Scared in the city

I had hoped to get together with one of my friends who lives here today, but it looks like I'll be seeing her Tuesday.  So, while the students did the architectural boat tour and other sightseeing, shopping, and dining excursions, I took myself to a movie this afternoon.  I intended to see A Serious Man, the new Cohen brothers film, but I got confused about the time and ended up seeing Paranormal Activity instead.  It is super scary, sort of along the lines of The Blair Witch Project.  The end was absolutely horrifying, so much so that I almost couldn't look and put my shawl over my head and peeked out from beneath the fringe.  It is unlikely I will sleep tonight and highly possible that I will never sleep again thanks to this deliciously frightening movie.

The students had a great time last night.  One attended a fashion show, a lot of them found cool restaurants, and some visited the House of Blues.  I, however, proved to myself and the students that I am officially a boring grown up.  While they enjoyed  Chicago's nightlife, I walked to Whole Foods and bought a salad and then came back to the hotel for a hot bath.  After my bath, I ate the salad, drank some orange/mango juice, read a little bit of Reading Lolita in Tehran, and fell asleep in front of the TV while I watched a documentary about Bob Dylan.

Our agency visits start tomorrow, so we'll all be up and running early in the a.m.  Hopefully, the students will log on and blog a bit about their impressions of the places we visit.

We're here!

We got to Chicago at about 11:00 this morning, and took the shuttle to our hotel. We're staying at the Hampton Inn Hotel and Suites on W. Illinois St. again this year, so we're pretty much in the thick of things downtown (and a mere three blocks away from Whole Foods!). Once we arrived, the hotel needed a bit more time to get our rooms ready before we could check in, so we all went to Rockit Bar & Grill, right around the corner on W. Hubbard St., and had a nice lunch. Jeff Epstein from the Chicago Portfolio School recommended Rockit to us the last time we visited, and it was just as yummy this time around. Note: the servers were incredibly wonderful to us, considering we laid an unexpected party of 21 on them as soon as they opened.

Now we're all checked in to the hotel, and people have gone their separate ways to explore the city. It's cold here!!!

Our agency visits begin on Monday. This year we'll be making stops at Novus Media (thank you, Karen King!), Draft FCB, Rise Interactive, Starcom, Leo Burnett, and Laughlin Constable.

Finally, today's most efficient flier award goes to Thomas Pulliam. The kid is amazing! He brought all his stuff in just one carry-on rolling bag, and the only thing he carried in his hands was his umbrella.

We leave in two days!

 The students and I depart early Saturday morning, really early Saturday morning.   I'm not sure what all the kids are up to at the moment, but I have begun to wrestle with the demon called "packing."   Do I need 15 or 16 pairs of shoes for a five day trip?  What books should I take on the plane?  And, most importantly, is there any way that one small rat terrier can be rolled up to fit snuggly and safely inside a suitcase?