More sights from Chicago

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I was sooo tired last night that I didn't even eat dinner until 10 pm and then it was only a McDonalds fish sandwich. Wednesday started out with opening ceremonies at the Chicago auditorium. Here is a link to the auditorium if you want to look around, but for the others, the picture to the right is a quick snapshot.

The highlight of the ceremonies was when artist Michael Israel performed for us. Oh my... click here to watch a you tube video of his work. He made a copy of the picture in the video for us live along with three others; John Lennon, Oprah and the Statue of Liberty. He is amazing to see in person. When the ceremonies were over, we walked back to the hotel and Chuck and I went to lunch. I still had some time left and we discovered that the Sears tower was really only a couple of blocks from the hotel in a new direction so off we went. The elevator is sooo fast, we traveled 99 stories in under one minute. Here are two views that Chuck took:

We spent some time looking at all four directions, but apparantly the photographer didn't keep up with me:) So now we can say we went in the tallest building in Chicago. I went back to my classes for the afternoon and Chuck discovered the library. It has 9 stories and a crystal atrium on the top that you can rent out for private parties.

Today began with our keynote speaker Jeffrey Taylor, the creator of Monster.com. He was really very interesting to listen to. I think he even had a few people ready to start a new website of their own by the time we left the room. The days classes were regular clerk stuff, how to respond to public record requests for emails and automated agendas. Yee haw. Once they were over, I met up with Chuck and we walked to the Chicago Art Institute/museum. Admission was free all week as they were celebrating the opening of their newest wing - The Modern Art Wing. Some of it made us scratch our heads and think...what were they thinking? I forget his name, but he had white drywall with screws and a metal strip to separate the drywall. They gave him a whole room for his work! Then there was a room that was wallpapered. On the wallpaper were images of a window and a man hanging. In the middle of the room was a wedding dress on a wire dress form. Around the room on the floor there were bags of kitty litter. The female artist wanted to portray the stench of death and something else that I can't quite remember and don't really want to. If you click the picture below, it should get a bit bigger.

Here is a collage of the pictures that we did like, starting at the top left, Andy Worhal, Jackson Pollack, Edward Hopper bottom left: Vincent Van Gogh, Tiffanys, Claude Monet. Finally we went into the miniature exhibit. Talk about details. These rooms were like doll houses. One side of the room had American room displays and the other side had European room displays. This display is only two feet tall by maybe three feet wide. By the time we left the musuem it was after 7 and I was starved. We went to Millers Pub for dinner. They are famous for their ribs, so that is what I had. I think they lived up to their name. The meat just fell off the bone. There were quite a few people in the pub, but the mood was a bit somber. On the tv screens, the Chicago Cubs were playing the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs were down 3-0 in the 5th inning when we left. Tomorrow night, we might venture on the EL and go to Chinatown. Oh, I do have to mention our new neighbors that arrived last night. It was around 11:00 and I was laying in bed. Suddenly very loud jazz music came from the room next to us (behind the headboard). I looked at Chuck and he said, well it is nice to listen to. Then the loud voices started...it appears we have quite a few gay men in the hotel for some convention and the hospitality suite was next door. I somehow fell asleep to the music. Tonight, as we were getting into the elevator after dinner, a swarm came into the lobby with their Macy bags. They got off the elevator with us and we are now surrounded on the 12th floor. As I am typing this, I can hear them talk through the paper thin walls and they are critiquing each other on their new outfits! Chuck and I are in tears as we are laughing our butts off. Til tomorrow....