Saturday, April 12

Friday in Maryland

While I was there, the AC in my hotel room went out. They were nice enough to offer to move me to another room but I was too lazy to collect all my stuff before I absolutely had to. Don't get me wrong, if it had been hot I would have been all over that. But the weather was so nice (after Monday).

I loved the food at The Matchbox. I ate there several times and everything I had was yummy!!

Man the cab driver that took me to the airport was so chatty. I guess he never has anyone to talk to because he would not stop asking me questions. Where was I from? [Usually when someone hears I am from Texas, the next question is "are you a cowboys fan?" This guy guy at least changed it up a bit and asked if I like football. I should start keeping a tally of this for my travels] Where did I go to college? What was my major? What do I do? Do I like it? I have found that if you close your eyes, whoever is talking will stop.

My flight home was delayed by an hour. They had to change a tire on the plane. Weird to think of but I guess they do have tires. I need to invest in noise canceling headphones for all this travel.

Things I forgot to pack: hairbrush & headphones



Monday, April 7

Monday in Maryland

The Hilton Washington DC/Rockville is very nice. The only thing I remember from the last time I stayed here was that my first room was in a high traffic area and I had to change rooms. Apparently I am a light sleeper because I could hear every noise outside of my room.  I hate to be that prima donna that needs a better room but they were very nice and moved me. So this time, when I heard the room number I knew it was not that same high traffic area from before.

Here is something I don't understand and this is not specific to Hilton. Why do hotels have doors that slam? Can't someone come up with a design like those kitchen drawers that close quietly? And if they exist, can we make it mandatory for hotels to use them? Slamming doors are so loud and rattle the walls of all the rooms nearby. And when I'm half asleep at 10:30, those slamming doors and rattling walls wake up this light sleeper. Another thing I think should be required is sound absorbing materials in the hallways. I am a loud person. I know this. I have been told this my whole life. If I am not making a conscious effort to not be loud, I could disturb everyone on the way the my room if I were speaking. I know people don't think about that as they walk down the hall but again . . . light sleeper.

Back to the Hilton. Cold and rainy means dining in the hotel restaurant. I wasn't super impressed with the food but today was the start of a new menu so maybe they will figure that out. The service was great though.

Sinus issues are waning but my voice has been affected. Someone actually told me today that they could barely hear me. Ha!

What I forgot to pack: Hairbrush

Sunday, April 6

Off to Maryland

The last time I went to Maryland, it took 3 tries to get there due to bad weather. Original flight for Sunday afternoon was cancelled. Rebooked on a flight for Tuesday morning. Cancelled. Third flight on another airline from and to neighboring airports for Tuesday. Finally made it.

So it was not surprising that on this trip, the flight was delayed by an hour which caused me to my interview for Global Entry. But hey, I made it out on my first flight.

I was able to have my interview with Global Entry when I finally arrived and I have to say, those CBP agents are so nice. The process was simple and quick. Very impressed.

Also, my checked bag was free. So maybe Citi has figured out their stuff. Or it could be a fluke. Only time will tell.

U-Verse gripes

Out of nowhere on Thursday evening, the TV in my den stopped working. I called AT&T and performed a few test with a "tech support" representative. He determined that the receiver needed to be replaced. Since it's the DVR receiver that meant I would lose anything on it. Super.

Saturday the new receiver came and when I plugged it in, it didn't work either. Another call to AT&T and this "tech support" rep determined that it was my wall jack that didn't work. And by the way, they don't cover that. So if I chose to have an AT&T technician come, it could be a $99 fee depending on the outcome of the issue. OR for the low-low price of just $6/month for the next 12 months, I could add their line protection plan to my account and they would come for free. Ugh!

I signed up for the stupid plan and had a technician scheduled to come. I changed out the Ethernet cable to the receiver, tracked the cable back to the gateway and there didn't seem to be anything I could see wrong with it. Then I looked at the gateway. The light on the port to the den receiver wasn't on. Hmmm. I switched it to anther port and low and behold the dang thing worked.

So it appears that the port just went bad. So now I have a new reviewer, I lost my recordings, I have a new monthly fee and a technician coming.

Why the heck isn't checking the gateway part of their 180,00 steps they make you perform before they determine the receiver is bad?

I called back to cancel the technician and this new monthly plan for line protection and the new "tech support" rep said ok, done. Sweet! How easy was that!

Nope.

She called back to tell me that she couldn't cancel the new plan and I'd have to call the sales line during normal business hours. . . . . .