JUST A RELAXING DAY@HOME

One of the things I found out while I was on my way home from Washington was internet can be pricey at truck stops. What I did was went to T-mobile and opened up a data account. AT&T gives 5 gigs for 60 a month and if you go over they charge you. The usb card is also 100 dollars. T-mobile charged me 49.99 for 5 gigs and no over charge usage. so basically unlimited and I got the usb card for free. So if your looking for laptop internet service and you cant tether you phone to your laptop this is a great deal. Also you may want to put a small tool bag together before you go and also a backpack with the daily essentials. I have two large bags for my month out but I realized when your with a trainer you will have to live out of your bags. and to have a quick bag to keep a daily change of clothes and bathroom essentials its so much easier when your making that 1/4 mile trek to the bathroom at 5am in the morning.

Here is the Classic I will be training on!

Wow I cant wait to be driving this during training!

Home for a couple days

Well I came home for a couple of days. Let me try to break this down a little. When your a new driver with Gordon you do orientation for one day. After that you go out with your trainer for 28 days. Then you come back to orientation and finish off your remaining two days. This is all done if your trainer informed Gordon that your ready. During your first day you have a long day of information that you will soak in about Gordon. Well I was sent back home to wait for my trainer. I'm going to be trained in one of gordons bad ass trucks. There classics. I will get pics when I can. It was a long ride home from Washington but I can't wait to hit the road again.


UPDATE....My trainer called me tonight and said he will be picking me up Sunday or Monday. I will go out for 2 weeks come home for a day and a half then go back out for 2 weeks. I will then go back to Washington for 2 days orientation.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Waiting in Pacific Washington

Well yesterday was what I call hell day at Gordon. 11.5 hours of classroom training. It was very informative and interesting. I learned alot. I am back at the terminal waiting for my ride back to California. We should be picking up a load somewhere here in Washington then heading to California. I might be coming home for a couple days then heading out east hopefully New York bound.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Early morning wakeup

Well its a early morning wake up here in Washington. I'm getting readyto go to orientation day 1. It should consist of some classroom film and possibly my driving test with the truck. I will also take some pics of the truck I had mentioned in my earlier post. Wow I cant believe I'm here. I'm so excited!

Arrived finally

Well it was the longest train ride I ever experienced in my life. Met some other Gordon drivers along the way. These drivers worked for other companies and decided to come work for Gordon. They all said they heard great things about Gordon. Our hotel driver picked us up at Amtrack and drove us to Gordon's terminal and there we seen her the Shiny new powder blue truck and trailer ..All I have to say is WOWWWWWW! I will be taking pics of it tomorrow and post them to the blog. Well i better get to bed I have a 5am wake up call.

A long train ride

Well I'm almost at my destination. It will have taken almost 22 hours to arrive. I would not recommend
this ride to anyone lol. Unless your coming to work for Gordon Trucking. I have about 7 hours to go. It will all be worth it in the long run. I will update my blog when I get there. I'm tired.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A beautiful morning

I opened my eyes this morning to a beautiful blue sky morning. I looked out the window and realized the day has arrived. Sitting here looking around my home sucking in all the visual with my eyes to hold me over until I come back home. I have a long journey ahead of me. I can feel my chest and stomach starting to knot up and tingle with excitement. I'm so ready for this next phase in my life..its been a long time coming. The past few day's I have had great days with my friends and family. I had breakfast with my kids and grand kids...as I looked around the table I realized just how blessed I am. They will truly be missed but I do all this for them. Yeah I can fell the nervousness as I'm getting closer to leaving my comfort zone of home and family. I remember the last time I felt this way. It was back in October of 1984 when I flew out to Oklahoma for boot camp "U.S. Army". Well it's time to double check my bags and make sure I have everything I need. Don't forget to bookmark this blog to follow my journey into a whole new career! I'm ready Gordon Trucking let's get those loads to there destination on time!

Thank you all for following my Blog

Liteguy I'm sorry to hear that it was very tough for the family when you were going through a career change. I know this is a very hard industry being away at times. I'm in a little different situation my children are grown 23/24 and are moved out. My wife is sorta used to this situation of me being gone. I was in the military years ago and was always gone. It was harder for me back in my military days being gone then for her.
I have been out of work for over a year so we both knew that I had to do something. So this is my 1 to 2 year plan. I plan to go over the road for a minimum 1 year on the road then come closer to home and work local for them "Gordon". This is why I chose Gordon because you have the option when something becomes available. It is tuff being 45 and applying for different types of jobs and they look at you like your to old or over qualified. like I said in a earlier post this was not my first choice but I will make it work. I always give 120 percent in whatever I do. I know I will do orientation for 1 or 2 days and then go straight to the road with a trainer for 28 days/10,000 miles. I will be updating this blog daily if I can when time permits and let you know what and how I'm doing.

A bittersweet moment

I woke up this morning knowing that I only have a little over 24 hours until I leave for Washington. It's definitely a bittersweet moment. I'm so thrilled, excited, anxious, happy and sad all in one package. I wanted this job so bad and cant wait to get on the road...but at the same time I'm sad to leave my family behind. It's been a long tough year trying to figure out what to do with my life as far as work. So many thoughts and ideas pop through your mind. When I chose trucking school I can say it was not my first choice but I had to do something I knew would be around for awhile. OTR or over the road commercial driving is not for everyone. I know there will be many challenges ahead in this industry some good some bad. I will experience all types of people, weather, drivers etc etc. I have a great family and wonderful friends who have supported me through these trying times. You all will be in my thoughts as I travel the highways and biways. So all I have left to say is ...LETS DO THIS!

Leaving a comment for a daily post is set up now

I set up the comment feature. When you leave a comment... write the comment then select the comment as... Select "Anonymous" at the bottom of the tab. Then post comment... It's that easy. I hope to hear from some of you.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

IM READY TO ROCK AND ROLL

Everything is packed and ready to go. Actually I just need one more thing a coat. I'm not sure if I will need one but I better play it safe and bring one. I'm leaving on the Amtrack Sunday night they informed me its about a 22 hour trip Oh Myyyyy. I'm so happy and excited and a little nervous at the same time. I know once I get there and start my training it will all smooth out. I'm heading to Washington with another driver so that will be cool at least I'm not alone.

Getting things ready for the weekend

Well last night I had to go out and get my gear together for my Orientation/Training. So its like all in a pile lol. Gordon gives you a list of stuff that you need to bring. So I will have spent about 400 dollars on stuff just to get going and I have not even seen a pay check yet hehe. Oh well it will all pay off in the end for sure! I don't think I ever been this excited with a new job ever. I guess that's what happens when you been out of work for over a year.

UPDATE: Almost packed and ready to go.I'm trying to get a weeks worth of clothes and all my necessities in 1 bag it's like Wow! I fell like I'm moving out haha.

iPhone is set up

Okay I set up my iPhone so I can blog. So this will work out great because if I can't recieve a Internet connection on the road. I still can use 3g to upload a blog. This is going to be great.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

On my way to Orientation

Well I passed my physical and I'm on my way to my orientation with Gordon Trucking. I should be leaving sometime this weekend and on my way to a whole new career. I will be taking pics along the way and possibly some video to get posted soon. I should be leaving orientation and hitting the road with my trainer. I should be out 28 days before i get to see some home time. Well ready or not here we go....this is what i been waiting for.

Physical and drug test today!

Well today is the big day. at around 11:00am i will be making my way to the doctors clinic to take my DOT Physical and DOT drug test. One more step to check off before my road trip to Washington.

The Phone Rang Today

It was around 11:00am and my phone rang and it was Gordon Trucking on the other end. They informed me that I would be having a physical and drug test on Thursday. They also said that I would possibly be hitching a ride with another trucker to Washington for next weeks orientation.

Blog was created

This blog was created to keep friends, family and new truckers with information about my 1st year out as a new trucker. You will see pictures, videos and audio of different things I go through. So make sure you bookmark this blog. It sure to get interesting as the months go by.

My trucker name Zyphor

Well my name that I decided to use when I'm on the road is Zyphor. Im sure some of you are like where the hell did you pick that name from lol. I started this 3D game about 2 1/2 years ago and I had to name my avatar. So I named him Zyphor. I wanted something that stood out and was rememberable. Later on as time went by in the game I started my own online radio station and Dj Zyphor was born. My station runs off and on during certain times of the day. Sometimes I'm Live and sometimes I'm recorded. So this is where Zyphor came from.

The Weekend

Enjoying one of my last weekends before I get going here sometime soon. I got together last night with some friends at Las Margaritas for a few drinks and some tacos. yummmy

School is done!!

Well I finally finished school.I graduated from the trucking school and on my way to Gordon Trucking to drop off my paperwork. wow they are hiring here. The season is picking up. Now its a sit and wait for a orientation date phone call.

Looking for a truck school in California?

If your looking for a great truck school program with awesome instructors. Check out Western Pacific Truck School. There are 3 locations in California and 1 in Washington

http://www.wptruckschool.com/

Just a quick video

Here is a video I'm testing with some software I'm trying to learn before I hit the road lol.

New Commercial Driver

Hello everyone my name is Mike aka" Trucker Zyphor". I will be updating this blog to let all new and upcoming truckers read and see what I go through my first year out.

Under Construction