In which I was very decadent.

Once a year my Very Corporate Employer does something Very Corporately Nice for me: it sends me to Chicago—all expenses paid—to attend an editing class at the university.

Tonight, Chicago is cloudy and cold. My class ended at 4:30 and as I walked from the conference center in the pre-evening light, the grey buildings and bundled pedestrians scuttling along in their long woolen coats with their scarves pulled up to their eyes made me shiver. Expat is off gallivanting about town with one of his BA buddies, so I am alone on a Thursday night and not otherwise committed to one of the Many Jobs that run my life, as I would be were I at home. I could do anything I want, I thought as I walked. Shop the Magnificent Mile, sit quietly in a café and read a book, maybe even go see a show. But the first thing I really wanted at 4:30 this afternoon was to drop off all of my books and pens and corrective tape dispensers back at my Very Corporately Nice hotel room. So I decided to make a quick detour back to said hotel room before embarking on my fantastic solo jaunt of the city . . .

. . . and I never left.

This evening at about 5 o’clock, the grey light filtering sleepily through my room’s windows said to me, “But Sparky, just look at your freshly made bed. Look at those Real Feather Pillows that someone plumped just for you.”

“No thanks, grey light filtering sleepily through my room’s windows,” I said, “I’m young and in the city. I don’t need to look at Real Feather Pillows. I should go out. I should do City Things.”

“Maybe you should,” it said. “But maybe you should have a look outside and enjoy your Very Corporately Nice 38th floor view first.”

“Now that I can do,” I said. And I looked. And I saw the matchbox cars trundling through the intersection, and the matchbox busses with the big numbers painted on their topes bussing around, and the tourist boats docking for the night, and the tiny ant-people scurrying into buildings and blowing along sidewalks and pulling their winter hats down tighter onto their heads.

I shivered. I turned around and looked at the Real Feather Pillows.

“See?” said the light.

“I see.”

And as I shrugged off my coat and hung up my hat and scarf, I decided to do a very City Thing.

Tonight, I stayed in.

Tonight, I kicked off my shoes and curled up with the in-room dining menu. I made a phone call to the local Chinese/Japanese place that partners with my hotel. And just because I could, I ordered egg drop soup to go with my salmon skin and spider rolls. I plumped up the Real Feather Pillows and settled in to catch up on a little blog reading, and less than 45 minutes later, I was sitting on my bed, sipping hot soup from a Styrofoam container and splitting my chopsticks.

My supper was delicious.

My bed is Very Corporately Comfortable.

My cold-natured little body is fantastically warm and relaxed.

And maybe later, I’ll call the Italian restaurant downstairs and order a little something Italian for dessert.