Prime Inc - Flatbed/Reefer - CDL Trainee

Weekly Update

Going to keep this one fairly brief! The past week has been focused on refining backing maneuvers on the pad (straight back, off-set right/left, parallel right/left, and alley dock drivers side).

The majority of my cohort continues to work on straight backs and off-sets while I get 'promoted' to another pad to focus on parallel and alley dock maneuvers. Some of them are vocalizing their frustrations that they're not being advanced fast enough. Having prior experience with a Class A vehicle made learning how to control the tractor-trailer a breeze this time around. Some of my friends are frustrated by how long it is taking them to pick up straight backing and offsets. I sympathize because I remember the first time I learned these techniques I was equally confused and it took me a couple of weeks of regular practice to get to the point that I delivered consistent results. In a way, I'm jealous, because they have no experience, and they're picking it up way faster than I did the first time I learned it. Strange how that works.

For the better portion of the past week, I was the lowest guy on the totem pole as I was tossed into a cohort that started before me. That meant that I was mostly sitting on the pad freezing in the cold wind of the pad, watching others perform backing maneuvers, and me squeezing my set in at the end of the day. I don't have any complaints. Still on schedule to wrap up this training by the end of week 4 or 5 at the latest. That was my goal. Because I only had one 15 minutes set to do each day, I focused all my energy on mentally visualizing each setup, practicing the maneuvers seated in a camp chair while watching other students perform them successfully. It got to the point I was able to anticipate the next pivot point and predict failure or success. When I DID finally get my chance to practice the maneuver, I was ready and performed it with great success. I'm happy that I've mastered parallel parking to successfully get into the box.

The cohort I was at the bottom of the totem pole finally moved on. Yay! I finally get a chance to do multiple backing maneuvers a day. I started with an alley dock. Quite different from any of the other maneuvers, but I successfully performed it solo by my second attempt in the afternoon.

Lots of gossip on the pad -- some funny, some sad. I try to let it go in one ear and out the other and keep a smile on my face. Some of the stories about TNT drivers are downright hilarious and disturbing. I was told about a TNT driver who kept a bucket in his cab in which he defecated while the student was in the cab. Fiction or nonfiction? Maybe a mix of both? Who knows! Some of us are deeply disturbed and the '****' bucket jokes have become a daily thing. It's nice to get a gut-wrenching laugh. Being the 'there are no problems, only solutions' guy I ask myself how I would react in these hypothetical situations. I'm at a complete loss for words here. Fingers crossed I don't get Mr. Bucket for TNT.

The week ahead should see me starting my 'drive' time hours (each of us gets 6 hours behind the wheel 1-on-1 with a trainer), wrapping up my Pre-Trip Inspection with Lights and In-Cab Inspection, and perfecting Maneuvers prior to DMV testing. Depending on how quickly this all unfolds, I anticipate my first DMV drive test to be late next week or early the following week. I'm not in a rush. It's fun to talk to my friends on the pad. I love their company. I learn new things every day. Even just watching others perform maneuvers. I learn most when I pass on what I've learned to others. Compounding knowledge leads to wisdom. I'm far from that point but I'm on the right path.

Addendum:

We got Thanksgiving day off. It was nice. I got to spend the day with my new friends and that was a blast. I haven't had this sort of comradery in a very long time. The only negative was I had too much pie and wrapped up the day in a sugar coma and woke up the next morning with a sugar hangover. Back to eating healthy!

I totally LOVE your diary, Moose!

This is going to be SUCH an asset, to future Primates!!!

Thanks for sharing; stay off the pie!! (And ON the pad, haha!)

~ Anne ~

Weekly update:

Week 4 (technically Sunday is the end of week 4 since this is a 7-day-a-week CDL class, but who's counting?). My private journal tells me that today is Day 26 of my training (25 days if we discount Thanksgiving taken off!). Clear as mud, yeah?

This week saw a repeat of the previous week. The remainder of my cohort came up from behind and joined me on the pad for the alley dock and parallel (driver/passenger side). The pad instructors had kind of abandoned my pad to focus on getting students 1:1 drive time so it wasn't until the start of this week that I received step-by-step, pivot-by-pivot walk-throughs of the parallel and alley dock. I realized I was taught slightly differently from the prior cohort I was merged with. The instructor noted that they were a wild bunch and not the best examples to learn from. Oi!

I was a bit peeved at first, but honestly, after seeing the instructors show how to do the backing maneuvers properly, I was pleased with the lessons and happy to scrape the lessons from my brain and insert this new version instead. The major takeaway for me was that there is more than one way to skin a cat. I'm constantly hearing the other trainers on the pad comment on backing setups and they fault the driver for x-y-z, but the driver ultimately gets the trailer in the box, sans penalties. Some of my peers have mastered their maneuvers so well that they perform them better than the CDL instructors teach. I'm hell-bent on getting it done the way Prime Inc. is training me to get it done. And I will admit, sometimes it isn't perfect, but I always manage to get it in the box.

This week I felt like I was on the border of nervous exhaustion. The day off for Thanksgiving didn't give me the rest and recuperation I needed. A little bit of drama with someone in my cohort took its toll on my emotional capacity. I felt broken and sad. By midweek I was burnt out. I needed to recharge my batteries. I've been giving and giving and giving so much to my cohort to make sure that everyone is mastering their pre-trip and backing maneuvers, I neglected myself and it took its toll. I had to focus on myself and just shift into the background this week. A couple of days I was operating on zero sleep and it showed in the quality of my backing maneuvers. It doesn't help that we sit out in the cold for hours and get one shot at our backing per day. It's upsetting to perform a maneuver poorly when you only get one chance to do it per day. The days I get good sleep I always excel. It's just nerve-racking when you screw up on your practice day and have to wait 24 hours to clarify whether you know what you need to do to get the job done right.

By Friday, I showed up to class and realized it was time for another Friday safety meeting and free breakfast. After eating poorly for Thanksgiving I jumped headfirst back into keto. And I'm still transitioning. But my hunger was dead and I decided to get a Denver omelet and Diet Mountain Dew for lunch. And just when I was feeling like today was going to be another low, I was told that I would finally get some drive time. I was ecstatic, deep down. Finally, a chance to get off the pad and try something different.

My first hour of drive time went rather well. The CDL instructor gave me lots of helpful feedback throughout the drive and I think I was able to incorporate it effectively in real-time. I didn't get many notes post-drive, but I did see the instructor put some notes into a computer. No doubt, things that I could work on for my next drive time. It felt good to be out on the road. It honestly felt like a 20-minute drive, and yet an hour passed by! Time flies when you're having fun.

I'm hoping to trifecta (pass all 3 DMV driving tests) on or before the 13th of December. I lost my spouse to cancer on Dec 14, 2020, and her ashes are spread in Lake Tahoe. I would love nothing more than to be able to accomplish this feat before that date and be back 'home' to be with her on the 14th.

The prospect of holding a CDL becomes more real with each passing week, but this week felt like it was finally within reach.

I'm wrapping up my Friday with plans to hit the hay early before the noisemakers arrive at the hotel. Part of the reason why I have so much trouble sleeping is the clientele at the Ramada Inn. At midnight last night, I heard what sounded like a herd of animals pounding on the floor, running around, screaming. Another night the room adjacent to me sounded like 'hookers and blow' all night. As I was walking to breakfast I could hear them going at it.

My only advice is, get as much sleep as you can, anywhere you can get it!

Great updates! Keep plugging along. Get off that poison "Diet Dew"! That stuff is all high-carb sugar, and nothing but garbage for your system.

Just read entire diary. Nice job! Good luck on your tests. God speed

Thank you!

Just read entire diary. Nice job! Good luck on your tests. God speed

I was just joking about this with a fellow student. I actually tried to dump it last week but soon realized being this far along in my CDL program was the worst time to make massive changes to my diet. As soon as I’m running solo I plan to ditch diet soda entirely. I’m very health conscious otherwise. Garbage in; garbage out. Health is wealth. Etc!

Great updates! Keep plugging along. Get off that poison "Diet Dew"! That stuff is all high-carb sugar, and nothing but garbage for your system.

I was just joking about this with a fellow student. I actually tried to dump it last week but soon realized being this far along in my CDL program was the worst time to make massive changes to my diet. As soon as I’m running solo I plan to ditch diet soda entirely. I’m very health conscious otherwise. Garbage in; garbage out. Health is wealth. Etc!

Great updates! Keep plugging along. Get off that poison "Diet Dew"! That stuff is all high-carb sugar, and nothing but garbage for your system.

I disagree, but it's all up to you. Now is the time to make changes. It's going to be more stressful when you go solo. We only get one body and everything associated.

My thinking on "The Future" or "I'll do it later" is this: In two days time, tomorrow will be yesterday, and today a distant memory. The other thought I live by is "the only easy day was yesterday."

You cannot suffer the past or future because they do not exist. What you are suffering is your memory and your imagination. Thats for you pack rat!

You cannot suffer the past or future because they do not exist. What you are suffering is your memory and your imagination. Thats for you pack rat!

That's for me? Meaning what?