A Just A Little Bit Orange Feature
By Clara Pettitt. Copyright © 11/26/2000. All Rights Reserved.

Sunless.com in Chicago

In which Clara [editor of sunless.com and sunless tanning guinea pig] and Dave [boyfriend, system administrator, and senior developer of sunless.com] venture into the neon jungle of Chicago to attend the International Tanning Trade Expo. Mission: Gather new sunless tanning product information; learn what the tanning industry reveals of itself via its training; meet up with Fantasy Tan for a Fantasy Tan Fest.

Thursday, November 2, 2000

When I arrived at the Rosemont Hyatt at 10:30 PM, I was plunged into gloom. At first glance, the crowd in the lobby was a caricature of what I had feared — and every single one of them had a lit cigarette.

Well, you might be thinking, what did she expect at an indoor tanning trade show: Health food and yoga?

If I had known at that moment that I would not be able to crash the John Abaté International party at the Excalibur the next night [the event of the Expo, according to Looking Fit], I would have sobbed. As it was, I found myself wondering why I had dragged myself 2,000 miles just to breath secondhand smoke.

Fortunately, things got better.

Friday, November 3, 2000

I spent the morning attending the National Tanning Training Institute's [NTTI] three hour certification course, free to tanning salon owners and employees.

At some point in the large, blessedly smoke free room, filled with hundreds of people assiduously taking notes, I learned a valuable lesson: I am insignificant.

I had cultured egotistical fantasies of being shunned at the convention; instead, I realized I am merely a small gnat on the windshield of the semi truck that is the indoor tanning industry.