Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

Pete, I'm over that hump. All 3 kids are grown, married and on their own. The house is almost paid off, the investments are in both our names, the biggest obstacle in case of everything going south is the dogs, I would spend every last dime on attorneys to make sure I get custody of them. And contrary to popular belief, it isn't cheaper to keep them (the wife) it's down right expensive.

 

Truck is in the shop, I'm in the motel, my trainee is in the motel. My front end had to get aligned, got new shocks and in the morning 2 parts are being replaced, one is a part that is suppose to shut the fan off, which it doesn't unless I shut the truck down, the other is a valve that has a bunch of coolant lines going to it. It sprung a leak yesterday. My KW is exactly 9 months old with 180k on it. This truck has been nothing short of a dream, both to drive and mechanically. We have about 20 brand new Cascadias line up at the yard, I could get a new one if I wanted to, but this baby has been nothing short of perfect for me so I'm keeping it.

Jason is doing very well. He tested out 2 weeks ago and went to stage 2. He tested today and is now stage 3. Today while the truck was in the shop I got a Volvo, hooked to a trailer and finally had an hour of backing lessons. When we get back from hometime next week I'll need to take him to the PNW and then to NYC. After that he'll be a new solo driver. I heard a well placed rumor about a huge announcement that I'm not at liberty to discuss, but suffice to say, it's gonna be good.

We both need to get home, we've run 12,000 miles the last 2 weeks and that doesn't include the miles home. I'll be finished with Jason in 2 weeks, take about 6 weeks off from training and get back into a normal routine for a while. Mark "scooterdawg" is doing a helluva job as my DM and as my trainer/trainee manager. Tim leaving had me out of all sorts, Mark has come in and absolutely got a hold of the program and I haven't looked back at all. I miss Tim, he was one of the best DM's I ever had, Mark is right up there. In fact, he makes my job real easy.

2.3 years here and things are real good. I'm comfortable, like the folks I work with and for, and genuinely feel at home. What's coming down the pike will keep me here until I am ready to retire.

Some might be asking why I don't post much, simple fact is I can't get use to this new format. It's not very user friendly on my iPhone, I'll always contribute something, just not as often. Also, I'm having a blast on our private company drivers facebook page.