I Live in a Truck

I haven't posted to this blog for a while.  There are two reasons for this; 1. I simply haven't had much to say lately and 2. I've moved into a truck and my internet access is somewhat limited.

Let me be clear, I'm not talking about a pickup.  I'm talking about a big, 18 wheeler.  A semi.  I live in it and work in it driving all over the USA delivering commodities.

So, how did I come to this life?

It started several years ago when.  I owned a small business for ten years.  Most of that time I lived very well off that income.  But, as the 21 century began and the economy began to tank I started to struggle.  By 2004 I could no longer hold on and had to close my doors.  Faced with the prospect of being jobless and homeless I decided to get into truck driving.

I signed a six month contract with a company in exchange for the required educational costs and that was that.  But, I didn't like it.  At that first company I had to share the truck with another driver.  And if you think one of these trucks is too small to live in full time, try thinking of two adult men that had never met before sharing it.  I'm sure you understand where I'm coming from.

So, when my contract was up, I quit.  I thought the prospect on homelessness was more attractive than the situation I was leaving.  But, I got lucky and scored a really great job driving for a local company that pain well and had me home almost every night with weekends off.

But, when the fuel prices shot up the small company just couldn't hang on and went out of business.

But, I'd saved a fair amount of money by keeping my expenditures low.  I didn't have to get another good paying job right away and decided to coast for a while.  I was actually hoping that I could just coast the rest of my life sense I was in my mid 40s, single and my son was almost an adult.

The next couple of years were great.  I only had to work three days a week at a dead easy job and could indulge myself the rest of the time.   I was going out every weekend, picking up women half my age and loving life.  Then I met a girl.

Looking back now, I shouldn't have let things go as far as I did.  But, we're all allowed a few mistakes in life.  She became pregnant and I simply wasn't making enough to support a family.  So, with limited options in a poor job market I decided to go back to truck driving.  But, after being out of the business a couple of years no one wanted to hire me.  I had to return to truck driving school and sign another contract, this time for a year.

That was almost two years ago now and I'm still with that company.  I was able to get a local job after about a year though.  But, it sill didn't pay enough to cover my bills.  So, after my girlfriend and I broke up going back on the road seemed like a good option.  This is the advantage of working for a large company.  If you don't like one job, there;s likely another one you can transfer to with out losing any benefits.

I could have stayed local, but sense I'm now 50 years old and have nothing saved for retirement, not to mention a brand new child support payment, I decided to just move into the truck.  This way I have almost no living expenses.  Zero in rent, zero in utilities.  I gave away most of my stuff and what little is left is in storage.

Technology has made this life a little easier.  I have an internet connection through my smart phone that allows me to fool myself into thinking I have a social life as well as keeping me informed and up to date with news from back home.  I have a small DVD player that I'm sure will soon be replaced with something that will store my favorite films digitally.  I can access all kinds of interesting and entertaining pod casts while I drive (although my digital signal is spotty at times) and when I park for the night a I can watch most any TV shows on the web.  So, there no need for a satellite connection.

Still, it's taking some getting used to.  I am lonely at times.  But, this will pass as I become more and more acclimated to this new lifestyle.  So, for a while at least, this blog is going to be about living on the road in a truck and doing this job.

Yeah I know, it's not nearly as exciting as gratuitous the sex I was posting about.  But, this is what I do now.  No matter how dull anyone else finds it, this is my life.