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

To update, I went to the terminal yesterday to wait for my mentor for our 12 noon meet up.

I packed up the bike again and arrived at the terminal an hour early to be ready. My mentor called and said there was some kind of delay at the shippers. He would let me know when he would be able to pick me up. I never heard back from him but didn't want to annoy him so I waited until after 6:00 PM and called him. No good on a new load. Don't know what happened with the load from that morning that he was dropping before he was supposed to pick me up. He said it didn't look like there would be any other loads for the day so I informed him I would head back to the motel and wait for his call. Bike was packed up again and I went back to the hotel last night.

I didn't hear from him overnight and didn't hear from him again in the morning. I got up reasonable early just in case and continued to check my cell. No luck.

My checkout time is 11 AM today so I texted him before I checked out and let him know I was heading back to the terminal to wait for him. I didn't hear back from him so I called him and left a message 3 hours later. He called back an hour later and said that he hadn't heard anything about any loads and he would call me when we had a load. I told him I was about out of money and that I would just sleep at the terminal until we go out. He offered for me to stay in his truck parked at the terminal. This whole time I was under the impression that he was with his truck. I had no idea it was parked right there at the terminal. I know he lives less than an hour away so I'm not sure if he is just taking a 34 hour reset at home or just taking home time. I didn't ask and didn't feel like I should.

I sat around at the terminal again all day today and towards the end of the day somebody called me from the terminal (didn't catch his name) and said that my mentor's truck keys would be left at the front desk for me so I could crash in the truck. He said my mentor had an appointment with a driver manager on Monday. My mentor called me right afterwards and told me the same thing about his keys being up front. He asked if I spoke to someone and I confirmed. He asked what the guy said and I told him. It sounded kind of weird. It sounded like he was curious if I got details from this other terminal guy. I didn't and told him only that I was told he had an appointment on Monday with a driver manager. My mentor reiterated that I could stay in his truck until we go out. I thought that was kind of cool. Not sure if I'm going to take him up on it or just crash in the driver's lounge. I'm not sure how I'm going to run the cpap in the truck without starting it so I may just have to stick with the drivers lounge where I can plug the machine into the wall. Not looking forward to doing this at all since it looks like Im hooked up to life support and I don't want to be the truck lounge sideshow's greatest attraction. I didn't get any details about this meeting on Monday and didn't ask but I am kind of curious. I guess it's not my business if they didn't want to tell me details. My mentor sounds pretty cool so I'm hoping it's nothing serious and hoping I don't have to go thru the process of getting another mentor.

I thought I was going out last Thursday with a mentor and now it's the following Friday and I'm back here at the motel hoping my money doesn't completely run out. I'm sure I'm going to have to either sleep in that truck on the property or in the terminal in the next few nights. I'm just anxious to go out at this point. No one to blame in this whole thing, it's just one of those "it is what it is" type things I guess. I'll live and just continue to tell myself it could always be worse. Because it can and it's not.


Just pretty cranky today. Just one of those days where nothing seems to go well. Started this morning when I was checking out of the motel and some guy, another customer, just stared and stared and stared at me for no reason while I waited to check out. I have not idea why he was staring at me and being so obvious about it but it was getting under my skin. I'm not a morning person either. It's my issue but I have always had this thing with people staring at me. I think it might be a Jersey City thing but in my little world it was always considered rude and almost confrontational to stare at someone like that and not say anything. Not saying my thinking is right, it's just the way it has always been where I grew up. But being as I'm in the Pacific Northwest and always trying to take a "when in Rome..." type attitude I kept my mouth shut and just looked over at him with the look of "dont mess with me". Did I say I wasn't a morning person?

The rest of the day and night centered around me forgeting things and just having a cluttered mind. Just wasnt thinking at all today. I was on my bike heading to the discount tribal cig place and these three guys in a car in front of me were driving stupid so I took the opportunity to speed around them. The next thing I see is they are tailing me and it looks like they are trying to keep up with me. I take it as these guys messing with a guy on a motorcycle so I sped up and got off my exit. They went straight. I arrive at the smoke shop and upon coming back to my bike notice that I left 2 bungee cords hanging off the back of my bike. Ah ha! That's why they were trying to keep up with me, they were probably trying to warn me that I had cords hanging off the back of my bike. Just not in a clear head today at all. The day finished off with my soon-to-be-exwife telling me that she put one of our dogs down today. I never agreed with him being put down because I don't think it was that time yet but she disagrees and warned me that she was putting him down this week. She has a new roommate moving in and she doesn't want the old, stinky dog around this new roommate's daughter. We agreed that she would use the mobile vet when that time came since we had used this vet in the past for our other dog. It was nicer to have him put down in the comfort of his own home with his family and our other female dog instead of being brought to a weird new place and put up on a cold, metal table to be injected. She didn't use the mobile vet, like agreed, and she brought him to a strange vet and put him down there. Exactly what we agreed wouldn't happen. I'll be honest, when it comes to my dogs I'm a softie. I wept outside in the little smokers pavilion outside with my hoodie over my head and tried to regain my composure before I could go back inside. What a freakin ##### she is. Glad she could afford that new tattoo a couple of weeks ago instead of doing the right thing for our little black lab buddy. Anyway, glad this day is just about over. Tomorrow is a new day...

 

Very excited. Can't wait to get out on the road and hit some new states. I'm all Washington'd out at this point and ready to see something new.

I'll remember that W. Memphis location. I'll bet my mentor has been there so I'll make sure I'm indoctrinated.

Can't wait to go solo already and I haven't even been on the road with my mentor yet. I know I used to get excited every night when I knew I was going to drive (a straight truck) in the mornings back in the day. This should be the same feeling but multiplied by 10.

 

They paid for one night at the motel during orientation but technically my home address is within 50 miles so I'm guessing that is why. However my home address is for address purposes only since I can't stay there anymore. I don't think they pay for anyone's hotel once we are waiting for a mentor since we could be waiting for a few weeks and they can technically send you home to wait like they have done for others. I think my case is kind of unique since I don't technically have a home here anymore although I still have an address.