I seriously love my trucker, but honestly, this is the millionth time I've heard "I'm quitting, I'm getting a regular job, work 9 to 5 like normal people.."
I wish!
If I had a dollar for every time I heard that.......... *sigh*
6 "General" posts during 10/2005
Not again...
Category: Trucking
Posted on Mon, Oct 17 2005 @ 5:39 PM [EST]
[Permalink] [Comments - 1] [Send Article] [Improper]Doors of Perception
Trait Snapshot:
Introverted, irritable, feels invisible, observer, depressed, does not enjoy leadership, reveals little about self, dislikes large parties, feels undesirable, does not like to stand out, submissive, suspicious, emotionally sensitive, not a thrill seeker, solitude loving, likes silence, fragile, second guesses self, negative, unadventurous, fearful, weird, focuses on people's hidden motives, paranoid, phobic, dependent, cautious, avoidant, semi intellectual.
Introverted, irritable, feels invisible, observer, depressed, does not enjoy leadership, reveals little about self, dislikes large parties, feels undesirable, does not like to stand out, submissive, suspicious, emotionally sensitive, not a thrill seeker, solitude loving, likes silence, fragile, second guesses self, negative, unadventurous, fearful, weird, focuses on people's hidden motives, paranoid, phobic, dependent, cautious, avoidant, semi intellectual.
Took a Global personality test on the net. Above is the interpretation of the results.
It said I was weird. HA! Guess they got one right.
Too funny! Although.. What are you doing reading my blog??? What do you want??? Wait, don't go... I want to hang out, uh.. but not now. I'll call you.
HA! (Sorry... I haven't slept in a couple days.)
Category: My Life
Posted on Mon, Oct 17 2005 @ 5:01 PM [EST]
[Permalink] [Comments - 0] [Send Article] [Improper]Long Walk
Have you ever read Stephen King's "The Long Walk? If not, it's a good book, you should read it. But it seems to bear more then a little resemblence to the life of my truck driver. A never ending, beyond enduring, continuation toward some indefinite "finish". The winner only recieving his life as his reward. Or maybe winning your life isn't really a reward, but a punishment.
It just seems never ending... his job that is. There's no consistency. Hell, he worked for ... a large company prior to this one, who refered to him as solely a number, and yet he had more consistency than this. Ridiculous. This smaller, family run and owned company, is treating him like he's some kind of machine that never needs recharging.
I'm just pissed cause they're sending him to Kentucky on a Friday. It means he won't be home until late Saturday night. I'll admit I'm a little selfish and want him here, but I'm more pissed about the fact that he isn't getting enough sleep as is, and working another day isn't going to make it any better.
He's wore out, completely. I don't know what to do to help and I'm worried sick he's going to fall asleep at the wheel or something equally bad. I thought the new company would be better. Their ad promised they were going to get him home 3 to 5 day's a week and every weekend. A month and a half now, and he's worked every Sunday except one, and that was because he refused to go in. He gets home once a week but only gets about 5 hours, then he's got to be back on the road.
He's trying so hard to make me happy, I can see that. Even though he looks as if he's going to pass out he's so tired, he'll still sit and ask me how my day's are and how I'm doing. But he's so pale and so drained. There's got to be a better way then this. I spent the last three day's searching the internet for a local job, or at least a better company. There all the same.
I put in app's for a job. Hopefully I can find one to work around my school schedule and still pay decent. Problem is, I don't think it will help. I've offered to pay half the bills several times, and I had tons (for me tons) of money to be able to do so. He still refused. He's doing this for a different reason then money, but I'm not sure I understand why. He's said it's to allow me to concentrate on school, which that may be part of it, but I think there is something more.... I just don't know what. Ego? Pride? I know he has to be the best at what ever he's doing. Could he be running himself into the ground in order to prove, once again, that he is above and beyond 'ordinary' drivers?
If this is the case, then my getting a job won't help the situation. It might make me feel better, but won't solve anything. Might actually make things worse if he believes his male pride is in jeapordy in any way...
Why are men so complicated? Stop it, will you.
It just seems never ending... his job that is. There's no consistency. Hell, he worked for ... a large company prior to this one, who refered to him as solely a number, and yet he had more consistency than this. Ridiculous. This smaller, family run and owned company, is treating him like he's some kind of machine that never needs recharging.
I'm just pissed cause they're sending him to Kentucky on a Friday. It means he won't be home until late Saturday night. I'll admit I'm a little selfish and want him here, but I'm more pissed about the fact that he isn't getting enough sleep as is, and working another day isn't going to make it any better.
He's wore out, completely. I don't know what to do to help and I'm worried sick he's going to fall asleep at the wheel or something equally bad. I thought the new company would be better. Their ad promised they were going to get him home 3 to 5 day's a week and every weekend. A month and a half now, and he's worked every Sunday except one, and that was because he refused to go in. He gets home once a week but only gets about 5 hours, then he's got to be back on the road.
He's trying so hard to make me happy, I can see that. Even though he looks as if he's going to pass out he's so tired, he'll still sit and ask me how my day's are and how I'm doing. But he's so pale and so drained. There's got to be a better way then this. I spent the last three day's searching the internet for a local job, or at least a better company. There all the same.
I put in app's for a job. Hopefully I can find one to work around my school schedule and still pay decent. Problem is, I don't think it will help. I've offered to pay half the bills several times, and I had tons (for me tons) of money to be able to do so. He still refused. He's doing this for a different reason then money, but I'm not sure I understand why. He's said it's to allow me to concentrate on school, which that may be part of it, but I think there is something more.... I just don't know what. Ego? Pride? I know he has to be the best at what ever he's doing. Could he be running himself into the ground in order to prove, once again, that he is above and beyond 'ordinary' drivers?
If this is the case, then my getting a job won't help the situation. It might make me feel better, but won't solve anything. Might actually make things worse if he believes his male pride is in jeapordy in any way...
Why are men so complicated? Stop it, will you.
Category: General
Posted on Thu, Oct 13 2005 @ 9:06 PM [EST]
[Permalink] [Comments - 1] [Send Article] [Improper]The Day (Un)Seized
I've been struggling with some questions as of late. Most of these are spawned from the classes I'm taking currently. It's ironic how college is supposed to teach so much, and yet leaves so many questions unanswered. I suppose that may be because they go unasked mostly.
Basically, I was wondering how on earth did the trucking industry end up so completely messed up!? Honestly, ask any average citizen to work 14 hours a day with no overtime and they'd be running (Screaming) to the ACLU in a heartbeat. And the hours of service rules are a joke. They got most of their information on how long and what hours a driver can drive by asking the Company's?? JB Hunt stating that drivers never used their 11th hour...
So, how did it get this way, and why is the government supporting this? What happened to the rights of the driver, the employee? Anything over 8 hours should be overtime. Day's off shouldn't be calculated in 10 hour periods. Haven't they ever heard of quality of life?
It's amazing to me how companies can scream that they have a driver shortage, and yet find nothing wrong with listing "one 12 hour period off every 7 day's" as a Driver Benefit. Not to mention some companies are listing a monthly news letter as a driver benefit. Wow.....
Obviously it's all profit driven, but what happened to protecting the driver? The rest of us (civilians) are protected with minimum wages, amount and length of breaks, and how long we can work. Why is it that the truck driver is pushed to the threshold of sanity, only to have the industry whine about driver shortage?
So how do we change this? Simple because a few people are speaking out, and others may be thinking it, won't change anything. There would have to be a unified front. Not a driver stoppage, but more a political action commitee, or group to lobby for the rights of the truck driver. Are there any? And if so, what are they doing?
Basically, I was wondering how on earth did the trucking industry end up so completely messed up!? Honestly, ask any average citizen to work 14 hours a day with no overtime and they'd be running (Screaming) to the ACLU in a heartbeat. And the hours of service rules are a joke. They got most of their information on how long and what hours a driver can drive by asking the Company's?? JB Hunt stating that drivers never used their 11th hour...
So, how did it get this way, and why is the government supporting this? What happened to the rights of the driver, the employee? Anything over 8 hours should be overtime. Day's off shouldn't be calculated in 10 hour periods. Haven't they ever heard of quality of life?
It's amazing to me how companies can scream that they have a driver shortage, and yet find nothing wrong with listing "one 12 hour period off every 7 day's" as a Driver Benefit. Not to mention some companies are listing a monthly news letter as a driver benefit. Wow.....
Obviously it's all profit driven, but what happened to protecting the driver? The rest of us (civilians) are protected with minimum wages, amount and length of breaks, and how long we can work. Why is it that the truck driver is pushed to the threshold of sanity, only to have the industry whine about driver shortage?
So how do we change this? Simple because a few people are speaking out, and others may be thinking it, won't change anything. There would have to be a unified front. Not a driver stoppage, but more a political action commitee, or group to lobby for the rights of the truck driver. Are there any? And if so, what are they doing?
Category: My Life
Posted on Wed, Oct 12 2005 @ 2:25 PM [EST]
[Permalink] [Comments - 0] [Send Article] [Improper]Ceilings of Asphalt
Sometimes it seems designed to keep those of us who were born into a lower class, kept in our respective class. It's not a matter of hard work and dedication, it's all a matter of who you know, and how well you can suck up.
One of my business classes, the instructor tells us of one of his "rules of wisdom", which is Suck up Sincerely. And if you can't do it sincerely, fake it.
What happened to honor and dignity? What happened to proving your capabilities through effort and sweat and being recognized for those abilities? What happened to the American Dream? It's turned into a commercialized, techno-color, vision. Buy the house, the plasma TV, the BMW or Lexus. The ideals of honor have been replaced with a drive to fit in, to compare yourself with the purchases of your neighbor. So sad that we have fallen to such a level of complacency. Working hard only to maintain the level of purchasing power needed to keep our level of status in a world that seems controlled by the programs on prime time TV.
Shut your TVs off. Look around and see how detrimental these programs are, how much they steal from you with their filtered numbness over your life. Wake from this sleep, and see your life. The dreams you've lost. The ideals you've set aside, the beliefs you used to hold. It's so much easier to let your mind drift in the sea of the screen, to let go and forget who you are. To forget that you used to dream; when you were free.
One of my business classes, the instructor tells us of one of his "rules of wisdom", which is Suck up Sincerely. And if you can't do it sincerely, fake it.
What happened to honor and dignity? What happened to proving your capabilities through effort and sweat and being recognized for those abilities? What happened to the American Dream? It's turned into a commercialized, techno-color, vision. Buy the house, the plasma TV, the BMW or Lexus. The ideals of honor have been replaced with a drive to fit in, to compare yourself with the purchases of your neighbor. So sad that we have fallen to such a level of complacency. Working hard only to maintain the level of purchasing power needed to keep our level of status in a world that seems controlled by the programs on prime time TV.
Shut your TVs off. Look around and see how detrimental these programs are, how much they steal from you with their filtered numbness over your life. Wake from this sleep, and see your life. The dreams you've lost. The ideals you've set aside, the beliefs you used to hold. It's so much easier to let your mind drift in the sea of the screen, to let go and forget who you are. To forget that you used to dream; when you were free.
Category: My Life
Posted on Tue, Oct 04 2005 @ 8:53 AM [EST]
[Permalink] [Comments - 2] [Send Article] [Improper]10th Most Dangerous Job
Citing data from the 1995 “Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries” and “Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses,” BLS reports that, based on fatality rates, the long-haul truck driving occupation ranked ninth on the list of America’s most-dangerous occupations. When compared to the general working population, the fatality rate for occupational injuries is five times higher (Toscano 57).
Top quote is from 1995.
Bottom quote from 2002.
The 10 most dangerous jobs
Occupation Fatalities per 100,000
Timber cutters 117.8
Fishers 71.1
Pilots and navigators 69.8
Structural metal workers 58.2
Drivers-sales workers 37.9
Roofers 37
Electrical power installers 32.5
Farm occupations 28
Construction laborers 27.7
Truck drivers 25
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics; survey of occupations with minimum 30 fatalities and 45,000 workers in 2002
Occupation Fatalities per 100,000
Timber cutters 117.8
Fishers 71.1
Pilots and navigators 69.8
Structural metal workers 58.2
Drivers-sales workers 37.9
Roofers 37
Electrical power installers 32.5
Farm occupations 28
Construction laborers 27.7
Truck drivers 25
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics; survey of occupations with minimum 30 fatalities and 45,000 workers in 2002
Driving a truck fell from number 9 to number 10 in 7 years. Doesn't sound as if things are improving very much.
Found this link too:
Truck Driver Shortage: Analysis and Forecast. March 2005
http://www.truckline.com/NR/rdonlyres/E2E789CF-F308-463F-8831-0F7E283A0218/0/ATADriverShortageStudy05.pdf
Their findings:
Based on Global Insight’s forecast of construction wages, if annual wage increases in long-distance trucking continue at the 5.1% pace recorded in 2004, it would take three years to regain the relative wage position the industry experienced in the 1990s and at least four years to achieve a larger differential that might support attracting an increasing share of the labor force into long-distance trucking. This is unlikely to be an workable time frame for reducing the truck driver shortage. We expect wage growth to accelerate in 2005 and sustain higher rates of growth over the next 2-3 years. The fact that not all segments of the long-haul trucking industry are affected as severely by the shortage should preclude any immediate spike in wages industry-wide. A more likely scenario is that wage growth will average 6-7% per year over the next three years.
These larger wage increases will move over-the-road truck driver wages back to and above the competitive position in the labor market that they held during the 1990s. This wage differential, in combination with continuing efforts on the part of trucking companies to address quality-of-life issues, should be sufficient to reduce the severity of the driver shortage. But because the adverse demographic trends affecting the industry will intensify in the second half of the decade, trucking firms will face a continuing challenge to attract and retain a qualified driver workforce.
These larger wage increases will move over-the-road truck driver wages back to and above the competitive position in the labor market that they held during the 1990s. This wage differential, in combination with continuing efforts on the part of trucking companies to address quality-of-life issues, should be sufficient to reduce the severity of the driver shortage. But because the adverse demographic trends affecting the industry will intensify in the second half of the decade, trucking firms will face a continuing challenge to attract and retain a qualified driver workforce.
Category: Trucking
Posted on Mon, Oct 03 2005 @ 3:55 PM [EST]
[Permalink] [Comments - 0] [Send Article] [Improper]
