Training Almost Complete

Had a great 4th of July last week. Watched the fireworks in San Fran with my VIP's. Also had a great work week. Got in some very important driving time during training. I got all of my 20 hours completed now I can finally take my test and go cadet. I'll be taking my test on Tuesday and hopefully that same day ill be out doing revenue with the route 29 to El Cerrito/Calistoga. It's about a 4 1/2 hour route and we have to cadet each route twice before we can drive solo so I want to get the long routes out of the way first.

After we finish cadetting we get a $2 raise so I can't wait to get that. I was told it'll take me about 2 weeks to finish getting each route twice so I'm trying to get the ball rolling ASAP. We won't be able to test tomorrow because CHP will be doing an inspection on the buses tomorrow so we have to wait until Tuesday which is fine I guess. I feel like I'm ready with nothing to worry about I just want to do it as soon as possible. Everyone in my class including my boss knows how eager I am to get out there and get out of training. He even told me yesterday that I've impressed him so much despite my age and my inexperience that he's gonna really hold me accountable when I make mistakes because he feels I know so much. And I'm good with that because when I came into this I wanted to show how serious I was and how much I want this.
I've made my presence felt and I'm happy to say I'm the youngest person they've ever hired. I didn't think I'd like working for napa vine/veolia but I'm prepared to wait however long I need to as long as I'm working now as opposed to sitting on the couch weeks ago.  

My boss tells me everyday how much potential he sees in me and how much I can grow in this company. It's good to hear someone tell me that and I'm excited I really like working for Veolia in my short time but my eyes are still on the big prize which is with AC Transit. I actually talked with someone at AC the other day and they told me I'd miss this second consecutive class that starts tomorrow but I should be in the next one in a few weeks or whenever they have it. But I'm not really worried about it like I was a few weeks ago. I was pretty happy this week I got to drive the 40 foot commuter buses they bought from SamTrans. They use those on the route 29 and school trippers. I also got to drive the 35 and 40 foot New Flyers. It was fun driving the 35 footer. Its a Hybrid bus with Deisel/Electric. The only thing I hated about it was when I take my foot off the gas it completely stops instead of slows down. I drove the 40 footer to Sonoma for our new route 25 that we start tomorrow. The 40 footer was so slow it would only reach 55 miles per hour and I was cruising in that. While one of my classmates was driving to Calistoga the glass to the headsign shattered into pieces. It was crazy we were just driving, didn't hit anything and all you hear is a big pop sound and glass falling in front of us. I cant lie I was scared at first because I didnt know what it was. I thought it was the CNG tank that burst on top of the bus until we stopped. So thats by far the craziest thing I've encountered.

What A Week Its Been

This week has been pretty cool ofr me. Started work this week on Monday and I was able to see the Miami Heat take a 3-1 lead in the NBA Fianls versus the Oklahoma City Thunder. Finally Lebron is going to win his first ring so the media will leave the man alone. In other news though work has been tiring this week. Its my first time working since February so getting up early has been a little challenging for me I have to get used to working again. So far we've just been learning policies and safety regulstions. The first day we watched videos all day and took quizes on those videos. Yesterday we rode bus routes all day because our trainer got sick. It was sooooooo boring man. I usually dont mind riding the bus and at first I really didnt mind since I was getting paid to do it. But after lunch I was ready to go home. Most of the drivers seem scared to drive they all drive so slow. So it just made each route seem that much longer. On top of that the buses aren't well taken care of. Most of them are older than 10-15 years. The average life for a bus is only 12 years so they should've been bought new buses. The newest ones they have were bought in 2009 but they break down more than the older ones. They are new technology hybrid buses so havent really gotten all of the bugs out of the system.

Alot of the pre-trip stuff they showed us today I didn't agree with from what I learned at MV Transportation. But I just have to get used to the way they do things over at Veolia. Just seems like they do things backwards but I'll get through it. Its better than sitting on the couch so I cant complain too much. The routes are really easy to learn though I feel like if I went out there right now I wouldnt need directions. Napa is so small and all of the routes criss-cross so its hard to get lost. To me it is anyway. I just cant wait to get behind the wheel I was anxious today just being able to do part of the pre-trip I wanted to drive. Unfortunately he wouldn't even let us turn on the bus which sucked. When you already have your Class B license its hard to sit back and wish you could do certain things but you have to wait. I just need some patience thats all.

New Beginning

As it turns out I'm glad I took the job with Napa Vine aka Veolia Transportation. AC Transit didnt get my fingerprints back in time for me to start class today so now I have to wait until the July class. So in the meantime I'll train with Veolia and brush up on skills like my Pre Trip, my turning skills and whatever else I'm rusty at. I havent driven a bus since March when I did a road test for Reliant Travel in West Oakland so the training class will help me get back to where I was.I cant wait to start work Monday its been a long time. It'll be a 4 week class and its going to be different than the one I had with MV in February. With MV it was 40 hours of classroom and 40 of Behind the Wheel. With Veolia we will have an 8 hour class for the first day and everyday after that we will do half class in the morning and half behind the wheel. This should be fun. Way better than sitting in a room for a week. I just wonder why they still have those old GMC RTS buses which are more than 20 years old. They have a few brand new hybrid buses but other than those they have a very old fleet including some 35 ft gillig buses. I like those but they are pretty old too. Even though I look at this as a temporary job until AC calls me I still have one goal in mind. Come out of class number 1. I want to drive a bus more than anyone else so I know I'll be working harder than anyone else. But we have 2 days until class starts so I'm going to enjoy this weekend and my Fathers day. Was hoping to make the A's game tomorrow but I dont know we will see. If not I'm going to chill with my dad. He's driving the 80 for Vallejo Transit tomorrow to El Cerrito for a few hours so I'll ride with him for a little while. It's always fun riding with him we always have something to talk about.

Today I went to turn in my DMV printout to Muni so I can take the test next month so I hope I can pass that test, that is if I'm not working for AC yet. But right now those things arent important I've now switched my focus to Veolia since they hired me and I'm going to work hard for the time being. I'm probably going to be the youngest person in the class so I'm going to be underestimated like I was at MV so I'm going to show these guys how much drive I have in me. I'm kind of wishing we could skip the weekend but Monday will be here soon enough.

Slight Detour

So today I accepted a job offer with Napa Vine Transit bus company. They offered me a position on Friday but I waitied until today to accept becuase I thought AC Transit would have gotten my Livescan Fingerprints back by now. Apparently not so I chose to accept the offer from the Vine. I'm going to go along with the hiring process starting tomorrow with drug tests and a physical. The class starts on June 18th but I'm hoping that AC will get the prints back from the Department Of Justice before Friday so I can start class Friday. From th research I've done it seems delays from the DOJ are common with fingerprints when you have charges on your record or if the fingerprints werent recorded with good quality. I'm not worried about not getting into AC Transit I just want them to come back soon so I dont have to wait for the July class. I'm just going to keep the faith that I'll be in the Friday class but in the meantime I'm going to go forth with the process. Wheels Bus in Livermore also wanted to rehire me last Friday but I turned them down. I just figured with me waiting on AC Transit it'd be a waste of time and gas money for me to go to Livermore everyday knowing I'm wasting money and knowing I'm not going to be there long. Napa is closer to Vallejo so I can deal with going there for a little while. Just cant wait until I get that call so I can politely tell the people at the Vine thanks but I will be accepting an opportunity elsewhere.

Hungrier than Ever

Its been a while since I last posted but between working at Lucky and always having to work closing shifts I never really felt like it. 2012 has been kind of a mixed year for me. When it started I claimed this was Our Year for me and my girl. And with that I really meant it because I was motivated to leave Lucky, the place I had been working for since 2007. Working in the grocery business had gotten old to me and getting into journalism wasnt going to get me money immediately. So I chose my next best option and that was to drive a bus. It was the most realistic goal for me right now. It was something I've always wanted to do until I ran into journalism and sports in high school. Neither one of those panned out for me though because I had my daughter in my senior year of high school so when I graduated I had to look for a steady paying job.

I got my first opportunity at Wheels Bus(MV Transportation) in Livermore, Ca in January. Even though it was about an hour away I intended on using this opportunity for experience and a stepping stone to get me to the bigger companies like AC Transit and SF Muni. I was hired with 7 other people in the class. One lady quit on the first day so I was like cool one less person to compete against for seniority. Basically your seniority depends on when you graduate the training and I already thought I wasnt going to come out number one because one of my class mates had driven for SF Muni for 12 years prior. So my goal was to come out number 2 since no one else in class had driven a bus before just like me. Week number 1 was all about policies and safety so we all were on the same level no matter what.

The games began in week 2 when BTW(Behind The Wheel) Training started. I had a step above everyone though because I had started learning routes on my own time. After class I'd go to the Dublin Bart to ride the buses while everyone else went home. So when BTW started I knew routes without having to see the directions. I just needed to learn to not hit curbs and how to pull into bus stops. I learned this all in 4 days as opposed to the 5 days we were given and to my surprise I finished first even ahead of the Muni veteran. If you ask me I think she was a little upset about that but it was all about business to me even tho she had become a mentor for me in that short time.

Everything was going great I was so happy about my journey and where my career was about to go. Until about an hour after I completed the training. I walked in on my manager talking on the phone to a corporate rep. When I walked in I was smiling but he wasnt. He looked really upset and dissapointed. He says to the lady on the phone "Speaking of him he just walked in." When he said that my heart dropped because I was hoping he was referring to my trainer who accompanied me into the office. And thats when he handed me the phone. The lady asked me several questions about my criminal record. I gave her every detail I could and told her about the help I'd gotten for the mistakes. She wasnt buying it though. So after our conversation I was released from the company until I could get an expungement.

So for months I was depressed and working hard to find a job and at the same time waiting for my court date for the expungement. In a 3 months span from February to May I interviewed with around 6 employers. Only one would pass me through before my expungement and that was Sacramento Regional Transit. The others weren't trying to touch my record. This had me feeling some kind of way about that. Like man America dont give nobody second chances if you cant afford a lawyer. I thought nobody would hire me at this point. And the only reason Sacramento Regional Transit had passed me through the interview out of the others who passed on me was because they never asked me about my record. But I didnt really want to work there not to sound ungrateful. They didnt make much money for me to commute from Vallejo everyday.

Just about every day and night I prayed for better days. Even started going back to church. I needed a blessing and I felt this was the only way I'd get it. Sure enough I got my expungement and the calls started raining in. Two days after Memorial Day I got 4 calls in the same day. MV Transportation told me I was qualified to come back, Napa Vine wanted to interview me, Sac RT scheduled me a drug test and the best call came from AC Transit.

When AC Transit called me I had just gotten off the phone with MV. So after they scheduled me an interview for the next day, for that moment nothing else mattered to me. This was the company I'd set my goal to get to. This was not just a job as was MV and the other places I was contacted by but this was a career opportunity for me. AC Transit is the 3rd largest bus company in California and is one of the best in all of the nation. I was ready to tell those other places thanks but no thanks but I had to calm down a little bit. I had faith the job was mine but at the same time I had to keep all options open until it was written in stone that I was hired. I went all out for this interview. Bought a new shirt, showed up really early and I did my best to make myself stand out from anyone else they'd interviewed. The interview went great and right now I'm still in the hiring process they are just waiting for my fingerprints to come back from the livescan. S in the mean time I'm still going through with Sac RT, Soltrans in Vallejo(MV Transit) and Napa Vine. I even got another interview set up with AirBart in Oakland. The run shuttles from the Coliseum Bart and the airport parking lots to the Oakland Airport.

I have my heart set on being in the June 15 class that AC is starting and they've expressed how they really want me in there also. I dont see anything stopping me from being there so me doing all these other interviews is just me occupying my time since I'm currently unemployed. It just feels great to think I could be making $25 an hour by the time I'm 27 years old compared to just $15 if I were to have been still employed at Lucky at age 27. After I turned 22 I was kind of ashamed to have still been working at Lucky because the wages I was making and how hard I had to work for it. But I can honestly say I take pride in this. This is going to open up so many other things for me and my family in our future togther. I'm just so blessed and cant wait to see whats in store for me. Or us I should say. I feel like we've struggled so much since my daughter was born that was deserve this change. Almost every year since my daughter was born we've been climbing a hill and it feels good that we are finally reaching the top of it. My dad and my best friend have been my biggest supporters through it all I must say. We were just sitting on the couch the other day and he says to me "Son are you going to be ok making more money than me?" Before he said that I didnt realize I was going to be. But to me its not so much the money that matters. From the time I was a baby to the time I was 9 I used to ride AC Transit living in Oakland and Richmond. So it just brings back so many child hood memories when I step on an AC bus even though they dont have any of the same buses I used to ride in the 90's except the one in the picture below. They only have 5 left from the 30 they had running in '97 so I hope I get to drive one before they retire those 5. And they also changed some of the route numbers up since the time I used to ride like the old 82L we used to always ride is now the 1R and the old 72L is now the 72R. A little different from my days but still seems the same...sort of.
But with all this being said I'm going to cherish this opportunity and I'm going to be more focused than ever on making the best of it. Im hungry for this opportunity and I'm motivated. What more can I say? Twenty-Three and employed with AC Transit, I'm truely blessed

Back to Football

Sitting here watching the final game of the NFL's opening week between the Raiders and Broncos and I must say I'm impressed with a few teams. Especially the Buffalo Bills!! I never gave them a chance of beating Kansas City but they more then beat them, they blew em out of the water. Hahahaha...Shout Out to my boy Stevie Johnson. I was also surprised by the fat egg Pittsburgh laid in Baltimore. I was expecting a closer game but we all have our bad days. It sure is great to have football back since I wont be watching my San Francisco Giants in the playoffs this year. Better luck next season.

Although my 49ers beat the hated Seahawks I was disappointed in how the offense was conservative for the whole game. They could've kept Mike Singletary and Jimmy Raye for how they played. Frank Gore had no running room at all. I only remember him getting just one 1st down. The O-line played just ok but I expected alot more under a new coach with offensive experience. Alex Smith did a good job with not getting any turnovers in this game. Way to keep the boos quieted for a change. Theres no telling if he wouldve been worse had he been given more chances to throw the ball but that remains to be seen next week. Its hard to critique any of the other playmakers Like Vernon, Braylon and Michael Crabtree because they werent given many chances either. Alex Smith finished with only 124 yards, Vernon had 47, Braylon had 27 and Mike had only 4. Against a good team, they wouldve gotten beat pretty bad so thank the schedule makers for giving us the measely Seahawks who were just as bad on offense. The thing that saved the 49ers was that blizting defense who was swarming Tavaras Jackson and Marshawn Lynch all game long and also who can forget Ted Ginn Jr. Ted single handedly put the game away with his 102 yard kickoff and 55 yard punt return in under 59 seconds. He had just taken a 1.2 million dollar pay cut a week earlier. I'd say hes earning it back. Theres never been a question about his return skills as he has returned 2 kicks in one game with the Miami Dolphins a few years ago. Its just his recieving skills that are mediocore.

 Next up are the Dallas Cowboys who are coming off lose to the Jets. The Cowboys defense is alot better than the Seahawks so the 49ers offense will have their hands full. If the defense and special teams can continue to play well, this can be a great win for Jim Harbaugh and the Niners. As I've said in week one, this team only goes as far as Alex Smith takes them. But the same goes for the Cowboys with Tony Romo. (As we saw against the Jets) The quarterback with the least mistakes wins the game.

Shout out to The Oakland Raiders Defense

NBA Trendsetters

Finally The MeloDrama is over. Everybody can stop wondering who's going where before the trade deadline and focus on the playoff race for the seasons 2nd half after the All-Star break. With Lebron James' "Decision" over the summer, Chris Bosh's relocation and now Carmelo Anthony's push out of Denver to New York I'm beginnig to see a trend build in the NBA. Carmelo and Lebron both chose rather ugly ways to let the teams they were drafted by, know that they didnt want to be there anymore. Causing distractions, embarrassing the organizations and putting themselves before the team. But can you blame them? They want to win. NOW!

Players that are getting too impatient in their small market venues and jumping ship for The Ship, aka the Championship. Sensing that they wont be able to win a ring with the teams they are drafted by because of their respective teams inability to build a supporting cast or to sign big name players, they would rather sign with a big market team that already has a superstar. We all knew over the past 4 years that the summer of 2010 would change the NBA in a small way because of Dwayne Wade, James and Bosh were becoming free agents. These three players were drafted together, as well as Carmelo, but Carmelo made the mistake of signing a contract extension causing him to have free agency in the summer of 2011. Little did sports fans know or imagine was that Wade would recruit James and Bosh to join him in Miami. Many saw James going to New York because its his favorite place or New Jersey because of his friendship with Jay-Z but when he chose Miami on Primetime TV, it shook the sports world like an earthquake. Fans in Cleveland cried and burned Lebron James jerseys in the streets as if they were middle eastern people burning the American Flag while Lebron and DWade fans jumped with excitement like kids on Christmas. To many fans Lebron takes the heat for forming this super-team because of the way he left Cleveland giving only a 10 minute notice, while Bosh and Wade get a pass. But to the rest of the NBA superstars, Lebron just became a genius.

At Carmelo Anthony's wedding in August, one month after the famous Decision, players gathered for a toast. Instead of Chris Paul proposing the toast to a good marriage for the Newly Wedded Carmelo and LaLa Vazquez, he jokingly made a toast to Carmelo and himself teaming up with Amare Stoudemire in New York Knicks uniforms to create their own Big 3. He told the media it was a joke but we all know he was really thinking out loud. He meant to say that because he knows that is the only way the three of them will ever get past the Lakers, Celtics, Heat and Spurs. No one superstar will get his team to a championship ring in this New NBA. This is why Carmelo pushed his way out of Denver and its the same reason why Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard will eventually leave their teams when their contract year comes, to team up guys that will help them compete. We saw that Kobe Bryant couldn't do it without Shaquille O'neal (or Pau Gasol for that matter), Michael Jordan couldn't win not even one of his 6 rings without Scottie Pippen and The Boston Big 3 of Pierce KG and Ray Allen couldn't win without each other. In fact, each of the past 30 championship teams in the NBA have had at least 2 all-star players so I dont get it when people say these players should try and win one on their own.

Now its not written in stone but whichever one of this years teams that are currently in the playoff chase, gets to the NBA finals none can say they only have one superstar. With Carlos Boozer joining Derrick Rose, The Big 3 in Boston and Miami, Agent Zero (Gilbert Arenas) having Dwight, Kobe teamed up with Pau, Melo and Chauncey Billups in NYC with Amare and even Kevin Durant has help with Russell Westbrook, there is no one superstar team in the playoff race anymore (sorry Cleveland). This is the new way of the NBA (pending the new Collective bargaining agreement doesnt ruin it) so the media and all the rest of the haters around the sports world better get used to it because the super-team thing is the trend of the new decade.

This is just something I thought I'd get off my mind for the people who think championships are won alone. Look at the facts and do your research before you just judge someones decision.