Profile For Smiley

I ran the antenna on my dash, worked fine would cut off some, I've seen folks run the line thru the cab and engine out to one of the hood mirrors, saved the some $ :) I like the idea of running it high in the sleeper next to the Qualcomm reciever, on the Cascadia I'm in its on the passenger side top of the cabinet in a little cubby hole. Seems to get good reception

Yup, stocking that cooler is key, a single trip to a truck stop runs me about $10 and I'm a non smoker, drink snacks and sandwich only! Very easy to blow thru the money this way, $20 a day for 1 person here. If u don't get the fridge, invest in the plug in cooler, for $100 it will pay for itself quick enough. I too am losing weight, so keeping a bunch of fresh fruit in the truck, it's the best snack for when I'm driving, and I can get a variety so I don't get bored, plus if I run out I can grab a few from a loves for $1-2 bucks :) and I use the diamond status on my loyalty card for unlimited free refills each month, I'm a coffee drinker and sometimes iced tea, at $1.50-2 for a coffee I can spend well over $10 a week on just coffee, that's pushing $50 a month O.o so I opt for free when I can :D basically between frugal shopping and planning ahead I've run many weeks where I spend $0.00 while I'm on the road, I treat myself to a chipotle and a movie and feel really good about it when that happens. :)

I can only see a 20 year spread here (and at the midsection lol) the old style truckstops seem faded, it's not about parking for the weekend, grilling out, swapping stories and fending off the dope dealers and prostitutes, party till you were broke and had to go back to work etc. The renegade lifestyle has been superseded with something different, no more drivers lounges, less talk on the c.b. and more with people not in the industry (web,txt blue tooth) fewer real restaurants, more fast food. A newer lifestyle that doesn't thumb it's nose at the old, it's not disrespectful, the new simply isn't concerned about it, the new is wired for sound and finds their own world more important than not just the old, but the one surrounding them now (just take time out to watch the headsetters :) they are on a life mission that doesn't include you. They walk a bit differently, almost a strut, and they know beyond any doubt, that their existence (and their current phone call lol) is the focal point around which THE world turns. While I heard as well the feeling that the new generation was this or that 20 years ago just as today, I think what I see makes the older generation more unhappy than ever, this new generation has decided they don't need them...... just ask Google is its anthem. And instead of round table truck stop discussions, they have chat rooms with facebookers and Skype with strangers half way around the world, people that have nothing to do with this industry. Their personal world didnt get smaller like it did for others long ago, they just plugged in and brought it with them. For good or ill, it divides attention, causes accidents etc, but the older folks use it too so it has enhanced their job experience at the same time. And sure the flipflopper seems to be on an upswing, just as other stereo types dwindle, but obesity remains an issue while I can now choose fresh fruit at every stop I make :)) (couldn't even find "fresh" fruit on a buffet a few years ago rofl) just a few observations that might, or might not have merit :D

So lease purchase is the only way you would be able to bring the child along? I've only seen a few families living like this, and you can tell when they pile out, but I can't remember any that seemed happy about it lol

I honestly never felt slow freight season, not 20yrs ago, and not now :) I don't believe it's my good looks and charm either lol. Well maybe it is part charm, because attitude is the only major difference I saw between my experience and drivers that were complaining. I had a codriver that was pulled in for follow up training, Jan or feb, we had hit 5400 miles and would've ran more except for his class, the instructor asked the class how many miles they were getting, saying it's probably not what they were used to. After the class he asked me what was going on, said some drivers thought he was lying when he said how many miles we had so far that week. I had been trying to explain to him about having that good relationship with disp, making the effort to not be the last 8 or 9 drivers calling up with the same complaints (loads under 1000miles, detention times, refusing loads, refusing city work etc basically all the things we know disp hears everyday of their career) my goal was to make dispatches job as easy as I could, my job is to drive, thier job is to find me somethIng to dtive!lol dont complocate past that :) And in the long run I feel that contributed the most to the experience of never feeling slow frieght. Had a company driver get in my face ready to fight because I disagreed with his "don't ever accept city work.....it's all they will give you from then on!" Again my experience was the oposite, I was stuck in San Francisco area, no load after a few hours, still no load after a few more which was rare, called disp and asked if they had anything to keep me busy, my disp had in fact a 5 stop run in San Francisco lol this is an all day load, no way around it. I said I would take , would rather be busy than not, disp told me hold on he was working a few angles, am hour later I was disp on a mail run to new Jersey :) so in fact disp actively avoided giving me city work, instead they kept me running. Why? I can only guess that disp knew if they absolutely needed that load delivered, they could've given it to me and never heard a peep of protest, I'm out here to work, not complain about the work. This attitude tends to be so far from the worst they deal with, that it changes my experience. Don't get me wrong, I know slow frieght is real, and if/when I feel it, it will be with the same attitude of calm acceptance, my success is not measured by a week or two of poor performance, it's based on a yearly average :D

Patience is your new religion, trainer student or driver :)

That's Awesome! It really is a small world lol

I don't think it's due to previous experience, just rushed it seems. Glad to hear the good stories when It comes to trainers, the horror stories do tend to take all the spot light :)) I had 3 road trainers when I started each for about 2wks, I did that on purpose, was afraid I'd get that horrible experience everyone was talking about, figured if I had 3 systems to choose from I could pick what worked the best from them all and create my own. I had 3 good trainers and kind of mashed together what I liked best from each. Probably helped me the most when I went on to train later. This time around I had 1 trainer, he had some good stuff to add to the mix lol

I just found out the lead driver class is only 2 days :/ 20yrs ago it was a week. You cant have any illusions about why poor training is such a consistent theme. I understand time is money, but you also get out what you put in. I had some excellent trainers years ago but they seem to be the exception to the rule. Some things you simply should not hurry.

Not everyone trains the same, find one you like and push to get them in your corner, at the end of the day you are still responsible for getting the training you need, make your needs known, call them out on the limited time frame and abrasive learning atmosphere. Than keep trying your hardest to show improvements, no matter how small, this is what you build on till you succeed, if they put you on a bus, find another school, you passed all the criteria to get there, someone else will give you a shot. My wife went thru 2 schools in this manner. She hated the first and loved the second, completely different methodology. Just don't give up on yourself. :)