Jon's Dirty Sheets

[jon-nyc]

@Horace said in Jon's Dirty Sheets:

I will never understand the attitude that travel is an extremely important part of life. Nor how common the attitude is.

That’s ok. Just don’t assume, as you have done explicitly in the past, that those with different attitudes are faking it.

[Mik]

That’s why you throw used towels on the floor.

[Horace]

@jon-nyc said in Jon's Dirty Sheets:

@Horace said in Jon's Dirty Sheets:

I will never understand the attitude that travel is an extremely important part of life. Nor how common the attitude is.

That’s ok. Just don’t assume, as you have done explicitly in the past, that those with different attitudes are faking it.

I doubt I was that categorical about it. Anyway, an evolved perspective on fakery vs sincerity in preferences would acknowledge the blurry line between them. A casual stroll through profiles of females on dating sites indicates the value of the preference for those who want to participate in that market.

One line that’s always stuck with me is from a life long travel writer who admitted that eventually, later in her career, her favorite part of traveling, was coming home.

[Axtremus]

My need for hotel room "housekeeping" is usually a function of towel sufficiency. As long as there are enough clean towels, I can go without housekeeping.

Even when there were automatic "daily" housekeeping, I generally hang the "do not disturb" sign outside the door virtually all the time, so it devolves to housekeeping every three to five days anyway, just because most hotels have a policy that says they want to do housekeeping every three to five days, I suppose just so they can check on their guests and rooms at least once every few days.

[kluurs]

I appreciate hotels being generous with towels, paper products, and water pressure. At one hotel, they were overly vigalent with checking the minibar - 4x a day. I asked them to remove the minibar if they couldn't restrain themselves.

[Doctor Phibes]

@Horace said in Jon's Dirty Sheets:

A casual stroll through profiles of females on dating sites

Solely for research purposes, of course

[Jolly]

Back to the strike ...

Hotel workers are claiming that a lot of staffing has never returned to prepandemic levels, but the number of guests (and workload) has. Hotels have reaped recent profits. Contract negotiations have been ongoing for some time, but have been fruitless.

Something has to give

[Horace]

@Doctor-Phibes said in Jon's Dirty Sheets:

@Horace said in Jon's Dirty Sheets:

A casual stroll through profiles of females on dating sites

Solely for research purposes, of course

I'm going from memory, but I doubt anything has changed. I'm reminded of an intern introduction recently where a young recent graduate had a bullet point on her slide about how she loves travel. As she talked through the slide and got to that, she had enough self-awareness to admit that it didn't mean much because "everybody loves traveling". I have some suspicions that "everybody" applies more strongly to her female demographic cohort. At least partially because it encodes for a life of financial freedom, not that that is necessarily on a conscious level.

[taiwan_girl]

@Horace said in Jon's Dirty Sheets:

I will never understand the attitude that travel is an extremely important part of life. Nor how common the attitude is.

I travel a lot and for mostly, I enjoy it. But, it is not an extremely important part of life.

I remember taking some seminar and one of things it talked about was communication and if possible, go to the next level of communication. For example, if you texting, try to talk via phone, if you talking via phone, see if you can do a video meeting, if you are doing a video meeting, try to meet in person, etc.

Maybe "business/government" in Aisa is a bit more formal, but I think they appreciate an in person meeting. More than once I have spent 24 hours in travel for a ~2 hour in person. Was it worth it? I think so, but it is hard to prove. Unless there is a parallel universe where I didn't go and was the outcome different. LOL

[taiwan_girl]

I dont think the below is actually true, but I find the whole thing quite funny story. I laugh when I read it.

*Dear Maid, Please do not leave any more of those little bars of soap in my bathroom since I have brought my own bath-sized Dial. Please remove the six unopened little bars from the shelf under the medicine chest and another three in the shower soap dish. They are in my way. Thank you. S. Berman

Dear Room 635, I am not your regular maid. She will be back tomorrow, Thursday, from her day off. I took the 3 hotel soaps out of the shower soap dish as you requested. The 6 bars on your shelf I took out of your way and put on top of your Kleenex dispenser in case you should change your mind. This leaves only the 3 bars I left today which are my standing instructions from the management. I hope this is satisfactory. Kathy, Relief Maid

Dear Maid -- I hope you are my regular maid, Apparently Kathy did not tell you about my note to her concerning the little bars of soap. When I got back to my room this evening I found you had added 3 little Camays to the shelf under my medicine cabinet. I am going to be here in the hotel for two weeks and have brought my own bath-size Dial so I won't need those 6 little Camays which are on the shelf. They are in my way when shaving, brushing teeth, etc. Please remove them. S. Berman

Dear Mr. Berman, My day off was last Wednesday so the relief maid left 3 hotel soaps which we are instructed by the management. I took the 6 soaps which were in your way on the shelf and put them in the soap dish where your Dial was. I put the Dial in the medicine cabinet for your convenience. I did not remove the 3 complimentary soaps which are always placed inside the medicine cabinet for all new check-ins and which you did not object to when you checked in last Monday. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Your regular maid, Dotty

Dear Mr. Berman, The assistant manager, Mr. Kensedder informed me this A.M. that you called him last evening and said you were unhappy with your maid service. I have assigned a new girl to your room. I hope you will accept my apologies for any past inconvenience. If you have any future complaints please contact me so I can give it my personal attention. Call extension 1108 between 8 A.M. and 5 P.M. Thank you . Elaine Carmen, Housekeeper

Dear Miss Carmen, It is impossible to contact you by phone since I leave the hotel for business at 7:45 A.M. and don' t get back before 5:30 P.M. That's the reason I called Mr. Kensedder last night - you were already off duty. I only asked Mr. Kensedder if he could do anything about those little bars of soap. The new maid you assigned me must have thought I was a new check-in today, since she left another 3 bars of hotel soap in my medicine cabinet along with her regular delivery of 3 bars on the bathroom shelf. In just 5 days here I have accumulated 24 little bars of soap. Why are you doing this to me? S. Berman

Dear Mr. Berman, Your maid, Kathy, has been instructed to stop delivering soap to your room and remove the extra soaps. If I can be of further assistance, please call extension 1108 between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M.. Thank you. Elaine Carmen, Housekeeper

Dear Mr. Kensedder, My bath-size Dial is missing. Every bar of soap was taken from my room including my own bath-size Dial. I came in last last night and had to call the bellhop to bring me 4 little Cashmere Bouquets. S. Berman

Dear Mr. Berman, I have informed our housekeeper, Elaine Carmen, of your soap problem. I cannot understand why there was no soap in your room since our maids are instructed to leave 3 bars of soap each time they service a room. The situation will be rectified immediately. Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience. Martin L. Kensedder, Asst. Manager

Dear Mrs. Carmen, Who the hell left 54 little bars of Camay in my room? I came in last night and found 54 little bars of soap. I don't want 54 little bars of Camay. I want my one damn bar of bath-size Dial. Do you realize I have 54 bars of soap in here. All I want is my bath-size Dial. Please give me back my bath-size Dial. S. Berman

Dear Mr. Berman, You complained of too much soap in your room so I had them removed. Then you complained to Mr. Kensedder that all your soap was missing so I personally returned them - the 24 Camays which had been taken and the 3 Camays you are supposed to receive daily. I don't know anything about the 4 Cashmere Bouquets. Obviously your maid, Kathy, did not know I had returned your soaps so she also broguth 24 Camays plus the 3 daily Camays. I don't know where you got the idea this hotel issues bath-size Dial. I was able to locate some bath-size Ivory which I left in your room. Elaine Carmen, Housekeeper

Dear Mrs. Carmen, Just a short note to bring you up-to-date on my latest soap inventory. As of today I possess:

On shelf under medicine cabinet - 18 Camay in 4 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2. On Kleenex dispenser - 11 Camay in 2 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 3. On bedroom dresser - 7 Cashmere Bouquet in 1 stack of 3 & 1 stack of 4, 1 hotel- size bath-size Ivory, and 8 Camay in 2 stacks of 4. Inside medicine cabinet - 14 Camay in 3 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2. In shower soap dish - 6 Camay, very moist. On northeast corner of tub - 1 Cashmere Bouquet, slightly used. On northwest corner of tub - 6 Camays in 2 stacks of 3.

Please ask Kathy when she services my room to make sure the stacks are neatly piled and dusted. Also, please advise her that stacks of more than 4 have a tendency to tip. May I suggest that my bedroom window sill, which is not in use, will make an excellent spot for future soap deliveries. One more item, I have purchased another bar of bath-size Dial which I am keeping in the hotel vault in order to avoid further misunderstandings. S. Berman*

[jon-nyc]

For that story to be true the maid would have to be fluent in English. So no.

[jon-nyc]

@taiwan_girl said in Jon's Dirty Sheets:

More than once I have spent 24 hours in travel for a ~2 hour in person. Was it worth it?

I once flew to Shanghai for a single meeting. A sales pitch to help build the Shanghai Stock Exchange. We won the business.

I even remember the date, because while I was there the ultimatum expired and Gulf War II started.

[Horace]

Saw this pablum on facebook, and thought it represented a common perspective on travel amongst those who think it's super important. It dovetails with my own alternative explanation for why people consider travel so important, that travel is the easiest, lowest effort "meaningful accomplishment" this life offers. (Can anybody think of another "accomplishment" of equally low effort that provides as much "meaning" and "education" as travel?)

---

Try to travel, otherwise
you may become racist,
and you may end up believing
that your skin is the only one
to be right,
that your language
is the most romantic
and that you were the first
to be the first.
Travel,
because if you don't travel then
your thoughts won’t be strengthened,
won’t get filled with ideas.
Your dreams will be born with fragile legs and then you end up believing in tv-shows, and in those who invent enemies
that fit perfectly with your nightmares
to make you live in terror.
Travel,
because travel teaches
to say good morning to everyone
regardless of which sun we come from.
Travel,
because travel teaches
to say goodnight to everyone
regardless of the darkness
that we carry inside
Travel,
because traveling teaches to resist,
not to depend,
to accept others, not just for who they are
but also for what they can never be.
To know what we are capable of,
to feel part of a family
beyond borders,
beyond traditions and culture.
Traveling teaches us to be beyond.
Travel,
otherwise you end up believing
that you are made only for a panorama
and instead inside you
there are wonderful landscapes
still to visit.

• Gio Evan, poet and songwriter.
  Translated from Italian**

[Tom-K]

I used to be a supplier to the "hospitality business". It's a sewer. Really, trust me.

[George K]

@Tom-K I will never forget how you said years ago, “hotels are not in the business of being clean. Hotels are in the business of looking clean. “

[Doctor Phibes]

@George-K said in Jon's Dirty Sheets:

@Tom-K I will never forget how you said years ago, “hotels are not in the business of being clean. Hotels are in the business of looking clean. “

That's funny, I think of that every time I reach my hotel room.

[Tom-K]

Exactly what I want to be remembered for in life!

[Horace]

There's no deeper essence of cleanliness beyond what something looks and smells like. Under a microscope, everything is disgusting, and if you zoom out far enough, everything is clean.