This is very cool. Especially neat to start from the first post several months ago (i.e., the before times) and think about how different your expectations must have been then versus now.
1 Like
This is awesome
1 Like
Keeping my eye out for sky!
steve kerr sighting!
2 Likes
Well, you’re famous now!
Cross posting cause I thought I put it in this thread. Hope you are having a blast, skydiver!
18 Likes
More solid screen time as Jasmine Crockett was walking out. The camera loves the CA delegation!
3 Likes
I picked skydiver out on a wide pan during the mcmorrow speech also, she’s next to the neon green coat
5 Likes
Yes, we were on tv a lot.
Big update post coming soon. I have a lot and WiFi last night was terrible and I couldn’t upload anything.
9 Likes
OK!!!
I have a few minutes and decent wifi, so here we go.
Day 1, Sunday. We arrived in Chicago around 12:30, but fortunately I was able to check in to the hotel. I’m at the Hyatt Regency that is right on the river between Michigan and Colombus Avenues. Met a friend from Nevada who actually grew up here and we walked around the area.
The Tribune building is cool. Actually, a lot of the architecture is really neat.
I saw a lot of people taking this same photo:
There was security to get into the park to see the Bean
Geometry is weird:
After that, I came back and met up with my San Diego folks and headed over to the Delegate welcome party at the Navy Pier. It was a gorgeous night, I saw some folks I hadn’t seen in a while, and there was only one small protest. The main protest was outside the pier, but we were so far removed that we didn’t even hear it.
Had a Chicago dog (yum) and Malort (bleh). No pictures because taking pictures of food is lame.
Got to bed decently early, which turned out to be a very good decision…
24 Likes
Chicago architecture is so cool. Not sure what kind of time you have, but I highly recommend a riverboat architecture tour. That was one of the best things I did on my first trip to Chicago.
2 Likes
This seems like a relatively positive reaction to Malort.
1 Like
Now I want to try Malort out of morbid curiosity.
Malort had a Twitter Slogan contest back before Twitter was a complete bot infested hellscape.
The winning slogan was “Malort: Kick your mouth in the balls”
1 Like
Malort is a big gag shot to take in the curling realm so I am very familiar with it. Very disgusting and this is coming from someone who will drink anything.
1 Like
Monday!
Woke up at 7 am to get our Day 1 credential and go to the first delegate breakfast. The food was mediocre but the real reason for these breakfasts is for the speakers. California’s breakfasts are streamed on C-Span, because it’s in a huge room with the biggest audience, but in general it seems like all the big names are trying to cycle through all of the state delegations’ breakfasts throughout the week.
One complaint I have is that the California Dem Party, who is supposed to be in charge of delegate communication, is…not doing that. We have little to no information about speaker lineup, logistics (other than the shuttle bus times), etc. So CSpan reported that Mayor Pete was going to be at our breakfast this morning, which had me frantically running back to my room to change into the Team Pete for Harris Walz shirt I had made because I’m a nerd.
Of course, that wasn’t true. So I was wearing that shirt all day for no real reason. Anyway, we did have some fun people at our Monday breakfast.
Senator Laphonsa Butler:
President of the NEA, Becky Pringle, who has Warnock-level oratory skills and took us to church
One of my favorite people to hear speak, the legendary Dolores Huerta
And of course, the queen
After that, we boarded a very slow bus to McCormick Place for the caucus meetings and exhibit floor. Tim Walz showed up to the LGBT caucus meeting and it was fantastic
Then I snuck into a small panel for Democratic municipal elected officials because duh
Then it was time to board the slow bus back to the hotel (it was 2pm) to be there in time to grab the slow bus to the United Center (at 3:30pm) so we could be there by 5. Hahahaa
Anyway, the night session is a separate post
15 Likes
Got me curious…
Now, calling it “bitter” is generous: At 70-proof with indistinct
ingredients, this is rotgut of the most potent and foulest order. There’s a
good reason its ingredients are left a mystery: Supposedly, it’s flavored with
wormwood—the very herb used for the highly potent and
hallucination-inducing absinthe, which until recently was illegal in this
country.
Imagine jägermeister heavily
diluted in pondwater, but less piney, and that about describes it.
Indeed, it seems harmless at first, but it
proceeds to invade your innards immediately upon consumption with an
unbearable, cringe-inducing bitterness that sticks with you for a worrying
amount of time. (It also began to eat its way through our paper cups, which was
even scarier.) Words do little to communicate how vile Malört truly is.
“It’s
exactly like eating a tire fire.”·
“It
has an initial nail-polish-remover flavor, and then… nothing. Then it tastes
like a cigarette got put out on your tongue.”·
“It
kind of settles into the back of your mouth and then crawls down your throat
like an acidic slug.”
1 Like
No Malort in Vermont liquor stores. I am sad.
Looks like there are a few places that sell it in Massachusetts. Probably going down there for Labor Day and will try to find some on my way there.
I forgot! I got to meet Sean Astin and my little Goonie heart almost exploded.
Apparently I need to teach others how to be a good political staffer because the friend who took this managed to take the worst picture of me in existence. Argh.
20 Likes
LOVING the pictures and the trip report, Skydiver!
1 Like