56 steps

Never mind 39 Steps, which I might go see this weekend : 56 steps to the 3rd floor of the Premier *cough* travel lodge hotel thing affair, where the lift is broken.

My knee hurts *gloom*. Arriving at 10.30 pm when the bar and restaurant, such as they are, are about to close and getting the ironed clothes hung up (thanks, Mum!) , with a bit of trying to figure out how the lights etc work; it was almost 11pm before I set off in search of food. Room service in a Premier hotel? Have another laugh!

So, on the way up, after the imminent panic of their not having a room for me: I called too late yesterday to cancel the room for last night: some hotels allow cancellation till 4pm on the day (Hyatt and Marriotts), some 24 hrs (Radisson), and this one is 1pm on the day: which I missed by about an hour yesterday. So sod's law says they probably gave my room away for the rest of the week. I think they did, actually, but had a spare room to cover for it.

However, enough of doomy gloomy stuff. I was cruel/sensible enough to accept the offer of assistance with my luggage to get it to the third floor since the lift was broken. *sigh* Some willowy wisp of a girl tried to pretend that she didn’t mind lumping my bloody heavy suitcase up 56 steps while I tried to pretend my knee didn’t hurt keeping up with her.

The bed is good, the room is very full of a couple of side by side single beds, I haven’t tried the telly yet, and as long as the shower performs its hot, wet miracle in the morning I will declare myself (almost) content.

So, the hunt for food! 11pm in the middle of Brum: my favourite eating places were all, just, closed. No room service in a Premier establishment. Ended up at the Thai edge which looked fairly busy but they’d closed the kitchen. They suggested the Villagio (Thai/Italian connections?? Quite amazed really). Anyway, I said I’d give it a go, and turned to leave. Wait, wait! they said, he’s calling them for you. Better than than, getting a bit spooked by someone catching up with me in an empty street, especially after last night’s weirdo following me from the station, I discovered it was the manager of the Thai Edge, escorting me to the Café Villagio to persuade the chap there that I really did deserve to have food and wine even though THEY’D closed too.

A rummage in their fridge allowed as they did have chicken, and I was offered a pasta dish with chicken and mushroom in cream sauce, which turned out to be rather wonderful. The eye-candy, incomprehensible waiter/chef/owner chap was rather lovely too. A bottle of Bardolino, my book, no hassle, and I smuggled the rest of the bottle back to the hotel with me.

56 steps back up to my room again. Corporate heaven does NOT include Premier Travel Lodge places, which have the effrontery to charge only a fiver less than class places like the Hyatt/Radisson/Crowne Plaza. Though I have a horse’s mouth story about a mouse in the room at the CP. *smothered laughter* the story was from our project director.

Also that a senior colleague I met in the London office yesterday was the man foolish enough to have had his laptop stolen from his car. NO! I do not work for them consultants with the prisoners details, nor for any MI5 type stuff.

Sid sent me a link to an article today about Cargo Cult Methodology: how Agile can go terribly, terribly wrong (www.cio.com/article/print/442264) Vastly amusing when I’m working in a project that went for “Agile Development” 6 weeks ago. It’s working! Honest, it’s working : but in the teeth of demands for traditional reporting of plans and progress for the greater project.

On the work front, I got an assignment review from my boss today which boldly says I will be working on this project till April next year, and gives me a 2 on a scale of check the contract 5 to unbelievable superstar 1. All good I’m sure: might even get a payrise out of it. Har de har har! I’m enjoying my job, as I used to, despite the lunatic hours etc, and my ma agrees I’m not as driven as I used to be. A small surprise in the review stuff “always good-humoured” – really????? They’re not looking inside my head to where baglady is a real career option and I almost always remember it really IS only a job.

Apparently the Hyatt is doing some deal with a free night for every 2 stays, MUST make good use of that! Also, suggestions for my at least a week ‘somewhere”! have had advice to try SA or Egypt: then again I might go visit Chit and Mark in Seoul if there is some promise of sun stuff.

Right : time to sleep I guess.

Say mother off on the train this morning, had a bliss late afternoon yesterday with the short people : Alex filling the toy watering can from the playpool and tipping it over himself, and over his baby sister so she didn’t feel left out. Both of them screaming with laughter.

Sometimes the world isn’t big enough to hold the love you feel.