Kevin Standlee: Fandom Is My Way of Life

When I got back to the motel about 9 PM, the shower still hadn't been fixed. And it was the same story at the front desk, with a third person in three days. Each one of them has had the same reaction, has written down the issue, and said that s/he will pass it on. The second and third persons have said there was no record of the previous reports and that s/he can't do anything themselves. Nor can they move me to another room. That can only done during the day when the manager is there. The fact that I'm not here during the hours that the person who can actually do anything doesn't matter; these people are helpless and under orders. Sigh. I rather expect that it will never be fixed, including after me leaving. After all, if they can keep selling the room to people who are desperate enough to rent here, they'll do it and avoid spending any money at all if they can.

This morning, I used the shower at the office for the first time. I feared that I might have traded too hot for too cold, but it was just that I was the first person who had used it that morning and it took a long time for the hot water to make its way to the shower. It works, but it's annoying. At this rate, I should have just taken out the rear seat of the van, slept there and saved the motel rental.

I left Fernley around 8:30 this morning to head to the Bay Area, where I'll be working this week. Having got going so early, I took the opportunity to do a little exploring, attempting to find out what the results of Union Pacific's week-long blockade of the Donner Summit line were.

( In Search of Emigrant Gap )

After my railroad detour, I skipped my usual coffee stop at Colfax and pressed on to Lodi Junction, where I was bemused to find that the price of fuel was the same as in Fernley. (Lodi Jct. hasn't changed; Fernley's price has gone up this past week.) I continued on to the Bay Area and picked up some small groceries before going to my hotel, where to my annoyance I found that my hotel room wasn't ready, even at 4:30 PM. I went off and had an early dinner and 90 minutes later got my room. I am once again at the EZ-8 Motel in Newark, where the hotel room is about what you'd expect for a $42/night (before AAA discount and room tax) motel in the San Francisco Bay Area. This time I can't even say, "Well, it's clean," because it isn't that nice. But it has a bed and a bath, and I'll survive, and I hope the food I bought stays okay in the mini-fridge. Also, this particular room has a power outlet on the same side of the room as my bed this time, so I don't have to run an extension cord in front of the door to reach my CPAP, which could be dangerous if an emergency came up in the night. It's not luxury my any means, but it's better than sleeping in my van.

After getting the computer running, I called Lisa and checked in. She tells me the cork is out of the bottle and trains are running again through Fernley.