Just Finished Training At Swift Academy, Lewiston, ID

Where's the edit button? LOL!

That's supposed to say a very challenging profession, not position. :-/

You'd be surprised by how many people read this stuff.

I'm glad to hear you're enjoying Swift and seem to have gotten lucky on the trainer.. I did too at my company.

Yeah, terminal rats are everywhere lol. Avoid them like the plague and you'll do great. RE: Swift. You could do a heck of a lot worse. That's what an experienced O/O told me about my own company right before I left for Iowa.

I firmly believe every company is exactly what you make of it. Embrace it, work hard and be justly rewarded. Never look back because the grass is seldom greener elsewhere.

Congratulations. Keep us posted on your adventures.

Thanks Susan.

I know Swift trucks are slow, we get passed constantly. But... slow == SAFE.

First windshield casualty already. A sidedump dropped a golf ball size rock south of Havre, MT and it got us just left of center leaving a star the size of a half dollar. Then less than 5 miles on, another one. My mentor tells me this windshield is less than 2 weeks old.

Hot showers again tonight in Bismarck, ND. I never thought a hour shower could feel so wonderful!

A near miss: some clown on a car nearly clipped my left front after passing me. I guess big white Kenworths are hard to see from 15 feet away?

The backing is definitely improving.

Now if I can just remember: Swing Wide It's a Fookin' Trailer!

;)

Stay safe.

Thought this might put some perspective on your stone bruises...Gone a fowl...turkey for Easter

Just so you know...up to a thousands people read your diary every day...keep up the good work.

Long haul across Wisconsin. Lots of rain. I think we're near Kasonga (?) It's very green and no smoke from forest fires!

Got a fleet message saying it's snowing in Montana. As in: at home!

I reached a milestone: 50 hours behind the wheel. My mentor says they'll try to push us into super solo status now, meaning we'll have to start really pushing it.

We're not sure what's going to happen with the tractor v-service and windshield replacement. We're going to push for the Columbus terminal tomorrow to try to get them done, but it's likely to cost us a couple days downtime.

Thought this might put some perspective on your stone bruises...Gone a fowl...turkey for Easter

Just so you know...up to a thousands people read your diary every day...keep up the good work.

Um. Wow! Glad you only got very minor injuries, G-Town!

And yes... you can do everything right, and still, when you least expect it!

Well we ran across Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and to Columbus. I slept through Iowa. Sorry, Iowa. These other states are pretty and green. LOTS of cows and corn.

When we got to the Columbus terminal it was a little weird. One computer showed us in safety shutdown status due to needing a b service (50,000 mile) on the tractor, but another system said no, good to go. We lost an hour or so getting it figured out.

Bottom line: we are headed for Maryland and I'm out of hours! So I get my first 34 hour restart. I'm sure my mentor did this on purpose so I'd have an awesome paycheck next week.

I love this job. There's so much to learn! I'm going to come clean: I thought I was pretty hot **** out of the academy and feigning humility. That lasted about 5 minutes until I watched my mentor do a angle back in traffic like the pro that he is. That was day one before I was even on duty, and it made me realize what a small fish I really am.

Anyhow, he's been very patient. I did my best back last night at a pretty freaking busy truckstop and it went well. A few pullups but no crunching metal or fiberglass and our rig is straight and almost centered in the hole. I'll take it.

And... truckers are awesome people.

Cattletsburg, KY. We still don't have a b- service nor a windshield replacement solution.

Our drop in Jessup, MD went well. Very tight area for the pickup but it went well.

I drove about 8 hours after the pickup; from Jessup to Cattlettsburg, KY. Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia are very pretty. Lots of green rolling hills and mountains. And no forest fires!

It's sort of challenging spending so much time with another person in such a small space. I really don't see how mentors do it, time and again, student after student.

But I'm very thankful that they do.

Sort of a crazy day. There was a problem with the address on a load we were supposed to deliver today so we lost about half a day (or more).

We were supposed to take a load to Denver after the drop this afternoon but had to decline that one due to the scheduling getting all hosed up.

We really are on safety hold now for the tractor needing service, so once again it's all up in the air.

My takeaway from today:

1- Don't take any of it personal. It's not personal. It's just business.

2- Smile and laugh. It helps.

3- Remember that the foul up is ruining the day for all those other people too: the receiver, the driver leader... everyone's day just got ruined, not just your day. Everyone's day just got ruined.

4- Be flexible. Be willing. Be cooperative. It will be appreciated.

Ok. Well I've been on the road for twelve days now. I've done something like 21 backs and I have over 80 hours behind the wheel. Almost halfway.

I would have been over halfway but we lost a ton of road time due to various SNAFU's. Sometimes it's best to just smile, laugh and say "aw, what the heck!"

We've been running around Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio for a couple of days. We're now back in Columbus, at the terminal , trying to get that 50K mile B Service done, and the windshield replaced.

We get a reminder (on the QualComm) for the B Service at least daily. It seems like three times a day, but I'm sure it's only once a day.

It looks like we'll be second into the shop in the morning, so... fingers crossed.

It has definitely reached the point where I'm basically overthinking EVERYthing.

On a good note, my mentor gave me something that could probably be very loosely considered a compliment on my backing tonight. I'm sure it's as close as I'll get to actual positive feedback, so what the heck: I'll take it.

So far, I have yet to meet or deal with a single crabby person on the road. I've seen a few but haven't had to deal with any. Every single shipping/receiving worker, forklift operator, security guard and trucker that I've dealt with have been a pleasure to deal with.

I guess I'm just lucky, and I'd rather be lucky than good.

Great posts Blue Zombie Trucker! Thanks so much for sharing! Nicole