11 September 2009

I awoke at 4.30 to the sound of a bell going off in the hallway (Park Plaza, Boson). A fire alarm? Is there a fire? Unfortunately, after traveling so much, I'm too lackadaisical about such alarms. They are usually false. I get dressed slowly and finally leave my room when everyone else is coming back to their rooms. Apparently there was a fire alarm on the 15th floor and the 14th and 15th floors were supposed to evacuate. I'm on the 8th floor. I go back to my room and the stupid key won't work.

No way I'm taking the elevator. I go down one set of stairs that leads to the street, then back up to find a stairway to the lobby. After winding around in a maze, I eventually stumble onto the lobby. I wait in line 10 minutes while some lady argues with the counter guy about how the hotel personnel handled the fire alarm. She gets nowhere. Neither I, nor the counter guy understands what she wants, except maybe to vent about being forced up in the middle of the night.

I finally get to the counter and get my room key reset. I start up the stairs but can't remember the way through the maze to get to the 8th floor. I head for the elevator. They tell us to go to the staff elevators because the regular ones will "take forever." A bunch of us pile into the staff elevator. The door closes and the elevator lurches and then stops. The girl next to me tells her husband, "I'm getting off this elevator." Her husband reassures her. We stop at the 3rd floor. The door opens and closes and the elevator lurches twice, but doesn't go anywhere. The door reopens. The girl and her husband (and me) decide it will be better to climb the stairs. I finally get back to my room at 5.15. No more sleep for me tonight.