I've found being B's stationary navigator and co-pilot to be quite a rewarding experience. The downside is that I don't get to see anything but the inside of my house ((or around town if I'm out running errands)). But there's nothing new for me other than maps and satellite images. Overall though, I'm extremely pleased with my unofficial job because it gives me something to do, and is important. I don't think B realizes what it means to me when I've heard him talking to people he meets and casually giving me credit for making his job a whole lot easier by being his map. He certainly doesn't have to acknowledge what I do to strangers, and it's unlikely anyone realizes that he has me on the phone even when he's in the truck stops or shippers. But it means a lot to hear him say it, because I know he means it then and isn't just saying something straight to me just to sugarcoat or win brownie points.
Besides having something to do, I'm learning a whole new skill that will only help me in the future. I can quickly utilize Google maps and my truckers' atlas to plan an ideal route that also guides along the fuel solution provided to him. Or like tonight, while calculating how far he could get before his 14-hour clock cut his drive time short, I discovered that if he skipped his planned fuel stop and went elsewhere, he would actually save more by filling at my stop than if he had filled at the stop where his company got a discount simply by crossing state lines. While my trucker focuses on driving, I take the time to plan out his total trip or end of shift stopping point, generally searching for a location where he still has a shower credit so he doesn't have to pay our of pocket or go without a shower. He takes me seriously and I know that if I screw up, then he screws up too. Even though we're separated by hundreds of miles, this is a team effort on our part and I love it.
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