stuff

I drove a bus today.  First time ever.  Didn’t hit anything.  Heh, what a trip.  Three more days of training this week, 9am – 12.

I’ve been working nine days straight with the papers, and have four more nights to go til the boss gets back.  I finished early enough to lay down for almost two hours, then drove on down to the bus yard, and signed in.  I’m not the kind of guy to puzzle things out myself anymore, so I freely asked questions – how do I do this, what do I do with that, etc.  For one thing, it gets me placed and there.  Everyone was helpful and friendly.

There are 103 drivers for this district.  It is the fifth largest in Oregon, and it growing fast.  (For one thing, property taxes are lower in Clackamas county than they are in Multnomah county, which is Portland and vacinity)

Looking around at the other drivers was interesting.  I haven’t riden a school bus in a thousand years, so I was wondering if there was a School Bus Driver type, something like the Truck Driver type.  They all looked like ordinary people who were pretty satisfied with their jobs…. I think I can fit in.

Pretriped the bus while I was clocked in but waiting for the instructor, who by the way, has 30 years of bus driving experience.  Been driving since see was 10, she hastened to add, before I reallly thought about it.  I’m thinking she’s 6 -10 years older than I am…

Anyway, she’s got the experience, and she  is a pretty good instructor, so I feel like I’m in good hands.  She drove us to the fuel island and then out into the real world, where we found a big old empty parking lot to drive around in…

It’s gonna be interesting driving these things.  BIG.

And hey, if it doesn’t turn out to be my thing, I’ll at least have gotten a CDL out of the experience.  Not that I think it’ll work out that way, I mean, I looked around that bus, and at the other people driving them, and thought, I can do this. Too.

Okay, well, that’s a big deal, but the one in a week is bigger.  2006 is looking like a very good year so far.  My friend will be here in a week, next Tuesday morning.  I work that morning, the night before, but I have Tuesday and Wednesday night off, cuz, ya know, K* is going to be here.

Yep.  Pretty good so far.

Just gotta get some sleep in there…