6/20, 6/21, 6/22

6/20, 6/21, 6/22

I’m home for the weekend so I can catch up for the week.

6/20
We spent the first half the day on Wednesday driving around the 500. We just went around slowly shifting up and down through the low range. I had no problem shifting up but grind them some shifting down, gotta watch those rpm. We spent the afternoon driving around in the country on two lanes. I made a mess of it. I haven’t learned the pattern yet using the range selector and some times forgot what gear I was in. Learning to get the pattern down and to get the feel for the engine and clutch, all while encountering traffic and rolling curving terrain was a lot of sensory input to take in. I understand how I learn though and while I only got 30 minutes in the driver’s seat, I will continue to assimilate the information for hours. The old Freightliner is a bit rough and the springs that center the shifter are shot so finding 2/7 and 3/8 is giving me some trouble. I was surprised how tense I was after 30 minutes driving.

6/21
We spent 7 hour in the class room going over chapter quizzes and watching tapes. It seamed like it was partly for gaining knowledge and partly to see who can stay awake through 7 hours of monotony. Finally we went out and did some coupling and un-coupling. That’s easy, just take care and check everything. BTW, did I say how bad te hotel sucks? Nice lobby but trashy grounds, trashy people around and a pool that looks like an e coli incubation lab.

6/22
Well we spent the whole day bobtailing around the beautiful rolling twisting two lane back roads of Georgia. I know the shift patterns now and can even skip shift but I still having trouble finding 2/7 and 3/8 with that worn out shifter. There sure is a lot going on when you are in coming to a small town with cars lining the sides of the road, signs every where, people crossing streets. I’m still grinding and grinning but it’s getting better. This is gonna get real interesting when there is a trailer back there. Gotta watch those rpm and shifting in the turns . Everyone in the class is doing well but one guy showed up this morning and then disappeared before we left. He said he had an emergency and will be back Monday.

A side bar; when I went up to the lobby of the hotel to get a bowl of stale cereal at 0600 the lady said that I just missed a big black bear walking through the parking lot. I guess he though the place sucks too because he didn’t stick around. I wish I could have seen that though.This week was a blast. Most of the class room stuff is over so we will be in a truck from now on. That’s what I need the most, time in the truck. Greg, our trainer is a lot of fun but that doesn’t mean he is a goof off. He is constantly advising and correcting without adding a lot of pressure. So far, so good.