Wrapping up

So I have been home for the better part of a week now to decompress and figure out how to wrap up this saga that I have ventured on.

Why did I give up and leave?

Well, mental stress was one reason but not the key reason to my decision. There were several factors that got to me. The style of teaching, the loneliness and inability to talk to my wife face to face about daily problems, conflicts between teacher and student, contradictions in policy and procedure while on the road. As such, I did like the company and its the values that they bring to the table when working in this industry. However there is a breakdown in these concepts when it comes to being on the road with a timeline. Time management is a big thing and I do understand that without it, none of the shipping industry would be able to work. Like I said, I did enjoy the job itself, I found that at the end of the day, I didn't like what I was being turned into.

The instructor I was assigned to was, for all intents and purposes, a really nice guy. However his teaching style was more of a stern and yelling aspect. If I did something wrong, I would get scolded and told to do better. This would increase in veracity as time would go on. A strong teaching style is fine and dandy, I can actually work with that, what I cannot stand is when people start making it personal and try to inspire by breaking you down emotionally and personally. He started to attack my professionalism in driving, pointing out that other truckers were looking at me when I fucked up something and then would ridicule the actions taken. Then there was the underlying anger. I had this identified the first day I saw it, this was something my Dad would do to me when I fucked up. He would get angry and express it in movement and action. So if I didn't do something right, such as backing up, he would wave his arms with a firm gesture and show anger on his face as if to say "What the fuck are you doing?!", I left that shit behind when I moved out of the house but I also knew I could deal with it for the time being, or so I thought.

Days went on and the behavior got worse and worse for every small mistake I would do. That's what really started to throw my confidence out the window. I would make a small mistake and I would get jumped on like I fucked up majorly, which would get me flustered enough to make 4 more mistakes down the line because I was now shaken. Now, forgive me if I am wrong, but I am attempting to drive a 80,000 pound vehicle thru a 35 MPH zone in an active town. Why the fuck would would harp on me about missing a gear or taking too much time to get to a light and get me flustered and make more mistakes while still in the goddamned town?? In the end, I felt like there was really nothing I could do right. Even my successes in backing up were "congratulated" with stern remarks that weren't even close to an actual compliment. When I did my close quarters backing that I needed to "pass" what was left in the workbook that I am assigned, I did the backup within all the limits set. I got out to look at it and give myself a cheer when the instructor walked up to me with a stern look and spat, "You passed." and walked past me. The only emotion that was on his face was impatience and irritation.

I was always too slow, screwing up his MPG stats, not setting up turns right, not getting control of the vehicle in enough time, starting to slow down way too early, not paying attention, not shifting properly, etc etc etc. Then at the end of the day when we ended up at a truck stop of the night. He would then say I didn't do great, but I did really well for someone who has only been driving for 3 days, 4 days, etc. Which, maybe I'm being over sensitive about this, would have been nice to hear WHILE I was trying to figure out how to do this shit at the time. What really would get me is that I would be quiet and concentrate on driving, then he would start talking  because it was too quiet. I would get pulled into the conversation simply because I was taught that it was polite to respond when someone is talking to you. Then something would happen and he would get on my case for not paying attention, then kick back into being Mr. Nice Guy and continue talking. After awhile, I would not reply and if he persisted I would say back to him that I was kinda busy at the moment, hold on. Maybe that was me being rude, but I would be damned to get yelled at AGAIN for his set up. I was ready to start ripping him a new one if he yelled at me about telling him to hold on. Never did, but I was waiting for it.

Bottom line of this whole thing is that I feel that the trainers are simply dragging students into their trucks for the money bonuses that they get. The do as I say, not as I do mentality that is prominent in the trainers  is a load of bullshit. I would love to have them go through their own training course and survive. I bet quite a few of them would get wake up calls. I am not condemning all trainers, I am quite sure that there are good ones out there. I just know what I went through and this is my point of view at this time.

I got a call from my hotel mate a couple days ago. His trainer was, from what I hear, bat shit crazy. I won't go into all that happened, not my story to tell. However, he got back to the main terminal and was fired outright for being an unsafe driver. Which is interesting as he told me that his school was trying to get him to actually go the speed limit while training him. I hear that his school is ripshit about the way he was treated and may be opening an inquiry as they just had 20 students go to that company based on my hotel mate's decision to go himself. So we will see what happens, if anything.

Now I am home, I will be pursuing some local jobs, which will be nice. I also was informed of a garbage truck opening for a local company. Its driving the trucks, just a local version. I may look into that as well.

As with any story, this is hardly the end. My CDL still has a lot of life to it. So, we will see what happens. As for this chapter, yeah, it is closed for now. I will see where my path goes from here and let you all follow me as usual. Until then, happy trails to all!

Home.

After being removed from the truck on Thursday, I was able to get a bus ticket home from Illinois. I arrived home on Friday afternoon.

I am taking time to deflate from all this and see about bringing my thoughts to closure.

Overview..

Overall, my experience in trucking was somewhat bittersweet.

I had a hard time training with my trainer. He is a good guy and all but he switches from being friendly to reprimanding trainer personalities at the drop of a mistake. We will be talking, and i will miss seeing a sign because he is telling me something. My favorite is when i am coming into a exit ramp and i think he is attempting to coach me on the procedure, so while i am trying to listen to the coaching, i screw up my setup for the turn. Then he gets angry at me and starts going off on me about how i am a professional driver now and i cant be doing this shit, etc etc.

The other day when i had the mishap with a left turn and i almost ran into an on coming car, he starts going into a speil about how i almost killed him and how i would have been responsible for his death and the deaths of others. Then goes on about hiw he is a damn good father and husband and he intends to make it home alive and how i would have been responsible if he wasn't able to. Yeah thanks for that, guilt is not a good motivator for me, and layering it on, i feel, made that fucked up day worse.

I think a lot of our missteps with personality stems from the fact that he is a midwestern guy that goes to church and has a value set that is dramatically different than mine. On many occasions, i felt that he was treating me like one of his kids. I'm sure he respected me, but in my opinion, his teaching and coaching skills were not ones that i can deal with.

On top of all this, the hurry up and go shit that kept coming up was driving me batshit crazy. On one hand I am being told to look around and make sure of what i need to do so i can do it. So when i do, i get an aggrevated response that i am wasting time, going too slow, hurry up, get going. Then when i try to explain what I am trying to do, he looks at me and tells me he doesnt want to hear excuses, just do what needs doing. Now THAT shit is directly from my father in the past while i was growing up. I do not and will not respond to that shit well. I shut down a lot and bit my tongue. I am a student, im supposed to be learning, not back talking and being accused of "wasting time".

The company is all about being safe. Last I knew, being safe can't be done by going quickly and making snap decisions if you don't have the experience to back you up, which i dont, but my trainer kept treating me like someone who has done this before. I would like to think that being new and doing what i was able to do in a short time accounted fir something, but it felt that the congradulations were in short supply against the pile of criticism that kept being tossed my way. He would keep complaining about all the fuel that i kept wasting because of over-revving and not shifting properly. Im sorry, if that is truly a concern, stop fucking training so you can get your fuel bonuses, stop putting the blame on me. I am new to this, im not fucking up intentionally and you putting pressure/guilt on me makes me want to just drop the truck into neutral and floor the fucking pedal ti actuallt give you something to complain about. The nitpicking about how i was to blame for missing lights or turns because i was too slow at my decision making at times made me just want to scream.

Thr coupe de gras was when i gave him an answer to a question and he misheard me. Then proceeded to yell at me for not doing said task. When i repeated what i told him, he looked at me and said "when i give you a yes or no question, just fucking answer yes or no" As you might guess, that didnt sit well with me.

Just thinking back in some of this is getting me stressed enough to want to beat the shit out of someone. I'm currently sitting by myself at the McDonalds waiting for my bus and my heart rate us up and im getting more and more pissed off. So, if you ask me if i made the right decision, i would have to say yes. Today would have been driving over mountain day. I won't gather a guess on what would have happened if he gave me shit while going down a 2 mile 8% grade hill with a large drop off. I will let others guess and wonder for me.

I am a stubborn person, walking away from this, for me, was difficult. I don't really like to quit something because its too hard for me. Especially if i am the one who set the goal. I found my limit and i was honest with myself about what i ciuld and could not do. With the wonderful support of my wife, I was able to comfortably make this decision fir me and not anyone or anything else. I don't do well with 'trapped' for a job. I tend to start loathing things and finding excuses not to go do it. It happened when I worked fir the state of mass years ago and i already saw signs of me trying to figure out how to stay home longer than my scheduled time. I got confirmation that i did not burn any bridges at the company and that if i want to, at a later date, come back and try again, i have the option. I would have to think long and hard at this, right now i am trying ti exoress into words as to how strung out i feel and the reasons behind them.

Overall, it is a great field to work in if you are looking to challenge yourself. I started my journey as a tech man, i feel comfortable around technology. I may not understand it all, but it talks to me just fine. Trucks and i have a nodding relationship. We get along fine, but if i let my guard down,bthe fucker will try and take me out. Im not ok with that. Be that as it may, i am not trying to convince myself or anyone. I writing this to get it out of my head in some way to release the pressure.

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The saga starts to end..

After getting about 3 or 4 hours of sleep, i got up and talked to my trainer about hiw I felt and where U stood. It was a short convo and he respected my decision. I then called my fleet manager and explained to him what was going on. He asked if that was my decision and I said it was. So a bus ticket was purchased against my future earnings im supposed to get to send me home.

I had to pack my stuff up and get off the truck at the truck stop we slept at last night. While I waited for my auth form to be faxed, my trainer left to continue to deliver the load. Thinking that a cab ride was in my future, I talked ti the girl at the truck stop helping me with the faxes and she informs me that the greyhound station is located across the street at the McDonalds. So, the universe was all set about my decision and ked me to where I had to be to continue my journey home.

I am sitting at said McDonalds waiting for an attendant to come and give me tickets. I will be leaving at 3:30pm central time and heading to my finak destination of Daytona Beach, Fl. So my next little adventure will begin. Once I get my tickets squared away, I will be starting to write up my closing thoughts on my experience as a professioal trucker.

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This is it.

So i have taken my time and energy and sat back an reassessed my situation.

I am not happy with my choice of careers. I thought that I would much happier and more confident about doing this job. I am good at it for a beginner, I can drive the truck with a semblance of safety and competance.

However I feel that I am out of comfort zone and way out in left field. I feel that I am a danger on the road, if not in actuality then simply in my mind.

I am tired, frustrated, scared, uncomfortable and lonely. All I really want to do is go home and find a job there.

I can't honestly say that i have wasted time pursuing this. I learned a great deal about the job and about myself. I am not haopy that i lost half a year getting here, but i wouldn't trade the exoerience for anything

I still have to talk to my trainer about my decision and see what happens from there. If the ridicule continues, well, I only have to deal with it for a little while. I have to live my own life the way I want it to be.

Is this chapter of my life complete? I don't really know. I have a few more day of adventure before I close out,this blog officially, so we have some more reading to do. Lets take it day by day, fir I still have to get home.

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Accomplished

Do today i passed the last thing i needed to move on to the test i need to take to determine if i maintain employment here.

I needed to demonstrate a 90°/90° backup into a tight hole between two trailers. I did it, but there were still a bunch of snide comments when i would go to look at positioning and such. Apparently all the things I was told to do in class were all pointless as it wastes time at the shipper and consignee.

I am being given hard lessons on time management. The problem is that i am highly flustered about getting somewhat accurate results in the amount of time i need. Maybe i just need to be making up my own system to make sure i cover my bases.

I am tired and I am currently stuck at a shippers trailer area cuz i found a break air hose that is showing threads which puts the trailer out if service until its fixed. We have to wait til morning and drive down the street and get the hose repaired before we can drive.

Anyway, night all.

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The day after...

Today was a better day. My shifting was muchly improved and i didnt screw up too badly today. I was able to back into my first dock unassisted and all in all, today went by fairly well.

I have two more days minimum of training. Could be more, we will see. However, i will eventually get back to a terminal to test out. If i pass, cool, if i dont, cool. I will go back to tech for awhile if i can. Most of my mistakes happen because the trainer and i get talking and i screw up. Then i get called on it. It irks me alreadythat i screwed up and i am trying to recover, while i do, im getting negative feedback at the moment im trying to fix things and it fucks me up more. I sometimes wonder if i will screw up as much on my own as i do while with a trainer.

He commented today that he doesn't care if i think he is a good guy or an asshole, all he wants is to make sure i have the skills to not kill myself or others while driving. While on one hand i understand this, i don't have to like it.

That frustration is what is causing my doubt about doing this job. I can't even begin to make a system for myself because he has an established one that he uses and trains me on that one. Again, growning pains.

I am tired, i haye climbing up to the top bunk to sleep, its not as restful as it needs to be. Yet its the only place i have to sleep. The bottim bunk is like 2 inches wider all the way around and i dont have to worry about falling. I need home time and having a tech job is desireable due to being home every night.

Again, this might not be the job for me but i am too stubborn to just quit just yet.

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End of day..

So we had our review tonight right before bed. He stated that even with the low points of today, i still did alright overall. I did not bring up the ridicule point yet for two reasons.

1: I want to sleep on it for the night and see how i feel about it in the morning.

2: I feel that it would have been a shitty way to end the night.

I know i am tired and that probably accounted for a lot if my mistakes today. Thats not an excuse, i find it a fact. So after sleeping on it, i may have a different view on things. Plus i may have silently made my point that i was not happy with the feesback by staying away from the truck for 5 hours and not really talking all night.

Anyways, sleep time now. Home time soon. I have a lot to dream about between the job and home.

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Sitting and thinking

I am taking some time away from the truck. My trainer is sleeping at the moment as i found out when i,went back to catch up on paperwork. I sat there for a bit and realized i was not ready to get back in the truck yet.

I've spoken to my wife and co-classmate from TDI school, both have said i should stick it out and see what happens. In one respect, there is that "what if" that would be created if i choose to up and quit. As my wife pointed out, i am too damn stubborn to just quit. Even if i should, I would more than likely plod on because i just don't like quitting. If i fail out, thats a different story altogether. I tried, i failed, move on and try again at a later time. I have had this happen to me in the past, it will happen again i am sure.

I have a couple of recourses i can use to address the ridicule. I can have a conversation and confront the trainer about it. Like George McFly, i don't deal well with confrontations. However, they are honest and direct ways of communication, which i am being taught here that communication is key. So, there is that. The other venue i have is to call my fleet manager and let him know about whats been said and how it affects me. I don't asked to be babied, i just ask to be fairly treated. If you are going to tell me its a orofessional job, great. However i will expext to be treated professionally as well. Coach me, train me and be serious is fine. Do not make me feel less of a person because of my mistakes. I do not respond well at all to it. I will start to rebel and shut diwn because of it. These are facts that i know about myself. I dealt with it from my Dad growing up, i am done with that shit. If this is how the industry treats me, then this will not be the industry that will get me. I know i have value, i made it this far. There must be something i am doing right or i would not have made it past the first week.

If I am truly a danger on the road behind the wheel of a tractor truck, then please let me know now,so i am not wasting your time or mine. I could be home, waiting for my wife and looking for a job in the tech feild that pays 15 to 20 an hour. Hell, the time spent looking for shit jobs while pursuing a CDL will be lesson learned at that point.

I am my father's son but I am not my father. This may just end up being the proof that he and i live in two very different worlds. I understand mechanics and truck driving but my love was never for them. My yearning for travelling led me to trucking. Perhaps I miguided myself. I look around at the people who drive a truck and for a lot of them i wonder how they actually managed it. I have been told I have potential for driving a truck, so there has got to be something there that they see or they are just blowing smoke up my ass.

Either way, we will see what happens. I go back to test between 8 and 13 days at a terminal. Maybe i will look good enough at 8 days to go and test out. Good or just frustrated enough to get me off the truck. Either way, test me out and let me know whether or not i am good enough for this company. If not, please just get me home so i can get on with my life.

In all the training i have done for companies, this one has me the most frazzled and off balance yet. At least in computers i know i can sit back and rely on my expertise in the field. If i screw up while driving, someone dies ir gets seriously hurt, i may go to jail or get a hefty fine to pay. I know that there is stress in this job, intimately aware.

My head is cooled off now from writing. I am glad i started this blog for writing, for writing does help me work through things. I won't say that things are better, there are still issues, but maybe i can get through the next few days without having a violent episode. Home is sounding better and better though as is the temp jobs i was offered. If this does not go thru, i will be thankful for the experience, the good and the bad. I will look into getting a job in daytona somewhere that has good pay and benefits. Or find a local driving job if i can. I don't know, but by simply going through this training, i have some experience in the field and that is good enough, sometimes, for me to weasel a job or two out of thin air. Like i said, driving a limo or something would be cool. Even a courier vehicle would be interesting if i can get a good job that pays well. We will see what goes on and go from there.

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Addendum

Since i am bitching, lets add a few things. If you have read the entry "Bad day" yet, go for it first.

A thing about directions. Yeah there are turn by turn directions, yeah there are maos that need to be read. I appreciate that. However when you tell me i need to use all my resources and you tell me to put my phone away that has a navigation program in it to help me see up coming roads and then you reach.for your garmin to keeo tracj.of my progress. Dirty fucking pool.

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Bad day

Fuck this fucking day to hell.

All i want to do is fucking quit now. Everything i was able to do well yesterday fucking didn't work today, i hit curbs, almost changed lanes in to a car, i missed seeing a car ehen attempting a turn and i fucked up a roundabout. Gear shifting today sucks and to top it all off, i now have my trainer using ridicule to inspire me. I have been actively driving a truck since last wednesday and he is pulling out comments about how unprofessional that is and how all the other drivers on the truck stop are looking at me and shit. Today he pulls out how i am giving excuses for all my misyakes and now evertime i try to explain my thoughts on why i did something, all i get is a smile and a nod and a "Yeah, i knew you would have an excuse for this" comment. "Fuck this" is all i really want to scream and leave the god damned fucking truck in a ditch and walk the fuck home. After today i am really hoping i fail the fucking final so i can just go the fuck home, find a tech job again and say "fuck you" to the world. I am beyond frustrated, i have kept my mouth shut and tried to glean the lessons that need to be done to be a good driver. I feel like i am getting contradictory things about simple things like backing up from ehst is taught to what is done in the field. I know thst this is a hard job, i appreciate that fact. Maybe i am truly geeting to the point that maybe tbis job is not for me.

I tried it, i do like the travel aspect. But there is SO much information that i am trying to process at one time that i am getting overwhelmed. When i try to focus on fixing something one other thing gets a lack of attention and i get called on it and i get flustered. For example, jusy going up a ramp off the highway, i have to downshift from 10th gear to 5th gear. Each gear has a set rpm and speed value to which you have to adhere or it wont go in. Throughout the braking and downshifting, i have to keep control of the vehicle, know which lane i need to be in, be in the proper side of the lane depending on the turn, know which way i have to turn, keep an eye on traffic behind me and in the intersection, read and understand any/all signs or lights, thrn be in low gear 5th within 1 truck length of the intersection to have time to look at the turn i need to make and verify the traffic involved. That's just to get stopped at the end of a ramp and i have less than 30 seconds to do it all. Now i can do it, not all perfectly, but i can do it. Then there is the next procedure on how to make the turn. Any trucker reading this knows how it goes and it become second nature. I just had trouble today every freaking step of the way.

Yeah, i know there will be bad days and this might be one of them. I seriously need to consider for myself if this is what i want to do. I know that there is a bar set here for a level of expertise, i also know that i am being told that i am a better driver than other students that have gone before me. From what i understand, the otner student were previous truck drivers. I am not 100% sure of that though. Still, the flack i am getting about over-revving and grinding gears or screwing up on my shifting is pissing me off. I know i am wasting fuel by doing it, i am a student, back the fuck off. I also know that by stopping at an intersection i shave time away from my clock that can be used elsewhere, yes i may not have time for a load because if it. Ya kniw what, i am stopped, safe and looking at my fucking options before i proceed because you have me so fucking flustered i need a minute. If i am going too slow for you, i am so fucking sorry. If you will kindly look at my name tag, it says student. Reminding me of every little mistake is not going to help me get better right now. Since we are over 12 hours early for delivery and its less than 5 miles down the road, i think i am doing something right. Granted I had a lot of good skills today too, but the bad ones git me especially when the trainer said that the turn "almost collision" was a fail. Thanks for that, my confidence dropped already cuz i didnt see the car in the first place, telling me i fail makes me just want to fucking throw the truck into park, pack my things and hitchhike home. A CDL is starting to now be worth the aggrevation to me. I would opt to drive a fucking limo instead or towncars to ferry ppl to and from the airport.

I know i am venting and maybe itd merely smoke blowing out my ass. However, right now i am seriously at my wits end and one more push will mean that i have had it.

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Stabbity

We are kinda jogging loads this weekend. We dropped off a load at a relay point and picked up a new load a day early. We are going to attempt to deliver the early load a day early tomorrow if possible.

I did pretty well all day today, then we came to the truck stop and i fucked up but good. I know what i did wrong and i was kinda scolded. Im sure that wasnt the intent but i was pissed enough that i fucked up, i didnt need the unintentional ridicule afterwards. I came really close to saying "fuck it, drive me back to the terminal and get me home." I was that pissed. I know i did the wrong thing, i am fucking trying my damndest. Sigh. I know that i am my own worst critic and i beat myself up over every mistake. I don't neef help in that area. Needless to say, it happened and it was overwith. I guess the trainer might have felt he went overboard as well since he bought me dinner at Culver's.

After dinner, i was able to get a shower and relax for a bit. Its amazing what a shower can do for you. Gonna be an early day tomorrow, so bedtime soon.

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Early day.

Drove from Missouri thru 3/4 of Iowa yesterday. I have about a 2 hour drive left to get to a drop yard in Minnesota. Then its just training stuff for the rest of the day.

Every is a little bit better with my driving skill. I had a review yesterday and out of like ten skill sets that i have to work on while out on the road, i only have 3 that need real work on.

I am getting a grip on the lonliness I think. I don't feel all doomy as i did the other day. We will see hiw that goes.

I have 45 minutes before i have to get "wheels rolling", today was an early day cuz the trailer has to be dropped at the yard we are headed to by 10am. So my ass was up at 5 and out doing my pre-trip by 10 past 5. Hopefully today will be a better day.

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It's rough..

Delivered my first load today. Things are going good outside. Driving is improving, i am learning a lot of new things every day.

Internally i am dealing with lonliness, lack of presence of people i care about and a self doubt of whether this is something i am actually cut out to do.

When i drive, i am focused on my task but when i am shut down for the day i just have this hopelessness that falls over me. I have come close to breaking down in this self doubt to where i have almost requested to just be sent home. If it weren't for the fact that i would feel like a failure for investing all this time into doing this, i may have succumbed to the decision.

This is very hard for me, the mental aspect of dealing with not being home and not having the choice to go and sleep in my own bed at night next to the person i love. maybe it will be better once i have my own truck and a semblance of space that is mine that's larger than a bunk. I dunno, but i do know that i am plodding forward into the next challenge. I am not happy, but i am not totally discouraged yet. I know if i get experience i can at least look at a local route driving something in a day cab. For now, plod on.

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My first live training trip..

Made it to Missouri. My trainer says that i am doing well. I have a few things that i need to work on, but for the most part it is just an ecperience/confidence thing. I have the skill, now i just need the ecoerience to trust that skill.

We are dropping off a load today, our appointed time to get there is 2:30 om, but we are only 2 hours away. Once 7:30 rolls around, we are going to call and see if we are able to deliver early. Its not a drop delivery, they are going to unload the trailer and that means downtime. However once there we will get the next load assignment and i will see how all this works from the beginning.

Sleeping in the truck isn't too bad, but i am on the top bunk. Climbing up and getting settled is somewhat nerve wracking, but once i am up, i am good. Big guy in a top bunk, oh boy. Anyway, breakfast time.

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The training continues

On the truck training today, but not really. I am still on my reset time until tomorrow. The trainer i am with seems to be a good fit with me, persinality-wisr. I am still apprehensive.

Is this a good career choice for me? I know its something i have wanted to do, yet now that i am here, do i really want to do it? I know i will be good at the job, i know i will get it and do well. I am just wondering now is this what i truly want?

The long hours away fron home thus far are really bearing on my mind, i miss my wife, i miss the people i have grown to expect to be around, i miss feeling home. I have felt so lost for so long that i didn't know that i had a home until i had to leave it.

The expectations of the job are straightforward. I will be exposed to them more tomorrow. I am anxious and tired. I feel drained. Will this get better with time or will i just be getting used to the feelings and be able to move them aside? All these questions bear on my heart like a lead weight. Only time will tell.

I will move forward 1 day at a time, take the challenges as they come to me, move past each step until the end of the day then move to tomorrow. I have people depending on me, yet i will be realistic if i feel that this is not for me in the long run. Maybe a regional route that has more home time, or a local delivery thing. Maybe give it up entirely and find something else. These are all possible choices that will be looked at as my days progress.

Depending on myself is not a thing i haven't done before, i just haven't had to do so in so long that i may be out of practice. Sleep for now.

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So much for a day off

So it looks like that today is the day I will be heading out on the road fir my next set of training. I will know more later, for now I am at the drop yard/training facility resting and waiting. Got my laundry all caught up and had lunch. Just sitting and waiting for now.

Just got a call from my trainer, he is about 70 miles away. So I will be leaving soon.. Oh nerves, here we go..

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Now... rest

Finally, I made it to the end of the week of training. Now I take all that I have learned and start using it out in the real world. First, however, I get to rest for a day or so.

Today also marks that I am now employed officially with this company. We were all given a nice handy dandy baseball cap with the comapny logo and a pin. We were all assigned a over the road trainer, mine will actually be in the area tomorrow, but I have to wait my 34 hours to get my reset as I only have 8 hours of time left to work on my 70 hours. Which is nice because I am exhausted. I get to sleep in tomorrow, but we will see if my ass makes it past 7am.

I am apprehensice and anxious about this next phase of training. I am really hoping I get a trainer that I am compatible with. It is a 50/50 shot, but I am hopeful. All things still seem to point toward me doing this job and the efforts that I have put into it already have borne fruit and results. So I will keep heading down this path and see what happens.

I am tired, so this will be a short entry. Time to rest.

Almost done, mild frustrations..

So today went well, we were exposed to roundabouts and talked about legalizing the loads that you are pulling. Though we didn't actually do anything about legalizing the load, we did drive around and go through a few roundabouts. Then went and practiced doing more right and left turns. I kinda got into it with my instructor today because on one turn, a car came out of nowhere from the road that I was turning on. I am convinced that the car came down the street and sat in a blind spot that is made by the mirror on the passenger side. My instructor stated that there is no blind spot and that the car came from a side street and tried to hurry up and get by before I made the turn. I was not going to blindly give up on this one. I know I looked and scanned that road and I did not see any vehicle before I attempted the turn but the trainer insisted that they were there. In the end, I agreed to disagree but conceded due to the fact that he has a wider view of the oncoming road from the passenger side of the truck than I do from my POV.

Need a day off... ain't gonna get it

Been going to bed way too late, especially last night.

Went back to the facility to do laundry for the simple reason that paying about 10 bucks for a load of laundry is nott my idea of a good time. The terminal had brand new High Efficiency washers and driers that didn't cost anything. So, that was  ano brainer.

While there, tried to do homework, and did about 3/4 of it but there were a few truckers in the lounge area and they were more than happy to give us their input of life on the road and the troubles that they have been facing. They gave us insights of what to look for when starting out, where not to go when a truck is in need of repair plus a few horror stories to keep us interested. Overall it was a very educational evening. By the time laundry was done, it was 9pm and I was able to head back to the hotel.

After a conversation like that, it was real hard to wind down to sleep. I don't think I got to sleep until just past midnight. So, I am now dragging my ass this morning. I may have a cup of coffee just in case.

Seeing how I drove up in a bus starting last Friday night, my body is telling me that I have been working 8 days stright with no break. As much as I want to bitch, moan and complain about it, I have to get used to it simply because I will be dealing with linear time as a work schedule. Keep time under control and accurate is a big deal in this type of job, so I have to suck it up and figure it out. I heard that there is a shortage of on the road trainers at the company at the moment. So there is a distinct possibility that I may not have a trainer to go out with on the road right away on Wednesday. However, we will see what happens when they tell us on Monday.

Today is Father's day, so for all you Dad's out there that qualify for this day, Happy Father's Day. For all you guys that are like me and don't have kids, take the time to call your Dad if you can and chat with him for a few minutes. Even if you don't see eye to eye most times. Like Christmas, its the thought that counts. No one gives a guy a "How to be a good Dad" manual when you are born, they have to do the best they can and figure it out. So, give him a break today and just say "Hi".

Evaluation day!

Today we had an evaluation of our driving progress. Based on on the street driving and backing up.

Overall, I feel there is some improvement that I need to do. I am still getting used to proper gear shifting and proper down shifting. I am alos abusing the transmission, as my instructor says, because I rev the engine up too high in RPM's before shifting. Also, I was told that I am drifting out of my lane a bit. I didn't see it, but my instructor did. So, I have to keep an eye out for that. I had a few improvements to work on, but from what I was told by the instructor, for a person who has never drivin a large truck before, I am actually above average in my skill set, a diamond in the rough as it were. All I really need to improve is practice and more experience/hours behind the wheel.

Field trip day!

Today was our "field trip" day. Our instructors had to go to a madatory meeting at the other facility that is about an hour and a half (two hours the way us studants drive) away. So we got a lot of highway driving done today and some city driving. I am getting better at down shifting and I am pretty sure I am getting a hold on my "panic" when I miss a gear. I still panic a little bit, but not as much as I was a day ago. So I feel that things are improving.

Things are going well..

Did some more road driving today. City/town side.  Yeah I am rusty, but its all about the practice right? I still have people telling me that I am doing well, but my own worst critic is hemming and hawing about every mistake I make. The instructor is very helpful in pointing out what I am doing wrong and why. I really do get in the way of myself when I know I screwed up. When a mistake is made I get all flustered and semi emotional (aka: pissed off at myself and worried). Which then sets me up for making another mistake righth after the first.

End of day 2

Today I was in the truck driving. Man am I rusty on a few things but did do well on long stretch driving. Starting out in low gears is something I need to practice on.

Still have some lingering apprehension. Not sure if I am just tired or just fretting about unknowns. Either way, sleep is needed.

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Up and ready

Today we switch motels. Spending half a day at the same training facility as yesterday, then three of us are being shipped to the new lication after lunch. This morning was an intetesting wake up as my alarm did not go off due to the fact that when I set it last night I didn't select Tuesday as a "repeat alarm" day. Be that as it may, my intetnal clock was on the job and woke me at 5:35am. So I am up and dressed, repacked and ready to check out of the room. We three travelers to the new facility have to bring our luggage to school with us, so I guess its a good thing they gave us a van to drive back in this morning.

I am feeling the muscle burn from doing the physical test yesterday. Knees are not complaining but the muscles around them are achy. So this tells me that the physical part of the job will be sculpting me a little bit. I look.forward to the physical challenges that are going to come up, but the apprehension is still there based on that looming unknown sitting there before me. One day at a time, take the challenges as they come and try not to worry about anything that isn't a reality.

Well, it's time for breakfast and checkout. Let's get this day started.

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Day 1 completed

So, day 1 is done and I am still here. Today was mostly the prerequisite stuff that needed to be done for employment. Some paperwork, the stress tests and drug screening. My biggest concern was the stress test.

It consisted of several different exercises that simulated actual work instances. During which my heart rate was monitored. If my heart rate exceeded a set amount based on my age, I would fail and be sent home. So I was a tad concerned about this test. Well, after all was said and done, i did very well.

After the standard drug screening, we came back and had lunch and watched a training video on hazmat. Then went over reading an atlas and how to use it properly. After which we reviewed how to properly do logging.

All that info was more for the other four people in oyr class. Three of us, as far as i know, are going to start our actual classes tomorrow at the.new training facility. So, the real fun begins then for me. I also have to switch motels tomorrow as well. So i will be busy busy all day long.

Almost time to try and sleep again, i am still feeling strung out from the bus ride here. I miss home, but even after being here a day, i feel like i picked the right company to start with. I have heard that this place is difficult to get a job for because they are very particular about who they hire. So, if i do make it, it tells me i really am good enough. That in itself will be very rewarding, as well as working for a comoany that actually cares about its people.

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Day 1

Got my ass up at 5:30am this morning to start my day. Being in central time means its actually 6:30 and an extra hidden hour is fine by me.
Its going to take a couple days of sleeping in a bed to feel normal again. I could use a few more hours, but not gonna risk missing the shuttle at all. Sleep was actually somewhat hard to come by last night. i had gotten so used to sleeping while moving that when i laid in bed, all i could do was lie there with eyes closed and racing thoughts. I was evenrually able to sleep and got around 7 hours or so.

Bteakfast at the motel will be ready in about 30 minutes. I will be taking advantage of that, though i doubt there will be any protien involved. I will take what i can get. My only fear now is not passing their screening tests today. What if I get sent home for whatever reason? They will have to spring for the ticket back because i can't afford it. The only thing i can do now is to break my day down to one thing at a time and set my worries aside until absolutely necessary. I will not be my own obsticle and stumble over nothing but my own two feet.

So i am dressed and ready as i can be. From there we shall see what goes from there.

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Final leg..

I have had a lot of time to reflect on my trip to Wisconsin via bus. First I would like to say that bus travel is not for everyone. I am ok with it, but now that I have done a trip, it will never be my first choice of transport. It is a fun trip if you meet good people on the way, which I did. Its just that 1500 miles as cargo got tiresome after awhile.

I pondered a bit on relationships. I don't think I could have attempted this journey if my relationship with my wife wasn't strong. We have our snippy moments but I would not trade her for anyone else. Her support, wit and strength gets me through my moments of doubt and wariness. Her belief in me is my fuel to move forward and do things I did not think I could possibly do. I frrl the any success on this endevour is just as much her accomplishment as it is mine.

I am coming to the end of this part of the journey. Getting to the motel and sleeping for a few hours in a bed seems like a luxury at this point. Sleeping upright without my CPAP machine has been hell on me. I am over tired, somewhat cranky and I think I am develooing a headache. My back is sore as is my neck. A hot shower is as on my agenda today. I don't have to be up and ready to leave in the lobby til 6:00 am ish. So there is plenty of downtime for me to try and decompress. Supper tonight may consist of the rest of my travel snacks and thats fine. A continental breakfast will be greeting me in the morning.

I know I am bitching about travel, but let me just say this. There is a difference to trwvelling as cargo vs. driving. I feel as if I have no control. The reality of that statement is 100%.accurate. I can't stop if I want to, I can't control the vehicle I am in. I am at the mercy of others and Gods willing I will make it to my destination. Not that I don't trust the drivers or anything, its just one of those quirks.

Another sunrise viewed from a bus window. No matter what, I mean to collect more sunrises.

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I have watched the sun rise, I have watched the sun set from the window of my bus. I have been in transit for 24 hours officially, not all of it driving. There have been long rest stops along the way to keep things interesting. So far we have had one passenger arrested for drinking a beer in front of a cop in downtown Atlanta. I made a friend along the way but she had to catch another bus to St. Louis when we stopped at Nashville.

Sleeping is interesting, I fear I will have some interesting knots to work out when I get to my hotel/motel room. For now, I am riding in the dark in the rain and watching the lightning flash among the clouds. It peaceful for now, though I am starting to be overwhemled at the idea of actually doing trucking. One problem at a time though. Get there first, worry about other things after that.

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At bus station

So yeah. This will be an interesting trip. Check out my layovers.. Ugh.

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Today is the day..

My bus leaves at 7:30pm tonight to go to Wisconsin for training.

All my stuff is packed (I hope) and the last thing I need to bring is in the dryer. In about an hour or less I will be loading up and heading out to Daytona Beach to find the greyhound station and get my ticket and everything set.

I am nervous and excited at the same time. I don't really look forward to leaving for the amount of time that I am, but that is something that I just have to get used to. Hopefully when I look back at these entries I will smile and think myself foolish. I would like to remind myself that you have the benefit of current knowledge and experience of things already past. Where are the present I currently do not. This is a big unknown for me and most people fear the unknown. I don't really "fear" it, but I am wary of it.

My next entries will be from my phone. I have tried to secure a way to charge my phone while on the bus. We have this little battery pack that allows you to charge things on the go. I had that bugger plugged in for 2 days just to be sure it was fully charged. So look for pictures and possibly videos coming up.

I know I am going to do a few education entries in the future. One of which will be a step by step pre-trip inspection of the truck. Should prove to be interesting. Which reminds me, I need to grab some rags for that. 

See you all on the travel side.

One more day...

Its a day before my trip and I think I am going to jump out of my skin due to nerves.

I am confident that I can do the job and pass the training requirement that are set in front of me. I think that it is just the fact that I have been fighting for this for so ling this year that now that the reality has finally come about, I am simply overwhelmed by it.

I put off packing until today and I think I have just about everything I need, I will be going over my check sheet one more time before the end of the night. I am a mix of anxious and terrified right now, not really sure what to do even if there is anything I can do about it All I really feel like doing is putting everything off until the last minute and be consumed in the rush of things so I don't have to think about it.

As deliciously tempting as that may seem, realistically I can't succumb to that temptation. I will be hopping on a one way bus ride to Wisconsin tomorrow, if I am not absolutely sure that I have everything that I need to bring with me, then I will be shit out of luck and will have to scramble to fix it if I can. Yet even that seems appealing, I won't have to think, just react to the emergency.

Fixing issues is all I have ever done, now I will be doing a service job again for the first time in years on a grander scale than I have before. My workplace with be the entire United States and parts of Canada. Calling in sick, not really an option but I have to be damn honest with myself that I am sick so I am not a danger to myself or others. There are a lot of unanswered questions in my mind that will be answered in time, the key for me to master now is to be patient and not stress about things I don't have control over yet. Soon I will have my answers, soon my adventures will start, soon.

Until then, I have to be patient and wait. Relax as best as I can and prepare myself to be open with the information that will be coming to me in the next month. This is a start of a new beginning for me, a chance to really make things work and take the next step in life. It will be hard work and I will miss those whom I care about. I have goals and dreams I want to achieve and God willing, I will be able to make something worthwhile for once.

Its a GO!

I got the call today. I am to start orientation next Monday in Wisconsin.


I will be going through a new training program that is broken up into 2 steps. It will be 7 days of orientation training which will include a combination of road driving, close quarters maneuvering, and classroom curriculum which will consist of logging techniques, trip planning, satellite communication training company policies and procedure and protective driving.

Basically, Truck Driver Training school all over again except condensed into 1 weeks time including a driving test and open book exam.

After that I get a day off to reset my hours a bit and then move into phase 2 of training which is the Over the road training. The training is up to 13 days over the road after which I get to do another CDL eval test and open book exam.

Once that's all done, I get my own truck and trailer and first assignment.

Easy peasy...

My first goal is to get there and then worry about things as they arise. Here is to hoping that I will not screw up.

The end is near?

So I did actually contact the trucking company all week.

As of the last Friday before the date of this post, the company is now waiting on the clinic that did my physical to sign off on a 1 year medical card.

What this means is that I know where said clinic is. If by Wednesday they haven't done anything I may drive my happy ass down to said clinic and sit in their waiting room all day until the Doctor or Nurse Practitioner gets on the freaking ball and signs a couple of papers and faxes them back.

I am beyond patient at this point, I DARE say that I have been down right tolerant. Everyday things are boring now, I can't hold an interest into anything. This tells me that I am ansi to go out and do something, ya know, like WORK. Or some foolish thing like that where I get paid after..

I am getting tired of every Sunday thinking that this will be the week I get to know when I start.

I am hoping to high heaven that this will be finally that week.

Background

Since there is time to spare I glanced over the previous posts and realized that I never gave a foundation of how I got to this point of my life.

I never thought I would be a trucker, even though the wanderlust has been in my blood for as long as I can remember. I grew up in, at the time, a small town in Massachusetts called Franklin. It was named after one of our countries fore fathers and even has a public library that holds original books penned and donated by Benjamin Franklin himself. You can't check them out anymore, but you can look at them through a glass window.  Growing up in a small town was fun for the most part, the quiet at night was only broken by sounds of the crickets and tree frogs with the occasional hiccup of bullfrog. The night symphony was what I went to sleep with for a long long time.

My first major interest was computers and technology. I was an 80's child, which means that video games and arcades were the biggest draw in my life. I loved those electronic cartoons that you could manipulate and destroy, only to be able to do it again with another quarter. The very first computer in my house was a ADAM computer. The first computer that I ever owned was a Commodore 64. I damn near devoured it up when I got it. As time went on, I learned about modems and Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) and how to connect with other people through those systems. Then came the day that I was able to get my hands on  a copy of a BBS myself. That changed my world, I dove into how it worked and pulled it apart bit by bit, literally. I taught myself BASIC programming and started to code my own programs to work within that environment.

Memorial Day Weekend

Welcome to my long weekend.

Sadly to say, I still have not had any answer back from the trucking company about an orientation date yet. Since this is Memorial Day weekend and the official start of the Summer Season for most commercial enterprises, it comes as no surprise that my recruiter had taken Friday off to start a long weekend.

So this gives me more time to play with, I have started to work on my health a little bit more. If you notice off to the left I have added a RSS feed showing my progress of work for walking with a program called Run Keeper. Its pretty slick and I find its better than a pedometer. Not only does it track with GPS my position and relative speed, but it ties in with Google Maps to plot out where I have gone. So if I decide to go on a few side and winding roads on my walks, I can see exactly where I was at the time.

What I am doing is setting myself up to compete with myself. I need to start exercising again and walking is going to be one of those things I can do no matter where I go. So while I am out and about at various trucking rest stops along the way, I will be walking and if you care to check out where I am doing my walking, it should pop up on a map. A tad Big Brotherish, I know. Then again the truck has similar tracking on it as well, so either way, people know where I am. I'm just bringing it to my friends and curious bystanders.

Tuesday will be the start of a new week and hopefully that will show any progress towards my starting at the company. As it stands all the reports and paperwork that have been submitted has passed the Safety department and is now sitting with the Medical director. They have to look over all the medical paperwork done by the clinic I went to and the reports and documents I have sent in based on my Sleep Study and CPAP machine. From there a decision will be made.

All that there is now to do is wait.

Updates from .... not the field.

As it turns out, the report I sent in Friday was not what they were looking for. The data date range was wrong.

So the final (I hope) piece of information that I need to submit to the Safety department has been sent.

I am waiting now, not more than a little trepidation, for the all clear and a date for my orientation.

As I think I said before, I am jumping through a lot of hoops here for a very good reason. None of these obstacles were in front of me for company number 1. What would have happened when I got there? Would I have had to go through all of these same steps there? A lot of this information would have taken me weeks were I on a truck trying to learn what I needed to learn. It would have been especially difficult if I had the stress of information gathering after the fact.

I am glad I am still home to do all this information gathering. I am not too thrilled about not working yet but I would rather have all my ducks in a row BEFORE I get out there. Focus while learning is an important thing. I really dislike being distracted about one thing while trying to learn another and then failing both.

We shall see what happens now.

Finally done..

As of Friday, I have completed all the medical requirement (I hope) that the Safety department is requiring before they will offer me an orientation date.

The last few bits of medical information was gathered and sent. The one that was the easiest turned out to be the luckiest for me. I use a CPAP machine at night due to Severe Obstructed Sleep Apnea. The Safety Dept. requires 3 months of documented compliance pulled in the form of a report from the machine itself. Long story short, I had to call the mfg. of the machine to see how I could get this report extracted. They referred me to a local company that was about an hour away. I called them and they said they could do it, so I went and brought my machine with me.

Patience.. Virtuous..

I contacted my recruiter yesterday and found that all the information I sent has been received.

Now all we are doing is waiting for the Safety Department to sign off on the information and allow me to come on.

Wait, wait, wait...

Fax arriveth! (finally)

Let me tell you..

I have had more trouble getting this one damn fax from an old Doctor than I have had with anything else in the process.

Cutting out the bitching, all I can really say is that the information FINALLY got to me and I was able to pass it on. My recruiter, sadly, is gone for the day. So bright an early tomorrow morning I will be on the phone with her again to verify that the information was received and what the next step it.

I also have to cart my happy ass down to the Post Office tomorrow to pick up a DS-11 form for my card passport and get that filled out. I ran out of ink on my printer, nuff said there, so picking it up is the only option I got.

Tomorrow will be a better day.. :)

The further adventures of Dr. Waitaminute

Hoops.

So many hoops to jump through these days to just try and get into an orientation. Thursday and Friday was spent speedily waiting on the Doctor's office back north to fill out one simple form and fax it back to me.

I had figured out that I could send faxes with my Printer, I just needed to borrow a phone line to do so. Once I had permission to borrow a land line, I faxed out a medical release form and the paperwork that the clinic gave me when I went for the physical the other day.

Now I understand that Doctor's offices are busy places, I truly do. However, by closing time Friday, I was calling that office every 15 minutes to get an update because seriously, this ONE fax was holding me up from starting to get a job. I finally got the medical assistant for the Doctor on the phone and she stated that she was working til 5pm and would see what she could do. I pretty much took that as a brush off so I gave up hope on the entire thing til Monday. That is until she called me back at 4:30 stating that she would be faxing it out. So I ran to my printer and made sure it had paper in it and was hooked up to the phone line and waited and waited then waited some more.

Bottom line, the fax never came and they didn't call me back before they left. It is a damn good thing that I am over 1000 miles away because were I closer, come Monday morning I would be the first one at the door asking for my damn paperwork.

So, Monday I will HOPEFULLY have my medical stuff cleared up enough that I will be able to start the orientation process. This weekend in preparation for that, I will be gathering up all my information that I will need for the orientation day(s).  I found that the training time is split 15 days/ 16 days and in the middle of those two times I get sent home to have some home time. Home time is nice, but I made a decision last week that I may time some of my home time visiting my Mom and Dad in their respective places or visiting friends from time to time. Its up in the air for the moment, as nice of a thought that would be I still have to get employed first.  The unemployment game here is getting to me, not just the fact that I am not getting compensation for one whole job I worked that would have pushed my weekly benefit higher, but the stress of just sitting around is really getting to me. I want to be out and about making a difference in my life and the lives of those who have chosen to live in my household. I cannot provide as I would like to right now. This bothers me and is a constant thorn in my side.

Be that as it may, I am working on changing things so come Monday, the next challenge begins and hopefully I will be writing about my pains and struggles on how to properly pack 2 pillows in my suitcase.

DOT Physical Day.

Today I went to get my D.O.T. physical done for the new job. I ran into a small snag with my sleep apnea, or so I thought.

In 2008 I was diagnosed with Severe Obstructed Sleep Apnea, after which I was put onto a CPAP machine. While I was in school for the Trucking license, I heard that there were talks about Sleep Apnea being an instant disqualification for employment for companies.

Once I got home I called up my recruiter and told her the results, what she said was that it wasn't a problem since I was already diagnosed, all I had to do was gather up the information I needed from my previous study and send it in. I spent the early part of the afternoon calling the hospital that gave me the study and the Dr. office that ordered it. Aside from waiting for the snail mail package to arrive with the info, I should be all set. The recruiter also told me that they have several drivers on the road that use a CPAP machine for sleeping. That in itself gave me more relief than I had expected.

So, now I need to figure out faxing capabilities. I may have a cheap solution, but I have to wait until people get home to follow up on it. So we will see.

Finally!

Made it to the Drivers License office and took my hazmat test today. Good thing i studied the little bit I did. 30 questions can only get 6 wrong or you fail. I got 5 wrong but made it through the test with a passing grade!

So now I am sitting in the waiting area for my Class A/CDL license. Apparently the hazmat endorsement will not be on my initial licence because they have to do a background check. So I will get that in the mail in 30 days or so.

I spoke to company 2 today about the official employment offer. I have to pass a second physical, which shouldnt be too bad. Then I be able to set my orientation date. Once there, I will have to pass a physical stress test which emulates various positions and exercises that can happen thru a common work day. I am confident that I am up for that challenge. They also do a drug screen via hair follicle, I will have to look that one up. I also need to gather together $55.00 for the card passport to be able to drive to Canada and back. Any donations would be great, or click some of the ads on the sides. Anything helps, the only readon I ask for help is that unemployment does not pay for much beyond basic survival needs. So thank you for helping out in any way.

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So today wasn't the day..

Well my goal of going to the Driver's License location to pick up my CDL and Hazmat today fell through. The day was not a total scrub, I was able to move forward and set up an appointment for tomorrow to do my Hazmat test and I just got word a few minutes ago from the new trucking company that they want to talk to me tomorrow morning for an official job offer.

This should mean that I will be able to setup the earliest appointment for getting into orientation and getting back to work. Not that I don't enjoy sitting around here and talking to myself.. Actually, sitting around here is causing me great anxiety. I feel pretty worthless and non-productive. Going back to work will be nice even when I bitch about it.

One thing that I did this weekend was get a good idea from my wife. Take a picture a day while on the job. Find something unique and interesting and take a picture of it, then post it here for everyone to see. Then once I get out on the road and I find interesting things to eat in unique locations, take a picture of that and post it. I can't wait to hit Chicago and try an authentic Chicago Pizza.. ooo, just the thought of it. mmm..

Anyway, that's today's endeavor. I need to review my hazmat material for tomorrow's test and get my official license.

Update 1

Here is an update on employment.

Just got off the phone with my guys over at unemployment (finally) and was able to secure the last piece of information that I needed to start the pre-employment process over at the new company.

I touched base with the recruiter, she was waiting on the background reports to come in and my call to say that I had the form one way or the other. I should be getting a call sometime later today to go over a pre-employment offer and setup an orientation date.

More news later as I get it.

*Edit*

Just called up company #1 and cancelled the orientation. Doing a spot check of how I felt about that didn't really give me anything. So, we will see. I guess I really didn't have that much personally invested into the idea of going there. I do know I had a feeling of being REALLY far away, I guess that is a good enough answer. I may not have kids yet, but I do have a family and company #1 wasn't really working with me at all about being able to come back and see them in any way, shape or form.

*edit 2*

Went out to the post office and mailed back the bus tickets I picked up the other day. So it is not official, I am not only out of their orientation, but I don't have the means to get there. :) I offered to destroy the tickets, but they were quick to ask me to mail them back. $200. bus tickets, I guess they wanted to get a refund. :)

Not even out of the gate yet...

So today I sat down and did some research on the trucking company that I decided to go with. Yeah yeah, I already got the talk about doing that BEFORE setting appointments. However, after doing my research, I am not as confident as I was when I set everything in motion last week.

A friend of mine who is also in the trucking industry keyed me in on the following forum:
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/

I logged in and created an account then did some searches.

What I found kind of concerned me.

Now, I don't want to spread any bad karma around and I know that people have their own opinions and points of view. What I like to do is "taste the flavor" of the different posts and see what I come away with. That in itself gave me all I really needed to know about the company. Even with people who were "happy" with the work at the company, there was a sour undertone that just kept popping up in every post.

Now, my orientation isn't until the 16th for that place, so I have time to back out. First rule of any agreement, everything can be backed out of up until you actually start the process. The way I interpret that is, once I step foot on that greyhound bus then I am locked in on that path.

So, as I was wandering around the forum in a blind haze of "Oh shit, what did I just get myself into?", I found a company that was getting really good reviews and positive "tastes" for every post I read. Even with the people that were complaining, they also had positive things to say. Plus, it just so happened that I had a pre-hire from that company as well. So, I called.

After speaking with the recruiter, I compared the answers to the questions between both companies. I found that I liked the new one better than the one I had set up with. So, I started the process of going with that company instead.

Seeing how I spent the majority of my time this afternoon trying to get a transcript of payments made to me from unemployment, the call center for the "old" company is closed. So tomorrow morning I now have a goal when I get up all bleary eyed.

Hell, I haven't even started driving yet and I am jumping companies.

The real nice thing about this CDL license is that even if all the corporation sites fall thru, I have a few private offers on the side that are just waiting for me to speak up.  Perhaps the economy is taking a hit on the trucking industry but the amount of flexibility to find a job, even as a newbie, is pretty impressive.

Just a little frustrated

Went down to pass in the paperwork I forgot to bring with me earlier.

That's when I find out that the check that is being cut for my hazmat endorsement is going to be mailed to me. Also, that the earliest I may get it is Saturday. Which means I can't go down and get my license until next Monday.

While this isn't a big deal, I was kinda geared up to go down today and get it done and over with. I guess that's part of the curve ball they call life or just living with other people with their agendas in this world. Either way, it gives me a week to brush up on my Hazmat studies. It is also a good thing that I pushed my orientation date out to the 16th of May. Otherwise I would have had to call up and reschedule things.

Progress

Part of becoming a truck driver for me required me to get my Class A/CDL license. I was able to do this with the help of the Florida Unemployment System.

A little back story.

I went on unemployment in the beginning of November 2010 after ending a contract position with a technical temp agency. Towards the end of December, I was required to attend a workshop at the One Stop Employment location. They work with people to find jobs and try to get them off unemployment by offering assistance and training opportunities. During my first visit, I was asked if I had any interests in other employment fields, in which I mentioned my interest in trucking. I was then given the starting point in which I needed to move forward and get a school grant to cover the cost of school.

Fast forward 4 months later, I was approved for the grant and started school on April 11, 2011. I graduated on April 29, 2011 in which I was given my certificate of completion and have lined up a job with a trucking company trucking out of Texas.

Today, I kinda screwed up. I was supposed to go down to the One Stop at 2pm today and turn in my timesheets, but I forgot that I was supposed to bring my packet from the school with the certificate and transcripts. Soooo, I have to head back for 4pm to finish that. After which I will get a check for the cost of my Hazmat endorsement.

So, I figure it will be to late to hit the DMV today for my new license if I do get that check today. I have all week to get it done. After rushing around to school for 3 weeks, a little bit of "laid back" is in order I think.

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Gearing up

So I just installed a blogger app on my phone which looks pretty awesome thus far. It lets me insert pics and vid clips into my posts. Always good to be prepared eh?

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First post

Hi.

Today is the first day after I graduated from TDI Trucking school. I now have a CDL/Class A License.
In two weeks I will be going in for orientation and starting my new adventure in trucking.  From what I hear, I will be gone from home for 8 weeks or so.  Which means that this blog will be a place where I keep in touch with people or rather they can keep tabs on me and my adventures. :)

So keep checking in and see what kind of fun I am getting into next.