June 17 - United States: Chicago, Illinois

Jon and I woke up this morning to go for runs, but instead woke up feeling very ill.  We both had swollen glands, were achy and sniffling and all-around icky.  Jon said that he figured that something like this would happen.  This past week was jam packed with activity and little sleep, and the night before last was really tiring.  He said that this was to be expected.  So we spent the day - my one and only day in Chicago - in bed.  We just couldn't motivate ourselves to go out and do anything cultural.

And it was a good day to lay around too.  The day was overcast and rainy, so it wasn't difficult to convince ourselves that our time would be better spent inside.

So sad.

For dinner, we actually did motivate outside though.  My friend Eddie Barker is in town on a consulting contract.  Eddie married my former roommate and bridesmaid, Yoon.  He also, ironically, went to NYU Stern School of Business and is working for my soon-to-be employer, AT Kearney.  Actually, Eddie is one of the many reasons I decided to accept the job with ATK.  So it was nice to be able to see him and hang out.

The Chicago Skyline

We met him "downtown" at a cool restaurant called Mas (www.masrestaurant.com).  We had a great time at dinner and spent most of the time talking about our trip, Yoon, and Eddie's project.  We also learned a lot about the status of the consulting industry and the state of the company I'm going to work for.  ATK told me, after they last postponed my start date from July to some nebulous "soon", that I could find another employer and they wouldn't penalize me for the signing bonus I spent a year and a half ago.  But I don't want to find another job.  I want to work for AT Kearney!  And spending the evening with Eddie reminded me why this is.  I want to work with intelligent, motivated people.  I want to work on interesting projects that will change every few months.  I'm ready for this.  And Jon and I both agreed after dinner that we're ready to return to the real world and to concentrate on our careers again.

Now, if only we could find a way to do that!