Question:
Here is my 11th week (of 16) ending Friday, November 7, 2002
Monday:
CPR/First Aid
Tuesday:
I was sick, and wouldn't you know it the class began logging procedures. Oy vai!
Wednesday:
Review of yesterday's class on logging procedures. (Ah, fortunate for me! I've caught up now.) Watched a video on logging, and I took yesterday's home that they had watched.
Drove the circuit concentrating on honing in on positioning and shifting.
Thursday:
Test on logging.
An officer from the Minnesota Department of Transportation spoke with us for 4 hours. He went over tons of stuff, namely stuff to understand about their vehicle inspections: what to expect if you're pulled over, what to do, what not to do, what to have prepared, etc.
I took my rodeo (close-quarter manuevering) test and passed. But wouldn't you know it, I smoked a cone on this manuever called the "Serpentine" I NEVER smoke that cone . . . NEVER! Oh well, they know I can do it, so that's good. All that's left is the road test for my CDL, and that should be in about 2 weeks!
Friday:
Review of yesterday's Dept of Trans visit.
The course is now changing in both its momentum and goal. We're all very familiar now with the basics, with the rigs, and what have you. Now we'll be moving into working to get our CDL so we can do daily driving trips. We're expected to have about 2500 miles under our belts when we graduate. It's getting exciting now!
Started map planning (State Highway for the time being) and understanding.
Instructor stressed communication--you HAVE to know where you're going, when you're supposed to be there, and what you're doing. CALL the receiver, no where the dock is, confirm and NEVER assume. He told some stories about trip-planning mistakes (including himself.) One had to do with a trucker, having not reading the Bill of Lading correctly, ending up in a town with the same name on the Bill of Lading but in a different state! That's costly. Communication!
Also he stressed the need to be professional with dock formens, workers, etc. Treat them well, and usually they'll reciprocate.
I then practiced some backing.
For the road,
Starkman

Answer:
Congrats on getting this far.
Have you found a job yet? (pending passing of the road test)

Answer:
Nope, nothing yet on a job--I'm hoping to go to work for my instructor!-- but thanks for the kudos!
There's a few local yokal places here. Not bad, either. So, I'll see.
For the road,
Starkman

Answer:
When you treat these people with courtesy and respect, with the expectation that you will in turn be treated with the same, you are in for a big disappointment, my friend. People are people everywhere. They can be good as gold, or as rotten as ca-ca!
I suggest you treat people with courtesy and respect for your own sake, for your own happiness and freedom from being influenced by other peoples' bad attitudes. THEN when they actually DO treat you with the same gracious courtesy you display in self-control, you will find real gratitude in your own heart toward that. It's a real bonus.
It's not easy to keep your cool when confronted by a surly receiver or forklift operator. When the warehouse policy is to treat drivers with less humanity than they would give a stray dog. It takes practice. I am still working on this.
No matter what, I will respond to those in charge with a polite, professional and courteous manner. This will prevent a lot of agitation on both sides, and possibly create an environment where I can find even more grace and gratitude for what I have been given. I am thankful that I have a job, it's a good company (again, so far...), today I have the privilege of working (even if it is a short local delivery), and the satisfaction that I am giving it my best 100%.
According to Charles Kuralt, "Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything."
Semisweet

Answer:
Lightfoot,
What my instructor was saying was that the odds better for you that the dock workers and foremans will treat a driver better if the driver treats them with respect. Yeah, people are people, and that's the real world, but I think it's still a generalality out there that if I make the effort to be nice, people tend to respond. It's definitely getting colder out there, that's for sure, but we ain't all dead yet!
For the road,
Starkman

Answer:
But the service (HA!) you get wont be much different Thats just the way it is at warehouses and such.
Thats a decent school you are going to.
Its time to start recruiting companies now.
So you have information in hand to make a choice BEFORE you finish.
Best of Luck, TC