training: w1 d1

I arrived 30 minutes early, so I walked to Starbucks.  It opened in 28 minutes.  So, I walked to the greenway tucked under the campus of my company that runs along a sleepy creek.  (I think I'm going to enjoy that feature of the job.)

When I came back, there was a girl waiting outside the door.
Having a few episodes of Sherlock Holmes under my belt, I asked her, "Are you new?"
She said, "Yes."
I asked, "Were you told to be here at 8?"
She said, "Yes."
I said, "Good. I thought maybe I was going crazy."

We looked out at the vast, empty parking lot and the sign on the door that read: "Monday- Friday: 8:30-5:30." It was reassuring that she didn't know where to park, or how long training was or where we were supposed to be either.  We bonded as we laughed.

A two-week-old new hire let us in the building at 8:01.  Then, our boss arrived at 8:30 and told us to sit down at other peoples' desks, which we did while he printed off the paperwork we needed to fill out.

At 9:30, training commenced with a SVP who'd worked for the company for 36 years.  He was entertaining.  There was a powerpoint and lots of talking: first him and then others.  One long powerpoint.  It may have been never ending, and they simply stopped clicking.

They served a catered lunch, which was a pleasant surprise.  I walked over to the Starbucks again, and got a bogo Pumpkin Spice latte with one of the trainers.  It was a solid half-price move that got me through the afternoon of more power points and talking.

We couldn't log onto computers so they sent us up to the call center to listen on calls.  That was fun.

My first impression: I really like the people but not impressed with the organizational skills of the organization.

The highlight of my day came in the form of a text from my uncle.  Background: we'd been talking about this not being my dream job. He said that dream jobs didn't actually exist.  FYI: he thinks dream jobs have a lot in common with unicorns.  So, when I came up for air from the infinite powerpoint and droning, I discovered this text: "Here's my list of dream jobs: Quarterback for a NFL team, lead singer for a world famous rock band, concert pianist, airplane pilot, national sports talk r  adio host, owner of a major league franchise, author of at least two best selling novels, trust fund baby philanthropist."
I responded, "Fast food critic, satirist, sculptor." He responded, "Fast food critic- that's a keeper."  I felt loved and appreciated as I listened to the powerpoint's details.

C'est la vie.  God is good.