9/9/14: What's Next, Part 1?

I have a cloud-like plan.

The first thing to do is try to write a bit each day. Or at least every couple of days, so that's what I will do. I will share details with you, the readers, that some might find uncomfortable - heck, sharing the details might be uncomfortable - but I assume almost nobody will read, so the only reader will be me.

And the cloud-like plan is coming into clarity. It isn't set in stone, neither the direction nor the path has been picked, and many details have to be made. I have seven months to formulate it (for reasons that will be made clear, too.) I have a pretty big debt to take care of and, honestly, it means having to go back to work.

This blog is all about the journey from here to there. It will be difficult for me - it already is - and I will experience frustration and anger - I already do - and my credit raring is apt to take a bigger hit than it already has, but forward I must move.

So, until next post, thanks for reading.

9/8/14: Reopened

Even though I am no longer driving a truck, I am reopening this blog, mostly because I want to write. I'm not sure there is a "purpose" in it - I'm not a genealogist, aspiring musician, or quilter trying to sell my wares - but putting thoughts down "on paper" is therapeutic.

And who knows? Maybe a purpose will develop.

6/9/12: The end

Dear readers, I have not written in a while because I am no longer driving a truck. I was disrespected big time by the company for whom I worked, a story I will not share with you; suffice it to say it was much, much worse than the normal abuse drivers get. For me, it was a "quittable offense," as I told my driver manager. Considering this was a 'bucket list' item and I did everything I wanted to do as a driver, I am fulfilled; I doubt I will consider and seek employment with another trucking company.

Thank you for reading. Though there were not many of you, I did enjoy sharing my limited experiences with you. Perhaps there will be more in the future, perhaps not. I wish each of you the best.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

I am sitting in my own living room, typing this on my own Mac for the first time since, well, since the last time! This was not a planned home visit; as with many things in trucking, things can change. The delivery I have was delayed until tomorrow night, so I took the opportunity to "visit" my house, use some of my own hot water, and do my laundry! The only uncomfortable part is having to drop the trailer with a load of pretty expensive dairy products and a minus 10 temperature set on the reefer in a Walmart parking lot 16 miles away. I locked the box, put on a glad-hand and king pin locks, but there's nothing I could do about locking the reefer thermostat, so if some creep wants to crank it up to 40 or so, well, I can't stop him or her. Hopefully, however, the Walmart parking lot security crew will keep an eye out for nefarious goings on.

As I walked into my house, I came to the realization that I like my house. I like my living room and dining room and lawn and I even like the duck that has made a nest in the decorative row boat in my back yard. What that means is this: You, dear reader, probably remember that I retired from federal service last December and have undertaken this "career change" to check of an item on my personal 'bucket list.' I received a commercial driver's license and have been working as an over-the-road driver, which is all I really wanted to do. There are other things on my bucket list, too, including a visit to my deceased parents' hometown, Wilton, New Hampshire.

The bottom line is I don't know how much longer I will do this. There are some compelling reasons not to push my own good humor, not the least of which is the fact that I don't get to see my kids as much as I want, even though I've only been at this a short while. I am getting older and since I do have a very secure pension - well, as secure as anything created by Congress can be - I will drive as long as I want then turn my sites elsewhere.

That, dear reader, is what retirement is all about. Do the kind of work you want to do, as long as it's "fun," then do something else when it's no longer "fun!"

4/13/2012

I see by the listing that I have been remiss in writing about my progress. I shall fix that right now! I'm sitting here in a Flying J truck stop near West Rotterdam, NY, working my way through a 34-hour reset because I...well, let's just say there is a 70-hour maximum in 8 days and leave it at that. No need to talk about 71 1/2 hours or poor record keeping or elog misunderstanding, right?

What have I done on the past month? First, I successfully completed OTR training with Lee, though had I known then what I know now, I might have focused his attention on certain areas of my own development...like using the elog system properly. That would have been difficult because the company does not require ALL drivers to transition to electronic logs, only all NEW drivers like me. This is a problem because in my case, Lee kept paper logs and the day I finished my final road test with the Training Department, I went right on electronic logs. I had no training on the setup, the acronyms within the system, or how they interface. One could come to the conclusion that a new driver fresh to electronic logging and without adequate training and experience could, say, misunderstand WHEN to go "off duty" when at a receiver or shopper. Or the impact of not cutting those hours as much as legal because of the maximum duty time of 70-hours in 8 days.

Needless to say, this first solo week has been frustrating and not much fun. Tight schedules, bad weather - snow on I-88 in Western New York?!? Sup wi' dat, bro? - and not meeting my own high personal standards have not helped. In fact, I've cried out to the Great Freightliner In The Sky for one "normal" week like I had in training. Just one. I'm not greedy.

But I have seen Montana, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Illinois. I'm headed back to Penn to pick up some Kraft rejected goods to take to Byron Center, Michigan - not far from my house, though there is no convenient place to drop a trailer so going home is difficult. Maybe they'll let me leave it there for a day or two. Maybe not.

Oh. The best thing that happened to me this year happened on April 12...my daughter gave birth to my newest granddaughter, Macy! And if you think being here in West Rotterdam, NY, and not there in Oklahoma City with my kids isn't the toughest thing, let me assure you it is.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

I haven't written in a while and I'm sorry about that. I'm on the road in a trainer's truck and right now, we're sitting at a Love's truck stop in Hogansville, Georgia. Since finishing orientation with WEL Companies last week, I spent a weekend running from De Pere, Wisconsin, to Quincy, Michigan and back via Kalamazoo and a place with an unpronounceable Indian name in Wisconsin with lots of O's in it. That was a great trip, what with dealing with an 80,000 pound truck, almost hitting several deer, and a blinding snow storm that completely obscured the road. It's amazing how "fast" 10 mph can seem at 2:00 a.m. On a backcountry, rural road in near-whiteout conditions. I also spent the week making local deliveries around the Green Bay area, which was fun. Then it was on the road for three weeks and three days, which is what I'm doing now. I have a really good trainer, Lee. He's a quiet Georgia boy who pretty much lets me drive as much as I want and make all the mistakes I can. It's the best way to learn all this and I appreciate him for it. He hasn't been home for more than two weeks, so he's visiting his wife about 10 miles away; that's why I'm here, alone in the truck until this afternoon. The company does not force routing or fuel stops and the load we have delivers in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, on Monday. How we get there is up to us as long as we make our delivery at 8:30 a.m. on Monday. That's good to know since I have children and grandchildren in Oklahoma City. So far, I've put 4,179 miles on the truck and have about 7-8,000 or so training miles to go. I get off the training truck on April 2 and take the final road test on April 3. After that, I get my own truck, driver manager, and deliveries. I'm pretty excited. Oh. And I get a new granddaughter in early April, too! And you KNOW I'm excited about that!

Very big week

As I write this, it is Friday afternoon and I am mostly done for the week - more about that later - and there is much to tell because I haven't written at all this week. So let me get to it.

I got on the 'Hound - that would Greyhound Bus - last Saturday and arrived shortly in Green Bay after 1:00 a.m. Central Time. I had Sunday off and went to WEL Companies' training facility to meet the others in the new drivers class. There were six of us altogether; among them, I had the least experience. Two had less than 6 months and three had more than 5 years. One was going to lease and the rest would be company drivers. One driver was from Washington, DC, one was from Chicago, one from Milwaukee, two were "between houses" and planned to live in his truck, one was from Columbus, Ohio, and there was me from Western Michigan.

The first order of business was drug tests and physicals, which we all passed. Then there were a series of flexibility and strength tests given by a physical therapist to simulate lifting, pulling, pushing, and climbing things we might have to do on a daily basis. Again, we all passed.

The rest of Monday was spent watching safety videos and receiving briefings from company reps on all sorts of topics.

Tuesday was all about two things: more videos and PowerPoint presentations and the company's pre-employment road test that consisted of a 20-minute trip around the local area to see where we all were on the ability range. Though I did well enough to continue, I repeated two weaknesses I had in training...I missed a couple of gears and cut a right turn too close. But as before, we all did well enough to continue. It turns out this was a wee bit unusual. The company is very careful in the hiring process, but most classes lose one or two at various phases; not ours.

We became employees on Wednesday when the road, drug, and physical results were received and evaluate. We got our driver codes, which is how we're identified in all company databases and paperwork. Things like proper pay and legal logging depends on it.

Thursday was more training and visits to the Safety Department and we met our driver managers, the people with whom we would communicate before, during, and after every trip. We also met the supervisor of driver managers who basically said, 'If you have any problem your driver manager can't handle, call me.' We learned that four of the six drivers would be leaving with their trainers Thursday night and the other two, another student and me, would stay in town for next week, which is what we all planned on, anyway.

Which brings me to today, Friday. The snow has begun to fall and we spent the morning on the range learning how the company wants a pre trip inspection to be done how to move the tandems - the tires on the back of the trailer to make small adjustments in weight distribution - and how to secure freight inside the reefer trailers they operate.

I also learned that I will be team-driving with one of the senior drivers to and from Michigan starting Saturday evening. I am excited.

Oh. Did I mention he also happens to be the CEO's brother and the grandson of the founder. No pressure there.