First business trip

Last week I went on my first business trip. I've gotten a little used to Joel going out of town and sitting around waiting for him to get home. (Well, not entirely- I stayed busy with school and such.) But this time it was my turn to go out of town for work. Last week I attended Better Process Control School at MSU. This is a course that is required of people handing certain foods for commercial purposes. At Nestle, I will be working with Product Developers. I will cook up their recipes, seal them into packaging, and running them through thermal processes. There are different processes for different foods & containers, but the main concern is to make sure the food is safe for consumption- gotta kill any micro organisms that could cause someone to get sick. I learned about different systems, different standards of temperature based on pH levels, water activity, etc. This was something totally new to me, but very interesting. I learned a ton! I left GR on Monday morning for MSU. I arrived around 11:30 and they had a lunch for us. Then we started class. The way the class works is to cover everything in the class book. So you are presented the information one chapter at a time and then tested over that chapter. You have to pass each test with at least a 70%. My lowest was an 80%, so I didn't have to retake any. The first day, class went until 6:00pm, which covered 2 chapters. Then I checked into my hotel. It wasn't the greatest, but it was close and paid for. I ordered in dinner because I was too lazy to drive around looking for a place and I had a test to study for. Tuesday I had class from 8-4, covering 4 chapters. After class I went to the hotel and ordered in again and relaxed. Wednesday I had class from 8-4, then got ice cream from the dairy store. Thursday I had class again all day and went to the dairy store again. Friday we went until 10:30 or so, I went to the dairy store, and then drove back to GRCC to make up a test I missed. Now, all those times I went to the dairy store I only got one scoop and I didn't eat them! I saved them and Joel and I ate them together Friday evening. It was my surprise for him. I was so glad when I got home. I love sleeping in my own bed best and being far from Joel is never fun! This was a great opportunity and I'm so glad that I went. It sounds like I might have another business trip this summer to Ohio. That one will be with my supervisor.