Goodbye Chicago + 2 thoughts

First off, just wanted to give a quick shout to all my friends and family that have made this past year in Chicago a memorable one. I'm sad to be leaving, but excited to be pursuing new opportunities. Chicago and its people will always have a special place in my heart (and I really mean that, not trying to be sappy).

Anyway, I'm pretty bored here at the airport, so I've decided to put together a quick blog post about two random thoughts that came to my head while roaming the airport.

1. McDonald's doesn't serve gravy: I was feeling a bit hungry at the airport, and since I had a long flight ahead of me, I decided to grab Mickey d's. Now you're probably thinking. Eric, you're leaving Chicago, home of the stuffed crust pizzas and hot dogs, why not get something memorable as your last meal? Well honestly, I'm all pizza and hotdogged out, and there's just something about McDonald's and airports that always get me.

Anyhoo, so I go up and look at the menu and see these new chicken selects. I originally wanted chicken nuggets, but the chicken tenders sounded too interesting to pass up. I went up and placed my order. "Three piece chicken select meal." "What drink?" "Um.. root beer" "What sauce?" "Gravy". As soon as I said gravy, the cashier gave me the most confused look as if I'd just asked for peanut butter or some strange concotion of animal blood for sauce. "Uhh, Mcdonald's doesn't serve gravy!"

Now, before you start lambasting me and telling me that obviously McDonald's doesn't have gravy, let me make it clear. I know McDonald's doesn't have gravy, but the picture in the chicke selects clearly shows gravy. Upon pointing out this fact, the cashier turned her head, looked at the menu behind her, looks baffled (because obviously it's gravy) and proceeds to tell me it's ranch. Uh, no. You guys are tryin to copy Chik Fil A by creating a premium chicken brand, and clearly you guys have put a picture of gravy next to your chicken tenders. I've attached a picture of the box (which also shows gravy) just to prove my point (not sure how attaching pictures on this app works, so hopefully it worked).

End rant.

2. Southwest seating is awkward. If you've ever ridden Southwest, you know that there are no seats. Instead, you get a number which tells you which order you get to board the plane at which time you can also select your seat. It's a good system and works pretty well. Here's the problem though, when you get to the end, you're left with the center seats, and as you awkwardly amble through the narrow pathways, you start thinking about how to strategically find a middle seat that has ample space. All the while, the people in their seats are trying their hardest to avoid eye contact and look as big and space consuming as possible. Here's a tip though if you're ever stuck in this situation. Take the seat closest to the front. You're not going to find a better seat in the back, and at least you'll be able to get off soonr when you land. I think Southwest needs their flight attendants to just start assigning seats at the end, or people (namely me) will walk all the way to the back of the place in hopes that there is a better seat, and then try to crowd their way back when they realize there is no room in the back.

In other news, if you haven't heard yet, Amy Winehouse passed today. Also, tragically, a massacre occured in Oslo which killed 92 people. Although expected to be an attack by a group of Middle Eastern extremists, it soon came to light that the suspect was a local who had yet to be determined reasons. It's a terrifying and sullen reminder that danger can come from anywhere. Remember to stay safe. It's a wild world we live in.

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