You are my personal hero.

Ha!

I got free tickets to the Broadway version and I was so anti going I almost let them go to waste. But, it was better than the alternative (probably laundry) and, I have to say, I did not mind it. Even, actually, kind of enjoyed it.

But, there's no way I'll go to the movie. Unless the laundry pile gets really high.

In other news, I predict that Mama Mia will be shown on every flight I'm on during the year 2009. Kind of like this year's Fool's Gold. :mad:

I miss Charlie. I'm never through IAH these days when he's working — or if I am, I'm stuck in Terminal B. :(

I'm up for it.

The excitement of my Baton Rouge work trips is mostly limited to the concierge lounge at the Baton Rouge Marriott. My client there isn't the easiest to work with, so I always end up closing out the day with a few glasses of wine or cocktails and some hors d'oeuvres. And the lounge attendant is usually fairly generous with the accounting at the honor bar; put one glass of wine down on your tally sheet, and sit there long enough and odds are she'll ask you which bottle you're drinking from, bring it over, and refill your glass once or twice and not make note of it.

There is a lounge attendant in Orlando like that. One of the many things I like about the hotel. The upside of the increase of my int'l travel is the free booze in the lounges :) When I'm there on weekends; I can even partake at lunch.

I've never understood why alcohol is complimentary in the lounges at hotels outside the US, and you almost always have to pay here. Yet, you can go to hotels like a Residence Inn or Homewood Suites, which are not considered full service, and they give it to everyone for a couple of hours in the evenings. Embassy Suites is the same deal, although technically Hilton classifies those as full service. But go into any Marriott, Hilton, Doubletree, Westin, W or the like in this country with a lounge and they are going to charge for the alcohol — even though there are other brands operated by the same hotel company where the rooms are cheaper and you can get free drinks in the evenings.

It's the same deal with Internet service in the room — the cheaper brands always give it to you for free, and the more expensive full service properties charge you $10-15/day for the same level of service. Shouldn't it be the opposite?

You're right - that is completely twisted logic. I guess they feel we're willing to shell out more for the room, we can handle the extra fees :rolleyes:. I don't remember where I was internationally lately, but the internet was around $30 or $35 a day!

ssullivan, awaiting local yummy Tex Mex^, my norm when I come home (I know you're missing it). I actually had Mexican while in Nebraska. The only good thing I like about Mexican in Nebraska is I can order enchiladas without meat gravy and I ordered one margarita (which was, I believe, $6.95) and it came in a mixer which then filled the glass about six times. I really didn't care what the food tasted like :D

'cause people continue to pay for it at the full-service properties. The day we all collectively say "screw it" is the day the hotel chains will change.

Yep, and we pay for it because we know our employers will reimburse us for it when we're on business travel.

I'm doing pretty well at the moment. I had Pappasito's at IAH with a coworker while we were both on layover (heading to different destinations) last Monday evening. And I had some decent tacos in Lubbock while I was there for work this week.

Monday I head for work in Alpine, TX. I'll definitely get a good fix of Tex Mex down there.

Actually, at the moment I kind of am on the schedule I was on before I moved away from Houston — working in West Texas Tuesday-Thursday, and flying between Texas and ATL Monday and Friday. I'm working in Texas both of the next two weeks, and then going to Houston for a weekend for the Astros Do. I think I'll be through HOU and IAH at least 15 times between now and the end of August.

I paid that much at a Hilton in London in February. I was on a reward stay, but when I checked out my bill was about £45-50 for Internet access in the room, which of course meant my credit card was hit for just over $100 US for those charges and the international transaction fee.

I had to make my way to Jeweler's Row today. Sold a ring for a lot less than I paid. Oh well, lesson learned - by from a jeweler, not from a friend of a friend. You want to talk about traffic chaos? There was an electrical fire underground in Chinatown at 10th and Arch. It was not fun to try and navigate through that. I donated clothing to Goodwill as well today. Now at work - all on OT. I'm sure some of you in the box have no idea what OT is, since you are salaried. :cool: I wish I was salaried.

In the UK, some of the internet connection charges are truly insane.

So that then your hourly wage could be below minimum wage? ;) Be careful what you wish for! Being salaried can mean working way too many hours and wishing for OT!