Dec 03 2007
Not Exactly The Lush Life
I thought I’d dispel any myths you may have that my life is all airport restrooms and lavish expense accounts.
Granted there is nothing like being able to take photos of Womens’ Restrooms at airports ’round the world but I’m not exactly living the lush life. Lush as in lavish, opulent, luxurious.
To give you some idea of what it’s like to be a frequent business traveler, I’ll work my way backwards.
Last Friday I made it back to Vino Volo where I had last spoken with a stranger.
This time around I sampled wines, read a book and enjoyed my own company.
The traveling life looks good, huh? OK, there may be some lushness here.
Since I tasted all this wine I had to avail myself of the facilities, which provided me with yet another Restroom Seeking Opportunity. This being my last week in Seattle and who knew when I’d be back at Sea-Tac, I explored another terminal.
This is what I found:
Dark floor tiles, dingier wall tiles, again with the shelf OVER the toilet, I think I had found the older part of toilet town.
Feel free to compare it to the what is provided at the N gates. Still very clean, if nothing to write home about.
So that was the end of my week. Let’s rewind to Monday.
I flew in Monday, which meant I had to unpack and iron. This hotel provided suites. Suites mean kitchens and living rooms. Yep, quite the glamorous jet-setting lifestyle.
Here is where I performed all manner of maintenance rituals, too many to recount. Good thing I don’t do much with my hair and barely use makeup. It’s my oral hygiene fixation that slows me down.
I think I’ve seen these stickers in hotels across America.
I would think that using a sprinkler head as a clothes hook would be very inconvenient but then again, most people are taller than four-foot-ten-and-three-quarter-inches.
Since this hotel catered to business travelers, they provided wireless Internet and a desk. Yes, those are the infamous postcards on the lower-left corner. All the comforts of home and of course, unlike home, there was Housekeeping.
The hotel provided complementary: breakfast and dinner, 24/7 Starbucks coffee, and who wudda thunk it, free local beer and boxed wine during dinner.
Interesting things happened in that dining room.
I thought this was a bullet hole but I am no ballistics expert. I was told this was a rock strike.
But that wasn’t what was so interesting. The dining room looks very innocuous doesn’t it? I certainly thought so. If you recall, I am pretty clueless.
Last week I was sitting alone at one of those tables, sipping wine and writing my postcards to a few of you.
Until a stranger spoke to me.
Some things to ponder…
Free food, Starbucks and booze??
Ms. Q knows how to iron?
How big were those wine glasses and how many more of them weren’t in the photo?
That looks like a bullet hole to me.
What’s up with married men who don’t wear their wedding rings???
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It looks like a bullet hole to me too. I remember the first time a bullet came through my project apartment. I heard it come through the glass during the night but wasn’t sure what it was until the morning. I don’t live there anymore but I know the bullet is still in the wall. It took maintenance two months to come fix the glass. Good thing it wasn’t winter.
The hotel looks like a Marriot or Embassy Suites. I’ve always liked the two chains. Having Starbucks 24/7 sounds delightful.
If you every get more than five people in a room then they start to get creative in what they hang where. Those signs on the sprinklers are very necessary although they go unnoticed or ignored by many.
I don’t know… I think since it didn’t shatter more towards the central impact, that might suggest a lower velocity projectile (a rock). Bullets tend to cause more ’shatter’ around the central point.
I think shelves over toities are funny concepts, and I’d be afraid to use them.
*eyes the postcards*
UT: That glass was double-paned so the rock shattered the first sheet but not the 2nd. Safety glass is interesting – I looked at the hole, which was quite neat and the edges looked “melted” around the hole, like a volcano!
A Texan looked at the hole (the stranger that spoke to me … more on him later) and he said a bullet, even a BB, would have pierced both panes and there would have been more shattering. So what he said matches up with Sue’s assessment.
I asked the “bartender” that night – I have the double-quotes because the hotel didn’t allow the guests to serve themselves when it came to the booze (don’t blame them!) so they had this policy of the employees all taking turns being bartender. It was fun for me – I got to talk to the accountant one night, the maintenance engineer another…
Anyway, he said that while he heard it was a rock and they were waiting for the glass to come in – it was a custom size.
Those 2 hotel chains are nice. I haven’t been in an Embassy Suites in forever – I just select hotels that are near work and either a Marriott or Hilton chain (hotel points!) Usually I end up at a business traveler version (Hilton Garden Inn, Residence Inn, Courtyard) as they cheaper than the full-blown hotels.
I hadn’t thought of the situation of more than 5 people in a room! Some of those sprinklers are way high – like 8 feet! I’m told that yes, people have hung hangers from them!
Sue: Sounds like you know your high-speed projectiles! Or watch a lot of CSI. I read a lot of forensic detective novels and have shot a few handguns, a shotgun and a rifle. Just range stuff to see what it’s like.
Tell me when you get your postcard! I am hoping, hmm, by Tuesday?
The Residence Inn is one of the best brands that I’ve stayed at. On my last business trip they upgraded me to a two bedroom suite (not that I needed two rooms) with a fire place. I was loving it. Too bad I was alone.
Thank you for the break down on the windows.
Ms. Q, does anyone give you the “sideways” look when you are photographing bathrooms, restaurants, glasses of wine, etc.?
Regardless, please keep it up. I’m sitting at work wishing I had three glasses of wine on my desk right now!
UT: So you’re getting to travel more? I knew you had been on the road but it sounds like you’re traveling more than I thought.
I’ve been upgraded to some pretty nice rooms but I never really end up using them to full enjoyment – I’m working and just want to get to sleep or I need to work more.
When it comes to the Residence Inns it all depends on the location! Some are nicer than others. Usually they are baseline nice. I tend to prefer Marriott properties over Hilton and I’m not even sure why exactly, both are pretty good. I think the Marriotts – the full blown hotels have nicer restaurants. I’m always wanting hotels with a workout room!
Regarding the windows – you’re welcome! Sometimes I think the comments are more interesting than the post (mine or other blogs).
Jake: I do get the sideways glances but more so in bathrooms than elsewhere. I think in this day and age of camera phones people are more used to the idea of photographing the most random of things. When it came to taking the photos of the wine, I figure I was at an airport – tourists go through airports, I could pretend I was a tourist!
I liked the middle glass the most – it was a Washington Cab. Shudda gotten a full glass later instead of the recommended blend but hey, gotta try new things.
Is that a Dell Latitude 610? Are we the last two people on earth that have non-wide notebook screens?
“What’s up with married men who don’t wear their wedding rings???” A buddy of mine tells me that women approach him all the time when he’s wearing his wedding ring. Maybe men take them off when they want women to leave them alone.
delmer: You’re close – that’s a Dell 600 – it has the built in mike. I only know this because it has the mike and the Dell 610 didn’t and when we were trying to use Skype to communicate with a development team in India, the guy with the 610 couldn’t call in.
My personal laptop is 17″ – a Dell Inspiron 9300.
Unfortunately, you will be the last person on earth with a non-wide laptop as I am turning in that 600 on Tuesday. I was informed that “Effective 12/05 your position will be terminated.”
I’m reeling a bit from this bit of news but whenever things like this have happened to me (being dumped, getting fired) it put me in a place, either emotionally or physically, for something better. All things considered, the timing isn’t bad – I just had my teeth cleaned and my back adjusted so have squeaked some insurance out in the nick of time.
I’m lucky I’m not in desperate straits with family depending on me and sure I feel not the best but I list all my blessings and I could talk for a long, long time.
Boy, that’s evil. Leaving a piece of paper over the toilet so you can’t use it. Those heartless evildoers!
I never wore rings or anything ever. I got married and wore my wedding ring for about two weeks. It bugs me when I play guitar or piano, so I haven’t worn it since (we’ve been married for 8 years). The only time I ever run into a lot of women I don’t know is when I go shopping for groceries, and I usually do that in the middle of weekdays, and most of the women there at that time (in our area) are senior citizens more interested in what brand of chicken broth is on sale that week than finding a male for recreational activities, so I don’t think I’m in too much extramarital danger.
the frogster: hahaha! I should have taken the photos BEFORE I “prepped” it but was too lazy to flush and retake.
My parents (when they were married) never wore their wedding rings and I know a few people who don’t like wearing them or have stopped wearing them for various reasons. I don’t know if I’ll finish up this post based on what is going on these days.