cleveland rocks

got back late friday from the training gig. faithful readers, the hotel situation looked way up: the client kindly bumped us up to a nice Hampton Inn with king sized beds, clean sheets, lovely bathrooms, and wireless internet. USA. i also took the opportunity to take the 2.5 hour drive either way to see fam - i got to have dinns with them at Max & Erma's, and celebrate my lovely sister-in-law's birf. life rules.

i learned a lot about myself on this trip; mostly, i learned that i hate the sound of my voice (or moreover, anyones) after talking that long everyday. the training is dull in comparison to what i do everyday, but you'd think we handed out free cash from the way people responded to all of us trying to make trainings more fun and lighthearted. it's nice, and somewhat rewarding.

i also learned that i have a (bad?) habit of imitating people back to their faces if i feel like they're funny enough. this is usually okay, but you never know if it's okay across a cultural divide. i like to think that i am capable of this, because i feel like light ribbing is all in the way you structure it. i also think it's dumb to be afraid of it, so i jump in - if i jab a lincoln parker, i jab a hyde parker. due to this theory, i probably said "Oooh, this girl knows what I mean" nearly 20 times, and at one point, I actually said "Testify!". it was a hit, and i loved my classes. whenever they saw me outside the building, or in the mall down the street, they'd say "here's that cute comedian! you're funny, girl!", and i felt like we were fast friends.

funniest story from my trainings - this guy Antione played an improv-y kind of game to prove a point, and when he did well, we gave him a prize - a subway gift card. he sat down at his chair. "this morning, i came in here with nooo cash," antione said passionately. "i knew i didn't have a cent in these pockets, and then you gave me this. the lord is good!"

for some reason, i was really shocked by how much god references came up in this job - the call-center people we were training constantly referencing their faiths, and i'm just not used to that, i guess. for instance, when i asked a manager how his day was, he told me he was having a blessed one. it was something.

anyway, later on in the session, our friend Antione started being playful and giving me a hard time about something i'd said. "Antione," i cooed, "if you don't shut it, i'm gonna take that sub back!" a few seconds passed, and a laughing woman seated behind Antione said "Mmm-hmm.... the Lord giveth... and the Lord TAKETH AWAY!"

you said it.