victory!

So today we had a little department cookie exchange here at work, and I figured, what the hell - I don't normally go to those meetings, but cookies. So I went over to wordplay's and made about half a batch of amaretti, and brought those, and unloaded about a dozen of them on my co-workers - and then stopped by various people on my way back to my own office, giving out more of them. One or two people said "oh, no thanks", but most people took one (or two; they're sticky little devils), and I heard a fair few "ooh, these are good" type comments on my way further down the hall. Amaretti are a hit again.

Last stop was the office right across from mine, where my neighbor took his cookie, went "ooh", etc., and I came across to my own office - and just as I was sitting down at my desk, he knocked on the office door: "Can I have another one?"

\o/

i'm about to convert.

Seriously, you guys. I'm going to have to look into what it takes to become an acolyte at the Church of Shatner. Because listen:

I have to be in Rochester, NY from December 27-31. I have family up there, but they start out medium-far from the curling club (where I'll be for four draws a day omfg) and get further, and it'll be a busy time for them in the post-Christmas rush, and I'll be keeping early and late hours (see above re: four draws a day), so I need a hotel. A hotel near the airport. When we curl at Rochester we normally stay at the Holiday Inn, which is up a street and under an overpass and around a corner and that's it; very close. They're advertising $104/night, which, okay, I don't know if they've noticed, but they're the Holiday Inn at the Rochester Airport, but what the hell, it's good to have ambitions.

Hotwire.com said they could get me a room at a Rochester airport hotel for $49/night. They wouldn't say which one until I booked it, because that's how they roll; if you want to be picky, you spend more money, I get it. Anyway. Not bad, I thought; still two hundred bucks for four nights, but better than four hundred, that's for damn sure. I looked to see what I could arrange with Expedia (about the same as the hotels said themselves) and with Priceline. Which is when it got interesting.

Priceline listed approximately the same prices for the airport hotels by name as Expedia - but there's also this name-your-own-price tab they've got there. And the way that works is, you tell it approximately where you want to stay - I was able to specify "North Rochester/Airport", so I didn't wind up clear on the other side of the city (though the city is Rochester, so it wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world, only again see above re: four draws a day; I want to be close) - and make them an offer, and if they don't [find a hotel that can] accept your offer, they say so and you try again; but if they do find a hotel that can accept your offer, they charge your card and you're booked. So I thought, okay, aim low, right? And I offered them $30/night.

And they took it. I'm staying at the Rochester Airport Radisson, three stars (bless its heart), for $30 a night, which when I looked it up at the Radisson website was normally $139, marked down to $103.25 in some sort of Special Offer.

I know n=1 is not a good sample size. But right now I'm quite tickled with my success. Thanks, Bill.

almost there ...

My take-home final is 3/4 done. (Due tonight at midnight.) My yuletide is at a midpoint. (Due Monday 9pm.) I will finish both of them fine. Woohoo!

Tonight I am off to visit a new choir. Friend of mine said "Fox, would you be interested in joining a choir that's short on sopranos?" - and I had to admit I'd never heard of such a thing. But he put me in touch with the director, and she invited me to come check them out, and assuming we all get along then depending on my class schedule next semester I may have a new gig.

But first:

and now, cookies!

My final is submitted! (Twice - once wrong, and once right. /o\) I'd treat myself to a milkshake, but I'm out of ice cream.

Back to the yuletide mines, then.