Pathways

I took the time to come home and reconnect with the people that I care about. I also learned a lesson in how certain areas are not as busy as others when it comes to the expedite business. A semi hard lesson learned as I have been sitting in the Tampa area fro 48 hours and not one call. I appreciate the rest and relaxation, but I need to work too. :)

While driving home last week, I went through a series of thunderstorms that had me driving very defensively for a bit. I stopped at a gas station in South Carolina to fill up my tank before committing myself for the long haul. The sun was setting and I saw the water droplets reflecting light from the setting sun and it struck me about how small things affect me as very unusual moments in my life.

Taking the time to reconnect to those who are important to you may not seem the biggest of deals to most people, especially if you are home every day after a 8 hour shift at work. If you are a long time reader of my words, you will know that I am anything but standard in the way I go about doing things. My life is a series of trades and jobs that allow me to see the world in a different light than most of those who are around me. Even on day to day things, I feel that I am outcast simply because I see things differently that most do. Be that on an emotional level or a mixture or emotion and logic. I never claim to be right or wrong. I leave those decisions to others who feel the need to keep a score. I just like to try and point out that there is always another choice, always another view, always another path that can be taken. All you need to do is pick a direction and go.

Living the dream

The funny thing about living a dream is trying to believe it when it happens.

I finally got a load opportunity yesterday, the timing of it was quite curious. I spent the morning sleeping in and getting laundry done while watching a couple of TV episodes that I had brought with me. Once that was done, I packed up everything, cleaned up my sleeping area and moved everything back out to the truck, "Just in case". Figuring that spending some time in the truck waiting would be beneficial. Turns out, getting into the truck was not in the plan. Once outside the passenger door, the phone rings and its a load opportunity. Scrambling to answer the call, it was disconnected. Luckily there are two safeguards in place. One is that one an opportunity is sent, there is a tem minute window in which to replay to it. Second, there is a phone number to call in to listen for any available opportunities that are available.

Once accepted, the ten minute window must expire before finding out if the load was awarded. So I ran back inside and said my quick goodbyes and ran back to the truck. My on board computer is called a C-Link and it's made by Qualcomm. The C-link bursts to life with all of the load information and I start to work in trying to remember what to fill out on my Bill of Lading. Once thats done, I pop the address into the GPS and take off. One of the many key points that a driver is graded on is arriving within the time frame given for pickup and delivery. Since I am in an expedite branch of FedEx, these are live orders that came in and MAYBE were places 5 minutes before I was given the info. The expectation is that once a customer calls, you are there to get the load, whatever it is, and then head out and deliver it.

Once I was all packed up and cleared to leave, that was when the realization hit me that the dropoff was in North Carolina and that it didn't need to be there until 7:30am on Monday. So with a bit of executive privilege, phone calls were made to verify that the delivery was indeed on Monday. This was done because the actual delivery was not confirmed on the original order. After calling a couple of times with 3 hours between calls, it was pretty obvious that Monday was the correct time. So I started calling family in Charlotte, NC to see if I could hang out there for the weekend instead of wasting money I don't really have yet at a truck stop or a motel.

So here I sit now in Charlotte, NC at my wife's grandparents house visiting family. Then it struck me that I have been wanting to come visit Charlotte for quite awhile. Driving to the house, memories and emotion struck me with an almost physical force as I went past familiar places and crossed familiar streets. Charlotte was my first true home after leaving Massachusetts. This was where my second attempt of life began. I grew up here in more ways that I can count. Some days were good, some were bad, but all were important. Breaking out of old habits and shedding off shadows of my past layer by layer. Perhaps one could say I was reborn or that I finally opened my eyes a little wider to see what was going on.  Breaking out of the shell I built around myself growing up and conforming to the ideals of the world around me instead of finding my own path as I do now. This place is dear to me. Only coming back here, as I have now, shows me how much I have missed this place.

Living the dream.

I have heard this term countless of times in the last few months as a sarcastic response from a Co-Worker anytime he was asked by a person on the phone, "How's things?"
I never really took much stock in it after the first few times I heard it. The depth of the term is subtle and can be as simple or as complex as one wants it to be.

What does the term mean for me though?

I find that it means that one follows their heart, grabs opportunity to see where the path leads. To not worry about consequence of the day to day, and enjoy the moment.

I drove 12 hours straight through mountainous countryside from Pittsburgh, PA to Charlotte, NC. It was the most enjoyable trip I have ever had in my entire life. Towards the end, I was a little punch drunk, I will admit. The energy and challenge of the trip was nothing I have ever experienced. There was no stress, there was no second guessing. All I had to do was drive and it was all good.

Life will be a bit inconvenient at times, but that's ok. I know I have people looking out for me everywhere I go. I know that I won't have the availablility of sleeping in a bed every night and that my truck will be my home. That's ok too and I accept that. To me, this is living a dream. Having the ability and freedom to actually go see the people I talk to and build friendships with. That in itself, blows my mind.

For ahile there, I thought my ability to travel was dead. The last few car trips I were on, I couldn't stay awake long enough to make it out of one state. I nicked 4 states yesterday. I think I got this.

First night

Spent my first night at the truck stop last night. I think spending a night in a motel would be cheaper. I use a cpap for sleeping,  as such I have to idle the truck to keep from killing the battery.  I went from a half tank to a quarter tank of fuel in 7 hours of idling. This probably wouldn't be too bad were I getting load opportunity calls, but I haven't yet.
I spent most of my day at the qualcomm installer location getting a problem fixed. So by the time I was able to login as available, it was Well after 5pm. So, we will see how today goes. 

Orientation complete

Just finished up orientation, waiting on a check and repair on my Qualcomm unit, then I will be able to login for the first time and get my first load. I am kinda anxious to finally get started and see how this goes. The support from FedEx is simply amazing here. When they say they will answer any questions I have, they really pulled through.

Aside from waiting, I will have to figure out logging in and being available. Being in a cargo van I don't have to worry about hours of service logging or violations. I only have to log if I have placards on the van and there are certain amounts that can be transported without placards. I also have to organize my van a bit more so it looks presentable. Once I have a home trip, I can drop off a few bags and swap out to a ruck sack or something. So many little questions, but I am certain to find the answers as I go along.

Just for giggles, here I am in my new FedEx apparel.

Orientation day 1 done..

I got up early today to head out to training, which turned out to be a good thing. The drive was 2 hours long and pretty straight forward. Once I got there, the 45 minutes to an hour i could have spent sleeping or slacking was actually spent filling out a ton of paperwork.

The day went by with getting pictures taken for badges and going over all the basics for the job. There was a lot to cover and get organized.

I would write more, but I am exhausted..

Will talk more about it tomorrow i suppose..  *yawn*

On the road.

So I am back on the road traveling to my vehicle of transport today. I left Florida at,12:30am and arrive at my rendezvous point in Columbia, SC at the state farmers market at 8:00am. We beat my pickup here by 90 minutes.
I still have a lot of stress and pent up energy about this move. I am pretty sure it's all unresolved stress from my first attempt at driving. Everyone I talk to states that I will do fine and I do believe them in that assessment. Shaking off this stress is rough so far but everything that needed to fall into place to make this job happen, slipped into place like a cog wheel. I think the hardest part is separating myself from a permanent structure that I can call home. The last place I was calling home had been dismantled and shipped back to Orlando to be packed in boxes. I know I have several ports of call that I am welcome to show up at but having a place and a space that I can claim as "home" is lost to me at the moment. I feel like I did 10 years ago when I left Massachusetts and struck out with what I could carry in my car.
I know I can shake this and do what needs doing. It's just going to take time.

From tech to truck...

I have been contemplating the idea of changing my trade from Technology to Trucking for awhile now. I am certain that someone from the outside looking in will ask, "Why? Technology is the place to be." While this is true, the problem lies in where my niche in the technology field lies.

Every day is another step

Confirmed that I will be doing my orientation on July 9. My birthday. I guess that's my present this year. I have to get to Columbia, SC the previous Friday to catch a ride with my new Boss back to Virginia. From there I get the keys to the van and head out towards Ohio for orientation on the following Monday.

Got my new bank account all set up for payroll and now its just a matter of tying up loose ends here in Florida before I go. Gave my two week notice and there will be a birthday/going away party of some sort being planned for next Saturday.

Its gonna be a rough 2 weeks.

Orientation dates are in, help needed.

I was notified as to what my option for orientation date are. Which means I officially have a new driving job. I am shooting for July 11th as my orientation date. So I now have a timeline in which to put in my notice at work and get organized to do this trip.

Here is the thing though. All my "work" money has to go to the move that is happening at the house in the end of July. Which means, I gotta raise up some extra money on the side to take care of a motel room for the 3 days of orientation and food. I have no idea what motel prices are at the moment and I will be looking closer into that, plus I have AAA for motel discounts. I am not above hitting a motel 6 or something either. I am simply stressed about getting there and getting started. Since my birthday is coming up I could use cash presents which will go toward lodging and food for my orientation days. Once I get my first load, I can pull 40% of that for the gas and living foodstuffs I will need for driving.

Living paycheck to paycheck is rough, especially when the majority of a paycheck is slated for other things like cost of living for your family in a separate house and future moving savings. I get by, but this upcoming change is going to put a strain on things. I am excited and nervous about the whole change, I want this to go better than a year ago. I have high hopes that it will and that I will be very successful. I also look forward to writing about my days on the road here to share with all of you that take the time to read it. I know that there is a heavy interest in this job path I am continuing as the statistical number of viewers explodes every time I come back to add some new update.

For this, I thank each and every one of you. For with your interest, I look at it as support. You validate to me in ways that I cannot even fully comprehend that I am on the correct path for the time being. It is a very powerful validation for me, thank you.

If you are interested in throwing me a buck to help with my orientation expenses, I have a donation link:  Obie's Birthday / Donation Link

If you don't want to or cannot, that's cool too. I appreciate you coming here to check up on me from time to time as well. I just want to give the opportunity for everyone just in case. There is no obligation or requirement, just wanted to put that out there now.

So, now I take things day by day and see where they go. I have a bunch of stuff to do and a good amount of time to do it in. I just hope that my head doesn't explode in the process.

Driver packet received

Now I know why it takes a week to process. This thing has me filling out a ton of information, some of which I have already submitted..

Oh well, time to start filling out the longest application in my life.

DMV Background cleared

Got the word Friday night that my DMV background was cleared by FedEx.  Yes, I will be a FedEx driver, kinda. I am working for an independent company that sub-contracts to FedEx for Critical deliveries. Not sure of the specifics, but I am going to find out as they are now overnight sending me a Drivers Packet.

Soon I will know when my start date is for training/orientation and then I will get my first load to deliver.

It is official

I have just finished filling out and submitting a job application for a driving position within FedEx as a subcontractor.  My current job is good til the 18th of June, if all goes well, there will be a seamless transition between one job and another with little downtime of funds.

My hope and wish is that this job will allow me the freedom to make money, visit people whom I care about and satisfy my wanderlust.

I will keep posting updates as I get them.

Surprise..

So I am sure you thought that this would be a dead blog. Heck I thought so as well.

It seems that I may be bringing new life to this adventure. I got some interesting news today and I may just take another stab at driving.  Nothing set in stone yet, but I always look at opportunities that knock on my door. Especially when I am not looking for them.

Keep an eye out here. Once I figure out what is going on, I will let you all know.