Still Alive

I'm still alive and well. I'm in the Atlanta area on this fielding. The class is over and I'm on the downhill stretch now. In other words, I can start breathing again now. The class went well. I actually finished the material in 2 days like I'm supposed to and was able to have them totally rebuild the system on their own. We had fun, and Bob, the IT guy observing me this time, and Rick, the team lead on this fielding, jumped in and helped with questions and generally had a good time. I had a sharp class who learned quickly. I haven't seen my critique yet to know if I'm signed off to go on my own yet.

Since we drove to this fielding rather than fly I threw in all my camping gear. Since there was a kidnapping and murder of a single woman on the trail close to the area I wanted to hike, I'm not sure if I'm going to hike next weekend or not now. The murderer is in jail, and is a serial killer not a hiker. The trail is probably safer now than it ever has been. However...

I had dinner with Two Speed from WhiteBlaze (the AT hiker message board) last night. I had never met him in person before. We had fun. We went to an Indian restaurant since we both like Indian food and he knew this kooky (his word) place. There is no menu, except for the drinks. We ordered chai to drink, which was wonderful. They bring out a metal tray that has 5 small bowls of various things in in them, rice and a few pieces of naan (bread) in the middle. It is all you can eat. I cleaned out all 5 selections and had 2 cups of chai. It was just what I needed after eating in generally fast food places all week. We then came back to my room and I bored him with all my gear as I pulled it out and played with it. I am feeling like a 'pack sniffer' again, one who has gear and talks hiking but doesn't actually hike.

The hotel room this time is a suite, with a kitchen and living room. Breakfast every morning and dinner 4 nights a week are included. There is a thermos of coffee in the lobby at all times. I'm pretty much spoiled at this point. We drove down here Monday, and worked Tuesday through Saturday. This is Sunday, and IT has today off. The trainers started arriving Friday, and they had classes yesterday and today. The rest of the trainers arrive this evening, and full classes start tomorrow. I'm not heading out anywhere today as I'm bushed. Next weekend is a 3 day weekend, so if I do anything it will be then. I could drive home, but I'll try to take advantage of being in a new location instead.