Today I mustered up the courage to check at the front desk for a tally of my phone calls to home since I have been here. The consensus now is that I will not be making any more calls from the hotel. After being here a total of 6 days, the cost of telephone calls I have made equates to approximately 1 year of phone calls back home! How ridiculous is that?
It has given me a reality check that I do not welcome, do not want, hesitate to act on, apprehensive to accept … but have no choice but to.
The purpose of taking this assignment apart from the exposure, adding another island to my list of travels and to impart knowledge (not in that order of course) was the opportunity it presented to save some extra money. For those who travel on behalf of your company will understand that there are some financial benefits to be gained from this. As it stands now, I will have almost erased any possibility of doing that.
So, my significant other has put me on a regimen …. Adding to my TORTURE!!! Restricting the amount of times I call and how long I stay on the phone with him. How does he expect me to survive? I feel like I’m literally dying here. Yeah, yeah, I’m sure you’re all saying, “Shi weak eh!”. Sorry to disappoint all those of you who know me and probably think of me as the strongest person you know. I have a weakness too and my weakness is the one I love. He knows that this regimen is best for us both in terms of what we want to achieve. I also know that it is the best thing to do but it doesn’t make it any easier to accept or deal with. Today was the first of this regimen …. Can you all spell it with me … T-O-R-T-U-R-E!!! Don’t think I’m exaggerating or blowing this way out of proportion. I am merely expressing the emotional state this has put me in. It is not easy for either of us but I think it is harder for me being away from home. This is not the 1st time I have traveled and it won’t be the last. I’m scheduled to be away again in January 2005, albeit just for 4 days but at least there is prepaid roaming with Digicel now so I can get a pre-paid SIM and it will be all good in Miami (my post paid would be too expensive).
The only thing keeping my sanity is the normal hectic job, your blogs and emails from friends. Kudos to you all!
Also, the chick I am training asked me to fly to Puerto Rico next weekend to shop since everything there will be on sale for Thanksgiving …. I’m wondering if I should? What say you all?
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4 comments:
I was trying to decide whether give you trouble like you did with me but I have decided to behave myself. I know full well the TOTURE thing. My little girl won't let me live in peace every time I have to do the company travel thing. Luckily it has not been too often for me (probably because of my field of work) but I know well the benefits of which you speak.
On my last trip, it was to Chicago. I called home from the hotel and 1 phone call lasting 8 minutes costed me almost US$100.00. I have never spent J$6000 on a phone call in my life!! The receptionist at the hotel prips mi an advised that next time I need to buy a phone card and use the pay phone in the lobby because the hotel adds its charges to the call charges. Can you imagine??
Just a couple of things... I travelled a fair bit for the company I used to work for and phone cards were a necessity, and Cool One, I think the postpaid roaming may well prove cheaper than pre paid, at least in the Caribbean. Check it out carefully. Digicel prepaid hexpensive nuh ra$$... pardon my latin! :)
Thus spake the Mad Bull!
Thanks for the tip Mad Bull. My other 1/2 works for Digicel so we worked out a plan that just may work. I'm going to Cable & Wireless today to check out the phone card thing. Need it bad! I have 3 or 4 more weeks to go!!
Hello Cool Destiny....you do NOT make phone calls home from the hotel! Apart from saying, "Hi, I reach safe. Love you. Bye!" It is ridiculous what hotels charge for phone calls. Scratchie....you crazy man.....$100US!?
Buy yourself some cards Cool D...or ask your mate to do the calling.
Dr. D.
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