New pumpkin driver

Thanks all, for your thoughts. I sincerely appreciate them. I feel so alone out here sometimes (surely, you understand) so getting support means a lot.

I am in Dallas at our OC / terminal here. I took a load down from Edwardsville to the Sam's DC and will do my post-oopsie training tomorrow. I have a 22-mile relay to get done at 8:00a local time. Ok, kind of a waste, but that happens when you're near a terminal. I am trying to hang in there. If I get some militant person to do my training tomorrow, it will be hard to stomach. I will try to get what I can out of it and keep an open mind. It isn't so so bad. I mean, when I feel ok and am not terminally exhausted, I am ok with things. When I grind down, I get #####y and mad at the ordinary irritants (even four-wheeler antics) and nothing goes well. I could have gotten here sooner, but part of taking care of myself means doing 412 mi. on day one, not 500-600, and getting to the cons in the afternoon rather than the morning. They don't care either way. I have to make sure I have a good day and watch the Burnout Factor very closely.

Sigh. Schneider is good in a lot of ways. They will even let me keep my OTR gig when I move to CT in a few months. I hail from there and they have agreed to set me up with a new board once I re-settle there. Not so bad to move 1300 miles and keep your job!

I appreciate everyone's interest. The responses I got to the last post really helped buoy my spirits. I am a good person for this job in a lot of ways. I just have to keep the *##$^ stuff in proper perspective. I also have to watch fatigue very, very closely! Tomorrow, I will have gotten a good 670-mi run in and be fresh to get the training overwith and move on. My rig is my friend, indeed... she's an '03 Century with currently 858k on the clock. She's a bit worn but still very solid and accommodating. I have to tell you the girlfriend thing, though... she's in CT. She's a wonderful person, also very supportive of my job. She knows it means a lot to me and is behind me 100%. That means a whole lot.

I want to get that first critical year in. John, you're right. I've done a lot to get to even this point. I've taken two hazmat loads, been to Montreal and back, taken a bunch of high-value loads, done 3- and 4-stoppers with the Olney Wal-Mart account, seen 10% grades, below sea level elevations, weighed 79,700 lbs., gotten pulled over for blowing (oops) the OK Pike tolls and got a warning... recently went over the bayous of Louisiana, went over the GWB, through Chicago at rush hour, Dallas, Atlanta, Detroit, etc. etc. etc. I trusted my own judgment in Buffalo (despite the supertrucker jerks) and probably saved the people in front of me a trip to the hospital. They had an accident, you see, and lept from their cars in the center lane of I-190... I came over that rise just before "break check" rang out over the CB, and I'd left myself enough room to stop, very light, in the rain, in Monday morning rush hour. I felt pretty good about my driving that day. I don't know if anyone else took note, probably not... it doesn't matter. The comments, "come on, Schneider" etc. suddenly made no difference. I know what the situation was, and I felt good about how I hadn't made it worse. That's the important thing, I guess. Be humble but realize it is mostly up to you to decide what makes a good day good... I hope I'm making sense...

Good night all!

J

 

Okay folks! I am home for a few days, just long enough to get some r&r and take care of personal stuff. I am DETERMINED to keep going. It is not such a bad job, really, just the main thing IMO is fatigue. If I am fatigued and it keeps getting worse day after day, my attitude slowly gets wretchedly bad. It seems obvious, but no, it sort of sneaks in there and you don't really feel yawning tired, just a few fitful nights' sleep starting to creep up... I got some melatonin, which I use maybe once or twice / week, just to help regulate the sleep clock. It's not a sleeping pill. It's a natural supplement, fyi. Just helps you fall asleep, produced by your own body.

I get my 4cpm raise come 11/1! Woot! I've been looking forward to it. Lately, it's been a bit slow; I've gotten 2000 - 2100 mi/week rather than avg. of 2400-2600. This is the seasonal pattern. I also get to enroll in benefits because I was a dummy and forgot when I got hired. I thought you got 60 days, but it's 30. Oops. That and getting 31cpm per diem is a major deal.

Truck improvements and living arrangements - I have Sirius / XM with my iPhone, which I also use for tethering to my laptop for internet access. Getting HD channels over the air with a simple flat antenna and booster works quite well. You just have to flip around, but it's something. I am considering Netflix for new movies. Um... 40qt powerchill cooler is awesome. I do have a cellphone headset, which is a necessity. Seatback organizers are awesome, too. I don't have a fancy schmancy CB. The $35 Cobra 19xxx works perfectly well. I am going to get a boot brush. And next, I'm wondering how well those 12v vacuums work. Air gun kit off the seat helps but the dust just blows around. Black Wal Mart bath mats make good disposable carpeting. Put one under your feet... amazing how something a bit soft underfoot adds to comfort.

I'm going back out Monday. I am going to get to a year. When I move to CT, SNI will set me up with a new board. That's pretty cool, I think. I do a good job for my DBL and she is willing to go to that trouble to keep me with the company...