Archive for January, 2008
SoHo Livin’
Jan 30th
It seemed like a great idea. Our fearless leader, Fran, suggested we eschew the traditional hotel scene, choosing a place that came highly recommended by a friend of a friend.
The slick promo piece stated that it was a beautiful and spacious loft in the eclectic SoHo district in lower Manhattan. It had seven bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a fully stocked kitchen, Internet access and a large community room. I thought it would be a good time, sharing this space with Fran, Dick, Chris and Louie, my GT friends, while we attended the annual awards luncheon.
The loft door had a high-tech fingerprint-reading device necessary for entry. I was feeling good about the rest of the possibilities beyond the entrance. Unfortunately, that was the last of the good surprises.
My room was an 8-foot windowless square (cube, if you count the ceiling) of day-glo orange, except for the inside wall which was a huge sliding glass door with crepe-paper-like curtains. My bedding was neon red, with an extra multicolored blanket for extra eye-soreness. My retinas are still burning from this color ambush.There was a small wall TV (which required a PhD to power up), but it was not angled for good viewing in bed. Of course, there was nowhere else in the room to watch it. The other rooms were identical, except for their individual color combinations, all equally as eye-numbing as mine.
There was a working (although slow) PC tucked behind the entrance door. The track lighting in the ceiling was placed behind the user, thereby casting a huge shadow across the keyboard (with its unusually short cord). Perhaps I should have opened the glass-door curtains to allow my neon room to brighten this area. There was a broken printer nearby, which seemed oddly appropriate.
The kitchen was fully stocked, if you like condiments, Wonder Bread and beyond ripe bananas (one of them actually had some yellow still showing).
The bathrooms were located conveniently across from our rooms. Turning the sink faucet to hot, then turning on the shower (and clicking your heels three times) produced a nice lukewarm drizzle in the shower. So refreshing! After a shower, we were able to use one small towel doled out to each of us.
With a late afternoon flight back to Chicago, I figured to sleep late (another of my misguided notions). At a crispy 7:15, I was awoken by pounding on the door. Our host had failed to inform us that some sort of meeting was being held that morning in the community room. Our host also forgot to arrive in time to let them in. After three such disturbances, I just left the door open.
You might be asking why we stayed there at all. We arrived late and were so tired we just needed to crash. At least it was fairly clean.
As George Costanza once stated, “None of what I have just written was embellished, as no embellishments were needed.”
The loft experience will become legendary, especially because of Fran’s unique sense of humor. I am quite sure it will serve better as an amusing anecdote than it did as a comfortable night’s stay.
-John Wroblewski, distribution specialist
Airport Rage
Jan 28th
Friday morning I was flying from John Wayne (Orange County) Airport to Atlanta and connecting to Philadelphia. I was able to secure a rather cheap first class rate through Travelocity by skipping LAX and connecting. The schedule also had me flying out on USAirways and this afforded me a chance to try both products.
But today’s blog is about men behaving badly. While in line to board first (this, of course, is the beauty of being in first class), I saw a youngish chap, head down in his Blackberry, bypassing the line. As he passed me, I said – and these are my exact words – “There is kind of a line here.” And he turned to me and said “Oh, sorry, but you don’t have to be an ass about it.”
Frankly, I was shocked. I looked at him (of course, no one came to my aid) and you could hear a pin drop. I thought and then said, “Ok, let me tell you more directly, you are butting in line and you are behind me, is that better?” He called me an ass again and the guy in front of me started laughing as we walked down the jetway. He told me he was a million-miler and he thought he had seen everything! I said something about him being so crabby in the morning and we all laughed!
On the plane I received a call from one of my clients and I had to tell her the story. “It’s Orange County, Fran – that’s the way they are!” At the same moment, I looked up at the flight attendant and she was mouthing to me the same thing. I was just laughing and said that had never happened to me before! And I have to say, nobody in Orange County treated me badly, so it must have been him.
Now, I am not saying I never butt in line, ’cause I do, but if I get caught, I either say I’m sorry and get back in line, or sometimes, I pretend not to hear the person. Bottom line is, I would not call a person who is right an ass. Frankly, that is not acceptable behavior, especially at an airport and in first class.
The passenger did come onboard, after me, of course. He did not say a peep the rest of the flight and thankfully he was not sitting next to me!
Have we now passed the air rage timetable? Air rage was all the rage prior to 9/11. Post 9/11, airlines adopted a no-tolerance policy. So, are these people, many of whom were not flying in the years before 9/11 nor the few years after, who are now are flying and maybe they don’t know the rules? If any of you are reading this, trust me, I will tell you when you break a rule!
-Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO
Aspen Condo
Jan 27th
Having a condo in Aspen is one of those luxury lifestyle things — and real estate prices there do put most other places to shame — but you don’t have to buy, you can rent. One of the best deals for deluxe condos I found when I was there recently is The Gant, a fully serviced condo complex with 123 one- to four-bedroom units.
The Gant is set on five acres at the edge of town, in walking distance of shops and restaurants. It also runs a courtesy shuttle to area ski lifts and into town. Amenities you don’t always find when you rent a condo are included at the Gant: concierge, valet and bell service, data ports, WiFi, and daily maid service. A breakfast basket is delivered to your room on arrival with cereal, fruit, milk, breads and bagels, spreads and other goodies, since there is no restaurant on-site.
The units are spacious and have large kitchens open to a great room, fireplaces, and ample baths. Decor is up to the individual owners, and affects the pricing (i.e., the lowest-priced units haven’t been upgraded in a while). The premium units have high-end features such as granite counters and steam showers, and show an interior designer’s hand. Even within that category, though, taste level varies.
My unit was on ground level, with a walk-out patio. It had gray stone floors, which may be expensive and durable but made me feel like I was in a cellar. Even with all the lighting on maximum, it was dim (though the concierge brought me a high-intensity lamp for my working area on request). I wound up working at the kitchen counter because my unit didn’t have any desk space, but other units even have private offices complete with computers, so the point is to get as much detail as you can about the specific unit you’re renting.
I thought it would be a great place for a family ski vacation, or for couples traveling together. As an individual, the owners’ family pictures that were left scattered about made me feel a bit out of place.
There is also a separate meeting facility with an outdoor terrace for private dining; the fitness facilities, which include a sauna, are also in that building. There are three hot tubs scattered about the property, and two outdoor heated swimming pools.
Here’s another picture, of one of the living rooms. Click on any of the thumbnails to enlarge.
–Mary Hunt, editor, eFlyer
