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Momentarily in California and needing to Vent
Sunday, February 15th, 2009 05:24 pmJust at the moment I'm feeling frustrated in sunny California. I know it'll be better in a minute but I'm already tired of waiting for my irritation to pass.
First off, it's pouring rain, and has been off and on all week. (Yes there were two days when I didn't get rained on. Yes it was warmer yesterday. Right now I'm freezing.) Secondly, I continued to suffer for the first two days from the fact that I packed too little in the way of warm clothing when we went to Guatemala ... so I only had one sweatshirt to bring with me to California. (Thank Goddess for thrift shops, now I own two sweaters and a fleece zip-up, but I only took one with me this morning, and it's colder at 2 pm than it was at 8:30).
The workshop I got up early for this morning was far too talky, but once we got going the work itself was beautiful -- only there wasn't enough time for the debrief. If the presenter had only taken her own advice and cut back on the chatty-Cathy act ...
The workshop I wanted to go to this afternoon was in a room far too small for those attending, so I gave up and left.
There were no chairs to be had in the lobby, so I went back to my hotel to put my feet up. Maybe this will mean that my 'day' at Pantheacon is over already, or maybe I'll take the shuttle back later, we'll see.
When I got back to my hotel (never again am I staying at the "overflow" hotel "only a short walk away")... when I got back to my hotel it was still raining. But this is sunny California, where the architects focus on how quaint and scenic their layout can be. There's actually no way to get from my room to breakfast without getting wet. And there's no direct route anyway. The buildings are laid out in a rough double-circle with a gazebo in the middle, a fountain over there, the pool enclosure right outside the meeting rooms, charming little grottos with park benches ... but no walkways connecting by anything like a short route.
So even though the Pantheacon organizers have provided a shuttle back and forth from one covered doorway to the other, I still had to put on my poncho to get from the lobby to my room.
And then every route I tried had at least one place where the drains were backed up. Puddles two inches deep translate to wet feet. But there was no getting around them. And the hotel's signage continues to lead me to suppose there's a shortcut just around that corner, but there isn't. Just because the sign says "buildings 6,7,8" doesn't mean that way will be closer than the other way -- far from it.
I got back to my room to see a blinking light on the phone, still there after two phonecalls this morning. It's telling me about yesterday's message, which I listened to and deleted. When I go to the room's voicemail, it says I have no messages. But the light is still blinking. Last night when I went to bed I didn't notice it, but sometime before dawn, fully dark-adapted now, the blinking woke me up.
After the third phone call to the front desk someone fixed it.
In an effort to save money I turned in my rental car the day the conference started, thinking I wouldn't need it and it would be wasteful to leave it parked just in case. But yesterday, needing to go to the grocery store and the thrift shop, I spent nearly two days' car rental on a taxi. (Okay, I should have known cabfare has gone up faster than rental cars. But when was the last time I needed either one?) Was it even a 'green' decision to take a cab? or would the rental car have actually used less gas than the taxi?
...
So as usual, venting has made me feel better. In fact I'm really glad I came out for the Cherry Hill intensive, and got to meet some more students. In fact I'm really glad I stayed for Pantheacon, or at least part of it -- I've met several more faculty, seen a few old friends, found some lovely workshops and bought the pentacle and the labradorite ring I've been seeking for more than a year. Plus the inevitable great books.
Reading this over I see so much to be grateful for, and so much 'princess prima donna' in the tone of my complaints. I guess I'll leave them, just to remind me that I'm not done with being a ridiculous human yet.
In fact this trip has been a real opportunity for me to get back in touch with what's genuinely important to me and what just seems like a good idea at the time ... and to notice that friends are good to stay in touch with.
It's still half an hour before I need to decide whether to go back for the late afternoon workshops or not.
Yippee!
First off, it's pouring rain, and has been off and on all week. (Yes there were two days when I didn't get rained on. Yes it was warmer yesterday. Right now I'm freezing.) Secondly, I continued to suffer for the first two days from the fact that I packed too little in the way of warm clothing when we went to Guatemala ... so I only had one sweatshirt to bring with me to California. (Thank Goddess for thrift shops, now I own two sweaters and a fleece zip-up, but I only took one with me this morning, and it's colder at 2 pm than it was at 8:30).
The workshop I got up early for this morning was far too talky, but once we got going the work itself was beautiful -- only there wasn't enough time for the debrief. If the presenter had only taken her own advice and cut back on the chatty-Cathy act ...
The workshop I wanted to go to this afternoon was in a room far too small for those attending, so I gave up and left.
There were no chairs to be had in the lobby, so I went back to my hotel to put my feet up. Maybe this will mean that my 'day' at Pantheacon is over already, or maybe I'll take the shuttle back later, we'll see.
When I got back to my hotel (never again am I staying at the "overflow" hotel "only a short walk away")... when I got back to my hotel it was still raining. But this is sunny California, where the architects focus on how quaint and scenic their layout can be. There's actually no way to get from my room to breakfast without getting wet. And there's no direct route anyway. The buildings are laid out in a rough double-circle with a gazebo in the middle, a fountain over there, the pool enclosure right outside the meeting rooms, charming little grottos with park benches ... but no walkways connecting by anything like a short route.
So even though the Pantheacon organizers have provided a shuttle back and forth from one covered doorway to the other, I still had to put on my poncho to get from the lobby to my room.
And then every route I tried had at least one place where the drains were backed up. Puddles two inches deep translate to wet feet. But there was no getting around them. And the hotel's signage continues to lead me to suppose there's a shortcut just around that corner, but there isn't. Just because the sign says "buildings 6,7,8" doesn't mean that way will be closer than the other way -- far from it.
I got back to my room to see a blinking light on the phone, still there after two phonecalls this morning. It's telling me about yesterday's message, which I listened to and deleted. When I go to the room's voicemail, it says I have no messages. But the light is still blinking. Last night when I went to bed I didn't notice it, but sometime before dawn, fully dark-adapted now, the blinking woke me up.
After the third phone call to the front desk someone fixed it.
In an effort to save money I turned in my rental car the day the conference started, thinking I wouldn't need it and it would be wasteful to leave it parked just in case. But yesterday, needing to go to the grocery store and the thrift shop, I spent nearly two days' car rental on a taxi. (Okay, I should have known cabfare has gone up faster than rental cars. But when was the last time I needed either one?) Was it even a 'green' decision to take a cab? or would the rental car have actually used less gas than the taxi?
...
So as usual, venting has made me feel better. In fact I'm really glad I came out for the Cherry Hill intensive, and got to meet some more students. In fact I'm really glad I stayed for Pantheacon, or at least part of it -- I've met several more faculty, seen a few old friends, found some lovely workshops and bought the pentacle and the labradorite ring I've been seeking for more than a year. Plus the inevitable great books.
Reading this over I see so much to be grateful for, and so much 'princess prima donna' in the tone of my complaints. I guess I'll leave them, just to remind me that I'm not done with being a ridiculous human yet.
In fact this trip has been a real opportunity for me to get back in touch with what's genuinely important to me and what just seems like a good idea at the time ... and to notice that friends are good to stay in touch with.
It's still half an hour before I need to decide whether to go back for the late afternoon workshops or not.
Yippee!