February in Oregon

Lisa has been asking me to spend another week in Oregon when I can, and I also need to take a van-load of things that aren't easy to transport by air due to size constraints. (Stuff for Match Game SF for use at Norwescon, for instance.) So, having checked with management, it looks like I will be driving to Oregon February 8-9, working up there from my father-in-law's home the following week, then driving back to California February 16-17.

After the positive recommendation of one of you on my friends list -- darn it, I can't remember who, now! -- I have booked a room coming and going at the Holiday Inn Express Central Point, Oregon. This is really further north than I'd rather break my stay -- ideally, I'd stop in Weed or Yreka -- but ever since the HIX Weed changed chains, there's been no HIX between Redding and Ashland. And with the current Priority Club promotions right now, I have a big incentive to maximize stays (not nights, stays) at Intercontinental-group hotels right now. For instance, on the shoulder nights around my company's management retreat in Tahoe at the end of this month, I plan to stay at the Holiday Inn Reno, despite it not being a very good hotel.

(I'm probably going to book my Worldcon hotel room in the Crowne Plaza Denver, it being located about midway between the convention center and the party hotel, thus splitting the difference between them. I'm hoping that IC Hotels runs another promotion like the one they're doing now. If they do, I'll probably run up more individual nights in other places; if nothing else, I can go visit my grandfather in Yuba City.)

I Am Number 6, Darnit

I listen to KNBR sports radio a lot, including usually when I'm out for my afternoon walk. They have contests in the form of "caller X wins prize Y." While I was out this afternoon, I heard the sounder for the contest and reached for my phone, where I have their contest number on speed-dial. I am of course not the only person who has done that, and in fact I've never got through before. Today the phone actually rang instead of sounding a busy or all-circuts-engaged signal.

Alas, I was caller number six when they wanted caller number 9. Had I been the correct caller, I would have won a $50 gift card from Target, which could have been handy.