Newbie.... blah blah blah....yadda yadda yadda

Part of why I can do this is what I do. My whole job.
I do out and back.
I do pneumactic tanker. For the most part, customers are great. It's easy. Have one customer who only wants me to wear a hard hat. I unload there in short pants, shirt, and flip flops.
I can unload anytime at some customers.
I come back to a small town. It's a relaxing place. When I was out of Denver, I was going nuts. Especially since I was sitting for an average of 3 days a week there. They wouldn't get me consistent runs. Here....I'm getting them and more.
I work mostly rural. Takes much stress away.
The tanker work I do is easy. No stress.
I'm also free to have an intelligent life form with me.
When I'm driving. I just try to enjoy the country. Take on the attitude of just relaxing, staying alert, watching. Most of the time I don't have to "stare at the road". Not having to watch the heavy traffic most of the time. I just look around at all the small stuff. Keep watching the road without glaring at it. ... Also from what I learned as a kid in school. If I don't want the time to go by. Trying to hold the time back. It goes by faster.
I did choose this on purpose. It's part of looking at everything in a job. Not just the money, and benefits. It makes a big difference.

If I were doing something like Reefer. Forget it. I couldn't keep going. I'd have to take off much more often.
There is much in trucking that I can think of that I wouldn't want to do 3 months straight.
I have offers right now to work local. Be home nightly, or every other night and weekends. It's more stress and doesn't pay what it should. All I can see is stress. Also ending up working so much that I might as well be OTR. Ending up coming home every day, just long enough to sleep, eat, and leave again. I did that before in trash. No thank you.
EDIT: I do admit. Most all our drivers live near their terminal. I may end up moving to Kansas? It's a nice place to move to. With doing out and back. Can get home much more often. Even if just for the night.
For now, this doesn't bother me. I do my runs out of Kansas. I turn to my Intelligent Life Form and say: Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.

 

I did do food grade, flour. Could do it at anytime.
Now I'm doing a curing agent for Gypsum. Some call it "chalk". It is a byproduct of flour milling. It can be eaten without hurting you. But you don't want to. I love this stuff because it's light. I unload in an hour flat. None of the food grade precautions, yadda yadda. Geesh... I had done a couple transfers from one mill to the other of flour. That stuff is always heavy and wet. Last one took me 5 hours. Some flour can be light and quick. Depends on all different types of flour.