First Day

I made it down to Atlanta and got settled in last night. We are staying at a hotel about 30 minutes from the CSX REDI center. It's not a bad place.  Lots of new restaurants and business parks here in this area. I was able to scope out the area this evening, and although I almost got lost, I did manage to find things that I can enjoy while I'm down here, including my favorite, Barnes and Noble.

We had to be down to catch the bus at about 6 this morning.  A few guys were outside smoking, and after I grabbed my complimentary breakfast and cup of the most awful water-flavored coffee, I made my way out talk to them. 

Some of the guys out there rode the shuttle back from the airport with me. An ex-military guy and a couple sheet metal workers from up in New York were discussing the ins and outs of their particular yards.  Another military guy from Illinois, filled me in on how our seniority would be established.  When we ended up getting to school, he joked about finally finding out what was true, and what wasn't. 

We made our way into the break room first thing, where are future instructors corralled us, and guided us down to our classrooms.  All the desks were neatly arranged, with a name tag at each spot, and a stack of books that will serve as our bibles for the railroad throughout our career.  

The room was divided between north and south agreements for each respective union.  The first thing to be established was our seniority.  It was based on birth date, and being a little older than the average applicant, I made out pretty well with #8 from the top out of the 32 that came to class.  The seniority system that they in place for the south was strange.  They had everyone line up by birth order.  Then, they had them pick a poker chip out of a hat with a number on it.  This number determined what order they would pick their seniority order number from the hat.  I guess it leveled the playing field for those guys so being older didn't have an advantage, but I'm not complaining about how I ended up.
 
During the seniority selection, I ran into a couple of guys who are going to the same rail yard I am, and ended up sitting with them in class.  All in all, the guys seem pretty nice, with personalities that are a mixture of country and military (and in some cases, a splash of West Coast Choppers).  I think I'm going to enjoy working with them. 

After all was said and done, lots of orientation stuff to get through, with benefits and tax forms, etc.  I'll have my hands full for the next few weeks that's for sure, but it'll be worth it in the end!