Wicked Chicago

Monday June 25, 2007
The alarm went off earlier than usual as I had to leave for Lafayette at 4:30 A.M. I made the trip easily arriving in Lafayette with plenty of time for security and check-in before my 6:40 AM flight to Dallas. From Dallas, I flew to Chicago’s O’Hare airport arriving at 12:25 PM. I quickly caught a taxi to Evanston because the training started at 1PM. I was immediately surprised because it was extremely hot in Chicago and the taxi had no AC. Why would anyone put up with the snow during the winter if you still had hot weather in the summer? So much for my anticipation of a cool week!
I had no trouble finding the training building in Evanston, and I was greeted by a friend I had previously met in Dallas. Someone was speaking so I quickly found my table. The first afternoon session lasted until 4:30 and covered the history and foundation of the program, and Toby also modeled the introduction part of the training. We were free for the evening. Evanston is about 30 minutes north of Chicago. The downtown area consists of four major streets with a wide variety of restaurants, shops, spas, a large movie theater, several Starbucks, and professional buildings all within walking distance. Both the Metra system and the “EL” subway system have stations on the corner. I checked in at the Hilton Garden Inn, dropped off my bags, walked to the bookstore, checked out the movie theater, and browsed in a few shops before deciding on Chili’s To Go for dinner. I ordered my favorite Margarita Chicken and took it to the room for supper. While waiting at Chili’s, I read the paper and saw that Wicked was playing in Chicago. I checked with Ticketmaster online and found one seat on the third row center for Wednesday night. I was so excited. Of course, I would have to figure out how I was going to get to Chicago and back, and I hoped that I didn’t have any homework from the training that I would have to do. But who cares, I am going to see Wicked!

Tuesday, June 26, 2007
I love this training schedule – breakfast at 8:30 with training beginning at 9 AM. I actually slept late considering the alarm usually blares at 6 AM. Both breakfast and lunch were provided for us each day. The food was fabulous and varied daily. Another trainer manager joined us today. She is the one who interviewed me for the training. She had just spent last week in Kentucky with my sister for trainings. I already feel a great fit with this group. Five of the participants also got tickets for Wicked for Wednesday night so we are all planning to take the “EL” into Chicago. Most of the day focused on the software, which was interesting and easy. Training ended at 4:30. A participant from Florida and I decided to walk around and look for dinner ideas. We decided on Viva le Crepe. It was a fantastic decision. I had Ratatouille Crepe with zucchini, tomatoes, broccoli, and herbs in a red sauce over the crepes. It was delicious. At home, we would probably have it with pasta, but with the crepe it was just the right amount and didn’t make me feel stuffed. So for dessert I had the fresh fruit crepe – blueberries, strawberries and raspberries on a warm crepe with liquor sauce. My friend had a Spinach and Ricotta crepe and a raspberry sorbet crepe. We were proud of ourselves for trying something different and having such a wonderful meal. Afterwards, we had a nice stroll back to our hotel where we prepared for presentations tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Wicked! I cannot wait for tonight. Luckily the training went rather quickly today as we had breakout sessions for practice, and then presentations for most of the day. This is been great fun for me. All of the information for the program has come so easily to me. I already feel confident that I could do this training. This is a better fit for me than the previous professional development program I trained with earlier in the year. I am lucky that if I hear something and take notes on it, I pretty much know it. In addition, if I like the product, it’s so much easier to remember and process. I love and believe in the program – that makes such a difference. I cannot wait to practice on Sara. She will love it as she always wants to play games on the computer. She is going to devour it. It will also give me some practical experience with the materials. My presentation went well, and training ended at 4:30. The “Wicked Women” met in the lobby at 5:15 to ride the EL to Chicago. It was just like on ER, but I didn’t see any cute doctors on the platform. The ride to the theater district took about 40 minutes. It must be so convenient to have a transportation system like that. The cab ride would have cost $35.00 each way. Riding the EL cost $2.00! New Orleans should build an elevated system like Chicago to alleviate its traffic problems as they rebuild. We found the theater rather easily, and then ate a Chicago Dog at America’s dogs. It was a hot dog with relish, tomatoes, mustard, mayo and onions. Finally, it was time for the show to start. My seat was perfect; I could not have chosen a better seat. The play was amazing. My cheeks hurt from having this big mesmerized smile on my face for three hours! Having known all of the words to the songs but never seeing the play made it surreal to see the performance and how the scenes fit together to tell the story. I called my godchild during the play to let her listen to two of the songs. When it was over, I just wanted to Tivo it and start all over again. I cannot wait to see it again. Now when I listen to the songs, I can picture the scene vividly. The way home was an adventure because we had to make a transfer to a different line. But everyone was very friendly and helped us get on the right train. We were back at the hotel for midnight. This trip was a success, no matter what happens now.