Mary and the rental car

      I had been automating processes for a large company for several years. Along the way we were outsourced to a very large outsourcing company.  After a few years the outsourcing company had acquired another account and needed some help with the automation.  My boss asked me to start commuting to Los Angeles Monday-Fridays for the next year.  He mentioned that Mary would also be going.  At the time I thought it was odd to include her since the problem they were having was with my stuff(automation) and that wasn't Mary's expertise. I didn't know Mary well since she didn't work in my group. The only things I really knew about Mary was that she slept under her desk most nights in the office and some of her coworkers didn't always appreciate her.  However, I didn't know why.  (more to come on that later)
    Our first task was to get plane tickets and I said I would rent the car.  Mary immediately said we were going to walk and did not need a car. She had done some research and found that it was only 3.5 miles walk to the office. I verified that it was 3.5 miles but it was in Los Angeles where traffic is known to be crazy and the path even crossed over the freeway. I did not want to be walking 7 miles a day and the company was paying for the car.  We went back and forth.  And back and forth ….And the conversation got louder.  At one point I told her I would rent the car and said she could walk if she chose to. She became very agitated and the conversation got even louder.  I finally agreed.  I knew I would be working with her for an extended period so I gave in to start out on the right foot.  We would walk. 
    We took the flight and got to the hotel on Monday just before noon.  It was hot…very hot for Los Angeles.  95 degrees.   We started walking to the office. Traffic was crazy. In the first 2 minutes I was sweating like a pig.  We had to cross several intersections with 12 lanes. We got lost for a little bit. (My flip phone back then did not have google maps) Getting past the highway and intersections was challenging.  The 3.5 miles seemed like 10.  We finally made it to the building.  We were both dripping wet. I looked like I had just fell into a swimming pool with my clothes on.  And my dress shoes squished. They say initial impressions are everything. I always wondered what my new boss must have thought.  Our company had sent these two people to help us in a critical situation and here they are.  Making a puddle on the floor.  We got led around the data center to meet everyone….still dripping. 
    At the end of the day one of our bosses took pity on us and drove us back to the hotel. 
    The second day Mary said we would take the bus.  That also did not go well. We stood at the  bus stop for the correct bus number but we did not realize that we were on the wrong side of the street.  We took the bus going in the wrong direction. It took us forever to get to the office. 
    We made it through the remainder of the week bumming rides from people. After that I always rented a car.  And Mary always rode along.

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