Lunch at McDonalds!

And you all know what that means......free web!  We are taking a 15 minute break so here are my notes for the past two days :)

It is 6:39 PM and I am sitting at Frye’s terminal waiting to be unloaded.  My day is not over yet and I feel beaten with a wet broom!  We have been in Arizona all day, picking up, dropping, loading, unloading and after being in this truck since 9:15 AM, I have only driven 113 miles!  At 26 cents a mile, I am broke!

Let me tell you about my new trainer, Marie.  She called me last night letting me know that she would be picking me up at 8 AM.  She calls me at 7 AM, wanting to know if I was ready!  By 7:30, I was behind the wheel of a 2011 Freightliner.  It is huge!  Marie is a country woman, well dressed, well spoken, and a non smoker!  It was a long day, a few gear grindings (ok, A LOT) but some great backups and pats on the back.  She loves my wide turns and I love that she lets me drive, and fix my own mistakes.  We even went for a quick jog together while waiting for a load earlier today.  She is a KEEPER! 

We stopped at Walmart, the trucker’s store of choice, and I am stocked for few days.  Our bags are unpacked, food is stored and my log is completed for now.  Marie is currently taking a nap as I can’t drive after midnight and I think we will be on our way to Kansas.  Now where is Dorothy and her red shoes?  I don’t know when I will be posting on the web again so I will keep this little diary going until I do.  Off to relax…….we should be empty soon.

3/5/11

Good morning crew!  We are currently 15 miles south of Flagstaff on our way to Kansas City.  I crashed around 1 AM our time and Marie was up at 4:45 to start driving.  I was pleasantly surprised just how comfortable the sleeper was, especially while on the road, I slept until 7 AM. 

I made my first cup of coffee with my hiking equipment!  I am glad I brought most of my gear as I paid good money for it for my walkabout, and it was only fitting and convenient for long haul trucking.  I have seen fellow drivers with four to five bags…….how can you manager all that stuff???  I had drivers look at me with big eyes as if I have lost my mind.  I am organized!

Time to grab an apple for my breakfast and enjoy the view because we will be behind the wheel around noon.  No interesting stories or jokes………..but I am just getting started!

No pictures for now........speed here is terrible!

Where is my swimsuit???

Good morning fellow trucker trainees!  I guess you can say that we did not pass the pre-trip inspection.  Mark was here to pick us up at 7 AM, we arrived at the terminal at 7:20 AM, finished our pre-trip inspection by 7:35 AM, and were ready to hit the road by 7:50 AM.......and STOP!  The Qualcomm Message board stated I was not to leave the terminal.  It appears since Mark does not drive longhaul, he can't train me!

I called my SDM and she stated that he is only used as backup for those that need extra hours and I needed a longhaul trainer to learn night driving, save on the cost of the hotel, etc.  I asked if I could train with Mark until a new trainer was located and was denied.   Whether learning with Mark or laying around the  pool.....it would cost them the same.  The logical choice would have been to pay me for working, not laying around getting a Phoenix tan!

Well my fellow trainees.....lesson one, the trucking business is not logical!

My view for now ;)

I have a trainer!

Good evening my trucking companions!  What started as a disappointing morning, turned into a wonderful afternoon!  Let me share........

I was up at 6 AM to eat and get ready for our 7:45 AM safey meeting here at the hotel.  I ate my breakfast of two hard boiled eggs and yogurt and joined the rest of the new hires for the meeting.  The team leader stated he had good news for six individuals and called out their names.  They were all men, one of which was Brian, and they were informed that they would be taking rental cars to Denver to wait for trainers.  There was no news for the rest of us.  I was BUMMED!

So I decided to run five miles while it was still cool outside and returned in time to shower and head to the terminal in hopes of catching a shuttle to Walmart for supplies.  I arrived five minutes too late and it could be hours before the shuttle returned so I just sat in frustration of expecting a wasted day on a soon to be hot day.

While texting with friends, I looked up to see a woman sitting across from me and I started a conversation.  She stated she just returned from her training and was now waiting for her truck.  I asked about her trainer and she spoke very highly of him, that he had a designated route, and she was home every night!  My jaw hit the picnic table as that is what I wanted!  I looked acrossed the lot at another female trainee who has been waiting for a week and I was not about to let this opportunity pass by.  She contacted her trainer and I contacted my SDM who contacted Planning............and I will be on the road with my new trainer tomorrow morning!

To make things even sweeter, my hotel gave me a room with a fridge and microwave since I will be here for nearly two months.....and so far, no roommate!  I am off to watch a show and then sleep as I need to get up at 5 AM so I can run........every day!!!

See you all at the terminal tomorrow for the pre trip inspection at 7 AM :)

Orientation is OVER!

I have been stressed, I have slept very little, I have eaten very little, and dang nab it; I haven't had a single cocktail.....but I passed orientation!  I actually get to finish a movie tonight, sleep in until 6:30 instead of 4:30 and get a decent run in while waiting for a phone call notifiying me that I have a trainer.  I could be sitting here two days or even get shipped to another terminal if we have a shortage of trainers here.  I don't mind the down time as I do get a little bit of pay to cover very little expenses but is is taking away from my required 275 hours of drive time before I can drive solo.

This group of new hires is considered big.  We have 20 in total and let me tell you, some of these boys broke the mold when they were born.  But as I sit around the terminal, I can pretty much say that about the employees in general.  There are those good ole boys that have been running these trucks since the day they left the farm, then there are the boys and girls from the hills of the back country who don't know any better or just didn't have the means to do so.  Then you have a few who don't need to be here but want to see the US and last, the newly displaced workers such as me that have a college degree that is better off as a paper airplane. I know I am going to come across quite a few stories to share with you as I move across the United States.

Pictures for today!

Brian being interrupted during his testing ;)

I will be driving one of these babies soon!

Welcome to BW!

Oh my!  I just spent 12 hours of classroom and testing for my first day of orientation with only 4 hours of sleep.  I don't think sleep is going to be an issue this evening as long as my room buddy decides to quietly fall asleep.  She talked herself to sleep around 11:30 last night and I had to be up at 4:30!

It was a beautiful day in Phoenix, what little of it I enjoyed outside.  Tomorrow it will reach the low 70's so I do hope class ends early so I can at least run!  Dang restless leg syndrone was about to get the best of me after sitting for so long.

I am too tired to share anymore.  Time to watch a little online movie and call it a night.  And by the way, no drinking while on training......they better keep me worn out :)

Backpack Issues!

Alright everyone, this is not like our walkabout down under, get out of my backpack!  Life was simple, hiking through the country side of Australia and New Zealand with the beautiful views and room for everyone in the pack to enjoy the sites.  Gads, those days are gone!  Now I am trying to stuff work clothes, heavy clothes, work boots and yes, the dreaded hair dryer!  How in the world did I travel so lightly halfway around the world for two whole months?!

Are you all nervous yet.....three days and counting before we share a cab with a male trainer for up to two months!  Gads, I hope he doesn't phart in his sleep or while driving........ewww!

Off to breakfast with the family.  See you all in Phoenix!