And so my new Stevens adventure begins!

Lol...ok. I did a straight line, offset, and alley dock.

 

I have some family and friends that check this post for updates so I will just continue on.

OR 1:

I flew out of Denver on Sat, 23 Nov and into Dallas. Once in Dallas we called the number for the car service we were given and our ride showed up within about 10 minutes. It was a 30 min ride out to the hotel "Americas Best Value Inn". I had heard some horror stories about this place but like everything else was ready to make my own assessment. We arrived around 9pm and as we entered the lobby were told we had to leave our luggage outside so as not to clutter it...which was odd because my traveling partner and I were the only two there but whatever. We had to read and sign a page long "contract" for our stay. Same basic rules as no alcohol, no visitors, etc.. One of the strange rules is that you have to check in every morning to and sign the roster or you will lose your room. They keep all Stevens rooms filled at double occupancy so if you forget they will re-assign your room to someone else. Also, when you return from the terminal you have to check in every night and have your room key rescanned. The room itself was fine. It was not fancy, but it was clean, had a tv, fridge and two full size beds. Some of the people here complain but compared to the house I was living in the last 3 weeks it was a significant upgrade. Pretty much minimal unpacking and straight to bed as the shuttle left at 6 Sun morning.

Sunday:

Went down for breakfast and discovered it consisted corn flakes, fruit loops, apple juice, orange juice, and honey buns in a container. I must say I was expecting a bit more for my "continental breakfast" so I just walked out of that.

Got to the class around 630 and grabbed seat. We found some "orange" papers on the desk that turned out to be our training checklist that we have to keep with us throughout OR 1 and also take onto the trainer truck so they can document your progress. The morning was basically a paperwork drill. They catered in CiCi's pizza for lunch which was pretty good. The afternoon we went out onto the yard for skills testing. We were instructed to perform a 45 degree back in between two trailers, couple/uncouple, straight line back and a road test. Well the 45 didn't go great because we didn't do that maneuver at school. The road test was a challenge because I have only driven 8 speeds but was put in a 10 speed truck for the road test. Both the shifting pattern was different as well as the rpm range that they want us to shift here. I quickly realized that all the schools teach something a little bit different. Imagine that. In the end it worked out and was not a drama.

Monday we had to report at 6 and started off with a drug test and then into the clinic for our physical. Yes I was put on med hold for BP as it was 143/94 which was slightly above the limit. They also had my inflated records from Colorado on file. The Dr gave me the choice to go home and address the issue with my personal dr or to go through their treatment program (for a convenient $150 payroll deduction) and get cleared in about two days. Well yes I went with their plan. After my physical was done about 0730 the rest of the morning was spent sitting in the classroom doing nothing until 1130 when everyone was finished. Lunch was beefaroni, corn, and green beans with bread (no butter) and tea. Lunch was served by a couple ladies out of a hot box in the back room. After lunch we had another series of classes. At 5 they passed out a list of who was assigned to what skills on the yard from the evening skills eval from 5-10pm. None of the med holds were allowed to drive because we didn't pass the physical and instead were kept in the classroom until 8 basically doing a question and answer with the instructor. At 8 we were released and shuttled back to the hotel.

Tue: Arrived at class at 7 again. Class started at 8 and consisted of classes all day until 5. Again we took an hour break for lunch and for dinner that were served in house in the same fashion. I managed to get cleared through the clinic after meds, ekg, and blood tests. I was given a prescription to get filled. I was also told that I would only be granted a 90 day card because of my bmi and neck size requiring me to get be reassessed for sleep apnea. Apparently it was standard practice for the big guys. I know it is not law yet but again Stevens holds a higher standard then the DOT on medical issues. I was allowed to go to the yard Tuesday night and work on skills and get my orange folder signed off on. We were cut loose around 10 and got back to the hotel about 1030. Long day.

Wed: Back to the classroom at 7 for classes all day again. Towards the end of the day we were issued ID cards, fuel cards, and set up payroll. A word to the wise. The payroll ladies wont accept hand written bank account information for direct deposit. You have to have a voided check. I didn't so I will have to try and either get my bank to send fax or get my brother to dig out my checkbook from storage and send me a picture of a check. At the end of the day we met the student planner who is in charge of getting us on board with our trainers. Being it was late in the day and the day before Thanksgiving most of the building was already gone home. We were sent back to the hotel around 5 and told to report back with all of our gear at 9 am on Friday morning. At that time we will either be assigned a trainer who is on the yard, flown out to meet one, or bussed out to meet one. Will have to wait and see what happens.

I will say the orientation days were extremely long and often filled with alot of waiting and endless paperwork but it at the same time it is important people understand the big picture and that you are constantly being evaluated. They are looking out for the jokers who aren't serious, the short fused guys who are always pissed off, and the ones who slid by school with their hand being held but are unable to perform when giving the chance. The days are long but so are days on the road. If you can't handle staying awake in a classroom how can they trust you in the truck? Things to keep in mind.

 

Yea I made we all made it through as well. What was different though was the shifting guidlines they passed out to us when we got here were both up and down shifts at 1500 rpm and 1700 up shift in the high range. We have spent the last 3 weeks shifting up at 1500 and down at a 1000 reving to 1800. Won't be a big deal just caught a bit off guard jumping into a road test but I got it close enough get it done.

 

Well now that OR1 and the holiday are over I was assigned a trainer today. Unfortunately he is not in Dallas. I have a flight booked for 5 am out of Dallas --Charlotte, NC--Atlanta where I will jump in a cab and meet him at the Petro on I285 around midday. Gonna be a long day!

Govind if your reading this I will be there tomorrow....lol.

 

Awesome! I like the sound of that.