Monday, February 13, 2012

February 13, 2012

Today is Monday and begins the last week of my 3-week CDL school. I have been extremely impressed with the school facilities, the instructional and support staff, the owner, Mike, and his trusted sidekick, Bob, as well as the instructors. The course has been very intense, pretty stressful, and filled with learning of all kinds. As I read about other for-profit CDL schools on the Internet, I believe what I have learned - primarily the tasks the school taught us in the truck and classroom - will do me well in my first important year as a new OTR driver.

The next three days are really all about one thing, however: sharpening our skills to pass the CDL test that will begin for us on Wednesday and Thursday. That is not to say we will not be exposed to new skills. In fact, if all goes well (meaning if the snow that should fall tonight does not negatively impact what we do) we will be exposed to the dreaded and much-feared blindside parallel parking. I cannot even imagine how that is going to be done or why I would have to do it in a truck. It also happens to be one of the items very few CDL schools teach, which makes West Michigan CDL a pretty special place.

Hopefully, in the next day or two, I will share the good news that I did pass my CDL test. I am also working on picking a trucking company with which to start my OTR career and I think I have the list narrowed down to three; perhaps I will have a final decision on that, too. I hope so!

Stay tuned, dear reader. When my CDL journey is done, I will start taking you on a 4-8 week journey around the United States (depending on the company I pick) with a driver trainer/mentor. That will be interesting to you, I hope, as we share experiences in all the regions and weather of our great country.

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