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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