Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Chicago Day 1

I was in Chicago over the weekend for a friend's wedding. I went with my friend Amy who had just returned from Russia. Here are some photos from Day 1.

Since it was her birthday, I took Amy to dinner at an Ethiopian place called Mama Desta's Red Sea Restaurant. Seemed to be a combination of Arab and Indian food. Quite good.


You use the spongy bread to scoop up the various dishes. Silverware is overrated.


Walking back we passed some of Chicago's finest parked at the local Dunkin' Donuts. I'm sure they were following up on a big case.


The train stations are filled with local art, including this Latin masterpiece.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Lotus

Our company is giving away a bright orange Lotus at our Vegas convention next week. It's been parked in our building's lobby for a couple weeks, taunting me with it's racy good looks and propulsion possibilities.


That was until today, where a strange dilemma arose. The car is set to be transported to Vegas tomorrow by truck, where it will be loaded inside the casino for the big event. Their security dictates there only be an 1/8 of a tank of gas, and here we are with nearly a full tank.

We bought a siphoning kit, but it appears some sort of filter prevented us from sticking the tube deep enough inside the gas tank to reach the fuel.


Forced to scrap that plan, we were left with two other options. Drive the car to Vegas, or go on a joy ride to use up the gas. Since driving to Vegas was the riskier of the two choices, we went with the joy ride.


Chris got behind the wheel and we headed for Park City. I always think of us as the odd couple. We get along really well, but are different in so many ways. He's an extremely cautious driver, while I'm of the extremely aggressive variety. Many posts have been written about my driving habits, so I won't rehash them here.

The drive into Park City was beautiful. We passed through several rain storms on the way. Upon arriving we explored Deer Valley and then cruised Main St. It was fun to see all the looks we got along the way. Stopped for a break at the Main St. Deli, and then it was my turn to drive.


The car is extremely low to the ground, and so it hugs the surface of the road really well, but you also feel every bump. The interior is very cramped, without so much as a glove box to store your sunglasses in. The car performs rather well. Because it is so light, it's very quick off the starting line. I had no trouble getting used to the 6 gear manual transmission.

I had a blast driving it, and the great thing is, the adventure isn't over. With all that driving, we only managed to use up half the tank. Who would of thought that thing got such great gas mileage. Since he was going camping tonight, I am left with the responsibility of emptying the tank tomorrow morning.