Wasted days and wasted nights

[Admin]

Jan 16, 2017 16:49:37 GMT Admin said:

The idea of going back OTR makes me upset and tense

I don't have anymore years to waste out there.

When home, 9-5, you get back in habit of actually being able to do things when off work, other than staying caged up in back of cab.

And todays truck stops have zero entertainment, no pool rooms, video game rooms, gyms, nothing, so when off work, all you basically can do is sit in truck, which is loud.

I like being home daily, after shift, being able to shop, drive to store, go out on balcony, chat with people I know, lay on couch and have a long restful night of sleep.

Have access to fresh produce, and to be able to use own gym in place, treadmill, weights and more.

You give all that up when OTR.

It's just not fun anymore, there's nothing out there anymore, times have changed.

And you're made more lonely by watching families drive past you all day on the road, it just reminds you how lonely you really are out there.

And if single, forget about meeting anyone out there.

It's not like old days when could bob tail into local town and hang out, try that now and you'll get fired, so all you can do is sit hooked up to trailer when off duty...ye, that's real fun.

And truckers aren't 'chatty' anymore, more like angry recluses.

Gotta cut this short

Well, I've found a new place of employment, hopefully, got pushed through the application process pretty quickly, in that application already filled out long ago, and thankfully they kept it on file.
Even took drug test today.

And thankfully, new (new to me) position will still keep me 'local' and home daily and off or home by 4-6 P.M., with hourly pay, overtime and more.

I'll nearly be doubling check average than what currently earn, or more actually, in that this newer position with another company, what they haul is always in demand, there is no 'slow time', like where I'm at now.

With this newer company, hopefully will be allowed to once again 'save' and enjoy a bit of fruits from me labor.

Oh, and off on the weekends to boot, so nearly a gran (after taxes I suppose) a week, and still off on the weekend, heck some lower end O/O struggle to do that after expenses and all.

But not out of the woods yet, in that I'm behind now, and old (hopefully old) company may not want me to finish off time there for the 7 or so idle days I'll have.

But with newer company, I'll be able to generate in one week, what took me two weeks to do currently, as such can get caught up a lot quicker, hopefully.

And on another page on here, I'll share how drivers who are sick of the road, can possibly find local positions that pay just the same or more.

This idea that you have to rot away OTR is not true, if you look hard enough and know where to look.

Some driving jobs you can earn $1,200.00 a week and still be home daily, start time may be really early morning though.

Those of us who 'labor' for a living have very limited healthy working life spans, cause once lose ability to labor, especially if before retirement age, then what?

So have to earn and save while can, and not feel guilty about job hoping in order to achieve that.

[Admin]

Hoping to start new job soon with better pay.

Last job was OK, but didn't pay enough, things started getting slow.

Whatever job I get, as long has home daily, nightly, I'll be content, just cannot do the road thing anymore.

I did road for many years before, and still trying to put life back together as a result.

I'm just now, after years, getting to point where have worked locally around enough people to start getting invites to church, or invites to 'hang out' at peoples home, when driving over the road, never had a chance to get to know anyone long enough to build trust or rapore.

If single, OTR environment will leave you feeling isolated, some maybe enjoy it for a while, while things are new and fresh to them, but after a while it gets old, especially in todays super controlled no thrills OTR environment.

Don't get me wrong, lots of people still enjoy OTR lifestyle, just look at all the trucks out there on the road, so obviously folks still doing it, it's just not for me anymore, sometimes I wish it were, in that life was way more simpler to me back then.

I think it's just natural for most to want to keep progressing throughout this short life, to do better, face new challenges, hopes that spawn new dreams, without that everything just becomes grey after a while.

[Admin]

Are 19-30 year old 'W' males afraid of blue collar work now?

Blue collar type work, even in trucking, is one of the few industries can still earn middle class income without college degree, where have the younger 'W' males gone?

It seems all the younger 'w' males have gone 'tech', cause you sure don't see them in trucking anymore.

Instead you see younger or mid aged 'B' males, younger or mid aged 'H' males, and or older 'W' males, but you just don't see younger 'W' males filling the ranks of trucking anymore, like you did in the 60's, 70's, 80's and part of the 90's.

Maybe in Mid-West farm land area you still do...I don't know, but where I'm at, the SE, you don't see many younger 'W' males into trucking anymore, or owning own trucks, or doing port work, all the hires or O/O's I see are either 'B' or 'H' or other.

Seems most younger 'W' males into 'techy' stuff now, jobs, and hold their nose up to 'grease' work.

Evidence that society is forever changing and evolving.

[Admin]

Night and day between fitness of local, city, route drivers vs Over the Road drivers

Where I work I get to see the difference daily between city, local, home every night type of drivers and OTR drivers, and it's like night and day.

City or local drivers 90% fit, slim or slender, regardless of age, where as when the big OTR sleeper trucks pull up or in, often penguin walking, stumbling, driver comes rolling out, fat, overweight and very sickly looking, it's kind of sad actually.

OTR, for more than a few years, is a death warrant...why?

1. OTR environment doesn't encourage health or exercise, body wasn't meant to sit, and drive for 10-14 hours a day for weeks, months, at a time, and when parked, the only food that's usually available is laced with chemicals, sodas, candy, fried foods, toastido's (gross), chips ext.

Everything sold in truck stops is laced with chemicals that driver cannot burn out of system, cause after driver eats, goes to bed or drives some more.

I'm home now, and love it, even though life not as fulfilling as wished, on social level, health wise leaps and bounds above OTR lifestyle.

a. Have gym and treadmill in place that can use daily.

b. Can make lunch filled with fruit, from farmers market instead of candy or soda

c. Sanitized restroom, no more using public restroom (well sometimes during shift), but nothing like using own private restroom instead of nasty smelling truck stop restroom.

I'm not putting OTR drivers down, for someone has to do it, deliver that stuff, but not me, not anymore.

There are other non OTR jobs out there that pay just as well or better, drivers just need to look.

For years, I did OTR, but in way different mindset, and even when I did do OTR, I still exercised, I was never a conventional type driver, not in style or taste or culture.

Life is not issue free for me right now, still have own set of issues, but just not OTR type of issues.

At least at end of day, or 3 day weekend like now, can relax in place, don't have to hear diesel engines churning next to me.

I just don't have the patience or tempurment for OTR anymore, 'Wasted days and wasted nights'.

Just can't handle someone else telling me where to go all the time, planning my life, it's an ucky feeling as you get older.

But people do what they have to do to get by.

But when it stops being fun, it's hell...

[Admin]

I have food at home!

One of the things I hated, and still hate about trucking is simply 'being away'...whether OTR or local, you still work very long shifts that have you away from resources at home that save you money.

On the weekends, me personally, like to cook, buy food, go to farmers market, but during the week, with 12 hours shifts and all, a lot of that food spoils, a lot of that fruit spoils.

So as of lately have been simply packing it with me.

Truck stops, convenient stores, basically and only sell 'death food', food designed to send you to an early grave!!

Sure, the sell 'nuts'...'These nuts'...(sorry, couldn't resist)...

But their healthy food costs lots of $$$.

So again, as of lately I've simply started packing stuff from home fridge, to work with me, like steamed beats, veggies, fruit and more, stuff that allows me to live, and live better, rather than candy, soda, and fatty foods that send truckers to early graves, or give diabetes.

Soon, will share sad story of trucker, whom met in nursing home in Savannah, GA, who's body basically broke down, limbs falling off, every week I came, another limb rotted off, then they died.

Yet such a bright happy type of fella.

All do to the lifestyle of trucking, long hours of sitting, and eating junk or 'death food'...and no exercise.

I'll share their story soon.

I'm local driver now, home daily, but still, if not careful, even being home daily, working 12 hour shifts, can put you at odds with your health.

My advice to drivers is get off of the road as soon as possible, there's plenty of local, 9-5 driving jobs that pay decent, available...

Life on the road is only fun for a while, but soon tire of it.

Be safe.

[Admin]

Time to grocery shop so don't spend a ton this week

Even though I do have local job, home daily, you still get 'hungry' while working, days can be from 11-14 hours long, and during time working, and working burns calories, which makes you hungry.

As such, I need to go shopping right now, which totally don't feel like doing, but if I don't will end up spending way more than I should while at work, between 'stops'...

Truck stop food = death

Convenient store food = death, bad health


So instead, on weekends, I stock up on fruit, mainly fruit, and maybe deli stuff, pre made sub sandwiches, ect, that can be 3 days of lunch.

As a driver, since I drive all during the week, I hate driving when I'm off, absolutely hate it, I'm a 'home body' type now, and hate leaving place to go shopping or to do anything else.

But if don't, will be mad at self during the week for spending so much on 'junk food' during working hours, out of hunger and boredom.

I compare my own body to OTR drivers I still see while at work, at terminals and truck stops, and thank the heavens daily, that I'm not still out there.

Sad that most OTR drivers just look sickly, compared to general population

City, or local drivers, look more normal, and are usually thin, cause have to move around more, handle freight more.

I wish I could get out of trucking, but stay with it cause 'lazy' I suppose...to lazy to go back to college, or take online courses, or move on.

The income, steady income trucking provides, makes me stay, it's not 'rich' income, but it's steady.

And as age, become less brave, steady becomes comfort.

[Admin]

Most of todays truckers have evolved into retards.

Maybe not fair to say that, but trucking isn't the same anymore.

Heartland types replaced by foreigners, and or inner city types who are always glued on cell phone, and drive truck as if in a car.

The trucking culture is officially dead, except in a few heartland spots, other than that, it's just a job now.

[Admin]

and the people who manage you are even worse now days, creatures from wherever

[Admin]

Cubed



This one reason why could never return to driving over the road, cause I'm just to dern artistically creative.

And unlike days of old, most truckers straight up look ugly now, they're older, lack any sense of style and taste, and are total square pegs, why would I want to be out there with types like that for days or weeks at a time?

I to, am older now, since creating this blog forum, but just cause I'm older doesn't mean I'm ready to be old.

Heck, I actually got carded the other day while trying to buy beer.

Truckers are some of the least culturally abstract people you could ever be cursed to work around in your whole entire life.

Trucking will never ever be as it was years ago, never, now you just have a bunch of newbie older males driving with nothing better to do, and you're actually seeing more females get into the fray again as decent paying jobs become more scarce.

One thing females do prove is that just because you drive a truck doesn't mean you have to look like or dress like a slob.

Just not sure why males feel they must walk around looking so dull, drab and grey all of the time, I just can't exist in that environment anymore, it would be torture to me, in that I'm a male but very artistically colorful.

Mainly expressed through art though, in public much less so, depending on social environment.

[Admin]

Wasted days and wasted nights, what a suiting title for how I feel right now, wasted days and wasted nights.

Like that song by Chubby Checkers or Domino's fats, or someone from that era.

I don't know where life or fate is leading me anymore, it's like I"m just drifting now, really haven't the energy or drive to be courageous anymore like years ago.

It's more like I'm in a sail boat now just waiting for the wind to stop and see where the currents take me.

In the past, I remember if didn't have 'the cash', would think nothing of applying for credit cards and running up debt, department store cards ect, what a mistake that was.

Lot's of minor mistakes made like that years ago, that become bigger as you age.

Now, unless win the lottery, just not bold enough to take fiscal risks anymore, it takes forever to save, and a minute or two to spend you saving on some pipe dream.

Should of stayed in College years ago also, had I know how much that would of improved my over all life and the people in my circle, I would of stayed in for sure...but was young and dumb, and that to has come back to haunt me.
Wasted days and wasted nights.

Oh well.

Time to lay back down, at least my dreams are still exciting and adventurous.