Comments By Nighthawk

So James picked me up at about 945am. We stayed there awhile and he went over the whole inside of truck and the rules with me. Then off we went. He drove to around Chatanooga on the way to Ohio. Then we stopped for the night. At about 4pm. I set up my bunk, made some calls, and then went to bed around 8ish. Back up at 4am, showered and ready to roll! The shower was pretty nice at this Pilot. When I got back to the truck, he showed me how to log in as active driver. Now he's in the store getting a drink and whatnot. I'm gonna drive!

My mentor picks me up at around 8am tomorrow for 2 weeks of training. :)

I DONE DID IT!!!!!

I was so dang nervous, y'all! I got my nerves so twisted up I actually cried from relief when we pulled back in!

I am sooooo relieved. Thanks to all y'all for your help through it all.

I have forgotten to post!

I've been driving and doing really well. A different instructor showed me a different method and I haven't stalled since. He actually said I'm doing awesome. He used that word :)

I test today at 2. I'm a little nervous, but 2 different instructors told me I'll do fine.

I forgot to post last night. I made a 98 on my pretrip. I forgot the dang horns! My buddy took her backing test and failed on the 90 degree. Otherwise, it was a scorcher out in the sun. I practiced my backing some when I could.

Today, I took my backing at about 820am. I got 7 out of 12 allowable points. All of them were on that dang 90 degree. But hey, I passed. I started driving with a trainer at 3 and went to about 830. We had to come in early because an air line started leaking. Trainer said I was doing really good, but I started stalling when starting from a dead stop. Especially on hills. I had some pretty rough starts :(

I drive with another trainer tomorrow at 1. So.... I get to sleep in! And I'm really like the guy I'll be going out with. I'm having a lot of fun!

She tested and failed 3 times. She refused to practice anything but the 90 degree, even though she couldn't get past the offset on her tests. And she hardly practiced.

Yesterday was another long day in the sun, but I practiced all 3 backing maneuvers and did really well. My friend took her pretrip test and got a 98. Overall, a good day!

At this point, I'm just practicing when I can and waiting when I can't. I test Monday for my pretrip and backing on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, my roommate failed out today and I spent the whole evening helping her find a way home. *sigh* drama!

Not a lot to report today. I spent more time in the sun waiting. I did some pretrip studying and found out I need to go over it a bit more. I finally practiced backing right before we all left. Tried twice. First time I had 2 pull ups and the 2nd time I had one. I'll call that a success.

The examiner told me and my girls that he wants us to wipe the floor with the guys in our class. He expects us to excel. So, that's pretty cool.

After school, I went to my friend's room and typed up my own guide to the pretrip. I think its pretty good :)

My roommate is watching the game and yelling very loudly. It's after 10 and I have to wake up at 530. Yay

Week 3 started off pretty good. I was 3rd in line to do my backing. I nailed it my first time. Then the next 2 tries throughout the day, I got progressively worse. I was all over the dang pad that last time I tried the 90 degree turn.

Other than waiting for the truck and going over the pretrip, it was pretty uneventful. I will test early Monday. So, it's possible I'll get out in 4 after all.

So I jumped in that truck this morning ready to roll and effed up that 90 degree backup. I just couldn't get it without guidance. Later on, when I finally had some time with the instructor, I did fine. I just can't figure out the reference points. I definitely need more practice. I did finish my observation hours today.

I found out today I'm probably going to be here a 5th week - all because the people before my class keep failing, so they keep filling up the test schedule with retests. I am not happy about that at all. I'm actually quite upset. I am not sure how my bills will get paid next month. I just gotta keep pounding on and have faith.