Swift - Starting the New Year training with Swift 1/7/13 - A long read...

I haven't come across any automatics yet but I've heard they are out there. Those that use them love them. I've always loved manuals including my personal vehicles.

I'm currently at the Pilot in Gary, Indiana. Last night was the T/A in Gary across the street.

I t-called this load from Virginia at the Gary terminal last night. I knew coming up from Indy that I was going to run straight into a front and sho nuff, a little north of Indy I hit a wall of snow. Nothing severe. Nothing like on 80 or somewhere in the Dakotas but it was a sloppy, slick mess. I slowed down a lot and averaged between 20 and 45 mph most of the way up into Gary.

I got into the terminal late. It was about 1:00 AM and the yard jockey was going nuts. I know this because, finding no where to drop my t-call, I pulled up to him and asked him where he wanted me to put it. I know based on his apparent frustration at the time where he wanted to tell me to put the trailer. Instead he told me to find a spot in front of the repair garage doors around back. I did, processed the paperwork and then, without any bobtail parking at the terminal, bobtailed over to the T/A where I backed into a cozy spot between a flatbed and a box van parked nose in.

All day I got load after load that was impossible to run within my available hours. I came close a couple of times but due to some consignee restrictions not allowing us to park on property, Mac 9s were sent and loads were removed. So here I sit. At least it stopped snowing earlier and according to the weather app, the system has moved out to the northeast and over Virginia. One of the loads I wanted was going up to Minneapolis. I have never been there and haven't been through Minnesota since I was in training. Back then I crossed Minnesota at the very beginning of my OTR training and it was only the second day or so. I remember Minnesota distinctly back then, last March. It was late at night. I was in the driver's seat with my trainer napping next to me and it was frigid outside. The sky couldn't have been more clear that night and I remember taking notice of all the stars in the absence of any real light pollution. I made an excuse to pull over to take a break and stood outside gazing up. I can't remember ever seeing that many stars. That's what stuck with me. It's been a while. Maybe tomorrow something will come up.

I avoid truckstops like the plague. I stop here to fuel, to take the occasional 1/2 hr break, to use the bathroom and to shower. That is it as far as I can control it. Otherwise it's somewhere more quiet. Usually a Walmart. This is just one more reason why...

I was sitting in my truck on my computer. I pulled in earlier today when I drove from the T/A across the street. I am bobtailed and there wasn't any bobtail specific parking from what I could tell so I backed into a spot closer to the building in view of the wifi towers, as I usually do on those rare occasions I stay at a J or Pilot. I know what works well with their wifi and one of those things is being in view of the towers. Spot was perfect. Over the course of the day the lot filled up. A truck pulled in to my right outside the normal parking spots and parked. As I sat in my truck I noticed one of the security guards here at the Pilot come out and have a conversation with that driver. I was half paying attention but did see that the driver looked annoyed. A couple of minutes passed and this driver stood in front of my truck writing down my license plate. He wasn't being discreet about it and it seemed he was making a point of letting me know what he was doing. As comfortable as I was sitting there playing on my computer I took the bait. I rolled down my passenger window as he walked back to his truck and asked him what was going on. He said something as he walked away but I couldn't hear him. I slipped my boots on and jumped out of my truck, walking over to his truck as he got in. I asked him, as I was curious as hell, why he wrote down my plate number. He said in not the best tone that he was reporting me to my dispatch for taking up two spots. I asked what he was talking about and realized that he was pissy because he was getting booted for not parking legitimately and apparently my breach of some unwritten etiquette for parking bobtail in a full parking spot.

Now, let me say this. I always park in a way that is thinking of others around me. If there is bobtail parking and I am bobtail then that is where I park. But if I'm bobtail and there is no bobtail specific parking then I'm sure as ##### going to park where I can if it's legit. Tough #####. This guy looked like dirty Santa and I made sure to tell him how pleasing it was to see that he now had to find legitimate parking somewhere else. Well, in so many words. Again, not a fan of truckstops.


I'm hoping to be moved out west pretty soon. I like running out there and it feels like it's been so long. On the longer trips I can run a lot more miles out there and can pretty much run my clock out if needed and still find legitimate parking. Plus I just miss the atmosphere and the scenery out there.

I did enjoy being out in the deep south of Louisiana with the exception of sitting waiting for hometime. Something about Louisiana feels so different, not just the terrain and accents but the food, language and overall feel of the place. Something I noticed last time I was out there though, a negative, was I felt sort of a coldness based on race. Not something I feel very often but more of a once in a blue moon gut instinct that my presence isn't completely welcomed based on how I look. I call things as I see them and something about the looks I got and the attitudes made me feel unwelcome - at least at the Walmarts where I stayed near Baton Rouge. And I had my sweatshirt on so no exposed tattoos. I know that can turn some off sometimes but this time it wasn't a factor. Couldn't be my accent as I know that can bother some sometimes as well. The looks and vibes I got were in the absence of me opening my mouth. That wasn't it either. Maybe something is embedded out there between races that I am not familiar with. Didn't really bother me as I can stand on my own having lived in an all black housing project in Newark back in the day but I did get that uncanny feeling of not being welcomed. Just an observation. Regardless, I would still like to explore Louisiana more. Maybe take some pictures and get into the real heart of it. Maybe later.

Hope they send me somewhere new tomorrow. Miles would be great but just running and seeing something different would be cool all by itself.

I have a few cd's to break in when I know I have enough miles ahead of me. It's funny that now that I'm driving my family gears their Christmas gifts towards that. I like it. My sister got me some soundtrack cd's (Goodfellas, Bronx Tale) some fancy air fresheners for the truck (what is she trying to say?!) and some NPR "driveway stories" on CD. I like that kind of stuff, the stories, as it keeps me busy on those longer drives. She topped it off with another book on CD. My little bro got me some Spanish language CD's. I've been wanting those for a while as I need them for an extended motorcycle trip next year down to S. America. My Spanish is ok but it's gotten rusty and has slowly devolved into a rustic Spanglish over time. I rarely need it these days. I can add it to my Russian and Mandarin Chinese CDs I bought myself a while back that now gather dust and crumbs under my lower bunk after banging my head in frustration over the fact that I'm having a rough time getting past the most elementary of phrases. I guess if stuck somewhere in China or Russia I can just keep repeating "hello" and "my name is" until they grab a translator. Whatever works. Spanish will get much more use as I just need to hone up a little. I can't wait to get that long run where I can break some of these gifts in.

 

Just realized something...I just hit the 1 year mark from my first post on this thread. The first post was only a few days prior to leaving for Swift training back in Idaho. Wooo hooo....

To the best of my knowledge, out of the 10 of us that were in that large Swift class only a few of us remain. Literally, I think there is 3 including me that still drive for Swift. Maybe 4.
...Two of the classmates, whom met in the class, are now engaged and living in Dutch Harbor, Alaska working for the fishing industry.
...Another left Swift to drive local hauling wood chips. He drove with his wife OTR for a while before leaving the company. He is now happy, home every night and making big bucks.
...One left and drives local for a company in Phoenix. He saved my ##### one chilly morning back at the Lewiston academy when I woke up late. He drove me to class that morning saving me.
...One, after driver OTR Swift for a while, missed seeing his daughter and wife too much and got hired on as a CSA in the office. He is happy.

Not sure about the rest but I think they are on to other things. Being in that class was one of my favorite experiences. The early mornings out on the range, the comaradarie, the nerves of studying and stressing the pretrip, that last nervous drive over to take our road test. Idaho. All of it.

Salud to one year!