Conference turris::womannotes-v2

    One aspect of what you said is the being together all the time.
    It might be fun for awhile but, if it were me, I would get bored
    with this arrangement real fast.  I prefer to work at a much 
    different job than my SO.  That way, we have something new and
    exciting and interesting to talk about at the end of day.
    
    However, this is not to say that it couldn't work for you.  Is
    there any way you could try it for awhile and if you didn't like
    it, then don't do it anymore??  Nothing ventured - nothing gained.
    
    Sue
    

    I think there was an article ( I know I read it) in MS. (I think)
    within the last few months on women truck drivers, both single and
    married. It was told in their voices and and pointed out a lot of
    the good and the bad.
    
    Tamzen 

    There was an article such as Tamzen describes in the Sunday suppliment
    Parade magazine in the past few months.
    
    Bonnie

    My aunt is married to a truck driver.  She's not a driver herself
    -- at least not regularly -- but she travels with her husband
    frequently. She loves spending that much time with him, seeing the
    country, getting to know the people they meet. 
    
    It's hard work, but it's also rewarding.  
    
    For the business aspects, you might try checking at your local
    YWCA, Small Business Administration, or Chamber of Commerce for
    programs designed to help people thinking about going into
    business for themselves. 
    
    On the issue of togetherness -- my husband and I have worked in
    the same area, usually within a few offices of each other, for
    most of the past 8 years.  [I'm the writer, he's the developer.]
    We've found this to be extremely beneficial to our marriage. The
    hardest year of our married life was the time I was at home
    learning to write novels and he was still working at DEC -- it
    seemed we didn't have anything to talk about because we didn't
    have enough context to know what the other would find interesting
    about what we'd been doing.  
    
    A lot of it depends on what kind of relationship you and your
    husband have.  If you like to spend lots of time together doing
    nothing in particular, then you'd probably like working together.
    For example, even if we're just reading or doing needlework, Neil
    and I will usually be sitting in the same room.
    
    I don't know if any of this helps you, but I wish you luck with
    whatever you decide. 
    
    --bonnie

    My brother-in-law (b-i-l) drives a truck for a living. My sister-in-law
    (s-i-l) has both ridden with him and stayed at home. She's also driven
    a truck for a living, though not with her husband. Since my i-l's have
    a house, she has the option of going on some trips but not having to go
    on all of them. And when she rides along, she usually takes a
    typewriter and needlework. She also keeps all their books (there's
    quite a lot of paperwork involved). Her husband comes home most
    weekends when she's not with him. My s-i-l says that it can be rough in
    such close quarters, but there are plenty of married couples who do it.
    One thing you might try is driving a truck for a company. You'd still
    have to attend school, but there are ways to try out this lifestyle
    without fully committing to it (a good truck can cost as much as or
    more than a house). 
    
    Good luck.
    Liz

    It's a tough way to make a living.  You drive 125,000 miles a year,
    sometimes you don't get paid for your loads, sometimes you have
    to wait hours to get loaded.  There's no banjo music playing in
    the background.  Companies expect you to break the safety regulations
    in order to get loads there on time in all kinds of weather.
    
    On the up side, you get to see a lot of the country, and you have
    a lot of freedom about when and where you work.
    
    Check it out as best you can before you put your feet in the water.
    If you know someone who runs road, talk their ear off.  Start to line
    up a contract before you get your license, and remember that most
    contracts don't last very long, especially the good ones (i.e. more
    than a buck a mile).
    
    I'm pretty sure that the Surface Transportation Act of 1986 has
    put an end to two inexperienced drivers running as a team, so this
    may be a problem getting started.  At least one member of the team
    must have two years continuous experience that can be verified by
    contact with previous employers.  Because of insurance costs, companies
    are very, very careful about hiring new drivers.

    Thanks, everyone!!  It is a LOT to think about.  My husband drove
    with his father several years ago, so we know what's involved, but
    as .6 said some of the laws may have changed since then.  If it
    comes down to where we can't work together in the beginning, I believe
    that my husband could drive with someone else, then I could drive
    with him after he gets the required experience.  I'll try to hunt
    up some of the articles that were mentioned.  
    
    Thanks
    
    Virginia

    You also might get an inexpensive CB radio (if you don't have one
    already)...Radio Schlock often has them for ca. $75 for the whole rig,
    though they're not the best...and chat with the truckers on channel 19
    about their experiences.  I've heard some couples on the air. 
    
    						=maggie

    Any possibility that you can take a leave of absence?  I know it's
    tougher these days, in general, but still possible in some cost centers
    and it might afford the opportunity to try the new career while
    still keeping some possibilities open at DEC.
    
    Steve

    re .8
    
    That's a good idea!! Hadn't thought of that one.  I'll try a Radio
    Shack here and see what kind of prices they've got.
    
    
    re .9
    
    Steve,
    
    I wouldn't have any trouble taking off as I'm a DEC Temporary (I
    only work when they need me; but I've been in the same assignment
    now for about 2 years - 40 hours a week)!!  That's not a problem,
    but, I wouldn't get paid for the time I'm off and that could be
    a problem!!  Also, does anyone know the laws regarding passengers
    in rigs?  Maybe it's the company's that don't want the truck drivers
    to have passengers?  I'll have to check further into this possiblity.
    I think my husband was wanting us to go to school together, but
    if he goes first, maybe he could get hired somewhere and then I
    could go with him "just for the ride".  Then, if I thought I liked
    it, I could go on to school and maybe by the time I got out of school
    he'd have a little bit of experience behind him and we could get
    hired as a team.  I'd hate to put out the money for school and then
    find out that I hated it.  
    
    Keep the thoughts and suggestions coming; the more things I hear,
    the better prepared I might be!!!
    
    Virginia

    Virginia,
    
    Something else you might consider is _your_ feelings about
    this gypsy-type lifestyle.  If you're a person who likes
    to be surrounded by her "stuff" this probably wouldn't be
    a great choice for _you_.  In this case a compromise might
    be in order...i.e. you go on trips when you're in-between jobs,
    etc.
    
    My ex-husband was an actor.  In our first year of marriage we
    lived in California, Georgia, Colorado, then California again.
    We never stayed anywhere long enough for me to get a decent
    job (3-6 months max.).  At first traveling around the country
    like this seemed very romantic, etc.  However, reality did
    set in and I found I couldn't be happy with this sort of life-
    style.
    
    FWIW,
    Nanci

    Nanci,
    
    I've thought about that, too.  I've never done much traveling, so
    I'm not sure how I'd like it.  I've about decided that the ONLY
    way to find out if I'll like it or not will be to just try it. 
    Thinking about it is not going to do much good since I've never
    been in a similar situation before.  I'll have to have a taste of
    it before I can decide if it's the type of lifestyle I want.  I'm
    willing to try it, though!!  It does sound kind of appealing!!
    
    Thanks,
    
    
    Virginia

    Sounds like you're in pretty good shape to give it a try, Virginia
    (I'm assuming no kids, yet).  Though it wouldn't be my cup of tea
    for travelling, it does work for some folks and you may well be
    one of them.  One thing you might ask yourself is "What's the
    worst thing that could happen if I try it?"  I was lucky in having
    parents who encouraged my trying lots of different things (though
    admittedly, some things I tried were not really what they had in 
    mind :-} ), so I usually say that if the risks are not too high,
    give it a go.
    
    Steve
    

    Steve,
    
    You're right, no kids, yet!!  I feel like it would be a good experience
    and who knows, I may love it!!
    
    Virginia

    It's almost universally true that passengers aren't supposed to
    ride along.  Insurance companies have fits about this.  A driver
    would be taking a risk of being fired.  That's why I didn't suggest
    it originally.

    Re ..15
    
    I received a message off-line yesterday and was advised that I would
    have to obtain permission from the company and possibly have to
    sign a release that would not hold the company responsible if any
    thing happened to me.  I'll just have to see how the company feels
    about this.
    
    Thanks for the info, though!!
    
    Virginia

    There was  an  article in the New Yorker within the last few weeks
    called  "Big  Cars" by someone who got permission to go on several
    trips with a trucker in order to write about the life of truckers.
    It  was  an  interesting description. (I only saw one part of what
    may have been a two part article.) Like every other article in the
    New Yorker, it was long.  Still worth reading if you're serious.

--David

    Hi Virginia,
    
    My husband, Dennis and I own our trucking company.  We started the
    business, Aug. 87.  We got out loan from the Small Business Association
    in Boston, Ma.  (we live in Mass.)  With the loan, we bought our
    first truck.  Very nice truck, dependable, comfortable.  My husband
    did the driving.  He felt that long distance was were the money
    was and took that avenue.  All this time I was pregnant with our
    first.  To get the loan, we started in May 87 by writing a forecast
    and business plan.  My husband knew the business (bankrupted his
    very first business 10 years earlier)I didn't know him then) so
    he did what he could.  Since business plans and forecasts are my
    present job at DEC, I fixed them up and made them much more acceptable.
    The S.B.A. commented on what a nice job it was.  Although they had
    never given a trucking company the time of day we got the loan
    due to my husband's perserverence.  
    
    Because I was pregnant and due in November, my husband changed jobs
    so that he could do local.  He was home by 6 each night.  He loved
    it!  No more hassels on the road, no more paying through the nose
    on tolls, wear and tear cut down, gas was down, he was much happier.
    (BTW: I do the acccounting books, Dennis takes care of the logs)
    We made just as much if not more money doing local than long distance.
    My husband still does local.
    
    When Dennis was doing long distance, it was awful.  He'd be a bear
    each time he came home.  Most of his long distance was New Jeresy
    trips and he hated them.  Traffic was awful, he hated that.  The
    people he had to deal with were "jerks", he hated that.  Dennis
    is non union, and most of the warehouse/dock people are union and
    that causes conflicts no matter what.  Dennis hurt himself badly
    jumping from his truck, (knew surgery soon after) and no one would
    help him (union, non-union conflict) and he had to crawl to a phone
    for help.  I had to drive to a New Hampshire hosiptal (not real
    far, hour and half) to take him home.  If you have a choice, try
    local.  
    
    Boy, is this long.  In summary, my son is now 10 months old, we
    own two trucks, lease a third, my husband is home every night 95%
    of the time.  We make lots! of money, have lots! of bills and I
    work to pay for health insurance, babysitting and food.  Think hard
    about it, and remember that there's alot of pressure in this, don't
    take it out on each other.  
    
    Let us know what happens.  Anna