I'd been so tired on Saturday that I decided to just get up early on Sunday to pack before flying. But as the alarm went off at 6.00 a.m. I was regretting that decision. I felt so woozy as I looked out the window to see the early morning line forming at the club across the street - those folks obviously keep a different schedule than me :)

The flights were as boring and uneventful as most flights usually are. I had exit-row seats on both flights, which makes a big difference when you're as tall as me. I had a brief stopover in Dallas, long enough to hear a CNN broadcast about the upcoming solar eclipse. Boy did they miss the boat by talking about the "last complete solar eclipse of the century" - it's the last of the millenium!

Speaking of the heavens, the sunset was gorgeous!

Sunset from 37,000 feet

Quite why it should take the whole day to get me from my apartment in San Francisco to a hotel less than a mile from the biggest airport in our headquarters in the south, I'm not sure. My helpful company business department obviously felt that it was best to save $200.00 by having an indirect flight and have me just cut out a few hours of sleep. It was eleven-thirty at night by the time I was checked in.

The hotel is brand-new, and I have a very big suite. Room enough for me to spread out both my laptops (uh oh, they're multiplying!) It's really very comfortable. But. There's always a but. I woke up at 9.42 a.m. That was a problem since my first class started at 8.45. Not a good impression to give on my second week on the job. I checked the alarm clock - it was set correctly to go off at 7.00 and the alarm was switched on. Uh oh - the time on the clock was exactly 12 hours wrong!

I was kind of unhappy. Last night, the guy at the check-in had said "We're a 100% satisfaction guaranteed hotel" with a special emphasis and a knowing leer. Time to test that out as I wrote a note complaining about the clock, the complete lack of national newspapers in the store (this is a major business hotel - who wants to read the "XXXX Internet Explorer" or whatever the local newspaper is called, no disrepect intended I'm sure :), and the fact that everytime you walk into the hotel there's a gaggle of employees chatting at the front-desk and staring at you, as if they're talking about you (call me over-sensitive, but it's disconcerting).

With typical corporate-hotel pseudo-responsiveness, I got a note saying thanks for the comments, and there's a complimentary fruit plate in the fridge. What does a fruit plate have to do with my complaints?

Anyway, as you may have gathered, the day did not start well, and I got to class about an hour and a half late. For most of the day, I failed to understand much. I thought it must have been because I'd missed the introduction. But talking to some of the other people at break-time, I found out that I'd missed practically nothing and they were as much in the dark as me.

The class made me feel a little old! Everyone else was in the "Boot Camp" - a ten week training program for entry-level employees. So they're all young and cute, kind of. Well... they're all young, at least.

The classes take place in one of the many buildings on my company's vast campus here. It's really a beautifully landscaped campus with acres of lawn. No wonder they have to charge so much for the software.

After class, on my company's campus

At least class finished early. At 6.30, I headed over to the fitness center to sign some documents stating that the company was not responsible if I injured myself with their exercise equipment. At least I have plenty of time to work-out here!

Working out in the company gym