Nothing New

Today was a pretty average day. DH went off to work. Since it was drizzling (and our raincoats are in the absent air shipment) he drove to work. That way, he goes from one parking garage to another parking garage without getting soaked.

He went off to work and I stayed in the hotel room.

I sit at the little table, curled up in the leather club chair. It allows me to stay online and still move around a bit while I write. I can look out the window obliquely and keep an eye on the weather. We had sprinkles today, not a hard rain, but a lot of little showers.

It's amazingly pleasant. I can guarantee that the door gets knocked on three times a day. Once, in the early morning, the mini bar guy comes to check the inventory and restock the little fridge. Later on, in the early afternoon, housekeeping comes to make up the bed and clean up. She's obsessively nice and is helping me with my Arabic phrases. We've got 'hello' and 'goodbye' going now. I say 'thank you' and she replies but I haven't got a hang on the 'you're welcome' portion of that exchange.

Some days I go downstairs to the bar area when they are making up the room. I take my iPad down and hook up to the wireless connection so I can update my apps, download reading material and catch up on my Words With Friends.

Most days I stick around the room. I have snack foods and soups I can make with a kettle, so I make myself lunch in the room. It's easier than going downstairs and eating alone. I guess I could order room service... but soup is easy. We went to the store yesterday so I had lots of choices and fresh fruit to go with it.

Then in the afternoon, I write. I surf the web. Sometimes I watch the news. We get CNBC, BBC News and one Fox Movie channel that are in English. Everything else is in a foreign language. There's at least one Spanish station, one German station and one Italian station. The rest are either French or Arabic. I find myself watching shows that I recognize even if they are dubbed in French or Arabic. I guess I'm working on my lip reading.

In the evening, the hotel staff sends one more guy around. He knocks and offers to turn down the bed, and provide any additional towels or linens we require. Very professional service. Well worth being pleasant and saying, "no, merci" every time.

I can't wait to get into a home. But this is a very pleasant place to hang around until my household goods arrive and I can feather my nest.

--Sandee Wagner