Cautionary tale

Road warriors out there, be careful, take heed and listen to this story, because last Monday I saw the future and let me tell you it is not pretty, or enticing or anything. I t was scary and realizing how easily it could happen to anyone I have decided to tell you about it so y’all take your provisions and stay alert.
Here is the story, I am walking into the hotel and had to ask for some water. Stopped at the Front Desk, at the hotel they know my name; they call be Pablo, not Bobby. But there was a lady waiting, she was tall and thin, blonde (artificially blonde) and she had the accoutrements of a seasoned traveling consultant. The nice bag, the expensive rolling Tummi bag, she had her rental car keys and her wallet. She was just checking in. The guy in the Desk was real friendly and told her that he had gotten her the same room as always and that it was all set. She smiled, and looked content, introduced herself to me, I forget her name, but I did notice the tan and the wrinkles. This was no spring chicken, and she looked a little overdone, if you ask me, but she had a pleasant smile and nice bright blue eyes. We talked for a bit, and then it was my turn to get my water, I ask for it, and I then notice he had some grocery bags with her. The rooms have a fridge and a microwave, so I decided to peak. She had some frozen dinners (yuck), cereal and cookies, some toiletries and finally there was one bag that just stood out from the rest, as she grab them and started walking toward the elevator, one bag has a 12 pack of Coors Light.
This was a Monday which means that she had picked up 12 beers for maybe 3 nights. Imagine that. I can not, but I am not a beer drinker, not at all. Of course as soon as she left and I got my water I had images of a hotel room littered with beer cans, and thought what will the cleaning lady think? I guess she doesn’t care. Nor should I, but please, please, please if anyone ever seems me get a 12 pack of beer to get through the week, just stop me right there in my tracks.
May this serve as a notice to all.

Where no gay cowboy has gone before

Last night, I was going to swim at the Y, but I was tired, and thought, what the hell, I can not swim every day. So I worked a little bit later – 6:30 – and then decided to try out the sushi joint in town. I left the office and drove the Red Carpet Inn, an internationally well known chain of establishments that in the case of the Wilkesboro it comes with a Japanese Steakhouse in the premises. I got there at 6:40, the place was empty. I am not sure what the local was empty and like a set out of Golden Girls, ugly dolls in the corners, ugly drawings hung from the walls, and rattan furniture stained a dark brown color made up the décor. The bar was a tiki bar, with Japanese accessories, and the barwoman and sushi person was oriental for sure, but where I can not tell you. Her accent, being a mix of southern drawl and Margaret Cho’s mother gave no clue. She was fast, and she looked like she had managed the place for years and the two clueless white waitresses where no use. They could not even be bothered with either my order or me paying for the food. But eventually, 20 minutes later, I got my sushi and went to my hotel room and had it in peace and quiet. It was good, not out of the world good, but good and I am still here to blog about it so I guess it was clean enough.
So that was my tale of branching out for food in this town, everything else involved fries or ranch dressing and sometimes I am just not in the mood for another salad with dressing on the side, the looks I get are priceless. No cute stories about Walmart or anything this week though. I have been working away and getting so used to the surroundings that I do not see them as exotic or anything like that. Maybe I am becoming Bobby.

Things I have learned so far

• Breakfast means sugar in the heartland, sugar and flour, with protein only in the form of bacon
• Things are not that bad in DC, here everything closes early except fast food.
• Always stock up in power bars, always, because when you do not feel like picking up a salad at Wendy’s a protein bar does the trick.
• HBO is your friend.
• Humidifiers should be mandatory in small town hotels.
• If you are traveling with lube, make sure you put it in a zip lock bag, otherwise it might spill.
• When traveling with two laptops. Put on in the bag you are checking and pray, otherwise you will be juggling laptops, shoes, bags, needles, yarn, book, the New Yorker and boarding pass during security.
• Choose one color of dress shoes, so that you can carry sneakers and flip-flops. This week it is black.
• Whales attack their would be saviors.

Like a Virgin,

Last Monday I crossed a pair of doors I had never crossed. Call me a princess or spoiled or what not, but I had never needed to go there, there was never one around and I was always able to live without one in my life. I knew they existed and have even studied it for school and work, but just had never had a reason to go and see it. Of course the new assignment changed everything, and finally last Monday I went into a Wal-Mart store for the first time.
*gasp*
I had left work, and I needed tooth paste and moisturizer and some other random things, like a bottle for water and a notebook. I had seen it on my way to lunch and after paying a visit to a grocery store I and getting nothing, because I realized that having groceries at the hotel would be a waste of time and money, I went into Wal-Mart. I was surprised, I was expecting a massive store – this one was not – with many products and lots of people. This one was not particularly crowded and the shelves were not stock. It looked like a run down Target, with bad service and nothing to sell. It also looked very dumpy compared to the Targays I have been in, in DC, really dumpy, like it sells merchandise that is 5 years too old. The shock of the evening came when as I was walking past the electronics and bam, there just next to the sporting stuff, rifles and weapons in general. I probably jumped three feet, clutching my basket thinking, those had to be toys. Then thinking again, and realizing they were guns, real guns. And of course there was people at the counter and bless their hearts they prolly got a good deal in the amo they were buying but still. So I saw that and I went straight to the registry and checked out.

Notes from the first day

Sunday, 10:00 pm, Atlanta International Airport, yes dear readers this is as close to the real thing as it is going to get for the first week, since I am not sure the extent of my internet access at work. Today is my first day as a “road warrior”, One of those nerds with a laptop in a gate waiting for a plane. I am tired because of the meet and even if I am satisfied with my results – more on this later – I still wanted a better meet, in any case I got what I got and I managed to swim a ton, but I am paying for it now, when I have another two hours of waiting before getting to Charlotte and then a 1 hr drive to my final destination. I might just stay the night in Charlotte and then drive off in the morning, but we shall see how I feel when I get there.
The airport is packed; I was expecting an empty place, but no. Families, members of the military, people traveling alone and people in packs milling around the terminal. All the stores are open, and there are many, many fast food restaurants to choose from and TV’s everywhere all over the place. Its like CNN has me on its grasp and will not let me leave. The stories are inane, more on the Ana Nicole burial, something about someone giving toddlers pot to smoke and some missing person somewhere. Ohh and just right now Ann Coulter called John Edwards a faggot or something like that. Sheeesh, well I am out, I tried to connect to the wireless network here but it costs $4.95 to get on, and I do not think that this post is worth that much, so will try and post when I get to Charlotte or Wilkesboro.

Ok, so this post was written before I arrived here, I drove 1.5 hours and got in really late as you all know from the previous post, but I did it. The office is interesting, the team is fun and the environment is very positive – not something this jaded queen is used to. So far so good, I am sure I will be a bit bored after 3 days, but for instance yesterday I read 100 pages of the book we are reading just on the plain, and now I have 150 more to go. I also did a bit of knitting, but the flights were crowded and it was hard to do.

The first day is hard, it has been hard, I am sleepy and tired and getting used to the new environment and at a loss for words or things to do. I will stay at the office until 6, and then what ? I need to sleep, so I am going to go grocery shopping and then go check the Y, and then I am not sure. That is it for now, will post some more later this week.

Ohhh, and Happy belated b’day skinny !!!

Competition

It is very rare that I enjoy an athletic competition. I have never been an athlete, or even coordinated enough to be considered athletic, but last weekend I went on my first meet of the year. It was in Baltimore, not Baltimore, Catonsville, in Maryland and I had a great time. It was a short and sweet meet, lasted 5 hours each day and even though the ride was long, we all managed to have a great time. In my case, I swam 11 events, and that is a ton, really, not to boast or anything but I swam:
200 free
200 fly
50 free
100 free
50 fly  on a relay
800 free
500 free
100 fly
50 free  on a relay
50 fly  for a relay
1650  free

It was a lot of swimming, and it was not fast, but Sunday as I went up the stairs of Lauriol plaza for lunch, my legs felt wobbly, like I was barely able to walk. But for once the satisfaction was there, I definitely need to improve my times, and better yet I need to find one event I will try to do really well, because some of them were back to back, and so I did well in the 200 fly but terrible in the 50 free, terrible. Also in a short meet like this, I had some good times in the relays that I am not sure of, because no one pays attention to those and they are 50’s anyway. But most importantly for the first time in my swimming career – I guess I can call it that – I went to a meet and it made me look forward to the next one. In the years before I would go to a meet and be so happy when it was over, it was stressful and difficult for me, but this time it wasn’t. I know everyone and was able to focus on some different events – 200 fly here I come – and really relished in the competition part even if I did not win anything. So there ya go, something might be changing in me, or I am just getting better at swimming. Yay for me! Now I do need to work on my times though, because even if I padded some of my seed times a little, I need to start putting down more realistic times in the future

Finally here

I am here, after a 1.5 hour drive from Charlotte, btw, why is Charlotte called Charlotte, any one knows ? Anyway its almost 3 and I need to be at work at 8:30, so need to get to bed, I have some important news do:

I …
found …

Fear

This Sunday, yours truly will travel to North Carolina to start a new chapter in the laboral life – is that the right term in English, I am not sure. Yesterday as I was wrapping things up and seeing how there is a lot that I need to get done today, I suffered and anxiety attack as I was driving back to the gym. Many things went through my head, all of them at the same time, here is a glimpse:

• I am not bright enough and I will stink at the new project
• I will eat like a hog and become the Michelin man
• I will not be able to deal with the travel back and forth
• I will hate the people there and shut down slowly but surely
• I will miss all this things happening in DC and will be slowly forgotten

I know I am an idiot for thinking all these, but when you are home, tired after a long week and the only thing on TV is an old rerun of Ugly Betty, you mind can spin out of control. I did what any self respecting fag would do, had some chocolate, took 2 Tylenol PM’s, read for 30 minutes and was asleep at 10 pm.

Today the sun is out there, and I am feeling better, getting things done – as much as I can. Even planning on getting myself a new personal laptop for personal uses in my travels.