"Leesburg, Virginia"

Before Thanksgiving:

I have been talking to my boss for the past month about being trained on Xerox Wide Format printers. I have been working on them for the past year, but I'm not a Xerox authorized technician. Since our office has no authorized technicians, we can't sell XWF printers.

Anyway... My boss tells me that Corporate wants someone in our office to be trained so we can sell XWF printers. He told me that I'm the one. What we didn't know is when. He said, "It will be pretty last minute, so be prepaired to travel."

It was last minute. I got an email from Xerox that I got a position in a class at their Xerox Document University at the National Conference Center outside of Leesburg, Virginia. The course is 13 working days. I'll leave for Virginia on November 29 and return home December 16.

Great. I'll be away between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The week before I was supposed to be there, my boss got me a plane ticket to Dulles.

My boss got Corporate to advance me $250 for expenses. That came Monday.

The course requirements include a laptop with at least an 800MHz PIII processor, a CD-ROM, a serial port, a network port, a parallel port, and a crapload of cables.

My boss got Corporate to get me a IBM R51. They ordered it, had it sent to Corporate in Woburn, MA to have it configured, then overnighted it to our office. I had to come in on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, my day off, to get it. I also had to go to Fry's Electronics to shell out $114 for cables.

November 28, 2004:

I'm a wreck. Cyn and I haven't spent more than a week apart since we have been together.

We are very close.

I'm nervous about travelling to someplace I've never been before.

I'm nervous about the intrusive security checks at the airports.

I'm upset that I'm going to be across the country and won't be able to take Cyn.

There is a lot of pressure on me to go through this course so the salesmen can sell these machines.

This will be a very good thing for my career. When I get certified on these printers, I can take that certification anywhere. It should also translate into a raise next year.

I can't sleep.

November 29, 2004, ante meridiem:

The bags are packed. Did I remember everything?

Underwear? Check.
Socks? Check.
Pants? Check.
Shirts? Check.
Jacket? Check.
Umbrella? In the car.
Laptop? Check.
Webcam? Pack it.
Smokes? Check.

Cyn and i left for Dougherty Field two hours before my flight. That was probably overkill, but I wanted plenty of time for good-bye hugs. I'm so happy that my flight is out of Long Beach and not LAX. Long Beach's airport is pretty small and easy to get in and out of.

I did the self check at the Jet Blue kiosk. That was really nice and easy.

Cyn and I said our good-byes, then I went through security. I just had to take off my shoes and put my carry-on and laptop through the X-Ray machine.

The terminal was crowded. Nothing like waiting in a cramped and stuffy terminal with bratty kids and gassy old men. There are three gates in this terminal and I hoped that the bratty and the gassy were on the other flights. Most were...

A word to the wise. If you're flying on an Airbus A320, avoid rows 12 through 14 and seats B and E. Rows 12 through 14 are on the wing and seats B and E are center seats. I had 14B. Aside from being stuffed between two people and hearing the jets, the flight wasn't too bad! LOL No, really!

November 29, 2004, post meridiem:

We arrived at Dulles 1/2 hour earlier than scheduled. 2,262 miles in four hours.

The JetBlue gate was at the back of the airport. The Baggage Claim is at the front. Dang, that was a long walk!

I called Cyn while walking from the gate. What do ya know, my cell phone worked at the airport.

By the time I got to Baggage Claim, my suitcase was there. Cool!

I went to the taxi counter to get a ride to Leesburg. The line moved quickly. I told the dispatch guy that I was going to the National Conference Center in Leesburg. He pointed to a Ford Expedition with the taxi company's logos on it. The driver was waiting beside the "cab" for his fare. The driver was a Sikh with a red turban. He took my bags, put them in the back, then opened the door for me. He had a tape of Hindi music playing. As soon as he got in, he turned it off. I told him, "It's OK! Leave the music on." He said, "No, it's OK." then, I said, "No really. I like that music!" He looked back at me with a big smile, turned it back on, and headed out.

It's amazing how people warm up to you when you do stuff like that. I really do like music from India, too.

The ride was fairly quick. I got to the Center at 7:30pm EST. The cab fare was only $25. I gave him a $5 tip, he kissed the money, gave a little bow and went off into the darkness.

Two things I noticed right away. It was cold, and the air smelled like "camping." LOL

I checked in, got a smoking room, and tried to find my room.

This facility is overly complicated. There are three major buildings. North Building, South Building, and West Building. The North and South Buildings are where the classes, labs, and rooms are. The West Building is where the main lobby, travel office, and the gift shop are. Both have three sections and you can enter both on the first, second or third floor. Yikes.

I finally found my room in the South building.

The cafeteria closes at 8pm. There was no way I was going to find it in time. Nope, I didn't find it either.

I called the bar and ordered a cheeseburger and fries, a Coke, and a bottle of water to go. I found the bar, paid for the food, and went back to the room. $9.62 for tasteless meat, greasy fries, and two beverages. Nice.

I ate, unpacked, showered, called Cyn to say "good night," and went to sleep.

(to be continued)