Team Werner

My god Sassy, your situation is virtually identical to me and the missus. I was fortunate enough to have passed my cdl tests with a great set of trainers from a community college, i did great on the range, but freaked out on the test with the reverse dock parking/ I guess Jeremiah has the same feelings, I got it on the second crack after a lot of 'brown tonguing' with the examiner, yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir is invariably helpful.

I went to Werner at Indianapolis, had the two days orientation, and whilst waiting for a trainer to be assigned, which seems to take a little longer if you a non-smoker like me, I meet a trainer at the hotel whose student had gone home a week earlier and he didn't know if he was coming back. I got chatting with him, and found out he was from the same town as me in Michigan, and that he was on regional Midwest. Now this is like striking gold as he is home every weekend. I asked him if he would like another student, he sent a message on the 'Qualcomm (witch, contrary to a lot of people's opinion, is fantastic), got a positive response, and I joined him on the truck.

On day two I had the misfortune to be in contact with a woman in an SUV up in Illinois, and am waiting to see if they (Werner) are going to put a prntable or non-preventable on my record, the attending police officer gave out no citations, but I continues on the job with my trainer, who is great. I've now got nearly forty hours under my belt of the required 275 hours necessary before they cut me loose.

This is where our similarity creeps in Sassy, my wife couldn't take the separation, so yesterday I called my SDM (Student driver manager) and told him I had to leave the truck and be at home for personal reasons, I didn't tell him I was already at home, and he immediately asked me if I needed a bus ticket to get home, (Werner cynics take note). We clarified, my position that I could rejoin within thirty days and retain the hours I have accrued, after which I have to take the medical and drugs test all over again.

I have not burned my bridges, and sincerely hope that my wife will see how unhappy it has made me and not throw a wobbly if I go back within the month. We have only been married twenty-two months, so it's still nice and shiny, and I personally don't think that any job is at the price of the marriage. My wife is a returning student and completes her masters in April, I just hope she can get a job and regain a bit more independence. I need more experience to find a day job. - I just love driving.

See any similarities Sassy??? - roll on Monday, and enjoy each other.

 

Dimond,

How old is your wife? If you don't mind me asking that is. I know how she feels about you being gone. It's hard at any age or stage of marriage. My husband and I have been together since November of 2004. Our son was born in March of 2006. It's hard on all three of us. But you do learn to adjust. My husband just started OTR three weeks ago. Before that, he drove local for almost ten years so he was home every night. Now that he's gone, we talk to each other on the cell phones three or four times a day. Thank goodness our cell plan has unlimited mobile to mobile because we're already over our minutes otherwise!! LOL!! If she's working on a masters, she's probably pretty busy. That's the big thing, staying busy. Sitting at home all day with nothing to do and no one to talk to but a two year old is really a thing to get to you after a while. Tell her to sign up on here and chat with us. All of us who stay home while our men are out on the road know how she feels. You're right in hoping that finding a job will help her as well. If she has something to occupy her during the day that she enjoys doing, it will help. It's the sitting around that gets to you. Once you get out on your own, she can help you out every day, even from home. She can check out weather reports for the areas you'll be traveling, check out mapping, traffic updates, find locations of truck stops, all kinds of stuff on the internet for you.

I know what you mean about loving to drive. I used to years ago, and miss it every day. Good luck, and I hope it works out for you.

T

 

Sassy,

Thanks for the update. That's right, most of all he's got to remember to breathe while taking the test. Lack of oxygen to the brain doesn't help one's thinking skills!! LOL!! We're all rooting for him. We know he can do it. I'm sure you've already told him to take his time and read each question carefully as they do throw in trick questions. He can do it.

Keeping the fingers crossed,

T

 

Thanks for your support Sassy and T - I told you Sassy there were great similarities between you and us, we beat you to the marriage thing by three months - April 10, 2006 to be precise, it's my third and I am B's second, I never expected this degree of happiness at my time of life, I'm three weeks off of sixty-three and B is nine years younger.

Congrats to Jeremiah, now for goodness sakes remind him that in his test tomorrow, he is allowed faults, in the reversing section, which is what I failed on first time, if he knocks a cone or two over, stop there, don't pull out and start again provided his trailer rear is somewhere in the box, he will still pass. Mirrors, mirrors, I am convinced my examiner moved them without my seeing just to see if I checked their adjustment, I didn't first time, but made #### sure I did on the second, also an exaggerated swivel-necked philosophy to show the examiner that J is actually checking every single potential hazard left and right. Tomorrow he will have his CDL.

T, you beat us both by about two years, though I am confused as to why your husband switched from a day run to OTR, especially with your young son? I would kill for one of those but have not yet got enough experience.

I've got a spare bottle of bubbly Sassy, please give us a reason to crack it tomorrow!

 

Dimond,

My husband started driving ten years ago fresh out of driving school. He started with a local company, and worked there for nine years hauling coal and was home every night. (that's where we met, when I worked there in the office) The company he was working for closed the terminal here where we live. He found another local job hauling scrap steel. When he was with the first company, we had a bring home income of about 600 a week. When they moved out and he took the job at the next company, his bring home suddenly went down to 200 to 300 a week. Sometimes even less. Over Christmas and New Years there was no work at all, and we ended up going for three weeks without any income at all. You can't support a family on that. There's really not much as far as local jobs around here other than grain hauling, and those are hard to find too. The few that there are he cannot get because he has a felony conviction back in 1991. So after much discussion, he's had to take an OTR job. And boy was that first paycheck nice. I would love to have him home, but in order for him to get a decent paying local job, we'd have to move closer to a larger city, like Indy. And that would defeat the purpose because the cost of housing is higher.

I am heading back to school to get my CDL back. I've talked to a guy I know who has a few trucks that he runs local hauling grain. It won't pay much, after I take out paying a babysitter for the little one I'll probably have about 200 or so a week. I figure I should make about 400 or 500 a week before taxes. But hey, it's extra money that we can put back and save for emergency use. I used to drive OTR fifteen years ago, before husbands and kids and all. And I've missed it every day since. Now, I know hubby could stay home and run grain, but that really doesn't pay the greatest if you're trying to support a family, car payments, rent, and all those household bills.

 

Sassy,

Tell him congrats!!! And smack him for scaring you like that. OOHHH!!! My husband does that to me too. When we're expecting something good, he'll come home all dejected, and say it didn't work out just to watch me get sad, then say no I'm only kidding, it went through. Drives me nuts.


Keepin the fingers crossed!!!

T

 

Nice history T, nice because although it's been hard, you've both faced reality, and I'm sure the little one will one day also. It sure is nice to hear of couples who face reality, and can work around the difficulties of separation to their best advantages, and I'm not having a 'dig' at my wife either, that's different and we will work it out.

I am somewhat surprized that your husband's history some seventeen years ago is still haunting him, most application forms I see state "within the last ten years" - Whatever the outcome, good luck with your retake of the cdl, I would imagine it's rather like riding a bike for fifteen years, you get back on and get right back into it.

Sassy, Jeremiah is in my thoughts about now, and that bubbly awaits!- please keep us posted