PlazaJen: Passion Knit

We went to Omaha yesterday for a market trip - we have an awesome client up there, and we wanted to get into town & meet all the people we've been talking to on the phone for several months.

Rather than impose on our client's space, we decided to find an outside place to meet all these salespeople. At one point we thought maybe just parking ourselves in a Starbucks would work. But my boss said, no, go ahead & spend a hundred bucks & get a meeting room with beverage service, etc., it'll be better for everyone, including us. So I did. Went online, found what looked to be a very nice place, and when I called, they were very accommodating & inexpensive. So we booked the Nottingham room and started telling folks to meet us there & to wear their Robin Hood garb.

When we pulled up yesterday, it was all shades of the last business trip and the hotel was a castle. Except this hotel looked more abandoned and run down, and without all the castle-theming. But the surprise and oh-my-gosh factor was the same! To the hotel's credit, they were EXTREMELY nice. And our room had its own bathroom, though the fixtures had been removed from the tub, giving it a bit of a hard-times and on-the-run-in-Mexico flair. There was glitter confetti on the floor (in the bathroom), so something fun must've happened at some point. But all our reps were a little shocked, I think, that we were there. Hey, I say we just showed them we're fiscally responsible & not some big flashy ad agency rolling into town and demanding the Presidential Suite.

Let's see. Highlights.
We left on time, but it still took us more time to get there, in part because of stops, construction, and traffic once we hit the city. So I will go on the record and state unequivocally that Mimi Murano has some serious get-up-and-go when the rubber needs to meet the road. We rolled into Omaha and I drove like we'd robbed a bank. My passengers did a little screaming, but the driver they know & loved kept them entertained with a stream of profanities directed at certain other vehicles who could not commit to a lane.

My favorite part of the day was getting settled in & then going back out in a sales rep's car for two hours to look at outdoor boards. I'm kind of done with car riding/driving long distances for a little while. We also saw all sorts of po-po and troopers and I'm pleased to report that no tickets were issued on the trip.

Punchy was the theme on the way home. We discussed the length of time it'd taken us to get there that morning, and I think I said something about how someone should've worn Depends, could we learn NOTHING from the astronauts? And then the last hour of the drive was spent leapfrogging with the craziest old lady driver who refused to use her cruise control and alternately drove at 65 mph and 85 mph. Oh, and if you ever get the chance to listen to Kristin sing along to Weezer? It's the greatest. I think the very loud volume at which she belts out the chorus is what truly makes the difference between "good" and "great".

Needless to say, I'm one happy camper that today's Friday. And that I'm not driving anywhere this weekend!

Labels: work