Hi everyone!  I have some more good news to share.  Since I have gotten my CDL, another opportunity has opened up to me.  I start driving for a construction company in Minot on Monday.  They are hauling sand, gravel, and rock to various construction and paving locations around the region.  That will represent a substantial increase in my revenue, so I feel very blessed.  I have submitted my resignation to PTI where I have been a van driver for the railroads (what a relief to leave that job) and my last night is tomorrow, Saturday.  I can hardly wait.  The staff at PTI are unhappy about this development as are the railroad crews I have served.  Oh well, they'll find another derelict, felon, or reformed ax murderer to take my place (I'm sure the quality level will drop a few points though.)  I have agreed to be an emergency driver for them if they have a need and I can accommodate.

Here's one of the reasons I'm glad I'm leaving this railroad driving job:

Video - Things that afflict and torment Brian
http://youtu.be/BVKIhwWqqG0

In other news, a bit on the good side, I have an interview with another company that really has been my target since I got here.  I'm meeting with the President tomorrow morning.  This is quite a break for me - please send me your support and prayers!  More on this later.

Now, on to some other things.  First of all, here's a shout out to Joe, a conductor with Burlington Northern whom I've come to know over the past couple months.  He recently married his girlfriend of several years, and she is the mother of his 2.5 year old son.  He's one whom I will probably maintain contact with after leaving this job.  I thought of Joe when I saw this:

I wanted to give you a quick tour of the maneuvering course where they set up cones for CDL road testing.  This quick video will give you a little insight into what CDL candidates have to do in order to pass the test.  I drive past this spot frequently, and almost every time I did, I would get a stomach ache.  I'm delighted to announce that those stomach aches are a thing of the past:

Video - Cone testing area
http://youtu.be/3emdcyLZ-4o

Here are some "results" pictures of my testing:

For the untrained eye, that's a 53' flatbed trailer that I backed into a spot about the size of a bunk bed (well, at least that what it felt like.)  Ahh, the sweet, sweet smell of greasy, diesel-ly success.

There's one more picture that I have to add because it's also significant:

Ok, now you think I'm crazy.  Why would I take a picture of my kitchen trash can with a milk jug in it?  Well, I have been using empty milk jugs as makeshift "cones" while practicing my truck driving.  I had about 20 - I'd fill them with some gravel and set them out with a tape measure to simulate the cones testing.  This picture shows that I no longer have to save my milk jugs!!!!

Here's one more picture that has absolutely no relevance to my truck driving - in fact, it has nothing at all to do with when I was taking my road test with the state examiner sitting with me in the cab.  It certainly has no meaning with regards to the first few minutes of my road test, when I was asked to take a right turn into a small neighborhood street, where there was a totally unrelated street sign that looks virtually nothing like this one:

Before I leave the PTI job altogether, I wanted to give you a bit of a tour through what I have been doing.  This next video shows me driving through the yard - unfortunately, it's not the best video because it's at night, but it gives you some sense of the job:

Video - The Yard
http://youtu.be/y75nn6bUmqE

Something I failed to mention about working at night in the yard.  I often have to turn the van around in those narrow roads with trains on both sides.  I'm deeply indebted to my drivers training instructor Mr Young at Borah High School for teaching me how to do a 30-point turn...  What makes turning around REALLY interesting is when one or both of the trains are moving.

I think most of you are aware that North Dakota has some severe weather extremes.  In fact, we're already dipping into the 40's at night here.  Did I blink and miss summer?  Supposedly so.  Ah, summer in North Dakota.  Let me show you what summer here is like:

Video - Rainy night
http://youtu.be/K_aGtb1Aiuk

But then, the Lord sends us experiences like this one - this is really amazing:

Video - Clouds with lightening
http://youtu.be/gFsDTExy5lw

I have to say, in closing, and I have seen and felt the Lord's hand in this experience here.  I believe that He is mindful of me and my family and that things are getting better.  I'm grateful for that knowledge and for the support of all my wonderful friends and family.

Hello everyone - it's nice to be back.  Actually, it's nice to have some positive news.  The news has something to do with this picture:

Right, I got a haircut (more like, I was hacked by a blind woodsman.  More about this later.)  But also, I passed my commercial drivers license (CDL) road test.  Holly molly was I excited.  Apparently, people here are very impressed with the fact that I passed because very few people can pass the test without having taken a drivers class to prepare.  I'm totally self-taught and have developed my own set of how-to's to survive in the world of trucking.  Passing this license road test was significant because it will position me for many other employment opportunities that I was trying to get into to begin with.

To say the least, I have gained a whole new respect for truckers.  To get a "class A" CDL (class A enables you to drive any type of large truck), you have to pass 4 written tests, a "pre-trip" inspection of the vehicle, a road driving test, and a maneuvering test through an obstacle course of cones.  I passed the written tests a few weeks ago and all the other tests on Friday afternoon.  It was very nerve-racking to have the examiner over your shoulder, scrutinizing every move, whose goal it is to weed out CDL candidates (ND is among the most difficult states in the Union to get a CDL because of the harsh driving conditions).  Every wrong move you make or item that you forget to do deducts points from your total score.  And, the examiner is not supposed to give any coaching - in fact, you are not supposed to talk to the examiner unless you need to clarify an instruction that he/she has given you or to explain what and why you would perform a certain procedure.

My testing was scheduled for Friday afternoon.  I had to wait for the examiner for about 30 minutes, then he came out to the parking lot with me to the truck.  We went through the pre-trip inspection just fine.  Then we proceeded to the road test.  He had me turn right out of the parking lot, then make another right turn down a small neighborhood street.  The following picture is the result of my second right turn during the road test:

(The street sign was not leaning before I wreaked my havoc on it.)  As I approached the turn, I noticed 2 cars parked at the intersection that I had to go through.  As I made the turn, I was focusing on missing the cars and lost sight of the street sign.  the examiner had me pull up to the curb and stop while he got out and looked at the damage in my wake.  I was sweating bullets, thinking that I have just failed the test within 15 minutes of the start.  After about 5 minutes he returned to the cab and said "It's still standing, let's keep going."  He said nothing about me passing or failing the test, so I started out again.  My insides were tied in knots not knowing...  And, some unfortunate Minot newcomer may be eternally confused about which is 18th street and which is 2nd avenue.

I did ok throughout the rest of the road test.  Then he had me go to the area where they have the cones set up for the maneuvering tests.  Being rattled from the assault on the street sign, I didn't have much confidence that I could get through this part of the test.  However, it seemed that some unseen angels had something different in mind.

Here are some images that bring tears to my eyes:

The CDL candidate has to back the trailer into a 12-foot wide by 20-foot deep "dock" space, with the truck starting from a right-angle (perpendicular) to the alley, without crossing any of the boundaries.  Generally, a DOT-certified trailer can be no wider than 11 feet.  My trailer is 10'10" inches wide, leaving 8 inches on either side centered.  This maneuver is called the "alley dock".  Personally, I call it the "alley of hell".  Once you get the trailer into the alley, you have to stop the back of the trailer within a 12' wide by 3' deep "box" without crossing the back boundary - see the second pic above.  This is typically the most difficult maneuver that a truck driver has to perform.  I nailed it the first try.  The examiner was impressed.  I was not even in my body...

To sum, I did pass the test with about 5 points to spare.  The feeling was overwhelming!  Thanks to all for the wonderful support!

It has been a very stressful and emotional time leading up to passing my road tests.  For the past 7 weeks, I have been assigned with my current job to work in the Gavin Marshalling Yard here in Minot 6 days a week.  This is the plum position that is the envy of all drivers at PTI, because it is a guaranteed 48 hours of work a week.  And, the branch manager set me up with 6 days instead of the customary 5.  Only one other driver has 6 days a week at Gavin, so I'm grateful to have that.  I work from 11:30pm (23:30 for you military types) to 7:30am.  As I may have mentioned before, Gavin yard is a dangerous and somewhat scary place for the rookie driver, as there are constantly trains and pieces of trains moving in all directions.  You need to be confident and know where you can and cannot go.  Anyway, here's one of the many hazards that Gavin Yard serves up:

http://youtu.be/BVKIhwWqqG0

Many PTI drivers who work "over-the-road" (like I was when I started) I have talked to over the past few weeks are disillusioned because they are not getting the hours they were promised - some getting as little as 10 hours a week.  PTI has hired a mess of people for driving positions (and believe me, they are ALL kinds of people).  Just within the last few days, I'm hearing that some people are leaving for other jobs.  I'm not surprised.

So as I mentioned before, I got a haircut.  Actually, the result looks more like I hung my head upside down in a garbage disposal.  Minot doesn't offer a lot of options for fancy hair care (I'm so into fancy hair care) so I got a recommendation from one of the people I work with.  She was a sweet old lady whose hands trembled and shook like, well, they trembled and shook.  I had no idea that ears could bleed so much.  Anyway, that's one place who's patronage I won't be enjoying again.  I think next time I'll cut it myself.

More to come...