Gotham Post Script

The surprise went off, in its entirety, and completely without a hitch. The look on the birthday celebretante's face: Priceless. Really wish I had a camera to capture the moment, but know I won't need one to remember it. Taking advantage of the opportunities life presents you to show the people that matter most how much you love them is definitely a very good thing.

Apologies for the trite cliches being used (or at least any being bandied about with more abandon than usual), it is early in the AM, I am not entirely sure which time zone my body is in, and no matter where I move, I seem to be sitting under an air conditioning duct (so I think my brain is chattering). Through the wonders of modern technology, I find myself sitting here tip-typing away in the waiting area of JFK airport. Free wireless internet for all! Excellent. Funny thing given that my "luxury" hotel wanted to charge me $9.95 to use their dial up connection, which I suppose should have been nothing considering the $10 they made me shell out to use their gym, which likewise pales in comparison to the $18 I am sure I paid for that Twix bar from the mini-bar, which I so greedily gobbled and felt to righteously entitled to. How is it that song from Le Mis goes? (Hey, if you are going to go TOURIST, you may as well go all the way): "Residents are more than welcome; Bridal suite is occupied; Reasonable charges; Plus some little extras on the side! Charge 'em for the lice; Extra for the mice; Two percent for looking in the mirror twice; Here a little slice; There a little cut; Three percent for sleeping with the window shut;
When it comes to fixing prices; There are a lot of tricks he knows; How it all increases; All those bits and pieces; Jesus! It's amazing how it grows!" Apparently I have been in error all these years - Le Mis did not take place in France, it took place in NYC.

The lady doth protest too much.

And she does.

It really was not that bad. I am just kvetching because it is another stroke of entrepreneurial genius - prime real estate hotel ownership where location, location, location dictates a much high threshold for spending on the part of the consumer - that I was not a part of. Agh! Seems to me Puffy will inevitably have to open a boutique hotel someday soon - the opportunities for profit and self promotion are too irresistible in such a setting. If Vanessa Noel can open a successful BnB in Nantucket, then Puffy certainly can launch a successful Manhattan boutique. God, I love that man.

I would like to note that the reflection of the Drake's european ownership group is pretty evident - both in NYC and in Chicago. Small, comfortable rooms, low of luxury but high on stable, reliable utilitarian accoutrements. A very IKEA approach to luxury hotels.

Okay, enough spouting off about something I actually know very little about. My expensive tastes are outpacing my budget these days.

More to say, but the plane is boarding.

Catch you on the left coast.