You probably all are wondering why I'm a rebel, and more importantly, did I finally break down and pay for internet while on the road? Well, all of your questions will be answered in this blog post, so read on:
To explain why I am a rebel I need to do some explaining about how the system works. See, on our Qualcomms (which is our on board messaging system which runs off satellites, and acts more or less like instant messaging) we get a Preplan, which is a load, and on this preplan it tells us where we are picking up and when, also where it is going and when it needs to be there. We then have to accept the plan or reject it (you generally aren't supposed to reject them unless you have a good reason). Well come Friday afternoon I got a preplan for a load from southern Idaho (near Boise) to Irvine California. So when I was done with my current load I was waiting for my dispatch (which is when the load is actually assigned to you, and you get all the details you need) I was looking at a map and trying to figure out how they would send me. I eventually got the dispatch with a fuel route (which tells you which highways and freeways to take, also where to fuel up). The fuel route was completely different than what I expected. I took out my atlas and followed it along, and discovered that the computer that comes up with the fuel route (it's kind of like mapquest designed for trucks) must hate me. The fuel route basically had me going through every major city north of San Diego in California. I looked at my route that I came up with and it took me through Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, other than that it was open roads. I then sat down and figured the mileage for both routes. In short I basically threw the fuel route to the wind and took my own route. The one kink in my plan was that I was assigned a fill up in Reno Nevada, and my route took me no where near that, so I ended up stopping in Las Vegas and sending in a request for emergency fuel. Not the first time I've had to do that, but the first time when I was so far off route. So far either no one has noticed, or no one cares. I guess I'll find out tomorrow when the regular staff comes in. There shouldn't be a problem, so long as I get the load there on time, but this is the first time I've gone off route, so I'm not sure. Oh, I should mention the reason I did this was mainly because I didn't think I could get the load there on time given the hours I could drive, and the terrain and traffic conditions on the given route.
As for me having internet. This one will be a little shorter. I'm currently in Southern California, and while driving here it was around 90 degrees. Now my truck has a great electric heater, but no electric air conditioner. Which means that I would have to idle the truck so that I wouldn't cook in the cab while sitting. Unfortunately the state of California has a law against idling trucks, so that doesn't work very well. So I ended up paying for a service called Idleair with is this thing which hooks to the window and provides cold/hot air with a thermostat, power, internet, TV, basically all the comforts of home. So I kind of am paying for internet, but it's just a package deal. Also, I'm going to be here like 15 hours, so I figured it was worth it.
That's about it for now. For those of you on the West side of Washington, I should be there this Fridayish, so I'm looking forward to seeing all of you.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Finally a Real Truck Driver
Well, I'm a real truck driver now. I've been out for two weeks on my own, and if that wasn't enough, I have a CB radio too. This first outing took me to two new three new states, Utah, Nebraska, and Colorado. I also passed through Nevada, Wyoming, and Iowa. Iowa was cool, not because of the state so much (the roads were rather bumpy and hilly), but I got to my destination a day early, a destination close by Dubuque, and thus was able to spend most of a day with Ellery, Anna, and the kids.
Apart from the new states I visited, this two week outing also had some other firsts. I had my first load where I couldn't actually fill up my gas tank because I would be over weight (over 80,000 pounds), so that was exciting. Also, in Denver (which was my destination in Colorado) I blocked two intersections and had to back up in order to not take out a light pole. No one honked, but I doubt they were very happy about it either. But I haven't hit anyone yet (although I did hit my fair share of curbs, again in Denver....I don't think Denver, at least the parts I was in, was meant for trucks), so I still have a good driving record.
After such a short period I already know my least favorite part of the job, finding the darn places. It's not so bad when they are large mills or something, but my last two loads I had multiple deliveries to stores, so not only did I have to try to find more places, but the places where hard to get into and out of, and was all together unpleasant. So I'm pretty sure I'm going to get an iPhone sometime soon, mainly for its mapping ability. I'm hopping it will make my least favorite aspect of the job more pleasant.
Finally, I should explain why I haven't updated in a while. Well, most of the truck stops have internet, but most of them make you pay for it, something I've been reluctant to do since I still don't have much money. I should start to have more money soon, but the way the paying works, I've only had small paychecks to date due to when I got my paper work in on my loads. Thus, I didn't want to spend the money to get online. Hope no one was too disappointed by my lack of communication.
Apart from the new states I visited, this two week outing also had some other firsts. I had my first load where I couldn't actually fill up my gas tank because I would be over weight (over 80,000 pounds), so that was exciting. Also, in Denver (which was my destination in Colorado) I blocked two intersections and had to back up in order to not take out a light pole. No one honked, but I doubt they were very happy about it either. But I haven't hit anyone yet (although I did hit my fair share of curbs, again in Denver....I don't think Denver, at least the parts I was in, was meant for trucks), so I still have a good driving record.
After such a short period I already know my least favorite part of the job, finding the darn places. It's not so bad when they are large mills or something, but my last two loads I had multiple deliveries to stores, so not only did I have to try to find more places, but the places where hard to get into and out of, and was all together unpleasant. So I'm pretty sure I'm going to get an iPhone sometime soon, mainly for its mapping ability. I'm hopping it will make my least favorite aspect of the job more pleasant.
Finally, I should explain why I haven't updated in a while. Well, most of the truck stops have internet, but most of them make you pay for it, something I've been reluctant to do since I still don't have much money. I should start to have more money soon, but the way the paying works, I've only had small paychecks to date due to when I got my paper work in on my loads. Thus, I didn't want to spend the money to get online. Hope no one was too disappointed by my lack of communication.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
300671
Well, I have a new truck. Well, not new exactly, but new to me. It is a 2007 Volvo with about 200k miles on it. Now I know what you're thinking, 200k is a lot of miles, but remember most drivers do well over 100k in a year, and these things have warranties for 1 million miles, so 200k really isn't that many miles. In some ways it's better than getting a brand new truck because new trucks take about 80k miles to really break in, or so I've heard, and also new trucks tend to have a fair amount of problems with them, so it takes a while to get all the bugs worked out, so I'm happy with my truck. It is clean(well, on the inside at least), no dents or other apparent damage, and it is mine (well sort of...technically Swift still owns it, but I'll still consider it mine).
I've also completed my first solo load. See, they didn't have a truck for me in Lewiston at my terminal, but they found a truck in need of a new owner, the only problem was that it was in Great Fall, MT. So, they bussed me up there (with a 17 hour layover in Butte), and then I got a load going from there down to Usk, WA, which is just North of Spokane. My first load weighed about 45,000 pounds, bringing my grand weight that my truck hauled up to 78,000 pounds (the max legal weight I can haul is 80,000, so I was just about maxed out). I was hauling used Newspaper from a recycling plant to a pulp factory where I guess they actually recycle the newspaper. After that I bobtailed home (which means that I drove just the tractor with no trailer). I got home Friday and will be leaving again Monday morning to go...well, to go wherever the wind blows me.
P.S. The number in the title is my truck number, so if you see a Swift volvo with that number (located on the fender), then you'll know it's me, and you'll probably want to get away quickly, I am a new driver still.
I've also completed my first solo load. See, they didn't have a truck for me in Lewiston at my terminal, but they found a truck in need of a new owner, the only problem was that it was in Great Fall, MT. So, they bussed me up there (with a 17 hour layover in Butte), and then I got a load going from there down to Usk, WA, which is just North of Spokane. My first load weighed about 45,000 pounds, bringing my grand weight that my truck hauled up to 78,000 pounds (the max legal weight I can haul is 80,000, so I was just about maxed out). I was hauling used Newspaper from a recycling plant to a pulp factory where I guess they actually recycle the newspaper. After that I bobtailed home (which means that I drove just the tractor with no trailer). I got home Friday and will be leaving again Monday morning to go...well, to go wherever the wind blows me.
P.S. The number in the title is my truck number, so if you see a Swift volvo with that number (located on the fender), then you'll know it's me, and you'll probably want to get away quickly, I am a new driver still.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Irrelevant Observations
I know, I didn't update last week. I hope I didn't ruin the week for anyone.
There hasn't been much to report over the past couple of weeks. I only have one week left, so next time I post here I should have my very own truck, so that is quite exciting.
So I figured I would wrap up my observations for the past 6 weeks, observations that I haven't made yet. Over the past 6 weeks I have seen several beautiful sunrises, a few stunning sunsets (I'm usually asleep by the time the sun is setting, so I mainly see the sunrises). I've seen buffalo. I say a bald eagle up close in South Dakota. He was on the shoulder of the free way (alive) and as I approached he took off and so he was parallel with the cab of the truck for a few moments before I passed him.
In my first couple of posts I mentioned how I learned things about the people of the states I passed through simply by staying on the freeway, well I learned something about Illinois recently. Well, the clues were there, but it just recently dawned on me. The people of Illinois are obviously heartless jerks. I say this because up and down all of their freeways they have signs informing us “Hit a worker $10,000 fine 14 years in jail” so I have to assume before those signs went up the people of Illinois would be driving along going 65 MPH, sees a worker in the road up ahead and figures that he can't be bothered to slow down or move over, so he just hits him and moves on. Thus the state figured it had to put up those signs to give the people a reason to slow down or move over, since obviously the idea of hitting a guy going 65 MPH wasn't deterrent enough. Also, for some reason the people of Illinois seem to really like paying tolls, since most of the roads you have to pay to get on, and then after a while you have to pay again for the privilege of staying on the road, then a few miles more you once again have to pay for the privilege.
One last observation I've made is that compared to most other states (well, at least the ones I've been to) Washington state rest areas suck, every state but Montana has considerably nicer rest areas than we do. On the other hand, or interstates seem to be in much better shape than most of those other states, so I guess it's a fair trade off.
There hasn't been much to report over the past couple of weeks. I only have one week left, so next time I post here I should have my very own truck, so that is quite exciting.
So I figured I would wrap up my observations for the past 6 weeks, observations that I haven't made yet. Over the past 6 weeks I have seen several beautiful sunrises, a few stunning sunsets (I'm usually asleep by the time the sun is setting, so I mainly see the sunrises). I've seen buffalo. I say a bald eagle up close in South Dakota. He was on the shoulder of the free way (alive) and as I approached he took off and so he was parallel with the cab of the truck for a few moments before I passed him.
In my first couple of posts I mentioned how I learned things about the people of the states I passed through simply by staying on the freeway, well I learned something about Illinois recently. Well, the clues were there, but it just recently dawned on me. The people of Illinois are obviously heartless jerks. I say this because up and down all of their freeways they have signs informing us “Hit a worker $10,000 fine 14 years in jail” so I have to assume before those signs went up the people of Illinois would be driving along going 65 MPH, sees a worker in the road up ahead and figures that he can't be bothered to slow down or move over, so he just hits him and moves on. Thus the state figured it had to put up those signs to give the people a reason to slow down or move over, since obviously the idea of hitting a guy going 65 MPH wasn't deterrent enough. Also, for some reason the people of Illinois seem to really like paying tolls, since most of the roads you have to pay to get on, and then after a while you have to pay again for the privilege of staying on the road, then a few miles more you once again have to pay for the privilege.
One last observation I've made is that compared to most other states (well, at least the ones I've been to) Washington state rest areas suck, every state but Montana has considerably nicer rest areas than we do. On the other hand, or interstates seem to be in much better shape than most of those other states, so I guess it's a fair trade off.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Never-ending Winter
This past week almost made me think that winter was over. Almost the entire trip was relatively warm (it was mostly in the 'teens to mid 30's) and we didn't get any snow or ice....until we hit Montana coming home on Saturday. Oh well, maybe winter is almost over then.
The week was fairly uneventful, although I did break my old record for miles driven in a day. Last week I topped off at 616, but this past week I did 619 miles. May not seem like much of an increase, but at least I did a little better.
It's been 4 weeks that I have been out now, and in that time I have learned lots of things and gained a lot of confidence in driving these things. I have of course learned better how to drive the thing, but my favorite things I have learned are new phrases from other truck drivers. My two favorite are “Uglier than a one-eyed opossum”, used to refer to someone who is extremely ugly. The other phrase is “Slicker than greased owl shit”, used to describe road conditions that were slippery.
One other thing that I have learned is how to drive in a car around semi-trucks, and I feel it is my duty to pass on this information along to you. First of all I want to dispel a myth. If you are on either side of a truck, we can see you. I know you are told that we have blind spots along the sides, but we don't. We tell you that because we don't want you next to us, and so that when we turn on our turn signals you panic and give us space because you think we can't see you. Which is my first piece of advice, don't hang out on the side of a truck if at all possible. I know if there is heavy traffic it can't be helped, but most other times it can be. This is for you safety, because it can sometimes be difficult to keep that trailer exactly in our lane, especially in wind (even if it is wind that you don't feel in your car). As for the turn signal, if you see it on, please give us room, either move ahead of us (quickly) or back off. Trucks are generally not swerving in and out of traffic, so if we have our turn signal on it is usually for a good reason, so help us out. Also, to help us out, if you see one of us merging on the freeway, and you are able to, kindly move over to the next lane, or if appropriate speed up. We need a lot of room to merge, and it will take us a while to get up to speed, so give us some space. While I am mentioning speed, when it is off the freeway, driving in towns and such, just keep in mind, we are slow. We speed up slow (I have to go up 5 gears just to get to 25 MPH) and we stop slow, so just be patient. If you are stuck behind a truck and he takes off from a light slowly, he's not doing it to piss you off, he's doing it because of gravity, so just chill out. I could go on, but I think you probably get the idea.
Love you all, and only 3 weeks left until I'm on my own!
The week was fairly uneventful, although I did break my old record for miles driven in a day. Last week I topped off at 616, but this past week I did 619 miles. May not seem like much of an increase, but at least I did a little better.
It's been 4 weeks that I have been out now, and in that time I have learned lots of things and gained a lot of confidence in driving these things. I have of course learned better how to drive the thing, but my favorite things I have learned are new phrases from other truck drivers. My two favorite are “Uglier than a one-eyed opossum”, used to refer to someone who is extremely ugly. The other phrase is “Slicker than greased owl shit”, used to describe road conditions that were slippery.
One other thing that I have learned is how to drive in a car around semi-trucks, and I feel it is my duty to pass on this information along to you. First of all I want to dispel a myth. If you are on either side of a truck, we can see you. I know you are told that we have blind spots along the sides, but we don't. We tell you that because we don't want you next to us, and so that when we turn on our turn signals you panic and give us space because you think we can't see you. Which is my first piece of advice, don't hang out on the side of a truck if at all possible. I know if there is heavy traffic it can't be helped, but most other times it can be. This is for you safety, because it can sometimes be difficult to keep that trailer exactly in our lane, especially in wind (even if it is wind that you don't feel in your car). As for the turn signal, if you see it on, please give us room, either move ahead of us (quickly) or back off. Trucks are generally not swerving in and out of traffic, so if we have our turn signal on it is usually for a good reason, so help us out. Also, to help us out, if you see one of us merging on the freeway, and you are able to, kindly move over to the next lane, or if appropriate speed up. We need a lot of room to merge, and it will take us a while to get up to speed, so give us some space. While I am mentioning speed, when it is off the freeway, driving in towns and such, just keep in mind, we are slow. We speed up slow (I have to go up 5 gears just to get to 25 MPH) and we stop slow, so just be patient. If you are stuck behind a truck and he takes off from a light slowly, he's not doing it to piss you off, he's doing it because of gravity, so just chill out. I could go on, but I think you probably get the idea.
Love you all, and only 3 weeks left until I'm on my own!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
5,500 Safe Miles
In my three weeks out I have driven 5500 miles already, all of them without accidents. I suppose that doesn't sound all that impressive, but it's better than nothing.
This past week we pretty much had all good roads, except for a little bit in Illinois and Indiana, thus I was able to set a new record for miles driven in a day; 616. I averaged a little over 59 miles per hour, and my mentor was quite impressed with that. The most, at least according to Swift, I could do in an 11 hour period is 684, since Swift says you shouldn't be averaging better than 62 miles per hour. Now this may seem odd since we are governed at 65 miles per hour, but you have to remember that just about every hill we have to slow down, also it takes us a while to get up to speed when getting on the freeway, as well as it takes a while to get off the free way. The reason they enforce an average at all is that a lot of drivers will drive by the odometer rather than hours. See, we are limited to driving 11 hours, then we have to take 10 consecutive hours off, but some drivers will drive 600 miles, say it took them 10 hours on their log book (thus averaging 60 MPH) even if it actually took them 12 hours. So the 62 MPH average at least limits how much Swift drivers can cheat on their logs.
While the roads were mostly good this week, it was bloody cold outside. It dropped to zero again in North Dakota, but in Minasota and Wisconsin it dropped to around -17 degrees. Now while these temperatures makes it miserable to leave the truck to go to the bath room or get something to eat, it also makes it a little bit more dangerous too. Apparently Desiel engines don't really like extreme colds like that, and in fact Desiel fuel will actually begin to gel at around -20 degress (which means that the fuel turns into more of a gel than a liquid). To try to prevent this we did add some anti-gelling compound to the fuel tanks, but even then the engines can have lots of problems in such extremem colds. We didn't end up having any, but apparently just this past year my mentor has had his truck break twice in such extreme cold.
Just one last semi-exciting thing that happened. I was driving along at night, the road was kind of windy, I was going along a little slower than the speed limit due to the windy roads when all of a sudden, when I was coming out of a curve there was a deer! Luckily for him he was on the shoulder, but even still it was hard to resist the eurge to swerve the truck to the left to avoid him. Luckily I was able to avoid that. (In case you're wondering, trucks really aren't made for swerving, and at those speeds very likely could have turned the truck over....these things aren't made to do anything quickly, including turning).
Well, that's about it for this week. The route is already starting to get a little boring, really looking forward to getting out on my own and driving other roads. Only 4 weeks left!
This past week we pretty much had all good roads, except for a little bit in Illinois and Indiana, thus I was able to set a new record for miles driven in a day; 616. I averaged a little over 59 miles per hour, and my mentor was quite impressed with that. The most, at least according to Swift, I could do in an 11 hour period is 684, since Swift says you shouldn't be averaging better than 62 miles per hour. Now this may seem odd since we are governed at 65 miles per hour, but you have to remember that just about every hill we have to slow down, also it takes us a while to get up to speed when getting on the freeway, as well as it takes a while to get off the free way. The reason they enforce an average at all is that a lot of drivers will drive by the odometer rather than hours. See, we are limited to driving 11 hours, then we have to take 10 consecutive hours off, but some drivers will drive 600 miles, say it took them 10 hours on their log book (thus averaging 60 MPH) even if it actually took them 12 hours. So the 62 MPH average at least limits how much Swift drivers can cheat on their logs.
While the roads were mostly good this week, it was bloody cold outside. It dropped to zero again in North Dakota, but in Minasota and Wisconsin it dropped to around -17 degrees. Now while these temperatures makes it miserable to leave the truck to go to the bath room or get something to eat, it also makes it a little bit more dangerous too. Apparently Desiel engines don't really like extreme colds like that, and in fact Desiel fuel will actually begin to gel at around -20 degress (which means that the fuel turns into more of a gel than a liquid). To try to prevent this we did add some anti-gelling compound to the fuel tanks, but even then the engines can have lots of problems in such extremem colds. We didn't end up having any, but apparently just this past year my mentor has had his truck break twice in such extreme cold.
Just one last semi-exciting thing that happened. I was driving along at night, the road was kind of windy, I was going along a little slower than the speed limit due to the windy roads when all of a sudden, when I was coming out of a curve there was a deer! Luckily for him he was on the shoulder, but even still it was hard to resist the eurge to swerve the truck to the left to avoid him. Luckily I was able to avoid that. (In case you're wondering, trucks really aren't made for swerving, and at those speeds very likely could have turned the truck over....these things aren't made to do anything quickly, including turning).
Well, that's about it for this week. The route is already starting to get a little boring, really looking forward to getting out on my own and driving other roads. Only 4 weeks left!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
2 Weeks Down, 5 to Go
This past week we did the route we will be doing now for the next five weeks, it is about 4,000 miles total. We take a load from Lewiston, ID to Chicago, IL (well, actually Elwood, but it is close to Chicago). Then we pick up an empty trailer and take it to two different places in Indiana, passing through Indianapolis. We then return to Lewiston, ID (well, actually, he drops me off in Spokane, then he goes to Lewiston). So this past week I added four more states to my list of states I've now been too. Wisconsin, Indiana, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
The weather this week was about the same as last week, some good spots, some bad spots. I half jokingly asked my mentor if there was any extreme weather I haven't experienced yet, other than tornadoes and hurricanes of course. He thought about it for a moment then said, “No, you've pretty much have had it all”. I then added that about the only weather I haven't had yet is a nice sunny warm day, and it's the truth. The one day that it was kind of warm (high 30's mainly) there was quite a bit of wind, so I was having to fight to keep it in my lane the entire time, and at parts there was also heavy rain. Hopefully spring will come one day, although I won't know what to do on a warm sunny day and am liable to drive the truck into a ditch or something.
I know in my last post I mentioned that North Dakota was basically empty outside of the two cities they have. Well I obviously didn't know what I was talking about because South Dakota is even more deserted, and they don't even have any cities of any notable size. It was an incredibly boring drive. The only thing that entertained me through it was reading all the advertisements for attractions there. Some of the more notable ones are the World's only Corn Palace, the World's largest bull's head, Cosmos the mystery spot, where drivers were encouraged to “See it. Feel it. Survive it.” There was also something called Wall Drug. Despite the 150 miles of ads I saw for it, I never could figure out exactly what it is. Judging from the signs they have a dinosaur, cowboys, cowboys on rocket ships, coffee for 5 cents, and “Something for everyone”. Oh, and they also have Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota too.
Well, I'm off to my third week out. Here's hoping it's warmer than last week (the coldest was 0 degrees with a wind chill of about -20, the average high was in the 20's).
The weather this week was about the same as last week, some good spots, some bad spots. I half jokingly asked my mentor if there was any extreme weather I haven't experienced yet, other than tornadoes and hurricanes of course. He thought about it for a moment then said, “No, you've pretty much have had it all”. I then added that about the only weather I haven't had yet is a nice sunny warm day, and it's the truth. The one day that it was kind of warm (high 30's mainly) there was quite a bit of wind, so I was having to fight to keep it in my lane the entire time, and at parts there was also heavy rain. Hopefully spring will come one day, although I won't know what to do on a warm sunny day and am liable to drive the truck into a ditch or something.
I know in my last post I mentioned that North Dakota was basically empty outside of the two cities they have. Well I obviously didn't know what I was talking about because South Dakota is even more deserted, and they don't even have any cities of any notable size. It was an incredibly boring drive. The only thing that entertained me through it was reading all the advertisements for attractions there. Some of the more notable ones are the World's only Corn Palace, the World's largest bull's head, Cosmos the mystery spot, where drivers were encouraged to “See it. Feel it. Survive it.” There was also something called Wall Drug. Despite the 150 miles of ads I saw for it, I never could figure out exactly what it is. Judging from the signs they have a dinosaur, cowboys, cowboys on rocket ships, coffee for 5 cents, and “Something for everyone”. Oh, and they also have Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota too.
Well, I'm off to my third week out. Here's hoping it's warmer than last week (the coldest was 0 degrees with a wind chill of about -20, the average high was in the 20's).
Sunday, February 10, 2008
3 New States
I know I haven't updated this since I left, but I didn't really have time, and I probably won't be able to do it while I'm out with my mentor, but since I'm back every Sunday and Monday, I'll be sure to update it those days, and when I get out on my own, I'll probably be able to update it more.
Anyways, the first week with my mentor went well. We're both still alive, no accidents or other such things. I was wrong on the areas I'll be driving though, we don't stick around the North West at all, we head due East. On this trip, which was shorter than all the other trips we'll be doing since it was my first week and all, we went through Montana, North Dakota and Minasota, and stopped at Mineappolis, dropped off our load, picked up another load and headed back. The weather went back and forth between being fairly nice (but very cold) to being pretty bad (and very cold), although it started to warm up in Western Montana. It was fairly exciting since I had never been to any of those states before, and we also crossed into Mountain and Central Standard time. Next week we'll be going all the way into Eastern Standard time. There was only one truely scary moment, and that was in North Dakota. It was night, and it was snowing a little (the roads were still fine, since it was just a powdery snow), and there was some powder built up in the left lane. I was cruising down the free way when a truck passed me (this happens a lot, since the speed limit for trucks and cars in North Dakota is 75, but Swift trucks are goverened at 65). As the truck passed me all the powdery snow on the ground flew up and completely blinded me. I couldn't see a thing for about 5 seconds. When I could see again I was driving down the middle of the road, instead of my lane. Well I was rather freaked out for a while, but now I know what to do in those situations again, so it was a learning experience.
The drive through those states are kinda boring, with very few cars or anything else, until we got to Minneapolis. As such I tend to think about what I could learn about the people of those states while I was driving down the road. The people of Montana seem to be very fond of gambling, given that every truck stop we stopped at or passed had a casino attachted to it. In North Dakota there are probably about 120 people in the state, out side of the cities of Fargo and Bismarck. I base this on a few things, there were hardly any cars on the road, just trucks passing through, the majority of exits off the free-way said "No Services" meaning there is nothing off those exits, just a road to head either North or South instead of East or West, and finally, outside of the two cities, the roads sucked, they were very bumpy and not well maintained, thus I had to conclude that there were just very few people in the state (the 120 comes from a wild guess). North Dakota wasn't all bad though, I did see a Buffalo, so that was kind of cool. The only real thing I learned about the people of Minasota is that they like their de-icer, which is a good thing, since it is cold there.
I'll try to wrap this up so this post isn't too long...As far as the life style, it is tough, but mainly because my mentor and I are driving more or less like a team, which means that while I drive he sleeps, while he drives I sleep. It will be a much more pleansent life style once I'm on my own, since I'm required to shut down at least 10 hours every day due to DOT regulations. As it is now we don't stop much (which is why I probably won't be updating while I'm out with him). We do try to take a shower about every other day (most truck stops have showers for truckers), and a cool thing I learned was that Swift will actually pay for those showers. You just have to turn in the reciept. At the moment he pays for my shower as well, and Swift reimburses him. In some ways the route we're driving is good, since I am getting quite a bit of experience with winter driving conditions, but on the other hand, I'm not getting all that much experience in good driving conditions, which doesn't matter too much I suppose, it just makes for a more stressful tiring time.
Just a couple other highlights: I got to blow the air horn a few times, which was very exciting. I also talked on the CB once (my mentor doesn't use it all that much, and the CB he has isn't very good, and since we are constantly being passed, it is hard to talk with anyone all that much). After someone calling me and me responding on that thing, I felt like a real trucker.
Hope that answers many of your questions. I'll update next Sunday or Monday.
Anyways, the first week with my mentor went well. We're both still alive, no accidents or other such things. I was wrong on the areas I'll be driving though, we don't stick around the North West at all, we head due East. On this trip, which was shorter than all the other trips we'll be doing since it was my first week and all, we went through Montana, North Dakota and Minasota, and stopped at Mineappolis, dropped off our load, picked up another load and headed back. The weather went back and forth between being fairly nice (but very cold) to being pretty bad (and very cold), although it started to warm up in Western Montana. It was fairly exciting since I had never been to any of those states before, and we also crossed into Mountain and Central Standard time. Next week we'll be going all the way into Eastern Standard time. There was only one truely scary moment, and that was in North Dakota. It was night, and it was snowing a little (the roads were still fine, since it was just a powdery snow), and there was some powder built up in the left lane. I was cruising down the free way when a truck passed me (this happens a lot, since the speed limit for trucks and cars in North Dakota is 75, but Swift trucks are goverened at 65). As the truck passed me all the powdery snow on the ground flew up and completely blinded me. I couldn't see a thing for about 5 seconds. When I could see again I was driving down the middle of the road, instead of my lane. Well I was rather freaked out for a while, but now I know what to do in those situations again, so it was a learning experience.
The drive through those states are kinda boring, with very few cars or anything else, until we got to Minneapolis. As such I tend to think about what I could learn about the people of those states while I was driving down the road. The people of Montana seem to be very fond of gambling, given that every truck stop we stopped at or passed had a casino attachted to it. In North Dakota there are probably about 120 people in the state, out side of the cities of Fargo and Bismarck. I base this on a few things, there were hardly any cars on the road, just trucks passing through, the majority of exits off the free-way said "No Services" meaning there is nothing off those exits, just a road to head either North or South instead of East or West, and finally, outside of the two cities, the roads sucked, they were very bumpy and not well maintained, thus I had to conclude that there were just very few people in the state (the 120 comes from a wild guess). North Dakota wasn't all bad though, I did see a Buffalo, so that was kind of cool. The only real thing I learned about the people of Minasota is that they like their de-icer, which is a good thing, since it is cold there.
I'll try to wrap this up so this post isn't too long...As far as the life style, it is tough, but mainly because my mentor and I are driving more or less like a team, which means that while I drive he sleeps, while he drives I sleep. It will be a much more pleansent life style once I'm on my own, since I'm required to shut down at least 10 hours every day due to DOT regulations. As it is now we don't stop much (which is why I probably won't be updating while I'm out with him). We do try to take a shower about every other day (most truck stops have showers for truckers), and a cool thing I learned was that Swift will actually pay for those showers. You just have to turn in the reciept. At the moment he pays for my shower as well, and Swift reimburses him. In some ways the route we're driving is good, since I am getting quite a bit of experience with winter driving conditions, but on the other hand, I'm not getting all that much experience in good driving conditions, which doesn't matter too much I suppose, it just makes for a more stressful tiring time.
Just a couple other highlights: I got to blow the air horn a few times, which was very exciting. I also talked on the CB once (my mentor doesn't use it all that much, and the CB he has isn't very good, and since we are constantly being passed, it is hard to talk with anyone all that much). After someone calling me and me responding on that thing, I felt like a real trucker.
Hope that answers many of your questions. I'll update next Sunday or Monday.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Home Time
Orientation is over and I made it home. I didn't update while at orientation because I forgot the power pack for my laptop and my battery died quickly.
Anyhoo. Orientation went well. I am now an official employee of Swift Transportation, now when someone asks I can proudly say that I am not unemployed (like I had been for the past month). The shining moment was when they haded me my very own Comdata card. A Comdata card is basically my gas card, as well as an employee card of sorts. I can also have money transfered onto the card and use it like a debit card. Also, assuming I pass my back ground checks, I will be getting a fast pass into Canada. In a few weeks I'll be giving my fingerprints, and I'll have an interview with a customs official.
Although the best thing happened when I got home. I got my permanent Washington State CDL. And on the back is just about the best sentence ever "CDL-A Any vehicle or combination of vehicles except motorcycles" (emphasis added). Now I just have to get my motorcycle endorsement and I can drive anything with wheels (well to honest, I would still have to get a few endorsements for my CDL too). Not that I particularly want to drive a motorcycle, I just think it would be cool to say that I could drive anything with wheels.
The last bit of news is that I head out with my mentor for 6 weeks (although I'll probably be home some during that time) on Tuesday afternoon. I was hoping to head out sooner, but not much I can do about it but wait.
P.S. Also, I now have to start filling out a Driver's Daily Log as per federal law. So, yes, even though I don't get into a truck until Tuesday, I still have to have daily logs from the day I was hired. Exciting stuff.
Anyhoo. Orientation went well. I am now an official employee of Swift Transportation, now when someone asks I can proudly say that I am not unemployed (like I had been for the past month). The shining moment was when they haded me my very own Comdata card. A Comdata card is basically my gas card, as well as an employee card of sorts. I can also have money transfered onto the card and use it like a debit card. Also, assuming I pass my back ground checks, I will be getting a fast pass into Canada. In a few weeks I'll be giving my fingerprints, and I'll have an interview with a customs official.
Although the best thing happened when I got home. I got my permanent Washington State CDL. And on the back is just about the best sentence ever "CDL-A Any vehicle or combination of vehicles except motorcycles" (emphasis added). Now I just have to get my motorcycle endorsement and I can drive anything with wheels (well to honest, I would still have to get a few endorsements for my CDL too). Not that I particularly want to drive a motorcycle, I just think it would be cool to say that I could drive anything with wheels.
The last bit of news is that I head out with my mentor for 6 weeks (although I'll probably be home some during that time) on Tuesday afternoon. I was hoping to head out sooner, but not much I can do about it but wait.
P.S. Also, I now have to start filling out a Driver's Daily Log as per federal law. So, yes, even though I don't get into a truck until Tuesday, I still have to have daily logs from the day I was hired. Exciting stuff.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Just Can't Get Away
Well, I'm back to the wonderful city of Lewiston to become an official trucker now...at least a hired trucker. Swift Orientation starts tomorrow morning and ends at noon on Wednesday.
What can't I get away from? Snow. There was nearly a foot of snow in Spokane, and more falling, when I left this morning. It took nearly 45 minutes just to leave the parking lot (although most of that time was spent putting on my chains just so I could get enough traction on the deep snow). Once I actually got going it wasn't too bad (although it wasn't great). The roads were sort of plowed, although since snow kept falling the roads were never clear. I was going 30-40 most of the time, at least until I got farther south and the roads got better. I helped a guy just outside of Spokane on Highway 195. He had stopped to help someone else, and then his battery was dead, so I gave him a jump. When I got to Colfax I stopped to stretch my legs and I ran into a guy who I gave a lift for about 6 miles, and then jumped his car (someone else, who didn't have cables) gave him a ride to Colfax so he could possibly find some other help). But I finally made it to Lewiston, the city that hardly ever receives snow, or at least if it does it doesn't stick or anything. And what is it doing in this wonderful city? It is snowing quite hard, and sticking to roads, sidewalks, grass, cars, etc. It isn't anywhere as bad as it was in Spokane, or at least yet, but if it keeps it up, it very well may become as bad. It just seems like no matter where I go, there goes snow.
What can't I get away from? Snow. There was nearly a foot of snow in Spokane, and more falling, when I left this morning. It took nearly 45 minutes just to leave the parking lot (although most of that time was spent putting on my chains just so I could get enough traction on the deep snow). Once I actually got going it wasn't too bad (although it wasn't great). The roads were sort of plowed, although since snow kept falling the roads were never clear. I was going 30-40 most of the time, at least until I got farther south and the roads got better. I helped a guy just outside of Spokane on Highway 195. He had stopped to help someone else, and then his battery was dead, so I gave him a jump. When I got to Colfax I stopped to stretch my legs and I ran into a guy who I gave a lift for about 6 miles, and then jumped his car (someone else, who didn't have cables) gave him a ride to Colfax so he could possibly find some other help). But I finally made it to Lewiston, the city that hardly ever receives snow, or at least if it does it doesn't stick or anything. And what is it doing in this wonderful city? It is snowing quite hard, and sticking to roads, sidewalks, grass, cars, etc. It isn't anywhere as bad as it was in Spokane, or at least yet, but if it keeps it up, it very well may become as bad. It just seems like no matter where I go, there goes snow.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The Big Day
Well, today was the big day, where we did the state test for our CDL.....and I passed! Yes, I am now a proud holder of a CDL, although it is still from Washington, so there is still some shame mixed with that pride. I missed 5 points on the road section of the test. You can miss 20 before you fail, so I did pretty good. I was rather nervous, but I didn't make any major mistakes, touched a couple lines I'm not supposed to, and shifted in the middle of a couple of my turns, but I didn't really grind any of my gears, even while down shifting (if you had to do it in one of these trucks, you would understand how hard it really is).
I'm coming home tomorrow, leaving here at noon. I will be returning on Sunday to attend orientation on Monday as an official Swift Truck driver. Here's hoping it all works out.
I'm coming home tomorrow, leaving here at noon. I will be returning on Sunday to attend orientation on Monday as an official Swift Truck driver. Here's hoping it all works out.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Some Excitement Today
So we were sitting in our class room at about 6 in the morning, waiting for the sun to come up as we could get out to the trucks, when we heard and felt this big boom. About a mile away there was this explosion at some place nearby. Not exactly sure what it was, but our instructor called the firefighters as we watched smoke billow up into the sky. Within a few minutes the firefighters were there, along with a few police cars and paramedics. After watching them for a while, and after the sun came up, we continued with our class.
On that front we only have one more day until we test (in case you don't know what day today is, I will be testing on Tuesday), and then leaving this place on Wednesday (due to Idaho education requirements, we have to have a certain amount of time at the school and all, so I can't leave until Wednesday). That is of course assuming that I pass my test on Tuesday. I'm not too worried about it, but something could happen, like running over a curb (instant fail) or something. In which case I would have to retest later in the week. Assuming I pass Tuesday, I will be returning to the wonderful city of Lewiston on Sunday in order to attend Orientation as I officially become a Swift employee, and then shortly after that I will be going out with my mentor. Don't know exactly when I will be going with my mentor, since they don't set it up until they actually know I'll be at the orientation (and have my CDL and all).
Well that is about all, I will update all of you on Tuesday when I know about my test. Other than that this whole schooling thing is pretty much over. So after Tuesday I guess I will continue my updates during orientation, and then after that I will update when I can when I am on the road with my mentor for six weeks (when I'll be able to see and experience the life of a trucker first hand).
On that front we only have one more day until we test (in case you don't know what day today is, I will be testing on Tuesday), and then leaving this place on Wednesday (due to Idaho education requirements, we have to have a certain amount of time at the school and all, so I can't leave until Wednesday). That is of course assuming that I pass my test on Tuesday. I'm not too worried about it, but something could happen, like running over a curb (instant fail) or something. In which case I would have to retest later in the week. Assuming I pass Tuesday, I will be returning to the wonderful city of Lewiston on Sunday in order to attend Orientation as I officially become a Swift employee, and then shortly after that I will be going out with my mentor. Don't know exactly when I will be going with my mentor, since they don't set it up until they actually know I'll be at the orientation (and have my CDL and all).
Well that is about all, I will update all of you on Tuesday when I know about my test. Other than that this whole schooling thing is pretty much over. So after Tuesday I guess I will continue my updates during orientation, and then after that I will update when I can when I am on the road with my mentor for six weeks (when I'll be able to see and experience the life of a trucker first hand).
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
On the Road
So I went on the road in a tractor with a 53' trailer today for the first time. It was scary, especially when the instructor told me to go up a steep curvy hill, and then go back down it. This was after I had been driving for about 30 min. Oh, the road was also narrow, lacked guard rails, and the road on one side went pretty much straight down. It wasn't so bad until the first time he told me to shift up, then shift back down, and I missed the gear and I was grinding and accelerating due to stupid gravity, and the instructor shouted out "If you don't find a gear, we're all gonna die!" He was of course joking, but it was no less stressful. Given the fact that I am writing this, I obviously found the gear and survived. After missing and grinding many gears, and killing the truck 5 times at stop signs and signals (hint: when trying to start, it is important to make sure that the hi/low selector is on low, so that you are in 1st gear, not 5th).
The instructor I have (along with two other people) has about 2 million accident free miles (out of about 2 million miles), is an older gentleman, and enjoys mocking us as we drive down the road. One of his favorites is shouting out "We're gonna die" when we can't find a gear, or asking "Why is your trailer off the road". As I was going down the mountain he would say "Why are you in such a low gear son?" And then when I up shifted he would ask "Don't you think that's too high a gear for this turn?" So I would have to down shift again. And no, down shifting in one of these trucks while going down hill is not easy, it is actually quite difficult. Hence all the grinding of gears. It is even more difficult when you have an old man next to you mocking you and calling you names, which is the point. He wants to make sure you can do it while flustered.
In Other news I lost my room mate. He went home due to health reasons, his cold turned into an infection in his lungs, so he went home yesterday, and will be back soon. While I was sad to see him go, I was glad to have the room to my self, and having the room to myself the rest of my time here....or so I thought. I came home from school to find that I have a new room mate, so I only got it to myself for one day. Oh well.
The instructor I have (along with two other people) has about 2 million accident free miles (out of about 2 million miles), is an older gentleman, and enjoys mocking us as we drive down the road. One of his favorites is shouting out "We're gonna die" when we can't find a gear, or asking "Why is your trailer off the road". As I was going down the mountain he would say "Why are you in such a low gear son?" And then when I up shifted he would ask "Don't you think that's too high a gear for this turn?" So I would have to down shift again. And no, down shifting in one of these trucks while going down hill is not easy, it is actually quite difficult. Hence all the grinding of gears. It is even more difficult when you have an old man next to you mocking you and calling you names, which is the point. He wants to make sure you can do it while flustered.
In Other news I lost my room mate. He went home due to health reasons, his cold turned into an infection in his lungs, so he went home yesterday, and will be back soon. While I was sad to see him go, I was glad to have the room to my self, and having the room to myself the rest of my time here....or so I thought. I came home from school to find that I have a new room mate, so I only got it to myself for one day. Oh well.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Some Bad News...
Yes, this is even worse than becoming a resident of Idaho. After talking and listening with many of the instructors and fellow students I have come to the conclusion that I will probably have to become a redneck in order to actually be a trucker. I know this will be quite a switch for me, but I really have very little choice. I have to fit in, right? So once I start making money I'll be getting an old pick-up truck, at least 25 different guns, a couple dogs to roam around the neighborhood, and some broken down cars to litter my lawn. Oh, I'll probably have to loose a few teeth too, and start buying some chew tobacco so I can start spitting properly too. Other than this disturbing revelation, everything is going about the same. I'm feeling a lot better, although I still have a cough, but that's getting better too. We haven't lost anyone else (yet) although we have our skills test and pre-trip inspection tests Monday and Tuesday, not for our license but for the school, so that they know what we are doing enough to go on the road (which will be happening on Tuesday or Wednesday).
We've met most of the road instructors so far and they all seem pretty good. The least experienced and youngest has over 1 million miles of experience and over a decade of driving. Most of the instructors have 25-30 years of experience and a couple million miles of experience. And, given that we are in Lewiston, a very hilly area, we are going to be getting quite a bit of experience going up and down hills, and most of the instructors apparently like trying to scare us by telling us to go go down these steep hills in neutral, or high gears or something, and then supposedly we will learn how to handle such situations when we're on our own. So hopefully I'll be learning a lot when on the road.
Only a week and a half left (assuming I past all tests and everything, I'll be graduating on the 23rd) before I become a bone fide truck driver....or at least until I get my CDL.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
The Range
I know, it's been a few days since the last update. I was going to post last night but I fell deathly ill last night at went to bed pretty much as soon as I got back from Swift. And no, I'm not the only one who has gotten sick, in fact most of the class has gotten sick so far, so yeah, the past couple of days have sucked.
But on the bright side we got to the range on Tuesday afternoon. What is the range you ask? It is where we get to actually drive the trucks and practice for our skills test, which is part of the driving test for a CDL. Basically the skills include being able to pull forward straight for 100 feet, back up straight for 100 feet, make a right hand turn, and finally an alley dock. I'll admit, I was a little scared the first time I got behind that driver's wheel. It's a big son of a gun. And driving it is quite different than driving a car. First of all, we have a 53 foot trailer behind us that pivots. But that's not the only difference, there are smaller things that take some getting used to also. Such as the clutch and shifting. No, I'm not talking about double clutching, that's what we're learning next week. What I mean is that we don't even have to touch the accelerator (in fact, we're not supposed to) while we shift into 2nd gear, or reverse, or 1st gear or low gear (2nd gear is the highest allowed on the range). Another thing I keep catching myself on is the lack of a rear view mirror. While I'm backing I keep looking up there, only to find nothing. I'm doing pretty well on everything but the alley docking, I am still struggling on that one, but I have time to get that down.
On a more serious note I was informed by one of my class mates (the oldest guy in the group) that Barack Obama (a Democratic candidate for president who came in first in Iowa and second in New Hampshire) is in fact the anti-Christ. How does he know? Well apparently it is found in some prophesy some where. As if being the anti-Christ wasn't enough, Obama also has a father of Arabic descent. I just want to inform you all of this most disturbing of information.
But on the bright side we got to the range on Tuesday afternoon. What is the range you ask? It is where we get to actually drive the trucks and practice for our skills test, which is part of the driving test for a CDL. Basically the skills include being able to pull forward straight for 100 feet, back up straight for 100 feet, make a right hand turn, and finally an alley dock. I'll admit, I was a little scared the first time I got behind that driver's wheel. It's a big son of a gun. And driving it is quite different than driving a car. First of all, we have a 53 foot trailer behind us that pivots. But that's not the only difference, there are smaller things that take some getting used to also. Such as the clutch and shifting. No, I'm not talking about double clutching, that's what we're learning next week. What I mean is that we don't even have to touch the accelerator (in fact, we're not supposed to) while we shift into 2nd gear, or reverse, or 1st gear or low gear (2nd gear is the highest allowed on the range). Another thing I keep catching myself on is the lack of a rear view mirror. While I'm backing I keep looking up there, only to find nothing. I'm doing pretty well on everything but the alley docking, I am still struggling on that one, but I have time to get that down.
On a more serious note I was informed by one of my class mates (the oldest guy in the group) that Barack Obama (a Democratic candidate for president who came in first in Iowa and second in New Hampshire) is in fact the anti-Christ. How does he know? Well apparently it is found in some prophesy some where. As if being the anti-Christ wasn't enough, Obama also has a father of Arabic descent. I just want to inform you all of this most disturbing of information.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Another One Bites the Dust
and no, it wasn't me.
We had our DMV written tests for general knowledge, air brakes, and combinations for our CDL permit. Yes, I passed all three tests. There were two guys who failed one test (by one question) so they are going to have to retake those tests later in the week (although they will be able to go out on the range with us). One guy failed two tests, and he decided that he was going to go home. And then one guy wasn't able to test, since he wasn't doing well enough in the class as a whole (you have to have 80% in the school in order to even test), so he will be staying for another week in the class to try to bring up his grade (although most of the class agrees that he probably won't make it all the way through the school). The rest of us passed, although we did not receive our permits today since there was some connection problem with the federal DMV, and the CDL stuff is all federal.
The rest of the day was spent learning about log books. What are log books you ask? They are apparently one of a truck driver's worst nightmare. There's all of these rules about how much we can drive, how much we can work in a day while still being able to drive, how long our breaks must be, how much we can work in a week, etc. etc. etc. We were also learning, as well as last Friday, about some of the other laws and regulations regarding trucks. It was interesting to learn that any traffic violation is, or can be considered, a misdemeanor, instead of simply a traffic infraction. For instance, if I was caught speeding in my car I could be given a ticket, but not arrested. If I speed in my truck it can be considered a misdemeanor, and I could be given a ticket, but if I "Piss in the officer's Wheaties" (as the cop on the video put it) then he would be in his right to haul me off to jail. And as far as log books go, I basically have to keep a log book for the rest of the time I am working as a trucker, even if I have a week off. And if I get caught with violations on that, depending on the state I am in, I could get thousands of dollars worth of fines, depending on the number of violations. It gets even worse if I am found to have lie on my log (and there are many ways they can find that out, one of which is by GPS, which is in every Swift Truck. I know I have gone on for a while about this, I guess I was just struck by the amount of regulations regarding this industry. The one good point is that apparently most city cops leave trucks alone because they don't know anything about truck regulations, and they know it.
Well, that's about it, tomorrow is more about log books, and we will start learning about our "pre-trip inspection" which means we learn to check the truck and make sure it is safe to drive. And then on Wednesday we actually start driving.
We had our DMV written tests for general knowledge, air brakes, and combinations for our CDL permit. Yes, I passed all three tests. There were two guys who failed one test (by one question) so they are going to have to retake those tests later in the week (although they will be able to go out on the range with us). One guy failed two tests, and he decided that he was going to go home. And then one guy wasn't able to test, since he wasn't doing well enough in the class as a whole (you have to have 80% in the school in order to even test), so he will be staying for another week in the class to try to bring up his grade (although most of the class agrees that he probably won't make it all the way through the school). The rest of us passed, although we did not receive our permits today since there was some connection problem with the federal DMV, and the CDL stuff is all federal.
The rest of the day was spent learning about log books. What are log books you ask? They are apparently one of a truck driver's worst nightmare. There's all of these rules about how much we can drive, how much we can work in a day while still being able to drive, how long our breaks must be, how much we can work in a week, etc. etc. etc. We were also learning, as well as last Friday, about some of the other laws and regulations regarding trucks. It was interesting to learn that any traffic violation is, or can be considered, a misdemeanor, instead of simply a traffic infraction. For instance, if I was caught speeding in my car I could be given a ticket, but not arrested. If I speed in my truck it can be considered a misdemeanor, and I could be given a ticket, but if I "Piss in the officer's Wheaties" (as the cop on the video put it) then he would be in his right to haul me off to jail. And as far as log books go, I basically have to keep a log book for the rest of the time I am working as a trucker, even if I have a week off. And if I get caught with violations on that, depending on the state I am in, I could get thousands of dollars worth of fines, depending on the number of violations. It gets even worse if I am found to have lie on my log (and there are many ways they can find that out, one of which is by GPS, which is in every Swift Truck. I know I have gone on for a while about this, I guess I was just struck by the amount of regulations regarding this industry. The one good point is that apparently most city cops leave trucks alone because they don't know anything about truck regulations, and they know it.
Well, that's about it, tomorrow is more about log books, and we will start learning about our "pre-trip inspection" which means we learn to check the truck and make sure it is safe to drive. And then on Wednesday we actually start driving.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
First Week Over...
Well, it is finally the weekend, which means that I got to sleep in, which amounted to me waking up at 6:30 instead of 3:30, which was great. It also means that I have an entire day in Lewiston to do....something. I've already gone out and explored the city, as well as Clarkston. Nothing much to report on that, although it was nice to see the area in the day light instead of when it is dark (when we leave the hotel it is dark, and by the time we leave school the sun is already setting). So, I figured I would give everyone a better idea of the diverse group that is here going through school.
When I say diverse, I of course mean mainly white (there is only one non-white, my roommate), all but two males, and all straight. But other than that, we are quite diverse. We have a couple of guys from Montana, a couple more from Idaho, a married couple from Missouri, a couple of people from Portland, and a couple of guys from Alaska, and a few people from Spokane. Surprisingly enough I am the only person from Spokane. And then there is of course my roommate from Costa Rica (I know, I said he was from somewhere else in my first post, I made a mistake, my bad). My roommate currently working on getting his citizenship, although it is kind of a long process. Despite all of our differences, we are all supportive of each other, even on the first day.
We heard some good news on Friday, the first two weeks of training (when we are on the road with a mentor) we will be getting an extra $100 a week, so that was nice to hear. Other than that, we are all pretty much trying to study and not get too nervous about our written tests on Monday.
Well, I think that is about all the news I can think of, so I guess I'll sign off and update you all when I know more (such as when I have my CDL permit.....or I fail it)
When I say diverse, I of course mean mainly white (there is only one non-white, my roommate), all but two males, and all straight. But other than that, we are quite diverse. We have a couple of guys from Montana, a couple more from Idaho, a married couple from Missouri, a couple of people from Portland, and a couple of guys from Alaska, and a few people from Spokane. Surprisingly enough I am the only person from Spokane. And then there is of course my roommate from Costa Rica (I know, I said he was from somewhere else in my first post, I made a mistake, my bad). My roommate currently working on getting his citizenship, although it is kind of a long process. Despite all of our differences, we are all supportive of each other, even on the first day.
We heard some good news on Friday, the first two weeks of training (when we are on the road with a mentor) we will be getting an extra $100 a week, so that was nice to hear. Other than that, we are all pretty much trying to study and not get too nervous about our written tests on Monday.
Well, I think that is about all the news I can think of, so I guess I'll sign off and update you all when I know more (such as when I have my CDL permit.....or I fail it)
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Two Days In...
Well, I've only been here two days so far, although it seems like it's been a lot longer than that. In that time I have been physically tested (lifting weights, stretching, etc.) and poked and prodded by a doctor, and perhaps most significant (and sad) is that I am no longer a resident on the great state of Washington, no, I am now a resident of the "great" state of Idaho. The reason for this abomination is that since the school is in Idaho, I will be getting my CDL in Idaho, and in order to do that I have to be a resident, and have a driver's license from Idaho. So, we all had to take a written test this morning at the DMV, and now in my wallet is a driver's license from Idaho, instead of Washington. I look forward to going back home and getting my good ol' Washington license back (With CDL endorsement of course). Other than that everything is going well, there are 15 people left. We started with 19 on Wednesday, but lost two due to health reasons on their physical tests, and then we lost one due to a family emergency at home, and another one who decided that this whole thing was not for them. So hopefully we will slow down this rapid decrease in people. We will be taking writing tests for or CDL on Monday, in order to get our permits so that we can start driving the tractor (trucker speak for the cab with the engine)
Getting up at 3:30 AM and staying in class until 4 PM is getting a little old, but at least we get to sleep some on the weekend (while we study).
That's about it for now, hope all is going well with everyone!
Getting up at 3:30 AM and staying in class until 4 PM is getting a little old, but at least we get to sleep some on the weekend (while we study).
That's about it for now, hope all is going well with everyone!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Well, I made it..
I know, two posts in one day, but I thought I would just do a quick little update. I made it to Lewiston at about 4 PM today, checked in and made it to my room. The hotel is fairly nice. It's not fancy or anything by any means, it's sort of like a Super 8 or something, clean and comfortable enough. I do have a room mate, although we have seperate beds. He is from Porto Rico, and told me his life story within the first hour of meeting him. Should be a fun 3 weeks. Well, probably should be off, school starts at 5 AM tomorrow.
It Begins
Well, the day has finally arrived. This afternoon (Tuesday, January 1st) I will be driving to Lewiston, Idaho to check into the hotel, and then I start Swift Academy tomorrow morning at 5 AM. Despite all of my reading and researching, I am still not completely sure what to expect. My emotions are ranging from excitement to nervousness, but I guess I don't have a lot of choice but to hope it all works out.
So this is the first entry on this blog, hopefully I will be keeping this thing fairly up to date about my goings ons, just so that I don't have to try to maintain e-mail or phone conversations with everyone to keep them up to date, not that I don't want to talk to you individually, this just seems an easier way, at least for the big stuff. I don't know how often I will be updating this thing, but probably once to twice a week...maybe.
Well, that's about it for all, so I guess I will leave you with the imortal words of truckers everywhere "Keep on Trucking".
So this is the first entry on this blog, hopefully I will be keeping this thing fairly up to date about my goings ons, just so that I don't have to try to maintain e-mail or phone conversations with everyone to keep them up to date, not that I don't want to talk to you individually, this just seems an easier way, at least for the big stuff. I don't know how often I will be updating this thing, but probably once to twice a week...maybe.
Well, that's about it for all, so I guess I will leave you with the imortal words of truckers everywhere "Keep on Trucking".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)