General job stress question.

I was a framing sub for 21 yrs. I know all about drug addiction employees and whiny home owners. I made the switch to driving after breaking heal and ankle on the right foot. I cant be on my feet more than a coulpe hrs a day or i can hardly walk the following day. Nope. Not over weight. Plate holding heel togther and lost half the cartridge in the ankle.
I really miss being home every night but am lucky to be able to provide for my family thru trucking. One thing i noticed right away was my phone only rang when friends would call. I stopped getting all the work related const calls. For obvious reasons. It was really nice. Peaceful even. If you work towards running you own thing in trucking as it sounds as you do now, it can be rewarding and profitable. Not framing at my old rates profitable be you will make it work. (I did town homes and big customs)

 

Insane schedules, incompetent dispatchers, crooked cops, logbooks, indifferent shippers, and greedy brokers... oh and did I mention you are driving a 40-ton vehicle so one small screw up and people die?

All in all... it's a walk in the park. Just ask any idiot that never drove a truck.

 

Insane schedules incompetent building inspectors incompetent lumber salesmen high wind on roof deck day walking on walls 30 ft up setting trusses rain snow extreem cold payroll economy and ever changing building codes. Lifes a ##### everywhere. Some times you just have to deal with it.

 

Driving in traffic is a mentality not something to get aggravated about. Learn to relax. Play some calming mood music. Breath slowly. Look for things other than the traffic. Something from my CR England days..... Learn to be a stone in the river. Dont drive or try to drive the speed of traffic. Let the traffic flow around you. If a hole opens up in front of you and some one pulls into it? So what, you will get there eventually.

When you learn to relax, congestion wont be so bad. Most of the time you wont be driving in a city at rush hours. Alot of loads want deliveries in early morning between 6 am and 8 am. You will get loads that might ask you be there by 5pm. Yet this doesnt mean you cant bring it by earlier.

The stress I had was the delivery. Finding places that were not clearly marked. Companies at industrial parks where their name is listed out front, yet nothing on the building. There may as well be a group of buildings and you have to knock on the doors to find out whom to deliver to.

My nickname here sums it up I love the drive.

 

Why are people in cars so ignorant in general? I am stone in the river even in my four wheeler. As soon as they see the 200 foot space in front of me they gas it and cut in then two more dummies do it. If they all did what I did the congestion would dissipate in a few minutes.

 

Let it happen, open up the space and let them get in front of you. I would rather the obnoxious drivers be in front so I can see them. Instead of having them lurk in the blind spots. Far easier to deal with them when they are in front.

 

Ive said it before, you cant outrun stupid. But you can let it pass you by....


I am however going to steal the stone in a river line....

 

It is from CR England, so I am sure they wont mind.

 

Hehe, not quite, its a version of a taoist saying that was already a version of a Buddhist saying.... non the less....

 

based on what i read here aboutcha. do you think you can handle the mental aspects of trucking??? sometimes your worst enemy can be you. plus based on your short story. in trucking, you will probably do the best in flat bed,auto transport or route delivery. for some reason i think you will have too much trouble working in dry van,refrigerated related part of trucking. dry van/reefer the drivers don't do much more then drive. bed buggers is what they are called. most of those drivers are very unhealthy. and struggle with there weight / health any ways just food for thought.