My first 2.5 weeks with a mentor

Well, I just got home after my first 2.5 weeks with my mentor.

I have a good mentor. We have gotten along very well so far. He is mentoring for the money, but he teaches me what I need to know and seems to enjoy his job.
He has been with Swift for 6 years. He has had his ups and downs with the company, but in general he likes Swift - and he is a no-nonsense kind of guy. He has a very good relationship with his DM, and that is a very important part of the job. Keep your DM happy, and your DM will keep you happy.

I have around 6000 miles racked up so far. We started out going to Phoenix from Fontana, then to L.A. and back to Phoenix. From there to S.C., down to Georgia, to Houston, to Laredo and Bishop TX, out to Seattle, over to Salt Lake City and Ogden UT, then back to Mira Mesa/Fontana when my mentor had to take some emergency home time because of a family problem.

I got my 50 hours in several days ago, so we went to team status. That made things a bit more interesting, since we now have to sleep while the other is driving. I think my mentor, James, is having a more difficult time with it than I am. We have had to shut down a couple times because one of us was too fatigued to drive - lack of sleep, usually his because he also has to be awake to monitor me in difficult driving conditions. And with the bad weather in the NW, he has been awake too much.

We have had to chain up twice so far. Fun. But the second time we paid another trucker to do it, and he taught us how to get them on correctly. The chains were on so tight that we were able to run at 45mph without a problem. It took a bit longer to get them that tight, but it was worth the effort. And when we passed so many trucks with flapping chains and so many broken chains along the highway, it was all too evident that the extra time to get it right was worth it. No broken chains and no damaged equipment...

It is an interesting lifestyle, but one that seems to agree with me. I like having no set hours, just running loads when loads come in.
Not so crazy about not getting a shower every day, but I can deal with it. James likes to be clean, so we have managed to shower every 2-3 days. I like the TA showers, in general. They clean the shower rooms after every use, which is very nice. Always a clean and dry room, with plenty of towels. (We did get treated to a cold shower one day, though, because the boiler was out. I toughed it out and took a cold shower, but James declined and waited until he could get some hot water. Would have been nice to have been forewarned, though.)

So far I have not had a problem due to bad truck stop food. I have my Imodium AD and Maalox with me, but have not needed them as yet. We also have a cooler in the truck, so we always have cold drinks and sandwich fixin's. And the coffee has been both available and good, which is a big thing with me. I have also lost a few pounds, which is a good thing.

So to sum things up...

I am having the time of my life. It was a good decision to get my CDL and go OTR. Hopefully I can make enough $$$ when I go solo to take care of things, but I sure do love the lifestyle. I should have done it sooner.

 

It's being away from my own cooking, that's the hardest part.
I live with my sister and nephew, and I do most of the cooking. Last night it was chicken fried rice, and tonight Matthew wants me to make curry chicken.