Derry, Northern Ireland

Derry, Northern Ireland
A book I'm working on is set in this town.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Used and abused

After three days in my Motel 6 bait and switch, I'm now lodged in a Sheraton that's twice as much but ten times nicer and in a much better neighborhood (Pasadena as opposed to Sherman Oaks). After hours and hours on my feet and setting up my booth and dealing with nit-picky book dealers, I walked down to Jake's for a Teriyaki Burger on Colorado and now am in my room fighting off a sinus infection. Fortunately, there's a Gelson's a block away for the meds I need -- nasal spray, Listerine, mucho de agua y Dr. Pepper.

I've done no writing, just reading on occasion.

I should explain -- I called Motel 6 that because when I made the reservation, they had an image on the website that supposedly showed a nice looking building with landscaping and a lovely room with a kitchenette. What I got was gang central, a microwave and refrigerator, and no landscaping. The parking was hidden in the back and it was hard to find a space. I'd have been better off heading down to the Motel 6 by LAX, which is $20 a night cheaper and has lots of parking.

So why didn't I do that, one might ask? Well -- to start with, I was tired, and had a reservation that if I didn't use I'd get charged for a day, anyway, and a Ralph's grocery store was only two blocks away, and I knew how to get around...and I was just plain lazy.

It's pretty sad when the tried and true places you've dealt with descend into crappy. Southwest is doing that; Best Western is trending in that direction, now Motel 6 is on the decline.

Life sucks, sometimes.

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