Start Date July 13

Time for a long winded storey. I receive notice of a job on the mainland. Minor problem, I have a seasonal RV pad in Qualicum. So I spend the next few days breaking down the campsite (you can accumulate a lot of stuff over the season, gazebos, love seats etc.) All that remains to be done is load up the 5th wheel and head for the ferry. Sooo..... about 6ish a buddy from before phones and makes me an offer I can't refuse. It appears that they load fish fry from a hatchery 1/2 hour from my home to Tofino onto barges. In earlier posts, I mentioned how I had been pressed into service driving push truck. Well this storey went down like this. 20 odd years ago, we start a job in a camp that is only barge accessible. Monday, we spend lowbedding equipment to the back end, rigging up, bucking logs at roadside for loading,etc. The plan is for the next day to unload the loaders and logging trucks to start hauling. So with Tuesdays barge about a mile offshore, we head to the beach to grab the iron. As the ramp is coming down, someone says "You guys haven't got the last memo? All the stuff that you spent yesterday moving to the backend, it all has to go back on the barge, we're pulling out! " Rick the lowbed driver looks at me and says"You have an airbrake ticket right? You're on push truck!" (We have an industrial air category for company roads) Sometimes it is better to be "deaf, blind and stupid" Thank God Rick is driving like a raped ape so I only catch him on adverse and in hindsight, never on a bridge. In another operation later that year a push truck drove off a bridge . Apparently when your front bumper locks onto the lowbed, your front wheels can be turned and with the decks being made of metal or wood they can be quite greasy. A driver will not be aware of this until there's a gap between the machines and the push truck goes off into the abyss. The driver was lucky because logging trucks never really bobtail with the trailer over the drive axles.Wight of the trailer spun the truck around and he went down the draw ass end first. End result, he was only hospitalized. Anyway back to the original storey, Troy the owner says that the senior driver at my new gig is "Rick". So here we are 20 years older, 20 years more experienced and hopefully 20 yrs wiser.

WOW. All I have is, WOW ~!!!

(Rick may become a nemesis name aft, eh???)

You seem to be having loads of fun, in the Norte' . . . haha! Conundrums, and all, LoL !

Stay safe~!!

Well, there goes three weeks of my life that I'm not getting back. (Not only that, I burnt a good bridge in the process) After the first day, they condemned the one barge, so we were supposed to load every second day. Then they went with 2 trucks for the rest of the week. But I was assured that it would "all systems go" on Monday. Monday morning, I am informed "I don't think you are ready to be on your own yet and I don't have the time to train you". Oh well, what was the saying? " I was looking for a job when I found this one". I'm thinking that for maybe just once in my life, I would like to actually get properly trained for the job I am going to do. So on that note, I am going to seek work with a logistics company that has a set training schedule and go from there. The search continues.

Well, there goes three weeks of my life that I'm not getting back. (Not only that, I burnt a good bridge in the process) After the first day, they condemned the one barge, so we were supposed to load every second day. Then they went with 2 trucks for the rest of the week. But I was assured that it would "all systems go" on Monday. Monday morning, I am informed "I don't think you are ready to be on your own yet and I don't have the time to train you". Oh well, what was the saying? " I was looking for a job when I found this one". I'm thinking that for maybe just once in my life, I would like to actually get properly trained for the job I am going to do. So on that note, I am going to seek work with a logistics company that has a set training schedule and go from there. The search continues.

You sure HAVE been thru hell & back with your job searching... I'm so sorry that last company did you wrong!

Any updates ???

Actually, i have a drug test with Transhub on Tuesday. (Monday is a holiday, Canadian Thanksgiving). I had a good interview with PBX but they are having trouble scaring up a trainer, so I kept searching. Apparently after the results of the test are in, I should become part of a team. what the first job did do was make me aware of the fact that the actual training starts now. So hopefully around Friday I will be posting "Crossing the border with a trainer" if the gods are with me.

Actually, i have a drug test with Transhub on Tuesday. (Monday is a holiday, Canadian Thanksgiving). I had a good interview with PBX but they are having trouble scaring up a trainer, so I kept searching. Apparently after the results of the test are in, I should become part of a team. what the first job did do was make me aware of the fact that the actual training starts now. So hopefully around Friday I will be posting "Crossing the border with a trainer" if the gods are with me.

Still following, Glenn. MAN, what a journey, eh ?!?

Hopefully you passed your 'test' today; and had a great Thanksgiving weekend! Get your CDL , and come celebrate it again, stateside, NEXT month, lol ~!!!

Aaand I'm back. This team/training thing keeps you hopping. I just got some downtime and am now all showered up, laundried up and walk/exercised up for the day, feels nice. Got the full meal deal. I guess when you show up at the border as a new driver, they have to check you out. I'm going to be on a first name basis with the US border guards, Canadian border guards and the Washington State highway patrol. The good part about getting searched at the border is that you get to work on your backing up skills with no pressure (unlike the Love's in Chicago at the busiest part of the day). I need to get some water under my keel before the snow flies, so hopefully I will have an inkling on how to approach that aspect of the game when the time comes. Looking at my battery and it is depleting fast. I am sitting in the Flying J looking at a Powerdrive 100W inverter, that should get me charged up for the next reset I hope. Signing off for now

Aaand I'm back. This team/training thing keeps you hopping. I just got some downtime and am now all showered up, laundried up and walk/exercised up for the day, feels nice. Got the full meal deal. I guess when you show up at the border as a new driver, they have to check you out. I'm going to be on a first name basis with the US border guards, Canadian border guards and the Washington State highway patrol. The good part about getting searched at the border is that you get to work on your backing up skills with no pressure (unlike the Love's in Chicago at the busiest part of the day). I need to get some water under my keel before the snow flies, so hopefully I will have an inkling on how to approach that aspect of the game when the time comes. Looking at my battery and it is depleting fast. I am sitting in the Flying J looking at a Powerdrive 100W inverter, that should get me charged up for the next reset I hope. Signing off for now

SOOOOO good to hear from you again, Glenn~!!

Glad things are looking/heading upward and onward, good sir. Thanks for the update; wishing you continued progress~!!

Preparing for (training for!) the winter is a great hurdle to get 'out of the way' now, as you noted. Duly noted~!

Keep the updates coming, as you can.

~ Anne ~

Well it is looking like I will be learning to "chain up" in the near future. We returned to the yard for 2 days. My trainer is putting a lease together, so I took the opportunity to go home for 2 days. We have to pick up a load tomorrow. Looking at the weather report, Snoqualmie Pass could be interesting. Fourth of July Pass will have "icy patches". One piece of advice I was given was keep your speed under 30-35 miles per hour and things should go relatively well. So, here goes.....

Well it is looking like I will be learning to "chain up" in the near future. We returned to the yard for 2 days. My trainer is putting a lease together, so I took the opportunity to go home for 2 days. We have to pick up a load tomorrow. Looking at the weather report, Snoqualmie Pass could be interesting. Fourth of July Pass will have "icy patches". One piece of advice I was given was keep your speed under 30-35 miles per hour and things should go relatively well. So, here goes.....

Hoping this finds you well, Glenn ~!! How continues the adventure, good sir ?!?

How's the weather, so far ?!?!?

Stay safe,

~ Anne ~