It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

We've been just a tiny bit busy over the past few days since Thanksgiving, so haven't decorated for Christmas yet.  I'd sort of almost forgotten that the Christmas season is fully underway, but I was reminded for sure by my travels yesterday and today, as the airports are all decked out, and now tonight here in Chicago, many of the streets have the trees lit up.  Here are some of the many trees I passed on my way to dinner that proved that the city of Chicago is not afraid of paying a hefty electrical bill in the name of keeping everyone in the Christmas spirit.

Quarterly Meeting

Our regional sales team has quarterly meetings to go over the past quarter, plan sales strategy for the upcoming quarter, etc.  We're starting first thing in the morning, so those of us who aren't local to Chicago had to fly in tonight.  Some of the local team were available for dinner, so we met at a local restaurant.  Fortunately the weather is still nice, so we were able to eat outside.

Mixing Soccer with Business

I've been going to Chicago quite often lately with my job.  We are working with one customer in particular recently, and one of the guys there mentioned he plays pick-up soccer.  I asked more about it, and he gave me details and said I'm welcome to play any time I'm in town when they're playing (which is twice a week, Tuesday night and Thursday night).  Today I had to fly to Chicago for a morning meeting, and then I have to stay overnight for a meeting tomorrow, leaving me with a free evening.  Because I love playing soccer so much, I wasn't going to miss the opportunity.  I had packed all my gear in my carry-on, and I met up with them earlier this evening, playing for about 90 minutes.  It was a ton of fun, and I'm looking forward to doing it again at my next opportunity.

Potbelly

I've been in Chicago each of the past three weeks, so I've had several opportunities to eat out while there.  One place that my sales rep introduced me to a few months ago is Potbelly.  It quickly became one of my favorite places to eat, as it had many delicious yet moderately healthy options, and the restaurants all have pleasant ambiances.  I've tried several things, and I've really liked every one of them.  At this point I actively seek it out as a place to go if I have time to drive somewhere for lunch.  Sadly, they are mostly in the Great Lakes region and a few other states, so there are none yet in Kansas, but I'm hoping that changes in the future.

Dubya

I've mentioned before how I love the W hotels, and I was fortunate enough to get to stay in one again tonight while in Chicago.  There are two in downtown Chicago, so sometimes one is in a better location than the other depending on where I need to be the next day.  I have a couple more trips to Chicago over the next few weeks, so hopefully I can stay at a W again soon.

Yet Another Reason It's Better Than O'Hare

Even though I just returned from a long trip, I found out today that I needed to fly out again tonight, this time to Chicago.  Because I was flying Southwest Airlines, I flew into Midway.  I had wondered in the past if it was named after the Battle of Midway, but I never knew for sure.  After I landed tonight, I stumbled across a fairly cool memorial to the battle, confirming the connection between the airport name and the World War II battle.  It was fairly well done, complete with a Douglass SBD Dauntless/A-24 Banshee dive bomber hanging above the concourse.  I spent some time reviewing the various exhibits, and it really helped to me get a better understanding of the battle.

Both an Aisle and a Window

The good thing about flying in and out of Kansas City is that usually you don't have to deal with giant overcrowded planes.  Today I flew to Chicago, and there were only 14 people on the plane.  It was a small plane with one seat on one side of the aisle and two seats on the other.  I always like these little planes, because I can get the row to myself, with the ability to look out the window (or lean against it to rest or sleep) without having someone pushing up against me from the other side.  Here I am in my own personal one-seat row for this flight.

Something about two horn blasts means evacuate, or something

Today I went to visit one of our customers, Ford. Normally I visit them at their nice headquarters in Detroit, but this visit was to a team that works out of one of their plants just outside of Chicago. Unlike most of our visits, this was as blue-collar as it gets, so it had a completely different vibe. Before entering the facility, I was required to watch a five minute safety video, so here I am meeting that requirement.

Presenting

This week I'm traveling for work doing some presentations.  When I was in high school or even in college, I could never imagine being comfortable presenting and speaking in front of a large audience, but at this point I have no qualms about it at all and am never nervous about it.  Since I have to do it for my job, I guess it's a good thing that I was able to learn to be comfortable with it.

Blues Brothers

While in Midway airport in Chicago, I ran across a statue of the Blues Brothers.  Although the movie was a little before my time, I certainly know who they are, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a photo.

What'chu Talkin' 'Bout?

While walking in downtown Chicago to my hotel today, I passed a tall building. I looked up and noticed that it extended into the fog and that it was quite a bit taller than the rest of the buildings around it. I then noticed the sign on it and realized I was standing in front of the Sears Tower, though it's actually no longer called that, as it was renamed to Willis Tower in 2009. I snapped this photo with my phone. Not surprisingly, since it was the tallest building on the planet for a couple decades, I couldn't get the entire building in the picture.

End of a Long Week

Usually I look forward to Friday nights as the end of the week and a time that I can spend with my family.  Tonight, though, my Friday night is being spent at a Chili's Too (the mini version of regular Chili's) in O'Hare airport in Chicago.  Because I had to work five full days here, I'm having to take a late flight home tonight.  I look forward to spending the weekend at home before heading back here on Monday. 

W

I'm in Chicago all this week for work.  Fortunately, I've been able to stay in a nice hotel.  I love the Starwood brands (W, Westin, Aloft, Sheraton, Element, etc.), and I try to stay in their hotels since they are all part of the same network, so I can get Starwood points by staying in any of them.  The W hotels are my favorite, as I really like their upscale and trendy feel, but usually they cost more than I'm comfortable expensing to my company.  This week, however, the nightly rate was very reasonable, so I booked it for all four nights I'm here.  It's not fun to be gone all week, but at least I get to stay in a hotel that I really like.

A Successful First Day

I'm in Chicago this week doing a Proof of Concept with a coworker for a prospective customer.  Today we had a very difficult task to accomplish which was critical to the success of this POC.  We nailed it, so we're off to a great start for the week.  To celebrate, and to reward us for working on a company holiday, our VP (and his daughter) took us out to eat.