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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