Five business-lunch faux pas
The recipe for a successful business meal seems deceptively easy. “Let’s meet for lunch,” you tell a client or associate. You get together. You talk business.
Sounds simple enough. But you know better.
A business lunch is part meal, part meeting. It’s informal, but at the same time there’s a long list of unwritten rules that can’t [...]
Same card, wrong hotel
Q: I booked a room for four days at the Tremont Plaza in Baltimore for four days to attend a conference. I made the reservation through Hotel.com on an American Express card which is a joint account with my partner. In other words, same card, same number - same account.
When we checked in at [...]
Marriott stole my miles
Q: I received a letter from Marriott recently saying that it had discovered “a systematic error in the calculation of your Marriott Rewards credit for any stays occurring between 08/01/02 - 12/07/02.” As a result, an incorrect point amount was applied to my account.
I checked my statement online as the letter suggested and it [...]
Look, more visitors for me
Aunt Kaia and Uncle Peter came to see me for my first birthday. They gave me a stuffed animal and Hawaiian shirts, but most important of all, they babysat for me while Mommy and Daddy got to go out diving (it was the first time in two years they went diving together. They checked [...]
SARS affecting your travel plans?
Just a mention of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, is enough to leave most of us feeling apprehensive. But for frequent travelers, talk of this mysterious virus continues to trigger a considerable amount of anxiety as well. With good reason. Spending time on planes, in airports, at hotels and in other public places appears [...]
Bombed out in the Big Easy
Q: I planned a trip to New Orleans for Christmas last year. For the first three nights I wanted to stay at the Hotel Provincial in the French Quarter. For the last three nights, and over Christmas day, I wanted to stay at a really nice place. I had my heart set on the International [...]
It’s my birthday
It’s my birthday today. I’m one year old - which means, technically I’m not a baby anymore. My baby blog is ending, but don’t worry, I’m starting a new Web site soon to keep track of all of my adventures. I’ve had a lot of fun sharing my pictures with you during the [...]
Getting plastered
Tomorrow is my birthday, so Mommy wanted to get an imprint of my hand in plaster - you know, something to remember me by. And in case the feds show up looking for my fingerprints. Oh, I’m just kidding. I turn one tomorrow, still a little young to be a really bad boy.
Early birthday party
My first birthday isn’t until the 23rd, but that didn’t stop Mommy and Daddy from throwing a little party at playgroup for me. I decided to play with the toys while the other kids ate cookies and drank punch.
I can swim … before I can walk!
Mom and Dad taught me how to swim today - well, almost. I can float. I can paddle. But I can’t quite get the hang of swimming long distances yet. Since I live in the Keys, I imagine it won’t be long before I can do a couple of nautical miles on my [...]
Dream parks
Over the past few years, the Disney and Universal parks have quietly set up what theme park expert Bob Sehlinger calls a “two-tiered” system. In both Florida and California, the parks have hotels on their land, from deluxe (Universal Orlando’s Portofino Bay Hotel starts at $259 per night) to bargain (Disney’s All-Star Movies Resorts starts at $77). Guests get privileges that cut the time spent in line. Hit hard by the soft economy, Universal and Disney are pushing harder than ever for on-site guests, especially those who can afford a high-end hotel. But, as Sehlinger, notes, “many of the perks have an adverse effect on guests who don’t stay on the property.”
Can’t keep quiet
Mommy and Daddy took me to the African-American Research Center in Fort Lauderdale for a Fulbright meeting. But being a baby, I just couldn’t keep quiet. Even though Daddy asked me nicely.
What a tangled … toy
We headed over to my favorite place, the Key Largo Library, for a little fun this afternoon. I was fascinated by this toy, although I can’t figure out what it does. Any ideas?
Hey, that’s not my van
Q: My family of eight decided to have a reunion in California over the Christmas holidays. I reserved a minivan with Budget that would be sufficiently large for at least seven of us to travel together. My brother, who lives in Los Angeles, wanted to be able to show us around.
When I arrived on [...]
Look out for the pirates
The part I like best about the Key Largo pool is the big pirate ship in the kids’ section. Daddy pretended to be Blackbeard and I tried to swim away. ‘Course, it would help if I could actually swim.