With three women from the south making their way through Boston for the first time, you can just imagine some of the little mishaps that might occur along the way. Not all of it was particularly funny at the time... but we got a good laugh after the fact, at least!
So this is us: Teli on the left, Chrissie on the right, and that's me in the middle. We sort of look like Charlie's Angels or woMen in Black in this photo, don't ya think? LOL We're all sporting Best of the Web shirts in this pic - but more on that in a later post...
The three of us all arrived in Boston around the same time on Monday morning - just after 11am. We had agreed to meet there and take the "T" to our hotel since none of us were familiar with the area or this "T" thing (Boston's infamous public transportation system). It would have been nice to just catch a cab... but that wasnt an option with the Boston Marathon going on that day.
The "T" wasnt easy. Mind you, we were all three going on very little sleep. There are different colors that take you to different places... and they all make this horrendous screeching sound that made me feel like I was in a haunted house. With all of the different 'colors' pulling in and out all the way around us, hundreds of people moving in every direction, and all of the noise... we just stood there and looked at each other blankly for a few minutes before we finally decided on a strategy.
The locals were very obviously annoyed with us and our luggage 😐
We finally arrive at our hotel, get checked in and head down for a meal. The restaurant downstairs is packed, as the Boston Marathon is right out front. It didnt help that we came in on the backside either, with no hope of making our way through the crowd to the front. So I ask the group at the bottom of the stairs, "Any idea how we can get a table from here?" and one of the guys steps up and says, "If you give me a hug, I'll get you a table!"
I turn to Chrissie and Teli and say, "I really dont think he works here" 😐 ... so we made our way through the crowd. After finally getting a table, we are handed a menu that might as well have been written in chinese. Top that off with a waiter who wanted to over-complicate every little detail. We were exhausted, still trying to recover from the "T" and starved... and this guy wants to know how we want our water. On ice or bottled? Sparkling or not? He goes on and on - no joke. I thought we'd never get a glass of water.
We decide (if the waiter ever comes back to our table) that we are going to order something simple. In fact, let me just quote Chrissie here: "I'm ordering a grilled cheese. They cant screw up a grilled cheese" (ha - famous last words!). My 'well done, please' hamburger was a bad case of e coli, practically still moo'ing. The grilled cheeses they ordered? Some kind of grecian bread double dipped in grease with an unknown substance posing as cheese in between. It was bad - you had to be there.
The manager was super nice about it and comped our ticket. The waiter was miffed, and yelled at us over the ordeal (no kidding). I was floored, honestly. But at least it prepared us for the rest of our stay...
Next we decided to walk over to the Hynes from the Commonwealth. It's probably 7 blocks, give or take. Actually, that night it was more than 7, but that was due to bad directions we were given. The locals found us quite humorous, I'm sure 🙄 . And I will mention that there was a little "incident" on that walk, but we've agreed not to speak of it. Suffice it to say that we were all three suckered in, and it was quite embarrassing.Â
Later that night, we decided to get a cab back to the Commonwealth. Smart move, we thought. Unfortunately, we were kicked out of our cab 😐
We all three got in - tired, quiet, ready to go back to our room and unwind. "Hotel Commonwealth, please". The driver takes off... and then he stops after about 10 feet. We hear the locks go up, and the driver says "It's not a long walk". Stunned, we all just sort of look at each other blankly. He says it again: "It's not a long walk".
So we all step out, standing back on the curb - in the rain. Unreal...
The next morning we get up early so we can attend the first session of PubCon. All of Boston is non-smoking (indoors) so I head down to go out for a smoke. I figured as early as it was - probably 6'ish in the morning - it wouldnt matter that I was wearing plaid pajama pants, a floral tank and an unmatching sweater... with my hair going everywhere. I step out onto the sidewalk like that though, and there are cars and cabs and suits walking by - the whole nine yards. That's when I realize I'm looking at MY watch, which is still set for my time zone. 😐
People laughed. They didnt even try to hide it.
Later that night we're all at the Sheraton Lounge after the sessions. There is a lot of networking, talking and drinking going on - and not necessarily in that order 😉 . There's quite a crowd as the night wears on, and it gets harder and harder to get a drink. After quite some time with no luck flagging down a waiter, one of the guys heads up to the bar to get us a round.
While he's gone, the waiter comes by (go figure) and I politely say "Thank you, but we already have a round coming". He just glares at me, throws up his hands, and yells "Fine. I'm just going to go home! Everybody can get their own drinks!" 😯 Geeeez
The next day I was approached by a guy who wanted to know if I'd changed clothes three times already that day. I say to him, "Nope, I've been wearing this all day" and introduced myself. He's quite sure he's seen me several times in several different outfits (which leaves me wondering how early he started drinking haha).
I'm approached a few hours later by someone I've never met that is telling me how much he enjoyed our conversation earlier. Again, I have to introduce myself - because he is another confused fellow.
That evening I meet Jill, and discover I have a twin at the conference. Aha! In fact, she knew my name before we even "met" - as she'd been having the same problem all day. I'll post a pic as soon as I get a copy from Teli. It's quite uncanny how much we favor.
At the end of the week, I told Jill that anything that came back to bite me in the a$$... I'd just say it was her 😆 LOL
Actually one of those moments I might lay on her was when I accidentally handed a man my hotel key instead of my business card, haha. It was just a casual networking thing, some conversation, and he asked me for my card. Except when I reach in to pull out a card, I pull out my hotel key instead (which is the same size as a business card). I didnt realize it until he looks up at me and says "Maybe we should start with a business card" 😳 😳 :oops:Â hahahaha
I did meet a lot of interesting people and learned some new things as well, so I'll post about all of that over the next few days... but I thought you might get a kick out of some of the more humorous moments from our week in Boston 😉
Technorati Tags: pubcon, webmasterworld, boston, humor, travel, sheraton, hynes, commonwealth
Â
About Lynn Terry
>>> he looks up at me and says “Maybe we should start with a business cardâ€
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
😆
That wasn't me - it was Jill 😉
LOL Paul - "tidbits" are coming 😉
Actually, I picked up quite a bit of good info and met a lot of really interesting people. I'll post the 'good stuff' over the next couple of days. There's so much of it, I have a feeling it'll take several posts!
-Lynn
Paul, we are so much smarter after going to PubCon. We learned looooots 😉 And yep we were in Boston, ask around there are plenty pissed off cab drivers, wait staff and I am sure more LOL
I am going to just link to this post Lynn, I couldn't have said it better if I tried. Thanks lol.
ROFL!!! Lynn. You have captured the comical moments of this trip quite nicely if I do say so :).
I didn't realize it would take so long (er...about 4 hours) to get the photos off of my camera, clean them up, resize them, and make them public-ready -- but it's done.
I've posted some PubCon pics on my site already (coincidentally, yours and Jill's happens to be the second in the line up), but you should get a zip file from me pretty soon :D.
~ Teli
Excellent! Thanks Teli 🙂
I'll keep an eye out for that email. I have a few pics to put together myself, still - so I'll send some copies your way 😉
-Lynn
p.s. I totally cracked up over your post LOL - hilarious!!
Ahermmm, so did you guys like... pick up any juicy tidbits from the pubcon sessions, or do you even remember the sessions?
Are you sure you were really in Boston even? 😉
>>BUT … ya cannot get an experience like that every day - huh?
You got that right! Each new place that I travel is so interesting in it's own little way. All of them so far are places I would definitely visit again... but none of them yet have tempted me to leave the state of Tennessee permanently. There's just something about it here that I love - well, a lot of things actually...
Hi ChildrensHelp.com (sorry, I didnt catch your name?) 😀
>> Thanks for sharing your knowledge and your excellent sites. I’m finding out that you are really an iconic role model in this whole ‘new frontier’ for many of us. Look forward to reading all about your endeavors, upcoming trends and ‘lessons learned’ at PubCon.
Thank you! I look forward to getting to know you as well, and hearing more from you.
I didnt actually get to have lobster - or even sushi (pout!) - while I was in Boston. And you're right, not much touring either unfortunately - we were quite busy.
Ralf's wife was in town with him and she was touring the city while we were all at the conference, and I kept asking him if he'd let me have copies of the pics so I could say that I saw the city too 😆 .
I wouldnt mind to take a personal trip up that way again sometime soon to see the sites and experience more of Boston. My sister actually lives just half hour outside of the city, so it's likely I'll do just that 😉
-Lynn
LOLOLOL
Yeah ... When things get backed up there it goes down hill FAST! Bad timing with the Marathon going on, though. That just makes it even more of a mess.
But like NYC, the people can be weird.
BUT ... ya cannot get an experience like that every day - huh? 😉
Rick Wilson
Glad you enjoyed it, Belle 😀
Hope to see you in Vegas!! 😉
-Lynn
I decided I would never attempt to drive in that city, myself. Taking a cab is bad enough... I thought for sure we'd be killed, or end up with whiplash at best, lol.
Fortunately things are close, and lots of people just walk - so you never feel alone on the street, even at late hours.
The three of us are actually planning a 'vacation trip' back to Boston. We didnt get to see much of the city, or even eat Lobster while we were there... so we've all decided another stay at the Commonwealth and some touring would be lots of fun!
-Lynn
Hilarious... now I'm not sure which is worse footing it or driving in Boston. When I was there a few years ago my friends and I had some crazy adventures trying to navigate the city. We only planned on being there one night and spent the rest of the time in Maine - which was much more relaxing!
Promo Girls? 😆 Nope, just "groupies" 😉 hehe
I wish we had an opportunity to meet while there. I was just reading your blog over the weekend. Hope to see you in Vegas, tho!
-Lynn
Dude! I totally saw you girls at PubCon wearing the black shirts... I just thought you were BOTW promotion girls! Now I am bummed that I didn't meet you because it sounds like you had a great time. Hopefully we can party at the next conference!
So your blaming the business card on me huh? That pic is really crazy, nice to meet my twin 😉
Nah, not really Jill 😉 I so enjoyed meeting you! Hopefully we can connect again in Vegas at the next PubCon event - but if not, would love to stay in touch at least!
Best,
Lynn
So we are talking about how I need to meet up with people and you send me to a blog post that is exactly how I imagine a meet up with Chrissie and other online friends would be? LOL
So need to get out to an event. I need to make it a priority. I know Chrissie stopped begging me to go a long time ago.
Chrissie is a blast - I roomed with her in Vegas a couple years before that too so Boston was a fun reunion!
I just followed you on Twitter - we'll have to make it a point, and make it a plan 😉