The end of the beginning of my journey. Friday, August 8, 200.

We’re on our way back home, for just a moment. Due to a glitch in the state’s examiner’s system (an examiner got fired) we now have two days downtime instead of none. We will be taking our test on Sunday, the 10th. We have to show up at the ungodly hour of 5:30 am. Then we wait, either for our turn or for each other, whoever goes first.
I am not worried. I have been told by my instructor that I will pass. I am not nervous as there is nothing to be nervous about. It is just a test and the examiner is just an unsmiling, 80 year old gent, who does not appear to like his job anymore but hey, the weather is great and there is nothing to worry about, right? Just a test…and I will not fail.

We got a job offer from Werner Enterprises and so far we have decided to accept this position. I am aware that Werner is just a starter company and that there are much better ones out there. But we are very low on the totem pole and understand that we have to take what we can get right now. We can start as early as Wednesday but will probably start on Monday, the 18th . Here is the breakdown as I know it.

Pack…leave Sunday afternoon…unpack in my new room. Hmmm, it seems my life will, from now on, be a series of packing and unpacking or in various states thereof but, not to worry, I have been exposed to this lifestyle in my formative years when I lived with my grandparents who owned a town house and a beach house. I am aware I probably did little of the actual packing then but I only claimed exposure. Monday we attend orientation which, I think, lasts two days and includes yet another drug test/physical. Then, apparently, we join our respective trainers for about 3 weeks of training. Gratefully, we get to come home for a week and be with each other. I don’t really see this idea as coinciding too smoothly as, to my way of thinking, we will each have different runs and one of us might get in a day sooner than the other. Also, I see us being called back to Werner when one of the trainers has to go out again (oh, did I mention the training facility is in Indianapolis, Indiana? This is an update; in the mean time I have received our orientation packet from Werner telling us to head to Nebraska! I called our recruiter to inquire about this minor change of plans. According to her, either place is fine but if we want to leave our car when we go out on the road we need to go to the Nebraska facility as there is no place to leave our car in Indianapolis. Of course, we could also take Greyhound, not!). Then we go out for another 3 weeks or so. I understand we are supposed to have 6 to 8 weeks of training! That’s a long time! I hope I get a nice trainer and that this experience is a pleasant one. I am, though, more scared of doing something stupid in front of the trainer than I am of doing something stupid in front of the examiner. Joe thinks that is an exceptionally long time to train and I have to agree. Should be able to get it within a four-week period of time, at least! Joe says let’s just get the training over and done with since we will each be making half of what we were at our former jobs. This training period is cutting into our ability to pay bills, a low for sure but it should get much better once we have our own truck.

Anyway, I can only assume some things and have many questions at this point. Joe says I have to stuff all of my possessions into one duffle bag. Sure! I am already starting off this job with a slightly more than a slight case of separation anxiety. Now I have to suffer from “possessional deficit” as well?
Then there is the issue of what to eat. What if she is a true trucker (whatever that is) who actually likes to eat at truck stops? Or will she have a fridge in the truck? Will she be amenable to stopping at grocery stores so I can,…what? Store a bunch of my salad makings in her fridge? How much space in the truck will I get? My duffle bag and bunk and a seat to sit on? Lots of uncertainty here.
The driving school experience was better than what I had thought it was going to be. I can’t believe I learned as much as I did in only 8 ½ days. I know I have a lot to learn still but that last day went SOOOO slow. Get this; after learning all that shifting, which is a mighty complicated set of movements, Werner, apparently, has automatics. My instructor called us sissies but, coming from him, it was funny. All in all, I hope to someday be able to stop in at Diesel Driving School and say hi. I know plenty of former students say “hi” because I heard many horns honked while waiting in the yard for my turn to back up the truck.
Just heard from one of the guys who was able to take his test today. He passed (yeah!) but told Joe that 3 out of about 15 people had failed theirs. We were hoping the odds were better than that. But! I shall not fail! I know what I am doing (another instructor told me I was being too negative so I am practicing positive self-talk).
Well, I should have a bit more to say when I come home next week. After that I figure I won’t have computer access for…6-8 weeks? God. No email, no music from Pandora or Broadjam, no surfin’. Oy.

August 10, 2008 Sunday
Today was a beautiful day spent riding the hog. We went up to the Wisconsin Dells and took a couple of pictures of Lake Delton. Can’t believe the whole lake bed is covered in grass, almost like a lake was never there.
Now it’s almost time to close my eyes and ready myself for… THE TEST, tomorrow. Since we must check out before we go there is also the packing to think about. I figure 2:30 should give me enough time to get us out the door. No, I just changed my mind. I’m setting the alarm for 3 am; I’ll just have to move a little faster. Most things are packed anyway. No worries…deep, cleansing breaths…uuussaaaahh.
I asked the recruiter some more questions today and found out that I can bring my laptop so perhaps I will get the occasional hookup to the internet. This is comforting. Oh wow. It’s already 9:30. Update tomorrow. Wish me luck.