Monday, May 16, 2005

The first Chicago story I'm able to share

First - I'll tell you that starting Wednesday night, I was sick, so I was lethargic and, for the most part, no fun, but I wasn't going to miss my trip...

So, Friday we get in, check into our teeny tiny hotel room (Imagine an airline bathroom... but smaller) and then we walk down and get pizza (we were a little disappointed that it was thin crust, but it was still pretty good) then we went out to a punk bar that Trish had read about on the internet, there was loud music, angry decorations, extremely cool chick bartenders and copious amounts of alcohol (and that's all I have to blog about that).

We get back to our miniature dorm room at about 2:00 (Did you know that Chicago bars can stay open until 4AM on Fridays and 5AM on Saturdays? WTF? Who needs to be drinking until 5AM?) and Jen has set up a little nest on the floor at the foot of one of the elfin twin beds using several blankets, pillows and the comforters of the beds and Trish grabs the extra blanket and crawls into the bed by the window and I start to unmake my bed and notice that there's no blanket, just a sheet - "No problem," I tell the girls, "I'll just head down to the guest supply closet thingy and grab a blanket."

So, I head into the labyrinth of a hallway (in my pajamas, by the way) and wander around for at least half an hour going between 2 guest request closets and a couple of open housekeeping supply closets and there are no blankets, bath towels, pillows or anything else that looks like I can use it to keep warm. Then, on my third lap of the hallway, I find a big laundry bin full of clean linens.

"A-ha," I say to myself (because I'd gotten an idea, not because I just freaking love the band that sang "Take on me"). "I could just take some sheets and keep warm that way. Layering, it works for Old Navy t-shirts, it can work for my little bed" (please note, I may or may not have said those actual words, I'd had an awful lot to drink)

So I grabbed an armful of sheets and stumbled back to Casa De Girls. I settled down in my bed under the single sheet and then lean over to unfold one of the other sheets to begin the layering process. Much to my chagrin, I find that I've grabbed, not a sheet, but a pillowcase. Much to my dismay, I find that EVERY OTHER PIECE OF LINEN THAT I HAD GRABBED WAS ALSO A PILLOWCASE.

Fortunately for me (I guess), I don't drink much, so the three Harp Ales, Jagermeister shot, some fruity shot called a Redheaded Slut, an Irish Car Bomb shot thing and at least half of someone's Pabst Blue Ribbon kept me warm enough... or passed out enough... whatever...