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November 12, 2006
Rumors of my disappearance have not been exaggerated
NEW YORK - I sort of went into hiding after the election. I’ve been hiding down in Texas, returning to New York for weekends and on Fridays to submit expenses, go out, and pick-up the dry cleaning.
I know that I’m probably traveling too much and haven't much of a life when I start obsessing about frequent flier miles and loyalty programs. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing far too much lately, being a point & mile whore. My biggest accomplishment over the past month has been to get Platinum status on American Airlines. I’m not sure if that’s an accomplishment or a sad mark of having a typical consultant lifestyle (it requires 50,000 miles of annual travel), and I’m still not sure if being Platinum really gets me anything. They don’t even serve that bag of six pretzels anymore.
Other accomplishments include Silver status at Marriott (for having 37 nights at a Marriott this year), and possibly Gold status by the end of the year if I stay another 13 nights at a Marriott through next month. It’s possible and also a bit sad.
Oh yeah, and I’ll soon have Five Star membership at Hertz. Last week they offered me a choice of a Crossfire, a Taurus, or a mini-van. I wasn’t exactly sure what a Crossfire was, but I figured it would drive a bit better than a minivan. After a 20 mile drive, I wasn’t too impressed, so I remarked to my colleague, “I don’t think that the sticker more than $15,000.” She figured it carried a $30,000 sticker. Turns out that the sticker is $30,070. New Yorkers can usually calculate the expected cost of a taxi ride to the nearest dollar, but sticker prices on autos are usually a bit more troublesome.
What else?
Hmm… The laundromat at Sixth Ave & 130th St raised their prices 25 cents a load and lost a lot of business, which is great because machines are now available. I hate mail-in rebates. I’m going to miss Ed Bradley, probably the best product of West Philadelphia and much more of a heavyweight than today's flaky newsreaders like Katie Couric. Republicans deserved it for spending too wildy, not reforming Washington, and forgetting why they’re Republicans. Pomegranates are fabulous this week; buy them by the half-dozen. The Uniqlo grand opening was fun. We had a Harlem reunion last night where it was decided that I'm still the only non-foreign straight white boy living in Harlem. My calendar is booked for December 10 from 8am onwards.
Posted by adrianjo at November 12, 2006 07:37 PM