but I also learned that working 40 hours a week drives me insane, I need to work more. I loved having a boss that didn't give a #### and gave me 100% self autonomy so long as my deliveries were being made, but getting home at 1330-1400 in the afternoon caused more internal stress on me than I anticipated, because I'd take naps to pass the time etc. I gained weight and became very cranky.

Now, I've been running city runs at Saia for a little bit. I'm leaving the house when my kids are in bed or getting up for the day, and I'm coming home when they are in bed, or getting ready for bed. I like the hours, the overtime, the money, but as it is, I can have an increased amount of time with them by running nights.

BUT... the biggest kicker and what propelled my decision back into this, was for my kids. With the whole state of affairs revolving around COVID, my wife and I decided that we will be homeschooling our children going forward. It doesn't have anything to do with us being afraid of the virus or being worried about them catching the virus, but it is based on the restrictions that the state will be placing on the learning environments that our kids will be in. I'm a firm subscriber to the "life isn't fair", "nothing's free", "tough luck" mentality, but the restrictions that the state is planning to place on these kids, is completely unfair. I can't expect my 8, 6 or 4 year old to effectively learn under them.

Going back to nights for me at least means that when I get home in the morning, I'll be starting the first leg of my kids day and passing off to my wife a few hours later before bed. This is just a chapter of my wife and I both sacrificing for our kids.

Now, I love running line. The biggest drawback to FXF for me was that my seniority stayed at my barn and at the linehaul list. With Saia, my seniority transfers with me so long as I stay on the same job. Which means, when I move in the next 5-7 years, I can position myself better for a daytime linehaul run that more plentifully exists out west.

 

Well, as much as I wanted to keep my Silverado that I bought last fall, my greatly increased commute (70 miles round trip compared to previous 15 and 10) as well as typical pickup fuel economy moved me out of it and into a more efficient option.

It's the first stick shift car I've owned in 16 years, and it's a total hoot to drive. In all honesty, my time of owning pickups has made me forget that regardless of trim level on a truck, it'll always ride like a truck. Goodbye 20mpg highway, hello 33mpg highway.

 

2020 Subaru Crosstrek. Horsepower and speedwise, it's a gutless wonder, but oddly still fun to drive due to the manual. Sticker says it gets 29hwy, but I drove to Maine and back today on the highway and I'm right at a 33.4mpg average.