We are about two weeks into the new administration in the United States and what a tumultuous time it has been. Protests, marches, even school children in New York City ditching classes en masse to protest the confirmation of an entirely-unqualified billionaire, Betsy DeVos, to head up the U.S. Department of Education. She was probably put there by Trump to dismantle the Department my father worked for so long; I do not have respect for either of those people.
I have been working diligently on my genealogy blog and notice the readership has increased slowly. I have nowhere near the thousands or more that read many blogs, but increased numbers was never the goal. Hopefully, at least one new reader working on his or her own family tree will glean some helpful hints on the journey.
My last W2 form came today, so I will work on finalizing 2016 taxes and get it out of here. I feel just a bit that this will be a final cap for what was, for me, a truly miserable year, and not only in the political sense, though that certainly contributed. I spent the year driving the truck, really pushing myself to make money to cut some of these bills I have down to size. I think it worked, but it also took a big chunk out of my life-energy. I want this year to be more relaxed and enjoyable.
I have also volunteered to be a transcriber for Baha'i Center web talks. So far, I have done one, and it was a good one. It was by Annette Reynolds, a South Carolina Baha'i. She spoke of what we used to call the "mass teaching" efforts there and the lessons learned from those efforts in a highly racially segregated state. This will prove to be a valuable, educational exercise for me, I hope.
Showing posts with label trucking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trucking. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Saturday, February 11, 2012
February 11, 2012
Today is Saturday and I have not written a blog post this week. Mostly, that's because I have been just completely whipped when I get home after class. To be honest, we were told that the second week would be the most stressful but merely being told did not prepare me for what I experienced. The good thing is it ended well, albeit with a final city drive in 4 inches of newly-fallen snow. That, of course, made the drive quite, um, "interesting," to say the least, but it ended without incident. So what did we do to make the week so stressful?
It's not so much what we did, because we did the same tasks we've done for the week. But two events stand out - beside the 90 degree alley dock that continues to whip my butt - that made being there use a wee bit unpleasant. We have four students in my class: a young 20-Something whose Dad is a career truck driver, a Hispanic male, an Egyptian male, and me. Just that mix of cultural and age differences has made for a wonderfully diverse mix of opinions and behaviors, but two of them went off on each other this week. I won't say which two because I don't think airing that kind of stuff is appropriate, but I will tell you one of them has been consistently late for our early morning classroom session from 7:00 - 8:00 a.m. and has a habit of leaving early, even though we are to be there until 5:00 p.m. He has a somewhat superior attitude and does not take positive criticism very well, even when he does not perform the maneuvers in the prescribed way, as we all have done.
Well, the two of them got into it and if it weren't for one of the other students, there would have been a physical fight, but the other one did take one of the two away from the area and it calmed down...after a while.
The second unpleasant experience involved one of the two original "combatants" and me. It was quite cold on Thursday, though not snowing, and when it was my turn to drive, the fellow jumped in the right side of the cab, where it was warm. He said, "That is how we're going to do it now. One rides while one drives." I was not going to have that on my session and told him to leave or I would not drive. He refused many times, stayed in the truck, and I finally shut it down, got out, and went to the office to file a complaint. About mid-day on Friday, the company owner came to me and said he had received the complaint and would deal with the other student. He said he had a "heart-to-heart" chat with him about the first incident and would do so again.
That kind of experience did not help reduce my stress, I can tell you that. OR my performance, which just seemed to go downhill after that, making that day not so good.
Anyway, next week is geared toward fine-tuning our tasks in preparation for the state testers beginning Wednesday and for being exposed to some experiences we won't be tested on but might have to perform in the field, like the blind-side parallel park, the mere thought of which scares me to death! You know how hard it is to parallel park a car? Well, imagine doing that with a 60-foot commercial motor vehicle using only mirrors to "find" the curb on that side. Oh, boy....
Hopefully, the next time I write I will have good news about being the holder of a Commercial Drivers License. Then, of course, comes the matter of picking a suitable OTR trucking company to work for. I have narrowed the list to six, but picking The One will be difficult.
Thanks for reading, my dear reader. You have no idea how much it helps me, knowing that someone is reading my words.
It's not so much what we did, because we did the same tasks we've done for the week. But two events stand out - beside the 90 degree alley dock that continues to whip my butt - that made being there use a wee bit unpleasant. We have four students in my class: a young 20-Something whose Dad is a career truck driver, a Hispanic male, an Egyptian male, and me. Just that mix of cultural and age differences has made for a wonderfully diverse mix of opinions and behaviors, but two of them went off on each other this week. I won't say which two because I don't think airing that kind of stuff is appropriate, but I will tell you one of them has been consistently late for our early morning classroom session from 7:00 - 8:00 a.m. and has a habit of leaving early, even though we are to be there until 5:00 p.m. He has a somewhat superior attitude and does not take positive criticism very well, even when he does not perform the maneuvers in the prescribed way, as we all have done.
Well, the two of them got into it and if it weren't for one of the other students, there would have been a physical fight, but the other one did take one of the two away from the area and it calmed down...after a while.
The second unpleasant experience involved one of the two original "combatants" and me. It was quite cold on Thursday, though not snowing, and when it was my turn to drive, the fellow jumped in the right side of the cab, where it was warm. He said, "That is how we're going to do it now. One rides while one drives." I was not going to have that on my session and told him to leave or I would not drive. He refused many times, stayed in the truck, and I finally shut it down, got out, and went to the office to file a complaint. About mid-day on Friday, the company owner came to me and said he had received the complaint and would deal with the other student. He said he had a "heart-to-heart" chat with him about the first incident and would do so again.
That kind of experience did not help reduce my stress, I can tell you that. OR my performance, which just seemed to go downhill after that, making that day not so good.
Anyway, next week is geared toward fine-tuning our tasks in preparation for the state testers beginning Wednesday and for being exposed to some experiences we won't be tested on but might have to perform in the field, like the blind-side parallel park, the mere thought of which scares me to death! You know how hard it is to parallel park a car? Well, imagine doing that with a 60-foot commercial motor vehicle using only mirrors to "find" the curb on that side. Oh, boy....
Hopefully, the next time I write I will have good news about being the holder of a Commercial Drivers License. Then, of course, comes the matter of picking a suitable OTR trucking company to work for. I have narrowed the list to six, but picking The One will be difficult.
Thanks for reading, my dear reader. You have no idea how much it helps me, knowing that someone is reading my words.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Today was a good day!
Thursday, January 26, 2012: A very good day in the life of this federal retiree, to be sure. First, I went to the local office of the Michigan Secretary of State to get the Commercial Drivers License (CDL) permit and passed all four parts of the test on the first try! I now am in possession of a Michigan CDL Temporary Instruction Permit and an unrestricted DOT medical certificate that says I am medically qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle. Since I hate taking knowledge tests and this one is a bit complex, passing it on my first try is very good news, indeed.
After taking the tests - and sharing the good news with my children! - I came home and received a telephone call from the owner of West Michigan CDL, the school I hope to attend as soon as my annual leave payment arrives, which should be "any day now." The owner said they have an opening in the Monday class because one of the students who was going to be in the class did not pass his DOT medical check so he had to withdraw. They offered me the slot with the understanding that if my money doesn't show up in the next 3 weeks of school, they will withhold the graduation certificate and other paperwork until I do pay them. I said I understand and accepted their offer.
Beginning Monday, I will be in training to become a truck driver! I promise to keep you up-to-date on how class goes, dear reader. This is a very exciting time in my life.
After taking the tests - and sharing the good news with my children! - I came home and received a telephone call from the owner of West Michigan CDL, the school I hope to attend as soon as my annual leave payment arrives, which should be "any day now." The owner said they have an opening in the Monday class because one of the students who was going to be in the class did not pass his DOT medical check so he had to withdraw. They offered me the slot with the understanding that if my money doesn't show up in the next 3 weeks of school, they will withhold the graduation certificate and other paperwork until I do pay them. I said I understand and accepted their offer.
Beginning Monday, I will be in training to become a truck driver! I promise to keep you up-to-date on how class goes, dear reader. This is a very exciting time in my life.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
January 12, 2012: Another decision
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!
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!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Much-needed update
Well, Dear Reader, this blog did not turn out to be what I thought it was going to be--an answer to my beloved daughter's China blog. Alas, she stopped doing hers and has returned to the United States for a while and I, too, have changes in store for me.
In 40 days, as I write this, I will retire from the Federal Aviation Administration after 25+ years working for them. To be honest - and few-worded - the fun has been taken out of the air and the job. Working for the government isn't what it used to be and I need a change, so I have decided to retire, begin collecting an annuity, and, yes, finally doing something I have wanted to do for a long time.
I am going to become an over-the-road (OTR) truck driver. I have not picked the company yet, though it is really down to two: Swift Transportation, the largest in the U.S., and Stevens Transport, about the third largest. Hopefully, this Single Guy With Random Thoughts blog will include progress and thoughts about my progress.
Look for more and regular posts from me!
In 40 days, as I write this, I will retire from the Federal Aviation Administration after 25+ years working for them. To be honest - and few-worded - the fun has been taken out of the air and the job. Working for the government isn't what it used to be and I need a change, so I have decided to retire, begin collecting an annuity, and, yes, finally doing something I have wanted to do for a long time.
I am going to become an over-the-road (OTR) truck driver. I have not picked the company yet, though it is really down to two: Swift Transportation, the largest in the U.S., and Stevens Transport, about the third largest. Hopefully, this Single Guy With Random Thoughts blog will include progress and thoughts about my progress.
Look for more and regular posts from me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)