Akronite here

Soo, about 5 years into it and im already converting my high school friends into drivers(friend just got into the Schneider school). yes, im 30, so no commentary please about age, its more annoying than you know as I have one of those babyfaces. I actually got on here to get info on securing a bike to a truck. I found a folding bike up on amazon and was considering buying it but I figured id gather as much info as possible before throwing out 200 for a bike that may or may not survive the road.

anyways, from Akron, OH, Portage Lakes area, grew up in Wadsworth, oh. Started at PAM(actually started at Decker while they were being bought out by PAM). Got into C1 school in Fort wayne and went out with a trainer who I didnt find out until later, was DELIBERATELY insulting because he thought I was "too nerdy to become a driver"(its Pam, no surprise right?). Drove the Cub Cadet/MTD route from my first year until the 3rd year, when the whole thing went down the tube. I was carrying a painting I bought from one of those roadside tent sales from the truck to the house(2 blocks, not far) when I screwed up my back. MRI revealed two things, a herniated disc, and a fabulous surprise of a benign tumor that was slowly severing my spinal cord by wrapping around it and compressing it in the right area. Doctor said it would possibly go for another few years before it swelled up enough that the stress would damage the cord enough to paralyze me from the waist down. Had it removed. Lemme tell you, if you have anything done to your spinal cord, prepare in advance. go out and find someone that sells Headache candles(dont know whats in them, but they work). The candle was the only thing that worked on the headaches that followed the surgery(and the doctors prescribed EVERY... and I mean E-V-E-R-Y painkiller under the sun, and none of them worked. I wasnt really in that much pain other than the headaches. Was only slightly sore and the skin was very sensitive to the touch. After the candle did its thing and cured the headache, I also moved out of the parent's place because I felt so good. Spent the next few months of my "recuperation" renovating my grandfather's basement in the unused section of his house so I could move in and such. Rent is cheap, Ive a lot more space to work with over hear, it helps him with his bills, and we are happy with the arrangement. After I was settled, I contacted the company and asked to return to work a month ahead of schedule(2-3 months of recuperation). After tons of tests and exercises to prove I was physically capable of handling it, they sent me back out to recover a nearly brand new double-bunk sleeper Cascadia, that I had the shock to discover was a manual, as opposed to the automatics that we were given to driving for the first 3 years of the wonderful world of PAM. That was certainly an experience. I must have stalled it 4 times and stopped in neutral over a dozen before I started truly getting everything back from my schooling days.

First load they gave me was down to Martin, TN, a deliverly that up until then, was my favorite. However, new management down at the Martin, TN facility dropped in and decided hed strut around a while and make "improvements" while I was gone. You can imagine the cringe on my face when I got there Sunday night to discover they not only had to live-unload me according to schedule, but my unload wouldnt actually happen until 4pm monday afternoon. For the longest time, we kinda ignored the delivery "appointments" because the place put those there just for kicks, and we just dropped in a door and rounded the corner to pick up an MT or a load at the shipping facility. Now I had to wait nearly a full day before I could get unloaded, then drop my trailer anyways, and pick up a loaded trailer that could have been delivered by the time it took them to get me MT. I think I stayed from March until late July and quit them for KAG, because they had all kinds of wonders to offer, and I was convinced they were an improvement. Boy was I wrong. They juggled me between 3 trainers(who all had a different way of doing things)over the course of a 3 week training session, that was only supposed to last 2 weeks, and fired me "because I wasnt learning their procedures fast enough". Mind you, after seeing how well their Peterbilts ran, Im actually happy they fired me. If Id have had to go through that, I might have done something drastic to get out of one. Funny thing is, they wouldnt comment on the fact that they had just bought a struggling tanker company with tons of drivers and trucks a week before I was canned, but no freight lanes. Suddenly they had 2 dozen extra drivers and trucks to spare and not enough freight to cover the experienced tanker drivers they now had. Who needs some trainee?

Jumped into the Prodrivers thing for a while. Didnt make a lot, but it was nice to do a more leisurely trucking thing for a few months, earn enough to get by, and still have time to socialize with friends and family. Fine tuned my new digs in the basement, picked up a nice TV on craigslist and some entertainment stuff like speakers. Finally got to the point where I wanted more hours and miles, so a family member hooked me up with a decent job at D+S distribution and thats what I do these days. I run PA at the beginning of the week, and Chicago stuff in the later part of the week, to and from Wooster, OH, then I go home and spend the weekend at home. Occasionally I get sent elsewhere, but thats the majority of what I do. It gets boring sometimes and I know it sounds weird to hear someone saying Chicago can get boring, but I get paid per hour, so if I get stuck in traffic in Chicago, I really dont care. I still try to make the most of trips, simply because its the right thing to do(deliberately getting stuck in traffic just so I could get more hours might sound financially sound at first, but I just cant bring myself to pull a stunt like that). They just gave us a new Per Diem program and im finding new ways to spend it on groceries out on the road(many of which, may or may not, find their way into the pantries at home).

So, overall, im making 17 an hour, get home every weekend(usually the whole weekend too), got a new car, getting into Kayaking for fun while home, and now I finally found a girl(good looking to boot) to go out with who has family that drives and we have similar interests. I do find it funny that I cook better than she can, but I suppose what with me cooking my own meals on the road or before I go out, I would be a lot more likely to have to learn to cook and she hasnt really reached that stage in her life where she has to cook her own stuff. Id like to thank you all(or at least the ones that took the time to read it) for reading my dissertation here.
cya all around....

PS. if anyone has any good tutorial videos they can recommend, Im in need of one for tuning a CB radio. I understand part of whats involved, but Id like to learn more before tackling it and mine needs tuned before it will work on my current truck the company gave me.

Thanks!