Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)

I can think of no better theme for this blog than the song sung by Doris Day. For a control freak like me, the very concept of "Que Sera, Sera" is beyond my comprehension. As I mentioned in a previous blog, "change" is difficult for the male of the species. Despite any apprehensions I may have, we are getting close to the finish line when we return home and leave this fairytale paradise we have enjoyed for the past six weeks. I decided the best way to approach this period of preparation for separation was to make journal entries and try to put some order into these random events at a later time.


Our youngest daughter, Sandra, and our Granddaughter, Sophia, (age 10) graced us with an overnight stay. This gave our good friends at The Carlyle an opportunity to excel; and excel they did. We had arranged for Roll-away Beds to be set up in our Living Room. In our feeble minds we envisioned cots, but we learned that we did not understand the level of professionalism that existed here.


We went out to dinner (our first time doing so in ages), so we were not prepared for the events that unfolded. To start with, there are two different personalities of the Carlyle.  While we were quite familiar with the daytime persona, we had no idea of what happens after the sun goes down. On our way to dinner, we passed through the lobby. Not the daytime lobby, but a lobby ablaze in a magnificent floral display. One that took our breaths away. 


Upon our return from dinner, in a rather full and tired state we opened the door to our apartment and were stunned by the sight. Our living room had been transformed into a bedroom complete with two over-sized beds. We quickly learned that our guests would not be sleeping on cots but on overstuffed beds. This was our first experience with turn-down service at the hotel, and we were sorry that we always went to sleep early and did not avail ourselves of turn down service during our stay.


It is time for a lesson in Upper East Side Economics. While we live only five blocks away from The Carlyle, the scene is different. Somehow once you cross Park Avenue and walk one block west to Madison Avenue the prices for comparable items in the stores increases greatly. For example, a simple breakfast at Saint Ambrose, an Italian restaurant and coffee bar near the hotel, cost over $100.The breakfast consisted of one order of eggs, an order of pancakes, one fruit plate, one brioche, two decaf coffees, one hot chocolate, and one coffee. While the price was high (to say the least), the food was delicious. I guess that shows how my perspective has changed.  


"Times are a changing" and the time is fast approaching to pack up and move back to our normal surroundings. Do not get fooled, we do not live in a third world country on 72nd Street. I am steeling myself for the impending move.


This week we are having lunch with the Managing Director of The Carlyle. Since jackets are required, I will have to take one out of mothballs and pray that it fits.


More to follow as we get closer to "M" Day.

"So Long, It's Been Good To Know Yuh"

The time is fast approaching when we will be parting company with The Carlyle. As most of you know, change is very difficult for the male of the species.

I am no exception to that rule.

Somehow our contractor, Maher (Mike) Safa, fell under the spell of Jane and is way ahead of schedule. While it is too fast for me, I fear it is moving at a snail's pace for Jane. More about Mike in another blog, so let's return to The Carlyle.

One thing in particular has baffled and bothered us since the very first day. That is the riddle of the missing toilet paper. Keeping in mind that this is a delicate subject, I hope that this does not upset or offend anyone.

No roll of toilet paper EVER approaches the end! Most of us were brought up in a world where the rules of science prevailed:

•  "What goes up must come down." 
• "Every roll comes to and end." 

Not so at The Carlyle. Once a roll is started, it is replaced never to be seen again. I wonder what happens to those partially used rolls. Do they end up at a high scale flea market where they are sold as "formerly used at The Carlyle." If so, they are probably on the same table with the partially used bars of soap.

One of the joys of life here at the hotel is the number of people whose sole purpose in life seems to make us feel welcome. They do that job to perfection. When you step out of your apartment (yes, in this world we occupy an apartment), you encounter the elevator operator (with white gloves) who welcomes you, asks how you are, and announces that you have arrived at the lobby. A lot of information and chatter going down from the fifth floor. Of course when you exit, you are wished a "good day." 


The trip from the elevator through the lobby and out the revolving doors requires responding to greetings from other staff and executive members of the "Carlyle Team." By the time you pass through the revolving doors, you are in a Carlyle Frame of Mind and ready to face the outer world.


I have found out that The Team is a large one consisting of 325 members and 75 Executives for a total of 400 folks dedicated to making life easier for the guests. The average years of service is 15. The number of guests fluctuates, but there are 187 rooms and 52 private residences. The latter comprises people who use The Carlyle as their primary residence or secondary (or more) home.


So far in our short time here, I feel like we have gone from the guest category to being a private resident. That will be short lived when we transition back to life away from The Carlyle.


I have found two major areas where The Carlyle has not stepped into the 21st Century. One deals with a reliable WiFi connection to the Internet and the second with cable TV. 


When we first arrived, the WiFi connection only measured two bars. Before we really had a chance to complain, two workmen appeared at our door to announce that they were in the process of installing new wires to improve the WiFi reception. Improve it they did, but solve it completely they didn't. A major problem still remains. Trying to download a video or view a program results in a continuous process of buffering. This makes it impossible to view anything.


The problem with cable TV seems to be familiar to all of us who use this service. The provider is slow to react and has no sense of urgency to find a solution to the problem. Living in this city, we chose to go with RCN a smaller and hungrier competitor to Time Warner. Yes, we have run into problems with them, but their response time is faster than we are experiencing at The Carlyle. It has been days since the problem with the "on-demand" services was reported and still no service.


I am sure that the hotel will solve these problems quickly as they want to remain competitive with other hotels of similar stature. As a matter of fact there is another hotel across the street that was recently renovated and has all the electronics that even a "Geek" would want. When we were doing our research to select a hotel, I was salivating when shown all the electronic gadgetry. When it came to a vote, my one vote lost to Jane's 1 1/2 votes. 


I am glad that I lost!


With the holidays coming up and our daughter and Granddaughter coming to share the Carlyle experience with us this week, there will be a delay in the next chapter of our adventures. So please hang in there as I will be cluttering up your inbox before you know it.

"So long, it's been good to know yuh!"

The Pillows!

I know that some of you did not believe the story about the embroidered pillows, so for those of little faith here is the proof.

Yesterday afternoon when we returned to our room, I sensed that something was wrong. I looked around and suddenly realized that Jane's pillow contained her initials, but mine was bare. For some reason, I thought that I was deprived of my manhood. I quickly called Housekeeping and told them that my initials had disappeared and wanted to know what I did wrong and why I was being punished. They assured me that all was well and that my pillow was being washed and would be returned later in the day. I guess that is a nice way of telling me that I am a slob. The next infraction (whatever it is) will probably mean that my pillow will be encased in plastic wrapping. Stay tuned for further developments.


It does bring up some interesting questions about the future of the pillowcases, such as:

• when we leave do these pillowcases with our initials go into a large storage area in the hopes that another JL and LL are guests?
• are they recycled and come back as an entirely different item?
• are they given to us as fond memories of the hotel, or held until we return? (Might not be in this lifetime!)

Time will tell.

Monday is a special day for all who enjoy living in a suite at The Carlyle. For our first three weeks in residence, "F" stood for "fruit day." It was so this past Monday, but we were upgraded to fruit and flowers. I can't help but picture Roman Patricians reclining on their couches eating grapes and sipping wine. Not to mention having a good orgy every once in awhile. Don't worry as we go no further than the grapes. 


I might mention that when they delivered the fruit, they neglected to ring the doorbell. There was an embarrassing moment when I thought I heard a noise in the Living room and went out to investigate. Since I was in the midst of changing into my exercise pants, I was not at my best. I retreated back into the Bed Room and he lunged for the door. Now when ever I am in the apartment, I make sure the "Privacy" sign is on the door.


To show what a dum-dum I am, That very night I had to relearn the lesson of the "privacy." Those who know us know that we are early to bed and early to rise. That is not standard fare at The Carlyle. Every night Housekeeping comes by to turn down the beds and probably leave a dollop of chocolate. They do this about 8:30pm and before we worked out a system, we were constantly being awakened. The system is really simple, just put the Privacy notification on the door and no one dares to ring the bell. Well, I forgot to do it, and they swooped in for the kill. Proving once again that compulsive people do compulsive things. And that is a real plus in the hotel business.

One of the most famous songs from The King and I was "It's A Puzzlement" sung by Yul Brynner. While not singing the song (better for all), we have been having our own "puzzlement." There are four elevators in the central bank and three of them are dedicated to guests of the hotel. If you believe (as we do) that everything that goes up must come down, then you join us in trying to figure the following out. We have noticed that despite having elevator operators, there are times when there are extended delays in getting a "down" elevator. Since there are no indicators showing where an elevator is at any time and what direction it is going, we simply had to wait. Since we had nothing to do, we started to time it took from when we rang for an elevator and when it arrived. Our record is 10 minutes. This does not mean that there was a wait every time, but more often than not there was a wait.

Preview

The work on our apartment is moving along much too fast. There is no doubt that we will be back home by the end of the month. As you can tell from this blog, while I will be glad to be back at 140 I will miss The Carlyle.


One final note. Today they took Jane's pillow case. I have learned that there are more than one pillow case for us and they are rotated. This is usually done when we are out and about so that we are unaware of this.

Until next time...

The Times They Are A Changing

Not our usual picture of The Carlyle, but as Bob Dylan wrote, "The Times They Are A Changing."

Join me in travelling back in time to January, 1965. Two friends of ours got married and splurged on spending their wedding night at The Carlyle. Their one night stay was $45.39, but that included more than just a room. The cost of the room was $24.00 plus $1.20 for tax. They enjoyed a late night snack consisting of 2 grilled cheese sandwiches and 2 Martinis costing $11.40 plus tip. Breakfast consisted of coffee, toast orange juice for the sum of $6.99 including tax & tip.The total bill came to $45.39

A lot of money then, but 'The times Are A Changing"

The Dining Room at The Carlyle retains the look of years gone by, but is one of the "go-to" spots in the City. We have not eaten there this time, but have been there in the past as guests. The best way to go!

It took us a while to realize that for the guests in a suite, Monday is a special day. When we returned to the room after a hard days work (HA-HA), we found a plate of fresh fruit waiting for us. It was delicious but there was one item that we had never seen before, and felt that we would be better off if we never saw it again. It was beyond description, but it closely resembled an insect I would be happier stepping on rather than eating. A friend was here and pronounced that this "thing" was a close relative of the Lichi  Nut. With that he cut it open, ate the fruit inside and spit out this humongous pit. As far as I know, he lived to tell his friends about it.

It is the small things about The Carlyle that separate it from the clutter. For example, the lighting in the rooms is outstanding. each room has five lamps which can be controlled individually or through a master switch. They are placed so that anywhere you decide to sit down to read, the light is ample to do so. In all my travels and stays at other hotels, I have never encountered this abundance of light. I should mention that I have yet to find an uncomfortable place to sit. Now if I can only manage to stay awake when reading.

No, this picture is not taken at the Carlyle, but at the work in progress at our home. Mike, our contractor, notified us the other day that the floor was installed. By the time we got there the next day, the floor was completely covered in paper and the workers had started on another project. There was one area not covered completely and we are happy to report that not only are they slightly ahead of schedule, but all looks good.

This is that "good news", "bad news" scenario again.

If you are old enough to remember this tag line from the old Bugs Bunny cartoons "That's All Folks", you know that we have come to the end of this episode of Life at The Carlyle.

Stay tuned for more...