2 posts tagged “bezerkley”

Well, Bezerkeley went well despite the fact I had a raging headache from the night I arrived until the day after I returned.  It was my fault, however, because I didn't take advantage of the fact I could have gone to sleep early on Monday, when instead I stayed up futzing around the room, going out for some coffee and ending up falling asleep while watching TV just to wake up to shower because I was feeling gross from having to do manual labor all day.  In high heels.  Which were not comfortable.  Oy!  It also didn't help that I had to be at another location at 7:30 the following morning.  Double Oy!!

I really need to give mad props to the shuttle service I used from the Oakland airport to Berkeley and back.  I had to make my $100 cab fare allowance last so I tried to find economical, yet safe and comfortable, ways to get to and from the airport.  One of the helpful airport personnel recommended a shuttle service (since the Claremont didn't have one -- and they call themselves a resort!) which was $10-$20 less than taking a cab.  The only caveat is that I may have to share my ride with others, but I didn't care.

The reason I decided to take an earlier flight this year is that I almost missed the evening function last year when I took a later flight.  I didn't want to stress-out over traffic, checking in and getting ready just to worry about being late again this year.  At first, it didn't look promising when I had to wait 10 minutes for the shuttle driver to leave because he was waiting for more passengers.  But, he got me to the Claremont from the airport in 20 minutes!  And, he dropped me off before the other passengers.  AND, it was way cheaper than a cab, even with tip (which I felt I could be generous about).

However, what really impressed me was the ride back to the airport.  Another driver from the same shuttle company got me from Berkeley to Oakland in the middle of 5:00 rush hour traffic in 30 minutes.  I $#*% you not.  At first, he was going to try to do it in 20, but 30 was already way beyond my expectations.  He asked me why I wanted to be at the airport so early as I had an 8:00 flight.  Again, last year, I ran into some traffic on the road and in the airport waiting in the security check line.  This year, I was at the airport at 5:35 and waiting at my gate at 5:50.  The downside is that I had a helluva long wait until my flight!  But, the charge was even less this time around.  Needless to say, he got a hefty little tip.

So now that I'm back, of course I have all kinds of crap work waiting for me at the office (it ain't going to take care of itself).  I didn't take any work home last night because I knew I wouldn't do it.  I took work home today, but am I doing it?  No, it doesn't seem like it.

As I was making dinner, I also tried to straighten things out for my housekeeper who is scheduled to come in tomorow.  I was traipsing back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room, tossing some old magazines into the recycling bag, putting dishes in the dishwasher and doing some general straightening-up.  The cat was there, being her usual schitzo self; meowing and looking at me all crazy.  Just normal behavior for her.  Just as dinner was about to be served, I called The Kid down and told him to go wash his hands.  As he approached the dining room table, he asked if the housekeeper was coming in this week, which I confirmed.  He then stopped to look at something he may have stepped in.  He goes, "what is THAT?" and points to some dark lump on my hardwood floor.  Puzzled at not having seen it all evening, I admitted I had no idea.  It looked like poop.  However, no one knows how it got there.  It was right in the path that I would have taken as I straightened up the place.  It's too large to be the cat's, and, for the record, cat poop usually looks like tootsie rolls.  This looked...different.  It kind of looked like a peep. 

Peeps

 I know what y'all are thinking and I guarantee you it wasn't mine!  This plays like a Clue game.  Who took a dump in the dining room?  Was it the cat?  Was it the kid?  Was it the anti-germ freak, obsessive-compulsive neat-freak freak?

Clue

Only Colonel Mustard knows.  But he isn't talking.  Apparently, he was killed in the library.  Bludgeoned with a candlestick.

Time flies and another year has gone by which means that it's time for me to return to Bezerkely (heh) for my annual schmooze & booze fest with the kids.  The good news is that I'm not at work for the first 2 days of the week.  The bad news is that I'm flying on the anniversary of 9-11.  Not that I'm superstitious or anything, but it's rather unsettling.  I'm just saying.

Back to the job at hand, at least this year, I know what to expect which is why I'm arriving at the hotel earlier than before.  I didn't realize it took forever-and-a-day to get from the airport to the hotel with only minutes to spare before the reception started at another location.  Ah, good times.

Another downer is that I'm flying Southwest. It's only an hour flight, however, so I think I can deal.  I leave Monday and, as usual, I'm not even packed yet.  Since I got rid of my smaller suitcase, I have my giant pink one to lug around.  The ironic thing is, all my stuff will probably cram every inch of it!  For only two days!  I briefly considered taking a hand-carried bag only (yea right) but with my luck, I'd end up having to check it anyway with all the potential "hazards" I may be bringing like hair gel, toothpaste and lip balm.  So, better safe than sorry and better to have more room for all my junk than try to minimze and forget something vital like deodorant.

Switching gears for a moment here, am I the only one who didn't get the memo on the importance of having anti-spyware on my computer?  Who knew that that was the reason my computer was running slow and causing my internet connection to freeze and stop responding every 5 minutes?  I don't even want to say how many items had to be removed!  Maybe this is why my PDA has refused to hotsync?  Either that, or my PDA just died of old age.  I don't exactly know how old it is, but some people refer to it as a chalk board.  Anyway, I digress...

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