How I spent my Christmas Vacation

How I spent my Christmas Vacation, by The Gentleman Adventuress.

Well, beautiful ones, I went to the motel- hotel, Holiday INNnnnnn. I "availed" (as they say to mean "used") of a package deal that included one night, three meals, a bottle of wine, complimentary "welcome drinks" and of course, full use of all the facilities at the Inn, which are considerable.

The Holiday Inn Clark itself is really nice- a four star hotel with three restos, a huge pool, two little shops, a bar by the pool, and a spa.

The rooms are green and white, very "Elle Decor" with Plasma TV's, pocket doors on the bathrooms (with the de regieur telephone in the bathroom, for when you want to roll deep with your room service in the tub), and a huge, fluffy, glacially white bed. Also, a little balcony, also with pocket doors leading to it.

So I flung my stuff on the bed and put on my swim wear, ate the buffet lunch (check out photos on my Facebook), and then collapsed in a haze by the pool, on one of the chaise lounges. Of course, 364 days a year over here it's 92 and sunny as hell, that day it was 80 and overcast, almost too COLD to go swimming but I did anyway, darnit!

So I gave my family a call, since it was still Christmas eve over there, and talked to my brother, who I haven't seen in about 2 years. That was nice, we had a good laugh over a couple things and I encouraged him to check out my FB, etc.

So after a nap, dinner at the mind- boggling buffet, I watched TV.

I was actually really excited for cable, but honestly, the selection was a bit anemic; about 6 "local" channels (just who do they think is staying at the Holiday Inn?), 5 news channels, 3 movie channels (all showing dreadful B roll holiday stuff like "Dunstin Checks in:To the Stable: Holiday 3-d!" , etc, the "variety" option (one bravo- oxygen hybrid, Asian MTV, etc), two "documentary" channels (nat geo and discovery, one of which was showing a doc on Solar Eclipses called "eclipse chasers"--NOT kidding).

I finally settled on Private Practice, and just gave up, and watched a show I've never seen that was mid- season in season three. But I like the actress that plays Addison (she reminds me of me, kind of) so I just vegged out. Then I called my mom and brother (it was finally Christmas in the US). Then I went to sleep.

The next AM I woke up and turned on my phone and one of my work friends had texted me wondering what I was doing. Seeing as this was like, attempt 25 for us to hang out (he is the Business Director for three accounts, one of which is the most major e-tailer that you can think of. Yes, that one. The one you immediately thought of, so the last 6 week have been various texts from him at odd hours trying to buy me a beer after he gets off work after being on for 29 hours in a row and me being like, uh, Cy? It's 7 am, honey. I'm in BED..) I texted back that I was at the Inn, freezing cold and about to eat the buffet (which is legendary around here).

Anyway, I told him I was about to have the buffet and as it was "for two" if he wanted to he could come. I had him at "free".

"I'll be there in 3 minutes". He texted. "I'm right around the corner." Work is, indeed, a quick two minute car ride away from the motel-hotel.

I imagine he threw his files at his VP and sprinted out to the parking lot because he met me in the *hallway* coming from my room to the dining room. He's nobody's fool.

So he found us a booth (clever boy) and we "availed" of the buffet and he tried to weasel out of my who I had been dating recently.

A typical attempt to convince me that he was a better catch than previous jerks who had said the same damn thing and then fled the country abruptly followed this, then he toddled off after graciously offering to act as a human water bottle for my very cold room. What a gentleman, hee hee. Can't blame a man for trying, and he was very charming about it.

He did tell me a very funny little story after I asked him if he were Christian (his answer: "partly". Har har!).
"...And I didn't even go to mass yesterday, can you believe that!" He chortles. "I had 170 calls on wait(meaning "on hold to be answered) last night, and 230 in the queue (being answered) and I wanted to go, but I think to myself "God's more forgiving than service levels. God will understand. I hope."

Now, he's attractive, with a long, narrow frame with exceptionally beautiful hands and feet (and manicured nails, which is actually a bit off- putting, but a least he takes care of himself) large, light brown eyes, nice hair with just a little white at the temples (men! they look so good with white hair! And women with a sprinkling of white look like a hippie wiccan who doesn't shave! why!) he dresses very well, and more importantly, wears his clothes well, and he's actually a mix of Indian and some Levantine race (this is the rumor, which I believe), which gives his features a delicacy and sculpture lacking in most Indians, but he's just....not boyfriend material.

He has a cash register for a heart, is a typical paranoid Scorpio, is a notorious skirt chaser, is tightfisted to the point of humor, is universally disliked by my closest coworkers ("He's no fun." Daddy O ( a man who will hang out with ANYONE) dolorously intoned once) and at work we joke he has at least 12 personalities and counting.

However, I happen to enjoy the company of outcasts and weirdos, as they often have the best gossip, never prevaricate, and are very loyal to those that give them attention. So we're "friends" after a fashion.


So that was my Christmas. How was yours!