Swift - Starting the New Year training with Swift 1/7/13 - A long read...

Discussion in 'Swift' started by DocWatson, Jan 3, 2013.

  1. Rattlebunny

    Rattlebunny Medium Load Member

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    It's beat only because the former driver was a total slob and must have been a heavy, heavy chain smoker. The skylight was dark amber in color ... almost brown. And when I sprayed 409 on the cabinets it looked like I had just sprayed them down with Cola. I won't mention the dried urine that i had to clean off the floor in the bunk area ... oh, wait ... I just did ... oops ... sorry.

    It's getting better, but it's gonna take a lot of work. I spent almost three hours realigning the door to the upper cabinet on the driver's side so it will close and latch ... I think the lower one might be a lost cause ... you get the idea.

    Mechanically she's a sound ship, strong puller with a great engine brake that's held back 77000 in 9th so well that we actually lost speed on a 7% grade. It impressed me anyway. ;-)
     
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  3. Rattlebunny

    Rattlebunny Medium Load Member

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    Hey Doc! Were you ever in the Navy? I knew a sailor once that could get a date just about anywhere in the world ... you could be another Cuda ... he was always on the hunt too. He was a Navy medic and was unfortunately killed just outside Baghdad while attending a wounded Marine a few years ago.

    BTW ... today is that day ... hug, shake hands with, smile at, but most definitely thank any veteran you see.

    THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO WILLINGLY RISK LIFE AND LIMB SO THAT I MAY BE FREE.
    We are truly indebted to you all. Thanks for your service to us and your country ... I know I will never forget the sacrifices made by so many of you.
    You know who you are. And this time ... so do we.

    Happy Veteran's Day!
     
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  4. DocWatson

    DocWatson Road Train Member

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    Hey Rattle. How's it going? No, I was never in the Navy but I wish I could be the Cuda! I'm envious of his ability but sorry to hear about his passing.


    Hope all is well with everyone. I'm in Belize right now and heading up into Mexico tomorrow. I've had the most amazing experience so far. I love Guatemala and I didn't want to leave a few times. The most recent I spent about 5 days with a Columbian girl I met on the road from Coban, Guatemala to Flores. There were protests, country-wide, and the local indigenous tribes blockaded the road. I saw this girl earlier that morning outside a McDonalds (free wifi, didn't eat their food) in Coban. As I pulled up to a line of trucks, busses, passenger cars and tour vans I saw a bunch of Europeans and others sitting outside their vans. I asked what was going on and was informed. Then I noticed her.

    I pulled my bike in front of one of the vans, took off my gear and started talking to this girl Rosio. I mentioned seeing her that morning, many kilometers away, at the McDonalds. Funny bumping into her here. I hung out with her and the rest of the group for about 5 hours waiting for the protests to be over so we could continue on our way towards the town of Flores. As an aside, Flores is a gorgeous little island town set in Lake Peten Itza up near Tikal. The group (and Rosio) were heading to Flores that night. I didn't have any specific place that I had intended to go so I said maybe I would see them there on this small island. That night I arrived in Flores, bumped into Rosio again, and caught up over a Gallo beer. We spent the next 5 days together on the island and nearby just talking and getting to know each other. We had lunch out on a pier in the lake in a town called El Remate, nearby Flores. The lunch consisted of a special kind of white fish only found in this lake. It was caught that very morning by the owner of the restaurant, an avid fisherman. He walked our lunch out to us on this pier himself. That was the kind of week we had. She was amazing. She was insightful, intelligent, warm, beautiful, spicey and Columbian. She was going to Flores to open a restaurant and secure where she would live.

    I stuck around Flores because she was there, putting off going to the ruins at Tikal. On Friday night she made plans to take a bus back to Coban on Sunday to start packing the things from her old restaurant in Coban. That Friday night we went to a hostel/restaurant/bar called Dos Amigos in Flores and got drunk and stayed past closing. We hung out near the seawall drinking beers with friends until 6 AM. We said our goodnights and went our separate ways with plans to meet up that same day sometime later after we had woken. It would be the final day we could spent together. I figured I would leave Sunday also since she was leaving that day as well.

    Four hours after we said our goodnights, I heard a knock on my hotel door. It was 10 AM and she was standing there. She told me that one of her friends from Coban that was in town, in Flores, offered to drive her back to Coban and that she had to leave immediately. Still slightly hungover, extremely tired as it had been only 4 hours since we parted somewhat drunk, and with the stale taste of Gallo beer still on my breath I hugged her goodbye. She thanked me for a great week. I was speechless. I didn't know what to say but I had that feeling that my stomach just dropped and my world had fallen into some abyss. This wasn't the plan. We were supposed to have one more day together. I was happy that she was getting to go home early, on that Saturday, as she had originally wanted to. But in a selfish way I wanted that one last day. She was why I had been staying in Flores and now there was no reason to be there. At least I didn't want to be there. She walked down the hall and I could hear the hostel door closing downstairs as she left. I felt miserable.

    For the first time in this adventure, in this trip, I felt positively alone and lonely. I've been riding solo for almost 2 months now and it has been the most amazing experience. Solo has been the right move from the beginning. But there is a great difference between riding solo and feeling lonely. I can't ever remember feeling that lonely as I did right then. I showered quickly with plans to get out of Flores as quickly as I could. Distance myself from this place that I associated with her this whole week, this whole wonderful week I had spent with her. Tikal was out of the question as it would require me to stay another night in Flores. I could stay in El Remate on the east side of the lake instead but that is where we had our lunch out on the pier. I had to get out of Dodge, as they say, and do it quickly. Tikal could wait for the next time I'm down here, as there will most definitely be a next time. But for now I had to get on my bike, find my equilibrium again, find my peace and get my head straight. I needed a change of location and a change of mentality. I packed my bike, said goodbyes to the guys at the hostel whom had been so cool to me through that week, and I headed towards Belize. I got to the border just before dark, processed myself through and rode down to Belize City where I currently am. Tomorrow I head over the other border, into Mexico at Chetumal. Then I start slowly heading back up through Mexico to home.
     
  5. Lepton1

    Lepton1 Road Train Member

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    Sounds like a great adventure, Doc. Get your head clear so you are focused on your driving, but it does sound like some follow up with Rosio is in order. If the bottom drops out, you may very well have found your soul mate.
     
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  6. DocWatson

    DocWatson Road Train Member

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    Yesterday I took a drive down to Big Charlies truckstop and got my DOT physical. Got my card for 2 years this time instead of the 1 year I have been getting. I'm all set to get back on the road again.

    I was researching other companies on the web and it seems that some still require orientation (not a big deal) but it seems that some also require some amount of time on the road with another driver. I'm basing this on the list of things they ask that you bring with you to orientation. Seems like starting Swift all over again.

    I'm almost tempted to reapply to Swift again, for at least the time being. I guess of great importance to me is getting hometime out here in VA when I need it. Getting hometime out in WA when i need to check up on my bike that still resides at the Sumner terminal. And I guess there is that feeling of, with Swift, knowing what I am getting into. I know the Swift system. I know the expectations. I know how everything works with the company.


    So that's where I stand. I'm ready to work again. Just need to get the feelers out there and get some questions answered.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2014
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  7. DocWatson

    DocWatson Road Train Member

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    I'm back at Swift.

    That was quick. I needed answers and called recruiting in Phoenix. I found out that not only would I not need to go back on the road with a trainer, not only would there be no orientation to reattend but that the process was simple to return to Swift.

    I spoke to my old terminal leader in Sumner and he is sending over a 1 page form for me to fill out here in Richmond tomorrow. It gets faxed to Phoenix for approval for me to return. As I understand it, it is basically making sure I didn't get any DUI's or spend any time in prison, etc. while I was gone from Swift. No problem there. Once Phoenix approves my application I get assigned a new driver leader in Sumner, a new truck here in Richmond and I am in business. My only requirement is that I return here to VA for XMAS.

    I'm pretty excited about this. Despite any issues I had with Swift over the past couple of years it is nice to come back here. It is familiar to me and that's what I need at this point. The thought of starting with a new company, possibly time on the road sharing a truck with some driver I don't know while they determine if I am a fit for another company, another orientation class, learning another company's new system, etc. kind of makes me nervous.

    A lot has changed in my outlook on life since I took this epic solo motorcycle trip into Mexico and Central America and I need to have a smooth transition into U.S. life again. And that is what I'm looking for right now. I know Swift's expectations, I know the routine, the loads, the system. Anything other than that at this point does not appeal to me. Overall, for my first experience in trucking, Swift was good to me. I know there is more out there in the trucking field, there is probably more money elsewhere and greater experiences to be had but for now this is what I need. Once I'm back driving here with Swift again maybe I'll slowly look into other options. I know I want to get my doubles/triples endorsement and, more importantly, my hazmat certification. Then I'll take it from there. For now, it's good to be back in the family and be back.

    Starting the New Year with Swift continues...
     
  8. Lepton1

    Lepton1 Road Train Member

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    Welcome back! Any updates on Rosio?
     
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  9. scottied67

    scottied67 Road Train Member

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    Good to see you back. Were you able to secure a sign on bonus?
     
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  10. DocWatson

    DocWatson Road Train Member

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    lol no. Unfortunately not. She is kind of MIA at the moment. So I'll just visit her there next time I'm down in Guatemala.

    However, I do keep in touch with everyone else I met down there. I have three friends heading south towards the tip of S. America right now and one that is leaving to do the same in February. I'm going to have to live vicariously through them while they have their adventures. In the meantime I'll be saving and planning for my next one.

    I wasn't able to but I didn't check either. It sounded like my status is as if I never really left. The way the recruiter explained it to me, since it is less than a month since I involuntarily terminated myself, that I basically fill out this one page form and I"m back in action. If I waited for that one month period since termination to lapse then there would be more paperwork, an orientation and then I guess I would be considered a rehire. I can call again tomorrow and check on the sign on bonus and see if they will offer it.
     
  11. FatDaddy

    FatDaddy Road Train Member

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    How were you able to get a 2 year card with apnea?
     
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