May 14th, 2008
I finally got around to trying out some of those fancy teas I mentioned previously. The first one I tried was Jasmine Green Tea.
I made myself a cup one morning last week and drank it plain, without adding any sugar, milk or honey. It was gross! It tasted like grass and has a really weird smell/aftertaste that reminds me of painting. I didn’t really enjoy it, but I was able to finish it. I have another packet, so maybe next time I’ll listen to that recommendation and try adding some honey to see if it improves the taste any.
May 9th, 2008
After I was through rolling up all those pennies, I figured I might as well roll up the rest of my coins. I had a lot more than I thought, and it added up to a lot more than I thought it would.
How much does this look like?
Would you believe that is $177.50 in just coins? I guess I don’t use as many coins as I thought I did. They usually sit in my pocket and get tossed into the dish at the end of the day. Over time, this adds up to a lot of money. I was most surprised that I had $70 in quarters alone. I gotta go hit up an arcade…
May 2nd, 2008
I was cleaning my room last week, and I found a whole bunch of change all over the place. I keep a little dish on my desk that I toss coins into when I empty my pockets at the end of the day. I also have an old basket that I stole from Quizno’s that I used to keep coins in that I found while cleaning.
I figured I would roll up the coins to get a bit more organized, and I was surprised that I had over 1000 pennies! Having one thousand of anything is a lot, but when it’s money, it seems a lot more exciting. Here’s what $10 in pennies looks like:
March 3rd, 2008
My piece of shit car was deemed too unsafe to even be tested for the Ontario Drive Clean emissions test, so I couldn’t get my plates renewed. The car’s not worth fixing, so I’m looking for a newer car at the moment. But that’s not what this post is about.
One of my coworkers lives near me, and offered to drive me to and from work until I get a car, which was really nice of her. I had to adjust my schedule, since she starts at 7:30am and I used to start at 8. Today was the first day and it was a bit rough getting up earlier, but that’s not what this post is about either.
So anyway… on our way to work, we stopped by Tim Horton’s to get morning coffee and tea. When we got to the drive through window, the cashier informed us the lady in the car ahead of us paid for our order! That was a pleasant surprise and brought a smile to our faces. My driver (the nice coworker, not a real chauffeur), in turn, paid for the order of whoever was in the car behind us. Hopefully it sparked some sort of chain reaction that continued all day, but I’ll never know how far the giving went.
I have heard of this sort of thing happening before, but never seen it firsthand. I hope the nice lady in front of us had a great day.
February 13th, 2008
Continuing where I left off last week, I recently sent off a letter to David Kong, the president and CEO of Best Western International. In this letter, I explained the situation we experienced while we stayed at the Best Western in Nashville, and asked for his help resolving the matter. Most people told me not to expect much to come from it, but I definitely hoped for some sort of positive outcome.
During the first week of February, I received a letter from Best Western International. It wasn’t from the president directly, but from Greg Trotter, who is manager of Customer Care. According to the letter I received, Mr. Kong was made aware of our situation and the issues we faced while in Nashville. In the reply, I received an apology for the poor service, as well as some comments about how Best Western strives to provide excellent service and value for all of its customers.
Mr. Trotter went on to explain that he’s aware travelers have a lot of options available when selecting accomodations, and he hopes we will consider staying at a Best Western again in the future. To make things right, he is sending me a check for $80 (Canadian) to cover the cleaning fee and is also sending me a Best Western travel card worth $25.
Best Western locations are all independently owned and operated, so I can see why, despite their best efforts, the level of service provided is not always up to par. It sucks that I had to write a letter to the president to get any sort of help, but I am happy with the way they handled the situation and the end result. My faith in Best Western International has been restored, but I don’t think I’ll stay at their Nashville location again.
