Anyone doing C1/Indy March 4?

It was a cash advance for $40. Not a big deal. I just let my pocket get down to $5..... thinking I was gonna upgrade and go home and have $25 in my pocket instead. Shoulda did the Etrade debit but then the next ComData transaction would be a surprise. Better to have incurred indifference when the situation was not critical.

i heard about that place..... looking under and around. Inspector Cleauso. LOL

 

I aced the written exam, I was told (today). And i passed the road exam. All i need now is my three trainers completing the paperwork on me and turning it in. Pathetic, isn't it? I could have been exactly where I am now two weeks ago but instead I am stuck in another hotel wondering how it is I get paid each week.

Still thankful but wearing several bald spots on my head from scratchin' it. LOL

 

USA got their paperwork together from my trainers. I am in all the way now. LOL Waiting on my tractor assignmenet.

 

Finally..... An opportunity to make extra money....... panhandling at the Greyhound stations. Joking. Greydogging to Vandalia to pickup a ProStar. Ain't my idea but......... I am five weeks out from the house. 10 days total in hotels. 5 days total in the right seat. 3 hours on the written exam. and 20 minutes on a road test. Wanting to grill a steak and some vegetables and walk the dogs around the lake....... play 50 questions with the wife. I lost 10 lbs. I wonder if she'll notice.

Be safe.

 

Well, well...... I picked up my truck in Vandalia last Friday. It wobbled down the road and they fixed it right then.......... Then I got home and the brakes were buring up and they fixed it pretty quick........ Then one of the center brake valves intermittantly got stuck and they tried fixing it pretty fast. The Peterbuilt dealer has it now and won't begin working on it for a couple days. They are hinting of sending me after another tractor. When asked if that is what I want, I said..... "###### if I do. ###### if I don't." I understand the newbie getting the old stuff. But I don't understand distributing junk. I have had this tractor for five full days. Four days have experienced breakdowns. USA gets someone to you very fast for repair but what is being repaired should have been tossed over into Mexico a long while back.

 

Yeah, thanks. I wanted to keep it because it had new tires but it was breaking down every day. I hear tires can be difficult to get at times. Just hear-say. I had new ones replace new ones on the steers. No arguing or anything. They were blims or something..... out of round they said.

USA may have decided it was a losing battle....... Peterbilt could not fix the brakes so that is a deal-breaker. The truck then needs 5th wheel work, then Thermo-King work. If I could, I'd put bushings throughout the front end. It pops and cracks and jerks at select movements.

They sent me to Morristown TN to pick up a Cascadia. We agreed on a time that i got to 15 minutes early in a rental car coming from Louisville and no one was there to give me the truck. USA comes through again in 10 minutes getting me a room right down the road about 1 1/2 miles away. Ya can't ask for more. I'll try picking the truck up again in the morning.

I am on a fixed/uniform pay for a while so no need to remind anyone of break-down pay. 339 miles in a week. That is how much that truck was breaking down. Wednesday (I think it was) the thing broke down three times. Two of them were 100 yards apart. And I still have hair.

 

I am not giving a lot of the deatails. I am giving everyone the benefit of doubt (for the while).

I began this adventure March 4. It has been about ten weeks with only a few dollars reaching my hand and most of that has been in paying immediate expenses on the road. Ten weeks in a job with no pay is a substantial undertaking for anyone. I wanted to do this. I did not have to. I had a job paying more than this job ever will. I have a BS in Mathematics and a BS in Business Administration (minor in Management). I can go home and come up with a far better paying gig in a couple months.

All said, more or less, my wife told me to come home and forget this adventure. For the first time in a long while, she is beginning to make sense. LOL

USA is fantastic at getting you out of the messes they get you into. Their problem, I see, is they don't look terribly far beyond their nose in any one thing. Therefore, a new mess is waiting somewhere not far away. These are the kinds of things needing change if USA is ultimately to become successful.

My 2 cents. Now I am completely broke.

 

I went and got my Cascadia in TN then hit the road Friday afternoon. It is currently Wednesday night following then and I have accumulated over 2300 miles. Once I complete my pre-plan for early tomorrow that will be over 2700 miles in six days. And I go home for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

I have a different fleet manager who is a pre-planning nut. I know my game a day or more in advance. Nice. Last Friday I had my ducks in a row until Monday. This is good ####! But I will lose her in mid-July.

Who forgot to tell me about northeast truck stops filling up early????????? I'll have to get even on that one. LOL

Two problems......... The ocassional backup and getting a routine at the shipper/receiver. It seems I can knock off some time in those locations. Once I get moving, I don't stop. Ask safety. Just kidding. LOL

I bought a Virgin Mobile USB wireless connection for my laptop. I just got it running. It works well. It uses Sprint bandwidth. If interested go to Walmart.com and buy it there for 1/2 price.