Thursday (UPDATED)

Greetings from Day 2 in The Windy City.  The pic is just to break the monotony of text.  I'm going to take a walk at lunch along the lake to get a couple more shots for the portfolio.

"Hey" to 3 who is on the road back to NYC after three days in Richmond.  From her Twitter entries this AM, it sounds like she's ready to be home.

The Walgreens wine selection last night was pretty limited.  They had about four bottles above $10.  I had to choose from a Da Vinci chianti or a Menage a Trois California red. I elected the latter and was surprised at the cash register when it rang up at $9.99!  What a deal.  I had a couple of glasses (or should I say plastics?) in the room while I watched the Twinkies-Yanks.  It was by far not the worst bottle I've sampled in my time.  I figured my cost of the bottle might have given me a single glass of the house cab at The Capital Grille located next to my hotel.

Too bad about the Twins.  They seem to find a way to lose against NY.  Today's game is their season.

It was about a 15 minute walk to the Fairmont from my hotel.  And I was out a little last night to pick up a few things.  The streets of Chicago have not changed much over the last four decades.  Tourists.  Beautiful people on Michigan Avenue.  Business people on the commute.  Bums and the homeless.  But, except for the latter groups, everyone now has an iPod, cell phone or camera. And they're using these techie items all of the time.

I'm wondering if seminars like this should request that session participants refrain from the use of mobile devices during presentations?  Like schools.  I know I am constantly checking my phone during the program.

More later.

Now Later....

I took a couple of pics in Millennium Park at lunch, but Blogger has been slow to upload.  So maybe I'll try to put them up later today.  (Now done!)

I also had a "Chicago Dog" in the park for lunch.  Four bucks.  But no mustard available.  (Say what?  No mustard?)  I declined the 16 ounce water for $3.25.  Sure felt like the ballpark.

The lunch presented at the conference could not be identified, even with the placement card on the buffet table.  It was a wrap.  But the innards were green, creamy, chunky and mysterious.  I passed.  Not cookie either.  What a crock.

I noticed on my walk that the Aon Building (formerly the Amoco Building and once, the Standard Oil Building), is now owned by a real estate investment trust (REIT), shares of which I have sold to several clients.  Understand that a diversified REIT usually holds dozens, if not hundreds, of properties with geographical dispersion.  So the Aon Building is just one of many of the trusts' holdings.  But whatever, I hadn't realized that I had clients with a piece of the C-town lake front.  (And didn't SRH work there a few life times ago?)  Kind of interesting how small the world is.


BCOT