$1000 Poorer

This morning I went into the kitchen, and Sweetie informed me that there was no point checking my email. "It's all junk," he said, attempting divert my attention to a topic more worthy of it. Now, when a significant other goes out of their way to tell you not to see something, there are two possible reasons: 1) It's something you really don't want to see, which would ruin your day, and he doesn't want to be fending off the dark clouds for the rest of the morning. Or 2) It's something that you really do want to see and would promptly buy tickets for, and he doesn't want to get dragged along for the ride.

"Visit our blog for information on the SLA annual conference in Philadelphia."

Ka-ching ka-ching. That's the sound of the credit card companies rolling in transaction fees. It's also a sound that signifies that Sweetie wishes he had deleted those emails.

So for four days in June I'll be in Philadelphia. Three of those days will be spent at the conference, but one is a free day to see the sights. And by "the sights" I mean Independence Hall, because Sweetie's desire to travel goes as far as he can tick off items on the list of UNESCO cultural heritage sites. $200 of my money went to the Special Libraries Association for student membership and conference fees, but the rest went to hotels. Hotels that guarantee a microwave and a mini fridge in the rooms. We've learned from past experience that paying $130 for a room with a kitchenette is more cost effective (and pleasant) than paying $100 for a room and eating out twice a day, and/or subsisting on stale granola bars and lukewarm drinks when we want to stay in. Bad memories.

The problem with Sweetie and me is that we got used to the standards in Japan, where hotels actually care about customer service. They always had a fridge, electric water heater, bathrobes, and Internet for no extra charge. There was nary a speck of dust anywhere past the entrance doors. And unless you were staying at a super-fancy Western-style manor, the rates were the equivalent of $110 USD or less...in the heart of Tokyo. When we planned for New York, I took a lot of these qualities for granted, and didn't bother to investigate whether "Wifi Available" meant "Wifi Available" or "Wifi Could Be Available if You Have The Cash For It." So now that I'm more travel-savvy, I was careful to choose a hotel that would make this sojourn into a foreign city to sell myself, I mean "network," not much more stressful than it already will be.

Any suggestions for the City of Brotherly Love? Restaurants? Attractions? Things for lone males to do while their girlfriends are yucking it up in a convention center?