Prologue - Act One

So, I'd done lots of things to get prepared for the trip, but I had lots of little things to do beforehand, everything from taking the trash out, returning a library CD, and doing a libation to the Gods for safe travel, but knew I needed some sleep. So I went to bed at 8 pm Wednesday night, determined to get up at 1:30 so I'd have a couple of hours to do everything I needed before I'd normally be up. And it worked. I didn't sleep well, as I was worried I wouldn't get up in time, but I actually got all the plants watered and the rest of my list at home completed, left a little earlier than what Google told me to so I could return the CD, get gas, put a cheque in the bank--that sort of thing. While at the gas station getting gas for $1.93 in Lexington per gallon (It's $2.69 or so here), I got a drink and a blueberry cheese danish sort of thing. Not ideal, but I didn't want something heavy, and it was cheap, and I'm trying to go as cheaply as possible. Then I drove around a good portion of the city (I live on the opposite end of town from the airport), parked in oeconomy parking, and went through security. I'd checked in using the Delta mobile application, and so spent the day scanning my phone rather than a piece of paper, which was convenient, but, I had to have my phone out an awful lot, and it was hard to juggle. I may just check in tomorrow the old-fashioned way, particularly as I have something to hold the ID and boarding pass to make it easier to keep up with.

It's always a joy to be behind me at a TSA checkpoint, as I have to take out liquids, CPAP, laptop, take off my shoes, and load my various bags (I had three, as one didn't count as it was medical supplies only). When I went through the body scanner, I guess they couldn't see my lower left arm well in the image, because they patted down just that lower arm. Weird. I gathered my stuff, put my shoes back on, and went to the gate, where I gate-checked my rolling bag for free when they requested volunteers. I noticed many people were not volunteering. It's a small plane, and I like gate-checking, although I didn't realise they would check it on to my final destination, and my liquids and other minor conveniences were in there, so I spent the day without a comb, eye rewetting drops, or lip balm, for example, something I'll keep in mind tomorrow when I pack.

The flight was pleasant and went off without a hitch. It was very dark, as they fly with the cabin lights down and no one really turned on their own personal lights. We arrived in Atlanta about the time the sun finally got up. I had a soda and a cookie packet there in the dark. Once we disembarked, I grabbed a drink and some pretzels and went to the next concourse, where I had an hour and a half layover until the Chicago-bound plane left. There was a mechanical delay, but we left on time and arrived at Chicago on time. I learned that one person can charge their phone (my seatmate did) while on the flight, at least on the 717 we were on. I was in the O'Hare airport, and meant to call YKWIA to let him know I made it okay, but then got distracted redistributing things into my purse and purchasing my 1-day (24 hour) transit pass, wound up taking the train to Division, where I lugged bags up many stairs to a world of newspapers blowing everywhere, oriented myself by the sun to be heading south on Ashland, and then caught the bus to a stop right across from my hotel. I got here at noon, conveniently, as that was when I could check in, and my meeting was at 12:45 CST.

I checked in, actually was able to use the key they gave me for the elevator (I had trouble the last time I stayed at this hotel, and had had to rely on the kindness of strangers to get me to the room then). I washed my face, located my comb, used it, and called YKWIA briefly to let him know I was alive. He was concerned, and had called the hotel already. I hadn't expected it to take two hours to get from the airport gate to the hotel (quite a while, yes, but not quite that long), so I apologised for not contacting him sooner. Then, somewhat more presentable, I took just my purse, put on a light jacket (it's all about the layering, as many Chicagoans are wearing their winter coats today; I had a heavy sweater over a thinner shirt, and had been sweltering in the airports and on transit, so it felt good. But I was happy to have that little layer of jacket.

We had lunch before our meeting, and it included sandwiches with mozzarella, arugula, and roasted pepper. We had an absolutely wonderful meeting, mostly on outreach, and I had a brilliant outreach idea that wouldn't work in my present position, but I might be able to partner with someone to do. I was afraid it would fade; I wrote it all out. It would be easily fundable as well. Part of the meeting could have been webconferenced, but the participatory exercise really couldn't have been. I'm very glad I came, even though it wasn't a direct flight.

After the meeting, a few of us walked to an Italian restaurant a few blocks away called Francesca's, which was excellent. I was tempted to get the salmon, but instead went for a lentil salad and a Napoleatano pizza. None of us could do desert. We walked back. Throughout my stays here, my rock of a landmark has been the St Basil Greek Orthodox Church, which is on the corner of Ashland and Polk. The library we had our meeting at is on Polk; the hotel is at Harrison and Ashland. So it really has helped me get my bearings. A couple of years ago they were using all this scaffolding, but now it seems in much better shape. It's beautiful. [I love the varied architecture in Chicago, and not just the stuff downtown. On the way over on the train I saw an esquisite Turkish bath.]

We got back to the hotel, grabbed some complimentary hot chocolate, and I've already told you the rest. I guess tomorrow will be Act Two. Wish me luck. I've got to get up at 5 am, eat breakfast when they open at 6 am, check out, catch a bus by 6:30 to get to Midway Airport by 7:30. My plane leaves for Detroit at 9:19 am CST, on a smaller plane. Then I'll have another hour and a half layover there before arriving home sometime around 3 pm our time. Whew!

I am (finally) home

Sue - Field Museum (Creative Common Licence for this image)

Some lessons learned from my trip:

1. Keep your beloved jacket on no matter how sweltering the airport is, because you will otherwise lay it down and it will disappear.
2. Keep your parking ticket in the car rather than taking it on the trip and apparently leaving it in the jacket that you were going to lose.
3. How to navigate the mass transit system in Chicago, and also walking through downtown/the Loop.
4. When riding an articulated bus, do not sit inside the accordion in the middle, because if the bus comes to a stop as it turns, the floor moves under your feet while you try to stand up to get off the bus.
5. Double-check your credit card, because the hotel might be charging you for a second night when that was paid for by the university.
6. Chicagoans drive like maniacs, and make plenty use of the car horn. Stare them down and keep walking, but prepare for absolutely no yielding to pedestrians.
7. After several years, you can finally get the key card to operate an elevator, repeatedly, if you just keep trying.
8. Although I had a very good time, there really is no place like home.

Still, I kept up with a CPAP, a laptop, a purse, phone, and carry-on bag, plus took off and landed safely today, so I guess overall I did pretty well. I also lucked out amazingly because I met a colleague on the council at dinner yesterday, and she was not only at the same hotel, she had her car, and she offered me a ride to the meeting this morning, so I didn't have to take the Pink Line with all my bags, and then, because she doesn't live very far from the airport, she took me there, saving me time and money for a cab or the train. I think if I'd taken the 'L', I really would have been pushing it time-wise. A cab ride would have been expensive and I've never flagged one down before. I did offer her some gas money, but she wouldn't take it. We really hit it off, and I'm glad I met her.

So, to recap:

Wednesday I:
• Flew to Chicago after an hour-and-a-half delay due to fog in Lexington.
• Took the Blue Line train to downtown
• Found my hotel, Club Quarters at Wacker and Michigan
• Ate dinner at a restaurant at Millennium Park with various medical library directors who were in for additional meetings beyond what I was in for, but they invited those of us who came early. They were very encouraging of my job hunt in face of losing the library, and had good solid suggestions for marketing myself.

Downtown at a distance

Thursday I:
• Took two buses to the Field Museum, and spent time going through the exhibits there.
• Took a bus to a seminar where three speakers gave talks on the ethics and bias related to health literacy, how the exchange system works as a result of the Affordable Care Act, and evidence-based medicine and rapid reviews as practiced by the speaker's programme. It was worth 4 contact hours and was very interesting.
• Networked with my fellow Kentucky attendees.
• Ate dinner at Park Grill again, this time with a smaller group. Met a librarian who really helped me out in terms of getting to Friday's destinations.
• Walked an ungodly amount over the course of the day, over six miles.

Lake Michigan

Friday I:
• Got up at 6 am and got ready, then checked out of my hotel.
• Met my colleague and went to the Regional Advisory Council meeting.
• Had a continental breakfast.
• Set up a meeting with our GMR state liaison, who will be in Lexington next week, to come see my library.
• Had a very good meeting. Got a review of what's going on at the Greater Midwest Region office and did an interesting activity that really brought our ideas into focus. Had a lovely lunch; the vegetarian option was mozzarella and grilled pepper sandwiches.
• Was given a ride to the airport by my colleague.
• Changed shoes and made it through security.
• Grabbed a drink at McDonald's that was about $3 and mostly ice.
• Got a couple of small souvenirs for friends.
• Promptly lost my favourite jacket, with, apparently, my ticket for the oeconomy parking at Bluegrass Airport.
• Went back to the store, but they hadn't seen it. Someone now has a very nice jacket with my hospital logo on it and gloves that work with smartphone screens. Granted, one was a gift from a boss, who bought each employee in the department their choice of a fleece jacket (mine was purple and grey, had a zipper on the arm, two other zippered pockets, and two inner ones), and the pair of gloves was given to me by a now-retired co-worker because they were too big for her, but still, I loved them. I may see if my boss still has that catalogue and if I can buy another jacket with my own money at some point. But that jacket got me through the entire winter, practically, including two major snowstorms and sub-zero teperatures (I just layered underneath it).
• Made it into Lexington without delay, despite rain.
• Changed shoes, got out the umbrella, and went to the car.
• Promptly realised the ticket was not in my purse, and got into the trunk and tore all my packed luggage apart for it.
• Went to the attendant and explained the situation. Gave him my driver's licence, my boarding passes showing when I left and came back, and he took down my licence plate # and had me sign something, then charged me the correct amount ($24 for 3 days of oeconomy parking).
• Drove through UK, downtown, and stopped at Liquor Barn for wine so I can give a libation of thanksgiving to Hekate for a safe trip.
• Stopped by Taco Bell for dinner, as I hadn't eaten since noon and I didn't really know if there was any food in the house.
• Called my friends to let them know I was home. I sounded faded, and barely had the strength to get out of the car, repack the cases, and bring everything in.
• Grabbed the mail, came inside, dropped everything on the floor, checked that the breakables made it, and then ate.

Leaving Chicago

Almost home

Now I'm very tired. It may only be 9 pm, but I think I'll unpack the CPAP machine and get ready for bed. Good night.

Well, I made it

Trump Tower

despite a delay of an hour-and-a-half at the Lexington airport due to fog. My plane was supposed to be in Chicago at 11:16 local time; we made it by about 12:20, and I grabbed something to eat at O'Hare before getting a transit pass and taking a train into the city. Then I got lost after I got off at my station. The buildings are so tall, so reflective downtown, that even with the sun up it's hard to navigate the directions. So I walked quite a bit (in fact, over 10100 steps today, and about 4.78 miles), got turned around at first, but finally headed east and found Wacker, then found the Hard Rock Hotel (not mine) but was able to get directions there. I checked in at 3 pm. By that time it was too late to go to the museum, so the plan is to start early and go before my seminar tomorrow. The museum opens at 9 am; I have to be at the University of Illinois--Chicago by 1 pm. So I think I'll be able to spend a few hours exploring.

Tonight we went as a group to Park Grill, which is right at Millennium Park, in front of Cloud Gateway, the shiny sculpture known locally as the Bean, which was bigger than I had thought from looking at the pictures. I had beer-battered cheese curds and a black bean burger, and I'm now officially stuffed. But since breakfast and lunch was McDonald's it was nice to have something a little fancier. We're going to the same place tomorrow for dinner--there are two groups on this trip, and I was just invited to the first dinner because I'd gotten into town early. Each group voted, and each liked it. I will say the service was excellent, as were the curds. The portions were very generous. The bread and fries were very good. The burger was, well, a little mushy, but it was still good. Tomorrow if I can swing it, I'd like to try the salmon. But it's pretty expensive. We'll see.

Park Grill with Cloud Gateway ('The Bean') behind it, and a skating rink in front

When I got in this afternoon, I called a friend to let him know I'd arrived at my destination, and then I tried to nap for a little while before meeting one of the other librarians to walk to the restaurant, but I couldn't stop my mind racing or relax. I finally put on some Loreena McKennitt, which helped, and then took a shower, and decided to work on the computer, but I was having some trouble with the hotel's Wi-Fi. Apparently the equipment is in the centre of each floor, and where I am, a corner room, things don't receive as well. There's always the second floor, which has a lot more connectivity (it's a meeting room/lounge area, apparently). I'm on the 20th floor. But I'm back on now, and doing much better, even though I only have three bars on the Wi-Fi. At least it is connecting to web pages and not trying to give me simplified text instead. :)

I'm staying at a hotel on the Chicago River, and as you can see, the view from my room is, at least on one side--I have two windows due to being on a corner--taken up mostly with the Trump Tower. It's a nice room, a little small, but utilitarian (the hotel caters to business travellers), with a queen bed, a bathroom with a shower, a desk for working on, a chair and light for reading, and a closet and bedside tables--not bad for the space.

Tomorrow the plan is to get up early, take the bus to the Museum Campus, and go to the Field Museum, getting there right as they open. I also noticed on the walk over that my bank is about two blocks away, so I may go and get some more cash for the day first. I know where to catch the bus; I saw the right bus at a stop as I rolled my bag up to the hotel. I must have been a sight--a rolling carry-on bag in hand, a laptop bag on one shoulder across the chest, a purse on the other side (also across the chest), and a CPAP bag on my shoulder. That's one reason I was so hot and sweaty when I got here, and had to take a shower--it's in the high 40s, maybe even low 50s here, or was today, and my fleece jacket, although lightweight, was more than enough. It was good for tonight, where there was a breeze and it was a little cooler. But this afternoon, if I had had another arm, I'd have had it off. Still, I think it was a good choice to bring that jacket and not a heavier or lighter one.

Okay, since there's a nice sitting chair and reading lamp in here, I think I'll try reading a bit on my Kindle before I turn in. It's almost 10 pm Chicago time, which means for me it feels like it's almost 11 pm. So I'll probably go to sleep fairly soon. Good night.

Given that I'm travelling to Chicago in a few weeks

This definitely caught my eye:

Blue Line derailment injures 32, train hits escalator at O'Hare

The operator reported to work at 8:40 p.m. Sunday. The 200-ton, eight-car train derailed at about 2:50 a.m. Monday. Blue Line run 141 hit with such speed and force that the lead car lifted at least three feet to the platform level while ripping out a bumping post, sheering off the front wheel carriage and flying almost to the top of the O'Hare station escalator.

"All the lights went out on the train. Lots of screaming. I knew something wasn't right," Dion Stokes, passenger, said.

A police officer and traveler saw the train coming and darted out of the way seconds before impact.

Indications are the operator, who was very tired, may have fallen asleep at the controls--she had done a lot of overtime recently. Thankfully injuries were not severe, no one died, and it happened in the wee hours of the morning, not rush hour. But I've been on that escalator before and it's unnerving to see a train on top of it. I'll be flying in and out of O'Hare, too. :) Scary.