Pinellas Technical College

Today is done ... drove 265 miles today.

We left out South towards the Skyway again. We went North on I-75 North again and got off at the first exit ... forget number but it was Highway 683. We stayed there for about 45 miles until we hit 17 and turned South. We then went into Punta Gorda and took our lunch at the Pilot there. We then jumped on I-75 South and hit the Skyway and went back to our yard.

I am now at 719 miles total. I was told I will be finished tomorrow. They are going to get me to 850 and let me go .... so I will finish a day early.

My classmate has not been heard from. He passed all his tests and disappeared.

This morning I did my pre-trip and was pulling out of the parking area to do some backing and I ran over a curb .... what made it worse was Laura had just stepped out of the classroom and saw the whole thing. She loves her curbs and the tires on her trucks and trailers .... I begged her forgiveness when we came back this afternoon.

 

Forgot to add something. When we left out this morning I did not realize my fuel was low .... we had already crossed the Skyway. The instructors can not purchase fuel due to the school district policies. It was me pay for the fuel out of my pocket .... LMAO ... hell no .... OR turn around and get fuel at the school district fuel/maintenance facility .... I chose the latter. It was a single pump BUT I learned how to fuel ... somewhat ... LOL.

 

I thought I had a @scottied67 sighting at the Pilot in Punta Gorda .... until I opened Youtube and saw where you were and what you were dealing with early this morning.

 

So the moment has arrived. As of 11:30 AM Eastern Time I was officially done with school. I am not afraid to admit I got a little emotional and shed a tear or two. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time and have finally achieved it. It was a lot of hard work but well worth it, I am now well prepared to begin a career as a professional truck driver thanks to the two wonderful ladies that instruct at Pinellas Technical College's Commercial Vehicle Driving program.

It was a hard journey, I wanted to quit a couple of times but I did not. I fought through the rough times and made it.

We started with 6 students, two were Class B and four of us were Class A. All of a sudden we went to three Class B and 3 Class A ..... then there were two Class B and three Class A .... then just three Class A .... then we went to two Class A .... then there was just me .... I was the lone survivor.

We did do a little work this morning. We left out around 7:30 AM and headed toward Sarasota ..... I had Laura and Mary both in the truck starting out. One of the trucks was in the shop and was ready to be picked up so I got to drive her to pick it up ..... man I was nervous! As we got closer to Sarasota traffic started to get thick ... that was more nerve racking than Laura being in the sleeper behind me. We made it to the Sun State International Shop in Sarasota around 8:30 AM and Mary and I waited for Laura to come out with the other truck before we left ( in case something happened Laura was not stranded ). While waiting the classmate that disappeared pulled up ..... seems he lives near the shop and was taking his kids to camp or daycare. Mary talked to him for a moment and then he left.

Laura finally came out and she took off back to the school. Mary and I went for a little ride around Tampa Bay. Instead of going across the Skyway we took the long way round. we jumped on I-75 and headed North towards Tampa. We exited at Highway 574 and cut across to I-4 and headed towards Downtown Tampa and got on I-275 South and ended up back in St. Petersburg and she had me do a couple of really tight turns to get back to the school. So it was a short trip for my last day but it was a fun one.

Even thought it is not part of the curriculum they did teach me how to float ... it took a little bit to get the hang of it but I have a good start on floating.

 

Right now the top choice is J&R Schugel. I will be speaking with my recruiter there tomorrow. The school sent them whatever it was they request from them. I got a notice that my DAC was pulled ..... it is clear of course. So hopefully it will be good news tomorrow.

Also I have been in contact with TransAm .... as a just in case if J&R Schugel does not work out.