Total Newbie Here

Still excited?

Hell yes! I leave tomorrow!

I flew into St Louis tonight with reservations for a car at Enterprise and a king suite in Sullivan. Got to Enterprise and found out they only take credit. I have 0 credit cards. They suggested Avis or Hertz. Called Hertz. No luck. Called Avis. He said, "yeah, we take cash and debit." He started to book me, but had to transfer me because I was going to pay cash. The call dropped. During that call, I had booked an Uber to the Avis joint. The driver, upon hearing of my debacle, suggested I call and double check the cash policy. Looked up the location, and lo and behold.... They closed at 1pm. It was after 7pm. Nowhere else takes cash. I'm 3 hours from my destination. Uber driver offers to take me all the way to Springfield for 1/2 what the app was going to charge. So, she drives me the full 3 hours! I cancelled my room in Sullivan and I'm currently at the Campus Inn in Springfield. I have the day to rest and study tomorrow. Then orientation starts bright and early Monday morning.

Misty that experience is not unlike what you can expect once solo...roll with the punches, adjust, work it out, and play the hand you are dealt all the while maintaining a positive attitude.

You got it done!

Good luck!

Last night was pretty fun. My roommate and some of the people she bussed in with and I all went to eat at Steak and Shake. Then we all went back to our room and studied. Went to bed around 1045.

I'm sitting in the line for the DOT physical. It's going to be at least an hour, if not more, before I get to the front. We started out at 7am in class. We went over some basics and some paperwork. Then they split us into 4 groups. We then went about the next 4 tasks: agility test, file review, drug screen, and DOT physical. For the agility test, we had to stand on one foot for 5 seconds, turn our heads, bend down, lift some weights, climb a ladder, and throw a 65 lb tarp up on a 6 foot platform, among a few other tasks. Then the file review, we went over the application and background check. Then there was a 2 hour wait in a long line for the drug test. I ate lunch before heading to the waiting room for the physical. I had cod, green beans, and mixed rice. Next, I'll do some CBTs before heading to the sim lab for training at 6pm. There are some interestong characters here :)

As long as you're having fun and learning, it's all worth it.

So I had my physical done. It wasn't too bad. I had to fill out some extra forms because of depression, some of my meds, and a heart procedure I've had done. Other than that, it was smooth sailing. Then I went to the cafeteria and grabbed dinner to take back to the room. My roomie was in there doing the same. Two others women we met came back to our room and we all hung out until I had sim lab at 630. That was pretty interesting. It was harder than it looked, but it wasn't terrible. I did ok. We started just upshifting with no clutch or anything to familiarize ourselves with the positions of each gear. After doing that a bit, we learned and practiced double clutching. Then, we got to crank her up and practice with the gas pedal, too. We didn't steer, but that was ok. We got to focus on the mechanics of the shifting. I went to the CBT lab after that, but couldn't get through the second one without drifting off. So, I came back to my room and I'm about to hit the sack. All in all, it was a good day.

The day started early at 540. I showered and went down to the training room to snag a seat. I went ahead and did a CBT while waiting, then I went and grabbed a banana and some hard boiled eggs from the cafeteria. I got back in plenty of time before class started and had a great seat. We did our roll call and talked about a few things. Then we had a quick logbook class, during which I was falling asleep. I managed to make it through without snoring, though ;) After that, I tried to hop on the shuttle to the DMV , but it was full. So, I went and took a nap instead. At about 1030, I woke up and went down to catch the 1100 shuttle. I made it on that time. We went to the DMV where I passed all 4 sections on the first try. I even got a 100 on one of them! I couldn't actually get my permit yet because I still don't have my medical card. I'll get it in the morning and head back to the DMV after that. After the test, I had time to kill before the shuttle came back, so I had a celebratory lunch at the chinese joint on the corner. Headed back to Campus Inn and went to the lab for CBTs. I made sure to have some coffee, because I was exhausted! At 345, we had sim lab until 615. We worked some more on double clutching and then jumped to downshifting. I did ok with it. I could be better, of course. After that, I went to Walmart. My roomie is sick, so I went to get her some Theraflu. Then my crew came to the room and I helped them study because I was the only one that passed all 4. Now I'm in the lab watching CBTs. Tomorrow should be a good day. I am having fun and loving the people I've met so far.

I’m living vicariously through your posts. Good luck, study, and have fun. I look forward to each and every one of your entries.