Comments By Nighthawk

I made it on time again... I spent the day in the sun waiting for the truck to practice. The guy who tests us told me and the girls to stay on that truck since it's the test truck and we'll be testing soon. There were at least 10 of us switching out. There were a few guys who just didn't grasp the concept of waiting in line and kept jumping in front of people. That crap made me mad. I got in the truck 3 times total. The first time, I tried and failed to do an offset. The owner/instructor saw me struggling and came over to share his method. I did what he said and nailed that junk. The next time I got in, I was going to practice offsets, but another instructor saw me and started showing me the alley dock. So, I went with it. I listened and backed in 3 times in a row nearly perfectly. Only 1 pull up the whole time. I don't know how I'll do without him there guiding me, but we'll see. Later on, I jumped back in for more offsets. BAM! Nailed it.

After school, my roomie, my friend/teammate, and I went to Costco, then Aldi, then Lidl, which is another grocery store around here. We had so dang many groceries. It took us 3 trips with all of our arms full. The vegetarian made dinner again and it was delicious. Dude can cook, yo! Then we all had some watermelon. Now it's time for bed!

So the day started off with more observation. The guy I rode with was actually the same one I rode with that first time and he has improved drastically. It really gave me more hope for myself, lol. At 12, we had lunch at that church we ate at last week. After lunch, I hit the pad for offsets. Holy Heck, Batman! I didn't do too bad, but I'm a perfectionist, so I got really mad at myself for having to use those pullups. Came back to the hotel a bit early and then went to a fellow student's room for dinner. He is a vegetarian and found out I'm trying to eat healthier, so he invited me and my girls over. He made a veggie rice bowl with a side of kiwi. It was amazing! Then I came back to the room and watched some videos about backing. I think I see where I was going wrong. I am anxious to try it out tomorrow! I only have 1.5 hours left of observations, so that should be knocked out tomorrow, too. I really am enjoying myself and having a good time. The instructors are all really cool and helpful and the other students are great. Thanks for reading!

Offset backing is no joke!!

I forgot to post last night. Got to school on time :) Then we went out for observations. I spent all day in the sleeper berth of a Volvo watching newbies drive. The first one was a woman who did excellent. And it was her first time! The next guy did ok, but not great. Then it was time to head back to the hotel. I hit the sack early because I was so tired.

My girlfriend made me a practice pad, y'all.

Me on the left. My future teammate on the right.

Thursday started with another roll call. After that, instructor Wes came in and had us sign a sheet about coupling and uncoupling. Then he took us outside and showed us how to do it with one of the trucks. After that, we went in for a bit more instruction and then a test. I was the only one to make a 100. After the test, they released us. It was noon and we were able to stay and pretrip, stay and practice backing, go on a ride and get in some observation hours, or just leave. My teammate and I chose to start observation. We rode with a 4th weeker who was driving for his first time. He did ok, but it was a bit nerve wracking. Part of the reason was because it made me super nervous for when I get to do it. We rode for 3 hours, then we hit the off-set truck and started that. I did really good 2 of 3 tries. During the 2nd one, I had the truck and trailer at a 90 degree angle before I even realized it. I pulled up and backed it in with no problems. He said I did good for a girl. Finally, we left at about 4:30. We went back to the hotel, then to pick up a rotisserie chicken. She made a salad, deviled eggs, and some corn to go with it. It was dang good eats. After dinner, I packed up and drove home for the weekend. I'll follow up Monday...

Nighthawk, I'm not trying to be mean or nitpick but you really need to work on being on time.

Not offended at all. You are so right!!

I forgot to write last night about yesterday.

We got there right at 7:06am, just in time for roll call. After roll call, we went out to do pre-trips with a 4th week student. My friend, who will be my teammate for the first 6 months, and I stayed a bit longer to get more familiar with the components.

Then we went in for some more classroom instruction. We talked about hazardous materials and then learned map reading and a bit of trip planning.

After lunch, a state trooper came and talked to us about safety. Then we went out for straight-line backing. We were in line for off-sets when some other dudes jumped in the truck before us. So, the girls and I went and started going over pretrip.

Then I grabbed a pizza and headed back to the hotel. My teammate and my roomie and I all studied pretrip while stuffing our faces.