Setting: a hotel room in Maryland
We open in a dark hotel room in the wee hours of the morning. A girl is sleeping in the luscious down bed. The phone is ringing.

Girl: (fumbles for phone) Hello?
Voice on the other end: Good morning, this is your wakeup call.
Girl: (groggily) Mmpppffff. Ok, thanks.

The girl hangs up, glances at the clock, and, startled, turns on the light. She reaches for the phone.

Girl: Uh, yeah, hi. I just got my wakeup call. But it was supposed to be for 3:45. It's only 2:45.
Voice: No, ma'am. It's 3:45.
Girl: Oh. OK. I guess this clock has been wrong the whole time. Thanks.

The girl hangs up and reaches for her cell phone to deactivate her backup alarm. She glances up in alarm and grabs for her watch on the bedside table. She then searches for the remote and turns the television on. Sighing, she flips through some channels. A moment later, she once again reaches for the phone.

Girl: Um, hi again. It's only 2:45. My wakeup call was supposed to be for 3:45.
Voice: No, ma'am. It is 3:45.
Girl: (more emphatically) No. It's only 2:45. I requested a 3:45 call. That's not for another hour.
Voice: Yes, ma'am. And I called you at 3:45.
Girl: (getting frustrated) No. Seriously. It is 2:45. I just looked on the weather channel. And all the clocks in here can't be wrong. (through gritted teeth) It is two-forty-five. AM. Can I please have another wake up call in an hour?
Voice: You want another wakeup call?
Girl: Yes. In an hour.
Voice: OK. I will call you again at 4:45.
Girl: No. 3:45. (voice escalating) I want a wakeup call at 3:45!
Voice: Ma'am....
Girl: (loud with frustration, cuts her off) Fine! Call me again at 4:45. In an hour. 3:45, 4:45, whatever. Call me in an hour.

Girl hangs up. She resets the alarm on her cell phone, turns off the light, and tosses and turns to get comfortable again. We see the clock click through the minutes, the girl continues to toss and turn, restless and unable to sleep. After some time passes, the phone rings again. The girl glances at the clock, and she reaches for the phone.

Girl: Hello?
Voice on the other end: (it is a new voice, different from the previous) Good morning. This is the front desk. Your car is here.
Girl: (confused) What?
New voice: The car service to the airport is here.
Girl: (incredulous) What?! It's 3:30. The car isn't supposed to be here till 4:30.
New Voice: No, ma'am. The other girl said you requested the car for 3:30.
Girl: I don't think the other girl can tell time. What time is it?
New Voice: It's 3:30 ma'am.
Girl: Right. But I watched the guy last night write down in the little notebook that I requested the car for 4:30.
New Voice: But the other girl just said you had your times mixed up. You needed the car for 3:30.
Girl: What?!? The other girl is messed up. I need the car for 4:30. In an hour. I am not coming down there yet.
New Voice: Um, OK.
Girl: Thanks.

The girl hangs up the phone, and slowly puts her feet on the floor. It's 3:30 am. Time to take on the day.

THE END

Yeah. The girl, in case you hadn't guessed, is me. And the people at the Marriot in Towson, Maryland can't tell time. Don't stay there. Or at least don't let Brenda the night clerk give you your wakeup call.

And the day kept getting better from there. After arriving at the airport at a little after 5am for my 6am flight, I board the plane and immediately fall asleep. At 7:15, I wake up, figuring we'd be about to Cincinnati, where I was connecting. Um. No. We are still in Baltimore. We needed to be de-iced. Apparently that takes a really long time. And so I missed my connection. When we finally got to Cincy at 9am (nearly two hours late) the fine folks at Delta put me on a flight at 5:25 that evening. 8 and a half hours later. Um, no. I rented a car and drove the 4 hours back from Cincinnati. On 3 hours of sleep. For the first time I can see how people really can and do fall asleep at the wheel.

It has been a really really long day. My goal was to stay up till 8:30. I have acheived that. I'm going to bed. Good night.

Posted by blueostrich at 8:33 PM
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