Does anyone else think this looks like a monster tongue?

Many news services are reporting today the awarding of the Pritzker Architecture Prize to Iraqi born Zaha Hadid (the first woman to ever win the most prestigious prize in the field). The articles are brief – perhaps more will follow in the next days. I’ll be brief as well, though I do want to say that I was amused by the recurring mention of her “difficult personality.” No details are given on this, but I suspect her resolve not to be deferential to all rich clients at all times may have something to do with acquiring the “difficult” label.

I’m posting a quick peek at the much revered ski jump (designed by her) because it reminds me of a cheerful people-eating monster – something to give sweet dreams for the night.

And, a photo of the "difficult" but brilliant Ms. Hadid.

Women, hotels and good snacks in the refrigerator

Recent reports from travel industry sources indicate that women are taking over business travel by storm. I myself don’t believe it. In Asia, business (meaning fancy) hotel lobbies are 95% populated by men. I never enter business hotels in Europe, but I can tell who flies business class, since I am often snuck into the lounge by very nice ticket agents who feel sorry for my frequent-traveler-but-poor-in-funds status and give me a free pass to the business lounge (at least in Chicago). It is ALWAYS filled with men, accompanied occasionally by a wife who'll sit and stroke her fur coat as she awaits departure. These women are actually a nuisance because they disturb the peace as they make their chatty cell phone calls to their friends back in the neighborhood. Everyone else in the lounge is busy doing important things on their laptops like emailing (me) or studying profit reports and stock market prices (others).

Yet, today I read again, this time in the International Herald Tribune (here), that women are not only visible in business hotels, they are redefining the way these places relate to customers. The author of the article uses the Adlon (a top-of-the-line Berlin hotel) as an example. He writes:

Despite the fact that the new Adlon was the scene of Michael Jackson’s baby-dangling escapade from the balcony of the $7,000-a-night presidential suite in late 2002, The resurrected Adlon remains one of the great hotels of Europe. But what struck me most about the hotel on the afternoon I dropped in for a look was that the lobby was crowded with well-dressed women, most of whom appeared to be business travelers, sipping tea or coffee, either alone or in groups of two or three. ‘‘Women with class always know where the best place is to have coffee,’’ Reto Wittwer, the chief executive officer of Kempinski Hotels and Resorts, which numbers the Adlon among its properties, said on the telephone from the Adlon. …

Ask any executive in the hotel industry about the effect of this phenomenon, and you will hear this loud and clear: Far more than businessmen, businesswomen take careful measure of a hotel's amenities, design and service - and they compare notes with colleagues. More so than men, women clearly articulate their tastes and personal preferences in accommodations - and hotels respond. We can thank women travelers for the fact that at most good hotels, the beds are now more comfortable and better appointed than most at-home beds; the bathrooms have become spacious and luxurious; room service has been whipped into shape, and everything from towels to snacks in the minibar has improved.

Further into the piece, the author does admit that in terms of sheer numbers, business women travelers are in the minority. Still, they remain instrumental in redefining standards, down to the fridge contents in the hotel room. [I wonder just a little bit what that means – what is a “woman” food or beverage? Less whiskey and more white wine? Cashew nuts instead of beer and pretzels?]

Is this recent hotel acquiescence toward women travelers an important phenomenon for us to reckon with? No, not really, but it beats blog-writing about the testy White House response to the Clarke assertions today. Hotels are such charming and benign spots to consider. News stories about them take the mind off of everything else that happens once you step outside the hotel doors.

Pills, airplanes and vodka

A friend just returned from a Spring Break vacation in Colorado. I hadn’t known he was going anywhere. His big vacation break was to have been in the Caribbean Islands in February. He told me that he decided to go because he got a few free coupons from Northwest after his Caribbean experience. He had been flying south for his holiday and was nearing his destination when he, along with all passengers sitting on his side of the plane, noticed that one of the engines was on fire. The plane began to drop altitude. The pilot came on to say that they would shut down the engine and try to extinguish the flames. They would also make an emergency landing at the nearest Florida airport.

My friend said that everyone was silent and cooperative as they all went into emergency preparations.

In the end, it was the smoothest landing my friend (who is a very frequent flyer) had ever experienced. Any reflections on the incident? He tells me: “I was sorry that I didn’t get to finish my beer because the attendants swept away all loose debris during the emergency preparations. It was a good beer.” Any thoughts about flying? “The pilots are like anesthesiologists: most of their work is boring. They train for these emergencies. They did a good job, even though the fire extinguishers inside the engine did not work properly and so we wondered if the fire would eventually spread.” Wondered???

Perhaps we should all be flying these days with a small supply of tranquilizers. Not because I especially think flying is unsafe, but I do think you can get crazy with anxiety when the unexpected happens (an engine on fire in mid-air would qualify). I bet many hearts were racing on my friend’s flight. Though, when I was 10 and flying over the Atlantic, two of the prop engines of the small plane died in mid-flight. We had to make an emergency landing in Gander. It was freaky to be flying and looking out the window at the still blades. My recollection is that by the time we were over Gander, we were down to only one spinning propeller, but I could be off by a blade in this. As the drama unfolded, fellow passengers from the Soviet Union (it was a cheap charter flight, full of very frugal Eastern Europeans) opened several bottles of vodka and sang very loudly. There was an almost jovial atmosphere as we spun to our demise. Of course, we didn’t crash, but it wasn’t a terribly fearful experience.

A thought for future travel then: either pills or vodka in the flight bag. And the confidence that pilots can indeed land a broken down piece of metal with malfunctioning fire extinguishers.

An anniversary of sorts

As I start a new week in my “daily planner” book, I notice that today marks 8 full months (that’s 35 weeks) of rewriting the same basic list of general “to do” items in the side bar. This column has items that are of medium to low priority. Nonetheless, the assumption is that I will get to them for sure that week. (I start a new planning calendar each year toward the end of July, since that is when publishers of academic planners throw the new batch on the market.)

So what from this general list did I fail to accomplish yet again last week?

1. fax a copy of a statute that was requested by someone back in June (excuse: it would take me a long time to find the person’s fax number).
2. Ask for a refund of the deposit I gave to a hotel that I did not visit in the year 2002 (excuse: low likelihood of success, even though they do owe me the $230).
3. Check to make sure there isn’t radon in the basement (excuse: if our lungs have been damaged in the 15+ years that we have lived here, they can stand one more week of poison. I know this is a lousy excuse, similar to the justification for your own three-martini lunch offered in the line about the grandmother who drank whiskey daily and still lived to be 100; I do intend to get to this item. Really.)
4. Write a “congratulations” note and send present to a former student who notified me of giving birth last summer (excuse: I have since had two more students letting me know of similar events in their lives; if I wait a little longer, perhaps I can get a discount on a half-dozen cute Baby GAP overalls. That plus a baby book to start the kid reading is the standard Nina-gift-to-parent-of-newborn. If any of you are reading this, know that the gift & card WILL someday make it to your doorstep).
5. and so on.

A smart reader may point out that I should just write these items on a page in the back or front of the planning book rather than rewriting them each week. But the act of re-writing is guilt-inducing and so I will continue this practice until July 22 2004 at which time I will reevaluate my strategy for accomplishing things.