I've perhaps bitten off more than I can chew for the next month and a half. I'm signed up for half a dozen scenes for the theater retrospective in a couple of weeks and have a lot of songs and dialogue to learn. In August I've been cast in two short, one act plays for another production.
In the meanwhile, I've got to get something ready to work on at my writing workshop in Canada in a few weeks, and my Spanish discussion group is up and running with its second meeting this afternoon.
Part of my writing difficulty right now is not knowing what to work on. I signed with a new agent last month for a collaboration with a friend of mine but haven't heard back anything more from the agent about what changes, if any, he'd like to see before it goes on submission. Optimistically speaking, the book will sell and I'll work on another science thriller. As the publishing industry works, I'll be writing more of whatever sells first.
If it doesn't sell, however, I've got a historical espionage that I'd like to write, just for variation. I guess I could write a short story for the workshop, but I just can't muster any enthusiasm anymore for short fiction. I used to write a lot of it, but the short fiction markets are almost dead and I wasn't particularly good at short stories anyway.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Servant Class
Crazy Things Guests Say and Do: Part 89 of a 737 part series
Very few people are like this, but there is a certain type of person who treats me like a member of the servant class. It's the tone of voice, the demanding way without any sort of politeness. You know, the kindergarten words they teach you: please, thank you, etc.
I had one of them call me at 7:20 AM from the courtesy phone outside the office door. The office was still closed, but I was working hard to open in time for breakfast.
"What time do you open for breakfast?" he asked. This could have been a polite tone, or even a confused tone, but it wasn't. The tone was rude, almost snarling.
"I'll open for breakfast at 8:00, and--"
"Eight o'clock?! I've NEVER heard of a motel that doesn't open for breakfast until eight!" His tone was almost like I'd told him there would be no hot water, or that he'd have to double bunk with a homeless man I'd found living under the bridge.
"--and I'll open for coffee at 7:45," I continued. I forced my tone to remain calm.
The thing is, I open for breakfast at eight because that's when people start to come in. In the winter, when people are anxious to get up to the mountain for first lifts, I open at 7:30. If there's a special event, I open even earlier. But on a normal day, I can bust my tail to open early, but nobody will come.
And I'd kept the office open until 10:00 the previous night, with people camped out in the front room with their laptops until then. It takes me a good hour to get everything prepped in the morning. When do these people think I sleep?
"Eight o'clock," he repeated with disgust. "Jesus Christ!"
Slam.
Very few people are like this, but there is a certain type of person who treats me like a member of the servant class. It's the tone of voice, the demanding way without any sort of politeness. You know, the kindergarten words they teach you: please, thank you, etc.
I had one of them call me at 7:20 AM from the courtesy phone outside the office door. The office was still closed, but I was working hard to open in time for breakfast.
"What time do you open for breakfast?" he asked. This could have been a polite tone, or even a confused tone, but it wasn't. The tone was rude, almost snarling.
"I'll open for breakfast at 8:00, and--"
"Eight o'clock?! I've NEVER heard of a motel that doesn't open for breakfast until eight!" His tone was almost like I'd told him there would be no hot water, or that he'd have to double bunk with a homeless man I'd found living under the bridge.
"--and I'll open for coffee at 7:45," I continued. I forced my tone to remain calm.
The thing is, I open for breakfast at eight because that's when people start to come in. In the winter, when people are anxious to get up to the mountain for first lifts, I open at 7:30. If there's a special event, I open even earlier. But on a normal day, I can bust my tail to open early, but nobody will come.
And I'd kept the office open until 10:00 the previous night, with people camped out in the front room with their laptops until then. It takes me a good hour to get everything prepped in the morning. When do these people think I sleep?
"Eight o'clock," he repeated with disgust. "Jesus Christ!"
Slam.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Permits
I finally got my septic permit, having spent months of time and about 1,500 bucks to prove that the leach field could hadle the increase flow of the new bathroom, since we'll be, uhm, flushing the toilet more often and taking more showers now that we'll have an extra room to do it in.
It could have been worse, though. The first engineering firm said we'd have to do a whole new perc test, which would have included a backhoe on site and all that entails. They bid $5,600 for the job. Thankfully, the other guy didn't think that would be necessary, and managed to convince the state the same thing.
I'm just waiting on the town for the building permit now, and I've spoken to the zoning guy enough times that I don't think there are any additional hurdles there. He just has to get to it, which he said he'd do within the next few days.
Unfortunately, the delay has sent my contractor on to another project, which is going to take about three more weeks. Assuming it really does, we'll be starting in early July, which is only a month late. I'm hoping that by late fall we'll be able to move into the new addition, which will more than double the square footage of our living space.
It could have been worse, though. The first engineering firm said we'd have to do a whole new perc test, which would have included a backhoe on site and all that entails. They bid $5,600 for the job. Thankfully, the other guy didn't think that would be necessary, and managed to convince the state the same thing.
I'm just waiting on the town for the building permit now, and I've spoken to the zoning guy enough times that I don't think there are any additional hurdles there. He just has to get to it, which he said he'd do within the next few days.
Unfortunately, the delay has sent my contractor on to another project, which is going to take about three more weeks. Assuming it really does, we'll be starting in early July, which is only a month late. I'm hoping that by late fall we'll be able to move into the new addition, which will more than double the square footage of our living space.
Poor Communication
Crazy Things Guests Say and Do: Part 88 of a 737 part series
I just spent a half hour on the phone with a woman who has an existing reservation and wanted to make a reservation on behalf of her sister for the same weekend, when the family has a wedding. I described each and every room, bed combination, and option multiple times. She couldn't understand what that a day bed with trundle meant there were two beds, not one. Finally, I got online with her and stepped her through the web site and this helped some.
And then she gave me her sister's name and I realized her sister had already booked a room. And it took me another ten minutes to get off the phone with this woman, who was embarrassed enough that she felt the need to ask more questions about other rooms, promising that she'd get them booked up for me so that the whole call wouldn't have been in vain. She said something about a bachelor's party for her nephew and his friends.
Not sure about the kids and the bachelor's party. I don't think she was serious about that anyway, just trying to save face for wasting all my time.
I just spent a half hour on the phone with a woman who has an existing reservation and wanted to make a reservation on behalf of her sister for the same weekend, when the family has a wedding. I described each and every room, bed combination, and option multiple times. She couldn't understand what that a day bed with trundle meant there were two beds, not one. Finally, I got online with her and stepped her through the web site and this helped some.
And then she gave me her sister's name and I realized her sister had already booked a room. And it took me another ten minutes to get off the phone with this woman, who was embarrassed enough that she felt the need to ask more questions about other rooms, promising that she'd get them booked up for me so that the whole call wouldn't have been in vain. She said something about a bachelor's party for her nephew and his friends.
Not sure about the kids and the bachelor's party. I don't think she was serious about that anyway, just trying to save face for wasting all my time.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Dessert Experimentation
I've been trying some new desserts lately. We made tarte tartin in my French class (my French teacher is a pastry chef) as well as a couple of different types of mousse.
The tarte tartin is made by putting tart apples with a caramelized sauce on the bottom of a tin, then putting the pastry on top. The whole thing is inverted at the end and has a nice, caramel color.
The chocolate mousse is surprisingly simple to make. My first attempt was not quite sweet enough and I needed to buy a new pastry bag with a better attachment as the first extrusion looked, to be honest, like something squirted out the backside of a dog with diarrhea. But it had a nicely creamy texture, so I tried again. My chocolate the second time was one 3.5 oz dark chocolate bittersweet Lindt bar, one 3.5 oz milk chocolate Lindt bar, and 1.5 oz of baker's chocolate. It was just sweet enough and quite good. M bought me some ramekins for my birthday, which also helped with the presentation.
Monsieur Compere taught me that one key with chocolate mousse is to mix the yolk/chocolate mixture as quickly as possible with whipped cream. If you don't do it quickly, the hot mixture hits the cold whipped cream and starts to clump. Texture = lumpy. I use an oversized whisk and just stir the heck out of it until it's mixed. Refrigerate, put into a pastry bag and then learn how to properly extrude the stuff so it looks as yummy as it tastes. By the third time I had it down.
Finally, I made crème brûlée, using the same ramekins. I used 12 egg yolks, 3 cups of cream, and 12 tbs of sugar for my custard, which baked for an hour with the ramekins half-submerged in water at 275 degrees. I cooled them properly, sprinkled the top with sugar and then used a propane torch to brûlée the top. Turned out perfectly the first time. In spite of the fact that this has a somewhat exotic reputation, it was the easiest of these first three desserts and looked and tasted at least as good as what you'd get in a nice restaurant.
I also made six of them for about what you'd pay for a single dessert in one of those same restaurants.
Finally, I've been making a baked brie. This is heresy to my French teacher, but I think it's fantastic. Even the time when I made it for my parents and sister in Virginia and botched the pastry, due to making it by memory, it was still more than edible. There's something about a hot, melting brie with the taste of confiture aux quatre fruits that is very, very nice.
The tarte tartin is made by putting tart apples with a caramelized sauce on the bottom of a tin, then putting the pastry on top. The whole thing is inverted at the end and has a nice, caramel color.
The chocolate mousse is surprisingly simple to make. My first attempt was not quite sweet enough and I needed to buy a new pastry bag with a better attachment as the first extrusion looked, to be honest, like something squirted out the backside of a dog with diarrhea. But it had a nicely creamy texture, so I tried again. My chocolate the second time was one 3.5 oz dark chocolate bittersweet Lindt bar, one 3.5 oz milk chocolate Lindt bar, and 1.5 oz of baker's chocolate. It was just sweet enough and quite good. M bought me some ramekins for my birthday, which also helped with the presentation.
Monsieur Compere taught me that one key with chocolate mousse is to mix the yolk/chocolate mixture as quickly as possible with whipped cream. If you don't do it quickly, the hot mixture hits the cold whipped cream and starts to clump. Texture = lumpy. I use an oversized whisk and just stir the heck out of it until it's mixed. Refrigerate, put into a pastry bag and then learn how to properly extrude the stuff so it looks as yummy as it tastes. By the third time I had it down.
Finally, I made crème brûlée, using the same ramekins. I used 12 egg yolks, 3 cups of cream, and 12 tbs of sugar for my custard, which baked for an hour with the ramekins half-submerged in water at 275 degrees. I cooled them properly, sprinkled the top with sugar and then used a propane torch to brûlée the top. Turned out perfectly the first time. In spite of the fact that this has a somewhat exotic reputation, it was the easiest of these first three desserts and looked and tasted at least as good as what you'd get in a nice restaurant.
I also made six of them for about what you'd pay for a single dessert in one of those same restaurants.
Finally, I've been making a baked brie. This is heresy to my French teacher, but I think it's fantastic. Even the time when I made it for my parents and sister in Virginia and botched the pastry, due to making it by memory, it was still more than edible. There's something about a hot, melting brie with the taste of confiture aux quatre fruits that is very, very nice.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Lesson Learned
Lesson learned: last year's carrot seeds are no good. Not one has come up and they're about a week late. I turned up a small part of the garden and found no growing sprouts.
The potatoes are doing well, the peas are starting to come up, and the tomato plants are in the ground. I doubt the tomatoes will do super well, given that I have limited sun anywhere on the property, but hopefully they'll be worth the effort, at least.
I might just let the failed carrot plot rest, then transplant some strawberry plants, given that I'll probably lose my strawberry garden when the start the addition.
The potatoes are doing well, the peas are starting to come up, and the tomato plants are in the ground. I doubt the tomatoes will do super well, given that I have limited sun anywhere on the property, but hopefully they'll be worth the effort, at least.
I might just let the failed carrot plot rest, then transplant some strawberry plants, given that I'll probably lose my strawberry garden when the start the addition.
Monday, June 1, 2009
The Famine is Over
So I consider June to be the first month of spring/summer where the business can pay for itself. April is the worst, because all the late winter bills come in--packaged lift tickets, fuel, charges from credits cards, etc.--but there is almost no month. But May is awash in red ink as well.
June? Well, June and even July usually do slightly better than break even. August makes some decent money and September and October make a little, with the exception that our 14,000 property tax bill comes due. Add April through November together and I shoot for a modest loss. Winter, then, is how we pay our bills for the year, pay me any meager salary, and pay for upgrades at the inn.
Having said that, summer can sometimes surprise. Last year we did better than average, in spite of the worsening economy and the high price of gas, which you would have excepted to have kept the tourist numbers low.
In any event, this weekend is our first busy weekend since the end of ski season. I'd rather have had eight or ten rooms last weekend as a warm-up, but we were really slow.
June? Well, June and even July usually do slightly better than break even. August makes some decent money and September and October make a little, with the exception that our 14,000 property tax bill comes due. Add April through November together and I shoot for a modest loss. Winter, then, is how we pay our bills for the year, pay me any meager salary, and pay for upgrades at the inn.
Having said that, summer can sometimes surprise. Last year we did better than average, in spite of the worsening economy and the high price of gas, which you would have excepted to have kept the tourist numbers low.
In any event, this weekend is our first busy weekend since the end of ski season. I'd rather have had eight or ten rooms last weekend as a warm-up, but we were really slow.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Update on the Remodel
The project has grown a bit. We've got to built out from the main building in order to work around our well on one side and the intakes for the oil tanks on the other side. So it turns out that we're going to keep much of the footprint of the existing porch and build the addition beyond that. The area where the porch sits is now going to be a large closet, an entrance to the basement (replacing the bulkhead), and maybe some shelving and the like. We might put the kids' computer and desk in there.
I'm worried about two things. First, the cost. We're not borrowing any money for the project, but it's going to fully deplete the cash reserves of the business and force me to loan the business some money from our personal accounts in order to have enough cash for working capital/emergencies until we get to winter again.
Given the craptacular state of the economy, this feels a bit risky. We've saved a nice cushion in a personal money market account over the last couple of years that has psychologically offset the punishing losses to our mutual fund and retirement investments. This will recapitalize the business, but drain our personal accounts. Will we have enough positive cash flow going forward to replenish that and still make our IRA contributions, take our planned trip to France, etc? Probably, so long as people keep staying at the inn and M keeps her job. Both things seem pretty stable at the moment, but you never know.
Second, it feels like a kludge. I'm not sure how to get around this. I've thought of different options for expanding the business in every direction and I can't come up with anything that works any better. And the good thing about this plan is that if things turn sour for the business, or when future innkeepers take over, or our kids move out of the house, there will be a fully contained one bed/one bath unit that can either be rented or used as a perk for an assistant innkeeper, or whatever. A tangible asset for the business.
I'm worried about two things. First, the cost. We're not borrowing any money for the project, but it's going to fully deplete the cash reserves of the business and force me to loan the business some money from our personal accounts in order to have enough cash for working capital/emergencies until we get to winter again.
Given the craptacular state of the economy, this feels a bit risky. We've saved a nice cushion in a personal money market account over the last couple of years that has psychologically offset the punishing losses to our mutual fund and retirement investments. This will recapitalize the business, but drain our personal accounts. Will we have enough positive cash flow going forward to replenish that and still make our IRA contributions, take our planned trip to France, etc? Probably, so long as people keep staying at the inn and M keeps her job. Both things seem pretty stable at the moment, but you never know.
Second, it feels like a kludge. I'm not sure how to get around this. I've thought of different options for expanding the business in every direction and I can't come up with anything that works any better. And the good thing about this plan is that if things turn sour for the business, or when future innkeepers take over, or our kids move out of the house, there will be a fully contained one bed/one bath unit that can either be rented or used as a perk for an assistant innkeeper, or whatever. A tangible asset for the business.
More on the Garden Relocation
Turns out that the garden relocation was unnecessary. The addition will be further to the north than I thought. I spent several hours digging what was either chunks of bedrock or the foundation of an ancient lost city from the ground, together with laboriously sifting out the smaller rocks and pebbles from the soil of the new garden space.
Sheesh, it's no wonder people fled northern New England as soon as the Ohio Valley opened for settlers. Throw in the very short growing season and it's a wonder any farmers lived up here at all.
The carefully tended and double-dug former garden is now just a hole in the ground, but I think I should go about refilling it with purchased topsoil, compost, and the like, and double the size of my vegetable garden. I'll also need to collect new stones from the river to use as my garden border.
Sheesh, it's no wonder people fled northern New England as soon as the Ohio Valley opened for settlers. Throw in the very short growing season and it's a wonder any farmers lived up here at all.
The carefully tended and double-dug former garden is now just a hole in the ground, but I think I should go about refilling it with purchased topsoil, compost, and the like, and double the size of my vegetable garden. I'll also need to collect new stones from the river to use as my garden border.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
We Need a Room - FAST!!!
Crazy Things Guests Say and Do: Part 87 of a 737 part series
A couple came into the lobby this afternoon, asking if we had a room available. I started to give the price, etc., and the woman suddenly broke in, "Uhm, is that a bathroom behind that door? Can I use it?"
She hurried in, and the husband said, "Can I see one of your rooms?"
"Would you like to wait until she's out?"
"No, that's okay. I can decide for both of us."
I took him down to the first free room, he made a cursory look inside and said, "This looks great. I'm just going to use the bathroom here really quick."
"So, you'd like to rent the room?" I asked.
"I don't know, I'll have to talk to--here, hold on one second," he said, as he pushed past me into the bathroom.
I was a little too quick, and I could see how this was going, so I stepped into the bathroom with him and said, "Unless you're sure you're taking the room, can you please use the bathroom off the lobby? Otherwise, I'll have to come clean this bathroom again before it can be rented."
"I don't know if I can make it," he said, with a note of urgency.
But there was no way I was going to let this guy foul up the bathroom, so I repeated myself. He went back to the lobby in a hurry and fortunately, the woman didn't take long. As soon as the toilet flushed, he was knocking on the door and he practically bowled her over the instant she unlocked it.
Once they'd both done their business, they mumbled something about maybe being back later and continued on their way. The whole thing, it would seem, had been a ruse to get to a bathroom as quickly as possible.
There was a certain, uhm, pungent odor in the bathroom after they'd left. Whatever they'd eaten, it didn't agree with them.
A couple came into the lobby this afternoon, asking if we had a room available. I started to give the price, etc., and the woman suddenly broke in, "Uhm, is that a bathroom behind that door? Can I use it?"
She hurried in, and the husband said, "Can I see one of your rooms?"
"Would you like to wait until she's out?"
"No, that's okay. I can decide for both of us."
I took him down to the first free room, he made a cursory look inside and said, "This looks great. I'm just going to use the bathroom here really quick."
"So, you'd like to rent the room?" I asked.
"I don't know, I'll have to talk to--here, hold on one second," he said, as he pushed past me into the bathroom.
I was a little too quick, and I could see how this was going, so I stepped into the bathroom with him and said, "Unless you're sure you're taking the room, can you please use the bathroom off the lobby? Otherwise, I'll have to come clean this bathroom again before it can be rented."
"I don't know if I can make it," he said, with a note of urgency.
But there was no way I was going to let this guy foul up the bathroom, so I repeated myself. He went back to the lobby in a hurry and fortunately, the woman didn't take long. As soon as the toilet flushed, he was knocking on the door and he practically bowled her over the instant she unlocked it.
Once they'd both done their business, they mumbled something about maybe being back later and continued on their way. The whole thing, it would seem, had been a ruse to get to a bathroom as quickly as possible.
There was a certain, uhm, pungent odor in the bathroom after they'd left. Whatever they'd eaten, it didn't agree with them.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Moving the Garden
Yes, I've spent the last month traveling and the most exciting thing I can think to write about is my garden. Feel free to skip to the next blog.
We're getting ready to start our addition in the next few weeks and this means my vegetable garden will come under assault by backhoes and other construction equipment. Some of that space may remain once everything is finished, but not without suffering extreme abuse.
So I've walled in another section below the Buddha Garden of approximately the same size and have been transporting my hard built soil down from the old garden. I have some potatoes sprouting to plant there and am going to do carrots on about a third of the plot.
In addition, I tore up a bush between the main building and the lodge this last fall and since this spot gets a little more sun, I'm going to plant some tomatoes once we're past the last frost (June 5!) and see if I can coax some tomatoes out of our very short northern New England growing season.
We're getting ready to start our addition in the next few weeks and this means my vegetable garden will come under assault by backhoes and other construction equipment. Some of that space may remain once everything is finished, but not without suffering extreme abuse.
So I've walled in another section below the Buddha Garden of approximately the same size and have been transporting my hard built soil down from the old garden. I have some potatoes sprouting to plant there and am going to do carrots on about a third of the plot.
In addition, I tore up a bush between the main building and the lodge this last fall and since this spot gets a little more sun, I'm going to plant some tomatoes once we're past the last frost (June 5!) and see if I can coax some tomatoes out of our very short northern New England growing season.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Viva Mexico
My time in Mexico is coming to a close. I had some credit card miles that were about to escape and M was kind enough to let me escape from the inn and kids for a few days before our family trip next week.
I started in Cuernavaca in a lovely hotel, centrally located, with interior gardens and rooftop terraces. It reminded me a bit of an upscale version of a place M and I stayed with some friends in San Miguel de Allende a few years ago and wasn´t very expensive. When I left Cuernavaca I visited the grutas on my way to Taxco. Really quite spectacular caves, only marred by the fact you had to do the tour with a group and not by yourself, and that the tour guide had funny little stories and things to find in each of the major formations. The formations were interesting enough own.
Taxco is a spectacular town that wraps up from a valley through steep, winding streets. I didn´t move the car once it was parked. Lots of interesting little museums and galleries and given its silver mining history, tons to stuff in silver. I didn´t find the silver dinner bell that I should have bought last time I went (deciding then that $150 was too much to pay) but now that the price of silver has doubled, the bells that I saw that I liked less cost more. Oh, well.
In the market they were selling all sorts of interesting things, including bags of live beetles of some kind that the woman said were meant to be roasted and eaten whole. Yum-my.
I´m more or less finising my trip in Valle de Bravo, which is a charming lakeside town. Tons of tourists here, since it is Holy Week, but almost zero foreigners. Once again, I didn´t want to move my car from its hard-won spot, so I took a taxi to see some waterfalls. 100% Mexican. Stalls selling food and crafts all along the way. People bathing and playing in questionable water. Delicious and cheap taco stands. Had a chat with a dignified elderly man with a very Mexican hat and mustache and an enormous silver buckle on his belt. It´s quite easy to strike up conversation with Mexicans, as many speak zero English and have literally never had a conversation with a foreigner before.
After eating my tacos I bought a bag of strange fruity stuff that turned out to be agave leaves as they are soaked before fermentation into tequila. I won`t say I found it delicious, but it wasn`t terrible either. I didn`t, however, eat it all.
I have taken lake cruises at dusk both evenings I´ve been in Valle de Bravo. Lots of fabulous mansions line one part of the lake, climbing up a steep cliff. There are tons of parasailers, too, which looks to be quite reasonably priced, but I´m not feeling up to that.
My hotel is right on the zocalo. It´s fairly basic, but very nicely located for getting to the restaurants, the lake, art galleries, and such.
Tomorrow I´m planning to visit the pyramids of Teotehuacan on my way back to the madness of Mexico City traffic, where yes, I got lost yet again on my way from the airport. I will likely get lost yet again, then leave my car and stay right near the airport to catch a fairly early flight on Tuesday morning.
I started in Cuernavaca in a lovely hotel, centrally located, with interior gardens and rooftop terraces. It reminded me a bit of an upscale version of a place M and I stayed with some friends in San Miguel de Allende a few years ago and wasn´t very expensive. When I left Cuernavaca I visited the grutas on my way to Taxco. Really quite spectacular caves, only marred by the fact you had to do the tour with a group and not by yourself, and that the tour guide had funny little stories and things to find in each of the major formations. The formations were interesting enough own.
Taxco is a spectacular town that wraps up from a valley through steep, winding streets. I didn´t move the car once it was parked. Lots of interesting little museums and galleries and given its silver mining history, tons to stuff in silver. I didn´t find the silver dinner bell that I should have bought last time I went (deciding then that $150 was too much to pay) but now that the price of silver has doubled, the bells that I saw that I liked less cost more. Oh, well.
In the market they were selling all sorts of interesting things, including bags of live beetles of some kind that the woman said were meant to be roasted and eaten whole. Yum-my.
I´m more or less finising my trip in Valle de Bravo, which is a charming lakeside town. Tons of tourists here, since it is Holy Week, but almost zero foreigners. Once again, I didn´t want to move my car from its hard-won spot, so I took a taxi to see some waterfalls. 100% Mexican. Stalls selling food and crafts all along the way. People bathing and playing in questionable water. Delicious and cheap taco stands. Had a chat with a dignified elderly man with a very Mexican hat and mustache and an enormous silver buckle on his belt. It´s quite easy to strike up conversation with Mexicans, as many speak zero English and have literally never had a conversation with a foreigner before.
After eating my tacos I bought a bag of strange fruity stuff that turned out to be agave leaves as they are soaked before fermentation into tequila. I won`t say I found it delicious, but it wasn`t terrible either. I didn`t, however, eat it all.
I have taken lake cruises at dusk both evenings I´ve been in Valle de Bravo. Lots of fabulous mansions line one part of the lake, climbing up a steep cliff. There are tons of parasailers, too, which looks to be quite reasonably priced, but I´m not feeling up to that.
My hotel is right on the zocalo. It´s fairly basic, but very nicely located for getting to the restaurants, the lake, art galleries, and such.
Tomorrow I´m planning to visit the pyramids of Teotehuacan on my way back to the madness of Mexico City traffic, where yes, I got lost yet again on my way from the airport. I will likely get lost yet again, then leave my car and stay right near the airport to catch a fairly early flight on Tuesday morning.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
GPS + Mud Season = Bad Night of Sleep
Crazy Things Guests Say and Do: Part 86 of a 737 part series
Things have slowed to a crawl at the inn with the end of winter and the arrival of mud season in the North Country. We had a rather warm March with very little new snowfall. Only the deep base and the lack of drenching rains kept the resorts open.
Last night, we had all of one guest and they had called to ask for a late check-in. This morning when M went to open, she saw that the envelope with their key was still in the box, unclaimed. It struck me as odd, to say the least; no-shows usually don't call earlier in the evening.
So, about twenty minutes later, in come a very bleary-eyed couple and their exhausted looking daughter. Turns out they had used Google Maps to find their way into the valley and it had taken them over the dirt mountain road.
Which, during spring is not dirt so much as mud. They sank past the wheel wells, spent a cold night in the car, and had to be towed out in the morning. The car is undriveable.
It is becoming more an more common to have people navigate their way here via mapquest, google maps, or their GPS system. That's fine, if you're coming in the summer. During a snow storm or when those dirt roads over the mountain are impassible due to mud, you should do what the locals do and take the paved highway into the valley and not what looks shortest on the map.
In fact, I think I'm going to put a warning at the bottom of my confirmation emails from now on. Not that people read them, mind you.
Things have slowed to a crawl at the inn with the end of winter and the arrival of mud season in the North Country. We had a rather warm March with very little new snowfall. Only the deep base and the lack of drenching rains kept the resorts open.
Last night, we had all of one guest and they had called to ask for a late check-in. This morning when M went to open, she saw that the envelope with their key was still in the box, unclaimed. It struck me as odd, to say the least; no-shows usually don't call earlier in the evening.
So, about twenty minutes later, in come a very bleary-eyed couple and their exhausted looking daughter. Turns out they had used Google Maps to find their way into the valley and it had taken them over the dirt mountain road.
Which, during spring is not dirt so much as mud. They sank past the wheel wells, spent a cold night in the car, and had to be towed out in the morning. The car is undriveable.
It is becoming more an more common to have people navigate their way here via mapquest, google maps, or their GPS system. That's fine, if you're coming in the summer. During a snow storm or when those dirt roads over the mountain are impassible due to mud, you should do what the locals do and take the paved highway into the valley and not what looks shortest on the map.
In fact, I think I'm going to put a warning at the bottom of my confirmation emails from now on. Not that people read them, mind you.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
It's Not the Fridge, Either
Crazy Things Guests Say and Do: Part 85 of a 737 part series
A guest called from the room, asking how to use the TV. This happens almost every night. We have one choice for cable in town and they have their own cable boxes and huge, overly cluttered remotes. A lot of people have to be coached in how to navigate the channels. About half the time I can solve it over the phone and the other half have to be physically shown how to do it.
This particular guy called and when I asked if the cable box was on, said, "What's a cable box?"
Foolishly, I tried to solve his problem on the phone for a minute or two before going down to physically show him how to get it to work. Turned out he was trying to turn on the air purifier with the cable remote. This did not, in fact, have any efficacy for getting the TV to work.
A guest called from the room, asking how to use the TV. This happens almost every night. We have one choice for cable in town and they have their own cable boxes and huge, overly cluttered remotes. A lot of people have to be coached in how to navigate the channels. About half the time I can solve it over the phone and the other half have to be physically shown how to do it.
This particular guy called and when I asked if the cable box was on, said, "What's a cable box?"
Foolishly, I tried to solve his problem on the phone for a minute or two before going down to physically show him how to get it to work. Turned out he was trying to turn on the air purifier with the cable remote. This did not, in fact, have any efficacy for getting the TV to work.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
This is Your Brain on Drugs
Crazy Things Guests Say and Do: Part 84 of a 737 part series
Worst guests of the season last night. In fact, they're still in the room right now, sleeping off their hangovers. It will be a pleasure to kick them out in one hour and ten minutes.
At two in the morning I heard people in the hot tub, talking very loudly. Feeling cranky, I went down to kick them out. The first thing the girl said when I said the hot tub closed at 10:00 was, "What if we don't shout?"
Well, if you recognize that you were shouting, maybe you should have tried to be quiet in the first place. Anyway, I said no, you have to get out. They pleaded with me to change my mind, but even if I didn't have a firm policy, I thought they looked stoned and/or drunk.
Even so, they didn't move and it occurred to me that they might be naked and want me to turn away before they got out. It has happened before. I stepped inside, waited about a minute and it was clear that they weren't planning to get out.
So, I went out again, they pleaded again, and I said no in increasingly firm voices. But still, they just weren't moving.
"Get. Out. Now!"
I started to pull the hot tub cover closed with them in it (and naturally, they'd fubared the cover when opening it) and this forced them out. They wandered off, still talking at the tops of their voices.
Problem number two: they'd claimed three people, but there were five in the hot tub. I figured I'd deal with this in the morning.
So, about ten minutes after I climbed into bed we get a call. I figure it is an adjacent room, calling to complain. No, it is the aforementioned bozos, who have locked themselves out of their room. By the time I get downstairs, the guy who'd called is trying to force open the office door in a manner reminiscent of the "my wife has cancer" guy.
I opened the door, handed over the key to the guy, who appeared to be too stoned to notice that he was standing there, wet, in sub-freezing temperatures, and he said, "I THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!"
I told him about four times to keep the noise down, but it was clear not much was penetrating the cloud of marijuana smoke lingering about his head. I went to bed, expecting to be awakened at any moment by their annoyed neighbors.
I wasn't, as it turned out, but the people next to them did complain (calmly, reasonably, and sympathetically) this morning as they checked out about twenty minutes ago. They said it sounded like a dorm room party and that these guys didn't quiet down until 5:30. I offered my apologies, cringingly, and said that next time (if there is a next time, eh?) that if they called I would be more than willing to do something about the problem.
The woman said that they were very obviously drunk and she didn't want me to have to confront them. While I appreciate the thoughtfulness, by 5:30 I would have been ready to kick them to the curb, confrontation or no confrontation.
As if I needed any more reason to be up half the night, the little guy woke up a couple of times in the night, once after having an accident. At about 4:00, someone with limited English skills called the inn twice, trying to ask something about getting lift tickets.
Worst guests of the season last night. In fact, they're still in the room right now, sleeping off their hangovers. It will be a pleasure to kick them out in one hour and ten minutes.
At two in the morning I heard people in the hot tub, talking very loudly. Feeling cranky, I went down to kick them out. The first thing the girl said when I said the hot tub closed at 10:00 was, "What if we don't shout?"
Well, if you recognize that you were shouting, maybe you should have tried to be quiet in the first place. Anyway, I said no, you have to get out. They pleaded with me to change my mind, but even if I didn't have a firm policy, I thought they looked stoned and/or drunk.
Even so, they didn't move and it occurred to me that they might be naked and want me to turn away before they got out. It has happened before. I stepped inside, waited about a minute and it was clear that they weren't planning to get out.
So, I went out again, they pleaded again, and I said no in increasingly firm voices. But still, they just weren't moving.
"Get. Out. Now!"
I started to pull the hot tub cover closed with them in it (and naturally, they'd fubared the cover when opening it) and this forced them out. They wandered off, still talking at the tops of their voices.
Problem number two: they'd claimed three people, but there were five in the hot tub. I figured I'd deal with this in the morning.
So, about ten minutes after I climbed into bed we get a call. I figure it is an adjacent room, calling to complain. No, it is the aforementioned bozos, who have locked themselves out of their room. By the time I get downstairs, the guy who'd called is trying to force open the office door in a manner reminiscent of the "my wife has cancer" guy.
I opened the door, handed over the key to the guy, who appeared to be too stoned to notice that he was standing there, wet, in sub-freezing temperatures, and he said, "I THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!"
I told him about four times to keep the noise down, but it was clear not much was penetrating the cloud of marijuana smoke lingering about his head. I went to bed, expecting to be awakened at any moment by their annoyed neighbors.
I wasn't, as it turned out, but the people next to them did complain (calmly, reasonably, and sympathetically) this morning as they checked out about twenty minutes ago. They said it sounded like a dorm room party and that these guys didn't quiet down until 5:30. I offered my apologies, cringingly, and said that next time (if there is a next time, eh?) that if they called I would be more than willing to do something about the problem.
The woman said that they were very obviously drunk and she didn't want me to have to confront them. While I appreciate the thoughtfulness, by 5:30 I would have been ready to kick them to the curb, confrontation or no confrontation.
As if I needed any more reason to be up half the night, the little guy woke up a couple of times in the night, once after having an accident. At about 4:00, someone with limited English skills called the inn twice, trying to ask something about getting lift tickets.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Yikes
I came downstairs to check back in the guests from the post below, who decided to return and pay their tax anyway, when I saw that the whole kitchen was filled with smoke. E was sitting at the computer, oblivious.
My first thought was horror. I'd just filled the wood boiler and had a question about a couple of pieces of wood and thought that it must be smoking like crazy and was pouring smoke into our basement and all up into the guest rooms. I told Ethan to run down to the far basement and open the door. He came back and said everything looked okay.
It was then that I noticed that I'd turned on the back burner on the stove, instead of the front, like I'd intended. The back burner is almost never used and I must have spilled something down there. No crisis with the boiler after all.
My first thought was horror. I'd just filled the wood boiler and had a question about a couple of pieces of wood and thought that it must be smoking like crazy and was pouring smoke into our basement and all up into the guest rooms. I told Ethan to run down to the far basement and open the door. He came back and said everything looked okay.
It was then that I noticed that I'd turned on the back burner on the stove, instead of the front, like I'd intended. The back burner is almost never used and I must have spilled something down there. No crisis with the boiler after all.
Cash or Credit, the Tax is Still 9%
Crazy Things Guests Say and Do: Part 83 of a 737 part series
A guy just came in to ask about a room for tonight. After I gave him the price, he asked, "Can I not pay the tax if I pay in cash?"
Usually, people are a little more subtle than this, asking for a "cash discount." I usually make them spell out exactly what they're asking me to do by acting like I have no idea why there would be such a discount. I did the same thing today.
"Why wouldn't you have to pay the rooms and meals tax if you paid cash?" I asked, fixing a puzzled expression on my face, as if such a thing had never occurred to me before**.
"Because it would be in cash, not deposited directly to the bank," he said.
"I'm sorry, I don't follow. You have to pay tax whether it's credit card or not."
"But only if the government knew about it. If they didn't know about it..."
I let my expression grow even more puzzled. "Why wouldn't they know about it?"
"Because you wouldn't tell them!"
"Oooooh," I said. "So you mean I should steal the tax money. Hmmm."
He left, a little exasperated and probably thinking I was rather stupid. Frankly, the sly, wink-wink look he gave me and the suggestion itself made me more likely to want his credit card number in hand, not less.
**And frankly, it doesn't. First, why would you put a profitable business at risk by doing something so stupid? Second, I enjoy the goods and services of this fine state. Not only would I be stealing from the government, I'd be undermining the ability of the state to maintain a good standard of living for me, my family, and my fellow citizens. Sounds pretty dumb to me.
A guy just came in to ask about a room for tonight. After I gave him the price, he asked, "Can I not pay the tax if I pay in cash?"
Usually, people are a little more subtle than this, asking for a "cash discount." I usually make them spell out exactly what they're asking me to do by acting like I have no idea why there would be such a discount. I did the same thing today.
"Why wouldn't you have to pay the rooms and meals tax if you paid cash?" I asked, fixing a puzzled expression on my face, as if such a thing had never occurred to me before**.
"Because it would be in cash, not deposited directly to the bank," he said.
"I'm sorry, I don't follow. You have to pay tax whether it's credit card or not."
"But only if the government knew about it. If they didn't know about it..."
I let my expression grow even more puzzled. "Why wouldn't they know about it?"
"Because you wouldn't tell them!"
"Oooooh," I said. "So you mean I should steal the tax money. Hmmm."
He left, a little exasperated and probably thinking I was rather stupid. Frankly, the sly, wink-wink look he gave me and the suggestion itself made me more likely to want his credit card number in hand, not less.
**And frankly, it doesn't. First, why would you put a profitable business at risk by doing something so stupid? Second, I enjoy the goods and services of this fine state. Not only would I be stealing from the government, I'd be undermining the ability of the state to maintain a good standard of living for me, my family, and my fellow citizens. Sounds pretty dumb to me.
Friday, March 6, 2009
The Next Big Project
On the surface, my last project wasn't a huge success, at least not in the short term. I struggled for nine months to get the damn thing installed, lost 80% of the heating season still burning oil, paid several thousand dollars more than my original quotes, and after all of that, the price of oil has plummeted from where it was when I made the commitment.
Nevertheless, I'm shortly planning to tackle an even bigger project, a seven hundred square foot addition to our living quarters. It will have a separate living room, a kitchenette, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The idea is that a future owner, or when E moves out of the house in about five years, would be able to rent this as a self-contained unit. Otherwise, it simply does not make sense from a business standpoint. Three beds and a bath would be plenty for 90% of the prospective owners of this place or, indeed, for any other inn owner in the valley. We have four kids and they are growing fast.
My biggest issue is the septic system. It can obviously handle what we've got now, and it's not like our family will be flushing any more toilets or taking any more showers than we do now. The state, however, likes to get involved with these things.
I tracked down the firm that did the original work for us, but unfortunately, they moved offices last year and dumped a bunch of their old files. Ours was one of them.
That means I'm likely looking at spending roughly $2,000 to pay these guys to do a new perc test, application, etc., and that's just to get approval for the project. The good news is that the guy knows the soils in this area and says he thinks we have good, gravelly leach fields. He doesn't anticipate a problem. But you never know.
We've had a pretty decent winter so far, although early March is not proving overly impressive, but still, this is going to use more of our cash reserves than I would like, given the current state of the economy. The worst case scenario would be if Melinda got laid off (doesn't look imminent at this point) and we had a bad snow year next year at the same time the economy continued to deteriorate.
But, we do have some other resources to draw on, we've survived the first year of what I'm thinking will be three or four tough years in pretty good shape, and it feels like it's either now or never.
Nevertheless, I'm shortly planning to tackle an even bigger project, a seven hundred square foot addition to our living quarters. It will have a separate living room, a kitchenette, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The idea is that a future owner, or when E moves out of the house in about five years, would be able to rent this as a self-contained unit. Otherwise, it simply does not make sense from a business standpoint. Three beds and a bath would be plenty for 90% of the prospective owners of this place or, indeed, for any other inn owner in the valley. We have four kids and they are growing fast.
My biggest issue is the septic system. It can obviously handle what we've got now, and it's not like our family will be flushing any more toilets or taking any more showers than we do now. The state, however, likes to get involved with these things.
I tracked down the firm that did the original work for us, but unfortunately, they moved offices last year and dumped a bunch of their old files. Ours was one of them.
That means I'm likely looking at spending roughly $2,000 to pay these guys to do a new perc test, application, etc., and that's just to get approval for the project. The good news is that the guy knows the soils in this area and says he thinks we have good, gravelly leach fields. He doesn't anticipate a problem. But you never know.
We've had a pretty decent winter so far, although early March is not proving overly impressive, but still, this is going to use more of our cash reserves than I would like, given the current state of the economy. The worst case scenario would be if Melinda got laid off (doesn't look imminent at this point) and we had a bad snow year next year at the same time the economy continued to deteriorate.
But, we do have some other resources to draw on, we've survived the first year of what I'm thinking will be three or four tough years in pretty good shape, and it feels like it's either now or never.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Boiler Stuff
I finally appear to have the wood boiler installed and working. We supposedly had it going yesterday afternoon, but I was dealing with a succession of issues, including excessive smoke, the overflow valve...overflowing, and worst, a hideous clanking that reverberated throughout the building all evening and into the morning. Thank goodness it didn't happen last week when we were crammed full and thank goodness the guests seemed understanding.
It turned out that the circulator had come unplugged and the clanging came from the boiler trying unsuccessfully to send its hot water into the system. Again and again and again.
Once it was plugged in again today (needed the, uhm, plumber to figure it out), then the system seemed to be working fine. From here it's just a question of figuring out a regular system of feeding and maintenance. It's a lot more involved than just sitting back and letting the oil boiler do its thing, but shouldn't be too much effort once I get the hang of it.
It turned out that the circulator had come unplugged and the clanging came from the boiler trying unsuccessfully to send its hot water into the system. Again and again and again.
Once it was plugged in again today (needed the, uhm, plumber to figure it out), then the system seemed to be working fine. From here it's just a question of figuring out a regular system of feeding and maintenance. It's a lot more involved than just sitting back and letting the oil boiler do its thing, but shouldn't be too much effort once I get the hang of it.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Yikes
An eye-popping $1.75 trillion deficit for the 2009 fiscal year is projected in Obama's first budget, according to U.S. officials who briefed reporters on the numbers.
That is equal to 12.3 percent of U.S. gross domestic product -- the largest share since 1945 when the country ran a shortfall of 21.5 percent of GDP.
Sounds like something you'd see in Argentina or some other country on the verge of collapse. And yet the U.S. appears to be in better shape than many, given that the dollar is strengthening against the other major currencies.
I don't know how this is going to turn out, but it's very scary.
That is equal to 12.3 percent of U.S. gross domestic product -- the largest share since 1945 when the country ran a shortfall of 21.5 percent of GDP.
Sounds like something you'd see in Argentina or some other country on the verge of collapse. And yet the U.S. appears to be in better shape than many, given that the dollar is strengthening against the other major currencies.
I don't know how this is going to turn out, but it's very scary.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Bonus Hay
Thanks to 52 inches of fresh snow on the mountain, we managed to fill up again last night. Actually, the mountain canceled a ski race, which led to about five cancellations and then we still managed to book everything up. That puts our 11 day total at 162/166 room nights rented.
Tonight, however, we only have eleven rooms booked, so unless we get a flurry of last minute reservations, we should finally start to slow down a little.
I went skiing yesterday afternoon but in spite of all the fresh snow I was not feeling great. I thought maybe I was worn down, but after cutting out after just a couple of hours, I came back and did some throwing up. I and L had been sick, so it wasn't a total surprise, and it was not as horrid as the last time I was throwing up, which was when I was driving to Toronto with my cousin in 2007, but it was still bad timing.
M was very nice and handled the vast majority of the endless parade of new check-ins, hot tub nonsense, and needy, high-maintenance guests. Some of these guests are still in the front room, as a matter of fact. In spite of all this snow, some of them are not happy; the local mountains are on wind hold with some 50 mph + gusts following the storm.
I feel bad for them, especially after they clawed their way into the north country in the middle of heavy snow, but some of them are kind of whiners. The smaller resort to the south has a different position on the mountain and I told them they should go there. More than one room, however, turned up their nose at the suggestion of skiing a smaller hill. What's better, though, to ski all that fresh powder on the smaller mountain, or to look up with a sad expression at the big mountain from the front room of the inn?
Tonight, however, we only have eleven rooms booked, so unless we get a flurry of last minute reservations, we should finally start to slow down a little.
I went skiing yesterday afternoon but in spite of all the fresh snow I was not feeling great. I thought maybe I was worn down, but after cutting out after just a couple of hours, I came back and did some throwing up. I and L had been sick, so it wasn't a total surprise, and it was not as horrid as the last time I was throwing up, which was when I was driving to Toronto with my cousin in 2007, but it was still bad timing.
M was very nice and handled the vast majority of the endless parade of new check-ins, hot tub nonsense, and needy, high-maintenance guests. Some of these guests are still in the front room, as a matter of fact. In spite of all this snow, some of them are not happy; the local mountains are on wind hold with some 50 mph + gusts following the storm.
I feel bad for them, especially after they clawed their way into the north country in the middle of heavy snow, but some of them are kind of whiners. The smaller resort to the south has a different position on the mountain and I told them they should go there. More than one room, however, turned up their nose at the suggestion of skiing a smaller hill. What's better, though, to ski all that fresh powder on the smaller mountain, or to look up with a sad expression at the big mountain from the front room of the inn?
Friday, February 20, 2009
Examples of Email Queries
From the last few days:
Do you have availability for 2 nights for 2 people ( 2 beds), non-smoking, arrival 3/16, departure 3/18.What would be the price? Does this include breakfast? How far is it to W-- and M--? Do you have a hot tub?
You can find this in two minutes on the web site. Or, you could spend two minutes emailing me, I could spend two minutes answering questions, you could followup...
To Michael
I have inquired to chamber per bottom, any info you can give is welcome
I am to arrive on Amtrak to either ** or ** fr/Phila. on sun March 1 leaving Fri March 6. I found a RT fare for $116 total RT!! I am looking for lodging as inexpensive as possible, preferably somewhere on or nearby bus. I have been online extensively. I am looking for lodging for 1 adult (Male age 45) for 5 nights (sun and leave Fri). I want to try and find something at approx. $65 /night if this is possible? a motel, single room in house is fine. Budget is critical. Can you help me?
Inquired to chamber per bottom???
I had found you website online and enjoyed viewing all that you had posted on it.
I was hoping to find out if you would be able to let me know what you have avail for a queen size bed room for Sat Feb 28th?
I know I looked online for your avail, but wanted to double check to make sure it was up-to-date. It at least had Room #4 & #9 still avail.
I noticed that you were pet friendly and we wanted to bring our dog. He is very nice, quiet and respectful (very short hair, so he does not shed etc). Every inn we have stayed at just loves him.
If you could email me back and let me know what the most current rate is for an avail queen sized room for Feb 28th and possibly Feb 27th as well that would be excellent.
This one led to about four followup emails, all with info equally available on the web site.
Do you have any ski packages for 2 adults, no kids no pets staying for 2 nights (This Friday the 20th and Saturday the 21st) leaving Sunday morning? If so how much?
I am looking to book a room that sleeps two from Friday, March 6th through Sunday, March 8th. Do you have any rooms available for these days? What are the rates? I would prefer non-smoking with two beds.
I’m looking for a double for one night for myself and a friend. We need 2 beds.
Do you have availability? What do your rooms go for? Do you have a hot tub? Do you serve breakfast?
Web site!
None of these people ended up booking. But they did use a lot of time.
Do you have availability for 2 nights for 2 people ( 2 beds), non-smoking, arrival 3/16, departure 3/18.What would be the price? Does this include breakfast? How far is it to W-- and M--? Do you have a hot tub?
You can find this in two minutes on the web site. Or, you could spend two minutes emailing me, I could spend two minutes answering questions, you could followup...
To Michael
I have inquired to chamber per bottom, any info you can give is welcome
I am to arrive on Amtrak to either ** or ** fr/Phila. on sun March 1 leaving Fri March 6. I found a RT fare for $116 total RT!! I am looking for lodging as inexpensive as possible, preferably somewhere on or nearby bus. I have been online extensively. I am looking for lodging for 1 adult (Male age 45) for 5 nights (sun and leave Fri). I want to try and find something at approx. $65 /night if this is possible? a motel, single room in house is fine. Budget is critical. Can you help me?
Inquired to chamber per bottom???
I had found you website online and enjoyed viewing all that you had posted on it.
I was hoping to find out if you would be able to let me know what you have avail for a queen size bed room for Sat Feb 28th?
I know I looked online for your avail, but wanted to double check to make sure it was up-to-date. It at least had Room #4 & #9 still avail.
I noticed that you were pet friendly and we wanted to bring our dog. He is very nice, quiet and respectful (very short hair, so he does not shed etc). Every inn we have stayed at just loves him.
If you could email me back and let me know what the most current rate is for an avail queen sized room for Feb 28th and possibly Feb 27th as well that would be excellent.
This one led to about four followup emails, all with info equally available on the web site.
Do you have any ski packages for 2 adults, no kids no pets staying for 2 nights (This Friday the 20th and Saturday the 21st) leaving Sunday morning? If so how much?
I am looking to book a room that sleeps two from Friday, March 6th through Sunday, March 8th. Do you have any rooms available for these days? What are the rates? I would prefer non-smoking with two beds.
I’m looking for a double for one night for myself and a friend. We need 2 beds.
Do you have availability? What do your rooms go for? Do you have a hot tub? Do you serve breakfast?
Web site!
None of these people ended up booking. But they did use a lot of time.
Make Hay While the Sun Shines
I think this qualifies. In the ten day period from last Thursday until Sunday, I have rented 156 out of 160 possible room nights. This breaks our previous record of 147 nights in a ten day stretch, which happened during the same week and a half of our first winter, although we only had 15 rooms then, so the occupancy was 98%. This year we are at 97.5%.
If I can just...hold on...until...Sunday...
If I can just...hold on...until...Sunday...
Monday, February 16, 2009
Update on the Stolen Garbage Guy
This was his follow-up email after I asked for clarification.
The item missing is the cardboard carrier. NO beer was taken. I too gave the person the benefit of the doubt that it was trash. It was left under the ski rack next to the front door. What day exactly it happened was most likely Wednesday as I returned at approx 2:30 PM as I had skied the two previous days and was muscle weary. As I said the carrier was in front of room #8 with other trash and I took it back into my room #9. I then folded it flat and put it in a drawer of the bureau so it would not be thought of as trash. The person had to search through the drawers of the bureau to find it and take it. It was gone when I went to pack my bags Friday night. I consider the rented room my home, my home was searched and my possession removed from the bureau. This is in no way an innocent mistake. Why this person has a need for the carrier is beyond me but I will NOT allow any one to steal from me. There is only a value of pennies for what was taken it just makes no sense to me why this person searched for and took the carrier. Please ask any questions that you have and I will reply.
While I am still baffled as to why he would think anyone would be "stealing" his cardboard beer carrier, I think what he's upset about is that he felt that his private stuff was not private. Which is understandable. Housekeeping should not be going through people's drawers.
I responded thusly, to which he sent a "thank you" and seemed to close the matter.
Okay, thanks for the heads-up and I'm very sorry about the problem. Middle of the week was when the temp came, so at least I'm relieved that it wasn't our regular housekeeper.
Hopefully, housekeeping was just looking for that extra blanket we keep in the drawers and absentmindedly tried to pick up what she thought was trash. Either way, I'll address it as they should not be touching items in the drawers, even with innocent intentions. As you said, the drawers are private space.
Thank you again for your response.
Michael
The item missing is the cardboard carrier. NO beer was taken. I too gave the person the benefit of the doubt that it was trash. It was left under the ski rack next to the front door. What day exactly it happened was most likely Wednesday as I returned at approx 2:30 PM as I had skied the two previous days and was muscle weary. As I said the carrier was in front of room #8 with other trash and I took it back into my room #9. I then folded it flat and put it in a drawer of the bureau so it would not be thought of as trash. The person had to search through the drawers of the bureau to find it and take it. It was gone when I went to pack my bags Friday night. I consider the rented room my home, my home was searched and my possession removed from the bureau. This is in no way an innocent mistake. Why this person has a need for the carrier is beyond me but I will NOT allow any one to steal from me. There is only a value of pennies for what was taken it just makes no sense to me why this person searched for and took the carrier. Please ask any questions that you have and I will reply.
While I am still baffled as to why he would think anyone would be "stealing" his cardboard beer carrier, I think what he's upset about is that he felt that his private stuff was not private. Which is understandable. Housekeeping should not be going through people's drawers.
I responded thusly, to which he sent a "thank you" and seemed to close the matter.
Okay, thanks for the heads-up and I'm very sorry about the problem. Middle of the week was when the temp came, so at least I'm relieved that it wasn't our regular housekeeper.
Hopefully, housekeeping was just looking for that extra blanket we keep in the drawers and absentmindedly tried to pick up what she thought was trash. Either way, I'll address it as they should not be touching items in the drawers, even with innocent intentions. As you said, the drawers are private space.
Thank you again for your response.
Michael
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