Comments By Jenny

I just saw this! So did it go?

It truly depends. Mostly they want to see that you are in control at all times. I only downshifted once for my test and just stopped in gear the rest of it. (I lucked out with all red lights!)

We have always had to. The worst part is, most every guy out there is not "that guy" from whom we are threatened. Yet, we have to be so on guard that even the good guys can end up shunned by us. Sorry good guys, I know you're all over out here.

Congrats! I'm glad you finally jumped ;) enjoy, and remember LAUGH! And laugh harder when it sucks, because we have all been there.

Brett you totally get it! I do drive tired and have to stop when I'm feeling great because of the 14 hr rule. Totally bums me out.

Guy, yes I do like the newer equipment, and even the idea of elogs, so I think I it's more that 14. I only drove, and was on duty for 6 hours but still had to cheat. B.S.!!

I hate having to cheat on my logs.

Not really, because that's how logs were ran back in the day. Now that tattle tale box interferes with everything!

I'm sitting at the dock, been here 3 hours, and have 45 mins on my 14. This ain't going to happen. No parking on site, no parking in the street...and I count my lucky stars that my yard is 2 blocks away, if that.

But this isn't the first time. Several times now I've cheated the box, and risked my job. Our company doesn't really do the "safe haven" violations not often anyway. Once I pulled off 25 miles in 15 minutes in a truck governed at 61. You do the math.

I'm new to doing this myself, but I've spent a lifetime in the industry, and I really miss the old ways.

I've just got a crazy b**ch with me. Really, her name is Dynamite. No one gets close to the truck with out me knowing, and though she is a sweetheart on then ground, she knows what "sic 'em" means.

Recruiters job is to recruit you. Then they are out of the picture. Just like car salesman. They sell you the car, then you deal with the loan company for the duration. Don't worry about that spell error, look at the company and make your decisions from there. Also, get as many pre hires as you can get!!! They don't cost the company a thing lol, nor do they go on your DAC, when you get hired, that is when it costs them for a background, UI and all the stuff, and when it shows on your DAC, because now you have a job to report :D

School choice is so personal. I chose a private school so I could drive for whomever I wanted when I was done. I was also unemployed so it was paid for under a rehab program. There were days that my private school was a total joke, but it was at my own pace, and recruiters wanted us. I chose May, and am honestly VERY happy with them. I don't like where we are governed, and OTRS, I think they actually have to ask all those questions that feel like insults. May's people didn't ever lie to me, and I have a steady check (my check is the same every single week), those two things make a world of difference to me. At the end of the quarter, any miles over what it takes to make my check, I get a bonus, I like it!

There is going to be weirdness no matter the education path you take, and school, it just teaches you how to pass the DMV test. Getting out with a trainer is where you really begin learning the job, and when you are finally solo, that is when you truly, thoroughly begin learning, all the stuff you learned before starts coming together, and you learn so much about yourself, and the career as a whole.

Good luck!

Mercy, sister...I don't know whether to be excited or scared to death! You always have me laughing though :) Thanks for making my day!

Someone said, that the boring days are the perfect days out here, and I have to agree, if everything goes right, there isn't much to talk about. Sure, there are neat sights, and places you haven't been, and that will make you happy and love this job, but the bad days, there is always something extremely stupid about them. Not like other jobs where something goes wrong, you grab a manager (or even fix it yourself) and ten minutes later everyone has forgotten about it. Those jobs, something goes wrong ALL of the time no one bats an eye, and on with the day ya go. Trucking though, you're on your own, waiting for someone who has never been here, to tell you where to go, (in the mean time you know where you want to tell them to go!) but you don't, and then you hope beyond all hope that there is no more hiccups, but there usually are. However, those days don't happen OFTEN, they just seem to be an all day event. Then life is absolutely wonderful for weeks on end.

Don't be afraid of it girl, just expect that Murphy will be sitting next to you, and since he wrote all those laws, he likes to practice them from time to time. It really is a great lifestyle if you are prepared for it!

So, I am done fueling, and run as fast as I can with my legs crossed to go to the bathroom. Somehow though, I remembered, for the first time ever, to go log myself as off duty before I ran off. I went potty, browsed the store, and finally wandered back to my truck. Shoot, I only have 12 minutes and my 30 break will be complete. Better get off the fuel islands though. So I pull around next to the scales and wait. A/C feeling good again, and then my dash starts flickering, my CB is going crazy and here comes a black man running at my truck yelling fire! It takes a minute, but I realize it's all directed at me. I shut off the engine, and jump out. The fender light (both a marker and a blinker I think) is on fire! So I climb in to get the extinguisher and by the time I'm ready to pull the pin the fire goes out. Phew!

So, I get a hold of OTRS again, and send pics, bla bla bla, and then I hear nothing. I wake at 6 and send another message. They want me to roll with it! Dude, F.I.R.E. ANYWHERE on the truck is not safe. Not to mention, I can't use my lights. I am not SAFE nor LEGAL...Big words our company uses all of the time. "Can't I just go buy some tape, or electical caps and stop them from crossing?" So, they send me to T.A. who won't touch it because it is under warranty, and I let OTRS know. I also inform them that Peterbilt is 2 blocks away, and opens in 20 minutes. And I wait. And wait. And then do what I am not supposed to do, and went to Peterbilt without permission. they stripped the wires, taped them and sent me on my way. (Duh!)

Delivery went without incident, other than being a day late. Empty call sent, and my marching orders for repairs come in. Baton Rouge. Nice, 30 minutes drive, a couple hours to run a new wiring harness and I should be on my way. Not. 11:30 yesterday I checked in with them, and they tell me that they don't have the part and it will be Wednesday before they can get me going. I tell OTRS, they say "overnight the part, we'll pay the freight". So I tell the shop, and they just chuckle. They can look at my truck the next morning, THEN order the part overnight, and I'll still be out of here Wednesday. So, I slept in my truck (of course) and about 10 minutes before the guy comes and gets me it is down pouring! Great, what am I going to do with the dog now? So, into the showroom she goes! Tries to bite 2 guys, and makes friends with half a dozen more. Then, it hit.

I mean, literally hit! I had just started pushing the door to go smoke, and BAM! The loudest crack I have ever heard, the building shook, and every hair that wasn't standing up straight was ingrown. Lightning hit one of the trucks in the yard! WOW, found my blessing! At least I wasn't driving in it!!! By the time they told me that I would have to get a room, another truck in the yard was struck. Yep, I will GLADLY take a room!

So, here I sit, feeling like I am in some huge apartment with a real bed. Not to shabby these Quality Suites, especially after living in a truck for the last 90 days, sweet 90 days. It has gone by so fast....