As I think most of you know I headed out to Chicago on Monday for what was expected to be an overnight trip but which, with the arrival of what was being described as the 'Storm of the Century' or 'Mega Storm' or 'Massive Life Threatening Storm' (in the more excitable news outlets), has turned into a 3 night stay after flights started getting cancelled and the airport closed.
Fortunately, I planned ahead yesterday morning and booked an extra night in the hotel just in case. Other than trying to get back there after our meeting yesterday afternoon with grid-locked streets and very few empty Taxis and our 20 block walk back from dinner last night in sub-zero temperatures, with empty streets and literally no Taxis (I don't recommend walking any distance in this kind of weather, btw) and experiencing both 'Thunder Snow' (the media term for when there's thunder and lightning during a snow storm) and the 'Lake Effect' - a phenomenon that the locals talk about ALL the time where the wind is given a slingshot-like effect by Lake Michigan to provide an impressive boost of speed, snow volume and the resulting windchill. It also makes it extremely difficult to cross streets where the boosted wind is being funnelled.
Still, it has been a pretty incredible experience and now that the skies are starting to clear, the clean-up process is beginning and I'm safe and warm inside the hotel I can look back at it fondly.
Just think, less than 10 days ago I was hanging out on a beach and swimming in tropical waters in the Philippines and now this.
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