something wicked this way comes

canon digital rebel xsi

On Halloween night, just a bit before 1 o'clock in the morning, about a dozen people showed up in the hallway near our room. They were making quite a fuss. To be fair, sound traveled very strangely in our room, so it took us a while to figure out what was up. We overheard talk about not having a room key, and even a lost cell phone. It wasn't until we heard the doorknob rattle that we realized they were trying to get into our room!!

Clearly they had been partying, and were all three sheets to the wind. B went to the door (in his boxer shorts) and opened it, which made them realize why the card key they had was not working. They apologized, and B quickly closed the door. Then there was laughter and a pound (on the door). It didn't take them long to figure find their actual room - right next door (or maybe across the hall). And now the fun truly begins.

As I mentioned, sound traveled oddly in this room. And to make matters more disconcerting, it would seem that the vent opening along the hallway wall was somehow connected to their room. It was like we were now all in the same room with some kind of weird stereo sound effects gone awry. We couldn't quite make out everything they were saying, but we could hear them. There was one voice that did not stop talking until after the sun came up. I kid you not - this guy did not shut up the entire night. He was truly a loud, obnoxious drunk.

So the question became what to do about this? We have been in this situation before. It happens. Hotels have no real control over their guests. I get that. But it was the wee hours of the morning. Did we really want to switch rooms? If that was even possible. And somehow the idea of sending someone to tell them to be quiet seemed like a bad idea. More than likely it would probably only make them all the more noisy and obnoxious, not to mention it would be obvious who had lodged the complaint. And of course there was always the chance nothing would be done.

We decided to just bear it. The noise itself wouldn't have been so terrible, but then they started smoking (bad pot). So much for being in a non-smoking room. It truly is like the non-peeing section of the swimming pool - it doesn't exist. Since the windows didn't open, and turning the air up would only make the room cold, we had to just put up with that too. It was really miserable. Our room smelled like a skunk sprayed in it.

I fell asleep at some point, but was awoken at around 6am when someone came knocking on their room wanting to go on a beer run. That quieted things down for a little bit, as mister non-stop talker must have gone along to get more supplies.

The fun continued at around 8am when the housekeeping staff started knocking on our door, and all the rooms around us. It would seem that for fun someone took all the 'do not disturb' signs off the room doors. How juvenile - even if we were around the corner from Disneyland on Halloween.



on the night stand :: Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.

how i lost my iphone

canon digital rebel xsi

Yesterday I lost my iPhone. I have never lost a cell phone before. My husband, yes; me, no. He has actually gotten all but one back. This includes phones lost in NYC and Las Vegas taxi cabs, and even one lost on BART.

We were on our way to catch the hotel shuttle to Disneyland. I remember rushing around the room, and putting my iPhone in the top pouch of my camera bag. I also remember thinking that it wasn't very secure, but I could fix it when we got to the shuttle.

As it turned out, all that rushing was for nought. We missed the shuttle. That meant we had a half hour to wait. We checked out the deli off the lobby, but decided we would just wait on breakfast. B wanted to go to the room to get something, and I decided to stay in the lobby.

They had some computers set up, and I thought I would check my email. I sat down, and there are signs all over the place saying, "no one under 18 allowed to use the computers". Of course sitting next to me was someone clearly under 18 using the computer. I think it is a bit lame myself, but was a bit miffed as I could not remember our room number, so could not log on. That's when I decided to pull out my iPhone. That's also when I realized it was not there.

I headed to the elevator to check upstairs. B was getting off as I got there. I explained what had happened, and we headed upstairs together. The maid was already in the room, bed made. Apparently B had given her quite a scare when he returned to the room (she must have been waiting for us to leave). I checked on the couch, but couldn't find it. We tried calling it, but no luck.

We checked at the front desk on our way out, but of course it hadn't been turned in. I retraced my steps, but didn't find it. Rather than dwell on it, we caught the next shuttle, and had breakfast at Downtown Disney. We tried calling and texting the phone. At this point, the calls were going directly to voice mail.

We went back to the hotel for a break in the afternoon and pulled the room apart. We looked in the sheets, under the bed, in the couch, and in all of our bags and drawers. We checked at the front desk, and honestly was a bit disappointed with their response - do you need a phone to call it. When I thought it might have ended in the laundry, B called down, and they called the laundry, but found nothing.

B had realized that since I had MobileMe, I might be able to locate the iPhone that way. Unfortunately, I had not set it up. I felt beyond stupid. Of course, if the iPhone ended up in a commercial washing machine, it wouldn't matter. The good news is I did back up the phone before we left for the weekend. If you have MobileMe & and iPhone - go to their site right now, and make sure it is set up. The feature is very cool - if you have it set up right BEFORE you lose your phone. It can even play a sound for 2 minutes if you know it is say, in your house somewhere - even if you have the phone set to silent.

After dinner, and while waiting for the Monorail, B called AT&T to report the phone missing. He learned that I have about six weeks before I am eligible for an upgrade. We still had no idea though if the phone had been used or not. My MobileMe renews in about 5 weeks.

When we got back to the hotel for the night, I checked in at the front desk again. I explained in detail what had happened, and how I was 99.9% sure the phone was still in the hotel. They checked in their lost & found, but there was nothing. Again, I noted that I thought it might have accidently been sent to the laundry with the sheets. He told me that it was highly doubtful since the staff is trained to check carefully. Only problem with his theory is that when we first arrived at the hotel waiting in our room for us was a bottle of water, capped, but about 1/3 empty with a sign on it noting its price. How careful is that? He promised to call the laundry, but didn't follow up with us.

We of course checked again in the morning after a terrible night next to a room of partying pot smokers (another post), and were told that nothing had been turned in. B sent an email to the hotel manager. We shall see what happens. At this point we have gone to the AT&T store and replaced the SIM card. I am using my old RAZR - it feels so light!



on the night stand :: This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper.