Orientation...so far

I'm at a Ramada Inn in the suburbs of Indianapolis, sharing a room with a second roommate in two nights. Last night's colleague had finished his training period and picked up his assigned tractor this morning. I had asked for and was assured I'd have a single room, but there's an amateur swing dance convention in the hotel this weekend. Overbooked, the desk clerk said. An early chance to be flexible in this new life, I thought.

Werner pays lodging and transportation for orientation (actually, until your trainer arrives on the scene). The room is OK, but there's only one small towel per person (I rate hotel rooms by the number and thickness of the towels). We have to be ready for a shuttle at 6am and the hotel doesn't provide breakfast until 6:30, so we get a bag breakfast of a very small container of juice and a muffin. No coffee. I did get some at noon. All told, not an impressive show, but I Know the company runs a lot of people through this program here and at several other sites around the country, and a lot of us don't stay. If you're wondering...I'm still determined.

I dodged one bullet when I decided to rent a car to drive here instead of taking advantage of the free bus ticket. One guy who did take advantage said a group of just-released prisoners were put on his bus. Another fellow orientator's bus arrived at 8pm but wasn't picked up by the hotel shuttle until 11pm. Whew.