South Carolina rush

This week was an interesting one to say the least.

I've been working with a customer all week, nothing odd there, they had a new and particularly bad virus outbreak, and a combination of problems slowed cleanup down.

On Wednesday it was decided that I would go down to help them out.
On Thursday, I was getting on a plane, and flew down there for Friday. I got home at 2am last night.

The highlight of the trip was the hotel - they had one non smoking room left. When I booked in, they told me I had a suprise waiting for me.

I got upstairs, top floor, to find I had the key to an anonymous double door in the corner - when I went in, I had the presidential suite. Wow.

The bathroom was as big as my living room. Jacuzzi tub, double head showed unit, double sink, two toilets (two?!). The bedroom was bigger, with a really comfortable (much more so than normal Embassy Suite beds) king size. The living room was plush, there was a huge dining table and a little kitchennette.

I have no clue who normally stays in these rooms - it didn't look plush enough for a really posh presedential suite (they still had the normal hotel fixtures and fittings, for example - sample size toiletries etc), but it was considerably bigger than a normal room.

Unfortunately, I checked in late, and checked out really early. Not a lot of time to enjoy it.

The trip ended up being a success, for me and the customer.

Busy restaurant

A crammed mexican restaurant in north carolina airport

Portland

I'm here in Portland. The city is amazingly beautiful. So many evergreen trees, rolling hills, and the coolest thing. Flying from Vancouver you can see some of the mountains poking through the clouds at that altitude. That was an awesome experience. :D

The first trip on a prop plane wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, for the most part. The plane was a DHC8 400 series, which is suprisingly big! It could hold roughly 50 or so people. It was very funny though how they kept saying it's a load balancing plane so some people in the front needed to move to the back so we could take off. Apparently we were too front heavy.

The flight crew was awesome. It was such a short flight. They had no more served the drinks than it was time to collect the stuff. The only downside with that quick up and down is that now my ear is killing me and I have no hearing on my right side. I'm guessing it's just a serious air bubble trapped in there and it should clear by morning, but it's seriously annoying.

The hotel I'm in, though... I usually stay at Hiltons, but decided to give the Courtyard here a go. Big mistake. The hotel is nice enough, but seriously... I asked for a fridge in my room. This should not be a massive request, especially given the fact I asked for it over a week ago. Guess what. A bunch of little snot nosed brats were asking for them so they can keep their effing sodas cold. So no fridge for the person that asked a long time ago and really needs it. "Sorry, we can't help you, as it's first come, first serve basis". This is not my problem, given the fact I asked well in advance, but apparently it's first come at check in. They did give me a couple of vouchers to the bar/restaurant and they did put my stuff in the staff fridge/freezer. Now we hope it will be there in the morning. I'm not too stressed about cross-contamination as everything is sealed and in freezer bags, but for the love of Dog, WTF?? Seriously, they should have set one aside, espeically when I stipulated medical need. I don't care about these little f****ers and their coke.

Tomorrow isn't going to come soon enough. At least the folks who are hosting this conference seem to have their act together.

On the road, heading west

I'm sitting here in Vancouver this evening. The flights all things considered were pretty uneventful. The Manchester to Chicago leg was very smooth, from security to boarding. (The plane was a CRJ700, Mike). The plane was itty bitty but the flight attendant was hilarious. He actually got me to listen to the safety info because he was cracking jokes all through it.

The next leg was a bit weird. United forgot to give us a plane. Yep you heard right. There was a flight, a gate, just no plane. They ended up pulling one from the hanger. (A 319, another smallish plane). I'm so glad I paid for the upgrade to enconomy plus. I had the row right behind first class so TONNES of legroom. And there was still enough space to put a bag under the seat in front.

Stupidly I didn't pull money for the trip. I figured there would be a Travelex up here and I could simply card it. Nope. So I had a right bit of panic for a bit, but it was all sorted in the end and I had money to get to the airport.

I just got back from a late dinner (seared scallops with scallion puree and roasted sunchokes for appetiser and smoked black cod with aromatic veggies and mushrooms for dinner, topped off with a nice pot of green tea) and am full and much happier. My stomach has been really thrashed the last two days and I've literally no idea why. It's not gluten, but something has obviously decided not to agree with me. I have a sinking feeling it might be the bread (I tried making the last couple loaves with Lactaid milk). But I'll go without the bread tomorrow and see how I feel. It could potentially be the cheese, but I rather doubt it, as I've been eating an ounce a day for several weeks now (hard cheese with 0g lactose. :) And 50% reduced fat to boot).

In the meantime, I think I'm going to curl up in bed and read til I fall asleep.

First week of teaching

This was my first week of teaching two classes. The first class yesterday was really good. There was one new person in there so I tried to spend a bit of time with her. The other teacher was there and once again was having a blast. I like the other teacher. She is so passionate about bellydance and it's contagious. Tonight I was on my own with two new women and the three regulars. The newbies were so cute! They were so excited that I had hip scarves and veils for them to use. I also had enough candles for myself and the two new girls and one girl who forgot hers. The other regulars had theirs so we could play with some props. It was a huge amount of fun.

For the last few minutes I worked with the new girls and let the regulars have some free dance time. I didn't want the new folks to feel left out or lost. That feeling sucks. I've been there. They left very excited and they can't wait til next week. THAT really made me happy. :)

Unfortunately I'll be in Vancouver next week, so no teaching for two weeks. I hope to have some time to practice while up in CA and Portland. :)

It was a good night.

Upside down pug

Says hi!