A real discussion I had at work with D and Stefania:
Stefania: Don’t talk to any strange people in Las Vegas!
Me: But what if Robert Redford shows up and offers Gene $1 million for a night with me?
D: I cannot believe how quickly that came out of your mouth.
Something crazy that happened at Cheesecake City International Airport (& Bait Shop):
So, I’m sitting at our gate for our flight to (city in Texas). I’m watching our carry on luggage while Gene handles an issue and I realize, “I recognize that voice.” I turn around and who is it? It’s the CEO/Chairman of my employer (a/k/a “The man who bankrupted a company”). (Remember, my employer is fairly small, around 1500 employees, so it’s not like if Gene saw the CEO of Schmulett Schmackard. The CEO knows me).
Ugh. But I had to talk to him (even though he didn’t see me first, which is usually the only time I talk to people I know). The voice in my head said “DO NOT WHACK HIM ON THE HEAD AND ASK ‘HOW dare YOU???”. So, instead we exchanged a moment of breezy conversation and then I moved our carry on bags far far away. And then I called our company’s administrative assistant and told her and she said she would have felt so bad if we’d been on the same flight. (We were on the 1 pm flight, he was on the 12 pm flight).
The flight to (city in Texas) was uneventful and we got there about 2 pm (?). The next flight to Las Vegas left at 3:45 but we were to be on the 6 pm flight to Las Vegas. I suspect we could have got on the standby list for the earlier flight and I KNOW I wish we had because our 6 pm flight ended up leaving about 10 pm due to bad weather in Texas. (Seriously, even the storms are bigger in Texas).
So, we got to Las Vegas at about midnight (in whatever time zone of the damned I’m in now) and then the line at the car rental counter (the company’s name rhymes with “Schmavis” and I HATE them) was about 30 deep. The line at the car rental company next door was about 2 deep, so Gene had me ask if they had a car for a member of their Gold Club (this company’s name rhymes with “Schmertz” and I LOVE them and told them so). Of course they do! Here is our price – $350 for the week. That sounds awesome until I realize that our rate at “Schmavis” is less than $200. So instead, I send Gene over and (as they say here) badda bing, badda boom, “Schmertz” got us into a VW Jetta for about $200 for the week with free “Never Lost” (which, as my Mom will tell you, is my absolute favorite thing ever – but that’s only because she hasn’t been with me in a rental car with satellite radio).
YAY. And then we got to the hotel (but not THE Hotel because that costs approximately a trillion dollars and does not give us Marriott points) and we get a room on the Club level (Club level = free internet and free breakfast and free cocktails and free desserty stuff and happy Elaine!) and then I hit a jackpot:
All night room service. Truffle french fries (mmmmmm). Cheesecake.