| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Viewed: 3/21/2023 |
Page Views: 15671 | |
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| Alternate Roads | |||
How I Came To Drive A Truck
As you may know, many of my computer training clients were headquartered in the World Trade Center, or had important offices there. Many more were New York based. All were affected by the events of 9/11/2001.
While the economy had been suffering before then (and, of course, now we know why), 9/11 destroyed, permanently, my career as corporate trainer. Companies that hire trainers have been staggering; the business I received—two one-week classes since last September, and a small amount of odd jobs—were not enough to pay the rent and utilities. Hundreds of resumes sent to likely companies didn't do the trick. I was unable to rate even a reply from most. Follow-ups on my part revealed that the companies were accepting resumes "just in case" but were, in fact, not hiring.
So, months late, perhaps, I decided to do the sensible thing and consider a career change.
When I was employed as a corporate trainer, I flew to strange cities—sometimes in foreign countries—,usually rented a car and had to find my hotel and the location of the training facility, usually in the dark, tired from my flight, and without benefit of a GPS system (not yet available to drivers). This was actually pretty stressful. And, as I was driving to the hotel, I would sometimes pass big rigs and look up at the drivers and think, "Now, there's a stress-free job!"
So I got on the Internet, found a trucking company that provided free training in exchange for a one-year committment, grit my teeth, and decided to become a trucker.
This is the true story of how that year went.
Training Days
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 1572 | ||
| Last week I couldn't spell 'trucker'. Now I are one. | |||
On Monday, July 22, I began eleven days of truck drivin' training for Schneider National in Fontana, CA, after which I received two weeks' on-the-road training. Assuming I could pass my truck drivin' test (I'd already taken and passed the written tests), I would then be on the road as a long-haul truck driver.
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An Innocent Abroad
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 1502 | ||
| Life on the road is a unique experience, which, like revenge, is a dish best served cold. | |||
And, just like that…I was a truck driver.
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"I've Said Too Much"
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Occurred: 12/12/2002 |
Page Views: 2388 | |
| Topics: #Roswell #NewMexico #UFOs #Conspiracy | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
I haven't yet been to Roswell. I know there are at least two UFO museums there, owned and operated by the aging witnesses of the July, 1947, events. I also haven't been to White Sands, also in New Mexico, where former Nazi scientists were working on what became America's space program at the very same time as the UFO crash. There's a theory that those two facts were related—that, in fact, the crashed saucer was actually an experimental aircraft designed by the former Nazis, and the story of a UFO crash was actually a cover-up to avoid revealing to the public that we had actually hired the villains we'd been fighting only two years before.
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Michael Comes Too
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2562 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
Michael, my husband, is going to spend two weeks with me as my passenger. Finally, finally, he is going to see what it's like to be a truck driver.
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Levels of Awareness
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 3302 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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The Homecoming
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2688 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Miracles
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 3335 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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The Spirit Trail
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2737 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Justice
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2815 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Man vs. Machine
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2530 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Options
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 3611 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Another Lean Week
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2623 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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The Shoes
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2774 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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It's Pat!
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 3179 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Workman's Comp
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2509 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Surgery
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2500 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Lite Duty
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2660 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Unfounded Fears
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2656 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Back to Work
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2643 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Utilization
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2764 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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A Little Gift
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 3569 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Reprieve
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2652 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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A Mediocre Week
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2778 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Accident
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2597 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Tuck and Run
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2672 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Fallen Comrade
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2833 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Remedial
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2876 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Resignation
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Occurred: 9/11/2003 |
Page Views: 2666 | |
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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End Of The Road
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2752 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| An entry from Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Photo Album
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Page Views: 2819 | ||
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| Alternate Roads: Paul S. Cilwa's Truck Drivin' Journal | |||
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Links
| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Updated: 9/12/2017 |
Page Views: 3907 | |
| Topics: #18-Wheeler #TruckDriving #BigRigs #Schneider #TruckDriver | |||
| A collection of links to Truck Drivin' and Road Safety sites. | |||
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