Budget, Shmudget

Here's the scoop. We were going to stay at a budget-minded hotel while in P-town, but I just checked the Travelocity listing for the place and it contained a customer's very recent tale of woe (including dirty linens, late-night partiers, the gamut of horrible hotel experience, in fact) that made me rethink my emphasis on economy.

Linda's coming along, for one thing; for another, I do not want to be worrying about our lodging AS WELL AS my set. Too much pressure, life's too short, and all of that.

So, I cancelled the budget-minded hotel, and found a fairly reasonable B&B (with a fabulous, full breakfast, BTW) that would let us stay just one night. Innkeepers of America, take note: I am rather powerless over the concept of a "fabulous, full breakfast," and if you offer me that and a private bath, I'm pretty much yours.

And, lest you think I'm a complete pushover, the person who booked the place was very nice. I asked him about the rooms, directions, parking, dining out options--and he was helpful on every count.

That goes a long way with me, it does. For while one would think people in the hospitality business would be helpful as a matter of course, it doesn't always follow. We've stayed at places where the "hosts" were absolutely PUT OUT because we wanted hospitality.

In fact, in one place, the hosts were put out because we wanted common courtesy--we asked them to turn down their BLARING television so we could sleep. It seems running a B&B was part of their retirement plan; actually having guests was not.

Oh well, that was long ago and far away (well, last year and in Wisconsin, but I guess that qualifies), so let's put that behind us, shall we?

On other fronts, I spent the day working as a temp again, in the same schools department as before. Same wonderful gang, same wretched office furniture. Lovely.

And something new: Career advice. One of the dear folks and gentle people in the department strongly suggested to me that I look into grantwriting, and you know what? I may just do that. Lack of grantwriting experience was the reason I didn't make the cut for the last job I was up for, and it does seem that grantwriting jobs are more plentiful around here than whatever it was I was doing before. In fact, I'm looking into grantwriting courses, and may just take one, to see if it's something I may enjoy doing.

I'm realizing that other friends/family may have suggested this very course of action to me, and may be reading this and thinking, "Well, that ditz--didn't I suggest the very same thing to her months ago?" Well, yes, you probably did, and I'm sorry I wasn't open to your suggestion then, really and truly. But I am now, and may I say, I appreciate your planting the seed way back then. It took six months of job-hunting to loosen me up, apparently. For heaven's sake, I'm pursuing a CAREER IN COMEDY, so of course, I'm open to such notions now.

Sorry I wasn't open to them earlier, but that's just me. Stubborn. Slow, perhaps. (If you know anything about my personal history at all, you know that "better late than never" would be my motto, if I had one).

But I don't do mottos, not yet, anyway. I'm just happy to report it's been a very good day, and for that I am grateful.