Smelly Eggs

Who knew eggs smelled? We ran to Dows, Iowa today to pick up a trailer full of eggs ... the smell of county living is not for everyone!

Catching some zzzzzzz

After this Wednesday I should be moved out of the house and sleeping full time in the tractor. The sleeping arrangements are not that bad ... I can drive into town Wednesday morning to get some things done and then see the kid later that day. Life is good.

My mentor has trouble sleeping in the tractor when it is moving. I told him I did not feel comfortable driving as a team unless he was able to catch some sleep during our trips. He plans on sleeping tomorrow when I drive. I hope he does ... I would feel better about it.

Truck Stop

My mentor suggested we break at a truck stop ... first time since I have known him to make that suggestion. He walked in with me too ... not sure he is feeling ok.

It is Cold Outside!!!

The weather turned quickly around here but never became an issue ... we expected the worse and was happy to see our fears did not materialize. Feeling blessed!

Things to do!

I have a pretty good list of things to do (like getting HazMat endorsement, making sure the kid and I see make an eye appointment this summer, etc) but I realized I need to add letting "ALL" my friends know about my career change ... for that I am sorry. I have been so busy I failed to let them know ... trust me nothing personal, I am just not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree.

Northern Lights

I spoke to a friend of mine that is based out of Wisconsin about Canadian runs ... he will look into it for me and I appreciate it ... I have done some research down here but I am limited ... plus he has a great personality and will be able to dig up the right contacts.

Look forward to northern lights.

Running as a Team Now

We are running as a team now ... the first phase of this training period ended yesterday ... drove for 7 hours and worked over 12 hours ... it was a good day.

Bad Weather Headed this Way

Several weather reports have us dealing with a rain/snow mix ... the worst type to drive in! Got our preplan and it looks like we will stay in Missouri today ... we are headed on a lot of short routes (Columbia) ... hope the roads are dry and safe.

MU Advances ... KU Nation Cries

MU advances in the dance which is great news for people around here ... never seen them so excited. But KU fans have no sense of humor ... relax kids, it is a just a game.

I am happy to see the Big 12 make a strong showing in the tournament ... a lot of strong teams came from this conference.

Go Tigers!!!

And she did not move ...

Got some positive feedback from my mentor yesterday ... he is eager to drive as a team and rack up some miles. He did provide some constructive feedback too ... like staying in the far edge of the lane when hitting curves ... he admitted my tires never left the pavement and stayed within the lines but he would like to see me stay away from the edge, he is right and the comments were appreciated.

He did say I was very good on safety issues which makes him feel more comfortable. Yesterday we made a tight left turn into a narrow side street ... I needed all my lane and a portion of the left turning lane to make this turn ... a lady had set up in the left turn lane and did not move ... since I was already committed to making the turn I went as far as I could and then stopped with my back trailer tires 5 feet from the front of her car ... she got the idea and backed up ... I was not going to run her over but I needed her to move too. Silly girl.

Tight space

Backed in one of the tightest spaces yet ... I am sure there are tighter areas to back into but this one was the tightest space I tired ... we did have to stop traffic so I could set up for the blind side 90 ... no damage and everything went smooth. Nice to know you can get in and out of tight areas quickly!!!!

This job is going to work out

I believe this job will work out. I was frustrated in the last job (did not like the direction the company was going in last year) and need a change of pace ... I think I found something I can be happy with for some time to come. Once I am debt free, I should be able to make my tractor feel like home (like satellite radio, satellite tv, mini refg, etc etc etc).

Weather is getting bad

Weather is getting bad in some parts of the US ... we should see some snow or freezing rain.

Bad Weather, Safety, Lane Changes, and Truck Stops

like my mentor ... he is good people but he did scare the ______ out of me! Last night a storm rolled in forcing us to stop and wait it out ... after the winds died down and the rain lighten up we both agreed to move on, that is when he drove though a second wave of hail, high winds, and heavy rain doing 60 mph ... the worst part was we were empty making us very light. I know he wanted to get to the dock early but we had 1.5 hours to meet a deadline and only had to travel 30 - 40 minutes to get there ... I am a wussy but I would have loved to see him slow down a bit when we hit that second wave. I told him safety was a concern of mine, I think he got my point.

Lane Changes

My mentor loves to change lanes ... if he sees a car, person, RV, cop, or a piece of trash on the side of the rode he will change lanes. I told him that changing lanes increases the chance I will hit something and I feel more comfortable staying in one lane ... after a short dialog he realized I was not going to budge.

Truck Stop

My current mentor does not like to pull into truck stops ... hell that is part of being a trucker!!! He prefers to find a small rest area and sleep out his required down time. I am missing out on a waitress named "Flo" serving me eggs/bacon/hash browns/burnt toast and listening to bad trucker stories!!!

So far I have slept at a Walmart, Rest Area, and the terminal. The only truck stop we pulled into was one I stopped at and he did not get out of the truck. I like the guy but he is not your typical trucker.

America Runs on Eggs!!!

I had no idea how many eggs are delivered on a daily basis. I run a reefer truck (that is a truck with climate control units for produce and frozen goods) and we are always loaded with eggs. Who knew?

Take a Hike!

Got some exercise in today ... not much but it was a nice day to go walking around. We stopped in Jacksonville, IL ... I love the small town people ... one old lady thanked me multiple times for opening a door for her, to sweet!

8.3 MPG

So far 8.3 miles per gallon is the best I can do ... not sure if that figure is based on my driving or total driving up to this point. I might try to reset that number and see what I come up with.

Edit: I got 8.9 mpg in the last two days ... the 8.3 included previous miles driven. Typical tractor gets 6-7 mpg so almost 9 mpg is good.

Show Me State

With this mentor we have a 4 state region we travel ... Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. I drove the state of Missouri today ... from south (Salem, Mo) to north (Kirksville, Mo) and a few stops in between. Yesterday was a long day but I feel refreshed ... we met at 8:00, hit the road around 10:30, and came back at midnight ... long day but all is good.

EDIT: We also travel to Iowa and Wisconsin.

Less then $5 a Day

I was able to eat 4 meals (sandwiches) plus snacks (sunflower seeds) for $5 yesterday ... I had budget $20 a day for food, shower and misc so I am way ahead of my projected expenses ... wonder how long that will last?

I brought Vitamins to help out. Now I need to find a way to exercise more.

2007 Volvo

The newer Volvo's are nice ... I drove and slept in one yesterday and it was comfortable. Easy ride and the sleeper is not that bad. Life is good.

Mentor

My current mentor is good people. I am sure in 6 weeks we will drive each nuts but for now I am happy with the set up ... I could have gotten the Smelly Truck Driver Guy!!!! He is a clean freak so I hope I don't do something that drive him nuts.

Found One

They found a mentor for me ... that is great news since I had a female driver approach me last week willing to training me for OTR ... glad that part is over. The only draw back of the mentor they offered me is the limited area in which he travels ... but he seems like a nice guy and in the end it should work out.

Moose Meat Anyone?

Swift is looking for people to travel in and out of Canada ... I would love to cross the border ... I am going to set things in motion and see what happens.

My Mother is a Sexist

When I told her that my mentor could be a female she had a classic old school reaction ... I guess the girls can't each the boys ... it was funny, my mother is a sexist!!!

Feeling Better

The meds have helped out a lot ... I went from barely able to breathe to feeling close to 100% ... gives you a better appreciation for the simple things in life.

No Mentor Yet

I don't have a mentor yet but they did assign me a local driver so I can start my road training. Looking forward to an OTR Driver so I can see the country.

No mentor yet ... that might be a good thing!

Finished orientation and ready to hit the road ... during orientation management told the class everyone had a mentor and would be on the road Wednesday night or Thursday morning ... but a few of us were left waiting for our mentors (mine was located in California). It is no-one's fault ... our driver manager quit last week leaving Swift short staffed ... they were (and still are) scrambling to get us on the road.

The game plan is for me to drive locally until an Over The Road (OTR) mentor is available ... that might be a good thing ... I know the streets in this area very well and it would allow me to focus on driving. You have have to be aware of 25 different variables while you drive a truck (like weather, road conditions, construction, traffic patterns, the four wheeled drivers, gauges, height/weight restrictions, state laws, fuel, time constraints, proper paper work, etc etc etc)

Received my Company Card

I have a company debit card for fueling and misc ... it is crazy the amount of money they spend on diesel ... a truck can hold 250 gallons of fuel and has the range of 1,700 miles. That gets expensive when you fill it up a few times a week.

Doms is a Four Wheeler

Doms passed her driver's road test today ... she is now a four wheeler!

No Doggies Allowed!

Swift changed a rule that banned pets from their trucks ... I guess the expense to clean the trucks was a little high. The truckers that already had pets get to keep their doggies.

Looks like I will hit the road this week

Started my orientation started today ... everything went well ... little worried about the drug test because of the meds the doctor has me on but another guy has the same concern about the same meds.

Hit the Road Jack

It now looks like we will hit the road this week. Multiple sources told the group that mentors have been lined up and we should be ready to hit the road Wednesday night or Thursday morning. This is great news ... I heard horror stories about waiting weeks for a mentor ... it appears those stories are not true.

He is good people

In the past few weeks I have made a few good friends ... stories have circulated about who passed and failed or which ones have struggled ... most of the failures did not come as a surprise (received text from one of them that failed today) ... then I got a call from a close friend that failed his road test (needed for his CDL) ... it turns out a yellow grand am pulled out in front of him during his test, but because he was forced (and the other car was forced) to make a move to avoid hitting each other he received an automatic fail.

The worst part about this automatic fail is he can not take the test for another seven days ... which means he will miss a bi-weekly orientation, he was scheduled for one this Monday. He was a roommate of mine in Tenn so I know all about his family and his struggles/challenges ... we both are looking to get behind the wheel and make some money ... there is not a more likeable guy at there, you can't help but pull for him.

No question he will do will in this field ... he just got unlucky. I think I am more pissed off then he is!!!

Good luck bud.


I am getting better

To my suprise I am feeling better. The meds are working ... I still need rest but I can breathe and preform simple tasks now ... before I could not walk across the room without getting winded. Looking forward to 100% recovery!!!

2 Days of Bed Rest .... Yea Me

I have been feeling under the weather (on and off) for 3 weeks now ... normally it is because I hang around heavy smokers and once I get a few hours of clean air I feel better, not this time. It got bad enough that I went to see a doctor, he tested for Strep Throat and Bronchitis ... I have both, I knew something was kicking my butt!

He ordered a few meds and suggested I get 2 days of bed rest ... which sucks because this is the weekend I have my daughter ... I miss that kid, she is good people. I called her and told her what was going on ... she understood but sounded disappointed too.

Off to bed ...

I forgot to mention ...

A couple of things I forgot to mention in past posts ...

Quitters Quit

One of the odd characters in Tenn mentioned he planned on quitting after the 7-8th day ... it pissed me off ... I confronted him about quitting, personally I did not care one way or the other but I did not want someone around that took time away from others ... I told him I wished him luck with either choice but if he planned on quitting to do it soon so he did not waste anyone else's time ... he did not mention quitting again.

I should keep my Mouth Shut

I have a habit of opening my trap when I should keep it shut. The last job I had I pulled the owner and his son into a meeting to talk about the lack of quality I have seen in the past couple of months ... I expected to talk about solutions but the owner's son changed the subject to hurt feelings ... it is their company, maybe feeling good is better then doing a good job? Clearly that was their take ... at least they were good for a laugh or two.

Looking forward to running solo

I am looking forward to getting out there on my own. A lot of good people have wished me luck and offered their assistance ... I appreciate the well wishes. Surprising enough the owner's son has yet to say one word to me ... I am sure I hurt his feelings more then once, it was nothing personal bud.

She kicked my butt

My brother bought a Wii ... I matched bowling skills with Doms and she kicked my butt!!! In fact my dad had a better score ... I am seeking a rematch to make things right ... I can't leave on that note.

I did out box my brother ... talk about a work out!!! Try three 3 minute rounds of shadow boxing ... tell me you will not get a little winded.

Passport and Endorsements

Now that I have my CDL I need to get my Passport (Canada and Mexico) and Endorsements (Hazmat, Tanker, Doubles, etc) ... the studying never ends! : )

Got my Passport photo taken ... I have yet to take a good picture!!! I plan on sending in my application this week for processing.

I might wait on the Hazmat endorsement ... it cost a little more then I thought ... I have 4-6 weeks before I am solo anyway ... I will wait until then.

Owner / Operator

Owning your truck looks very profitable (unless the truck breaks down) ... I have been asking a lot of questions involving ownership and so far I like the answers ... it will be 6-7 months before I seriously revisit this subject but making 120+ grand year (netting 75+ grand) sounds good to me.