Don't tell me God ain't real because I PASSED!!!

After entering the gate without hitting a curb possibly hitting a gate, the examiner asked me to stop the vehicle, park the truck, and meet him inside. No indication of a pass or fail. I waited and waited about 30 minutes on pins and needles. I felt confident that I passed the driving portion because the pre-trip went well, and the backing maneuvers were flawless as I earned no points. When the examiner came back with that sealed envelope with my test results, I nearly tackled him as I rushed to receive my reward and embraced him. I hugged errybody in the room!!! I squealed with delight as the fruits of my labor and sacrifice were finally completed.

I'm very much so on my way to being a pretty trucker, and all the praise goes to God. I prayed so much in the past 24 hours, and I kept encountering scriptures that would speak to my situation despite the worry. Today, I visited a site and found that Mark 11:24 says, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours (http://www.christnotes.org/dbv.php?d=2009-03-23)". Oddly, I prayed and request prayer that I wouldn't have to perform parallel parking because it proved difficult for me as I was often hit or miss on completing the maneuver. However, I also prayed that if I received parallel, then I knew God would guide me through it because He already helped he obtain the knowledge and skills set; I would just have to apply what I know. I prayed from Him to be with me again when I had to perform the task, and I pretty much KILLED it. It was perfectly in the box, and I knew I had passed the maneuvers...with no points!!!




I don't have any jobs lined up yet because things will take time and have some other things I have to accomplish first. However, I hope to be working in the field quite soon. I will stay with God on this part of plan as He has already proven He is the one to be with on this thing called Life. I'm so blessed today, and I hope this has blessed someone, anyone who wants to be a trucker or anything else they dream to be. It's never too late, and it's never too much if you go with God. He never left me and was just waiting for me to come to Him. Look what happened when I did. I will be a pretty trucker in the very near future. God is sooo cool. :)

NOTE: I found this awesome graphic at http://www.girlscantwhat.com/2008/03/05/meet-trucker-pamela-febbo/. Found it today, and LOVE IT!

WOOOOOOSAHHHHHH!!! I'll be a pretty trucker yet

My original intentions were to blog every single week about my experience in the Commercial Truck Driving course at Dekalb Tech. Wouldn't it be great to know what the school entails, how great (or possibly not so great) the different instructors are, etc.??? Yes, that was a great idea, but I'm so busy with a 40 hour job and 30 hours of school.... That idea died.

But this Monday will mark the beginning of week 9, and I couldn't be happier!!! "Thrilled" would not fully express how excited I eel about the progress I made yesterday. The backing maneuvers that have been stressing and taunting me are finally becoming fun now that I can complete the maneuvers. My spirit was as bright and glowy as the sky was on yesterday's spring like afternoon. Granted, the sweat rolled down my forehead and back from working so hard on a warm day with no A/C. (Most trucks have A/C, but I was so focused since 9 AM that I forgot to turn it on later.) My body feels different levels of soreness I haven't felt before. But I'm much closer to becoming a driver after all.

Driving the truck is a thrill of its own. I love being a cute girly girl operating that big vehicle with little or no trouble. Being behind the wheel sitting in "the hot seat" with my instructor makes my happiness bubble over. I'm all smiles when I'm driving (unless it's a Mack truck). Basically, my spirit is overjoyed to be doing what I've always wanted to do.

The only thing that could make me happier will be earning the actual CDL. Pray for me, people.

Such a truckin' lady

Excitement sounds like a pretty good word to describe how I feel about the end of the third week of the rest of my life. I should throw in anxious, eager, sore, surprised, (damn near) discombobulated, and spent. That's where some of my classmates are as we're currently learning our backing techniques. Offset backing is a bitch, and I bet her sisters, parallel parking and alley backing won't be nice either.

But taking my life in a brand new direction with my Commercial Truck Driving course far outweighs these initial frustrations. This change is HURGE (yes, big enough for an extra letter) when you consider I'm trying to stay sane while balancing my full-time job and marriage while worried about trying to get healthy. Unfortunately, I have to sacrifice my previous weight loss efforts to balance 40 hours of work, 30 hours of school, and fitting in 5 - 6 hours of sleep. Most days, I honestly don't know if I'm coming or going, but that's the sacrifice I'll make for my sanity in the long run.

Today has a bittersweet element to it. My brother would have been 38. I can't help wondering if he would look at me with surprise, admiration, or confidence at my attempt to seriously pursue the career I've dreamt of since I was 18. Of course he would have some jokes because that's just who he was, and everyone would laugh. Who would have thought his zealous little sister that drove our mom's blue Dodge Dynasty like "Dukes of Dynasty" would want to drive for her career? I don't think he'd believe this same sister that wrecked cars as a hobby and collected speeding tickets like a baseball cards would want to be a professional operator. He'd be cracked up at that career move, but I like to think he'd be impressed that I was choosing a career path outside the box for most women.

My brother made his own interesting choices in his short time here, and I am still making interesting choices in my 31st year. Actually, getting engaged after 3 months of dating, marrying after 6 months of knowing the man, and deciding to pursue a career that takes a woman out of her house and away from her loving husband of one year might be way more than just "interesting". Oftentimes, I can't help noticing he had a family, a home, loads of friends, extreme confidence, and great finances before he was taken too early at 27. I'm still not there at 31, but I'm hoping I can make myself and my family proud in the next weeks and months.

Old school shout out to my brother Eddie Cooler. We'll never forget you EVER. Whenever I hear this song, it makes me think of how cool he always was.

MC Shy D ~ "I've Gotta Be Tough"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY2oHSIBhqQ

To leave or not to leave...that is SOOO the question.

A former colleague once told me I shouldn't put so much reality into my blog. Well, I guess if my entries deal with co-workers, then her advice makes sense. Otherwise, what I type must reflect me and the things in life that are affecting me.

Like the 7.2% unemployment rate and how it's affecting my rationale in the midst of my euphoria before I start my 10-week Commercial Truck Driving course.

Lord knows I have prayed before walking into a job in the past, and I still find myself doing that in my current position at the company I label as "a terrible place in [a suburban area north of Atlanta]". Prayers will definitely cross my lips on Monday when I walk into work after a nice weeklong vacation. More like drag myself through those transparent doors and fighting back tears when I press the up button for the elevator.

More than anything, I want to walk away from that job without a second thought. Just leave behind the insanity disguised as commerce. Well, not all is terrible at my job because I sincerely dig my manager. If it wasn't for her, I would not have taken off the very first week of the year, but she understood why I had to. But even with her being supportive and understanding, I really, really want to leave that place behind. The idea of quietly resigning fascinates me even more as my future in truck driving is only 10 weeks away from being my reality. If the image of me drooling like Homer Simpson at the idea of resigning comes to mind, you're not too far off.

Yes, I want to walk out on faith that God will be with me as I study to drive trucks professionally as a full-time student. But reality smacks me in the face when I watch CNN or read articles like the one above or this one about job security. God may want us to walk out on faith in some situations, but I'm sure He doesn't want any of His children to be foolish in this economy. As much as I despise and abhor my job, there are literally thousands (if not millions) of people that would love to sit in my (rather spacious) cubicle, answer the litany of calls and emails from not so bright customers, and earn my rather decent paycheck and benefits. As much as I can't wait to get away from that place, I have to wait and personify the virtue of patience. I must.

After all, the economy has affected so many industries and downsized thousands of employees. Trucking was also affected. So, it would honestly be a decision of tomfoolery to leave now. But I will continue to fantasize about it as I play Megamillions... and endure the next ten weeks of an intense schedule.

Pray for me, people.