Dispatches from Philadelphia

Philly update 1: So far, The City of Brotherly Love has charged me $300 dollars to rent this car and wouldn’t let me check in to my hotel until this afternoon. However, I’m holding out hope that I’ll get a picture of the Rocky Balboa statue and Liberty Bell before the day is through.

Philly update 2: No Rocky Balboa, and I only got the exterior view of the building that holds the liberty bell. But it's a nice building, so I'll take it.

Philly update 3: "Streets of Philadelphia" is a great Bruce Springsteen song from an even better movie ("Philadelphia" duh). In this song the boss says, "I was bruised and battered / I couldn't tell what I felt / I was unrecognizable to myself." I now see what the man means and why this city is a perfect backdrop for his message about the marginalized and downtrodden. First off, the city, like the song, is beautiful. There's a pervasive sense of history here, literally everywhere you turn is another landmark that played an integral role in the birth of the country. Yet it seems like a city that is so essential to our existence as a nation hasn't found a way to move on or view itself as an active part of the present. It's just weird seeing a Footlocker across the street from Benjamin Franklin's former home or A Hard Rock Cafe around the corner from the sight of the signing of the constitution.

Philly update 4: Did you ever see that SNL sketch when a mother gives birth to a full grown Will Ferrell and he says "Whooo. It was HOT in there. I am RIPE."
Well, truer words were never spoken in my case as a day of trekking (plus travel restrictions due to the potential dangers of my Old Spice High Performance gelstick) around historic Philadelphia has left me smelling like an old, sweaty turkey sandwich. I think Adrian was actually able to smell me through our IMs.

Philly Update 5: This no gel/toothpaste/aerosol (sp?) travel thing is really killing me. I haven't shaved in 4 days, my hair looks weird, and I think my breath can best be described as mustardy. On the plus side, my hotel was kind enough to supply me with some complimentary toothpaste and a toothbrush. Now, I don't want to insult the good people at SpringFresh toothpaste, but I have a couple of issues.

One, why is a toothpaste called SpringFresh? Mint, cinnamon and even the crazy new lemon/citrus/vanilla scents I can deal with. But Spring conjures up thoughts about laundry detergent, room deodorizers and household cleaners. This is weird to me, especially since the toothpaste turned out to be mint flavored.

Two, I'm not making this up, this is verbatim off the back of the tube "WARNING: If you accidentally swallow more than used for brushing, seek professional assistance or contact a poison control center immediately." How much of this stuff does it take to kill you? The whole tube is the same size as a minitube of superglue.
Philly Update 6: Well, the Philly updates are now coming from New York as I made my way into town via train and straight over to CarryOn's office. Finally got to meet the lovely new members of the team, Veronica, Elizabeth, Siobahananahhaan and Eloise. I'm going to try to force them to post before the day is over. Stay tuned....