Happy February!

It's February 1st, and for some reason today, I decided to get my butt in gear. I'm going to start watching what I eat again, exercise regularly, and work a decent amount of hours every day. Also, I'm going to buy some books on different aspects of marketing to get some learning in while I have the chance. Yes, these resolutions should have came a month ago. I'm a little late.

I ran for the first time since August (or somewhere around August) and I think, 3 hours later, I am finally done coughing and wheezing. I've never gone running outside in the winter before, and I think I'll have to alter it a bit so I don't feel like death for hours after. The mix of being terribly out of shape and the 30 degree weather did not agree with me one bit. I succeeded in a 1.5 mile run some, walk some, run some, etc with hopes of major improvement. The other problem is running makes me hungry, and it's hard not to snack when I'm so hungry.

Does anyone have any recommendations on good books about business/marketing/etc that are informational and interesting? I want something that is actually readable.

Exciting things coming up are my birthday next week and working the Chicago Auto Show for 10 days. I'm excited to work outside of the house for awhile as well as keep doing Uloop. Still job searching, but I'm confident when it's time for the right job, we will find each other.

Good luck with your February resolutions if you decide to have any. Hopefully the ground hog will give us some hope of early spring tomorrow.

Ankeny, IA

Back to work and back to Iowa again. I got to Des Moines this time around, it's about 10 minutes away from here and saw Legally Blonde: The Musical at the Civic Center. The Civic Center was a nice performance space, but it is so different seeing a Broadway touring cast here as opposed to Chicago. I think the theater sat about 2000, but it was not ornate at all, no rows in the center of the aisles (you could only enter from the sides, and if you were in the middle, like I was, you had to climb over 40 people to get there). The ambiance of the theater aside, it was a very cute show. Don't expect any substance, but you'll be entertained. But, only $5 to park!

Staying at the Fairfield Inn. Nice size rooms, they refill my shampoo, conditioner, and lotion every day, free internet, relatively comfy bed, loud noisy heater, free breakfast, microwave and mini-fridge, good selection of tv channels, business center, pool, hot tub, and my favorite part so far, free cookies at the front desk. For those hotels that want to make me happy, give me shampoo and conditioner every day and give me cookies. Nothing else necessary.

Nothing much really to do in Ankeny itself, it's pretty much a suburb of Des Moines. I did go to the Prairie Meadows Casino in Altoona. Nice casino, only bad part is everyone is smoking inside. I've found out that casinos are a good place to go if you are by yourself and just want to waste an hour or two. You can play penny slots, win or lose a little bit of money, talk to those around you, and no one thinks you're weird for being there alone. Plus you can drink if you so please.

Oh, also if you're in this area, go to Tasty Tacos and get a flour taco. Damn good.

Almost Done with 2008

Only a few more days left till 2008, and my last destination for the year will be Milwaukee (Oak Creek) Wisconsin. As not fun as that is, it does add another state I've visited for work in the last few months. So far I've been to these places on Jimmy's dime:

Michigan
Ontario (not specifically for work, but a side trip)
Illinois
Florida (two weeks!)
Colorado
Pennsylvania
Ohio
Wisconsin

8 states/provinces in three months...not too shabby. Two more states in the next month. I definitely feel well traveled thus far, and hope to see lots more places in 2009. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a wonderful New Years.

Cleveland/North Olmsted, OH

I was slacking this week on posting in Cleveland mostly because I was out every night. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Cleveland. It was really nice and in a really pretty building called the Arcade. Big rooms, valet parking, but the only bad thing was they charged for everything. $5 for a bottle of water, $10 a day for internet, a ton for room service, $10 for internet/printing...luckily I could steal free internet and print things out at JJ's.

Tuesday we went to a Cleveland Cavaliers game that was a lot of fun. They killed Toronto. And the stadium was less than a five minute walk from the hotel so we could partake in happy hour beforehand to get ready.

Downtown Cleveland is not really a party spot. We were right next to a street full of bars, and the only busy one was the 4th Street Bar which doubled as a bowling alley. The Winking Lizard was also a decent bar nearby, and Flannigan's was a good Irish pub, but they were really lacking people. Saturday trying out all the bars, Sunday lazy day, Bowling Monday night, Cavs game Tuesday night, general drinking Wednesday night, watched the Bears game Thursday night, then 7 hour drive back on Friday. It was a busy week, but more fun than some on the road.

Ann Arbor Hot Spots

I have not been out and about in Ann Arbor nearly as much as I should be, mostly because I'm tired all the time and go from the store back to the hotel and back again.

However, I have a few favorite spots thus far, and hope to add some by the end of the stay.

1. Nichols Arboretum . Very pretty 100+ acre gardens, river, trails, and lovely spot on campus. Watch the canoe-ers go by and laugh as they get stuck or sit and read a book for an hour.

2. Charley's (I think it's Good Time Charley's or something like that) is a restaurant/bar that have had good food both times we've had dinner there. I still need to try the 64 oz Long Island, but they have a decent selection of beer as well. Whatever blue shot I had was also good (even though it was blue).

3. The Blue Leprechaun is a new bar, but seems to be a pretty happening spot (Michael Phelps was there the night I didn't go out) and was a good mix of classy and collegy.

4. The campus itself has the same feel as U of I, so I guess it feels pretty homey to me. Driving around campus sucks and people walk wherever the hell they feel like it, but there's a good mix of older town feel and trendy college areas.

5. If you're going to stay around these parts, the Residence Inn really is awesome. They do your grocery shopping for you for free, internet, printing, free breakfast and dinner as well. Only complaint thus far is they were closing the hot tub literally as we were in our swimsuits, book in hand, walked down there, and they were draining it for the season. Oh, and they almost always have cookies sitting out at the front desk.


I still need to hit up Blimpie Burger, which was apparently on Diners, Drive-In, and Dives. Not sure what other spots are a must go-to here, but plan to find some.

Turning left in Michigan sucks.

The Apprentice

So, a month later, and I'm back to documenting my travels.

For the previous two, and next two weeks, I'm in Ann Arbor, Michigan where I'm apprenticing at the store on South University. I'm already sick of being referred to as "the apprentice" all the time, but most of the time I just tell the in-shoppers I'm training to be a manager. It's easier.

Ann Arbor is a nice town, very collegy, and reminds me a lot of Champaign. The downtown area and campus area are pretty much the same place, so there are always a ton of people around. Don't worry Illini fans, I have stayed true to my school spirit and refused to cheer for Michigan in any sort of way, and next week when the Illini are here, I am wearing my Illini gear whenever I am not physically in the store.

My days consist of getting to the store between 5am and 7am, work work work, then leaving between 5:30pm and 6. They are long days, but I'm pretty used to it now. It makes this three day weekend I'm about to have (was supposed to be four, but I got sick one day and messed it all up) all the better.

Other exciting news, I found out my schedule for the four weeks after my apprenticeship, which includes two weeks in the north suburbs of Chicago, and two weeks in West Palm Beach, Florida. I'm psyched about Florida, and there had better not be any hurricanes when I plan to go.

I think whenever I'm done with a town, I'm going to list the bars and any of points of interest to remember for anyone other travelers out there. Oh! If you ever get the chance, stay at a Mariott Residence Inn. It's awesome and doesn't even feel like living out of a hotel.

Two more weeks in Ann Arbor, the whore.

The Beginning: Champaign, IL

Inspired by www.rae-does-contiki.blogspot.com , I have decided to log my travels during my time as a guerilla marketing specialist around the country so, 1. I don't forget where I've been and when, put down some thoughts about said place, interesting happenings, etc, and 2. So anyone saying to themselves, "hmm, I wonder where Kathryn is this week" will have an answer. I'm not anywhere as exotic as Cambodia, but as I could feasibly be in over 35 states this next year, I want to at least record some of it.

There won't be many posts these next 6 weeks because I am training and then doing an apprenticeship before beginning my marketing travels. I am currently about to begin week 2 of training over on Green Street. This week is all openings, so it will be some very early mornings. I'm sure I will be quite happy on Saturday night when I won't have to set an alarm for 5:45am (or earlier).

So, here begins my life of travel in Champaign, IL, living in my lovely townhouse with Amy, Nymph, and Dina. This will be my home base, then traveling 5 days of week to a new place every week as of October 12th or so.

More to come.