Just had to share this with you. Today, after getting completely lost on the metro rail system here, I grabbed some lunch at one of the sandwich bars here. Guess what you can have as an accompaniment to your breakfast at this particular shop?? Fresh hot muffin tops!!!! I am NOT kidding. I had to read the sign three times to make sure it wasn't just sheer tiredness kicking in, but there it was. It made it really hard to order lunch with a straight face and the guy behind the counter wanted to know what was so funny, so I told him what this might mean in Australia. He was a bit bemused until a girl walked past, very conveniently giving a live demo of a "muffin top" (INSANE considering it was so cold today) and he had a good laugh too. Wouldn't let me take a photo of the sign though - bum. Will try to take a covert one in the next day or so.
Jet lag has kicked in big time and I have only just got through the last few days. Conference starts tomorrow, so I am hoping I won't be the person who is falling asleep and making "snork" noises when my head falls back during the opening address. I have had to move hotel rooms and I have swapped my lovely river view for a view of the central courtyard of the hotel. I can look straight down to see who is having a swim in the pool (indoors but with a glass roof) and I can let you know that the guy across the air shaft from me DOES NOT shut his curtains when getting dressed. You know, if you want to perv on people in the nick noo nar, that's fine, but being turned into an inadvertent voyeur is not what I would call a fun experience. Nearly spat my morning coffee into my room heating unit, which would have taken some explaining.
Lastly, a few words of praise for Chicago. Before I left, people told me that I might find Americans a bit rude etc. So far, everyone has been pretty nice and some people have gone out of their way to help me out. I am not including the people I blogged about before, but 17 long island iced teas and 3 bottles of Moet tend not to bring out the best in people, so I am willing to write that off as an interesting experience. Anyway, the staff at a place called Spa Space have been lifesavers, fitting me in for a massage when my shoulder locked up so badly I couldn't stand up straight. Also, the staff at my hotel are really nice and have been able to help me out, especially when my watch got caught up in some towels and nearly got washed. The guys in the laundry room went through 16 bags of linen to find it when they could have just left it, so thanks chaps! I have got used to the tipping thing here now as well - minimum wages here are CRAP. An ADULT is lucky if on minimum wage they make $7 an hour, so tipping makes a big difference to their take home pay, but here's a catch - some of them get TAXED on the amount of tips they MIGHT make in a shift, no matter what they actually get. I learned all of this from the head of the restaurant here, as it was a pretty quiet night and we got chatting. She said this hotel was ok as far as salaries go, but some of the others are pretty stingy. Her daughter was working in a coffee shop at one stage for $4.00 an hour. Makes me glad I am a public servant in Australia. Anyway, down off my social outrage soapbox. If you are interested though, Morgan Spurlock (of Supersize me fame) did a documentary (part of the series "30 Days") where he and his fiance had to live on the minimum wage for a month in Ohio. It is worth a look.
I am going to sign off now and draw my curtains, as the nudie guy has just switched his lights on (literally, not figuratively. Don't be rude). I am also going to try and tame my hair a bit - I spent the day walking around outside and it is VERY cold and windy here, so I had my beanie and scarf on. Every time you go into a building here, it is super heated, so I was taking my beanie on and off a fair bit. In the end I built up enough of a static charge to zap someone clean across the room if I shook hands (have been careful to "earth" myself before this happens) and my hair is starting to get that "windswept and interesting" look. DO not want to be mistaken for Yahoo Serious, although it could get me a free drink.
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