Whew! It's over.

You know that feeling you get when you're working toward some big event -- your wedding, a play, a big fundraiser, a 1st birthday party -- and your whole life seems consumed with the task. Then it happens. And then it's over and you are just exhausted?

Yep. That's me today. Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis is one for the record books -- happily, with the right team in the W column, and I feel like I have been working out with the teams. I am beat.

It's been a week of emotional pride in my community; walking, walking; walking in Super Bowl Village; late nights to catch Jimmy Fallon and what new and wonderful things he might say about Indianapolis; Twitter and Facebook conversations to keep the energy moving; reading and watching and listening to report after report about the city and the upcoming game. And now it's over and I am worn out. I can't imagine what the people on the host committee must feel like now.

The kids have today off of school, courtesy of the Big Game, so I happily took off work to stay home, too. The prudent part of me knows this would be a great day to catch up on laundry, finally get the Christmas boxes back in the storage room (they're packed up, just waiting to be moved), and clean my bedroom. The indulgent part of me wants to move from this chair at the kitchen table and snuggle down under a blanket on the couch.

Having the Super Bowl in our city was a fun ride. I'm glad we got to experience it -- well, everyone except Robbie who doesn't do big crowds very well. I'm so proud of the way the city came together to put on an amazing show on a world stage. The way the television stations actually reported something other than what comes over the police scanner all day (not looking forward to returning to that). The accolades that came from media all over the country.

But right now, I'm glad for the quiet and for my blanket on the couch.

Indy, I give you a proud!

We have a saying in our house: "I give you a proud."

It goes back to Annie's First Communion. My in-laws were in town for the occasion and were getting ready to return home. My mother-in-law said to Annie "You were so pretty and you did such a good job. I'm really proud of you." Then she kissed Charlie and Robbie goodbye and went out the front door. Charlie ran after her, crying, "GoGo! You didn't give me a proud!"

Since then when someone does something good, we often say "I give you a proud for that." And today, I'm saying "Indianapolis, I give you a proud for the amazing celebration you've put together for Super Bowl XLVI."

Super Bowl Village opened here on Friday night. I watched posts and pictures pop up on Facebook and so wanted to be part of the party. On Saturday night, Annie and I went downtown with friends to soak up the super atmosphere.

We entered the village on the south side of Monument Circle, where the massive XLVI letters stand. (They were designed by a co-worker's son and installed by a crew led by her husband.) There was music and a light show and a general festive atmosphere. Through the weekend, 33 Indy cars decked out in NFL team colors and logos were lined up on Meridian Street. This week, they'll be sent out to locations throughout the city and beyond, though the Giants and P------- and the Super Bowl car will stay downtown. It was a great way to tie together what Indy is most famous for -- the Indianapolis 500 -- with Super Bowl XLVI.

 
This awesome pic was taken by Jason Lavengood. Iconic!
Click the photo to go to his website.

We walked to Georgia Street which is block after block of celebration. Fire and Ice Lounges give people a place to grab something to drink and warm up. Free concert stages with local and national acts keep the music going all night long. Tonight the headliners are the Village People!

Food carts and trucks and local restaurants are ready to feed hungry fans. You could even walk up to get some famous St. Elmo's Steakhouse shrimp cocktail for $16 or a 50-piece platter of shrimp for $135!

There were super volunteers all over the place. You could tell who they were by their blue and white hand-knit scarves. The Super Scarf project netted 8,000 scarves all knit and donated by volunteers around the country. My friend Kathi's came from a woman in California. The note with it said "I made this is May, so when you're wearing it, think of the warm May weather in California."

Some of the volunteers were armed with iPads to answer any questions that might come up. Others were oh-so-hard to miss because they were sporting big ? flags on their backs. Somehow I missed the volunteer sign up opportunities. I really must pay more attention to the world around me.

There were ice sculptures made by some TLC show ice carvers, too.

I didn't even see it all. We turned off Georgia Street to get a bite to eat before we got to the zipline, so I want to go back to see that. We didn't stop in The Huddle at the old Nordstrom which is set up with bars and dance clubs and Super Bowl merchandise.

Remarkably, we saw very few drunk people and I didn't encounter anyone who was rude or difficult to deal with, although I'm sure they were there. As we walked through it all, I just couldn't help but be so proud of Indianapolis for putting on such an amazing show.

Mike and Charlie went on Sunday to the NFL Experience, which was pretty pricey to get in. They said it was crazy crowded, but Charlie got to participate in a football clinic put on by a Colts player and a Vikings player. He caught two touchdown passes. Not that I'm proud or anything!

The best part of the Super Bowl Village festivities was that it didn't feel like a celebration for just two teams. And it wasn't about the Colts (who are swirling in their own transitional drama right now). It was just a celebration for whomever wanted to celebrate. I'm sure as the week goes on and the East Coasters arrive, it will feel more about the Giants vs. the P-------. But for now, it's just plain old fun!

So, let me repeat: Indianapolis, I give you a PROUD

Rotten deal

Like most everyone, I love a good deal. (Everyone, that is, except Mike's grandmother who thinks if something is on sale there must be a problem with it.) I keep my eyes on the daily deal offers like Eversave and Groupon.

Last summer, I bought a Groupon to a restaurant near my office. $10 for $20 worth of food to South of Chicago Pizza and Beef. And then I promptly forgot about it. Lucky for me, I remembered the deal last week. I printed out the certificate and made note to use it before the January 24, 2012 expiration date. 

Life being what it is, the morning of January 24th arrived and I still had not used my offer. So I planned to  go to South of Chicago for lunch with some co-workers. When we arrived, the smell was heavenly. Fresh bread and melty cheese. Little did I know something was going to stink real soon.

Before I could even look at the menu, the cashier saw the Groupon voucher in my hand and said, "You can't use your Groupon. It's expired."

"No, the expiration date is January 24. That's today, so I have until the end of today to use it."

"No. It's Groupon's rules. It's expired and you can't use it." Then I looked beyond her shoulder to see a white board with the same SOL message. 

"Well," I said, "Then we're leaving." And my two co-workers and I went down the street to Tortas Mexican sandwich shop, where we had a delicious lunch (I recommend the #4 - Luis Miguel), although the service was a little inconsistent.

When I got back to the office, I lodged a complaint with Groupon, took a poll of my Facebook friends regarding expiration dates (all 19 people who commented agreed with me), and left a message on the South of Chicago Facebook page:

"Really disappointed that you did not honor my Groupon Indianapolis today. The expiration says January 24, 2012. I should have had until close of business today to use it. And I was not the only customer turned away. The ill will and bad experience that I will be sure to share with others will cost more than the $10 you would have eaten had you honored my Groupon."

I was going to blog about the experience, but opted to go to bed early. Plus, by then I had simmered down a little bit. 

It wasn't until the middle of the night last night when I was awake (as usual) that I read South of Chicago's replies to my FB message. The first reply said,

"You can use your coupon for face value up until July 22."

Funny, that gal at the counter didn't mention that. Just nope. Sorry. If she had offered that, I might have been willing to accept it and place an order using my so-called-expired certificate for $10 off. That might have taken the edge off some of my frustration.

Then I read the second reply and got angry all over again. I'll let you see it for yourself:

Seriously? One of the benefits of being engaged in social media as a business is so you can communicate with your customers, resolve difficulties and let others see how you take care of those who try to support your business. I think South of Chicago Pizza and Beef missed that in Social Media 101. 

There was no "I'm sorry for your experience" or "There was some confusion" or even "Please call us at xxx-xxxx so we can work on making this better." Just a childish mocking of me -- who you can be assured will never be a customer. 

On a positive note, I also received feedback from Groupon, which said:

I'm really sorry for the trouble with this! You were correct in your understanding of how the expiration works. I'll talk to the business to see if we can get that cleared up for them. I've just canceled this order and issued $10 Groupon credit to your account. The credit is available in your account immediately and does not expire.

At least someone knows a little something about how to treat customers.