22 October, 2011
I am currently sitting in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Werner Terminal there. I have been running about quite alot since I left Utah, and I'm looking forward to going home on the 28th.
I spent a most of last week in Omaha, Nebraska at Werner's home offices. It was an interesting experience mostly because there was such an interesting mix of people there. Nowhere in the headquarters did all the different people mix more than in the cafeteria. I had lunch one day there, and found myself having a people watcher's dream; which made up for the fact that I was very sick...
There was a TV on one side of the room and I could see several people who must have been Corperate guru's, by their suits and ties and avid attention to the Stock Market ticker on MSNBC. Next to them there was a table full of people who were obviously truckers. The most casually dressed of the groups, they sat in all their unshowered glory, trying to keep food from collecting too much in their facial hair. Their topics of conversation also marked them of truckers as they competed with one another with stories of the worst loads ever driven, or stories of Lot Lizards and other seedy activities. On my side of the cafeteria there were large bay windows, BEside me there was a group of guys I called "Psudo-corperate" in my mind. They did not wear suits and ties, but rather Polo shirts and Khaki pants. They spoke of recent Golf rounds, with periodic tangents to NASCAR or UFC. Another table held secretaries, who's topics of conversation were decidedly Feminine in contrast with everyone else. Then there was a group of guys who did not sit at a table, rather they Lounged, they relaxed... Looking about as nonchalant as one can. They were the mechanics, and surprisingly their conversation was more colorful than even the truckers. Finally there were some people who stood out as individuals. There was a Woman who could not seem to take a break from work even though she was at lunch. She was typing up a report while simutaniously talking on the phone and eating her lunch. There was a Trucker grooming his curvey civil war era mustache with earwax, and a Guy preaching the benifits of Fox News over MSNBC...
Over all it was an interesting visit. Aside from the cafeteria it seemed to me that Werner the Buisness tries very hard to keep the drivers at arm's length. Most driver services were done at essentially "Drive through windows" that were inside. Aside from the cafeteria there was no place for the various "team members" of the Werner machine to meet and socialize. It was all very segragated... Drivers here, Company folks here, Kinda depressing actually.
Anyway, since then i've driven to Tennessee, Toronto, and Indianapolis once before now. I'm ready to be home, I think I said that before, but I am really ready to be home.
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