Swift - Starting the New Year training with Swift 1/7/13 - A long read...

Hanging out at the parental unit's house here in Williamsburg, VA and about to drive back to the terminal to my truck.

I'm not really looking forward to the solitude of sleeping alone, sitting there watching tv alone and just more just being alone. It's something I've started to be more cognizant of every time I leave a social situation whether it is being around my family, being around Lauren or any other situation whereby I have human interaction. Weird because I'm pretty sure for a while there driving OTR across the country, I liked my solitude. Not sure where all that turned around resulting in this hesitation to return to my truck.

Maybe it's this job. Yes, that is probably a good deal of it. It's not just the solitude but it's returning to this grind, as it has become. It's now tedious. Once again, my work week has been involuntarily shortened and my paycheck will suffer once again. Wasn't it only a few months ago when I started this new endeavor here in VA that I was all bright eyed and bushy freakin tailed?!? I was floating on a sea of new possibility and hope. My optimism was fueled by the promises of mostly drop and hook, endless miles and $1300 per week paychecks. That feeling is so far gone at this point that I don't even remember what it was like to feel so positive about this opportunity. It has since gone staler than a old piece of hardened, crouton-like NY rye slice being picked apart by a pigeon. This has become the suck. Once again, this past Friday there were no loads to carry me through the weekend. Another 4.5 day work week and the hours I spent this past weekend looking at and applying for day cab jobs in Jersey was time well spent.

I work with another guy that does this dedicated route that I'm on. He went to see our terminal manager the other day to complain about the inconsistent loads, lack of miles and lack of money. In short he was told he could either go off the dedicated and run NE regional or he can suffer. They said this the nice way but that was the message, loud and clear. That has been this company's tactics from the beginning. Bait and switch. Get them in on the promise of a dedicated route, almost all drop and hook, $1300 a week paycheck and off two days a week. Once they get you on board the dedicated loads slow down and you are forced into abandoning the dedicated route and running the dreaded NE regional routes. It seems almost illegal. I've talked with other drivers along my travels and they also had the same exact experience. They were hired on to run this same dedicated account, work lagged and they had to go NE regional to stay with the company. Pisses me off to say the least because I left Swift for this. I was going to leave Swift anyway but I jumped at this opportunity based on what was promised. Now my options are to suck it up and face the inevitable of running the NE dedicated or look like I'm job hopping. I'll go with the job hopping as it's time to move to Jersey, get a hourly position and move on.

I've been putting in applications. I'm applying for those jobs that are paying $21-23/hour that have overtime. The few that I have been interested in claim 55-60 hours a week so those 15-20 extra hours of overtime are what is going to make the greatest difference on a paycheck. I'm hoping and will do my best to verify that the hours advertised are what I will actually be working.

 

I've been looking at apartments in Asbury Park with a backup in Ocean Grove. We just want to find something simple for now. I'm tired of renting honestly. I've been renting my entire adult life and the thought of spending more money on rent drives me nuts. A while ago I said that I would never rent again and that I would instead just stay in the truck and save up to buy a house. But things change and the new circumstances require me to become a renter once again, at least for a couple of years while I save the 20% down payment needed to get into a house. This will also give me a chance to clean up my credit so by the time it comes to buy a house I'll be in better shape.

I finally got a real Asbury experience the weekend before this one. It was a day after Thanksgiving and Lauren was up at her aunt's house in Maryland. We had plans to spend the weekend together so I drove up to pick her up and we headed to the Jersey Shore to get some Christmas shopping done.

Saturday we had plans to meet up with her friends at a high school reunion party at her friend's condo near Asbury Park. It is safe to assume that I was the oldest person at that party but everyone was cool. Lauren's first high school reunion was taking place that weekend and her and her friend's chose to celebrate their own way, among close friends at her friend's house. Call it the anti-high school reunion. It should be noted that I've have already seen two high school reunions come and go, none of which I attended, and I'm half way to my third HS reunion. Christ I'm feeling old just rehashing this memory. Lauren is 15 years younger and it is not often that I even think about that fact. This night I was a little intimidated being the one lone outsider to this close-knit group of friends, exaggerated by the age difference. But once I was there and got comfortable it was easy. We had a great time.

We drove to downtown Asbury after the party to experience the Saturday night life. It was another great night with great people and we returned to our borderline shady, but comfortable, motel a few blocks away from the Asbury Convention Center.

The next day was spent walking around downtown, shopping, taking photos, meeting interesting people and just enjoying each other. As the day progressed I started to get that terrible feeling of dread that creeps in every time I know the clock is ticking down to the time when I have to leave Lauren once again. I really hate that feeling. I start to procrastinate, delaying the inevitable and increasingly more difficult departure, the impending 5 hour drive back to Virginia and the uncertainty that comes with not really knowing when I'll see her again.

We had a great weekend. This woman amazes me more every day. This weekend, loads or no loads, I'm driving up to Jersey again. My cousin, the one whom is friends with Lauren, is having her annual Christmas party and we are attending as a couple - Lauren and I, not my cousin and I. Just to clarify. Hope this week is going to pass quick and be as painless as possible.

 

I have been looking up jobs tonight and this type of job I quoted from myself are much more rare. It seems that a lot of the jobs I have seen tonight are in the $19-21/hour range. This isn't going to be easy.

I did find a tanker division up in Jersey that pays $22/hour. I'll apply after calling tomorrow. Trying to find out what endorsements they need and by when. Also a lot of the hourly, home daily jobs, want you to run nights. I'm not completely opposed to it but it makes sense. I actually prefer running nights in my current job just to avoid the traffic. I'm sure that's why they are requiring those hours as well.

The search for the perfect job continues...

 

I've always heard that Frogg Toggs is great gear but, yes, it won't win any fashion contests. I thought it was definitely different looking.

 

Haha that is an interesting mental image! But I have to side with Steve on this, I guess that is the whole point. Now it's time to get the rest of the gear matching so it is absolutely blinding!