Monday, May 7, 2007

How Memorable Am I?

I had to attend a meeting at the Corporate Office last week.

Well my 3rd level manager did not remember me. I knew he would not remember my face, but I thought it would click when I said my name. Alas, he did not and I knew of him when he started in our group. No surprise. I'm never surprise with my management as I rarely see them and get introduced every year or two.

I'm just glad my manager remembers me as I've only had face-to-face contact with him twice.

My 2nd level guy did not disappoint me as I've had several dealings with him as he moved up in the world.

What really surprised me was the Avis Preferred Car Rental Representative in Jacksonville!!! As I walked up, she acknowledged me by name. We've only had one-on-one transactions twice. Let's see if she will be working the desk next week.

As for the hotel I'm staying at currently, I give up on the afternoon/evening shift. The office manager remembers me after checking me in once, but then he's come across my name the past three months and was happy to put a face to a name.

And the airline I most often travel with … no memory whatsoever. I don't expect it. 1. Newark airport is just too big and no agents or flight crew work the same flights I always take. 2. I don't make any waves to be remembered. Just let me get on the plane so I can stow my luggage and get settled in.

My airline once did remember me many, many, many years ago. It was towards the end of my assignment in Plano, Texas. When she saw my name on the manifest, she automatically upgraded me to first class.

Now Sherrilyn Kenyon is a different story. She's a lovely lady and great author. SHE REMEMBERED ME after only meeting me once amongst 50+ other fans who stood in line for her to autograph her great books. Her memory is out of this world when it comes to her fans

Rental Cars

I have the dubious pleasure of driving a variety of cars. This week, I got a dark red Mitsubishi Eclipse with leather seats, electric controls for driver seat and 6-disc CD Player. This must be the high-end model because two weeks ago, I had a burnt orange Eclipse – no leather, had to turn the wheel/pull lever to adjust the seat and single disc CD Player. The cool thing is the dash is lit in blue instead amber or white. Wow, the Eclipse sure likes to go fast. I look at the speedometer and the needle is heading towards 80 mph.

The other cars I driven while in Jacksonville – PT Cruiser, gas pedal is funny; Chevy Cobalt, had to row down windows on some; Pontiac G6; and Chevy Malibu Max, no power nothing and used on trip down to see Sherri and nearly ran out of gas on Alligator Alley (grinning now but not then).

Last week, I had a partner and she took care of the rental. She got a Lincoln Continental. No slamming the trunk. Separate air controls for driver and front passenger. Backup alarm if she got too close to anything. It was a big car. Thank goodness she was driving it instead of I. I don't like big cars like this. Now I don't get me as this is the size car that is used weekly to transport me between home and the airport. As we were both from New Jersey, I felt like a mobster riding shotgun. Yep, you can comfortably put a body in the trunk *VBG*.

Air Flight Saga 1

The flight crew does know their passengers. We had an old lady on board that needed to be hooked up to an oxygen tank the whole flight.

Well, there must have been something wrong with the tank or the ground crew did not connect her up properly. The flight crew had to use an emergency tank.

As we are starting our descent, the team leader ask nicely for everyone to remain seated so the oxygen lady can be deplaned first with her sister. To my surprise as the captain asks everyone to buckle up, two guys from first class came to switch seats with the two ladies. They all finish settling in just before the wheels touched down.

It was nice that those two guys did that.

I would have done the same as the flight crew because I knew people would not have remained seated. I've seen it happen too many times when some do not have the courtesy to let people with connecting flights deplane first.

Spring Is Here

When I left New Jersey in mid-April, it was still nippy out and I was wondering if Spring would ever arrived. After returning from two weeks in Florida, I was so pleased to see all the colors of Spring appear.

There were trees with white blooms and pink blooms – think they may be dogwoods. The Forsythias were bright yellow. Many of the trees were no longer naked. The grass was so green. Tulips were out. Lots of people have started planting their flowery blooms.

The sad part – my tree in the front only has tiny buds, even my next-door neighbor's. Beyond the two of us, everything else was in bloom.

The other sad part – the splashes of color in the landscape all turns green in the next month or two. The petals from the trees are starting to dust the ground.