Comments By Kim S.

Continued:

We made a Wal-Mart run Sunday and it's true that it's quite close. And you can tell it's located near a terminal - lots of "hardwork" clothing and convenience products for life on the road. Back at the cafe for lunch, we were also able to get dinner "to-go," since they close early on Sundays. We have enough (more than enough, really) food back at the room to get us to breakfast.

Our day-early arrival means we have plenty of time to rest and relax before what everyone assures us will be a stressful Orientation week! (They also assure us it gets better.) My husband returned the rental and I've "nested" in the hotel room to make the week a little easier. Falcolns football is on screen and the afternoon stretches before us!

It's just after 2 p.m as I write this, so I can look forward to a nap, study time, filling out my paperwork, and maybe even checking out that on-site "movie theater" before an early night.

Not sure that I'll update this Diary every day. We'll be posting on our "Travel Page" for all the friends back home - www.facebook.com/nickandkimsasso

The friendliness of the people here has done a LOT to take the edge of my anxiety about this crazy plan we have to become OTR truck drivers!!

Training Diary of a middle-aged former "workkamper" wife embarking on a new adventure as my husband and I make a move to OTR driving with Prime, Inc. of Missouri.

Sunday 11/5/2017

First day in Springfield. Even with the time-change and going to bed around 9, I slept until at least 8 a.m. I can't imagine how I'd feel if we'd kept the original schedule and arrived at 11 or later the night before our first 5:45 wake up call!

So, that's my first bit of counsel for new folks coming for training: If Prime has you set to arrive late Sunday, consider asking to come in a day early. I don't know if they can arrange it for everyone - but it's worth considering.

Greyhound wasn't so bad - that is, the bus ride itself wasn't. If we were younger and thinner, it might even have been comfortable. But we passed through two major cities, so our bus was packed with the sights, sounds and smells of weary travelers - and whatever they decided to eat along the way. (Thank heavens, I thought to bring my sound-suppressing ear phones!)

Another tip: go ahead and fork over the money to check two bags if you need to! Especially if you will be changing buses en route. We would have been much, much happier carrying reasonably-weighted bags - and checking all of them - than we were managing our crazy-heavy duffle bags and overstuffed "carry-ons." And when others advise, "buy it when you get there," do consider it!

The terminals were crowded (but reasonably clean, to Greyhound's credit) and layovers are killer - we had two hours of standing-room-only in Nashville. Our bus schedule had a six-hour wait in St. Louis, but we decided to call Enterprise and rent a cheap car for the last leg of our journey. Even with stopping for amazing ribs at Poppy's, we beat "our" bus to Springfield by several hours.

We arrived at Campus Inn around dusk. The very friendly desk attendant, Jay, welcomed us with copious amounts of information and a boxed dinner. We also encountered other friendly Prime folks - including a trainer-in-training named John who appointed himself the Prime Welcoming Committee for the evening. He entertained us all with exhuberant welcomes for everyone who passed through the lobby.

My husband was thrilled to see the box meal included a packet of Miracle Whip instead of mayo. I was thrilled that the sandwich was not pre-made with condiments. The ample portion of meat was packed seperately from the very fresh bread, and the meal also included bottled water, chips (or in my case, Cheetos) and a sweet - we got candy bars but apparently the norm is a cookie. It all made for a surprisingly satisfying meal after a tiring day.

Granted, we had gorged on barbecue at lunch! Incoming students might want to consider bringing snacks to avoid a late night walk to the convenience store or Wal-Mart. The rooms do include a fridge, microwave, single-serve coffee maker (and coffee packets) and ice bucket. Ice machines are on the first floor. I did spy vending machines near the training rooms, but if they are like the coke machine in the hotel, you will need coins to get goodies. No dollar bills or debit cards.

The room itself was a pleasant surprise. I half-expected a stripped-down dorm room atmosphere, and the bare-floors and lack of air conditioning in the hallways do feel dormish. But the room is an ordinary discount hotel room. We have two reasonably comfy beds, a desk and chair, mid-size cable TV, private* bathroom (water pressure is okay, good volume and temperature.) It is big and clean; linens, bath towels, and soap/shampoo are provided. They also furnish an iron, ironing board, landline phone, and wi-fi. They even do housekeeping rounds and make the beds. (*Reminder that incoming solo trainees may have a roommate.)

Another benefit to our day-early arrival was a lazy meander to the Campus Inn Cafe for breakfast. The very cheery young lady behind the counter, Gabby, explained everything we could expect for the coming week so far as food service. I suspect that Monday mornings are a lot more hectic and more confusing for newcomers!

Free coffee and iced tea are available whenever the cafe is open (no dinner hours on weekends,) and packaged food is available as well as hot meals to eat there or to-go. The meal provision from Prime is quite sufficient, but - another reason to bring cash - if you want anything that exceeds the allotment, you'll need cash (or, eventually, your Prime comdata card.) No debit cards are accepted.

At breakfast we met Bill, a long-time Prime employee, former driver and current trainer. We plan to drive refrigerated box trailers - and he assured us that being married team drivers, reefer was likely the best choice (financially) even though he himself had been a flatbedder.

We also met another new student this morning. He said he'd just started reading the Permit Manual this weekend! THAT is definitely not something I myself would recommend. In addition to using the TT program to study, we tested ourselves using several other phone apps and practice tests online, just to ensure we were not relying on memorization of any particular terminology.

I took some tests on the bus and on most, I scored in the comfortable high 90s range...but on one of them I flat failed! True, we can take the real tests several times, but I want to have a solid grasp of the material whether or not I am "testing." I have a suspicion the knowledge will come in handy when learning to inspect and drive a truck!

John B - Now that you are a year down the road from this thread...are you still driving? How did things end up? My husband and I head to Springfield later this month. Hope your nightmare trainer is long gone!