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GATS 2015: What Becomes of Impulsiveness & Obsession | Semi Truck Repair

If you would’ve asked me where my life would be at at this point in my life; I can assure you it wouldn’t have included doing Marketing for a company that services semi-trucks & tractor trailers. When I started out in Marketing I worked in the Business Development department of a local Ford dealership. I worked there for 3 years and loved it. In the process, I developed a strong affinity for Ford vehicles and cars in general – new and antique. If I were reading my life as a book, I suppose now I’d consider that part as foreshadowing.

Anyway, from there I went on to market interior design products… and then beauty products… until about a year and a half ago when I accepted my current position. Commercial truck, trailer, and tire service was certainly a far cry from anything I had ever had experience in relative to interior design and beauty products… but then again it was in the same family tree as automotive somewhere, right? Albeit on a branch on the other side? Either way, for the first time in my career, I had the confidence to know that it didn’t matter: I could do it.

Never would I have guessed though that I would get so engrossed so quickly in the industry. I’m not sure how long it took, or when exactly the change happened, but it got me. I can now tell you that the most common truck tire is an 11r22.5 and that summer is the worst season for them. (Watch out for alligators in the road!) I can also tell you that winter is the hardest on trucks mechanically and that after you clear a gel up, you’ve got to change the fuel filter and reprime the system or fuel isn’t getting past the air gap and your truck isn’t gonna start. Period.  I’ve started referring to passenger vehicles as “four wheelers;” and I’ll shout and gesticulate at idiots that cut off a big truck or drive forever in their blind spot. (You know… ’cause my hand shaking and swearing through a closed window at 65 mph is really going to educate someone.) My 5 year old can now tell you that “if you got it, a truck brought it” and has taken to pointing out the “REAL trucks” when we are driving. I will also check anyone that makes a comment even remotely vilifying truckers faster than they can say “I’mSorryI’mWrongStopYellingAtMe!!” (Sorry Mom and Tom, but you were wrong and needed to be corrected, big rigs aren’t the unsafe ones on the road.) You can also be sure that ALL of my family members and friends are now well aware that 70% of the freight moved last year was done so by truck, so yes,  trucking is very literally the backbone of the American economy. We at JAM are just the Ortho-docs that work to keep those bones in motion.

So, when I happened to mention that there was a truck show in Dallas to my former boss (who lives outside of the DFW Metroplex) and she mentioned I could stay at her house and use one of her vehicles, I was googling flights and calling my best friend before any sort of rational thought could take hold. Impulsiveness and obsession are a bad combo, let me just tell you. I found round trip tickets for $230 bucks, my best friend said she’d accompany me, and I clicked the “Book” button before I had even given any thought to if my boss would okay the trip, childcare for my two kids (I’m a single mom), or the exact date the kindergarten would be starting. (Thank God, it’s the day after I get back. Dodged a MAJOR bullet on that one.) All that was going through my head was “Seriously?? I’ve got room and board and a chance to look at big shiny trucks for 3 days?? Whaaaaa??” Rational thought departed the brain and didn’t return until several weeks ago.

Thankfully, I got lucky. My boss was open to the idea and I was able to round up in home child care for the days I’d be gone. Whew. And now with a week until my flight takes off?? It goes without saying I am RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED and well, I think you should be too. I’ll be posting random pics to our social media feeds and writing a big ol’ post about it, including all the gorgeous pics I take, when I get back.

My boss later mentioned that rubber gets in your blood and gets stuck there. I think that’s how he got hooked on this industry in the first place and the reason he started this company. For myself I think it might have been a combination between the smell of rubber and diesel exhaust. Either way, I’m hooked. If you’re going next week, I’ll be the one wearing a JAM Best-One shirt with eyes the size of saucers and a perma-grin slapped across my face. Say hello.

Post On: August 19, 2015
Tags : Industry Awesome |
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