ATLANTA JOB TRAINING TRIP

06/07/04 - 06/18/04

Moved back to Sacramento, started a new insurance job, and just a couple of weeks later, I was being flown back to Atlanta, Georgia for a couple of weeks of training...and for the time of my life!

	Hey, look! There's a Liberty Mutual office in Atlanta. The door proves it! Doors never lie!
	Day one of training, which means time to pass out the rental cars to the training class for their stay. Here's Antonio, Chuck and Derick checking out some wheels.
	Kendall and Connie discussing rental cars, while Chuck thinks about just skipping all the paperwork and simply stealing that car back there...
	Hey, it's the snack table outside the training rooms! Thanks for having it full for us each morning, Doretha!
	Here's a look at our training room, as viewed from the front (the view poor trainer Gary had to sit through each day and watch the looks of confusion on our faces...).
	And a view from my desk. See? I was really there! I'm not making it up!
	Chuck and Antonio enjoying some fine eats at "The Roadhouse", the restuarant across the street from our hotel.
	Shelley and Vanette successfully dodge my camera. Well played, ladies, well played.
	Louann and Tamara (that's TAM-ar-a...not Ta-MAR-a) kicking it at the Roadhouse.
	Jackie and Nancy enjoying their meals.
	Here's Sheila and Noreen as the girls spring Shiela's "birthday" surprise on her.
	Louann, Sheila, Noreen and Jackie. Appears Shiela's giving them the literal evil eye for the surprise...
	The Roadhouse gang. Left side (front to back): Chuck, Antonio, Shelley, Vanette, Louann and Tamara. Right side (front to back): My hand (thanks for cutting me out, helpful waiter), Melanie, Nancy, Jackie, Noreen and Sheila.
	Vanette, Louann and Tamara enjoying desert (though it appears from that look that Louann has had enough). Want to make women your best friends for life? Photograph them eating...
	Thought I'd throw in some shots of what our rooms looked like at the Residence Inn (our home for nearly two weeks). Here's a shot of my comfy living room.
	And here's one of my dining area, looking beyond into the bedroom. My trusty laptop is never far from me. Nor are cigars or a bottle of Sprite.
	Here's a look at my kitchen.
	And the master bedroom (having my own room (I love odd-numbered training classes!), I got to choose which bedroom I wanted in the two-bedroom suite).
	I don't like to brag, but my bathroom was handicapped accessible. Nyah, nyah.
	A look at my living room as viewed from the bedroom.
	Ah, the morning paper. Do you THINK it was a big news day? A president was laid to rest, and the G-8 Summit was right there in town with us in Atlanta.
	NBA Finals, baby!!! The boys and I spent a number of our evenings watching the Lakers/Pistons drama unfold. And though we all came from different parts of the nation, we ALL hated the Lakers. Here's Antonio, Chuck and Kendall toasting a Pistons victory.
	Is Jackie tall, or is Louann short? You make the call!
	On the first weekend there, some of the ladies and I headed to downtown Atlanta to see some of the sights. One of our first stops? CNN Center! This...is CNN.
	A shot from across the street, looking at CNN Center.
	Connie, Noreen, Louann, me and Tamara at the Center.
	A shot inside CNN Center. Lots of flags.
	Another look inside, including the entrance to the studio tour.
	Looking up at CNN Center
	Another look inside the CNN Center mall. Is that the Arby's where Wolf Blitzer eats, I wonder?
	Tamara and Louann hanging out outside the Turner Store.
	This is the area where CNN does their town hall meeting broadcast stuff.
	Another shot of the same.
	Noreen getting lined up for the CNN Studio Tour.
	Getting ready to take the tour, with Noreen, Connie, Vanette, Louann and Tamara.
	Another stop on our Atlanta tour was Centennial Olympic Park.
	The Tribute at the Park.
	Did I mention we were in Georgia in the summertime, and it was HOT? Here's some local kids staying cool in the fountain at the Park.
	Vanette, Tamara and Noreen checking out the fountain fun (and probably tempted to jump in, too. I mentioned the hot part, right?).
	Noreen, Vanette, Connie and Tamara walking the streets of downtown Atlanta, dreaming of their air-conditioned Residence Inn rooms.
	Hey, is that Phillips Arena up ahead? My inner basketball nerd just kicked in!
	I have this thing where I'm trying to get pics of me in front of every arena in the NBA, so getting a chance to get one at the home of the Hawks was a big score.
	Connie and Kendall during one of our evening room hangout sessions (note to Connie: "Rick! Rick! Rick! Rick! Rick! Rick!". See? I remembered...)
	And we decided to have ourselves a little barbecue on Sunday. Working the grill is our class's late arrival, Doug, as Chuck waits for chow.
	Jackie and Tamara watch Doug do his chef thing, while Antonio is never far from the ice chest.
	Antonio enjoying a cold one, not realizing, at this point, that he would need to start drinking a LOT more of these once he started working in Total Loss.
	Doug and Chuck relaxing at the BBQ.
	Tamara and Jackie doing the same.
	Connie, Noreen, Tamara and Jackie, apparently discussing produce.
	The gang enjoys some chow.
	Just a shot to show how green Atlanta is.
	More chowing down. I think Louann's going for the potato salad. What is that, like, your 14th beer, Chuck? You'd think you were going to be working in Total Loss or something.
	More BBQ fun.
	Vanette and Louann chewing thoughtfully. I'm STILL making woman friends with that move!
	Here's a little move Antonio and Chuck learned from Jason Williams and Chris Webber. The no-look pass!
	Antonio, Chuck and Doug...chillin like villains. But, you know...insurance villains.
	Longer shot of our hostile takeover of the Residence Inn barbecue area.
	And the BBQ group relaxes as things wind down.
	Just a shot of the Residence Inn courtyard area, and the tennis and basketball court. Wait a minute?! Did you say basketball?!
	Chuck and Antonio track down a ball and get into a little one-on-one.
	Great thing about this pic? You can't tell if Chuck's shot made it or not. Let's pretend it did...
	I broke away to go out to dinner with a couple of old friends of mine that live in the area...and got a chance to see their new baby, Ellie!
	And here's the friends...Greg and Anna. And oh my GOD was the food good at Maggiano's.
	And here's me after dinner, looking borderline retarded. Nothing new there.
	Oh, wait, we actually have to train while we're here, too? I almost forgot. Here's the class hard at work, learning how to do things the Liberty way.
	Training master Gary attempts to teach the flock.
	Hey! Antonio! No fair looking at other people's answers!
	And here's Antonio, Chuck, Derick and me after a night on the town.
	Antonio, Chuck and I decided to take in a Braves game while we were there. Here's a shot from the parking lot of Turner Field.
	Antonio and Chuck know the secret of avoiding high beer costs inside the stadium. Suck down a few out of your trunk before you head in!
	Another view of the Field from outside.
	And another. My, that's a big baseball.
	The Braves get ready to take the field! Green grass, stands full of fans...must be baseball. Ahhhhh.
	Thought I'd get a shot of the Atlanta skies. Always ready to rain on you at a moment's notice.
	A shot of the crowd...and the Jumbotron Antonio would end up on a little later.
	In case you didn't know which team to root for, the sign reminds you that Turner Field IS the home of the Atlanta Braves.
	Antonio and Chuck enjoying the game.
	And Chuck enjoying a hot dog. Hey, it IS baseball...
	Another shot of the stands, this time after the sun went down.
	And a shot of some nighttime baseball action.
	Here's me and Hank Aaron. We go WAY back.
	To celebrate the forthcoming end to our training class, Gary took us all out to dinner at Pappadeaux. Awesome! P.S.? You can't get friend alligator out here in California.
	A look at what's on the menu at Pappadeaux. Gumbo, anyone?
	Everyone getting ready to order at one of the two tables we took over.
	And the second table we overtook. That's Gary there, happy as clam that he'll soon be rid of us.
	And everyone starts enjoying their meals. Or their "dares", as they might also have been called...
	Me and Chuck toasting a fine week of training and adventure. And Laker humiliaton! Woo hoo!
	Okay, THAT is one ugly fish. Not that I find other fish attractive. I'm just saying.
	Tamara, Noreen and Connie. And a helpful waiter.
	Kendall, Tamara and Noreen.
	If I had to guess what's happening here? I'd say Derick and Chuck just realized that something on their appetizer plate was STILL ALIVE!! AHHHH!
	And then Jackie came by and helpfully killed it for them. Probably not what was happening, but it makes a better story.
	The Liberty ELT Training class of June '05, asking themselves 1) "How could I have possibly enjoyed myself more during this fantastic trip?", and 2) "What the HELL did I just eat?"
	Another birthday surprise! Except that I think Melanie's was actually legit.
	Okay, we all had to pause an imagine handling the total loss claim on THAT car.
	I don't normally use "pimp" as an adjective, but THAT is pimp. Well done.
	Ah, but to all good things... The last day in Altanta finally came. Here's Jackie, Noreen, Chuck, Nancy, Antonio, Connie and Sheila waving farewell as we start loading up our luggage.
	Jackie and Noreen say good-bye, preparing to head out to their respective Liberty offices. In the background, Louann tries to move a suitcase of hers that's big enough to smuggle a dead body in...
	And we say good-bye to Louann (and her luggage)--who possibly has a future as a CNN anchor, as some of us discovered.
	Oh, Liberty does it up in STYLE, y'all. Here's the pair of limos that tranported us to and from the airport. And we got rained on one last time by Atlanta, just for old times sake.
	And here's a limo's-eye good-bye to Vanette, Noreen, Jackie, Louann and Tamara, en route to the airport.
	Whereas the wiser ones--me and Shelley--stayed close to the sunroof in case the rains caused flashfloods and we needed to bail at the top. So long, Atlanta!

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