you know it's not the same as it was

I am back in ye olde Iowa after a great week in Chicago. I woke up early this morning and was able to hit breakfast before the rush...and before they switched from serving breakfast to serving their insanely priced Easter buffet. Then I went back to my room and wrote for a couple of hours, which felt great. Even with that unusual productivity I was able to get out the door around 11 so that I could start heading west. All in all the hotel was nice and I would stay there again, and I will certainly have to go back to Chicago (hopefully when the weather is warmer and I can do more walking around).

After I got out of the city proper, I spent a couple of hours talking to Katie, which certainly made the drive go a lot faster. We parted ways when I got to the world's largest truck stop, mostly because I desperately needed to go to the bathroom. I then availed myself of the Taco Bell inside the truck stop so that I could eat something that was relatively gluten free (albeit a far cry from the meals I gorged myself on in Chicago). And then I finished the drive with a couple more stops for bathrooms and gas, and made it home a little before six.

When I got home I unloaded my car and then [censored] and I went out to Mom's house for Easter dinner. I had donated some hamballs to the cause before I left, and Mom outdid herself in terms of accompaning them. She made scalloped potatoes, baked beans, layered lettuce, and deviled eggs, so it was a real feast. And the weather was nice today for both a drive and a lovely dinner, although it promises to get rainy later this week.

After dinner, I relaxed a bit, did a bit of unpacking, and generally procrastinated from the very idea of getting back to the day job tomorrow. But that's a problem for Future Sara (in ten hours) - right now I'm going to bed. Goodnight!

ultrafiche of you

I had a much lazier day than I originally planned, but I'll take it. When I woke up, I walked around for a bit and then walked down the street to grab Philz. Thus fortified, I wrote from my room for a couple of hours. I also ordered room service in an attempt to avoid the restaurant, which got significantly busier over the weekend than it was during the week.

At some point I spent an hour or two outside checking out various stores and also visiting the used book sale + gift shop at a library that I may have to come back to on a future visit. However, I wasn't really feeling shopping, and I also didn't feel like wandering around a museum - all I really wanted to do was work. So I went to the hotel bar and had a diet Coke and a glass of wine and wrote for awhile.

At some point I got hungry and didn't want sushi, so I went to a nearby Italian place, where I had an adequate (but not amazing) gluten free pasta. And then I spent the remainder of the evening napping, packing, journaling, and procrastinating, with mixed results. 

And now I need to go to sleep so I can do many things before leaving tomorrow - goodnight!

run from the sunlight dracula

I had an excellent day off in Chicago - so excellent that it's hard to remember why I have a job, although the job does help me pay for things. I did spend too much time in bed this morning, but I snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and forced myself to the restaurant for breakfast. It was significantly busier than it has been this week, but still tasty, and I left fueled for my adventures. 

My main adventure was a pilgrimage to Atlas Stationers. They are my main online purveyor of fountain pens, and they've successfully replaced the Goulets in my affections (the Goulets do send suckers with their orders, but Atlas arrives faster and has a much bigger collection of stickers and paper, which is what won me over). It's clear that Atlas is a pilgrimage for many people - they were quite busy, and the girl who checked me out said that she took the job expecting it to be chill and immediately learned that stationery people are not at all chill. Lol.

Anyway, I bought a bunch of stuff there, and then I walked back to my hotel with a stop at Nordstrom (where I realized I would rather be writing than shopping) and the largest Starbucks Reserve in the world (where I was going to buy a mug, but the crowd on all four floors was overwhelming).

So I spent the afternoon at the hotel bar, where I made some excellent progress on a project I'm theoretically, secretly working on. Then I changed and walked to Topolobampo, which is a Rick Bayless establishment that has a Michelin star and does a Mexican tasting menu that changes every few weeks to reflect a different area's cuisine. The current menu is the Yucatan, and it was excellent -surprisingly the first dessert (a cheese ice cream) may have been my favorite thing, or perhaps the soup appetizer (surprising only because it was actually a soup and usually the soups I make cannot be sipped like this one was). But it was all excellent, and for a decadent meal in Chicago it hit the mark. 

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

long train running

I had an excellent day off, which was exactly what I needed. I got up reasonably early, went to Philz to grab coffee, and then wrote from the window seat in my hotel room for a couple of hours. Then I showered, ate breakfast, and drove to the Art Institute of Chicago to spend an afternoon immersing myself in art.

The museum is massive - I spent five hours there and didn't see it all. But I did see the special Matisse exhibit, which I enjoyed much more than I expected to. And I saw some famous works that I didn't realize were in Chicago (American Gothic; the Edward Hopper 'Nighthawk' painting of people in a late night diner; various European masters and Japanese masters, etc). There was also a totally bonkers wing full of miniatures that were v impressive, a temporary exhibit of Korean art collected by the dynasty who founded Samsung, some excellent photographs, an astonishing mural that took up the entire gallery connecting two buildings, a lot of armor and arms, a mummy inside a coffin, etc etc etc.

So needless to say it was all v enjoyable and inspiring. I could have stayed longer since they are open late on Thursdays, but it was rather stormy this afternoon, so I chose to get to safety. After taking a short break at my hotel, I grabbed dinner at the bar at Petit Pomeroy, which was excellent - I had a nice Beaujolais (which I usually don't like, but the bartender gave me a taste and sold me on it) and an incredible lobster risotto that was pretty much perfect. 

And then I came back to the hotel to beat the rain, and I watched the thunderstorm through my window while finishing A CAUTIOUS TRAVELER'S GUIDE TO THE WASTELANDS, which I quite enjoyed. If you like the idea of the trans Siberian railroad running through a dangerous and arcane wasteland full of magical creatures, this one is for you. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

returning it all

I had a surprisingly delightful day in Chicago. I had to work, and it was also bitterly cold with strong winds coming off the lake, but I made the best of it. When I woke up, I got dressed and walked a couple of blocks (or was blown a couple of blocks) to Philz to grab coffee and work for awhile. Philz is my beloved San Francisco brand, but they have an outpost in Chicago, so I loaded up on caffeine on a familiar setting. Then I grabbed a quick breakfast at the tail end of breakfast service before retreating to my room for an afternoon of meetings. 

Luckily my meetings weren't too onerous, and I'm taking the next two days off, so it could be worse. I had intended to go out for dinner tonight, but it was cold and I wasn't feeling it. So I grabbed a decadent sushi dinner and a glass of wine in my hotel instead. I quite enjoyed journaling and talking to the bartender while eating sushi, so #noregrets. And then I came back to my room, took a v luxurious bath, and read some more of the book I started a couple of weeks ago.

And now I must go to bed...but not without wishing a happy birthday to Ritu Rani, my favorite April fool. Goodnight!

vampire bat

I had a surprisingly delightful day in Chicago, especially given the temperature dropped twenty degrees and I had to slog unceasingly all day. But I got some decent sleep, took a nice shower, availed myself of the v tasty free daily breakfast that I got by booking with Amex, and then did a bunch of work from a nook in the lobby. It rained for a few minutes right as I needed to grab coffee, but I borrowed a hotel umbrella for the incredibly difficult walk down one block to a Starbucks, so I survived. 

Then I slogged in my room for six hours, but I had the best salmon poke bowl from room service for lunch, so it wasn't all suffering. And then I ran an errand to return a sweater I bought in New York (it had some defective stitching, and the maker has no stores in Iowa, so bringing it to Chicago seemed like the most efficient solution). And then I had a v tasty gluten free pasta at a random Italian place, where an even more random guy told me his life story even though he decided not to order any food or drink and just finished his free glass of water. He said at one point that he couldn't believe he was telling me all this stuff, and I thought "I can't believe no one told me their life story on Sunday or Monday because this happens to me all the time".

Anyway, after that I needed to regroup, so I grabbed a glass of wine at my hotel bar, eavesdropped, and journaled quite productively. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

it's always a good time

No blog tonight - I got up this morning after sleeping fairly well, and then I slogged basically all day (over breakfast at the hotel, a late salad that I picked up at Potbelly down the street, and continued late afternoon activities). But I took a break to get my nails done, which was long overdue. Then I grabbed a steak, came back to the hotel and journaled for awhile, and then worked for another hour+.

And now I need to sleep if I have any hope of getting tings done tomorrow - goodnight!