UMTravels

I woke up this morning with a kiss on the forehead from Jamie — a recent other house-guest for ark and Onyx. It’s a lovely way to wake up. I wish it came with coffee — which was brewing.

By the time I got out of bed Jamie was gone, but fortunately the coffee wasn’t.

Cleaning out the in-box in the morning lead to a new assignment from E&A — if you have time, drop in on the Bay Area offices and check-in. Rational? “That should scare the hell out of them.” So ordered, I did the Santa Clara office today. Lovely traffic with the Bay Bridge closed.

Tomorrow the San Francisco office — via Bart. 15 minute walk on the front end, 5 minute walk on the back end. $7.00 round-trip… cheaper than the gas I used today.

So, the 10 Rules To Be A Good Housewife:

1. Bring a bathrobe, no matter how thin — it saves from embarrassing moments
2. Offer to purchase meal materials and cook for your hosts — they will love you
3. Remember that you are saving $50-100 a night, restock their liquor cabinet and buy the wine for dinner — they will definitely invite you back.
4. If you are meeting someone at the airport — make sure you have their mobile number — saves greif for everyone
5. Dishes. If you know how they do their dishes, do them the same way. If you don’t ask. If they are anal about them (like my father), rinse and stack.
6. Rules. As what the household rules are. Then realize that those aren’t all the rules. Watch. Learn. Get invited back.
7. Assume that your hosts have lives. Just because you are on vacation doesn’t mean they are.
8. Clean up after yourself — if there is a squeegee in the tub area, it’s there for a reason — use it.
9. If your borrow their car, wash it, return it full of cash, even it was empty. You just saved $30-50.
10. Write a thank you note. Snail mail is better than email, but both will be appreciated.

So, that’s the list that I promised you weeks ago. Maybe I should print it out and put it in some stored goods here at my host’s house.

Dinner — yes, dinner. Lovely rolled rib steaks under the broiler with basically the same salad as last night — but with the proper cheese (goat cheese). No Onyx for dinner tonight — he’s in the city watching Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D with a friend — he needed to get out of the house.

The schedule at this house is work/play/eat/work/drink/play/eat for about 18 hours a day — and we are all still working.

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