My apologies to both of my 'fans' that read this thing. It's been a long couple of weeks, I've done some traveling, and now I'm done with my first day in my new office. Kind of cool. But now we get down to business!
So I was in Tampa, FL for 2 weeks doing some training for the new job, and some things have really stuck out to me. First, I still need coffee in the morning to get going, be it East Coast or Mountain Time. Coffee is my drug of choice. It almost makes it enjoyable to wake up. Almost, I said. The office I was training in was very small, people-wise. The office was big enough to hold the occupants. Second, I kind of like knowing what I'm going to be doing that day ahead of time. I don't like surprises. Third-man, did these guys talk a lot about baseball. I love baseball, but these guys lo-hove it. Baseball is #3 for me, behind hoops and football. I still love my Sox, but I can still fall asleep to a baseball game on a Sunday. I can't do that with the other two. I know it for certain, I've tried, it just ain't hapnin'.
Oh, and Tampa is as muggy as anything I've ever been around. Worse than any day we ever had in New England during the summer. I got off the plane and thought someone punched me with a soggy sponge as soon as I cleared the plane door.
I got to spend the first 4 days in a hotel with a rental car. Not bad, I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. I didn't feel any smarter, especially because of my neighbors....they apparently slept all day and at around 1 AM decided it would be a good ol' time to bust out Guitar Hero or play techno. Well, I solved that problem after Day 2 (Not after Day 1 because I was so tired I just rolled over and fell back asleep). Nope, after Day (or Night) 2 of listening to some Gawd-Awful noises coming from the only shared wall I had, I decided to bang on their door, ignoring the 'Privacy Please' placard hanging from their door handle, and went about my morning. Oh, that was at 7 AM. Yes, they got the hint. My other option was to bang on their door in my boxers, or not, at 2 AM when/if they woke me up. Believe me, with this body and it's eminent donation to science fiction, I don't think they'd be able to play Guitar Hero anymore...their fingers would be stuck to their foreheads trying to cover their eyes.
Here's something else that's fun about Tampa, and I think Florida in general....they have to have the absolute worst drivers I've ever seen!!! In my 15 minute ride to work from the hotel one morning, I saw not 1, not 2, but 3 four lane changes with no signal cut right in front of me. I could've cared less, I was in a rental! Oh, and the rental was a Corolla. Nice car, but I was petrified in it. Not as much as the other car I got to drive, but a lil' scared nonetheless.
After I got done with the Hotel and the rental car, I was given the keys to the corporate apartment. Not nearly as flashy as you might think. But it wasn't too shabby, and it was in a pretty nice, yuppified neighborhood. Think Wash. Park if you're around Denver, Alston/Brighton if you're around Boston. TV, PS3, fridge, bed, washer/dryer. What more could you want? I didn't take advantage of the PS3, but I did get to watch some of the Finals on an HD flat-screen, so I could be happy about that.
The car-a friggin' death-trap if there ever was one. We're talking Ford Focus people!!! I haven't been that frightened in a car since one of my ex-girlfriend's whipped me around town in her Honda Civic (to be fair, Honda Civic's are nice, she was a terrible driver-I closed my eyes at one point...okay, twice). The Focus was low on gas, needed a tune-up, and you had to damn near stand on the brakes to get the thing to stop. So it was fun and scary, all at once. Kind of like a roller coaster being operated by a mental patient.
My training wasn't that extensive the first week, at least not on the SW that I'll be selling. Decorum and Legality prevent me from posting it's a link on this blog (and even if it didn't, I just got this job, I think I may even want to keep it, so please, be kind). We spent most of the time talking about the philosophy of the company, where we've been, where we'd like to go, how some other people do things, etc. All in all, a relatively easy week, and I was happy on Friday to go see some of Tampa. Except....
No one in my Tampa office would hang out with me!!! Look, I'm not a charity case, and I like to think that I'm kind of fun to hang out with, so what the hell? You know what's worse than having no one even offer to hang out? The next Monday with the sheepish 'Dude, I was gonna call you to hang out and maybe show you around Tampa'....no you weren't, so please, don't give me that weak excuse.
Besides, thanks to my boy I got to hang out with friends of a friend of a friend, and they were very gracious and polite hosts. I had fun hanging out with them, they even showed me a couple of bars around Tampa and dropped me off quite buzzed from the evening of boozing it up. Those two could drink. Oh, and if you're ever in Tampa, the bars close at 3. Just a little note from me to you...I was not aware of this. I made some tactical errors my first night out on the town. Not every place is as lame as Denver, where bars close at 1. And that, my friends, sucks.
Anyone else think the bars closing at 1 might pose a problem for when the DNC comes here to Denver? Me, too.
My next week of training was the real meat and potatoes of the job. And if I'm honest with you, and myself, I had 2 great days, 1 'iffy' day, 1 'ick' day and I really won't count Friday, because it was more prep work for what I started doing today.
See, last Thursday, not only did I get training, I also got to go to a conference, with was on the other side of Tampa from where my office was located. By the time that was over and I got home, Game 3 of the NBA Finals was tipping off. Yes, I was happy and shocked about that outcome, but sports will come tomorrow or Wednesday this week, I haven't decided yet. This particular blog is about my trip to Tampa.
So, being exhausted from all this training and mental drain, I was just looking forward to going home. I missed my bed, my couch, my TV, my laptop, the dry Colorado air, and even my roommates dogs. Believe me, that last one shocked no one more than me. But after a delayed leg from Tampa to Chicago and then another weather-delayed leg from Chicago to Denver, I made it home. I'm glad to be back in Denver. I guess I really do like it here.
As for the job and the company, expect a more 'formal' announcement via email over the next week, with my role and what the company does. I think it's pretty cool stuff.
A belated Happy Fathers Day to my friends that are proud parents of children. Dogs don't count. Yes, they are important family members, but if your dog has cancer, you put the dog to sleep--Forever. If your kid has cancer, he's going to get the best possible care you can get for them. It may sound cruel, but think about it, and you know it to be true.
So for all the Dad's out there doing the damn thing, keep doing it! It's a thankless job, and you'll get golf balls, horrid ties or the joy of taking your kids to a ballgame (how does this celebrate Dad???).
Look for some more posts this week, talking 'bout Sports, politics, gas prices, news, edumacation and how stupid some people truly are.
I hope you have a great week!
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