When you're sent out of town to work on assignment, you have to try to make it as fun as possible. After being cooped up for quarantine, there's a lot of people eager for an excuse to travel, even if it is for work; in my case, work happened to be covering the AACC conference in Atlanta, GA. Before I even arrived, I was looking up the hotel, seeing what was nearby, planning my short stay.
The American Hotel Atlanta Downtown Doubletree Hilton was the first bus, the red shuttle, from the convention center, so choice came down to proximity and convenience. No rental car on this venture meant having the shuttle access, which meant staying close to the massive ferris wheel that's randomly plopped in the middle of the city. There's nothing like stumbling upon an unexpected massive ride.
About the hotel:
Both good and bad things linger with me, such as the showerhead being so tiny, having to nearly squat to not have to hold it, just longing for a bath, looking so forward to going into the pool, only to nearly piss myself when my toes hit the water. No wonder nobody was swimming. An outdoor pool that's not heated is kinda useless there in the fall, winter and early spring; invest in a hot tub or indoor pool.
My computer got hacked the first day trying to sign into their wifi. My publisher did not want to believe me, another editor said I was like the girl who cried wolf, and they asked how did I know. Well, usually, when you sign in on Hilton connections, it takes you to a page, asks you stuff like your room number, maybe a password or whatever, but this would not take me to that part my first day, and without me touching anything, things started moving on my screen, words typing, when my hands were not on the keyboard; yet, the computer would not respond when I did touch the keyboard.
Sure, maybe it could've been ghosts, like someone from an old jazz era that would've liked Billie Holiday, just wanting to mess with the frequencies of the electronics. Might as well have been ghosts, because it's not like the manager or front desk did anything about it when I told them. Just like it was useless to try to order off of Uber Eats, as my food never arrived, even though the app said it did.
Ghosts probably stole my food, too. Never know. Stranger things have happened.
Other than that, the bed was comfy, the breakfast was not free, and it may have been phenomenal, but I had free food waiting for me in the media room at the AACC conference. One thing I will say, the attendant of the food at the convention center went out of her way to know every single person's name. There's something about the good ol' Southern hospitality where they strive to go the extra way.
Found this interesting:
The AACC conference had all the major medical laboratory players there. Some companies had themed outfits, with one even allowing their workers to wear white sneakers with their signature color shoelaces, which popped, but not as much as some of the amazing LED displays, like on the ceiling.
One OME company was handing out urinalysis reagent strips for at-home testing that facilities could put their own logos on. When I was learning urinalysis at Florida Gulf Coast University for interdisciplinary laboratory studies, I remember thinking these reagent strips are just simple color matching, and why can’t people do these at home? Now, they can, and hospital systems, for example, could put their logo on the packaging for patients to be able to test themselves at home. There were four options for home testing urinalysis. One was the full typical lab-used urinalysis reagent strip with all the options. The other three were more specific, such as for testing vaginal ph level. I asked the rep if this is would come into play for those who truly wanted home therapy, a little dose of boric acid to change the vaginal ph. He was unaware of this at-home gyno hack, but there are definitely companies online that basically sell boric acid to change that level when odiferous.
A lil laugh:
At AACC, they were taking volunteers to give blood samples for a COVID-19 study. As I am used to the students playing guinea-pig-ology with me, turning me into the human pin cushion, I had no fear of getting poked by the people that some believe must be vampires, since they are so into getting blood. Though I tried to warn her that I can be a slippery poke, she first attempted inside my elbow and missed. I had to say something, as she tried to go back in and fish for the vein. When I told her to try again, she did not take the tourniquet off and instead went into the same arm. I reminded her that I’m fat, and she had to go deep. This time, she found it. She laughed, saying she was looking bad, as she had trained others on how to do phlebotomy, and I assured her anyone can have a swing and a miss. She giggled and told me about a student of hers who had tried to get blood from a stretch mark, going for it, convinced it was something to hit. The teacher did not stop her, and when no blood came out, the student asked why. The teacher explained she hit a stretch mark. The student still wanted to know why there was no blood coming out of the stretch mark. The teacher had to explain that when people get fat, they get stretch marks on their skin, which is the outer epidermis, not necessarily a blood vessel of any type.
Bonus ice cream:
Just when appetites were starting to sore, a guy with a pushcart meekly fights his way through the crowd to the back of the showroom. With a selection of healthy cups filled with a selection of fruit and berries, or veggies with humus, the cart contained a cool surprise, locally made ice cream from Yum! These were COVID-19-friendly, as they were individually wrapped like push-pops. Instead of old school creamsicles, they were filled with ice cream that surely made me say Yum! First, I tried the pistachio, and honestly, some of the best pistachio ice cream I had in a while, but then one of the guys at a booth nearby suggested to try the praline pecan for the shot of bourbon that’s in it. That was pretty good, too. Topping the ice cream list was Yard’s Milkshake Bar, just a short hike from the convention center, where they roll glasses in gooey chocolate, peanut butter, frosting, along with other options, roll it in a topping like sprinkles, chocolate chips or crushed peanut butter cups, then start filling it with the ice cream concoction, topped with brownies, donuts, and all kinds of crazy stuff, including creations that wind up shaped like unicorns and other artistic designs. After hoofin’ around the convention center and downtown Atlanta, there’s nothing like some fattening ice cream to cool you down.
Transportation was public:
Honestly, I was a little leery when the company said we would not be getting rental cars, reassuring that public transportation was available, and everything was nearby. Downtown Atlanta gets a bad reputation when you talk to travelers taking I-75; thus, public transportation made getting around a little faster. Traffic jam? Accident go traffic tied up? Construction causing detours? The MARTA sails past any of those typical highway concerns, and having a hotel within walking distance of the convention center meant having many amenities nearby.
In one of those got turned around moments, when I was looking at my phone, trying to figure out which direction my GPS was pointing me and realizing that I had been hoofin' the wrong direction since getting off the subway, I smelled someone burning. Not even trying to hide it, a few guys with matching outfits on did not care by trying to hide by smokin' in the boys' room.
Not only did their outfits coordinate, but they had the telltale lammies hangin' off of 'em. Noting that they were in front of a swanky hotel, I could tell these guys were on some kind of a tour. Before I could ask who they were, a shiny 'beamer pulled up, and they all got inside, squealing off to wherever.
Here I am, lookin' like a bag lady, pulling my laptop, my huge pink suitcase, with my camera case on my back, and I didn't know who the heck these guys were. Flashforward to later that night, when I'm strollin' round downtown ATL, looking for this milkshake bar, and I just see this sea of people in a line that looked about three miles long, wrapped around massive buildings. When I ask what the line is for, of course, they say a rap concert, but I honestly could not tell you correctly who the heck it was.
What I can tell you is that Downtown Atlanta has a lot of cool stuff packed in close together. Just wander down the street, and you can find all sorts of food and entertainment. Always places to spend.
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