*April 19th*
Dallas TX. Motel 6. My 3rd day here. And supposedly my last. They SAY I should be issued a truck and given my first assignment. Considering the lack of organization in this place, I say there's a 1 in 4 shot of that happening. Ehh...whatever. I'm trying to just take it as it comes. My biggest gripe about being here is I hate the classroom aspect of all of this. Back in driving school school....that was different. Everyone there that lasted took this all very serious. More than half of these cats I'm in class (orientation and grad class) with now spend most of their time making the low browe fart jokes and pointing and laughing when one of their newly acquired "buddies" fail or mess up. I'm taking this serious because I want a better life and I don't want to kill anyone on the road in the process. Anyway...none of them have my phone number. So I won't be one of the ones they call when they are faced with one of the millions of questions they have 1 day after getting in a truck alone.
Everything I've done since January 16th has led to this point. That was my first day of driving school. It's had it's ups and it's downs. But one thing I wasn't prepared for is the endless stream of testing. Testing for a permit. Testing for a license. Testing when I arrived at my new company. Testing and being graded for the entire 6 weeks I was on the road as a trainee. Testing after I arrived back at my employer. Jeez. Anyway...I don't think it's a bad idea. But testing isn't usually when I shine. That being said..I haven't failed anything...yet.
I'm ready to go. My batteries are recharged. I got to go home to my wife, and our little family. Now I want to move forward into phase 3 of my plan. Going home was great. I got to listen to some music, buy a few records, catch up on movies and tv, and spend every waking minute with my wife.
Here comes reality.
*April 20th*
Today is the day people celebrate smoking pot. As if they refrain the other 364 days. Anyway, the folks 3 doors down from me here at the motel take this 420 thing very serious. They have for several days now. How festive. And by folks, I mean a low rent pimp and 3 of his girls. The smell of marijuana as I walk past their door is maddening.
So yeah, I'm still at the hotel. I wanna be in my truck, but I'm trying to focus of the positive aspects of being in this limbo. Mainly, I get to sleep in a bigger bed than what I will when I'm driving. To be completely honest, I'm pretty nervous about that first moment I head out alone. I didn't like my training partner, but atleast he knew the process. Now it'll be all on me. That truck is gonna feel like an aircraft carrier when I'm in there alone and taking off.
Yesterday I was told that there was nothing I could really accomplish at the end of the day, so I could just go back to my room early. Which of course I took full advantage of. It was around 3:30pm. I started forming this elaborate plan to hit a few record stores and antique malls. Both are a past time of mine. The idea was abandoned after I remembered that I'm already lugging around 3 very large pieces of heavy luggage. I don't need to add more crap. Besides, the 6 short days I was home I end up buy 4 or 5 records. And last night I ordered that new Chuck Berry record that comes out in June. Oh..and Record Store Day is happening this weekend. So when I get back home I'll probably end up forking over lot of what I've made on a live vinyl releases by The Cars and Bruce $pring$teen. (The Bo$$ i$ killing me with hi$ 4 piece vinyl live album.)
*April 21st*
Dallas Tx. Still here. Nothing has changed. Waiting on a medical clearance to hit the road. Well..a medical clearance AND every meticulous detail between me and this point that can still get in the way. I'm kinda numb to it at this point. Right now I jump back and forth between being tired of sitting in Dallas, and being nervous about the reality that when I do roll out of here I'll have nobody to fall back on except me. Whatever..I'll deal with it.
The hardest part of sitting here at my terminal that I soak up lots of info that isn't pleasant to know. First off, there are so many people and so many drivers. They herd us like cattle from department to department. When you get out of order or get lost, the responses to get corrected are usually shitty and condescending. I'm not expecting them to talk sweet to me. Being treated like shit by an employer is nothing new to me. However, it is a real precursor to what it's going to be when I call into the terminal from the road with a question or problem. Again....I'm ready for it. It's temporary. They give me a bunch of shit, I'll give it right back. I'll have their truck and their customer's products. My wheels will only turn as as much as they help. Plus, I excel in being as shitty to someone as they've been to me.
Yesterday I had some hours to kill. So I hit a record store. But it was one of those that has a million records and they're in NO order. Those are painful to go through. And oddly enough, there was a plethora of Accept and Whitesnake records. Weird. So I bolted. Went to Dealey Plaza where JFK was shot. That was surreal. I've seen dozens of documentaries about the event. To see it in real life was exciting. Also went into the museum, formerly the book depository. Then to the spot where Jack was finished off. Also the grassy knoll. Glad I finally got to go. I've never tried to be an armchair ballistics expert. Did Oswald have help? Was there a second gunman? I don't know. But...seeing it in person...if Oswald did shoot him alone with a single shot bolt action rifle..he was damn good. That little stretch of road between the three shots is pretty short. Who knows....
New development during the writing of my JFK experience. I'll be here tonight. Last night, I had sleep study. Basically I hooked myself up to a machine to test whether or not I have sleep apnea. I do. My wife could of told them that. I was trying to get away with not. But...why should stuff go MY way..haha. Anyway, I'm here tonight to see if the Robocop machine they put on me works. If it does, then I move closer to getting a truck. Which, the odds of that happening TOMORROW got better when I found out a musician I am a big fan of is playing a free show tomorrow at a record store. Now I wanna be around tomorrow. They'll issue me my new truck an hour before he (Dennis Dunaway of the original Alice Cooper group) straps on his iconic Fender bass.
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