Magnum ltd - fargo, nd

I was enjoying the entertainment

 

I still have so much popcorn.... what a waste

 

Gee... I got busy. Intended to come back and apologize. Didn't mean to ignore. Just got busy.
Now? I missed all the circus! Doh!
Tony was trying to get ahold of me yesterday. Emails...I sleep during day. Put phone on "Do Not Disturb". Tony's call came through anyway.... interesting. I wanted it.
I am now officially coming back to Magnum. Ever since I told Tony yes. I've been so relaxed. I swear my blood pressure dropped.
Now I got a ton to get done when I get home. Thursday is my last night in the Oil Fields. Got a week to get a ton done at home. Show up on Monday the 23rd.
I'm so relaxed.... I can't believe it.

 

Almost had a tow truck take out my left mirror last night at the start of my shift. Had a OTR trucker clip and buckle my right mirror this morning in a construction zone. Trucks left lane, he was in the right, swerved into my lane. I stopped outside of construction zone to assess damages. He didn't. Went looking for him at the rest area and no go. Pretty lame thing to have on my DAC.

 

WesternPlains, that's the week I'm hoping to be back up to Fargo. See ya up there!
Dang, does this mean the thread is getting quieter now? I guess the moderators do eavesdrop on posts and threads...

 

Glad they booted him, I was afraid by today it would be me.

 

To answer the original concern, in case anybody is thinking of applying,

We have forward facing cameras only. Safety can see what you're seeing at anytime. They're not going to bother unless you're one of those drivers who get all the alarms going on a regular basis. Traction control seems to be the biggy in my experience, and rightly so. Had a few trainees take corners way too fast.

Interior facing cameras were fitted in a couple of trucks years ago, then removed. Company found they were no benefit.

The mic on the a-frame is for connecting your cell to the truck nav system to make phone calls without a headset. Sounds like you're in a tin can, I never use it. Could it be turned on and off remotely ? Sure, I suppose. Don't see the point without a interior camera though.

 

Personally, I think the office in Fargo has waaaaaay more important things to do with their time than sitting around listening to what drivers are saying inside their trucks...

 

CDL training update!

Everything continues to go well. We're in week 4 now, my exam is on September 30th. Backing continues to improve, I nail the 90 degree back 9/10 times. The other 1/10 time I do a pull up and get it right in. No problems at all with the offset or straight back. Pre-trip on the cab is still memorized, I believe we're doing trailer and in-cab next week.

Two of the six students aren't in the program anymore. One of them got flagged for a sleep study and couldn't afford it. Another (only girl in the class) kept showing up late and missing days. She claimed to have passed General Knowledge two Fridays ago, but the next Monday she said that the DMV "lost" her test results. Yeah, okay. They told her to get the f*** out.

I'm pretty far ahead with my backing, so 2 or 3 times a week Dave takes me to do some swaps at around 2 or 3pm. These have been great as they've given me a ton of real world driving experience. It's crazy how much faster you get better at downshifting doing it in traffic and at red lights.

Overall, I'm still extremely happy with my decision to come to Magnum. Today is cookout day for driver appreciation, so Dave and Joe are out right now grilling hot dogs and burgers for everyone. Delicious! Even the students got t-shirts. Very pleased.

Also, I've decided to go P&D. With getting married on Oct. 5th, and the fact I will earn more money, I can't pass that opportunity to be home every night and get weekends off. I have come to terms with the manual labor aspect of it, and honestly it isn't that bad. Just comes down to using the pallet jack to move some skids. It'll keep me in shape. Huge thanks to everyone who has given me advice over the last 2 months or so, I wouldn't be here without all of your wisdom.

That's all for now! I'll keep you all updated.