The Diaries Of Randy @ Prime, Inc.

Congrats Randy and welcome to prime. I am here doing my upgrade to solo. I also got to meet Daniel and Ken today. EveRyan time I knock on Jopa's door he never answers. Just look for a short Russian guy and you will probably find me.

Having the permit ahead of time should be considered TOP PRIORITY for anyone preparing for school. Seeing what those without it are going through is proof enough. A couple of notes on getting your license....

1 - I know it was this way in Alabama and Missouri, and it could well be true in many states. When you are taking the permit exam and you come across a question that you are not confident that you KNOW the answer, SKIP it. The system will take the question and save for the end of the test, BUT you may never get to that question again because as you keep answering the questions you DO KNOW and you cross the point where you have answered enough questions to pass the test, the test will end and tell you that you passed. It won't make you do all of the questions unless you need them to pass. By skipping the ones in doubt, you give yourself a better chance of passing.

2 - If your state gives you a temporary permit, notice the expiration date on it. Alabama's temporary permit is only good for one month and they mail the original to your home. Well, I am not at home and I am about to leave here to go out driving so the logistics of that could be problematic. Therefore I went to the DMV here and had it transferred to Missouri. Their temporary permit is good for 6 months. So if you are taking your test with little time before you go to school, this is something you should be aware of.

I completed the rest of my modules today and confirmed that my employment history was confirmed OK. I now have all of the things done that I need to do before they give me a badge and put me with an instructor for the next phase.

One student had an awful day, being told he would have to go home. Here's what went down. He completed his online app just as he should have and they cleared him based on that and brought him here to school. Well they have you do the application on paper once you're here and the staff person said to put everything down on criminal background....felonies, misdemeanors, expungements...anything and everything....be honest because it will show up. Well that's different than what was on the online application. So, this man put down he had an expungement from 10 years ago.....for possession of a very small amount of marijuana. They are sending him home for that. And IF he completes a Substance Abuse Program and provides a copy of the expungement, then they MIGHT reconsider him, but they would not say now whether that was a for sure.

Advice....if there is ANYTHING in your background....discuss it with your recruiter and make sure they clear you for it before you go to their school. Once you're here and they send you home, it's on your dime, not their's. And this man quit his job to do this, never thinking that would come up....because expungement is supposed to remove it from your record as if though it never happened. It's hard to believe that would be an issue after 10 years with no further problems of it on his record and that there are people here with felonies on their record that get to stay, but that is what happened.

Talked to some students who have completed their training and are ready to upgrade to having their own trucks. WOW. Some of the stories...just bad. One guy told how his instructor would not stop to use the bathroom. Told him to use a bottle in the truck, not once, but regularly. Another one would only stop for showers about every 5 days. I am making my own interview list of items that we WILL AGREE to as 2 human beings BEFORE we leave this property together as instructor and student. I may need to learn how to drive a truck, but I am not forsaking being clean or giving up the basics of being able to go to the bathroom. These things are against Prime policy and I'm not sure why anyone would tolerate something so disgusting. Not me!

Got a roommate today. He is coming back to Prime after many years away. Have enjoyed getting to interact with him. He's just here for orientation and to get his truck.

Also learned that as the student I may not be allotted any storage space for my clothing, so the amount I brought, as instructed by Prime, 2 weeks worth of clothing, may well be far too much for the space I'll have.......where I sleep. So I may leave some behind if they'll accommodate me doing that, or I may ship some of it back home via UPS.

When at school PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR CLOCK!!! It's easy to get so involved in completing the many things that need to be done that the time can slip right past you.........and you miss a meeting time. Not good.

Well, that's about it for today. Still excited and even more ready to roll. Getting the right instructor is tops on my mind right now.

Back to watching the NBA playoffs. Good night.

Very good advice Randy. I was going to mention it but forgot about it. In PA, you can skip any question you don't know confidently. No sense in guessing. Not sure how it is in other states, but you only need an 80% and the test will end prematurely. There is a very good chance you won't see the skipped question again. Combining all my exams (general knowledge and four endorsement exams), I skipped probably 4 or 5 questions. Never saw them repeat.

Good suggestion to also keep in mind the expiration date, although in PA that wouldn't be an issue. We have it for 1 year. I can see how that would get hairy if you only have it for a month or so, considering that some private schools or company schools can take more than a month before you go for your CDL driving test and pre-trip exam. I would've been in trouble because my private school takes 8 weeks since I'm enrolled in evening classes. 30 days seems unrealistic, considering some of the schools.

30 days.....the temporary paper one. The plastic one is good for 1 year.

Ah, that's interesting.

Today was nothing except the waiting game. Everything is done and all I am waiting on is for the drug test results to come back so I can get my badge and start the process of meeting an instructor and get out on the training pad. Practiced some Pre Trip Inspection and talked to some guys testing for their CDL. Tomorrow......

Another evening of basketball playoffs to get me up to bed time.

Today was nothing except the waiting game. Everything is done and all I am waiting on is for the drug test results to come back so I can get my badge and start the process of meeting an instructor and get out on the training pad. Practiced some Pre Trip Inspection and talked to some guys testing for their CDL. Tomorrow......

Another evening of basketball playoffs to get me up to bed time.

Thursday and Friday was pretty much waiting on getting my badge. Getting everything done as early as possible did NOT translate into being one of the first to get my badge. In fact it ended up putting my papers on the bottom of the pile as the others came in with their's stacked on top and sure enough, they worked from the top down, last in first out. So I was the last person to get my badge.

Today, Saturday, I spent the entire day at the pad, mostly working on my Pre-Trip Inspection and hoping to meet an instructor....which did NOT happen. I did meet a student about to take his test for his CDL and talked to him about his experience and asked about his instructor as he would soon be available. His was an unusual experience because his instructor does NOT do OTR so he was "at home" back at the Campus Inn every night. Because of the shorter trips he ended up getting a lot more city driving during his training which helps on the exam because the driving portion is mostly city driving. Then when he goes back out for Phase 3 with his trainer he will get the OTR exprience. This interested me so I asked him to ask his instructor to call me. Hopefully he will....soon...and I can get this party started.

Have made some friends here and am enjoying the experience. From what I've experienced and heard, I am glad I chose Prime. The instructor to student ratio is not good right now because they had a very large class come through so many are waiting to get their instructor, but we were told by another instructor that we would see a big influx on Monday and we should all be hooked up with someone soon.

The Pre-Trip is not bad. Just take it in sections and learn the key phrases and learn the parts to identify....then practice practice practice. It truly is a perfect example of practice makes perfect. It is the one part of your CDL exam that you can memorize and get perfect, but if you do not practice it throughout your training you will not be sharp and you will risk failing something you had the chance to perfect. Learn it starting day 1 and do not stop until you have tested out. There is no excuse for failing the Pre-Trip. Oh, practice out loud, just the way you will be tested.

Why do people get sent home? Mostly because of medical and background conflicts. Talk to your recruiter before coming so you can discover these things before coming. Sleep apnea? You need to have the downloaded data for one month....all off of 1 machine. They don't like combining the data from more than 1. Make sense? It doesn't matter if it makes sense....it's just the way it is!!! Criminal record? Make sure to cover it thoroughly, the nth degree. Reveal it all and make sure they tell you what they need from you...records, etc.

Same thing on schedule for tomorrow.

Ready to roll.

Great to hear from you Randy!

Oh what a relief it is!!!! The above mentioned instructor agreed to take me on. let me tell you how this went down.....

Just as I did yesterday, instead of giving up for the day and heading back to my room, I went back to the training pad with the hope of getting hooked up with an instructor. Low and behold, just as I walked onto the pad, there was the same young man I met yesterday, just about to take his road test. I said hello and he introduced me to his instructor who I had just walked past and greeted with a "Hey how are you doing?" John, the instructor saw his student off to his driving test and we went off to the side to get to know each other. He said he agreed to take me even though he is a smoker and I am not because his student gave him high recommendations for me. So, two days in a row I went back to the pad and each time it paid off by me meeting up with the same student and now I have an instructor. The waiting is over and it's time to get down to business.

His student passed his exam today with a trifecta and we immediately went over to his dispatcher and assigned me to his truck. I start tomorrow morning and will be testing 3 weeks from today. He has an excellent record for trifectas and has been training for about as long as Prime has had a training program. I am excited to get started.

Met another new student from TT who just showed up to start his orientation tomorrow. We sat and talked for about an hour and compared our pasts and how we ended up in this career path. It is alarming how many very qualified people can't get work because they are "over qualified" in a world screaming for experience, education, and a history of success. But, here we are, and quite frankly, I am very happy to be here. With each day that passes I am more and more convinced of how this is going to be a great experience and adventure in my life.

Starting tomorrow I will post reports on my experience for that day, and in three weeks I will report how I passed my exam with a trifecta.

Here goes.....