Day 13 -- Drive test tomorrow

Good evening all.  Today was our last day in the truck with Sgt. Carter, and it actually went really well.  I think it just took me gaining an appreciation for his fairly bizarre style.  Once i got that, it wasn't so bad.  And he was actually pretty friendly.  We actually even had musical tastes in common, so we had something to talk about when we weren't driving.  Lesson learned -- Just because someone comes off as a jerk doesn't mean you can't learn to appreciate him.

His latest joke:  How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?  Only one.  But the light bulb has to WANT to change.

Also learned some interesting trivia from him about Salt Lake -- it is seven times more salty than the ocean, it is 55 miles across and it is no more than 30 feet deep in its deepest spot.

Oh, and another thing: he believes dragons are real.  As in, really real.  Wow.  I'll just leave that one alone.

Tomorrow is our big Drive Test.  It's the same as your standard driving test for a regular driver's license, but we have to do it in an 18-wheeler.  If we pass we are hired tomorrow by CR England and we graduate on Monday.  The next step is to go on the  road with a "trainer driver" for 30 days, making runs throughout the country.  The trainer driver is an experienced driver who chooses to take student drivers on the  road with them to show them how the whole thing "really" works.   Much of a driver's success depends on having a good trainer driver during the critical early period when habits are learned and you either learn to do it the right way or the wrong way.  I'm told that your trainer driver is usually from your home state so that you can spend days at home at the same time.

The photo at left is of Jason (left) and Dennis, two of my truck buddies for the past three days. They're both from Georgia.  The picture was taken at a TA truck stop in Lakepoint, Utah, just a few miles outside of Salt Lake City, and where we did some practice driving.

I'm getting really sick of my room.  As i previously reported, it's a small room about 10 x 10, with two metal frame bunkbeds.  There is NO room for suitcases or other stuff, so you when you're done sleeping you put all your stuff on your bunk.  One  of my roommates (a fairly young kid) is a total slob, so his crap is everywhere -- banana peels, candy wrappers, pennies (sales tax here leaves you with a lot of pennies) and even his lap top is left in the middle of the floor where it serves as a perfect target when i'm jumping down from my bunk.  I'm sleeping pretty well though.  Probably because we work fairly hard all day.  It takes a lot of mental effort to keep your head in the game with something that is so large and potentially dangerous.

Anyway, better get rest before the test.

Stay safe....

KWA