Panty Drawer.

"Hello. There's... This drawer in my room is full of panties."

Before I get into that, let's review the last couple of days. Mickey dropped me off in Dallas for my company orientation on Friday morning. We actually arrived the night before, but we slept in the truck and I collected an additional day of training pay - his idea and not a bad one. Since we arrived fairly late into the night on Thursday, they simply would have sent me to the hotel anyway. It would have been nice to go to the hotel simply to be able to shower since we'd been in some really backwoods areas for about a week or so up to that point and I was feeling somewhat like what I imagine a bodega would feel like if it was self-aware. I probably spent twenty to thirty minutes in the shower that night. I had almost forgotten what it was like to be able to shower without making a substantial fuel purchase or leaving an obscene cash towel deposit.

The room was absolutely amazing and, since the orientation center is closed over the weekends, I thoroughly enjoyed my two days off duty. The first of which I spent sleeping for the most part. It's been a month since I've slept in a bed that wasn't bolted into a moving vehicle. Also, the bed in my hotel room is easily three times the size of my bunk and it has five times as many pillows. So, yes, I slept nearly a day in it.

On Sunday I actually inspected the room a little more thoroughly. That's when I made the discovery. The previous tenants had left without their knickers/under garments/sexy underwear.

I thought about calling the front desk and then I thought about the ridiculous statement I'd have to actually make when I did so. I was slightly more concerned about having to actually explain the situation than I was about the situation. So, I closed the drawer and have been ignoring the problem ever since. It's not like I needed to unpack. I've been living out of my luggage for a month now. Besides, all my clothes were dirty anyway. I'd have to do laundry - which I did - before I would have been able to put them into the drawers. Then I'd just have to take them back out every day in case I finished my orientation and they sent me off somewhere directly from the school and at the moment. Which they kept saying might happen, but hasn't yet.

The room is incredibly nice except for that unusual problem. I have to say that I'm blessed with magnificent luck in getting hotel rooms with something completely absurd and off about them.

Monday was good and bad. The road test instructor passed everyone and the backing manuever instructor failed everyone. It was, for all of us, the first time we'd been in or tried to drive an actual automatic. It was incredibly awkward for everyone. It's difficult to understand if you've never driven a truck before, but I'll try to explain it regardless. The automatic transmission for a semi is not like the automatic transmission for a personal vehicle. It can be put into nuetral, drive, or reverse - much like a personal vehicle - but it still operates in the same way as a standard transimission without the operator doing any of the shifting. Confusing, I know. It basically shifts for you. So, in order for the truck to move at a speed of 35mph, the automatic transmission must climb gradually to the proper gear by shifting up six times. This process is sluggish. I can actually shift up to seventh gear faster than the automatic. For one thing, I can start in third gear and shift into fourth then fifth in only a few seconds. The automatic always starts in first. Even with double clutching and flipping the splitter switch before continuing to shift up two more gears from fifth while steadily building speed, I can manually shift faster than the automatic will decide to shift for me. Another thing about the automatic transmission I don't like is the removal of the clutch. The clutch can actually act like a brake without depleting the air pressure reserves for the air brakes. It's very useful during turning manuevers to slightly reduce speed and allow for better control. I coast alot, actually. While turning, approaching a stop light or sign, moving into position at the fuel pump, being weighed while in motion at weigh stations. Alot. We weren't allowed to coast in school, but it's incredibly useful and I do it all the time now. Besides all that, manual transmission is what I know. It's what I've been learning and using for three months now. Then, suddenly, they throw this at me and expect me to just know what the hell I'm doing and do tricks on top of that. I did better than I thought I would when I was told only moments before being expected to do exactly that. It's not awful, but it is awkward. I think it will be very useful when traveling in areas with congested traffic or through towns with frequent traffic stops. The process of down shifting with a standard transmission is a little involved and complicated. I won't explain that for you. You're just going to have to trust me. The automatic can be switched to a type of standard transmission where you simply push in the little selector switch and then more the selector up or down depending on which way you want to shift instead of moving it left or right to select one of the three automatic settings. That's much easier than down shifting with a manual transmission, which I still won't explain.

I reached for the gear shift multiple times on Monday during my short drive through town. The road instructor slapped my hand every time.

"What are you reaching for, man?"
"Oh. Um. Nothing."
"Well, then stop doing it."
"I'm trying."

It's weird. I'll get used to it, but it'll take more than a day. If I even get a truck with an automatic transmission, that is. Apparently, the company phased out 10 speed manual transmission a few years ago, but now they're converting back. So, there's that to consider. I could get a truck with either system. I could drive either. I'm not sure I really have a preference at the moment. I have more experience with manual so I'm biased, but I can see some of the potential of the automatic. It'd definitely make things alot easier not having to shift ever. I don't know.

I completed orientation today. I have been upgraded to a first seat driver. They don't have a truck for me yet. They are actually sending two other guys who were upgraded today to North Carolina to get trucks there. Both of their trucks will have 10 speed manual transmissions. The rest of us, four including myself, are just waiting for trucks. In the meantime, we're staying in the hotel until they figure something out.

It seems to me that if you don't have any available trucks, you should probably stop hiring and training drivers you don't need. Or, if it happens to be a production problem, make the damn trucks faster so that all the drivers you hired and trained will actually be able to perform their new job function.

Seriously, I don't understand. Not that I'm really complaining, because I could stay in this hotel room for another week. I absolutely love it. I have wifi. What else do I really need?

I also have an entire drawer full of someone's unmentionables. I don't know how to feel about that.