Meami Craig blog
Dr. Meami Craig is a proud Rochester native and has been the on-air Lifestyles Editor on "Tony and Dee in the Morning" on WRMM-FM (101.3) for the past 12 years. A graduate of Harvard University with a doctorate in psychology, Meami is married and mom to two children in college. She is "fascinated by all things human" and is known for her down-to-earth attitude and sense of humor on the air. Listen to her from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday mornings on WRMM and call in live to tell her what you think. She can be emailed at meami_craig@yahoo.com.
What is the most romantic hotel room in Rochester?
I found it! As an offocial afficiando of all things romantic and champion of the fabulous city of Rochester, NY, I searched until I hit the jackpot--the most romantic hotel room in all of Rochester! It is room # 406 at the Inn on Broadway on Chestnut Street. Let me describe for you the juicy details of how I ended up there and just how incredible and perfect it was. You see, Saturday was my husband's and my 28th wedding anniversary. We have a history of things going very well for us together when I take charge! We met at a Boston College alumni meeting here in Rochester 29 years ago and have been happy together ever since. Except we didn't really meet at the actual meeting. I arrived late and left early for a date with a dud--a local dude who flaunted daddy's membership at the Country Club of Rochester everytime he took me there for yet another dinner. BUT, I really NOTICED my future husband Bob at this alumni meeting! I went home and told my family that I had seen this wonderful guy at the meeting and that he was exactly what I was looking for as a life partner--this at the tender age of 20! Well, Bob went home and told his roomates that he saw this beautiful girl at the meeting but he didn't know how to get in touch with her. Lo and behold, a few weeks later there appeared in my mail a list of everyone who had been at that meeting. I didn't even know Bob's name, but since we were the two youngest people there I deduced it was him. I quickly sent him a letter on official
U. of R. Medical Center stationary where I was working at the time (hoping to meet a cute young doctor but fate intervened) and in my friendly letter asked Bob if he wanted to work on a totally fake, entirely made up fundraiser for Boston College. There were typos all over that letter and at the end I wrote a P.S. apologizing for that but said, "You know us sociology/philosophy majors: no practical skills!" I figured if he was married we could just actually work on the fundraiser together. He called me within days, set up a date, arrived late after getting lost which proved to be a definite foreshadow of the future, and we closed the old "Steak and Ale" on Jefferson Rd. that night, both smitten. Just months later we were engaged, and 2 kids and 29 years later the rest is history! So you can see what happens when I take charge!
The 28th anniversary was almost upon us, and I was seriously thinking of getting him a necktie as a gift. This was even though he has 42,000 neckties most of which I have given him. Neckties were in fact, in my hand as I almost settled for a typical anniversary candlelight dinner somewhere and the ubitquitous tie for our big night. But something told me this wasn't good enough for this anniversary. It wasn't our 25th or 30th, but we had become empty nesters recently and after facing that challenge were finally getting along quite nicely in our little cocoon together. Something in my gut told me we needed something more--a time out in the most romantic hotel room in Rochester. I started my search at the Strathallan where we had stayed in their presidential suite many years ago. It has been recently updated, so I booked it--making sure it had the all important tub for two there. Again, something in my gut told me to check this out--so I did and much to my surprise it was a hideous montrosity of bad taste. I'm talking brown and orange striped bedspreads and the biggest offense: two tubs there, each one big enough to fit one persion at a time! What were we supposed to do, take baths in our separate tubs and yell to each other from separate bathrooms? They actually got rid of the old Roman tub for two they had in there previously where we had indulged and played bubbles. This would not do, and the people working at the desk at the Strath were actually very helpful in my quest to find a double tub. For this reason, I heartily recommend locals to put their friends and business associates up at the Strath whever possible. But here's how I found my ultra romantic room: I got out the yellow pages and called every single hotel in this area. I found out the Brookwood has jacuzzi tubs but ordinary rooms. I found out the Lodge at Woodcliff has two very special two story suites where we have already stayed and which does indeed have a huge tub for four if you want it, but other than that the rooms are not particularly soulful and besides, both were booked for the night I wanted. Finally I found it--a room with a step up Roman jacuzzi bathtub for two, a brass fourposter bed, gorgeous hardwood floors, real oriental tubs--and the absolute topper: a gas fireplace which dominated the room. I looked and I booked! I ended up taking TWO large suitcases full of candles, a suit for my husband to wear to dinner there that night, magazines, scissors and glue for us to work on our vision board together (the topic of another blog), clothes and lots of jewelry for me to change into that night and we were off! I told him I wanted to check out the perfect table for dinner there that night, so around noon Saturday as we were checking out their absolutlely beautiful dining room I suddenly gave my husband a card and said open it; it's your anniversary gift from me! Surprise! The keys to our room were in the card, and when he saw the room--with the fire lit, his business suit waiting, candles by the tub and massage oils by the big brass bed, hell, even a pack of cheese and pretzel combos and a huge pounder bag of m&m's for us to munch while we drank our chilled champagne, gift bags for him, everything but p.j.'s--he flipped! We felt like we had gone out of town but actually we had just gone down the street from our home! This really added to the relaxation factor--no travel, no stress, just pure jazz on the radio in the room and candles lit on the mantel above the
flickering fireplace! Can you imagine what this would have cost in NY city? The room for the night was $285--cheaper than most of the other options--and worth every single penny. We had dinner at Tournedos, their five star dining establishment that night, and we are both still lusting after the creamed spinach and risotto we ordered, not to mention dry-aged fliet of beef for me with extra bernaise sauce, of course, and a huge cold platter of lobster, shrimp, crab, you name it, for him! The desserts looked great, every single one of them, but we just had to forgo them because we were so sufficed from dinner that there was just no more room left to imbibe or eat! Besides, we didn't want to have our tummies too full for our bubble bath later and we didn't--and we did! Write to me here if YOU have found a particularly romantic getaway in Rochester. Here's to love!
New Secrets for Dealing with Airline Cutbacks!
Things in the airline industry are changing on a moment to moment basis these days, and the last thing you want is to be stranded in some remote airport (aren't they all?) with a cancelled flight and no way to fight back. Your bag has already been checked, you've got an important business or family meeting to get to NOW, and all you see is the word "cancelled" up on the TV screen next to your flight number, with no explanation as to why--and none coming either! The fact is, you are not alone. Airlines have cancelled as many flights in the first half of 2008 as they did in entire 2007, roughly some 65,000! Domestic airlines are expected to cut the number of flights by 15% or more in 2009--the biggest cuts since 9/11, or maybe ever! So today I've got some cures for the common cancellation, starting with this one: call two weeks ahead of your flight to make sure it is still flying. It used to be you could safely call just a day in advance, but now it costs more to rebook with each day you get closer to your day to take off. You can get another flight booked for yourself for a lot less money two weeks in advance of your travel date than you can two days ahead of that date!
Next, there is the famous rule #240 so often tossed around in the airline industry by frustrated customers. It says you are entitled to a refund or to be rescheduled on the next possible flight on any airline. But you've got to be careful even with this because now each individual airline has their own language in their contracts for rule # 240! For example, United Airlines interpretation allows for a refund only if your flight has been changed by more than two hours.
To help with this, consider paying a reputable travel agent the extra $50 or so per ticket. Good agents stay on top of cancellations and cut backs, and can save you a whole lot of trouble in advance.
If you insist on being a do it yourselfer with regard to airline reservations, check out a website called FlightStats which offers both real time and historical records of individual flights' time worldwide. And this leads me to my final tip for today: be sure to book yourself on flights that are not typically prone to cancellation. For example, my husband Bob knows geting home
to Rochester from JFK on a Friday afternoon almost always poses a problem, so he avoids this time to fly. The Bureau of Transporation Statistics is a perfect resource because it publishes a list of the most often delayed flights. Just google it and go!
My daughter is leaving for college today!
It never changes. You drop your kids off to nursery school for the first time, or heaven forbid put them on the school bus for the very first time, and your heart really feels the pain of separation. Well, my daughter Courtaney, age 20, is leaving today to go back to Syracuse U. as a junior--so I've certainly said good-bye to her before--but trust me, I still feel the loss emotionally. And it hurts--briefly but badly! While she has been home, Courtaney and I have eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner together, many times at local restaraunts, and I've got the VISA bill coming to prove it! We've shopped for back to school clothes, which my husband Bob is paying for but has not ever actually seen and won't ever see because they are way too sexy and he would protest, just as I did before I signed the credit card slip! She is my best friend, among others, and all I get now that she is gone is a daily phone call with just the basic facts shared. What's my remedy for this classic situation? Extra time spent in romantic pursuits with my husband Bob! If you are feeling the sting of being an empty nester too, perhaps for the very first time or the 50th time, just remember: there are some distinct advantages to having the family home all to yourselves again. Plan a candlelit picnic in front of the fireplace and go for it! :-)
How about a 4 day work week?
The latest word on the street is talk of a four day work week, with Fridays being days to work from home all across the land. I say we Americans should be more like Europeans and show that we value our time more than we do now. It is very common in Europe for people to take four days a week to work at the office and a Friday to stay home and still get the job done. They normally get a minimum of three weeks off each summer too! Let's definitely institute that as a means to greater mental health! With gas prices being as high as they are now, think of the fuel we would save as a country if this became the custom! There is also something to be said for worker smarter, not harder. My husband Bob has been in business since 1977, and he has always had a policy where his workers can come and go as they please--including Friday's off or leaving at 3 pm to meet the school bus--so long as they efficiently get the work done while at the office. And it really works! People really seem to value the flexibility and statement he makes by telling them through words and action that family life is just as important as their work life. So let's sat we lobby the next new president to make four day work weeks a federal law--I'm all for it! Are you? Let us know right here! Thanks!
p.s. Kids still have to go to school FIVE days a week! No joke!
We need a new song to celebrate Rochester!
Did you know Rochester's 175th anniverary is coming up next year? It certainly is, and I propose we ask local musicians to compose music and lyrics to celebrate our city anew! Hey, we could even ask local boy done good Chuck Mangione himself to write a song for us! Do you think we need a new--or first ever--song to celebrate Rochester? What would you like to see highlighted in the lyrics of the song? It's just an idea now, but let's stick with it and wait till our own RPO plays it with gusto and greatness! Please chime in here (pun intended) with your own thoughts and feelings about Rochester's first official song? Should we make the mayor sing it on live TV?!? :-)
Watch out for new alcohol powder!
There's a new product, alcohol powder, which has actually had a patent since 1969! The fact is, the alcohol content if a single cocktail can be stored in one capsule that's about the size of a tylenol! It turns out that last year a Dutch company called Booz-to-Go introduced the product.
It is a powder you stir into water, to create a bubbly lime-flavored cocktail. A German company also offers--get this--four different flavors of an alcohol product called SubYou over the internet. Later this year a company called Pulver Spirits will introduce the first drinkable alcohol powder into North America. Can you just imagine the numbers of teenagers who will purchase this to add to their innocent looking water bottles on the weekends? So who exactly is in charge of regulating this new alcoholic product? Here in North America the powder qualifies as an "alcopop", just like wine coolers. Very interestignly, a lot of European countries, like the Netherlands in particular, don't regulate alcohol powder at all! Would you ever use it yourself?
It could make for a very, very potent mix if it was to be mixed into an actual alcoholic drink, which no doubt some very inventive people will do. Can you say "spring break" parties? Take a
moment and give your opinion on alcohol powder--and be looking for it on liquor store shelves soon!
Mantyhose: Are you kidding me?!?
Mantyhose is the very latest on the fashion scene for males and it is exactly what is sounds like: pantyhose for men! Well, I guess it just had to happen eventually. First we had "mannies"--male nannies--and Britney Spears employed two of them, if course. Turns out mantyhose is just a new marketing rouse to get men to spend money on something they do not really need. Interestingly, as they are trying to interest men in mantyhose, women are not even wearing panthose most of the time anymore. It apparently makes one look "dated". But get this--the mantyhose even comes complete with an opening in the front for men. Are they supposed to wear it under their dress suits? With or without socks? Or are they suposed to play baseball in them so there's rom for the cup in the front? Some pairs are reportedly control top, and others add a litle lift to the backside too. Let's just say I'm not buying Bob any for Christmas! If you buy them, let us know!
Slymail?
There is a new service youi can get called slymail which connects you directly to a person's voicemail, guaranteed they won't actually pick up themselves in person. So theoretically, you could call your husband and say, "The last 16 years were great but I'm outta here now with a divorce. Have a nice day!" I have very mixed feelings about slymail, because let's say the person you call knows they were available to answer their phone at the time that you called, so it is obvious to them you used slymail. They might be insulted, and perhaps rightly so! I have to admit, though, it is tempting! Let's say a friend calls you and asks you out for dinner Saturday night. You know you are not available, so you slymail them back and say so, avoiding a conversation with them. Are we all really that busy? Is this a great modern convenience or just one more symptom that we are all moving too fast? What do you think?
