Finally..... I have my Phase 2 trainer and we are on the road! I hoped for a nice guy, and i sure got that. His name is Steve (with no other names!) and he couldn't BE more pleasant, considerate or patient. I've learned more today than in the last month with my Phase1 trainer. He's great and we get along really well.
However, all good things come with a slight downside. The downside is that he is the chattiest individual i've ever met. He truly never stops talking. I can't even give a fair description of his ramblings right now, except to say that it is an absolute stream-of-consciousness monologue. Whatever pops into his head he says and it is the most ADD, unassociated stuff you've ever heard. I tried to remember it all but it's a complete blur. However, it usually comes around every 20 minutes or so to his Kung Fu that he has practiced for 20 years, being a strict vegetarian (who eats Doritos) or his family, which is all screwed up with drugs, alcohol and gangs. Even his 300 lb mother is a heavy (literally) consumer of Bacardi rum and once got so drunk that she stabbed his brother. He finally had to leave Baltimore to get away from all of it, being a very Christian man, and that's what led him to trucking. But he also plays bass guitar and prefers the notion of being in a band and making money that way.
He doesn't have the best short-term memory and i am constantly having to remind him of things he just told me to do or to remember (which is funny, because i've never been accused of having a great memory myself). But he always appreciates it when i do. It is quite exhausting, but i have to remind my self that i'd prefer his foibles to the alternative of having a jerk for a trainer. He's also a very good teacher, even though i'm only his second student, and he has already improved my downshifting immeasurably. All in all, i'm pretty thrilled.
I have to say, though, that it's a little intimidating knowing that 10 days from now i'm going to be on my own, and you wouldn't believe all the things you have to do and pay attention to as a truck driver -- especially the computerized logs and electronic messages you have to continually send back to the mother ship. It is REALLY complicated and i'm terribly afraid of making big mistakes. I have to look at it philosophically, though, and realize that i WILL make mistakes and no matter what they won't take away my birthday, so it's all good.
Anyway, we're currently in Idaho and leaving tomorrow for Pennsylvania. I'm expecting to be home in just under two weeks, so that's a huge light at the end of the tunnel. Hope everyone is well.
Stay safe....
KWA
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