72 Hours In Chicago

Hey there, hi there, ho there! Just a quick update today, as my parents are in town. I'm super excited for a week of being a tourist and eating my mom's cooking and letting my dad take care of my car! (What? When your parents offer to parent, you don't say no.)

Anyway, now that I've been at my job for over a month (omg?!), it's probably time for me to give a few details. Well, I've hopped departments at the USOC and am now doing communications, development and admin duties for SafeSport. It's hugely different than anything I've ever done before, but my boss is really cool (and, like, crazy smart) and it's an opportunity to learn a whole heck of a lot and get out of my comfort zone. And this past week, it also gave me the chance to go to Olympic Assembly!

Assembly is basically a way to keep everybody in the U.S. Olympic family on the same page. There are all sorts of awards given out, and events and panels and such. I wasn't there for any of the really fun stuff (unless you consider insurance and legal stuff to be fun, in which case, power to ya!), but it was so cool to be there and see all these really important people and just sort of be a part of it all.

It also happened to be held in Chicago! If you follow me on Twitter, you'll have been made aware that not only did my hotel room have two beds, but it also had two closets and two bathrooms. And I didn't have a roommate. I didn't know what to do with myself in all that space. Wondering which bathroom you should shower in was an entirely new experience.

The view from my room wasn't too shabby, either.

This is sunrise, not sunset. Work trips are no joke!

Before I took the L to the airport on my last day, I had a lot of extra time. So, instead of killing a few hours by myself in the hotel or the airport, I decided to walk a few blocks down the road and see the Bean!

Guys, can we discuss how GREAT it was to be in a real city again?! I didn't realize how deprived I was until I just wanted to take public transportation and walk absolutely everywhere. I was literally giddy at the thought of walking a few blocks to dinner, and looking at the skyline, and spending an hour on the train... It's an issue. But it was wonderful. Also, I kind of really like Chicago!

And that's it from me for the moment. I have to go clean my bathroom so I can pretend I'm a real adult for the benefit of my parents.

Happy weekend! :)