The decision

I boast a diverse professional background and can do almost anything related to business management, operations and administration.  I have a BS in hard work and a PHD in life.  I’ve worked my way up the pay ladder over the years. 

I’m a software trainer by trade.  Not exactly what I used to tell people when I was a kid… you know when you get asked that age-old question “What do you want to be when you grow up?”… Software trainer was not on my list.  Opportunity and ability presented itself and because I don’t have the traditional 9 to 5 mindset, I saw the potential to use my creativity and charisma and turns out – I’m pretty good at it.  If I earned a real degree – I’da probably made a good teacher… I hate kids though (I’ll talk about that later).

In saying that, I’ve been working for myself as a software consultant.  My largest customer was finally ready to become independent and was no longer in need of my services.  I was happy that they were independent of me, but found myself with next to no income.  I’ve always been a hustler.  In NY when I needed money, I’d hop in the cab for the weekend and make a couple hundred bucks to hold me over.  Problem is: I’m in TX – not exactly the cab Mecca of the world.  Everyone here has a vehicle. I could probably make a couple hundred in a couple weeks… not a couple days.

So, I did what else I’m good at – I signed up with a temp agency. My first (and last) assignment was at Sally Beauty Company. They brought me on to help them catch up with some data entry that they had fallen behind with.  About 8 to 12 weeks worth of work (by their estimation). I was done in 21 business days.  AND, I made less than 1/3 of what I was used to making.  Very frustrating - to say the least.

I was almost done with the Sally assignment.  Aboy had a load to NY. Ben & Raquel were all ready in NY, visiting.  I wanted to go.  But, I had the commitment to Sally.  So, I went to my supervisor and told her the situation.  I explained that I hadn’t been to NY since 2009 and my family was up there and it was a great opportunity for me to go. I told her to get me remote access and I would dial in from the truck and do my work from there.  Long story short, she said “no”.  Honestly, I was ready to walk out.  But, I finished the assignment and made up in my mind that no one will ever have that much control over my personal life again.

Like I referenced earlier, people would ask me that question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” and they’d usually finish it off with “a nurse like your mother?”, and I would defiantly answer “NOPE! I’m going to drive a truck like my Dad!”. 

I just turned 45 in February.  Old if you ask my kids, not even middle aged if you look at the longevity in my family and at a crossroad in my professional life.  Do I want to work in a corporate environment, a slave to someone else’s demands?  Do I want to work for myself and all that goes with that (feast & famine)… or do I get my CDL, team with my husband and tour the country while we’re getting paid for it? 

When Aboy and I first got together, I remember like yesterday laying around on the weekends and talking about “when we get older”, “when the kids get grown” - you know those “when I hit lotto” conversations J.  Well, we used to say “when the kids get grown, we should buy an RV and ride across the country”.  The kids are grown.  The time is now. Even better, we don’t have to pay for gas and someone deposits money into our account for riding around all day.

So, now the Trucker in Training journey begins!