Yesterday morning I had to wake up in the early part of the 5 o’clock hour so that I could leave around 5:45 to meet my boss at the commuter lot in Lee Hall. Let me tell you that is just plain crazy early and I didn’t like it one bit. Not surprising the trip to the interstate had me seeing exactly no cars.
We picked up a co-worker in Newport News and made our way to Portsmouth. Portsmouth, for those of you not familiar with Virginia, is down in the Tidewater area which means it is very close to the Atlantic ocean. The thing is you can’t actually see the ocean from Portsmouth but there is lots and lots of water in the area. There are actually shipyards where they build massive ships and, of course, the military has a large presence in the area. Unfortunately, Portsmouth also suffers from poverty, crime and more than a fair share of rundown buildings.
Portsmouth is also the home of one of the world’s nastiest security guard teams I’ve ever encountered. In fact, the security guards who work at the building where we were conducting training are notorious for their rude behavior. I heard that one of the managers of services from the state office was talked to badly the other day. This person is fairly high up in the scheme of things but since it is the state government no one seems to find it OK to fire assholes. (Clarification: you don’t automatically get labeled an asshole for talking badly to management. You get labeled an asshole for talking to anyone rudely. The people entering that building either work there or have to get social services. So, there’s already turmoil in the customer’s lives (they are either there for food stamps, getting back custody of their kids, finding a way to pay for their bills, etc.) Compounding their problems by rude service is not helping anyone. That’s why I’ve labeled them assholes.)
Where was I? Oh yeah, the classroom. Here’s a tip to anyone who has trouble using computers or seeing a projected image from more than 20 feet away. Sit in the first row. Seriously. Make it easier for the trainer to get to you. Sitting on the aisle is even better. And, should you decide to sit in the middle of the row and then need lots of help, move your chair around so the trainer can actually see your screen and get access to your keyboard and mouse. Thanks.
The bright spot in the day was stopping on the way home to buy a BBQ feast for dinner. Let me tell you there was nothing better than parking myself in front of the teevee last night and eating very tasty BBQ, baked beans and cole slaw.