Trips

Day 7 – The Day at the REDI

By Diana

Today we had an important meeting at the training center in Atlanta and I think it went pretty well. At the very least it was a smooth demo on my part!

I am hoping today I can convince my ride to take me by Starbucks and I can get a coffee since I haven’t had one for lots of days :)

Today is a half day basically, I am going to head back to the hotel soon and make sure no one there has any issues and then they all leave so there won’t really be anything left to do. We fly out early in the morning so I should get home at a good time.

Overall this trip has been pretty great. As usual the guys are very polite and just funny as can be. I am looking forward to the next two weeks where we will train the rest of the group!

Maybe I will write more tonight but that is basically all I have for right now!!!

Day 6 – BINGO

By Diana

Today was the last day I had classes for the construction folks and I am worn out! I slept all night but it didn’t seem very restful. I have been packing a lot of information into the classes and it was great, just exhausting.

We went to dinner at a cajun place who loved to make everything spicy but it was good, I had fried shrimp. Our whole table had it as a matter of fact!

When we got back to the hotel the group was playing BINGO and let me tell you I was shocked at the turnout – almost everyone was there. I didn’t win anything and wasn’t really even close and I was cheating by playing 5 cards :)

Well I have a really early morning tomorrow so I am going to call it a night – bye y’all!!!

Day 5 – The Day of the Pig

By Diana

Today was another good day but it is certainly cold here! I was inside almost all day, but it was cold in here too. I slept a little better last night, but not great.

We had dinner at a BBQ place and it was good, but I hardly ate any of the pork I got. Who I went with was hilarious. Good times with the RR folks! We walked to the restaurant and let me tell you it was freezing. I was so cold and it was just a little farther than I would have liked :)

Bye!!!

Day 4 – No Sleeps for the Tired

By Diana

So last night I was not able to sleep but for a couple hours. This is getting OLD!!!!! I don’t know what it is, maybe I need to unplug from technology earlier then I already am. I am sure I will figure it out soon.

Today was a pretty good day, I talked to much in the training that my throat hurts a bit, but that is OK. I didn’t know what to do for dinner so I just ordered a pizza – good ole standby :)

Alright, I am going to wrap this up so I can do the travel blog – so busy!!

Day 3 – Travel Size Life

By Diana

Today, right now, I am doing laundry and packing and listening to a podcast.  Multi tasking the crap out of this day :)

I am traveling to Atlanta today and the hardest thing I am faced with is deciding how to do the blog thing.  I want to continue to do my travel inspired blogs as separate things from my regular blog, but I guess I am just going to have to be creative on the content of the regular daily blog…

I am a little sad to be leaving my sweet puppies, but I am always glad to travel for vacation and even for work.  In packing today I am using all my cool stuffs, new luggage, clothes packs and just all those little gadgets that make this a little easier.

Welcome to 2016 in that before I travel now I must charge so many devices, my Beats, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, MacBook, mouse, camera, and my watch!  Today is a little different because I am having to do laundry today which in reality I should have done it yesterday.  I am not really pushing my time, but I would have rather been packed last night or earlier than just now at 15:11 when I need to leave here at 16:30.  About the only thing left now is putting the last bit of laundry away and taking a shower :)

It took me forever to find the purse that I have now and I am not even 100% in love with it.  I got a Kate Spade Cobble Hill cross body.  I love the bag the thing that I don’t like is just that there is a little bit of chain on the strap and I just don’t like that look.  The reason I bring it up is that my mom loves my wallet that goes with the purse.  I have been looking for one for her and can’t find one.  Now I am debating on getting a new one except it won’t really match and that just drives me crazy!!  Such problems :)

OK, I need to get going on my shower and maybe I will blog some more when I get to Atlanta or maybe that will be on the travel one :)

Happy Happy Times

By Diana

I wanted to follow up with the Beckley blogs because it was so much freaking fun!!!!  The first day riding around with my awesome friend had me a bit giggly because it was so windy and up and down and just crazy.  He assured me that he was taking it much easier then he normally would be :)

We went high railing a couple times, once was just a little but, but the second time was like 20 miles and it was so amazing.  I also got to go to like 6 different towns and saw all kinds of cool things in Thurmond and Hinton.

I didn’t really do anything crazy like food wise, but we did manage to go to a place called Biscuit World.  It was good, had a shaved ham and cheese, but the biscuit was HUGE :)

One of the most memorable things about the trip was two things really, but very related :)  First my TomTom is set to avoid toll roads and when I was getting the rental car the lady asked me if I wanted the toll thing and I was like No, that’s crazy!  Um, I realized that I had made a huge mistake when TomTom had me turn down a single lane road…  When it was all done it was about 45 minutes longer than if I would have paid a whopping $4.00 in tolls :)  My friend found this hilarious.  The related item was when we were at a location he asked me before we got out of the truck if I had a jacket, um yes yes I do, that is a silly question sir.  Turns out it was freezing and I should have put that stinking jacket on silly, but no I walked all the way in and stood there freezing :)  But no real foul because I ended up not actually having my jacket – ha ha ha jokes on you :)

Another thing worth mentioning is the last nights dinner.  Not because it was good food, even though it was very delicious food, it was because of the awesome “show”.  It was called Fujiyama and was in Beckley.  It was a hibachi restaurant and the person who was doing the cooking was amazing.  He kept putting the sauce on the food, sorry, the sexy sauce :)  And he was squirting it in a very suggestive way :)  I wish I would have even thought to take video – PRICELESS!!!!!!

There were so many random times that I just could not stop laughing uncontrollably.  It was such a great time.  I have thanked my tour guide so many times, but he really did go above and beyond and it was GREAT!!

 

Waiting on Coffee, Hurry Up

By Diana

Today is the last day I am in Merrillville and I am sitting in the hotel waiting on Starbucks to open.  I am officially sick, my nose is stuffy and all kinds of snotty – YUCK!!

I have been up for a couple hours now because I am very happy to be going home today.  We have the two new puppies that I have not met yet and of course I do miss the little Penny Dog – oh and my human family :)

I think that in a couple days I will make a special blog to reflect back on this year.  I need to figure out how this website is going to be laid out, I am not sure that I have the travel blogs correct just yet.  I need to make sure to have them focused on the place I am and not just how I am feeling – that belongs in the normal blogs.

Anyway, Starbucks finally opened so I am going to get this coffee thing going and I will see about posting my 2015 Review on the site :)

The Windy Rainy Scary City of Merrillville!

By Diana

So it has been very windy, rainy and scary in my current location!  I am happy to be here though got lots done with the group so far.  They did tell me scary stories of where the job actually is, which is Gary, IN.  I have been on the road for about 10 days now and am finally sick – not that I am happy to be sick, I just have come to expect it every time I travel on the planes :(

I am sitting in the hotel room now helping people in the field and on a conference call.  I was happy to not go out into the field today, it is just so different from the other two cut-ins.  I will have to be available to help them this afternoon so hopefully it won’t go too late.

I went out last night and grabbed me some Panda Express – because I am a sucker for that place!!  This morning was Panera – because I am a sucker for that place!!  I really wanted some pancakes, but didn’t feel like going to Cracker Barrel by myself, oh well maybe I can convince someone to go with me at home :)  There is a White Castle here, but I am not sure that I am down for that, might just be too bad.

I think I am going to have a pretty relaxed tomorrow, but it really depends on how much I get done with people today.  I am a little bummed that I don’t get to see the city, Chicago that is, but oh well :)

The Wild and Wonderful West Virginia!

By Diana

For the last week I have been in West Virginia for another cut-over and just support / training.  It has been a while since I have been to a place and was just overwhelmed with how many sights to see.  I can only remember a couple that were even comparable – Chicago, the first time I ever went and Canada, specifically Revelstoke.

I am still processing everything – it really is a beautiful place.  I got several good pictures, but I was so focused on absorbing it all that I really didn’t take enough :)

As usual with my work experiences everyone I met and worked with was great.  In m y experience, the railroaders – the ones out there everyday – really look out for visitors.  They want to make sure that you see good stuff and are having a good time.  So polite, I have said this several times, I really do feel very lucky to have stumbled into this career and being able to experience what I have is a real privilege.  I get to associate with very smart, happy, and wonderful folks!!

Well, I am kinda tired so I will edit this later to add the link to pictures.

Lovely Atlanta

By Diana

This week I am in Atlanta, well really just one full day and that was yesterday.  I had a training class at the REDI Center with the Construction Foreman for CSX.  It went really well and there were about 52 people in the meeting room.  Some were managers, but they all had a genuine interest in the new software.

When I got here I had rented a car because it is a little ways from the airport and about 5 miles away from the airport the car died.  Transmission issues was on the dashboard.  So the good news is that it was a Chrysler 200, which is what kind of car I almost got instead of my Dart!  The bad news was that I was sitting on the side of the interstate in Atlanta in a broken down car in the pitch black of 5PM.  Luckily my coworker was driving up and had not yet passed me.  I only had to wait about an hour and he was there with his wife to save the day!

I knew way more people in this class then I had thought I would which was nice and seeing some of them was very nice.  These people who I get to interact with are pretty nice.  I am very lucky to not only enjoy what I do, but get to work and interact with great folks.

Well, I am off to the airport now and then Saturday I leave for another adventure – Beckley, West Virginia!