First 5 People I saw in Ithaca Whom I Recognized

1. Joey from gay bowling walking his dog. He lived right around the corner from our apartment.

2. MC Carpet, waiting for the bus off of the commons. Still wearing the same Dr. Seuss hat (I mean the exact same, because it's really grimy).

3. Aaron Spiser, on the commons. It felt good to be back in Ithaca for 1/2 hour and hear someone shouting your name.

4. The crappy waiter dude from Viva. He's got strawberry blonde hair & goatee. Used to have long hair but is still chubby.

5. Bob from Gimme. He was sitting at the Gimme by our old place. I walked by and did a double-take, and he did the same.

DATELINE: Ithaca, NY

I'll write more later, but wanted to let y'all know that we're having a great time so far. We saw Buddy today and he's exactly the same - A>W>E>S>OM>E>! We also bumped into Whoopi Goldberg at the Bookery. Adios!

Evil Gossip of the Day

From Barnett Rubin, NYU Prof., member Council on Foreign Relations;

Today I received a message from a friend who has excellent connections in Washington and whose information has often been prescient. According to this report, as in 2002, the rollout will start after Labor Day, with a big kickoff on September 11. My friend had spoken to someone in one of the leading neo-conservative institutions. He summarized what he was told this way

They [the source's institution] have "instructions" (yes, that was the word used) from the Office of the Vice-President to roll out a campaign for war with Iran in the week after Labor Day; it will be coordinated with the American Enterprise Institute, the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, Commentary, Fox, and the usual suspects. It will be heavy sustained assault on the airwaves, designed to knock public sentiment into a position from which a war can be maintained. Evidently they don't think they'll ever get majority support for this--they want something like 35-40 percent support, which in their book is "plenty."

Can I have an extra credit assignment, Professor?

DATELINE: Coal Center, PA

Adale & I went out to her parent's house yesterday to get out of town and away from our lives for a little while. For comic relief, Adale's dad (Spike) had me help him out putting the finishing touches on his shed. one of his favorite games is to get me to try to do something handy so he can laugh and tell me how useless I am at these kinds of things, all in a good natured way. I'm always eager to lend a little comic relief to these family outings.

Notice my excellent hammering skills.

Hammering on a ladder = 2X bonus degree of difficulty.

Coming to TLC this fall: Pimp My Shack!

After fixing up the shed I hopped on the riding mower and proceeded to take care of business with the lawn.

Attention to detail is key - note my laser focus on getting the job done.

Unfortunately, Spike did not appreciate my mower lines & kicked me off.


Spike showing me that he's still got game.

The day ended with a celebratory BBQ*. Very very tasty


* This picture is from a BBQ last week, but yesterday's BBQ was almost an exact replica.

REWARDS POINTS UPDATE

It’s been a little while since I’ve let y’all know where I stood with my rewards points programs so I thought now that I have a little time to catch my breath I would fill everybody in. There’s good news and bad news, and I’ll start with the good news.

National Rental Car Emerald Club

I’ve made it to the Executive Club! You need to have at least 40 rental days for the year to make Executive and wit my Vegas trip I have 46. When you’re a member of the Emerald Club (National’s Rewards Points club) you typically just walk out to the lot, select a car from the aisle and roll. You show your ID and the paperwork in the car at a booth & then you’re free. The exciting thing about the Executive Club is that they have a separate aisle with automobiles more befitting an executive’s stature, like the Chevy Impala or Pontiac Grand Prix. This is really exciting, not only because driving executive level cars will make my business trips that much more productive, but also because I have been intensely jealous watching other business men & women who walk by me & my “regular” car aisle to their executive aisle. In anticipation of my move to the Executive Club I’ve been practicing my sneer in the mirror & visualizing exactly when I will drop it on the chumps using the “regular” car aisle. It will be a sweet, sweet day indeed.

Hilton Honors

I’m Gold baby – Gold VIP with Hilton Honors, that is. The Gold VIP level starts once you’ve had either 16 qualifying stays at any Hilton property, 36 qualifying nights, or accrued 60,000 base points – all during a 12 month period (it’s a rolling qualification instead of the usual calendar year period). I made it on qualifying nights with 41. As a gold VIP member I earn more points per stay (which can be used for free hotel nights and bragging to your friends), free snacks and fruit in your room, and the satisfaction that you’re special.

US Airways Preferred Status

Here’s the bad news – I am still not at a Preferred Status with US Airways. I need another 4 flights (connections count as 2 flights) or a little over 5,000 miles to make Silver preferred. If I had not worked for Pittsburgh clients in April and May I would be there. What Silver would get me is a free upgrade to First Class if any seats are open 2 days before my flight (Gold gets you into seats 5 days before your flight, and Platinum is 7 days before your flight). I might have to figure out how to do a “mileage run”, a multi-stop round trip flight intended to rack up maximum miles for the cheapest ticket. Mileage run masters can rack 20,000 miles in a single weekend.

The Future

I only need 2 more trips to get to Platinum with Hilton and Silver with US Air. I don’t think I’ll have the 39 rental days in the next 5 months necessary to get to Executive Plus with National, but that’s not such a big deal because you don’t get much extra from that. While Silver with US Air is a given, it will be interesting to see if I can get to Gold. I have an outside chance because I need 30,000 miles or 29 segments (each stop along your trip to your destination is a segment). While this sounds redonkulous I do have an ace in the hole – my credit card will be giving me 10,000 bonus miles before the end of the year, meaning I really only need 20,000 miles. I probably would have to do some crazy 37 hour straight, round-trip cross-country flight in order to get there (maybe more than once), but it might be worth it.



Executive Club benefits with National Rental car

All the benefits of Emerald Club, PLUS Executive Selection:
Counter bypass area with Fullsize or larger vehicles.
Requires a fullsize reservation, but you pay the Midsize rate.

Executive Upgrade:
For non-Executive Selection rentals, reserve a Fullsize, Premium or Luxury car and pay one car class less every time.

Hilton Honors Gold VIP membership benefits

Point Bonuses
Earn a 25% bonus on all HHonors Base points credited while you are a Gold VIP.
Enjoy HHonors Hotel Rewards without Blackout Dates
Effective May 1, 2006, Gold VIP members may redeem points for HHonors hotel rewards nearly any time, with the only exception being during specified Extraordinary Demand Dates at certain hotels. To make reservations for your reward stays, please contact 1-800-HHONORS (1-800-446-6677).
Upgraded Accommodations/Amenities
HHonors Gold VIP members are offered upgraded accommodations or amenities at Hilton Family hotels. The type of upgraded accommodation or amenity varies by type of hotel, as follows:


Hotels Choose Points or Choose In-Hotel Benefits
Hilton® Hotels in North America: 1,000 Points or Upgrade to Executive Floor (if available), OR Executive Floor Lounge access (if the hotel has a Lounge), OR High Speed Internet Access (available in the US and select locations in Mexico and Canada), OR complimentary continental breakfast for the member and one guest each day of the stay. If the rate already includes breakfast, a special food and beverage amenity will be presented.


Embassy Suites® New Benefits 500 Points or Complimentary Internet Access or a variety of snacks and fruit.

HHonors Gold VIPs may choose either HHonors bonus points, High Speed Internet Access or two (2) snacks/beverages.
Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites®: 250 Points or One (1) bottle of water and 1 snack item.

Hilton Garden Inn®: 750 Points or Complimentary Full American Breakfast for you and one guest throughout your stay and upgraded room accommodations (subject to availability upon check-in).

Hilton Grand Vacations Club®: n/a n/a $10.00 coupon for use during a qualified stay*. Coupons are valid for purchases within select on-property retail shops, excluding alcohol.

*Qualified stay refers to those reservations booked at a rack rental rate.


Additional Gold VIP Benefits:
Complimentary Health Club Privileges: Enjoy complimentary access to the health club or fitness center during your stay, at hotel owned and operated facilities.

VIP Only Rewards: HHonors Gold VIPs may choose from an exclusive selection of rewards at special VIP-only points levels.

I am the worst blogger in the world. Las Vegas and the following week were horrible and the pain, along with computer problems, made me choose laziness over connecting with my dear readers. I don't know where to start - I've been laying around the house because my trip to Bakersfield, CA was postponed. The rockabilly gals in Bakersfield are weeping along with all of you.

So Many exciting things have happened in the last few weeks:

* Joe has started his real job teaching at Penn State. I think his last full time job
was delivering hot wings in New Jersey.

* Allison bought a house!! Adale and I will have our very own room to sleep in when
we visit for thanksgiving!

* Adale and I are 99% ready to aquire another kitten.

Adale & I are going to Ithaca for Labor Day weekend. We're going to rent an apartment across the creek from our old place. It should be very exciting.

I hope y'all haven't given up on Business n'at because I feel recharged and ready to lay it all on the line. Peace be with you and check yourself before you wreck yourself.

DATELINE: Badlands, outside Wall, SD

I haven't posted these yet, I don't think. After visiting Wall Drug I spent the rest of the day driving through the Badlands in some national park. it was really pretty, and because there weren't very many people at all, very calming as well. I did see a goat but missed the buffaloes.

DATELINE: Las Vegas

DATELINE: Pittsburgh, PA

I'm not that comfortable with someone driving a truck full of killer bees around Pittsburgh.

Well, my Vegas adventure is almost over. I fly out tomorrow afternoon. I'm extra tired and can't think of anything to tell y'all, other that I'm pissed that I've been so busy that I never even went to the strip. I did watch dozens of episodes of Law and Order while working on the computer, had a roach jump out of my taco, ate approximately 15 Subway sandwiches, made a friend in the Jamaican bell boy (the kind of friendship that exists between a business traveler and a bell boy), had a few relaxing baths in the fancy tub, and felt bitterly disappointed that I could not takle advantage of Rhonda's hook-up at the fancy steak house.

FYI, because I'll be traveling tomorrow and my parents are in for the weekend, I probably won't be posting again until Sunday. Chau.

Usually when I begin an interview I ask the participant what drew them to become involved and support the organization I'm working for. The other day someone said that as a Christian, he felt that doing charitable works was doing the work of Christ. Perhaps not surprisingly, not only was he the first person to cite God as his motivation, he was also the first to ask if I had been to a strip club while in Vegas. He also talked a bit about how they are expensive, all about separating you from your money. Doing God's work, one dollar bill at a time.

Joe is a sharp fella and demonstrates that with his insightful comment regarding my last post:

It's funny that you would look at that cookie-dough-meal-bar and think, "Maybe I'll try it."

Whatever happened to Snickers? I know they don't "satisfy" jack shit, but it's a tried and true method from making it from A to B.

Still hungry? Then eat two of them.

There is a common theme that Joe picked up on, perhaps subconsciously, about my diet. Why the fuck would I eat the cookie-dough-meal-bar? The truth is that The Man is applying his like meticulous, razor-sharp mastery of the business world to his diet. Think about it - Baked Lays, Beef Jerky, rice krispy treats - all low fat. I've been concerned that my expanding belly would necessitate the purchase of new business suits. After a long day of massaging the egos of your annoying clients, a dozen wings and an order of fried mozzarella sticks is the only thing that will fill the void waiting for you in your hotel room.

I know y'all are thinking, "Wait a minute, doesn't The Man hate Subway? Didn't complain about the stench of their baking bread from the Subway next to his Beethoven bachelor pad?'. That was true for many years. I guess the commercials, and the thousands of franchises, changed my mind. This started in Rapid City when I was real busy & had to get something quick. I swallowed my pride (along with the inferior lunch meat) and got a 6 inch Roast Beef. I was somewhat surprised that it wasn't that bad. Not that it was tasty, because it wasn't, but the speed of the sandwich artist and the blandness of the sandwich itself made the meal serviceable. While on the road in Rapid City and here in Vegas I've probably eaten 6 sandwiches a week and maybe more. Today, for example, I ate one for lunch and one for dinner. It's been an interesting experience because I've come to understand that the weight loss comes from both the low fat, low calorie nature of the sandwich itself as well as the effect eating one every day has on your appetite. You begin to lose interest in food because there's nothing too look forward to in a Subway sandwich other than the promise of ending your hunger. It's kind of like speed. I always thought there was something in speed that made people lose weight, but after a weekend speed binge in New Orleans years ago I realized that speed freaks lose weight because when you're high you're not hungry and food kind of seems gross.

And the answer is yes, there is less of The Man around to love. I think I've dropped 10-14 lbs in the last 5-6 weeks. I've become attached to my Brooks Brothers power suit and am very glad that we are in no danger of having to go our separate ways.

This is the Las Vegas I wanted to experience

At least watch the first 30 seconds, and you should really watch the whole thing. You should also turn the music up high because the music is pretty muffled (the song is "I need a hero"). If only Pittsburgh had drag superstars like this...

I wish I could have ordered one of these to my hotel

Why do the Japanese get the coolest things?

When I found out I was coming to Vegas I was super excited about my dining options, the most tantalizing of which were the buffets. Then I got the call from Rhonda about the hookup at Craftsteak I thought I was in hog heaven. However, I've been so busy that I've only been to one restaurant - the Mexican joint with Tacos ala Cucaracha. My diet has been pretty shitty due to minimal time to find and purchase food throughout the day. Luckily The Man can extract vital nutrients from even the least balanced of diets. Here's what I ate my first day here.




I started out with some coffee using the hotel coffee pod. It was Starbucks, a real treat for the business traveler. I wasn't that hungry & didn't have anything to eat anyway, so l I just rolled with the coffee.

Throughout the day I consumed 1.5 tins of Altoids. I admit that I am a little worried about damage to my stomach lining due to the curiously strong mints.


I had some beef jerky to nibble on while driving. It really hit the spot and warded off my hunger (they forgot to schedule a lunch for me).

I also had a rice krispie treat in the car. They're a nice, sweet foil to the spicy jerky.

By mid-afternoon I was pretty damn hungry & out of beef jerky and rice krispy treats. I had time to stop at a 7-11 and foraged around looking for something to fill me up. There were five more hours on my schedule until I could get back to the hotel so I needed something that could really take care of business. I decided to try the MET-Rx BIG 1000 Cookie Dough meal replacement bar thinking it would do the job. What a bad decision. That fucker sat like a cannonball in my stomach. I sure wasn't hungry for a while, mainly because of the pain in my gut from the genetically modified cookie dough food log in my belly.
I was totally wiped out after my long first day of interviews and only had the energy to get a subway roast beef 6 inch. At the hotel room I housed that badboy and didn't really even taste it.

It's surprising how if you are super tired and hungry, when you eat a bag of baked Lays they're not that bad.

My night ended with a little tv and a few cans of beer. For some reason my I've had some tummy trouble this week.

Hey guys,

I had hoped to have all sorts of fun stories form Vegas to report but no dice. I've worked 88 hours in the last 8 days and haven't even been able to go to the Peruvian restaurant in town and won't be able to get the hook-up from Rhonda - she had set me up with a fancy dinner at a deluxe steakhouse. I did go out Friday, met a couple of gals. we all got liquored up at various bars & ended up at a strip club until 5 in the morning. That's about the long and short of my fun. More to follow tomorrow night (late). Peace.

BREAKING NEWS: Mexican Restaurant has $3.99 taco special, cockroaches

So Monday I'm driving around to my various meetings and I'm starting to get hungry. I didn't have a lot of time so I was trying to find something I could do quick. The part of Vegas I was driving around in has miles & miles of strip malls, all southwestern/mexican style buildings with tan stucco. People drive pretty fast & crazy here so it was difficult to identify a suitable lunch spot in time to actually stop there. The road had three lanes each way with a median divider, and when I saw a Subway on the other side I went to the next light to turn around but lo and behold I saw a little Mexican taqueria that caught my eye. I though to myself, self, you should eat there. I rolled up to the joint and walked in the door. Now I was was wearing my black suit & was a bit out of place as it was part grocery store, part taqueria. The other clientèle were members of the "green team" on break from their various landscaping projects. For some reason they couldn't tell that I was down with the brizzzown. I decided on the taco special, al pastor, and grabbed a spanish language paper to read while I waited. When my (Styrofoam) plate was ready I picked it up from the counter. I placed it on the newspaper (the paper covered most of the little table) and started to arrange my salsas when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. A little cockroach jumped out from under one of my tacos, or maybe from under the plate, onto the table. I knocked it onto the floor, squished it, and was immediately faced with a dilemma. Do I ask for another plate? I didn't have time for that. Do I leave it & roll? I was hungry so that wasn't an option. I decided to pretend that the roach was only interested in the one taco it was underneath & ate the other two, along with the beans & rice. I was somewhat uneasy eating the "clean" tacos but dealt with enough to get all of it down.