As I neared Hanover, VA I began noticing small branches and tree limbs littering the road. Most of the time I was able to veer around them. Then I began to see over-turned trees in the wooded areas along the roadside. Then I encountered a downed tree in the road! Fortunately there was no one in the oncoming lane, so I veered into the oncoming lane to avoid hitting the tree. The longer I drove the more storm damage I saw. More trees down across the roads, power lines down, traffic lights not working - you name it. Apparently a rather strong storm had blown through the area just before I arrived.
I got to the Sheraton safely, checked in, changed clothes, and met my colleagues at the cocktail party. It was fun to see the folks I don't see often, and to meet the new folks that have joined the team recently. Everyone who'd flown in had horror stories of flight delays, terrible turbulence, lots of air sick passengers, and even one aborted landing due to the wind.
After the meet-n-great I watched TV before turning in for the night. I was happily surprised that the hotel had upgraded their cable! Previously they only had about 5 or 6 channels, mostly network channels that I don't normally watch. Now they have all the channels you typically find on your home cable like HGTV, TLC, Bravo, ESPN, and Lifetime.
Monday's training began with a presentation and exercises from a "professional" sales training organization, which all of my peers agreed was a lot of bullshit. I was seated near a new employee named Peter who appeared to be jonesin' for a fix. He was fidgeting like a junkie. This guy had more ticks than a time bomb. At one point he'd crossed his leg and his foot was resting against the table leg, causing the entire table to shake like an earthquake. I tried not to stare, but really couldn't help but be distracted by him. However, after a while I realized his ticks were very likely from a neurological source, rather than a chemical withdrawal. He wasn't a junkie at all, which made me feel badly for what I'd been thinking earlier.
Mon evening was the group dinner at Olive Garden. Tues we had another day of training, but wrapped up at 4:00. We'd been hearing that the DC area was having a terrible ice storm and that traffic in that area was a nightmare from all the accidents, closed roads and icy ramps. Fortunately I was heading north on Rt 301, not north on I-95 toward DC. There was a light rain falling and I drove cautiously in case the temperature dropped and the roads became icy. All was well for the 1st 2 hours of the trip. Then I got stuck in a very frustrating traffic jam. According to the radio there was a truck accident on the Severn River bridge. All westbound lanes were closed until they could remove the truck, but the damage to the commute was irrecoverable. A portion of my trip that should have taken 20 minutes took 4 hours. The entire trip home should have taken 4 1/2 hours, but instead took a little over 7 hours. I didn't get home until after 11pm. Fortunately when I stopped for gas (before getting into the traffic jam) I'd picked up some snacks for the road. Otherwise I would have been starving.
When I got home I found Spouse in bed but not asleep. Within a few minutes I was in bed too, but was unable to fall asleep. I guess I was still too alert from driving, so I got up and checked my email for a while, then went back to bed. Of course, it felt as if I'd only been asleep 10 minutes when I heard Spouse getting ready for work the next morning.
Crush du Jour: Chris Evans
1 comment:
Chris Evans gets around, doesn't he? He is often my crush du jour.
Glad you're safe!
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