First Week At Jacobson Transport/foo Logistics

So here I am in Edinburg tx sitting 7 spots away from the jerk that blew past me at 80 miles per hour in a white Jacobson truck, I drive a red 16 Mack m8 13 spd governed at 65. I was really ****ed for a while especially when I saw him driving from the direction I was headed to drop my final stop.....but hey I had pre arranged my overnight park at the drop site so I knew I didn't have to drive clear out to the loves or pilot on the outskirts of town and worry about a parking spot at 7 in the evening. So yes he blew my doors and pushed me to the side of the lane with the air he was pushing but hey I was at the drop being unloaded when he pulled up for his 730 am scheduled unload. It was an awesome feeling as the dock manager rolled up the bay door and expressed with a Cheshire grin to me "thanks for being early, ya know the early bird gets the worm and all that!" Well I digress I started this as my first week on the title and began with the last day haha😅😅. So let's begin, orientation was a little nerve racking due to the fact I had no true big rig OTR experience now don't get me wrong I've driven straight trucks and heavy duty 50 ton wreckers for over 17 years and car haulers 42' to 53' for nearly 3 1/2 so I have well over a million miles on the roads and highways of Texas I've worked ice storms tornadoes and thunderstorms so intense you can't see the lane next too you out your window and that doesn't include the 8 years I spent off and on repoing collateral big and small for companies and as o/o. So when my fellow "experienced" drivers ribbed me about my zero experience the idea of training for 2 to 3 weeks was a daunting task I was not looking forward to and as a matter of fact laid restless and unable to sleep for the first 2 nights at the motel in Iowa. However by the end of the second day of orientation when I was told I'd be a HON furniture dedicated OTR driver I was pretty excited now my worries started fading away....until the hr girl mentioned DRYVAN.....wait a min I thought that recruiter, hell the add I put in my application with was for Flat Bed Driver....I had been siking my self up reading all of old schools posts like they where the bible, memorizing every tid bit of advise he craftily laced into his blogs and updates and responses to other drivers questions, read mountain girl and stars wisdoms and here I was stuck in DRYVAN...well to be honest it was kind of a relief I wasn't ready to run a flat bed truck I know that now just driving for a company with trailers used and abused by fellow "I don't give a rats @$$" bout pre let alone post trip trailer inspections. It was an interesting run from Des Moines to Muscatine Iowa with an empty that just constantly wanted to suck me into the shoulder and that rather scary 6" drop off the black top into the ditch. I guess I shouldn't complain most, 90%,of my loads are hooks and books. So I guess I have to cut my fellow d.g.r.a. employees a minor piece of slack. So I get to HONMUS as we so fondly call my first true load assignment and man I can't find a spot to drop my empty to save my life I drive all the way down a quarter mile long double row of backed in trailers parked all kinds of jacked up thinking to myself "man I don't want my first time backing a trailer, hooked to a tractor, I mean I have had to back tractor trailer and my 50 ton out of a dealership service line onto a very busy 2 lane but that's a different story, to be here at this shipper under eye of the all seeing camera and knock down this quarter mile of parked trailers😥😥😥😥😥. Fortunately waaaaaay at the end I found a two lane spot I could execute my first blind sided back, it only took me 5 min and two pull ups I was pretty excited😎😎 so I head back up to receiving feeling rather good about myself check in my empty and I'm promptly told my load won't be ready till tomorrow at 4 pm, it's 2:15....dang it, remember every bodies advice "stay calm, don't complain and definitely don't wine!" So I cheerfully gave the nice lady who just killed my proud of me buzz my cell # and asked to be put on the call back list just incase I'm ready early. So I spend yet another night, that's right another, it took 12 hrs to get this empty load from Des Moines out this way, in the sleeper of my truck. Now this doesn't seem bad to you veterans but to a guy who just left the wrecker industry due the extended lay over times and lack of income I was thinking to myself "boy what have u gotten yourself into😦😦?" So I logged into TT.com and read over halls entries until I was able to fall asleep, well I didn't sleep for more than 45 min at a time I had backed into the bobtail parking so far my rear axle was Lower than the front one so my air ride kept trying to compensate for the hight difference all night so I was startled awake by SWOOSH!! All night long😏😏. So I get a call at 11am the next day " your load is ready!" Yehaw!! I get that baby hooked and am out of there...now like I mentioned I brought in an empty...man 22,000lbs moves alot different than empty, it was like I had never shifted before fortunately my trailer was way at the end of yet another quarter mile long row of now loaded trailers so I had a few min to relearn my 13 spd with a small load on it. I have only driven 10spds and they all where over 10yrs old so extremely sloppy. So I get on the road to Georgia and settle in for the drive it ends up being quite nice and I remember why I have wanted to do this for long.