Friday, February 27, 2009
End of Phase II
I now have a Class A license ... glad that is over. We are scheduled for processing on March 9th ... looking forward to the next phase ... bring on the road!!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
CDL Road Test Tomorrow
I have a CDL road test tomorrow at 9:00am ... I should know the results by 11:00am ... I am a little nervous but I should pass.
Three Strikes and you are out!
A student failed to pass his CDL three times in a two week period ... now he has to pay a 3rd party roughly $400 to rent a truck just so he can try again ... he is a nice guy, I wish him luck.
Three Strikes and you are out!
A student failed to pass his CDL three times in a two week period ... now he has to pay a 3rd party roughly $400 to rent a truck just so he can try again ... he is a nice guy, I wish him luck.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Day One of Five
First day of my road training in Edwardsville, Ks went by fast ... I quickly realized I have a lot more to learn ... my training in Millington, Tn was only a starting point. It was a little overwhelming at first but I got the hang of it by the end of the day ... need to improve tho ... I have a CDL test scheduled for Friday.
Need to pass the CDL to make sure I catch the next orientation scheduled for March 9th.
Edwardsville Terminal
Got a small tour of the Edwardsville terminal ... tv area, cafe, game room, showers, etc ...
Need to pass the CDL to make sure I catch the next orientation scheduled for March 9th.
Edwardsville Terminal
Got a small tour of the Edwardsville terminal ... tv area, cafe, game room, showers, etc ...
Sunday, February 22, 2009
At home and rested
I passed all my testing in Millington, Tn ... still need to work on my shifting tho. Next phase is training in Edwardsville, KS for the next five days ... looking forward to it ... I need my monkey butt on the road!
Memphis/Millington, Tn
Left a lot of good people behind ... roommates were great, I enjoyed the trainer I had (straight shooting cowboy), and classmates were a solid group of people. Some stayed for another week of training ... most of them will move on ... some are realizing trucking might not be for them.
Rested and Relaxed
I was sick for most of the time in Tenn ... a few students were not in the best health and I caught what they had ... VERY happy to be home to get some rest and get healthy again ... I feel better already, other than a slight sinus issue, I feel fine!
Memphis/Millington, Tn
Left a lot of good people behind ... roommates were great, I enjoyed the trainer I had (straight shooting cowboy), and classmates were a solid group of people. Some stayed for another week of training ... most of them will move on ... some are realizing trucking might not be for them.
Rested and Relaxed
I was sick for most of the time in Tenn ... a few students were not in the best health and I caught what they had ... VERY happy to be home to get some rest and get healthy again ... I feel better already, other than a slight sinus issue, I feel fine!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
On a lighter note
Something always happens ... here is a sample of what has happened the past couple of days.
He kicked his own butt!!!
One of our odd characters broke his nose against the truck's mirror ... the truck was NOT moving ... but somehow he managed to break his nose against a non-moving object ... go figure!
He Called me a Prick and then Changed the Answers to my Test
Another odd character managed to change my test after he requested to see the answers ... I had no issue letting him review my test since it was open book but he got a little nasty when I took my test back after he had 5 minutes to review it ... I laughed at him but we both know he was upset ... then when I sat back down he asked for it again ... no problems until he noticed differences between our tests ... he corrected one test and then thanked me ... I quickly noticed he changed my test and that is when I gave him my "Don't screw me over buddy!" speech.
I was polite but he got the message ... some people's kids!
Newbie is lost
A shuttle takes most of the students to class ... but some of us drive to class (it is only 3 miles round trip). I needed to go to Walmart one morning to get some meds for this cold I have ... I drove by a bunch of students waiting on the shuttle ... one student asked what I was doing and decided to go with me ... before I knew it another student was sitting in the back seat ... he was from Africa so his accent was thick ... I asked him if he needed a ride and told him we were stopping by Walmart first ... he liked the idea and off we go ... we quickly realized he needed to go to Memphis for his testing and was at the wrong hotel ... I told him I would drop him off once we finished with Walmart ... as soon as we arrived at Walmart I lost him ... no where to be found ... I told the other student he has 3 minutes and then we leave ... sure enough at 2.5 minutes he comes around the corner with a hand full of goodies ... I told him we needed to go so he could catch the bus to Memphis for the testing he was late too ... to this day I don't think he understood what was going on.
Chicken Sounds GREAT!!!!
Feeling a little under the weather but wanting to do something special to celebrate the high test scores I went to KFC for diner ... order a 3 piece diner and took it the to apartment ... the third piece was one piece to many ... at midnight it found its way out of the stomach the same way it came in ... my roommates love me I am sure!
He kicked his own butt!!!
One of our odd characters broke his nose against the truck's mirror ... the truck was NOT moving ... but somehow he managed to break his nose against a non-moving object ... go figure!
He Called me a Prick and then Changed the Answers to my Test
Another odd character managed to change my test after he requested to see the answers ... I had no issue letting him review my test since it was open book but he got a little nasty when I took my test back after he had 5 minutes to review it ... I laughed at him but we both know he was upset ... then when I sat back down he asked for it again ... no problems until he noticed differences between our tests ... he corrected one test and then thanked me ... I quickly noticed he changed my test and that is when I gave him my "Don't screw me over buddy!" speech.
I was polite but he got the message ... some people's kids!
Newbie is lost
A shuttle takes most of the students to class ... but some of us drive to class (it is only 3 miles round trip). I needed to go to Walmart one morning to get some meds for this cold I have ... I drove by a bunch of students waiting on the shuttle ... one student asked what I was doing and decided to go with me ... before I knew it another student was sitting in the back seat ... he was from Africa so his accent was thick ... I asked him if he needed a ride and told him we were stopping by Walmart first ... he liked the idea and off we go ... we quickly realized he needed to go to Memphis for his testing and was at the wrong hotel ... I told him I would drop him off once we finished with Walmart ... as soon as we arrived at Walmart I lost him ... no where to be found ... I told the other student he has 3 minutes and then we leave ... sure enough at 2.5 minutes he comes around the corner with a hand full of goodies ... I told him we needed to go so he could catch the bus to Memphis for the testing he was late too ... to this day I don't think he understood what was going on.
Chicken Sounds GREAT!!!!
Feeling a little under the weather but wanting to do something special to celebrate the high test scores I went to KFC for diner ... order a 3 piece diner and took it the to apartment ... the third piece was one piece to many ... at midnight it found its way out of the stomach the same way it came in ... my roommates love me I am sure!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Test Results and ...
We got our tests results back and I had gotten 99% on Tuesday and 95% on Saturday ... it averaged 97% for all the tests ... I needed 80% to pass. No more class room studies ... the rest is range and road work ... thank God for that.
Still Sick
I am still under the weather ... I can't shake this bug ... to many roommates that are sick so I think we are passing it around ... fun stuff.
Still Sick
I am still under the weather ... I can't shake this bug ... to many roommates that are sick so I think we are passing it around ... fun stuff.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Under the Weather
I woke one morning feeling GREAT but my roommates were under the weather ... now I am feeling a little sick ... to many people under the same roof so I am not surprised. I have slight aches and pains ... plus I have lost some of my lunch but I think I will be ok ... I got some vitamin C ... lets hope that does the job!
End of First Week
Trainers are good but they have little time for the new recruits. We were told that they will spend 20% of their time with us this week and 80% next week ... a little nervous I am not getting enough time in the truck but I am sure it will all work out.
The week went fast. Loads of good people but there are a few characters. They have no clue this is also a job interview too ... some people's kids.
One guy broke his nose inspecting his truck. Still not sure how he did it but it is not pretty.
Testing this Sunday and Monday. So far the tests have been easy enough ... looking forward to finishing the training and hitting the road.
Doms Birthday
I will miss Doms b-day today ... I wish I was there to help her celebrate ... she is good people tho and understands ... love that kid!
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday
End of First Week
Trainers are good but they have little time for the new recruits. We were told that they will spend 20% of their time with us this week and 80% next week ... a little nervous I am not getting enough time in the truck but I am sure it will all work out.
The week went fast. Loads of good people but there are a few characters. They have no clue this is also a job interview too ... some people's kids.
One guy broke his nose inspecting his truck. Still not sure how he did it but it is not pretty.
Testing this Sunday and Monday. So far the tests have been easy enough ... looking forward to finishing the training and hitting the road.
Doms Birthday
I will miss Doms b-day today ... I wish I was there to help her celebrate ... she is good people tho and understands ... love that kid!
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday
Tests today .... I am sure I passed everyone tho ... no worries there.
Still under the weather but a lot better then a few nights ago ... I think the Vitamin C helped!!
Had an 8 hour class today ... tomorrow will be 12 hours ... then back out on the range.
Still under the weather but a lot better then a few nights ago ... I think the Vitamin C helped!!
Had an 8 hour class today ... tomorrow will be 12 hours ... then back out on the range.
Monday, February 9, 2009
My Schedule for the next couple of weeks
Swift's training schedule has me coming home Saturday night on the 21th ... so I should be available for diner on the 22th ... it would be fun to catch up.
Tests ... tests ... and tests
We are taking tests now ... overloaded with info ... not one thing seems to tough to handle but the information is thrown your way at a quick pace. We have seen a few people leave the program already for failing to pass the tests.
One Double Clutching Shifting .....
Hitting the range tomorrow. The schedule will slow down a little and we can study for the next set of tests coming this Sunday. Looking forward to it!
Weather
The weather started nice with 70 degree over cast but it started to rain ... what are you going to do?
See you Feb 22
Alright I am going to study and sleep ... see you soon.
Tests ... tests ... and tests
We are taking tests now ... overloaded with info ... not one thing seems to tough to handle but the information is thrown your way at a quick pace. We have seen a few people leave the program already for failing to pass the tests.
One Double Clutching Shifting .....
Hitting the range tomorrow. The schedule will slow down a little and we can study for the next set of tests coming this Sunday. Looking forward to it!
Weather
The weather started nice with 70 degree over cast but it started to rain ... what are you going to do?
See you Feb 22
Alright I am going to study and sleep ... see you soon.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
I Arrived in Tenn
I arrived in Tenn around 10:30pm with no issues ... hotel room is nice ... so far I have the room to myself (we will see how long that lasts) ... a traveling musical group is staying at the hotel (who knew fish could sing?) but if they keep singing all night long I might lose one of my boots up one of their _____ ; )
Arkansas Roads - Son of a _____
Up and down ... side to side ... blind curve here ... blind curve there. Who designed these roads? Stevie Wonder?
Calling it a Night
Going to shower and call it a night.
Arkansas Roads - Son of a _____
Up and down ... side to side ... blind curve here ... blind curve there. Who designed these roads? Stevie Wonder?
Calling it a Night
Going to shower and call it a night.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Ready ... Set ...
Got a call from my recruiter ... everything appears to be lined up and ready to go. Looking forward to it. I have been in contact with a few Swift drivers too ... 80% of them have positive things to say about the company ... one contact is in training now, he loves it ... he said the first few days are challenging but he is enjoying the experience.
Holiday Inn - Memphis, Tn
I am staying at the Holiday Inn in Memphis, Tn.
Holiday Inn - Memphis, Tn
I am staying at the Holiday Inn in Memphis, Tn.
MEMPHIS-INTL AIRPORT
2240 DEMOCRAT RD.
MEMPHIS, TN 38132
Hotel Front Desk:
1-901-3321130
Hotel Fax:
1-901-3985206
2240 DEMOCRAT RD.
MEMPHIS, TN 38132
Hotel Front Desk:
1-901-3321130
Hotel Fax:
1-901-3985206
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