Day 2, open mouth and insert foot. After starting at 0600 this morning with physicals, I find out around 1200 that Stevens won't let me continue because of the meds I'm on and the kind of CPAP I'm using where they can't download the data from. Wow, that took me back. Even though FMCSA doesn't disqualify me on the meds or the CPAP, Stevens has a much more stringent policy on it. I quit taking the meds a week ago knowing they might cause a problem but they want a doctor's release. Then the CPAP thing. I am not going to get a new machine just to satisfy them as the one I'm using is fairly new and it works.

But, every dark cloud has a silver lining. On the way home, I stopped by Tri-State Truck Driving School which is 20 minutes from the house. I did not go to them originally as I didn't think my credit was good enough having been unemployed for over a year. Man was I surprised, my credit score came back a 705 so I qualified for a school loan, woo hoo. The paper work that took in excess of 8 hours at Stevens took me all of 30 minutes at Tri State. The tuition is the same as what Stevens charges which is par with most schools and annual interest rate is 12 percent. First payment starts 60 days after my graduation date of 21 Ocotober. Whoever I sign on with will reimburse me for all or most of the tuition at 150 or 160 a month. Actually my loan repayment will be 160 per month and Werner will pay 150 a month and a local company in Corsicana will pay the 160 per month.

The local company hauls flatbed and van and their drivers are home every weekend. Their flat bed hauls are 75 percent pre-tarped so they are hook and haul. Home on weekends right now is not a priority and I want to get miles and be able to cover as much geography as I can. Tri State will give me a third prospective company next week so I can compare between the three. So many choices and so little time.

My classes start on 3 October where I'll go that first week Monday thru Friday then the weekend off. Then 12 days straight until graduation on the 21st. Oh, and there are 8 students and 4 instructors. This is going to be real nice and the istruction will be on  a very personal basis.

So what have I learned from all this today? To begin with, I'm not faulting Stevens at all. I think there is a systemic problem in the recruiting sector. They need to come up with a standard protocol that helps to pre-screen applicants before they ever leave home. Of course this depends on the honesty and integrity of the candidates so take that with a grain of salt. Needless to say, time and money was wasted by the company and I bet that the candidates will have to pay Stevens back for what was spent on their transportation and lodging. Some of these guys and gals can ill afford the expense and now have a debt hanging over their heads. In fact, the poor guy sitting next to me wore boots that were disintegrating under the table where he sat. We thought it was good old black dirt, it was the rubber soles coming off like loose dirt.

If I knew that Stevens would disqualify me for the reasons I mentioned, I could have taken steps to get everything in order before I showed up yesterday. Of course, it depends on the honesty of the candidates and I guess that is one of my faults, being honest. As least I don't have to remember what I gave for an answer last time.

Like I have told my soldiers for many years, lesson learned and time to move on. My advise for all you prospectives, make sure you have all your ducks in a row and put your recruiter on the spot. FMCSA has one standard and trucking companies can add to it so be sure you know what they want.

When one door closes, another opens so keep your eyes open.

Now I'm going to enjoy the rest of my week. Ciao