They want to make sure you know your stuff. Especially your ERD’s!
Every time I fly to Philly, I get the song “Philadelphia Freedom” stuck in my head. When I take taxis or trains through the city, I internally sing “The Streets of Philadelphia.” This does not happen to me in New York or Chicago (about which Sinatra sings quite well) and even in Vegas, the song that gets stuck in my head is Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer,” not Elvis’ “Viva Las Vegas.”
Coincidentally, when I’m in Tampa, the song in my head is “It’s 5:00 Somewhere.” I should be careful about getting a job there if I’m *not* a bartender.
ANYWAY, the five of us from Muppetville traveled together and flew in uneventfully. Being lucky as I always am in all things hotel-related, I threw the curtains open in my beautiful corner suite and immediately saw the Devil building. Have you seen the movie “Devil?” It’s a thriller…but it’s not an “Exorcist” type of flick; it’s more along the lines of forgiveness and redemption (with a wacky ending thrown in for good measure). But it takes place in the 50+ story, glass skyscraper located in downtown Philly.
So when I opened my curtains and saw the Devil building staring at me (the plate glass rectangle one), I should have run:
This was my view from the *other* window:
Our group went to dinner in the early evening. We had plans to try Fork, but unable to get a reservation, we had to slum it at Ruth Chris. It was my first time at Ruth’s and it wasn’t that impressive. The steaks are great, yes. Half of it is that the meat is a high quality. But the other half is a sheer genius grilling ability. And Jack always grills that well. So pardon my unsophisticated taste buds, for I could not tell much difference between the $48 filet mignon at Ruth’s and Jack’s $10 filet that he bought me from Jewel and grilled himself.
So after painfully digesting the richest steak I’ve eaten in months, I finally retired to bed in my gorgeous hotel room around 11 p.m.
…to be woken up at 11:38 by someone trying to get into my room. I shooed them away.
…then I was woken up again at 12:42 by someone ELSE trying to get into my room. I shooed them away and threatened to call the cops.
…then I woke up a few times to eat a couple more TUMS at 1 and 2 a.m.
…THEN the hotel’s fire alarm went off at 3:49 for 20 agonizing minutes. I thought I was living in a nightmare or worse, that it was a practical joke and I was the only one being kept awake by the screaming sirens.
No, I didn’t evacuate. I didn’t smell smoke and I sure as heck wasn’t leaving my sanctuary with all the scary people out there trying to get into my room!
Regardless, I slept about 55 minutes the entire night and arrived nice *and* rested to my ethics exams.
The ethics exams went well. We had two three different oral exams and I am happy to report that I passed them (per my proctor). I do not have my final grades yet, but as soon as I finish my last 20-page paper, my ethics training will be complete.
Hurray! I'm free from Philly!
[Cue internal soundtrack: "Philadelphia Freedom!"]
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