Bits for Sunday, April 11

Ohhhhh the adventures.

Life is never dull in Bekahland.

This weekend I had the opportunity to take a little road trip and visit a friend. So I packed up the car, got on an interstate (yes, you read that right!), drove through a city (yes, you read that right too!) and followed directions to my intended destination.

Please let the record show I did not get lost a single time. I thought I did once. I saw a sign that had the road number I needed, so I flipped on the turn signal…and realized I was about to turn into a McDonald’s parking lot. I almost grabbed the phone to call for rescue, but I said to myself, “Rebekah, you are a college educated person. You are certain that the McDonald’s drive thru is NOT a major thoroughfare. If you will keep driving, you will probably find said thoroughfare. Do not call for help when you are going to admit you can’t distinguish a road from a fast food parking lot.” My pep talk must have worked well. I kept driving and found the road.

Now you know me well enough to know I’m a planner-girl. Life goes by the method of the pink day planner, and there are no two ways about it. Whenever I travel, I begin weeks ahead of time researching hotels. I read dozens – sometimes hundreds – of reviews. I pick my pillow based on continental breakfasts, safety levels, and how many floors the buildings have.

This trip was last minute. No time for research. And truthfully, since I wasn’t spending a lot of time at the hotel (other than to actually sleep), I didn’t care about much of anything. If the door locked, the bed didn’t have bugs, and the toilet flushed, it worked for me.

Enter the Motel 6.

I don’t think I’ve stayed at a Motel 6 since I was a kid. But the price was right, the location was good, and I was satisfied. After I did (triple) lock the door behind me the first night, I immediately went in search of the heating/cooling/fan system. I can’t sleep without a fan. I’d considered taking mine from home with me but didn’t. I knew I’d be alone in the room and could crank the fan all I wanted.

Problem.

No fan. No nothing under the window. What!? A hotel without a heating/cooling system under the window? I began to inspect the room. After some time, I found a tiny thermostat box on the wall. I turned on the fan and heard a hissing similar to a gas leak. I refused to let my mind think about THAT and hoped the hissing would suffice as white noise.

I went into the bathroom and flipped on the light to listen for THAT fan to see if it was better. No fan. No fan…and I could hear the people in the hall. That pretty much told me they could hear me too.

I’d been told that the location of the hotel was just on the other side of the time zone change. My cell phone dutifully changed with it, so I began to mentally calculate the difference, but just to be on the safe side, I decided to check the bedside clock.

No clock.

No problem. I had my cell. What I didn’t know was that it was randomly changing back and forth between time zones. Literally from one minute to the next I had no idea which zone it might choose. Allow me to admit it made for one really embarrassing phone call at 5:45 a.m.
But my favorite…favorite…moment came this morning as I got ready for church. I’d plugged in my flat iron and was getting the clothes out…things arranged…teeth brushed…and I smelled something funny. After a couple of moments of not being able to figure it out…I looked down and saw thick, black smoke literally billowing out of the flat iron.

Leave it to me to burn down a motel.

I managed to get it unplugged…waved away the smoke before it could activate the sprinkler system…and said a mournful farewell to my trusty iron.

Let it never be said that life with me is dull!