More Change

The Room Is How Much?

In December I had some work in downtown Chicago and my client suggested I stay at one of the two W Hotels in the city. I’d never stayed at a W Hotel before and I admit that I was pretty excited. They have a reputation for being a bit edgy, avant-guard, and cool.

I checked into the WChicago – City Center pretty late in the evening. The lobby was as hip-happenin’ as I expected. From the music style, low lights, and pulsing energy, you could tell it was a younger crowd. The design guaranteed if you weren’t cool you wouldn’t be hanging around downstairs for long.

(Actually I’ve never understood the sitting in the hotel lobby unless you’re waiting for someone, but that’s another post.)

Since my Northern Wisconsin travel clothes and gray hair marked me as not one of the beautiful people, I headed up to my room. Opening the door, I registered that the room was SMALL and DARK – not unusual for a downtown, metropolis hotel. Looking for and turning on all the available light switches didn’t take long. My search took me to the critical convenience – the bathroom, which I used. Where, I wondered was the toilet paper. A few minutes of fruitless searching uncovered nothing except the box of Kleenex. Fortunately that worked okay.

Now I was challenged. You can’t tell me that the W Hotel forget to put a toilet paper roll in their bathrooms. When I finally found it, I realized that being a hotel room designer didn’t actually take intelligence or common sense. Since I was certain no one would believe me, I used the camera on my Treo to document the situation. Pictures can speak louder than words! 

So, you might be wondering just how much does a stay in this cool place cost? Checking the latest rate on the WHotel website for a mid week stay, it's a mere $329.00! You just might want to take the toilet paper off the roll before you sit down!

What About Your Funeral?

In last week’s issue of Thinking for a Change, I quoted Garrison Keillor who said, “They say such nice things at funerals that it makes me sad to realize I’m going to miss mine by just a few days.”

I didn’t have time to expound in that issue, but I’ve planned my ending celebration, telling my kids what they need to do. Ever since I read the article that explained that you could have your ashes placed into fireworks, I knew I was going to go out of this world with a bang! The good news is that we have an understanding – not to mention adventurous - friend who is licensed to pack and set off fireworks. (This is definitely not a do-it-yourself project!)

There are so many things in life that are embedded with deeply set patterns and feelings that we don’t even consider that we could change both. Don’t misunderstand. There is great comfort in ritual, but even rituals started because someone did something new that others decided to imitate. Over time, the imitation of a good idea became a must-do pattern. What started as an innovation became a fashion, then an accepted practice, until finally institutionalized as a ritual. Interesting concept – rituals were born from change.

Back to my funeral. I see friends gathered in a field under a dark sky. Music playing – probably Keep Me In Your Heart by Warren Zevon. At the perfect moment, there will be a soft sound – the first launch – and a rocket will take flight, silence, a fountain of yellow will spill from the sky and those gathered will say, Ooooooh, Ahaaaa.

See Garrison, maybe you can know what they’ll say.