I Hate Testing

Today found me in Cooperstown, ND, the home base for RAW, filling out paperwork, taking a drug test, and worst of all, retaking the tests to become a certified commercial pesticide applicator. My previous licenses for ND, MN, and NE all conveniently expired about three weeks before I was furloughed, so that meant I had to retake the tests instead of just getting them renewed. It's not a fun experience.

The test consists of two parts, the Ground Core section and the Right-of-Way section; both are open book, but it still takes forever to hunt down the answers. In addition, you are also tested on ND laws and given a pared down book of the Century Code as a reference. Any of you that have looked the wording of a law know how confusing the wording typically is (if an applicator as described in chapter 1 subsection 23 part B is licensed as approved by the state extension office acquires an emergency exemption as outlined in subsection 14 part J that person shall be subject to rules prescribed in chapter 12 except as outlined in, etc.). Combine that with wording on the test that differs from the law and it can take a while to determine the right answer. In fact it took me three and a half hours to complete the two sections. It does appear that I've passed though.

In addition I had to do the mandatory Department of Transportation drug screening and all the associated paperwork with becoming a commercial driver subject to DOT regulations. Fun. I also got to watch a video on defensive truck driving. More fun. The upside is the new per diem system my company is using to pay for on-the-road meals.

When I left nearly two years ago the company issued a credit card to each employee to charge everything on including meals, three a day. You had to keep all meal receipts and there was to be no alcohol charged to the card (obviously), but you could have drinks with your meal if you were not working anymore that day. The downside was you had to pay for your meal with the card, then pay for the drinks out of pocket, and be sure the receipt for the meal did not include the alcohol. It was a pain in the ass. The new per diem system now pays $30 a day into your bank account. The upside is that you get to keep whatever you don't use on meals that day. It also means that it can now be used on adult beverages. Freakin' awesome. Or a guy could be frugal and only eat baloney sandwiches and pocket the other $29, but what fun is that?

So tomorrow I show up to the shop at 0800, have to take a DOT physical, and then it's time to hit the road for the long drive to Alliance, Nebraska. I've never been there, but it's located in the far west side of NE in the sand hills. Basically it's the middle of nowhere, but that makes our job of spraying so much easier. There's always got to be a silver lining.