Hey, glad to hear things are better on the home front!
I think everything you just explained really demonstrates how every major decision in life is a compromise. You're always going to gain something, and you're always going to give up something. I think in the end, a lot of it comes down to how much you focus on the positive versus the negative. Not only that, but how do you handle it?
You liked being on the road but the marriage was suffering. You come off the road, the marriage improves, but you miss the road a little. So you're looking for that compromise where you're home most of the time but you get a road trip or two here and there.
I mean, that's how you do it! You find the best compromise. Kudos to you for continuing to move forward and looking for the right niche.
And we totally hear ya about the dealing with people thing. If only they were like old Volkswagens and you could just get out a wrench and fix em!

I think everything you just explained really demonstrates how every major decision in life is a compromise.
Good point. I like what I'm doing right now because I'm learning new skills in the yard and working on a personal goal I've had for a while. It may not always be sunshine and roses, but I'm learning something!
I mean, that's how you do it! You find the best compromise.
It helps I've got a great boss who is super accommodating too. She's always worried I'm going to get burnt out and tries to help switch things up a little so that doesn't happen.
And we totally hear ya about the dealing with people thing. If only they were like old Volkswagens and you could just get out a wrench and fix em!
Sure would be nice sometimes!
Coworkers were a new thing for me too when I went local. But I prefer to have coworkers over not having any. Keeps things interesting, forces me to socialize and lots of laughter.
Truckers are a different type of coworker I have noticed. We make fun of eachother and insult each other on the daily but its all in good fun and everyone gives it just as well as they take it. Truckers are very unique people.
Coworkers were a new thing for me too when I went local. But I prefer to have coworkers over not having any. Keeps things interesting, forces me to socialize and lots of laughter.
Truckers are a different type of coworker I have noticed. We make fun of eachother and insult each other on the daily but its all in good fun and everyone gives it just as well as they take it. Truckers are very unique people.
Blue collar guys in general are like that. My entire family is comprised of auto workers, steelworkers, mechanics, farmers, brick masons, and construction workers. They're all like that. Athletes are like that too. In fact, one of the best lessons my dad taught us growing up was never to let anyone know if something bothers you, or they'll never stop teasing you about it. He was a steelworker for 18 years, and he's a 5' 5" chunky Italian dude so there was no shortage of ways to tease the guy. But he always had a smile and was quick with a joke, and no one laughed harder than he did at himself.
In fact, one of my favorite stories of him was when he was in a golf tournament for work. He was a terrible golfer, but loved the game more than anything. Well the guys got him laughin and he wound up flubbing the ball into the water numerous times, and wound up with a 13 on a par 3. When the tournament was over they gave him this little trophy of a horse's ass for that. Not only did he proudly accept the trophy and laugh his ass off at it, but he went home and put it on his dresser, proud that his buddies got a kick out of the whole thing.
The best thing you can learn to do is laugh at yourself and take a joke well. You'll get your chance to give it back. But when someone gives it to you good, you had better be able to take it well, or you're gonna get blasted ten times worse after that. I don't know what it is, but there's just something hysterical about someone getting all bent out of shape over nothing.
Where I got into trouble when I first started in trucking was thinking you could speak with office personnel the same way you could speak with blue collar guys or athletes. I always thought the saying, "It's not what you say, it's how you say it" was the stupidest thing I had ever heard. And although I've always made great efforts to be a super nice guy, it never crossed my mind when I was younger to try to word anything in such a way that it wouldn't upset anyone. If I thought an idea was dumb, I said it was dumb. If I thought something was being handled poorly, I said exactly that.
Turns out office personnel are a whole different breed, and this causes a lot of problems for a lot of drivers. In my opinion you really have to speak with most office personnel like you're speaking to a Kindergarten class. If it would upset a six year old, it's probably going to upset them too. I had to learn to speak real softly and word everything in just the right way.
In fact, many times over the years I would wait a day or two before even discussing something with someone in the offices because I would have to figure out how to approach them with it. That drove me crazy, to be honest. It seemed like a bunch of unnecessary fluff. If I was approaching a blue collar guy I would just spit it out however it came out. Never had to think about it. But man, that really backfired unexpectedly on me early on in my career.
Of course I'm much older and wiser now and I can speak with anyone in the right way. I can go to a symphony and speak with the elitist just as easily as I can go to a construction site and hang with the guys. But I'm all about having fun and I'd way rather be able to relax and be myself instead of putting up filters for everything I say.
Operating While Intoxicated
Coworkers were a new thing for me too when I went local. But I prefer to have coworkers over not having any. Keeps things interesting, forces me to socialize and lots of laughter.
I'm on the fence, lol. Sometimes I love having coworkers and sometimes I'd love to have the whole yard to myself.
Truckers are a different type of coworker I have noticed. We make fun of eachother and insult each other on the daily but its all in good fun and everyone gives it just as well as they take it. Truckers are very unique people.
Kinda funny, I have one coworker that's like this. We mostly get along great. The other one cracks me up. He is super sarcastic and blunt when correcting you on something...doesn't care if he insults you. But when you give it back to him...oh hell no! We'll have our little argument and then he'll go away and not talk to me for the rest of the night. One time we had an argument and a couple weeks later when we were talking and joking around, I teased him about the argument a couple weeks ago. He said he was still upset about it! Little turd haha.
I gotta say, it's an interesting social experiment to stick two people in a yard together for twelve hours at a time, who are typically accustomed to spending exorbitant amounts of time by themselves.

...one of the best lessons my dad taught us growing up was never to let anyone know if something bothers you, or they'll never stop teasing you about it.
I'll have to remember that! Hahaha that story is just hilarious.
Turns out office personnel are a whole different breed, and this causes a lot of problems for a lot of drivers.
See I can talk to office personnel all day! I can go in to see my boss and talk to her for a good 30 minutes without even thinking about it--she's just super easy to talk to. Of course, that tends to get the other guys calling me kiss-ass.


Operating While Intoxicated
doesn't care if he insults you. But when you give it back to him...oh hell no!
Oh those guys are the worst. The soft, fragile ego. Tons of people like that. They're blowhards all the time to make themselves seem strong and tough, but their cover is totally blown as soon as you give it back and they cry like a baby.
There is this show called "Alone" which I watched the first season but haven't watched since. There was one guy, your typical blowhard, gun-totin', big, burly redneck. All guns and rebel flags and runnin his mouth, right? Well they stick you in the wilderness by yourself, no guns allowed, and you have to camp there alone to see how long you could take it. Well they told everyone that there are some wild cats there (Vancouver Island) and they gave em some spray or something.
Honest to God that big, burly, gun-totin, rebel-flag-wavin, mouth-running redneck literally cried through most of the night on the very first night, didn't sleep a wink, and called in to have them come get him in the morning. Quit the first day. Didn't even make it 24 hours. He said, "There's no way I could sit out there like that without a gun on me, knowing those cats were out there! No way!" And he went home.
Literally cried like a little girl.
The ones who act like Yosemite Sam are almost always trying to put on a show to cover up the fact that they're cowards. It's the guys who stand there quietly observing everything, those are the ones you have to watch out for. They're the ones who are usually prepared and they know they can handle themselves. They don't need to put on a show to scare people off or make themselves feel strong and important. In fact, they might just be hoping you'll underestimate them.
Operating While Intoxicated
Honest to God that big, burly, gun-totin, rebel-flag-wavin, mouth-running redneck literally cried through most of the night on the very first night, didn't sleep a wink, and called in to have them come get him in the morning. Quit the first day. Didn't even make it 24 hours. He said, "There's no way I could sit out there like that without a gun on me, knowing those cats were out there! No way!" And he went home.
What a surprise!
Operating While Intoxicated
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...Coworkers!!
I went from being the captain of my own ship, traveling the country, to sharing an acre of asphalt with one other yard hostler for 12 hours at a time. LOL. I know, I chose this. It is really really nice to be home every single night, making very consistent paychecks. And I actually like my coworkers--they're nice people and we get along fine most of the time. It's just the little stuff that you have to deal with every day when you work with other people.
Lately my boss has been changing the shifts and bringing in some new guys in the yard, so I'm working with a different driver now and the guys who work before us leave the yard a mess... trailers where they don't belong, in the wrong spots on the computer, etc. And my new partner--he's a great guy and he's no slacker, but some of the stuff he does--I'm like...WHY?? The best way to do things in the yard is to be as efficient as possible. No need to drive all over the yard as fast as possible when you can plan your moves a little and therefore save time and effort while driving more carefully at the same time. It's a win-win. Let's just say we don't all think that way I guess. Oh well, I'll get over it.
Sorry for the rant--just needed to vent a little. I actually kinda miss OTR , but I'm not ready to go back out at this point. I've decided to stay here until at least the end of the year. I'm a goal-oriented person, so I've made it my goal to stay here until at least January and learn to get along with all my coworkers. I might have to let stuff go sometimes (as long as it's not safety-related), but as long as I'm working well with others I'm winning.
On the bright side, I finally get to start driving more again! The last few months I've only gotten to drive about an hour a month--actually, technically not even that much. Starting this coming week, I should get at least 2 days a week in a daycab to do deliveries. I've been telling my boss I want to drive more, so she might even let me take a condo up to Salt Lake every once in a while. We'll see.
Overall, things are on the up and up right now. Marriage has improved alot since coming off the road and I'm getting a nice raise next week.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.