September 12, 2010

Fun (and work) in Chicago

I'm in Chicago right now, in my room on the 18th floor of the Hyatt Regency near the corner of Wacker Drive and North Michigan Ave. - an awesome location if you're familiar with the area.

The purpose of my trip is a professional development conference for work, as a member of the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development. The conference officially kicked off tonight with a welcoming ceremony by Chicago's famous Second City improve comedy group, but the educational seminars don't start until tomorrow morning.

Anyway, I took a vacation day to fly out here on Friday and enjoy a little "me" time before the conference. My friends Kim and Anne drove the 3 hours from Grand Rapids on Friday evening and we had a very pleasant (albeit rainy) Saturday. It was nice to sleep in, then spend the day shopping and eating - it was so nice to spend time with some girlfriends without any responsibilities whatsoever!

Today was a gorgeous, sunny day and I spent some time walking around the city and relaxing in my hotel room before the 5:00 improv show. Following the opening ceremony, two co-workers and I walked to a local italian restaurant and had an amazing dinner - if you're ever in downtown Chicago, I recommend Volare (at the corner of Grand & Clark).

Tomorrow's activities start at 9:00 with a keynote speaker, and then I'll spend the rest of the day in seminars related to health care service line marketing. Sounds like fun, right?

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