My Head Will Explode!***

Call the number. Keep calling it until you get a "live" person.

Don't worry about ruffling anyone's feathers. Worry about gettin' on with it.

Sorry, I missed this G-Town. Ah, I scrolled up to see when you sent it. It was pretty much at the exact same time I posted. Thank you very much for your response. Yeh, I have to say, I'm not very pleased with her. And if I have to, I will do as you suggested. Or as I've already thought about doing. But, don't you just hate to have to do stuff like this; deal with people. :( Anyway, thank you for being here.

I logged in to tell a short story. :) A blast from the past, if you will.

I am studying.... ok, first of all, this is getting a little disturbing. I looked all over the manual yesterday looking for a section that is in one of the videos. It's not there.... . So, moving right along.... and today, same deal. Actually it's there, just in a different place. And I'm reading from the pdf manual they told me to download from their site. Sooo, whatever.... and it's identical to the manual I picked up a few months ago. Either the videos are from an older manual or the very latest manual. I don't know which.... I'll do the best I can. So far everything is pretty much in it's proper places. Oh, the section I'm reading now, ' Driving at Night '. On the video, 2.8, in the manual, 2.11 ... whew. At least it is there..

Ok, first the surprising amount of people who have fallin' asleep while driving. I'll copy and paste from the manual below and then tell the story.

According to the National Sleep Foundation’s Sleep in America poll, 60% of Americans have driven while feeling sleepy and more than one third (36 percent or 103 million people) admit to having actually fallen asleep at the wheel.

Given that there aren't but 300 million people in America, this is surprisingly high.

Ok, the story already..... I worked for Pony Express back in my 20's both part time and full time. This was back when I was running part time.

I was coming home from Irving, at night, on US 175 coming into Athens. Next thing I know, I'm being awakened by what I believed to be my Guardian Angel. I felt this electrical like current go through me, and could see an image of him, *in my mind*, above me. I realized that I had fallen asleep at the wheel and was headed straight for a concrete pillar holding up a bridge. I don't imagine I would have survived this crash. I should most likely be dead. So, dead man walking I guess. It makes you think. I was going around 60mph and it would have been a straight on into the pillar. The pillar was huge too... I can remember it. Something like, well, I don't know how large around but, it was probably 3 to 4 feet across at the base.

Back then I really just wanted to get to where I was going I guess. Now days, it doesn't bother me at all to be late all the day long and pull over to take a nap.

Well, crap.... still having to do everything else I'm use to doing and going to school.

I think maybe I was sort of hoping that I'd actually go to school and sit in the classroom like a good little student, and learn something.

Nope, onward and upward..... study at home, permit, then a brief stint behind the wheel, from my understanding.

Anyway, I'm juggling everything and stumbling as I go along. And Gabe, for some reason (he's only 4 but ... ) he will not go outside by himself as often as he use to. He'll turn around and look at me, and if I'm not going, he's not going. Sooo, a lot of times, this means that I have to take him walking. Then there is the cooking thing. Yeh, still have to do this and eat.

Yesterday I had to run to town to do some errands, and to pick up the Original Copy or Original or whatever it's called of my Birth Certificate. That went fine, I have it now.... annnndd there is still the money thing.

I'm a musician, not as good as some and better than others but, never the less, I own musical equipment. I'm trying to sell some items so as to make it through until hopefully I can get a paycheck sometime in the near future. I do have the money that I have already mentioned, and that's great but, I believe I'm still a few hundred short. And I'm not really anxious to sell my musical equipment. I use to do a lot of recording/singing, playing and writing, and quite enjoyed it. Once upon time people encouraged me to go professional but, I don't believe it was in the cards for me. Well, I'm not there so, there ya have it then. Can't say that I really would have wanted to but, I still do love recording.

Ok, I'm feeling a bit airy.... I'm airing. :) ok, I think I'm done for now.

And I'm trying to keep track of the forum some. I do love to read and to get involved some. Soooo, onward and upward and downward we goo......... :)

And then there is the Notification deal. I've clicked but, it seems to do nothing. I may post a general question about that. But, I do not get notified so, I have to go back in and search for the article to see if there is a reply.

Ok, done.... back to school.

Yesss, I just took a mess load of test and passed them all. (School test that is.)

Whew, not bragging, just highly relieved.

Even though there is some information, I wish I knew where they were getting it from, because I'm not so sure that it is all in the Manual I either picked up at the DMV or the one I downloaded from their site.

Never the less.... I PASSED!!!!!

:) lol

All I have left are the Airbrake and Combination. I have already studied the Airbrake section. Just need to study the Combination.

To tired to continue..... for t o d a y .......

What I want to do:

Issss, complete the Swift CDL Online Training, and then refresh my memory with the uh, not sure of the exact name, High Road Training. At least, that is what my plan is.....

I only have 2 parts to complete. And like I believe I mentioned, I've already studied Airbrakes but, those steps, man those steps, they tend to get all twisted. Sooo, I'm going to brief myself some more with the Manual, and then go take the test oh the Online training site.

And, then, go brief myself on the High Road Training. And then, go take my test for the permit. Hopefully!

This is the plan.....

Recruiter emailed me, asked how everything was going with the Online Training. Said, ' as soon as this is completed you can go get your permit and we can get you enrolled in School '. Yeh, I really wasn't understanding the Due Date of 7-1 ....

Maybe if I get everything done soon, I can go to School sooner. I don't know, or maybe she forgot that I was already scheduled for School. Beats me....

Onward, upward and downward..... :)

Plans a Bust! ....Abort! ....Abort!

I bet you saw that one coming. My mind just hit a blockade, I leaned back, stretched, looked down and Gabe and said, ' how 'bout we go walking. '. :) Of course, he wouldn't go out earlier by himself anyway.... but, sometimes Ihe simply doesn't want to come in. I don't know though, it seems he gets board or lonely by himself more now days. He's more aware of people and his surroundings.... a very acute dog.

Sooo, we go walking, walk back into the drive and my tire is low on my car. I sort of noticed it this morning maybe pulling to the left some. It very difficult to tell if it's low because it has a very good handling ability. The way the car is designed to do.

Being an IC (Independent Contractor) I've fixed several things on my car. This was one hold up on leaving for School. I needed to get my car running up to par before I left so, I would have something to drive when I came back home, from wherever.

It had a very bad coolant leak. Well, it became really really bad when I ran over a small tree laying across the road one Morning. It was storming like crazy, leaves all over the road , and even though I wasn't going but maybe 35 or 40, I still didn't see it in time. I made it over but, the leak I had became terminal. I had to fix it..... Sooo, I replaced the water pump. < oh, first I had to find the leak, and it was the water pump.

Before the water pump. I was wearing out tires every 3 or so thousand miles. They aligned it a few times before someone finally said, ' hey, watch this. ' He pulled forward and hit the brakes and you could see the front tire move backwards 1 to 2 inches. Control Arm... I had to replace the one on the left and right. Something I've never done before.........

In the last few months, I also replaced the Shocks/struts, fuel pump and something else I'm forgetting probably.

Anyway, got that all knocked out and the car runs reasonably well now.

Oh, and it's one of those off the wall water pumps that runs off of the timing chain. Oh joy.....

Sooo, anyway, I fixed the tire. If you go to the local tire shop, they'll charge you $10 for a plug and $15 for a patch. Shoot, just plug me already. He said, a lot of people have problems with plugs. I never have.... I would have done it myself but, I didn't feel like looking for the leak. I'd just plugged one a couple of weeks before and liked to have never found the leak. ha ha, one plug, it was a little edgy towards the side wall and he said, ' there's your leak right there '. I told him, ' nuuuu, that's not it '. And it wasn't, ' not my first rodeo '.

whew, anyway..... enough for now......

Passed all the Air Brake test.

Some twisted little question sometimes, aren't they? They really shouldn't do this on test I don't believe. Just ask the question plain and simple. No one likes for someone to go around the world or "trickery" I guess you could say.

Ok, just yawned one of those deep healthy yawns. The one that says, ' time to pull over and get some sleep '.

I think I'll cut it short today and check out Trucking Truth forum for a few minutes and call it quits for the day.

Not sure if you have one nearby, but discount tire plugs for free.

Not sure if you have one nearby, but discount tire plugs for free.

Cool response, something real and down to earth. Thank you.... :)

I use to go to discount tire and get my tires. Now I go to Walmart and they will fix the leak for free if you bought your tires there (generally all places do). But, you have to wait a god awful time for them to get around to it. So, I generally either do it myself or take it 1 1/2 miles down the road for the $10 plug. Even though, that use to be a $10 patch. I was a regular there and the ole boy that owned the place was kind to me. He just sold the business though.... sooo, back to the normal pricing. And driving someplace with the fuel prices the way they are getting, it's probably cheaper, if you have the time, to just go buy it and do it yourself.

Thanks again.....

I think I understand the *Due Date*, of 7-1, to Swift Academy. It's the date everything will turn over and the application will have to be renewed, I'm guessing.

Boy, Combinations section is twisted isn't it? The air brake crap really threw me for a loop.

Selling stuff to go to school is a bit of a pain. I put in the freaking ad, ' Please do not contact me after 5pm, I work at night'. And I get something like 10 text. And I have the phone sitting right by my ear because I use it as an alarm. So, its waking me up all night.

Oh, finished the CDL Online Training Course. I still want to further educate myself before taking the test for the permit though. Definitely want to reread freakin' Combinations section. Truck Safety Valve? Who knew....