Well...the bus driving test....
I arrived at 8 am and met my instructor. We went through the entire pre-trip inspection, the skills course and then took the bus out. My goal was to run through every single thing that would be part of the test. My turns went well, my railroad stops went well. But when we drove past the road we'd be using for the loading and unloading part, as well as the turnabout, it was closed by a utility.
We called the tester and notified him of the road closure. Then we proceeded to another residential area and did some loading and unloading. We could not find a suitable place to do a turnabout.
A turnabout is basically backing around a corner into an empty street. You use bus patrol spotters to tell you that the way is clear and you crank that big thing around the corner and behind the stop sign.
That was the part of the test that I ultimately failed.
When it came time to do the test, the pre-trip and skills course went fine. The driving was going fine. The stops were all fine. The road for the loading and unloading and turnabout were open by that time. So down the road we went.
I cranked the wheel too tight and went off the pavement onto the grass. Not just a little. 12-18 inches. Automatic failure. I was quite annoyed.
I didn't know it was a failure until the end of the test. He said I had passed the Commercial Driver's License portions, so I only need to retake the Bus Driving portion. This is good because I would not have done the CDL part again. I would have just wandered off. If I don't pass the Bus Driver part today, I doubt I'd be willing to do it again, either.
I have to tell you, if you are parent and your kids ride the bus? You'd better respect that Bus Driver. Some/most of them are a bit rough around the edges. Some don't talk too good. Some are pretty chunky and their clothes are not terribly impressive. But they have a skill you might not have. You might not ever have. In fact, you might not actually be able to do their job even if you tried.
Assuming I do pass the test today, I'll start work there on Monday. The coordinator is setting it up so last year's driver can drive the route for the first couple of days with me as a passenger. Then I'll take over. I drove the route in my car the other day and I'm kind of wondering if I should just start out by myself on Monday.
Nate's summer is ending on a wonderful note. Hanging over our heads all summer has been the fact that his best friend, the chick magnet, was moving out of our county and going to Charlotte. Ryan called yesterday afternoon and said they are not moving after all! And so we are all very very happy. I hope his family is happy. I haven't heard what happened. They had actually purchased a new house and were rehabbing it before moving in the last time I talked to them.
Tonight is the school open house. Taylor is anxious to see if he gets the "fun" 4th grade teacher. I'm just hoping he is in a class more suited to his personality. Last year he was the only quieter type of boy in there. He did fine, but he seemed to be some sort of mascot for the others. Tomorrow Nate goes to school for "freshman academy". It'll only be half a day. He is still working on his last summer reading book, Farewell to Manzanar.
That's it! Remember: Benchcraft Furniture is a BAD investment!
6:50:07 AM 
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