Sat. July 21, 2018

Day 2 begins!

I woke up at 8:30 in the morning to get ready for today’s events. It was the first day of our Leadership Development School but before then we were going to take a tour. A tour of our headquarters. Our corporate office. It was my first time actually seeing it in person. I must say it was a lot cooler then in pictures.

The building was wide and had three floors. The tour took us about 2 hours to complete. We were shown the conference room, had a sneak peak of the server room, the executive offices and so much more. It was truly amazing. 

After the tour we had 45 minutes to grab a bite to eat. We missed out on breakfast in order to get to headquarters on time so for lunch we had Chick-fil-A. Accompanying me was my mentor and teammate – he showed up as we were walking out. I destroyed a spicy chicken deluxe sandwich, waffle fries, nuggets and a milkshake. My stomach was more than happy when we left.

The next 5 – 6 hours were great!

Back at the office we made our way into the auditorium where we sat for 3 hours as the convention went on. There were many speakers with many thoughts and much motivation. During a 15 minute break we took a walk to the bathrooms where we discovered the line so long we would never getting in. Since I took the tour earlier I knew there were a few more bathrooms around but ones I needed access to. Thankfully the lady with the access key was friendly enough to let us through. Even better she let my colleague and I into the break room so we could use the vending machines. It was very nice of her.

Back in the auditorium we finished up the last two hours and then headed out. My mentor’s child was ill and needed medication. The closest pharmacy was Walgreens where they had nothing fit for a child except for one bottle Motrin. So, we took it. Then we made our way to the hotel to drop it off before headed out to dinner. There were reservations set at Marlow’s Tavern by the head of our office. We were a bit late but he squeezed in none the less.

For dinner I has grilled Atlantic salmon with jumbo couscous, broccoli, red onion, golden raisins, parsley, toasted almonds and port wine reduction. I have had better but it hit the spot.

The night ended upsetting.

After dropping off my mentor, his son, and two of my colleagues I took a solo drive to Ross. I bought sneakers yesterday but they did not fit. I did not realize the size I was looking at was UK. I tried to exchange them but I had no luck finding something I liked. To make the night worse, my phone stopped charging so I was left with nothing more than my iPad and really crappy hotel Wi-Fi. Hopefully I can figure out how to post.

Before heading back to the hotel, I stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts for a late night 10pm coffee. I sat in the car for 20 minutes enjoying it.

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Sun. July 22, 2018

Day 3 and I barely slept last night. 

In the hotel room were two females, three males and two children. Out of us all, two of them snored so loud that I was unable to sleep. I even got up to put earplugs in and they blew right past it.

By 8am I was waking up not wanting to get out of bed. Today was Day 3 of the Leadership Development School. At the corporate office my mentor, two colleagues and I sat there until 3pm when we broke off for intermission. To my surprise we actually ended earlier than what was scheduled. An hour earlier finishing at 5. It was an amazing event that left me wanting to do more. I need to do more. I need to make the time to do more. I need a better action plan in preparing my future.

Soon after chatting, my mentor, one of my teammates and I headed back to hotel to relax for a bit. We had half the day left to enjoy. I quickly changed into a pair of shorts and left with my teammate to a Verizon Wireless store to have phone checked. I needed to know what was wrong and if it could be fixed.

No Bueno! The charging port was busted and could not be repaired. Thankfully the Samsung Galaxy S7 has a wireless charging feature. Too bad I did not have a wireless charger.

The hunt!

After getting my phone diagnosed we went on a hunt to get a cheap wireless charger. The one Verizon had was too expensive and bulky. I needed something slim to fit in my bag. We went into Marshalls, T.J.Maxx and walked out with no luck. To make myself feel better I stopped at a Paris Baguette that I found on accident driving the highway. I was glad to have found it because I needed a pick me up. I had myself a mascarpone cheesecake tiramisu and green tea latte for that moment. To take home I had a fruit pastry in my hand. Yum!

Back at the hotel we meant with our mentor at the pool with his kids. They were having a bit of daddy-son time. After looking at the room next door, the gym, my teammate went in to work out so I left once again. I did not feel like swimming, definitely did not want to work out and I knew the bed would get the best of me. To the mall I went. I hoped to find a charger while there.

IT’S SUNDAY!

When I got there, I was disappointed. Today is Sunday and everything was closed up. I walked in to 90% of the stores gated and dark. Looking for a directory I read the mall hours. It shut down at 6m, I was reading it at 6:30.

Back at the hotel, I was forced relaxed for an hour or two. Nothing around was open expect for a few restaurants. With being aid at 9:15 all six of us left, we were down one person because she was invited out somewhere else, but we went out to dinner at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen. It was delicious! Had shrimp gumbo with a side of grilled asparagus.

After stuffing our faces, we were back at the hotel. I took a shower and went right to bed.