Adventures in corporate crapola

Today my work sent me to Schaumburg for a training and a meeting. 

I tried and tried and tried to get out of this, but alas I was forced to attend. Here's a play-by-play of my ridiculous day.

6:30-ish - Leave warm, warm bed in my apartment to go to work.

7:00 - Arrive at school (work), open school for the day. Get directions to Union Station where I can catch a train to training.

8 - Leave work and wait for No. 11 Bus.

8:09 - No. 11 Bus arrives - so late and moves so slowly! Crap!

8:17 - Jump off too-slow bus. Attempt to catch cab.

8:19 - Finally find a cab.

8:25 - Ask cab driver if I'm anywhere near Union Station. Receive vague but hopeful reply.

8:27 - Cab driver says it's better for me to just walk to Union Station than wait for the cab to make its way there. Throw money at cab driver, thank cab driver, run (while wearing serious heels, tights, skirt and carrying a professional-looking bag to Union Station.

8:28:37  - Almost knock a man over running to the train, nearly falling and/or knocking self into Chicago River.

8:29 - Enter Union Station, run down two sets of stairs to trains and quickly find my train.

8:29:59 - Hop on train, in utter shock that train is available for hopping on. Make sure that train is correct train. Victory!

8:31 - Sitting comfortably on train with book, no coffee, no newspaper, no companion (she missed the train and catches a later one).

9:22 - Arrive in Schaumburg feeling slightly refreshed and victorious.

10:16 - Training starts late. Trainers could not figure out PowerPoint projection, or something. Caffeine! Training starts with incredible information like "Every phone call you receive is potentially worth more than $50,000."

10:17 - Notice that the potential $50,000 from each of the 20+ phone calls I answer each day is not shared with me or my school (at least not most of it) or the teachers at my school. Make grumbling frowny face. 

10:18 - Experiment with new pens.

10:25 - Raise eyebrows at being asked to take notes during scripted role playing exercises. 

10:48 - Small group time.

12:40 - Hooray for lunch.

2:15 - When is this over?

2:30 - Take fifth bathroom break.

3:00 - Session scheduled to end at 2:00 ends.

3:25 - Meeting begins. 

4:09 - Meeting ends. Yessssssssss!

4:18 - Leave Schaumburg.

4:39 - Realize that ride from suburbs refuses to take expressway. Crap.

5:45 - Ride turns around after taking North Avenue 10 miles in the wrong direction. 

6:38 - Arrive at CTA Green Line Oak Park Station.

7:03 - Switch to Brown Line.

7:28 - Home sweet home!

Phew!