I used to attend international hair shows or conferences several years ago while I worked in a salon. Attendees would be selected as models by cutting edge stylists to demonstrate their latest ideas. I would inevitably come home sporting a new hairstyle so drastically different than my previous one that I was sometimes unrecognizable. When I told my parents we were in Baltimore for a plastic surgery conference, my mom asked if I was going to be a model for a new technique. My dad got a little worried that I would be unrecognizable when I returned home this time. Unfortunately, nothing changed other than the five pounds I gained from all the good food.
I must share this experience at my husband's expense. When we (Mike, Ariel and myself) got off the plane in Baltimore, I asked Mike where the conference had booked us to stay. He replied he was not sure but thought it was the Inner Harbour Sheraton. I asked if there was a shuttle to the hotel. He had no idea about shuttles, taxis or trains. I was frustrated. After a little research, we found it was probably best to pay the $40 and take a taxi to the hotel. We hauled all our baggage over to the taxi curb, into then out of the taxi, then proceeded to check into the hotel. There was no reservation for Marion in their system. They have no Internet connection in their lobby and Mike was confused, embarrassed, frustrated, and avoiding eye contact with his wife at any cost. Luckily, the hotel manager allowed Mike to go into the back room and use their computer to see if he could find his confirmation code for our reservation. Oops! Wrong hotel. We then gathered our two carry-ons allowed by airline regulations, plus our luggage and our baby in her Bjorn and went outside to walk the "few" blocks to find our hotel. This is what I wish I had a picture of -- us sloshing through the rain with our arms full of bags and baby, dragging our luggage through puddles and walking in circles to ask directions. The best kodak moment was the look of disbelief on the faces of people looking out of their office windows. Priceless.
8 years ago
6 comments:
The story is a little exaggerated, but pitiful nonetheless. Mike.
A conference trip to Baltimore: freeby
A taxi to the wrong hotel: $40
An extravagant dinner to make it up to your wife: $100
Living with the error of your ways: eternal
Imagine if the people staring at you knew that you were the sister of the pregnant lady, her husband, and their 4 boys (2 of them trying to punch eachother's lights out) who were walking those same sidewalks just a few months earlier! Oh, if only we had had some pass along cards. I'm sure everyone was thinking, "There is something special about those folks, I want to find out more about how to have that in my life, too."
I was being kind and left out the fact that Mike brought no money on the trip. When it came time to pay the cabbie Mike asked if he took a credit card. So Mike, no exaggeration. I could probably bring to mind a few more mishaps(he,he).
That must run in the family, sounds so familiar. Happens all the time, on purpose.
I love it. I love the $100 make-up dinner. Jared makes it up to me when this stuff happens to us (and it happens way too often) by letting me laugh about it later and tell other people. But I have to wait a little bit because no one is in the mood to laugh when, for example, we show up at the airport 3 hours early for a flight when after asking him for the third time to check the confirmation, he is still sure it's 10am and not 1pm.
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