Dear reader, in my last blog, I gave you the bad news that I had not made the cut at Stevens Transport because of some medical information I gave them about a motorcycle accident 35 years ago. That is not a mistake I will repeat, I can tell you that. The hospital I was sent to no longer is there and the medical records from that long ago will have been destroyed long ago, so there is no way to validate or refute anything I said. There is much the company needs to know and there are things they don't need to know. Frankly, I volunteered way too much information and they took their approach and said I did not meet their standards. So be it. I cannot and will not fight anything with them, but I must move on.
That brings us to the next decision, made during my 28-hour bus trip back to my home in Dutton, Michigan:
I have decided to enter the West Michigan CDL school, pay for my own CDL training, then look for a job from that angle.
This was one of my original plans, but I figured why not save the almost-$5,000 cost if I can get CDL training with no upfront money from me? Well, I tried and it didn't work out. There are other benefits, too. I will be available for paid employment right away, I have more flexibility - since I will not owe any company a year or more for loan completion - and there are companies that have either tuition reimbursement or a sign-on bonus, which will help defray the money I spent on CDL training.
Plus, upon my return home, an envelope was waiting for me that said I owe the Thrift Savings Plan (the government's personal retirement account, similar to a civilian 401K plan) about $5,000 for a house loan I took out long ago that I was slowly repaying through payroll deduction. And that I had forgotten about. The bottom line is, no payroll, no deduction, so the outstanding balance is due. Fortunately for me, I have the lump sum payment for the vacation time I didn't use and that will show up in the next couple of weeks. Making that TSP payment is no problem. If I hadn't been here, though, the envelope and form inside would have sat in the PO Box and there would have been some nasty consequences--like an IRS penalty payment!
Also when I came home, my thermostat had completely shut the heating system down because of an unknown error that I had to clear to reset the system. What that means is that, had I actually been away the 9-12 weeks I originally planned, the house would have had NO HEAT. Which isn't bad with the 40-degree temperatures we've had, but would be a disaster with the 20-degree temps that are forecast.
Just another confirmation that God does, indeed, look after stupid pilots!
Thank you for staying with me, dear reader. It's nice to know that someone reads the words I write!
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