Apparently the gov't CAN learn...from its mistakes.So yesterday at work someone came on the intercom to tell us that in about half an hour, there would be military aircraft flying low over the Hudson River as part of some event, and we shouldn't be alarmed. In fact, these maneuvers would continue through Tuesday, and we should continue to not be alarmed. Second mass panic in New York: averted. And what's the only thing cooler than a river view hotel room? Military aircraft doing maneuvers over the river outside your window. So far it's just helicopters (which are still very cool), but I'm hoping to see some other aircraft before I go to work. So why am I in Jersey City anyway? The answer is quite simple: Bank of America willed it to be so. No, really. I'm changing teams within Bank of America to work on retiring some legacy Merrill Lynch systems, and my new team is based mostly in Jersey City. So I'm here to meet everyone and get myself set up to work on their team. Nothing too exciting, although the hotel's nice. It's always amused me that the more expensive a hotel is, the more they try to squeeze you for money. Take, for example, my current hotel - a Hyatt - and a hotel that I would consider to be nice but nothing special, like a Holiday Inn Express. Cost of stay... Hyatt: $229/night (and that's a negotiated rate from B of A... I'm sure these rooms normally cost much more) Holiday Inn Express: $113/night for a similar room in a similar location Internet... Hyatt: $10/day Holiday Inn Express: Free! Breakfast... Hyatt: $20 and up Holiday Inn Express: Free! (though admittedly less tasty) Room Service... Hyatt: $9+ for appetizers, $18+ for breakfast, $15+ for meals ($15 is a sandwich with no sides), $5 service fee, 21% gratuity, $9+ for dessert Holiday Inn Express: Okay I've never had room service there, but I'm sure it's much less expensive. |
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