I just spent 2 hours doing something on the hotel's "free wireless internet." This task should have taken me ten minutes, but the connection kept disappearing or slowing down or whatever the hell the little internet mice do to make things not happen. Seriously, I could have driven back to my apartment, done what I needed, and come back in the time that it took to do this task.
On top of that, despite the promise of microfridges, I have to buy every meal out because I have no microwave, and I can't keep leftovers to eat cold or sandwich makings because the refigerator -- which is plugged in -- is warmer than the room.
This is to say, I am not impressed by this high-end, fancy, historic hotel in the high-end, fancy, historic neighborhood.
Usually, I stay in low-end, half-star motels, like that one in New York where they sold birth control in the outdoor vending machines. Sure, you may get bed bugs or e-coli or who knows what from the carpet, and you may be located way out in a business park or next door to a Wal-Mart; but you do get a microwave, a refrigerator that refrigerates, decent cable with HBO or Showtime, and a reliable and secure internet connection -- all for under a $100/night. Who gives a damn that you can see some monument or have rich neighbors when you have to spend five weeks in a hotel that can't provide the types of things that you need in that time -- all for over $200/night?
I'm also not too sure that this place is that much cleaner than a No-tell Motel on the microbe level. I have been scratching little bites all over my skin since I got here (and, sadly, Daniel Craig was not responsible for them -- unless I decide to name the microscopic critters after hot movie stars). This time, my desire for convenience was wholly misplaced.
As Charlie Brown would say: Arghhhhhhh!
At least we are on the university shuttle line. On a sweltering hot day with the university 2 miles away, that shuttle can block out the less than stellar amenities. That was the convenience that made me opt to stay here rather than at home. That, and such things as the cool Artscape Festival last night and the historical society around the corner.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
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12 comments:
Ugh. Sorry your hotel is a bust :( A few years back we stayed at a usually-decent chain in the Inner Harbor (ok, they claimed to be within walking distance...). It was horrible. Uncomfortable beds, icky suspicions of "not quite clean," noisy, and expensive. Like you, next time we'll stay in the $50 a night places out by the airport and drive in.
Just another story to amplify the weirdness of Baltimore...
Historiann.com
sometimes the amenities just aren't worth the inconvenience. would the commute be more useful?
my word verification is "refulike" that looks like it should mean something.
Sounds like it's time to write "a friendly note" to the owners.
The Artscape Festival sounds fun...
I visited England recently and stayed in a serviced apartment. Same price as a hotel, in the city centre (Birmingham), wifi that worked, washing machine, full kitchen, flat-screen TV, fancy furniture. Total win.
Well, I just had the same wifi problem in a hotel where I was PAYING for the internet.
Just wanted to wish CB a very happy birthday today. How old...? No one knows.
Here are the keyords in the essay:
13th Amendment, 14th Amendment, 2012 Election, B.E.T., Barack Hussein Obama, Booker T. Washington, Bryant Park, Cipriani's, Colin Powell, Criminal Industrial Complex, Deb Slott, Do The Right Thing, Heidi Klum, Hip-Hop, Mark Penn, Melting Pot, Pink Elephant, Racism, Reconstruction, Robert Johnson, Seal, Segregation, Shelby Steele, Sidney Poiter, Sonia Sotomayor, Spike Lee, Tavis Smiley, Terrence Yang, The Dance Flick, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Virginia Davies, W.E.B. Dubois, Zero Mostel, Politics
Prologue to Obama 2012
We approach the future walking backwards, our gaze forever fixated on the past. Predicting the future is not a passive exercise; we invent it every day with our actions.
I began the sketches for what would ultimately become Obama 2012 in March 2007, a month after Barack Obama declared his candidacy. I had spent much of the previous 18 months living abroad as an entrepreneur and statesman of sorts, and I was slightly out of touch with the pulse of life on the street in the United States. I learnt about Sen. Barack Obama’s Springfield, IL speech formally declaring his candidacy for president of the United States through one of the international cable news channels and thought how great it would be to have a fresh start after years of mediocrity in Washington and a plummeting reputation around the world.
By September, after what seemed like raising a six-month-old child, my sketches had turned into Why the Democrats Will Win in 2008 the Road to an Obama White House. It was my answer to the burning question everyone had back in March: Can he really win? Actually, not everyone thought it was a question. For many people, including Mark Penn, director of the Clinton campaign, the answer was an easy “no way.” This strategic blunder made it that much easier for the Clinton campaign to be defeated. Then there were Black pundits like Shelby Steele, a fellow at the Hoover Institution, who came out with a 2007 book entitled A Bound Man, Why Obama Can't Win.
Being Black did seem to be an automatic disqualification, but then why did someone need to write an entire book arguing what should have been patently obvious? Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Colin Powell came to my mind and I remembered that he could have run for president in 1992 as a war hero. But Colin Powell was Ronald Reagan’s protégé and got a special pass on the race question. Black conservatives like Justice Thomas, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell were careful to disassociate themselves from liberal thinkers and activists like Jesse Jackson, who lost, as expected, the 1984 and 1988 Democratic primaries. Ultimately, Colin Powell, in spite of all his honors, declined to run for president. His wife Alma feared for his safety. Common sense said that a candidate like Obama, for numerous insurmountable reasons, didn't stand a chance of winning the Democratic primary, let alone a general election in which 10% of the electorate is African American and Republicans controlled the White House for 20 of the preceding 28 years. But I decided that Obama's chances merited a closer examination. In it, I would bring to bear my gambling skills.
Dear Clio: I hope you're still having fun on your trip. Miss your posts! Come back soon. Hugs, Inky
ps: Is this like a reverse postcard? Wish I was there? ;)
Oh, and if I'm reading your Twitter right, happy belated birthday! Hope it was AWESOME!
Navas: Um. Yeah. WTF?
Ink: Thank you on all counts. We could have fun if you were here! I'm just so exhausted by the end of the day that I collapse into a snoring, teeth-grinding, drooling heap until dawn. Never fear, I'll get my groove back!
That's good that you're so tired because it means you're having a blast. :)
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