Lost

I don't think the small bursts of movement would be problematic for me. Crawling into and out the truck, up onto the trailer and things. Its more long term fatigue that is the problem. I've worked in places where I would stand 8-12 hours a day or stand and only take a couple steps side to side, that's the work that's not doable. Continous heavy lifting would be a problem (think unloading a truck by hand, or bending and lifting off of the ground continuously. I could get by without the pain meds. I rarely take them, and mainly do so because they are available, and help me get to sleep.

I pretty much only drink water these days, Gatorade being the exception really. And I've cut way back on those too. I could imagine healthy eating on the road could be a challenge for me. I'll post more about that later though. Being distressed makes healthy eating and exercise a real struggle. Brain says "you know that's not good food, and some exercise would be great", but then I just feel depressed about it all and say #### it. Then feel even worse later for doing that. Viscous cycle there.

As for the money question, when my wife and I part ways (we are still living together, the talk of separating started about two weeks ago), I will take a large portion of the money we have saved. She has a secure job and can easily provide for herself and knew I would need help financially getting out on my own and starting over. I just actually lost my job today so its going to be a rough night ahead talking that one out. I do have enough to cover school, but I would really need to get into a paid situation as soon as possible. Everything I do from here on out will be pulled from savings with no income until I find another job.

 

I've watched quite a few trucking videos. Some of the ones covering shifting different transmissions has me a little confused. I think once I actually got into the truck I could get it figured out, its just a lot of information at once on something I've never even tried. I've watched a bunch on backing trailers as well. Some of those guys make it look entirely too easy. I know its definitely an acquired skill. I've pulled trailers with a truck several times though. I know its not the same, but I think its something I could do with a fair amount of practice. To be honest, backing does seem to be one of the bigger intimidating factors for me. Especially so after reading about other's experiences where the dock/ loading area is in a really poorly laid out orientation for a huge truck and long trailer.

Money is a major issue right now, so I really need to find work. I don't have anything or anywhere else I could go once this runs out.

I should have added that to my original post. I do in fact have a desire drive trucks. I have seriously considered it two or three times in the last 6-8 years. The reason I discounted it as a silly pipe dream was because 1). I was happily married at the time. 2). We were planning to start a family. I knew those two things would never work if I were to be gone weeks at a time. Now though, those things are gone. I will likely never have children at this point simply because I'm no spring chicken. If I couldn't take care of my child 100% then I would just end up being a dead beat dad, something I never want to be.

So I do have the desire. There is just so much uncertainty, its kind of overwhelming with all these major decisions coming on pretty much at once. Not to mention each decision kind of directly relates to one another.

A lot of time I do exactly that, just spend hours surfing the web, playing games, reading forums, etc. alone. So I may not have the same troubles truckers with families face. At the same time, I wouldn't know honestly until I gave it shot driving. I will likely stay living with my wife until the end of this month, after that I will likely be moving into a spare room in my mothers place. That situation may only be temporary for up to two months as she lives in a senior community. It would require her getting a dr's note to allow me to stay there as a care giver if I required a stay longer than two months. I don't want to be a burden either. I have money to outright pay for a truck school, but it would be tight if I didn't get to work as soon as possible. Times that by a million if I have to get my own place somewhere before starting work.

I'll be getting the DMV physical done tomorrow morning. They say its not covered by insurance so its going to be $90 out of pocket. I've began the paper work already. I'm not seeing my regular Dr as she is out the office, not sure if that will be an issue, I couldn't think of a reason why it would be. The dr I am seeing does work in the same facility though. The receptionist seemed to know what I was talking about when I asked about getting it done.

Going to try and continue with the weight loss. I'll be honest though, its tough as I am sure you know. Not just with the stress, but the stress certainly adds extra strain. I've got a lot of other questions about this topic I'll be posting in a little while today. Trying to get as much info as I can here and sort it into sections to make it easier for you guys to read and understand.

As for the last part of your post, I have honestly gave thought to trucking long before any of the current issues I'm facing. I forgot to mention that in my original post. It just so happens now would be a real easy time to take the leap being that I no longer have regular income, need a job, no longer have a wife or possibly a new family, and no longer have a long term home. I understand what you are saying though. Making big decisions under a great amount of pressure is never easy, and usual not a good idea either. Unfortunately I am in a sink or swim situation so I need to get it figured out, either trucking, back to school for awhile, or something different all together. I definitely do not want to rush anything or overlook something. I've been reading about other's experiences and I know its not going to be easy. I know it is not going to make me rich. And I know that its a lifestyle that it looks like a lot of people are not able to adapt to. Those are the scary things I fear. I do believe I could over come them and adapt but I also know things are never cut and dry and there is a lot to learn.

I live in a really small town on the central coast of California. About four hours south of San Francisco, four hours north of Los Angeles. I was thinking about relocating to somewhere other than California as it is a very expensive place to live in most areas. Maybe somewhere in Nevada or Arizona possibly, I even considered New Mexico and Texas. I don't have any one place I am set on at this point but I like living in California. I have a buddy I've known since we were kids that lives about 30-45 minutes outside of the Sacramento area. I gave thought to moving up there as there are trucking places in that general area. 80, 50, and 5 all run through that area so its likely after a year or so I could probably get into some local, or semi local/ regional somewhat easy up there if I decided more home time is something I wanted after some time on the road.

I've got other questions directly related to this though. I know a lot of carriers are outside of my state, I'm not sure what the situation is getting hired by a company, say in Indiana while I am still living in California. I know a lot of truckers change jobs more than they change underwear so I can only assume this is a regular issue guys companies and people face and people pretty generally speaking have a way to deal with it, right?