Well I have finally started school in Blackfoot, ID. I had almost forgotten how much of a pain education can be. Dont get me wrong, I love this place. But I think its just gonna take a while for me to get back into the swing of things. Having to get up early in the morning, make lunch for myself, sit through 8 hours of class, take tests, and do HOMEWORK! I get tired halfway through the class from just sitting in one place all day long.
Now I remember why I used to fuck around and cause trouble so much before, it was the only way to keep myself from falling asleep in my chair! But now that I am older and a little bit wiser, I realize that this may not be the best environment to pull that kind of crap in. Besides, I really need to learn this stuff and pass with flying colors so that I can find employment when I am finished. Also its only for 1 month and not for 10 months like regular school was, so its really not all that bad at all.
The teachers are really nice guys and they make sure that I understand everything there is to know. They dont even mind the occaisonal stupid questions that I throw at them. And the instructional videos that we have to watch are pretty good on the comic value. As an example, there was one movie about "extreme driving conditions" and it was filmed in Canada. The accents on these guys reminded me of how much I loved that movie 'Strange Brew' with Rick Morranis. Plus the fact that all of these movies look as if they were produced in the late 1970's and early 80's. Guys sporting the bad hair-do's, giant sideburns and handle bar mustaches. Big collared shirts and cowboy boots. Im telling you, PRICELESS stuff!
The other day we got to climb under the chassis of a Rig and apply grease to all the proper parts as part of our "preventative maintenance" class. Nothing like throwing on an oversized pair of cover-alls with the name BOB embroidered on it and getting it completely covered in dirt, grease and grime! And the smell of that Deisel fuel is wondeful. After we finished there, one of the instructors had us hop in the cab with him while he drove the Rig over to a trailer and hitched it on to the Rig. Then he just drove us around the town for a few showing us the finer points of "double-clutching" and also how to take corners with a trailer attached to the rig without smashing into poles, signs and street lights. Good stuff!
All in all its been pretty fun so far and I look forward to finishing and getting my CDL-A endorsement. I have already recieved phone calls from 2 different freight companies who want to hire me (I had to tell them that I was still in my first week of school). One of the companies offered me a pretty good deal where they would give me my own truck to use, go home on weekends and I would get benefits like Health, Dental and 401K! And thats on top of making around $800 a week for driving 2,000 miles. I'm gonna see if I can possibly start a bidding war with a couple of companies to get the best deal for myself! Ha ha ha ha ha ha...MONEY...
Anyways, I was just leaving an update on what life has been like for me these days for anyone who is interested in reading. I will have to make another Blog tomorrow about life with my Uncle Hank up in Blackfoot. Hes one hell of a character, thats for sure! Until then, stay posted for more of my wacky adventures in Idaho...
