Central Refrigerated Truck Stop II

let him come out and be a trucker.

see how he likes being away from home. paying for things to just sit there. like a roof over his head. and his own bed he can't sleep in. friends and family that he can't be around. or his own wife or girlfriend. or that they want a divorce because he's no longer around. and they've found someone else who is around to be in there life.

let him come out and enjoy that new house of his. that MOBILE house that contains your brand new bed you'll be using. that's also been used by who knows how many other drivers.

let him enjoy that shower that he pays for. that's been used by 50 billion other people. or brushing his teeth in public in a sink surrounded by water. go use the urinal with big yellow stains underneath. take a crap and every toilet in the house is occupied by 50 billion other people. or being cleaned at the worse possible moment in time. or the pig that floods out a toilet and makes a mess ALL AROUND THE BOWL. or he's out in the middle of nowhere when he needs to go. and the closest toilet is 100 miles away. or use the urinal. then go wash his hands. by turning on those very same handles that have been touched by billions of other drivers that have to turn those handles on BEFORE they can wash there hands. right after they've also held themselves to go pee.

or, how about this goody. you have to go pee in the middle of the night. so you crawl out of your truck. walk the 2 miles across the parking. IN THE MIDDLE OF A FREEZING SNOW STORM. to use the restroom.

come on out and enjoy your meals. eating out. sometimes the food is good. sometimes it sucks. but you defenitly won't starve because subway has you taken care of. they can be found on every square block of this country. that is, if you make enough money to ACTUALLY buy yourself some food. while at the same time. paying for that roof over your head back home that you can't live under or sleep under. paying the utilities. AND provide food for whatever kids you may have back home. HOPING THAT YOUR WIFE OR GF ISN'T BACK HOME CHEATING ON YOU.

come on out and lets see how many friends you make with those snot nosed shippers and receivers that constantly treat you like crap.

how about getting pulled over by mr. policeman. just becuase the cop is bored and wants to check your logs. the citations you'll rack up from being a trucker. and you WILL get some citations. and the beautiful govt record we now have to ruin our lives. the satellite in his truck that now runs his life telling him when to sleep and when to drive. or living with a camera in his face becuase it's what the govt wants. let him come out and feel the same harrasement we get from DOT and the cops. and the rules we have to do our job by.

let him leave that glorious job he hates so much so he can experience our glorious job that he's tired of hearing complaints about.

ALL FOR THE LOW LOW LOW MEASLY PAY OF 1000 MILES PER WEEK AT .25 CENTS PER MILE. all while your sitting at a truckstop for hours at a time.

like i said, i'm not the one complaining. just merely stating the facts.

but come on out mr. corporate man. and lets see how long you last. and lets see how fast you change your attitude that your job isn't so bad after all.

after all. 90% of rookies don't make it past the 6 month mark.

 

keep us posted will ya. we all wanna see how far your relaxed attitude takes you. cuz you can address your concerns all you want. you'll be doing a lot more moving on then addressing those concerns.

 

Hey, I do make 100k. Just ignore the pesky fuel and Trk payment columns. And isn't the Trk home???? So I'm home every night right???

 

Funny, you didn't mention anything that I haven't taken into account. It seems you may have missed a detail in my story. I drove for a year and a half 20 years ago. All those things were true then except regulations have gotten more strict. I don't like that, but I think I can deal with it.

If my marriage wasn't stable and I hated being on the road as the person you describe seems to, then driving wouldn't be for me. I wouldn't complain about it to kingdom come though, I'd do something about it. If I thought I could fix the problem then I'd try that, if I couldn't then I'd try a different route either with another company or another career.

I could list you some horror stories about the career I'm coming from too, but if I did I would do it simply to relay anecdotal stories to pass the time not to whine about it. In nothing I've said have I indicated that I think trucking is some sort of panacea. I expect some aspects of it to be tough, and probably if I didn't I wouldn't like it since I've always been about overcoming adversity. I also know that it isn't all tough.

In just that short 1 and a half year stint, I saw things that my friends who most recently worked with me only wish they'd seen. I've seen the sky on fire with stars on top of the rocky mountains. I've seen lakes like mirrors reflecting snowy top mountains and blue sky in Idaho. I've seen winding rivers running through canyons and lush green forests in the appalachian mountains. I've seen mule deer race me in the southwest and a moose peer directly in my cab in the northwest. I've had white knuckled, breathless excitement coming down the snake for the first time. I've met many wonderful fellow Christians on the road and seen the inside of many different churches. My wife rode with me and I enjoyed her company and we stopped at road side stands and spoke with locals. Those were good days. But, coming home for a short time and leaving to the cries of "daddy don't leave." Listening to love songs while knowing it was going to be weeks before I could see my wife. Getting stuck in the east running all overnight trips and unloading and loading all day so I couldn't sleep day after day and making next to nothing. Hand unloading and palletizing a load of small packaged frozen food that was just thrown on my truck. Walking through a frozen parking lot that looked like the waves of an ocean just froze and slipping and busting my knee while in Pennsylvania. And, driving so long before getting back home to have my knee looked at that the swelling in my knee had already gone (a couple of weeks). Those were bad days. But, all in all the things I couldn't fix then like having young kids who needed me have been solved through time, the other things I think I can address as I go along and gain more control over my career. However, if I ever think that the downside outweighs the bad and I can't do anything about it then I'll find something else. But, you can bet I'll do something rather than sit and lament.

 

Hmmm, I'm not sure why you think I have a relaxed attitude. I'm downright prickly with angst like a warrior on the verge of war. But, I'm up for the fight and I've stacked the cards in my favor. I may come out with some scars but in the end I expect to win.

 

This is a forum for drivers. We complain here. Everybody needs a place to vent. Those who hate it that much either do it as a last resort or, more likely, quit.

 

I get that, and venting can be good. But specifics help and venting while expressing hopelessness doesn't do anyone any good. Vent, get it off your shoulders and even get some sympathy and/or advice. But then pick up and go back into the fray. Open ended comments like, "This whole thing sucks." Only serves to bring down others who are already on the verge of losing it themselves. A comment like, "I can't stand being away from home one more day." Or a comment like "I don't see any way to pay my mortgage." gets my sympathy for sure and if I have any experience may get some advice to go along with it. But, for sure, I'll encourage them to keep moving in one way or another and don't give up.

Hardship and survival are something I'm pretty well acquainted with, both in my own life and as a frequent counselor and deacon. I can speak about these things with confidence. But, I'm well aware that there are other things I'm not nearly so confident about and will seek out my own counsel on these things. I may even seek sympathy from time to time. But, other times I, like others, just need a kick in the butt and a shove in the right direction.

 

Low points are something we all go through. We have just barely kept our house several times because of this market. We now have a "big bunk" that could easily suffice as home if it had to and does while we are out. This "job" sucks at times. We all try to make the most of it, for the most part, and when it is too much, that is what those of us who have been here a little while are for. Trust me, jess and ladyk have been great friends to have. Snowwy, I have a feeling you feel the same about JJ. If I could help, holler. It will get better.

 

i feel what about jj????????? cuz he's really not my type.

and the economy is getting worse again. europe just announced another recession.

and all i see in the news are layoffs. starting the cycle all over again. plus strikes that could force the company to close there doors.

no more twinkies in out future.

 

i glad your a55 is getting jumped instead of mine this time. and not only no more twinkies but no more ding dongs.........lol.. you could always go over there where jj is and work less and make more.