I'm a stone cold rookie, gonna work the texas oil fields

Driving at night has been very challenging, mainly because of being sleepy. You start out driving days and long hours. Your body is owed sleep in the "sleep bank". Now you are driving at the time when your body is dying for sleep. The worst is long stretches of straight road for miles and miles......i was litterally seing double and shaking my head violently every few minutes or so just to re-focus my vision. I did this purposely the first night just so i'd adjust my body quicker to the time change. I promised myself i wouldnt do that again and my last night shift, i pulled over to get 5 minutes of shut-eye. My trainer told me to get in the passenger seat and he would drive. I found that even a 20 minute nap didnt really help much. When we loaded up at a lease site, i took over the wheel and experienced the same problem again but it was towards the end of the shift, so i stuck it out mainly because i know you got to tough it out and eventually i have faith that i will adjust but i know it probably takes a week or two. Driving at night is exactly what most have said, its hell. I know it will get better though. The only thing that sucks for me is just the sleepy factor. As far as everything else, its not so bad to me. Lots of guys dont like driving night....PERIOD. I can totally understand this because if you think you dont have much of a life driving "days".....then driving nights is like solitary confinement. I spent my day off last "night" sleeping and its 8 am here now. I'll be going back to sleep just to help simulate my normal new hours of sleeping.

Yes, i been putting in 15 hour shifts from 6 pm till 830 or 9. The coffee and what not doesnt work but i still drink coffee because i like it. However, when i drive on my own, i may not be putting in consistant 15 hoour shifts because i will be sharing a truck more than likely. This means i'll usually have to get the truck back by 6 am for the next guy to use. Nothing is written in stone here though. Depending on the day of the week, things change. For instance, tues and thurs is when all drivers are on schedule because of how the 4 on 1 off falls into play. So on those days, i will probably work less hours...at least 12 i figure. On weekends, i can get 15 hours in for sure because there are plenty of trucks and less drivers.

Yes, there is hunting around here but i dont know where exactly. I know theres hunting around here because i always see banners and signs saying "welcome hunters"....etc. etc. and they have dinners set up for them and stuff....but like i said, i dont know where exactly.

ok, goin back to sleep. good luck guys.