I've been a trucker for the last ten years but now I am back home at "Camp Chaos" and I will be working at the Fontana terminal as a safety specialist. I hope now that I'm home I'll have a lot more time for blogging!


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One week to go!!
This has been three weeks of cramming information into my brain. Sometimes I think I'm 'getting it' and other times I'm on brain overload.

These last two weeks, I've been in the orientation dept. New drivers have to go through a two day orientation class. We start a new class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

They start the class by filling out about an inch thick stack of paperwork. The application, W4's, a bunch of papers our Human resources dept needs, then we have a gum pack(like a tablet) of papers that is page after page of lawyereze. What makes it worse is I have to read the whole thing to them and they have to initial each paragraph. Takes the whole morning! After the paperwork is filled out then we have to go through each stack looking for mistakes and blank lines. The company won't accept any application that isn't completely filled out

When we finally get the paperwork right, the applicants have to watch a number of videos.

In the afternoon, I get to teach a course on map reading. As a truck driver, we have to know where we are going. We have to know where restricted routes are, low bridges and how to determine the mileage between any two points in America. Drivers have to be able to estimate their time of arrival and be accurate within 15 minutes. That means a driver could leave Sacramento CA to deliver a load to Philadelphia PA and know before he leaves what time he will be in Philadelphia. That requires some map reading skills.

I enjoy teaching the class. The students seem to appreciate the class.
On Friday, I was sharing the teaching duties with Charlie. He is a nice guy and easy to get along with, but he has never been a driver.

The second day of the class, I do a class on operating our Qualcomm. That is the computers we have in our trucks that use satellite communication. We have 63 macro's that we have to send communicating our load information and lots of other things like "I am delayed by 'weather, accident, or a mechanical breakdown"... And they are not in any logical order. The Qualcomm is a nightmare to a new driver, so we try our best to give them at least a basic idea of how the system works. Then they have to pass a Qualcomm test on our computer based training computers. A lot of the new drivers really struggle trying to pass the test. The worst part is we can't leave till all students pass the test. Saturday I was there till 6:30 in the evening.

I hope I won't have the same kind of schedule when I get back home to California.

The weather has been beautiful here in Omaha. Today the temperature was around 80 degrees, sunny skies and only a little bit humid.

Today I barbecued a steak, broccoli and cauliflower, and Idahoan instant mashed potatoes for dinner. Generally I have been eating quite well, but I am sure looking forward to coming home next Saturday.

There were two other men who came to Omaha about the same time as I did. Ed is going to be the terminal manager at our terminal at Laredo TX and Chris is going to be a safety specialist at our Dallas Tx terminal. We had a good time here in Omaha. Together, we helped each other get through this training thing. Yesterday both of them left Omaha to go back to their respective terminals, so now I am by myself.

I understand there is another person coming to Omaha from our Springfield Ohio terminal. I am not sure when he will arrive but I will do my best to help him.

I think I have bored everyone enough with the details of life here in Omaha.

I have enjoyed reading all of the bloggs from the family. It makes being away a little bit easier.

Till next blogg... goodnight
posted by Tom at 6:26 PM