Wednesday, March 9, 2016

First Day at Work

So I continue to hate Opryland, but to have a bit of a better attitude, I have been trying to list the good things about this place. So far, I have;

1. Incredibly soft toilet paper
2. Excellent WiFi -- all five bars, no silly password. You put in your name and room #.

It took me 35 minutes to get from my room to the press room. Of course, I had to stop and rest a few times. I really can't describe how huge this place is. As I got to the end of one hallway, what do I see but a flight of steps. I didn't know what to do. No one in sight. I decided to get myself up the steps and then wait. So I climb the steps, turn around and there are three women carrying my stuff up. I said they were three guardian angels. Everything is on weird levels, with certain elevators going to certain floors... and sometimes you have to go up one elevator to a certain floor, then walk, then go on a different elevator. Coming back to my room (which seemed shorter than this morning's trip), a woman I know arrived at the flight of stairs the same time I did. Another guardian angel.

I found that being "disabled" brings out other people's stories...from people here with their spouse who can't walk far, somebody with Parkinson's etc. and the bad thing about this place is that there are literally no chairs to rest. If I didn't have my walker/rollator, there's no way I could have done it today.

So all is well. When I got back to my room, I told myself I'm proud of myself. I may be slow, but I'm doing it.

This man I know told me that another man had asked if I were here, then asked him how I was. He reported that I had dropped ten f-bombs in the space of 10 minutes and the second fellow said, "Oh yeah, Pat's back."

Left over from yesterday... I had read that Burger King now sells hot dogs... sorry, but my food taste does lend itself to hot dogs, and no, I'm not interested in knowing what they are made of... so I stopped at BK for lunch... and here it is... quite good, although I'd hold the raw onions next time which I picked out this time.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Glad you are making it happen, Pat! Good for you for trudging on. I know Kelly is glad you are there.

BTW, one of the reasons I didn't come to the Conference this year is that I hate Opryland, too. ... combined with a bit of a cash-flow shortage. (Dang taxes due me in every spring!) It's just too big, too fake, and as you say, weird ways to travel from one place to another. I'm just not a fan either of the fake outdoors either. Like you I've always wondered why people would choose to go there on vacation.

Anyway, you're making the best of it; good for you!