Comments By Renae S. (Angel)

Found ya...looking forward to updates. Question...we're you required to obtain your permit up front or did you decide to get a leg up on that? I'm wondering if I should get my permit, or see what state I'm going to first?????

They had me get my permit before anything. I would assume it depends on the state you're going to and coming from, based on the training locations.

Go to their site and fill out an interest card. They'll call you usually next day with information and to answer any questions you may have.

I did! Now to await tomorrow!

I think they like having the permit obtained in your home state ahead of time because that's where your permanent address is. Just guessing, but that seems logical over going to another state and having to relinquish your current license to get a new license in a state you don't even live in. That's probably another reason they like to send people to schools close to where they live. It's easier to make sure they can be in their home state when they get their CDL testing done for their permanent license.

Renae (Angel)

Physical yesterday went great. Apart from noting I am overweight, which I knew, I am pretty healthy.

All that's left is to get my CDL permit and head to Phoenix.

Arizona in the middle of summer?!! EEK! I'm feeling more fortunate heading for Salt Lake City.

Good luck at school and on the road! See you out there!

Renae (Angel)

Andy posted:

1099 situation

1099 alert!

Paying drivers as "independent contractors" is often a dodge by your employer to avoid paying their employment taxes and otherwise protecting their employee.

I don't mean to change the thread topic, but Andy, you are in a dangerous legal situation. Do a search here on "1099”.

Thanks for the heads up Errol! I'll be looking into that today too. :D

This is a sad event but, there's one thing I'm taking away from it and that's to premap the route in case the GPS is wrong. My car GPS likes to do all kinds of weird routing for me, I'd hate to have that unreliability in a truck and I prefer having backups. Not that I'm trying to lecture though. I really hope you find something soon. Good luck.

In researching and finding out the situations new drivers can find themselves in, I'm feeling more and more comfortable about getting my experience with another driver in the passenger seat. I WANT to go solo eventually, but some situations like routing and running a funky GPS from the passenger side seems safer. Having someone to say, "Whoa! You're short. Go wider through here," just seems like a better learning situation than getting tossed into a truck with a wish and a prayer.

Just sayin'.

Renae (Angel)

I'm sick and tired of having NO energy and being tired. I have a city driving job and a demanding route. It's hard to stop with a 53 anywhere so I'm forced to bring my lunch. i'm running out ideas of what to pack and eat. Please give me some tips you OTR guys. i know you have it down to a science. My crap truck won't support a plug in for anything to heat. It all has to be cold. I wan't to eat as healthy as possible but I still need to get filled up. I have NO energy and this is effecting my job and my life. Please give me some advice and tips for gaining energy and cool food to eat. When I was in my 20/30/40 I could work 60+ hours a week working for myself but now that I'm in my 50's and working for someone I'm exhausted working 45. It's the new norm, you work a lot harder for less as you get older (thank's obama) Thank you.

Joe BestTrumpetPlayer

Hi Joe!

I found this site that lists 20 foods for energy. http://www.activebeat.co/diet-nutrition/20-foods-proven-to-boost-energy/20/

The list is: Leafy greens Whole grains Bananas Coffee Water Tea Nuts Lean meats Beans Citrus Curry Fatty fish Quinoa Coconut Dark Chocolate Greek Yogurt Kale Ginger Lentils & Legumes Sesame Seeds

Now, you're saying that's great...thanks, but...

Most, if not all of these foods can be eaten cold with very little preparation beforehand. Salads, ice coffee or ice tea. The energy sucks are very processed foods and sugar. The fewer ingredients, least sugars, and raw are usually good choices. Read labels, ask the individual departments (deli, meat, produce, etc.) to tell you what the ingredients are. That honey ham lunch meat? Yummy but it's got more sugar than that smoked turkey. What's the best way to prepare this or that fish to be eaten cold? You get the idea.

Cold food storage can be a health issue too. If the temperature of your cooler isn't cold enough and stay that way, your food could become bacteria heaven and you'll get food poisoning.

Another resource for food that can be kept cold and still good, Caterers. They have to prepare things ahead of time and still have it taste good when it gets to their customer's table. Who knows, give 'em a job putting your lunch together for you. They've usually got tons of knowledge and experience with food.

A senior center that prepares food for the elderly would also be able to tell you what they put in lunches they deliver.

There's a ton of resources close at hand. I hope these ideas help.

Renae (Angel)

Thanks, Renae! Best wishes to you also. How's this for frugal? (Hope I got the right link from photo bucket for this!) Battery powered lamp, small, but $1 at the Dollar Tree Ultra light back packing canister stove, less than $5 on Amazon Butane fuel, free from a friend who hikes a lot

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp30/lckygrl74/Mobile%20Uploads/20150716_212209_zpsgkwvtme6.jpg

Hmmm...can we say barbeque?

I've been looking at how people set up their trucks. Microwaves, coffee pots, and electric coolers are only the beginning. I think every truck is as individual as the people driving them.

Following...You sound a little like me, except thanks to health and/or relationships gone sour, I don't have much left to lose in the way of material things. I could totally live in a tiny house! I actually plan to plunk one down somewhere, someday :)

Hi Christy! Thanks for reading my Diary!

I sent a PM.

Basically, I do live in a tiny house. With my brother's help, I purchased a trailer in a court about 7-8 years ago. There have been a lot of ups and downs during that time. A lot of changes regarding who lives here and who doesn't, but the one thing I count on is that my house will still be here when A) the kids don't need it anymore, and B) they haven't burned down the trailer court during my time on the road!

I like that I can provide my kids a stable place to live whether I'm home or not. I KNOW the difficulties life can throw at young people. Relationships going tits up, financial problems, job changes, and lifestyle choices make finding and keeping a place to live hard. Most places don't want pets anymore. We've got three.

Giving them basically free access to a home that's not going anywhere is the very least I can do for them. Growing up I remember at least twice where we had to move into my grandfather's house because mom was having a really hard time. When I was on my own, I had to do the same thing. A bad breakup, a 2-month old baby, and trying to drive my 3-year old back and forth across states every two weeks was brutal. Mom and Grandpa put me up for a year while I got my act together.

As for not burning the house down...my, at the time, 15-year old daughter tried to clean the oven when I had to go pick up mom from where she was living in Oregon. She turned on the self-cleaning feature. All good so far. Wait...you're supposed to make sure the oven doesn't have anything in it? Wait...when it catches on fire, you shouldn't throw cold water on it? Wait...that's the smoke detector! Wait...that's the glass window on the oven door shattering!

I was driving 65 down the freeway in Portland when I got that panicked phone call. Luckily, my phone sucked and all I heard on the speaker was crying and hiccups. We pulled into a gas station and I called home. My brother answered because my daughter was still freaking out! The only things damaged were the oven door and my daughter's nervous system.

I have absolutely no reason to post here other than I was bred and went to the last thread on the last page (550) to see what it was.

Your Bored moment could lead to an interesting new forum feature.... in the spirit of "Throwback Thursday" we see all the time of Facebook.... how about a Throwback or Time Capsule feature in the forum that digs up an old inactive thread once a week and puts it at the top of the heap? If people get into it and start talking on it again, it could be an active conversation again.... otherwise, with lack of interest, it quickly drops back into obscurity to the bottom of the list. to expand on the idea even further.... the threads could be weighted by a moderator so that the "more valuable" conversations pop up more frequently than the "not so valuable" threads. Just a thought.... what say you Brett? Another idea for the incubator?

Considering that I'm one of the new people to the site, I have been focusing on the top of the list and the blogs by specific authors or tags. I haven't really been able to get very far past the first couple pages. The older stuff isn't less valued by me, I just have so much great stuff at the front of the line I don't know what else exists!

Might be a new thread idea to bring some of it into the daylight, so to speak.

Jay boasted:

I was bred

So you were born that way? ... Or were you bored that way?

AHHH! The smile typo will bring to the "bored" and curious.

Lady, you're FUNNY! Maybe I should coordinate with you on what school to go to, and then ask you to be my partner in the event of forced teaming! You sound like my kind of woman, all about business and able to improvise on a dime, and a sense of humor to take the edge off.

I would LOVE to partner up with a reliable person!! I'm still researching schools, but I'm looking into CRST in Cedar Rapids, Ia. It doesn't have the greatest reviews, but I've yet to find one that does. The Pro's for me so far are: *Semi close to home *10 month contract, compared to the year some others require *Team driving could be a plus for safety and learning reasons Cons: *Low starting rate split with co-driver *Quoted from the Getting Started with CRST packet, FAQ's, question 19, page 14: "CRST cannot promise that a female recruit will train with a female lead driver. Every female student should expect that she will train with a male lead driver for 28 days." I can forward this to you if you don't have it. Lckygrl74@gmail.com :)

I totally agree with Debra! A sense of humor, boy scout preparedness, and brighter than Santa's workshop the day before Christmas! I'm heading for CR England this weekend. Team driving is required as soon as you get hired, lasting 6 months or so. It begins with your trainer for a month, and moves on to your teammate for 5 months. I'm looking at the safety issues of trying to be a rookie during winter driving. Being "stuck" in a truck with a stranger for 1/2 a year doesn't sound bad at all when I look at it that way.

I hope HE/SHE can cook. Not the end of the world either way, but restaurants and fast food swallow money faster than a robin with his first worm of the day.

Good luck finding what you're looking for!

Renae (Angel)