I survived orientation

I don't even know where to begin... Today I was thrown so much information it boggles my mind... We coverd so much stuff, signed so many papers... How many times do I need to write my adress and ss#? damn...

It all started with a road test this morning. I tester was a woman who drives from medford to portland on a dedicated run hauling beer. But she didn't have a trailer so we picked up a fully loaded trailer of paper rolls... She was in a century with drop axle. First of all, the way I have to have the steering wheel, it's so far forward ( I'm 6'8") that it blocks most of the guages... eek. Gotta work on adjusting it better when I head out with the trainer. Anyways, the first thing that I found was different was how amazingly TIGHT the gears were... it seems that the eaton 10spd at truck school had "rounded" gears... I don't know what the real name is but the gear shift went in so much smoother. But this thing was stiff and you totally didn't have to push the clutch in hardly at all.

I didn't do to bad but it's odd stepping in a newer truck that is totally ass backwards compared to old fld's we had at school. Really screwed me up but I will get better after I drive for longer than 15 minutes... We headed around town and got onto I-5 and headed south a couple exits and got off.. Everything was fine until I had to make a right onto sage (the road gordon is located off of) I was downshifting and was doing it good until she said to do it agian. The light was coming up quick as we were going down the overpass and I got the brakes and tried to rev it up. I couldn't get it in gear :shock: :shock: and coasted around in neutral... ooops... I was lost for some reason but we got around the corner and put it into 4th and kept on trucking.

Next up was the backing test. She had me park between to real expensive baby blue cones (trucks) Now, I've never driven a 53' and hardly any 48 footers but I got it back into the hole perfect. She said she hasn't had any other new student's ever make it without pulling up. I was happy and made me smile a bit after messing up around the turn. Now, I realize that the conditions were perfect, the and I had a lot of room to manuver and just because I did the "test" good, I know that hardly if not any docks will be as easy as this one... but I was pretty happy with how I did.

Around the back of the yard there is an older century that was involved in a crash and they are using it for parts, but behind it theres an old ex dick simon truck that appeared to of flipped over and it was all messed up on the drivers side. We walked outside to do the "dolly lift" test and to be shown the proper way to get in and out of the trailers when I asked what happend to the old dick simon truck. Apparently it was involved in a DUI crash. A student who was only out on his own for 30 days after training pulled behind a bar where he thought he was hidden and started drinking. Someone reported him and he was told to go to the terminal asap ( I suppose they didn't think he was drinking or something....) While going to the terminal he flipped the truck on an offramp and slid into two other trucks with very high dollar loads! He was arrested and off to jail he went...

I appears the chances of me getting a century or columbia are higher than I originally thought but they did say we could get a paddle tranny truck... I don't want that, I want to shift!

I'm heading back home in the morning but right now it's pouring outside and it's been cold all day. Ashland is covered in snow and they say they are going to get 17" tonight!!!! Hopefully I can make it home asap so I can get with my trainer on thurday/friday.

That's all for now, as soon as I get home I will post my photos from this trip. Until then,

Keep truckin'
Chris