TruckAbout Reia: Oppps.......Mom called!

Good evening virtual truckers!

It was brought to my attention that I have not blogged in a couple of days. Yes, my mother called me! I do have some new news and old news. I will start with the new news as it makes me feel good!

First and foremost, when I called my SDM Monday morning regarding lack of trainer, she told me that she received an email from the fleet team stating that I handled myself extremely well and professionally while in lock up with Cancer. So my correspondence between myself and the fleet manager not only left a paper trail but attention to me as Jeff’s history is well noted in the system. They are all surprised I lasted as long as I did so there is only one question on my mind……why is he still here then????

Secondly, Brian was here Saturday! He was in between loads and decided to stay on the compound instead of the truck stop….crazy man! He is working on his way home and on his patience as it might be a couple of weeks. He, Kel and I visited for quite awhile including visiting his new home on wheels. I felt quite spoiled by the trucks I have been driving as he is in an older model, seats like concrete blocks and over 700,000 miles on the engine. He still is unsure if this is the life for him and will consider his options when he is home on leave. It was nice to see a face from home, even from that cocky cowboy!

UPDATE…I called Brian today and he is on his way to Montana and quite happy as it means he should be home soon.

Thirdly, Jim was here today! His terminal is only 1.5 miles away and I ran there this morning to see him. We had a great day of catching up and Kel joined us for lunch (his trainer arrived today). He is enjoying his time so far and ready to continue for the long haul. He is still amazed with the type of individuals he meets while on the road (I previously brought up this topic earlier in the blog) and expects to have his own truck in a week or two depending on his home time. He has a son joining the military and hopes to be home before the 4^th to say his goodbyes.

Kel surprised us by calling Donna at Check Ride so we could all say HI and I did the same by calling Brian so he could catch up with Jim. After lunch, we just sat in the shade back on the compound and just talked. It was a wonderful afternoon! I walked with him passed the truck stops that are in front of the compound when it was time for him to return to his and we both saw another working class at work, boys attempting to sell items out of large bags and girls selling what you could not find in a bag. My and Jim’s first encounter of the rats and lizards that work in the lots!

Lastly, there are four females (the only female students on the compound) waiting on trainers here. We have seen so many men leave with trainers and at roll call, we just shrug our shoulders as we know, our names won’t have a trainer’s name attached. There was a little good news, one of the four women finally received a trainer and she has been here 14 days, fresh from school and has yet been behind a company truck. Now….there is three!

I need to be proactive and seek a manager here to talk to tomorrow about our situation. The gentleman who does the morning safety roll call tells us to contact our SDM daily regarding our situation. I called him out on it this morning as there is nothing the SDM can do as it is the planning department that coordinates the student/trainers. As a matter of fact, the SDM does not even note in the system that you called! So many departments and none of them seem to work together at all.

We should have a nice run in the morning as a storm is passing through being vocal and electrifying while quenching a very thirsty Dallas. Grab your sweats! This idle time is starting to show in certain places ;)