Speak Loudly, I Am In Suwanee Today

It’s a full day of training for me today. I am currently in a far away land known as Suwanee. Yikes!

Chicago On $200 A Day?
When I first decided to go to Chicago a few months ago I considered to be an inexpensive alternative to going “across the pond” for the first time. It’s Chicago, midwest living, how expensive could it be? The answer is “very expensive.”

While I was able to convert SkyMiles for my flight, I don’t have the same luxury for a hotel room. If you’ve been reading my blog since my trip to Manhattan last year you know that I usually travel solo (and don’t like to, which is why I travel infrequently) and don’t require a stay in the Four Seasons to have a pleasant stay. Let me re-introduce you to the Shoilet that was in the Hotel Thirty Thirty that I stayed at last year.

Shoilet
(click through to get a better look — if you dare)

For the last two weeks I’ve been searching for a Chicago hotel that is

  • in Chicago
  • not a complete shithole
  • costs less than $150/night before taxes, fees, etc

It’s been very hard to find such a room. Even at $150/night my four-night stay will wind up costing my $800 (once you add in all the taxes, etc) for the hotel room alone! Tack on food, beer, and other entertainment expenses I’m looking at a Chicago trip which costs nearly the same as a new computer.

I am really having a hard time rationalizing this and am thinking about bagging the trip completely.

Any BellSouth DSL Customers Out There?
I’m considering switching DSL providers. My connection is okay, but not stellar especially for what I am paying. I admit to not being a big fan of BellSouth because I think that I am paying a lot for minimal land-line phone services (which I cannot drop), but I am willing to consider them as an option if I get enough rave reviews.

Back On The Live Music Circuit
Tonight I’ll be back at The EARL, this time to see Pretty Girls Make Graves. I don’t know much about the band, but since I am only working a partial day tomorrow I am willing to investigate on a School Night.

What A Bunch Of Flags!
SKIP NOW if you didn’t watch last night.

While I was somewhat unimpressed with the grand finale of The Amazing Race I was pleased to see the Hippies win it all. There was just something about the Frat Boys that bugged the shit out of me.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood – in pain, I have a pinched nerve in my neck
Current Music – nothing today
Website Of The Day – Seek inner peace by checking out the origami art of Richard Sweeney.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I’ve picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as “blogged.”

Exercise (b)Log – nothing (a-gain)

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

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10 Responses to Speak Loudly, I Am In Suwanee Today

  1. UFO says:

    This post has been removed by a blog administrator.

  2. k1ng says:

    Any luck using priceline + BiddingForTravel or a similar service?

  3. Paulie says:

    I’ve never had luck with those, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try again.

  4. Anonymous says:

    This has nothing to do with what you just wrote about, but I went to The Funny Farm last night and heard the best line for you ITP people. It was a black guy talking about Atlanta, & why he loves this city. He said (and I paraphrase, I was drinking) “285 is the best interstate ever, it is Kryptonite for rednecks, if they do cross inside, they have to leave all most immediately” It went on from there, but you get the point. All I could think of was “I wish Paulie was here for this”. It was an open mic night thing, but all were quite funny. And then, Ron White was the featured act – 20 minutes of his stuff for $10. Not a bad deal.
    Barb

  5. Anonymous says:

    I have Bellsouth DSL Lite at home and I’m very happy with it. I use a wireless router, which I would think slows it down. But it’s faster than my work connection 🙂
    …sarah

  6. Amity says:

    Very, very happy for the hippies. I was scared for a minute when the frat boys were so far ahead and seemed to be doing well with the flags at first. I’m glad t-tow came through in the end. And I loved the whole “Tyler speaks Japanese” thing. That was awesome.
    I have BellSouth DSL and I’ve really never had any problems with it. But, you’re more computer saavy than me, so I don’t know how my opinion really stacks up.

  7. Eunuch says:

    Just accept staying out further and take the L into town. You’ve always got the opportunity to stay at Midway or O’Hare, but staying out further (Like Milwalkee!) and it’s cheaper. OK, my two cents…and you know I’m never against giving it.

    Anyway, sorry it’s been so long since I’ve visited…

  8. Anonymous says:

    Found your site a while back – been lurking for a while.

    Chicago… try the Congress Plaza Hotel on Michigan Ave. It is big and old, long winding hallways and outdated but clean (and big) rooms. Sort of like staying in an old relatives house who hasnt updated anything since 1950. But for the location and price it’s a decent place to stay. Think I paid $129 before tax off their website last spring. Also try 180096hotel.com for good prices.

    Libby

  9. Paulie says:

    Thanks Libby, I will certainly look into staying there.

  10. Nicola Russell says:

    hi Paulie,
    for my two cents, i HATED bell south and switched back to comcast cable modem after only a few weeks. they are the worst ever to deal with, have to come to your house and make you wait hours, never have answers, and the service went out all the time. not impressed!
    hope your neck is feeling better- best of luck at the twisted ankle! give Bets a hug at the end for me. you’ll have earned a week’s worth of ‘calorie-free’ beer after that run!
    Nic

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