Living Space

Imagine a room about the size of a small bathroom. Imagine spending most of your day and night in that small of a space. Imagine sleeping and sometimes eating and having all your personal items stored in a small space like that. Then imagine sharing it with another person. Can't imagine that? I couldn't either until I went as a passenger with Larry when we first got married. I had no clue what it would be like and packed a weeks worth of clothes, personal care products and a few items to keep me busy. Nothing much, I thought. Needless to say, half of it stayed behind, much to my chagrin.
I still didn't get the full picture until I joined him as a co-driver. In a way I felt sorry for him because he had been a solo driver for 13 years and like any man's space he had is own storage system and his own way of doing things. Enter Miss Organizer. It took him awhile to accept my obsession with plastic storage devices, an organized filing system and clorax wipes. He's even come around to clean rugs on the floor and flowered sheets on the mattresses.
However, it wasn't easy for me either to find the right balance of life's necessities, like clothes, that could fit in a few small cupboards.
Our truck is a 2010 Frieghtliner Cascadia and is a condo, which only means that it has a tall ceiling so that we can stand up in it without bonking our heads on the roof of the truck. It has two mattresses, like bunk beds, lined up on the back wall. Right behind the driver and passengers seats there's a column of shelves and cupboards, and a tiny refrigerator. So everything we need is stored in those shelves and cupboards and under the bottom bunk. We've squeezed our life down to what fits into those spaces.
We do have a microwave which is now residing under the bunk because of lack of anywhere else to put it. Unlike a lot of drivers, we do not cook on the truck. I have an aversion to fixing meals in a 2x2 space. I much prefer to have someone else do the cooking and cleaning for me. It's more expensive but much less stressful. We do, however, have emergency rations for times when we can't get to a truck stop or other food establishments.

The Truth

When I thought about starting this blog I was asking myself why it was even needed. I guess it's a way to express some feelings about what I do which is extremely unique and of which most people have no clue what being a long-haul truck driver is all about. And especially what it means to be a woman truck driver. It stems from a population of people who think we pull into a motel parking lot each night and enjoy a quiet evening with the TV and soft beds and have our free continental breakfast in the morning. Sorry, it doesn't happen like that. And no, we don't get to stop and see the sites. We drive by and wave.
There's so many misconceptions that it's hard to get any respect from, not only the general public, but the government as well when they are trying to pass laws and regulations. Especially California. But that's another issue for another day.
So I will rant and rave for awhile and try to explain things as I see things, which can be distorted at best and a little prejudiced.
There are a lot of trucker blogs out there. It can get a little lonely on the road, and there is a great disconnect from friends and family. Through cell phones and the internet it's a easier to keep that connection going and keeps a lot of truckers from going nutso, even though most of them are there anyway, like yours truly.