C is for College

Man, it is a lot of work to maintain a 4.0 gpa in graduate level classes. It is also hard to remember there is laundry to be folded in the dryer.

B is for "Bummer, dude."

I didn't even make it a full week before I had to start the neb treatments. I was successful in putting off another round of prednisone, at least until Friday. My lungs better be working by then, or they are fired!

A is for Achievement

I got up today, paid some bills, paid my rent on time, and got my allergy shot. I even emptied the dishwasher AND filled it back up. I did more today then I did the whole month of March.

The Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly baby photo books are the perfect way to preserve your baby's precious moments.

The Life of Pi

The trailer for The Life of Pi gave me serious nightmares about tiger attacks on a tropical island I was visiting. I'm not sure why Adele was on the island. She was no help at all.

The Ramp

Over the past several months, my aging parents have put in a ramp, complete with a large front porch and porch furniture.  I have taken some photos of the process, and now that I can't use work as an excuse, it's time to put them up on my blog.

I know you hate slide shows Joanna, but you'll just have to adjust.  I have been working in iPhoto on my laptop, and I need the practice.  Enjoy!

The Emergency Alarm

Over the 3-day holiday, I agreed to take a short trip to Las Vegas. The weather was great, seeing some old friends was nice, and there were lots of laughs at a good comedy show. The night before the comedy show, we had an unusual experience. While preparing to leave for the evening to see the comedy show, I heard a beeping sound coming from the emergency alarm. After a few seconds, a voice said, "An emergency has been reported on your floor. Please exit the building using the stairs. Do not use the elevators." Then the beeping was back, followed by a repeat from the voice. I surveyed the surroundings, and determined that everything could be replaced in the case of a real emergency, with the exception of my work bag with my laptop.

Now, understand that the decision had already been made that the exit would be out the elevators, as wheelchairs do not navigate stairs adequately, and can cause emergency situations on their own. As we exited the room, people were leaving, rather quickly, towards the stairs. There wasn't mass exodus, but it seemed like the people on our floor were taking this seriously, and heading for the stairs. We left down the elevator (truly, I enjoy being oppositional to authoritative voices in the sky) and came out on the casino floor.

As we prepared to head for the exit, I noticed that there was not any alarm on the casino floor, and all the people seemed hard at work gambling their money away. Not sure what to do at this point, I walked up to the first "official" person I saw, and told him the emergency alarm was going off on our floor, and we were told to evacuate the building. He suggested we go find security. What?!?!

I'm a quick study, and it was obvious this guy had no interest in our personal safety, so I headed for the security booth. Arriving at the booth, I repeated a description of our experience, and the security guy said to hang on for a second, he had just heard the report of the emergency alarm. Evidently it was going off on the floor above us as well. He said it was reported as all clear, meaning I could go return my laptop, and grab the tickets for the show I had left on the table in the room.

The adrenaline wore off after a couple of hours, and the rest of the trip was relaxing and uneventful. A few days after arriving home, I received a survey from the hotel. I felt free to grade them poorly on the overall experience, and used all 250 words to describe the experience in detail.

A few days later, this arrived in my inbox:

Hello Rachel

I would like to apologize for the experience you had with our emergency alarm system and specifically your interactions with the member of our management staff who failed to give you proper assistance or guidance. The safety and well being of our guests is important to everyone who works at the Stratosphere. I realize it can be very startling for anyone to deal with emergency alarms in a place they are not familiar with and I once again apologize.

Would you be willing to offer a description or name of the gentlemen within the Beverage Management Team who failed to properly assist you at the time of the alarm? I would like to be able to stress the proper way to handle any similar situation with this particular manager.

Thank you.
Robert Lozier
Director of Beverage Operations



Would you by chance be interested in my reply? I knew you would!
Mr. Lozier,

Thank you for caring about our experience. Unfortunately, I did not get the name of the gentleman, but his name tag said he was a Beverage Manager. It was about 6:30 PM on Saturday, January 14th, just outside the central elevators, near the gift shop. He was well-dressed in a suit jacket and tie, and I would guess his age to be around 50 years of age. He was caucasian, in case that helps.

I do appreciate your attention to this matter. I travel with a disabled companion, and understanding that an emergency situation with a disabled person is more complicated than with an able-bodied person, I tend to take events like this seriously, in case it were a real emergency. I am tasked with the welfare of 2 people, instead of just myself. I am hopeful you are able to identify this gentleman, and educate him, as I believe it will prevent issues in the future.

Sincerely,

Rachel Martinez

I think it is only fair for the amusement of others, that this time, what happens in Vegas goes on my blog.