Starting with Schneider on Monday

Thanks for the advice Eddy, that means a lot.
And TP is always a good investment

 

Day 1:
Shared Hotel Room
It sucks. That said, I got lucky! I flew in to Dallas ridiculously late, got to the hotel at midnight, so it is safe to say my roommate was not happy. So after class the next day I got back to the room first. He came in about a half hour later and started packing his stuff. Now hes a good kid, he understood my situtaion since that was the only flight I could get. I asked him why hes leavining and hes said yesterday he purcahse his own room so he doesn't have to share. Sweet! Whole room to myself! Now I talked to the hotel staff and they told me that Schneider has never booked an odd number of people... So good luck to you if you want your own room. Also, do get to the bus 15 minutes early. Trust me if you want a seat and don't want to be "that guy."
The Class
As you might imagine, the day was all about paperwork and powerpoints. Fun fun... The lunch was ok, I was told by a driver not to get anything with the chicken... And I can vouch for that, DO NOT EAT THE CHICKEN. We also got to pick out our boots. For those that don't know, they are $35 deducted from your first check. I'd say they are a good deal. They are pretty high quality, I think they will last a few years. One guy looked them up on amazon and they go for about $100, depending on the style you pick. Overall a pretty good first day. Also got a quick look at our training truck... Thats a subjective thing. It is a barebones Cascadia. You love it or you tolerate it.
Overall Observations
Everyone is very nice here. Our teacher, Mike, is great. Been with the company since 87 and he will answer any question you got. After today, I still think I made a good choice.

 

Day 2:
First Road Driving
First thing in the morning we went out with our trainer and did a pretrip and brake test. After that he took us (me and two other guys) out on the road and showed us what he expects as far as shifting and turns. Then he pulled over and said "OK Christian, give it it a shot." What? OK! so I started out OK, the clutches is feather light and the brake is super touchy. About threw the other guys out the front window at the stop sign. Next intersection I managed to get it in reverse... Yea it wasn't first gear... Started off going in the wrong direction, quickly caught it, and away we went. The rest of the drive went "OK" as I missed a gear once in a while and simple things like that. See I am used to a 9 speed, and these are ten speed truck. All the gears are in a different place than what I am used to. He said more practice and I'll be fine, all things that I have to get used to with this truck.
Other Stuff
The rest of the day after lunch was class time. You will have the random "big wig" come in and speak for a bit on topics like safety, benefits, etc. Pretty boring stuff, but all necessary stuff. We got our driver numbers at the end of the day and of a class of 22 guys, no one has been sent home. Speaking of all the guys, the comradery is pretty good. Everyone seems willing to help each other out as needed, and the stories people have about there home towns or their life is great.

That is all I can think of at the moment. My laptop crapped the bucket last night so now I have to use the hotel business center...

 

Well that is good. I am actually not a huge fan of these boots, the steel toe rubs the top of my foot but since I didn't bring any boots I am screwed. Oh well.