Things have been disappearing on me today.
I lost the parking stub for my car, which is stowed at an LAX offsite lot.
I lost the hat I got at H&M yesterday, on the plane, when it somehow vanished into another dimension.
I lost the belt off my almost-new grey wool winter coat, when one of the belt loops broke and it fell off. It may be in a taxi; it may be somewhere in PHL. I have no idea.
On the bright side, I did NOT lose my wallet, or a cell phone, or my ID. And I’m here, in Philadelphia, despite the snowpocalypse. And I’m staying at the Hotel Palomar Philadelphia, which was a shockingly low price for being the sort of boutique hotel where they give you a hand written welcome note upon arrival. The room I’m in is New York City tiny, but filled with eclectic pieces, a comfy desk chair, and a king bed with high thread count linens. I don’t expect to be seeing much of it, since the next few days of the ePharma summit I’m attending look somewhat…busy.
And I even managed to get an actual healthy dinner, by going to Su Xing house down the block. I sometimes abandon all hope of eating fresh fruit and vegetables while on business trips. I do not count the leached-of-nutrients iceberg lettuce in the to-go salads I end up eating most of the time on the road. And I was dreadfully hungry by the time I got in tonight, since I hadn’t really had lunch. By the time I realized I was hungry this afternoon, I was already mid-flight, where the only options were the horrible crap US Air sells on board. So I Yelped the area around the hotel, found a highly rated nearby restaurant for take-out, and called in an order. Half an hour after checking in, I was back in my room with my hot and sour soup, and a dish of mushrooms, soy protein and spinach in garlic sauce. Nutrition wise, my needs are well-met, and the only thing I could wish for would be a cup of tea (the Hilton I stayed in last month in Texas had herbal tea readily available in the club lounge on my floor). I know some business owners hate it, but I love Yelp…it’s the only way I can find something decent to eat when I land in a strange-ish city at 8pm on a Sunday. I use the Android app, filter by “Open Now”, narrow down the map to within a few blocks of my hotel…and voila.
But when I went out to get dinner, it was almost post-apocalyptic. I know Philadelphia’s Center City area fairly well, since this is where the hotels and restaurants I usually go to when I’m in town are located. And even on a Sunday, there are a few cars and people on the streets. But this was an eerily quiet night. I feel totally safe here, because I’m near Rittenhouse Square, and I know this is a more well to do area, so the quiet didn’t cause me any trepidation as I hopped over snowbanks and gingerly made my way through icy patches. In fact, it was actually rather peaceful outside…but still a bit reassuring to see people out at a nearby bar, cheering for the Superbowl.
It’s time to wrap up the deck I’m working on and get some sleep now. Oh, and take some extra vitamin C so I don’t get whatever was going around the plane. Yay, winter travel!
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