Last night, my coworker and I drove all over Eau Claire, WI, trying to find a particular restaurant. Neither of us could remember the name or location or what type of food they had, but we thought we might recognize it if we saw it. We drove all over town, the good parts and bad parts, looking at all of the houses and buildings, reading off the names of the restaurants and bars we passed. In the older part of Eau Claire, we kept seeing the Mona Lisa on the buildings. It seemed to be a wordless ad for something, but we weren't sure what. No words, just a big blow-up of the painting. I think we saw around a dozen. We drove down Water Street near the UW-EC, and decided to pull over and walk down the street, which was filled with restaurants. As we parallel parked, we saw it - Mona Lisa's, right across the street from us. That was the restaurant we were looking for! We went in and sat down. The decor is great. It reminded me of Monica's apartment on Friends. I fell in love with the red velvet couches. I had a beef rigatoni with a glass of chianti. It was great, and very filling.
After dinner, we went back to the hotel in Lake Hallie, which was right next to a bar/restaurant/hotel called Avalon or Bridgeport. It was kareoke night. We had sundaes made with Olson's ice cream, which has been made in Chippewa Falls since 1944. It is very good, rich, thick ice cream. I had a bloody mary after that, and it was easily the best one I've ever had. Then I had a 20 ounce glass of Sunset Wheat beer from the brewery that we toured earlier in the day. Mmmm.... beer. Then, back to the hotel, packing, and then to bed.
Right now, I'm in our Mendota Heights office. It is very different from our Chippewa Falls office. Bigger, more urban, more professional looking. There's a rivalry of sorts between the offices that I find a little strange, but I suppose that "us versus them" attitude is pretty normal. They both have issues with Seattle, since that is the corporate headquarters. We will leave here shortly to go shopping at the Mall of America, then we're catching our flight back to Seattle at 2:30. My visits to Minnesota and Wisconsin have been short but sweet. I may have gained several pounds.
I found traffic amusing. We entered St. Paul during rush hour. There was less traffic on the freeway that I see in Maple Valley at 6:00 a.m. However, I did not find it amusing at all that the shoulders of the highway are covered with dismembered deer and skunks. Eesh.
The cat i s gonna be so pissed at me when I get home...
Friday, October 27, 2006
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
I think I'm gonna need a bucket.
Dinner was extraordinarily good and filling, as they have all been since I got here. We went to a restaurant in Eau Claire called Norske Nook. I had elk meatloaf with beer fries, preceeded by artichoke dip with flatbreads and veggie chips, and followed by cherry pie. And let us not forget the beer, which they brew there. Actually, I have forgotten it already. Red Cedar Red, I think it was called. If you're in the 'hood, I highly recommend it. And of course, I am stuffed because I ate way past where I should have. The food is just too good to walk away from it. On the other hand, it is unbelievably cheap. Excellent dinner for two with a beer, desert, and appetizers was less than $40. It was elk meatloaf, people! In Seattle, that would easily have been a $75 dinner. If I had known on Tuesday about the all you can eat elk burgers for $6, I would have gone there for dinner instead. And let me just say this: beer fries. Beer fries! Two of nature's perfect foods in one. I could literally eat them until I puked if I only had the time. Not that I aspire to that.
Notes from Wisconsin
I believe that I have already noted that it is flat and cold, so no more about that. It is also very sunny and there is no pollen, and those are great.
Yesterday on the way back to the hotel, the sunset was spectacular. I remembered to bring the camera today just in case. I'm hoping that we get a repeat.
We went to dinner at Anderson's Bar & Grill. I had the 2-cheeseburger special for $8.50. I chose the bacon cheeseburger and the blue cheese burger. Fantastic! I doubt my stomach will ever recover from the full pound of hamburger I ate. I also had a 23-ounce beer of some local brewery and the apple pie with Olson's ice cream. For an appetizer, we had the deep fried cheese curds. I believe they deep fry nearly anything, including the cheesecake. That's not a joke - it was in the menu.
My outdoor hayfever seems to be completely gone, and my skin is nowhere near as dry. However, I still have my dust allergies. As soon as I'm outdoors, I'm ok. It is nice to have clear sinuses, even if it is only temporary.
These people do not believe in eating vegetables, but they know how to do dairy and meat. I had a salad at Subway for lunch, and that is the closest thing to healthy food that I have seen since I got here. I'm going on a brewery tour after work, then back to the hotel for a while. It is a Lost night, so I may eat a very late dinner. I refuse to miss tonight's episode.
People here have an accent and I'm not sure they realize it. It is like the Minnesota/North Dakota accent we are all so familiar with from Fargo, but not as pronounced. They use the word "pop" for fizzy beverages, and they say "Eye-talian" for the dressing.
In general, people seem to be pretty nice. Though the town is about the same size as the one I live in, it is nowhere near as urban, crowded, loud, or stressed. It is actually a pretty nice little place. I am a nobody in this company, just a new bottom-rung staff accountant, but they refer to me as a big fish because I'm from Seattle, which they think is exotic. Isn't that charming?
The little town is very old, dating back to the late 1800s. The older downtown buildings sit apart from the shopping district, which helps to preserve the look of the place. I have yet to see a new house. They all seem to be Craftsman homes from the 50s. I've never seen so many wrap-around porches in one place. The building I work in must have last been renovated in the 70s, judging from the colors of the wallpaper, the dark wood veneer, and the "chandelier" in the lobby. I think the shopping district is probably the newest thing in the area, at a few years.
I find it a little difficult to work away from my office. All I have is my laptop, so all of the paperwork I need is in Seattle. I have to communicate with everyone through email. The time difference causes problems. The hotel is nice, and the food is good, but I want to sleep in my own bed and eat my own food. I'm going to get fat eating restaurant food all the time. I worry about my cat and my fish. I am definitely not cut out for business travel. Still, I like the change of scenery, and I am glad it is temporary.
Yesterday on the way back to the hotel, the sunset was spectacular. I remembered to bring the camera today just in case. I'm hoping that we get a repeat.
We went to dinner at Anderson's Bar & Grill. I had the 2-cheeseburger special for $8.50. I chose the bacon cheeseburger and the blue cheese burger. Fantastic! I doubt my stomach will ever recover from the full pound of hamburger I ate. I also had a 23-ounce beer of some local brewery and the apple pie with Olson's ice cream. For an appetizer, we had the deep fried cheese curds. I believe they deep fry nearly anything, including the cheesecake. That's not a joke - it was in the menu.
My outdoor hayfever seems to be completely gone, and my skin is nowhere near as dry. However, I still have my dust allergies. As soon as I'm outdoors, I'm ok. It is nice to have clear sinuses, even if it is only temporary.
These people do not believe in eating vegetables, but they know how to do dairy and meat. I had a salad at Subway for lunch, and that is the closest thing to healthy food that I have seen since I got here. I'm going on a brewery tour after work, then back to the hotel for a while. It is a Lost night, so I may eat a very late dinner. I refuse to miss tonight's episode.
People here have an accent and I'm not sure they realize it. It is like the Minnesota/North Dakota accent we are all so familiar with from Fargo, but not as pronounced. They use the word "pop" for fizzy beverages, and they say "Eye-talian" for the dressing.
In general, people seem to be pretty nice. Though the town is about the same size as the one I live in, it is nowhere near as urban, crowded, loud, or stressed. It is actually a pretty nice little place. I am a nobody in this company, just a new bottom-rung staff accountant, but they refer to me as a big fish because I'm from Seattle, which they think is exotic. Isn't that charming?
The little town is very old, dating back to the late 1800s. The older downtown buildings sit apart from the shopping district, which helps to preserve the look of the place. I have yet to see a new house. They all seem to be Craftsman homes from the 50s. I've never seen so many wrap-around porches in one place. The building I work in must have last been renovated in the 70s, judging from the colors of the wallpaper, the dark wood veneer, and the "chandelier" in the lobby. I think the shopping district is probably the newest thing in the area, at a few years.
I find it a little difficult to work away from my office. All I have is my laptop, so all of the paperwork I need is in Seattle. I have to communicate with everyone through email. The time difference causes problems. The hotel is nice, and the food is good, but I want to sleep in my own bed and eat my own food. I'm going to get fat eating restaurant food all the time. I worry about my cat and my fish. I am definitely not cut out for business travel. Still, I like the change of scenery, and I am glad it is temporary.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
The earth really is flat!
At least, that is the impression when I stepped off the plane in Minnesota yesterday. I had an aisle seat over the wing, so I didn't see the... ahem... view until I was in the airport. Ah, the midwest. Land of 10,000 lakes. And not a hill in sight. Anathema! Despair! Glad I'm here only for a week, I collected my baggage with my co-worker and departed for Wisconsin.
The flight in wasn't bad, but there was one spot of turbulence that made me wish I was Catholic so that I could have genuflected and said a Hail Mary. It was like the first big drop on a roller coaster, except quite unexpected in an otherwise smooth ride. I read the first 114 pages of Love Monkey while eating my $5 Snack Box and drinking my tiny $5 bottle of Chilean Chardonnay. It is strikingly similar to High Infidelity, which may be intentional - that book is mentioned in the first chapter of this book. I have to add, though, that it doesn't measure up. It is amusing though.
Getting the rental car was an experience in itself. They gave us a convertible Miata. Now, think about this. Two women, packed for a week-long trip in the midwest in late fall, and they gave us a Miata. Each of us had a suitcase and a laptop bag. We put my suitcase in the trunk and it wouldn't close. I would have had to hold the other three bags on my lap for over an hour. We traded it for a Subaru Tribeca, which definitely held all of the luggage and was nice to drive.
The hotel is a standard Country Inn & Suites, nothing particularly special. After breakfast, I have to go meet the Wisconsin accounting team and learn the fixed asset module from a guy that I've heard a lot about and yet I'm still not sure what to expect. He may have been involved in some fraud, he may be very knowledgeable, he may be very nice, and he may be incompetent. That's the gist of what I've gotten from other teammates. This should be interesting. I will be going to lunch with "the girls" at a place called Olsen's. I have no idea what that is.
I will also be trying the fried cheese at the restaurant next door to the hotel as an appetizer for dinner. I'm not sure what to expect from that. Added bonus: there may be a brewery tour in store for me. Woo! That I'm looking forward to.
Oh, yeah. I graduated with my Bachelor's of Science in Accounting on Saturday, the 21st. I thought it worth a mention. Two years and three months of my attention should get at least two sentences on mention on the Internet, I think. Woo! on that as well.
The flight in wasn't bad, but there was one spot of turbulence that made me wish I was Catholic so that I could have genuflected and said a Hail Mary. It was like the first big drop on a roller coaster, except quite unexpected in an otherwise smooth ride. I read the first 114 pages of Love Monkey while eating my $5 Snack Box and drinking my tiny $5 bottle of Chilean Chardonnay. It is strikingly similar to High Infidelity, which may be intentional - that book is mentioned in the first chapter of this book. I have to add, though, that it doesn't measure up. It is amusing though.
Getting the rental car was an experience in itself. They gave us a convertible Miata. Now, think about this. Two women, packed for a week-long trip in the midwest in late fall, and they gave us a Miata. Each of us had a suitcase and a laptop bag. We put my suitcase in the trunk and it wouldn't close. I would have had to hold the other three bags on my lap for over an hour. We traded it for a Subaru Tribeca, which definitely held all of the luggage and was nice to drive.
The hotel is a standard Country Inn & Suites, nothing particularly special. After breakfast, I have to go meet the Wisconsin accounting team and learn the fixed asset module from a guy that I've heard a lot about and yet I'm still not sure what to expect. He may have been involved in some fraud, he may be very knowledgeable, he may be very nice, and he may be incompetent. That's the gist of what I've gotten from other teammates. This should be interesting. I will be going to lunch with "the girls" at a place called Olsen's. I have no idea what that is.
I will also be trying the fried cheese at the restaurant next door to the hotel as an appetizer for dinner. I'm not sure what to expect from that. Added bonus: there may be a brewery tour in store for me. Woo! That I'm looking forward to.
Oh, yeah. I graduated with my Bachelor's of Science in Accounting on Saturday, the 21st. I thought it worth a mention. Two years and three months of my attention should get at least two sentences on mention on the Internet, I think. Woo! on that as well.
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