dianaschnuth

I’m carpooling with a co-worker to Chicago tomorrow for more software training. We’re taking off in the early afternoon to battle the inclement weather, and so we don’t have to drive too far in the dark. I haven’t spent much quality time with this co-worker, so this will be a good opportunity for us to get to know each other. Hopefully, we’ll still like each other by the time the week is over…

I’m really looking forward to the content of these classes, as my job really hinges on the subject: creating dashboards for business intelligence applications. Once I learn some of the finer points of creating dashboards with this software, I hope I’ll be able to hit the ground running when I return to work next week. We’ll see how that works out.

The Best Western where we’re staying claims to have a 24-hour fitness center with treadmills and stationary bikes; I have every intention of taking advantage of that fitness center, especially since I didn’t get to do so on my last trip (and in light of my underwhelming weight loss of late). Apart from that, I’m expecting less of the Best Western than I did of the Hampton Inn, just by virtue of the difference between franchises. I hope I’ll be pleasantly surprised, but I’m not counting on it.

My travel buddy will be checking out a laptop from work, plus there’s supposedly a Business Center at the hotel, so I may or may not end up blogging while I’m away. I’m honestly hoping to spend a good part of my evening free time on a treadmill, when I’m not eating or reading or (hopefully) hanging out with Timmay.

We’re going to be staying one extra night so we won’t have to drive four hours home on a Friday night after class. Saturday morning will be spent seeing the sights of Chicago, and we’ll head home after lunch, arriving back in town around dinnertime.

This is shaping up to be a much different business trip than my last. Whether that’s good, bad, or indifferent remains to be seen…