Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Philadelphia

If you’d have told me just a few years ago I’d actually enjoy coming to this city so close to New Jersey, you would have received nothing but a hearty belly laugh. But, driving in today on I-95 (the speed limit there, too, no?) I experienced, again, a chill up my spine when the Philadelphia skyline peaked over the horizon. Though it’s dangerously near to the Garden State, apparently full of unattractive people (read) and full of god awful attitudes, this place has become a new second home over the last few months. I will say that Chestertown gets bonus points in my book for having the good sense to be only an hour and ten minutes or so away!

So, you may ask, why am I here again? Well, today began the twice-canceled final two days of my InDesign training. Since I’m the only person in my class, it was a really great one on one session with the instructor. We mostly went over things that she finds really useful in the print preparation process and ways in which Acrobat can be used to aid in the tasks related to sending your jobs to press. It was very informative and, if nothing else, gave me a good vocabulary for talking with printers in the future. We even took lunch together today and probably will again tomorrow.

This trip very nicely coincides with my birthday, which is tomorrow. Kate’s coming up in the evening to go out to dinner. We have a reservation at Susanna Foo, which comes highly recommended by Lindsie. Afterwards, if it’s not too late, we may check out art supplies or save the shopping for the morning. Hopefully, Saturday afternoon will be spent at the residence of Ms. Weaver and maybe out and about for a little East Falls exploring.

And, I must say, I’m really stoked about the great deal I found on my room for this entire affair. For the same price as the somewhat disappointing and less convenient (for walking) hotel of last time, I’m staying at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. I didn’t actually read the history of the building, but there is a grand marble corridor leading you to the lobby, completed with a large bank vault door at the end. The hallways and rooms are totally Art Deco and the entire effect is something out of a film noir meets The Matrix. And the views! I lucked into a corner room and, uh, wow:

And, of course, I had to spend at least a good portion of my first evening here shopping. I made it to H&M, Zara, Diesel, Urban, and Puma without even getting lost. Granted, they are all on the same side of one street, but still!