May Trucking, My Newbie Adventure begins

Yeah, the orientation week flys by, and you're still not sure what to expect. THat's alot of the` reason I started this thread. I figure at least some other May Newbies can get an idea of what it's really like.
Your time with your trainer is of utmost importance. Listen to everything he/she says, take it all in. Before you know it, you'll be off on your own and missing the companionship.

As far as missing gears, don't worry. May is looking at common sense. Hell, I even drove Standard shift busses for four years, and I still miss gears on occassion. May wouldn't have passed you on, if they didn't see your common sense from the get go. AS I stated in my training, two guys failed the initial road test. It wasn't because of gears, they just simply didn't survey the intersection they were entering, and tried to make a turn when it wasn't safe. That's more important than missing gears. Judging the situation. You face those hundreds of times everyday. That's what May is looking for, a driver who can think ahead, and handle every crisis that comes up. Which they constantly do. LOL!

You're going to be overwhelemed at first, but just try to take it all in. Soon, you'll be solo, and earning the dough. As I stated earlier, I write about all things I encounter, Good and Bad. That's reality. If you're realistic about your goals, you'll achieve them and be a happy and safe driver.

Good luck buddy. And If you see me out there, wave a hand.

I'm in truck 4586.

On a personal note. Just got back to Denver from Georgia. Delivered the load in Alabama, and was routed to a Distributer in URBAN Atlanta to drop a trailer and pick up another they needded back in Utah. Mead Distributing in Atlangta is a nightmare. Getting there involves a road where the lanes aren't wide enough for a truck, plus their empty yard was a mudhole that took me an hour and a half to get the trailer out of. Not enough room to get out of. Sure, their yard-dogs can get a trailer in and out, but my tractor is 12 feet longer. It was, to say the least, a challenge. THen off to RockMart Georgia to get loaded the nerxt morning. Then off to Denver.

My fuel stop was in Nashville. I talked to my wife, and she told me that my routing was sending me right into a major storm in the midwest. I contacterd my DM to see if I could be routed on I-40 after Nashville insterad of up 24, 57 and 70 straight into the storm. He said no. Wasn't his call. I replied saying if May is always touting safety, why route me right into a storm. Agakin, not his call, I must stay on routing. I replied stating that as a Driver Man ager he should be able to froute his drivers sdafely. Again, same response, not his call. There, is a downside of a semi'-larger company.

So, drove straight into the storm By the time I hit my stop in Ina, Illionois for the night, probably had about two-thousand pounds of extra ice on my rig. Took it slow and steady, and arrived alive.

Now in Denver, My first appt isn't until tomorrow night, so crashing at my folks house for the night. THen of to Sygma in Denver, then US Foods in Centennial (Denver) on Monday morning. Then a full days drive to Salt lake for the next stop in SLC, Utah on Tuesday morning, and final stop in Ogden, later that morning. First multi-stop load I've had since training. THen off to Layton, they apparengtly need this trailer for some reason or another. LOL!

WEll, Happy DRiving all!

The adventure continues....
CLUTCH