Wednesday, December 22, 2010
A Little Life Update
As promised, I am going to update all of you, my faithful stalkers, on how things are going with the potential job, and other aspects of my life. As you know, about two weeks ago, I had a job interview with BNSF Railway for the position of Conductor Trainee in Glendive, MT, and Forsyth, MT. I have heard back from BNSF about that. Actually, I heard back from them about a few things. I had also applied to similar positions around the same time, in other locations. The first email I got from them after the interview was to let me know I was not being considered further for the position. I was a bit disappointed, but it happens. Maybe I need to read these emails more carefully, because about an hour after that I got another email from BNSF extending a conditional offer of employment for the Glendive, MT, position! I went back and checked on the other email, because I was confused at first, and I think it was Great Falls that sent me the rejection letter. But it is okay, because they want me in Glendive! The offer is conditional on me passing all the background checks, TSA checks, Coast Guard checks, Canadian background checks, a previous employer check, a previous address verification, a drug and alcohol test, a fitness test, a physical, and me accepting the offer. Just one or two little things. Actually, I have spent the better part of a week filling out, turning in, and mailing paperwork for all of that! I am done with the paperwork at this point, and my fitness test and physical have both been scheduled. I have the fitness test tomorrow and the physical on Tuesday. The drug test has probably gone through because I turned in the hair sample for that when I interviewed. If I pass all of that stuff, basically I have a job. Once all of that goes through, they will let me know what my start date is, which could be as early as January 17. That is when the first group will be starting Conductor class. The training period is fifteen weeks long, and is a combination of on the job training and classroom training. At the end of training is the test, which we get two attempts at. Passing grades are above a 90%, and upon passing that, everyone in the class is a real life Conductor. So I am still in the middle of that whole process. I will continue to keep you posted on that.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Life is a Highway
Lately I have done quite a lot of driving. Maybe some of you faithful followers, or stalkers as the case may be, are not very surprised about that because you know I drive buses for a living. Well, this is more driving than usual. There have been good reasons for it though.
Last week I got called into work and I rode down to Scipio, UT, where I spent the night. The next morning, I work up, crossed the highway, and picked up a bus load of kids from American Fork High School and Lone Peak High School. From there, just 90 miles south of Provo, I drove them to West Covina, CA. I had never been there before, but I had a map. I think their leaders did not believe me when I told them I had never driven to southern California before! But they asked! I made it down there without any problems, and without getting lost. I had always heard people complain about Los Angeles traffic. Honestly, I was quite surprised at how good it was. Driving there was simple. The roads are crowded, but generally people are pretty sensible drivers there.
I stayed with that same group of high school students for the next few days during their activities in the Los Angeles area. They were down there primarily for a regional cross country meet. The day after we arrived, I drove them over to Mount San Antonio College, in Walnut, CA, for them to practice and to see the track they would be running on. They spent the morning over there, and then wanted to go to the beach. It had been below freezing in Utah, so even though it was the dead of winter to many of the locals, it was nice and warm to all of us! It was in the 70's, and quite pleasant. We drove down to Newport Beach, and parked over by the Balboa Pier. Most of the kids went swimming. Some buried their friends in the sand. Others went to lunch. We spent a couple of hours there, and even got to see some dolphins swimming offshore. I thought the water was awfully cold to swim in, at just about 60 degrees. The water in Maine is quite a bit warmer!
The next day was the actual day of the competition. I again drove the teams over to the college, in Walnut, and they ran their races. As I understand, those went pretty well for them. After the races were over, they had a chance to go back to the hotel, shower, and change. In the afternoon, we went to Anaheim, CA, to visit Disneyland. I had never been to Disneyland, and I figured I would just sit out in the parking lot and take a nap for several hours. I did not want to pay the high admission price to go in alone! Well, one of the other bus drivers had managed to get his hands on some o the extra tickets from his group, and he gave one to me. Since it was free, I happily went into Disneyland! I had no idea what to expect, and was quite lost at first. It sure was easy to lose touch with reality in there though!
I spent a couple hours in Disneyland before I was completely exhausted. I was a little disappointed honestly. Some of the rides were really neat, but the lines were outrageously long! Basically you wait to get into the park, and once you do get in, you spend all your time standing around waiting some more. Some of the rides were nice, but really were not unique to Disneyland. I really enjoyed the Disney themed rides, most of which had either been made from movies, or had been made into movies. I thought those were the ones worth seeing. The park was large, and easy to get lost in. It was very crowded. The thing that really bothered me is how so many people save money to bring their kids there. Some families save for years to do that, and when they get there, they spend most of the day standing in line and hoping that their kids, who are bored, don't start causing too much trouble. It would be nice if something were done to help speed the lines up so these families who put so much into it get more out of it. It is not fair to them to make them pay so much to stand in line. For me it was a little different, and I did not really care if I had to stand in line. My ticket had been free and I was getting paid to be there. (Some job, huh!)
The next morning, we got up early and began the trip north again. We got a later start than we would have liked, because some of the kids dawdled about getting out of Disneyland the night before. Since we started later, the coach and I decided that we would stop for fuel in Barstow, CA, and then drive until the kids started complaining or until we got to Cedar City, UT, whichever came first. The distance between those cities is 320 miles, or about five hours driving on a good day. Usually three hours is about as far as you can go in a stretch without a break, especially with a group of kids. These kids were pretty quiet though, and we warned them that it would be a while before we stopped again. I was completely blown away because they made it all the way to Cedar City! At that point we had to stop and drop a few people off anyway, and I would not have made it much farther either! That was a long push, but I was content to just keep driving until Cedar City, and I was quite happy that we did not have to stop anywhere else. We caught up to the other buses too. We had left the hotel, in West Covina, about an hour behind the other buses, and in Cedar City we were fifteen minutes behind them. They had all made other stops. The rest of the trip to Scipio went well, and another driver took over at that point and I was driven back to Provo.
I had just a couple days in Utah before I hit the highway again, also for work, although less directly. I was not driving a bus, and I was going farther. I got in my car yesterday and drove 747 miles to Forsyth, MT, which is about an hour and a half east of Billings. Now, this trip was not paid, unlike the one to California. The purpose of this one was to chase a job and a dream. The BNSF Railway is hiring Conductors in Forsyth and Glendive, Montana. Today they had a practical introduction meeting, testing, and interviews for the available positions. I was invited to participate in this, and so I drove to Montana for it.
BNSF get thousands of applicants when these positions open, so just the fact that I was invited was impressive. About 100 people showed up for this meeting. It started off with an introduction to the job. They talked about the pay, the benefits, and the retirement package. Then they talked about the lifestyle. They wanted everyone to realize what they would be getting themselves into if they got the job, and they wanted to filter out those who could not, or did not want to live such a lifestyle. Being in the transportation industry, things move all the time. It is the nature of the job that Conductors and Engineers are on call 24 hours a day, every single day of the year. Just because a shift starts at 2:00am one day does not mean it will start any time even close to that the next. There is very little regularity to the schedule, and it is likely that holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, and other important events will be missed. The railroad never stops moving stuff, and someone has to be there to make it move.
That introduction meeting lasted about two hours. They had some time for questions, and then they invited everyone who felt like this is not for them to leave. When the next part of the process began, 79 people were left. The next part was a test. The test reviewed basic reading comprehension and workplace practices. It took about three hours. It was not particularly difficult, but it was long! Those who passed the test would be allowed to interview. As people finished the test, they went for the drug test. Hair samples were collected. They will only be tested for drug use if an offer for employment is accepted.
Out of the 79 people that took the test, 56 people passed, if I remember correctly. I was one of them. Everyone went on to interviews next, which were also scheduled for today. The interviews were to be short, just fifteen to twenty minutes. They were trying to get as many done as possible, so they were short out of necessity. I think mine went well, but it is hard to tell. It ended with them telling me to check my email. If I am to go any farther with this, they will notify me by email. They are looking for 30 new Conductors for Glendive and Forsyth. Just looking at the numbers, it seems that I have a good chance at getting a position. I suppose I will find out for sure soon.
Tomorrow I hit the road again and drive back to Provo. When I arrive in Provo, I will have driven 3,000 miles in just one week. That is a lot of driving, even for a driver!
I will keep you, all my fans, posted on what comes of this job selection process with BNSF. I would love to have one of those Conductor positions, and I know I would enjoy it a lot. We will see what they decide though.
Last week I got called into work and I rode down to Scipio, UT, where I spent the night. The next morning, I work up, crossed the highway, and picked up a bus load of kids from American Fork High School and Lone Peak High School. From there, just 90 miles south of Provo, I drove them to West Covina, CA. I had never been there before, but I had a map. I think their leaders did not believe me when I told them I had never driven to southern California before! But they asked! I made it down there without any problems, and without getting lost. I had always heard people complain about Los Angeles traffic. Honestly, I was quite surprised at how good it was. Driving there was simple. The roads are crowded, but generally people are pretty sensible drivers there.
I stayed with that same group of high school students for the next few days during their activities in the Los Angeles area. They were down there primarily for a regional cross country meet. The day after we arrived, I drove them over to Mount San Antonio College, in Walnut, CA, for them to practice and to see the track they would be running on. They spent the morning over there, and then wanted to go to the beach. It had been below freezing in Utah, so even though it was the dead of winter to many of the locals, it was nice and warm to all of us! It was in the 70's, and quite pleasant. We drove down to Newport Beach, and parked over by the Balboa Pier. Most of the kids went swimming. Some buried their friends in the sand. Others went to lunch. We spent a couple of hours there, and even got to see some dolphins swimming offshore. I thought the water was awfully cold to swim in, at just about 60 degrees. The water in Maine is quite a bit warmer!
The next day was the actual day of the competition. I again drove the teams over to the college, in Walnut, and they ran their races. As I understand, those went pretty well for them. After the races were over, they had a chance to go back to the hotel, shower, and change. In the afternoon, we went to Anaheim, CA, to visit Disneyland. I had never been to Disneyland, and I figured I would just sit out in the parking lot and take a nap for several hours. I did not want to pay the high admission price to go in alone! Well, one of the other bus drivers had managed to get his hands on some o the extra tickets from his group, and he gave one to me. Since it was free, I happily went into Disneyland! I had no idea what to expect, and was quite lost at first. It sure was easy to lose touch with reality in there though!
I spent a couple hours in Disneyland before I was completely exhausted. I was a little disappointed honestly. Some of the rides were really neat, but the lines were outrageously long! Basically you wait to get into the park, and once you do get in, you spend all your time standing around waiting some more. Some of the rides were nice, but really were not unique to Disneyland. I really enjoyed the Disney themed rides, most of which had either been made from movies, or had been made into movies. I thought those were the ones worth seeing. The park was large, and easy to get lost in. It was very crowded. The thing that really bothered me is how so many people save money to bring their kids there. Some families save for years to do that, and when they get there, they spend most of the day standing in line and hoping that their kids, who are bored, don't start causing too much trouble. It would be nice if something were done to help speed the lines up so these families who put so much into it get more out of it. It is not fair to them to make them pay so much to stand in line. For me it was a little different, and I did not really care if I had to stand in line. My ticket had been free and I was getting paid to be there. (Some job, huh!)
The next morning, we got up early and began the trip north again. We got a later start than we would have liked, because some of the kids dawdled about getting out of Disneyland the night before. Since we started later, the coach and I decided that we would stop for fuel in Barstow, CA, and then drive until the kids started complaining or until we got to Cedar City, UT, whichever came first. The distance between those cities is 320 miles, or about five hours driving on a good day. Usually three hours is about as far as you can go in a stretch without a break, especially with a group of kids. These kids were pretty quiet though, and we warned them that it would be a while before we stopped again. I was completely blown away because they made it all the way to Cedar City! At that point we had to stop and drop a few people off anyway, and I would not have made it much farther either! That was a long push, but I was content to just keep driving until Cedar City, and I was quite happy that we did not have to stop anywhere else. We caught up to the other buses too. We had left the hotel, in West Covina, about an hour behind the other buses, and in Cedar City we were fifteen minutes behind them. They had all made other stops. The rest of the trip to Scipio went well, and another driver took over at that point and I was driven back to Provo.
I had just a couple days in Utah before I hit the highway again, also for work, although less directly. I was not driving a bus, and I was going farther. I got in my car yesterday and drove 747 miles to Forsyth, MT, which is about an hour and a half east of Billings. Now, this trip was not paid, unlike the one to California. The purpose of this one was to chase a job and a dream. The BNSF Railway is hiring Conductors in Forsyth and Glendive, Montana. Today they had a practical introduction meeting, testing, and interviews for the available positions. I was invited to participate in this, and so I drove to Montana for it.
BNSF get thousands of applicants when these positions open, so just the fact that I was invited was impressive. About 100 people showed up for this meeting. It started off with an introduction to the job. They talked about the pay, the benefits, and the retirement package. Then they talked about the lifestyle. They wanted everyone to realize what they would be getting themselves into if they got the job, and they wanted to filter out those who could not, or did not want to live such a lifestyle. Being in the transportation industry, things move all the time. It is the nature of the job that Conductors and Engineers are on call 24 hours a day, every single day of the year. Just because a shift starts at 2:00am one day does not mean it will start any time even close to that the next. There is very little regularity to the schedule, and it is likely that holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, and other important events will be missed. The railroad never stops moving stuff, and someone has to be there to make it move.
That introduction meeting lasted about two hours. They had some time for questions, and then they invited everyone who felt like this is not for them to leave. When the next part of the process began, 79 people were left. The next part was a test. The test reviewed basic reading comprehension and workplace practices. It took about three hours. It was not particularly difficult, but it was long! Those who passed the test would be allowed to interview. As people finished the test, they went for the drug test. Hair samples were collected. They will only be tested for drug use if an offer for employment is accepted.
Out of the 79 people that took the test, 56 people passed, if I remember correctly. I was one of them. Everyone went on to interviews next, which were also scheduled for today. The interviews were to be short, just fifteen to twenty minutes. They were trying to get as many done as possible, so they were short out of necessity. I think mine went well, but it is hard to tell. It ended with them telling me to check my email. If I am to go any farther with this, they will notify me by email. They are looking for 30 new Conductors for Glendive and Forsyth. Just looking at the numbers, it seems that I have a good chance at getting a position. I suppose I will find out for sure soon.
Tomorrow I hit the road again and drive back to Provo. When I arrive in Provo, I will have driven 3,000 miles in just one week. That is a lot of driving, even for a driver!
I will keep you, all my fans, posted on what comes of this job selection process with BNSF. I would love to have one of those Conductor positions, and I know I would enjoy it a lot. We will see what they decide though.
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