Fatherhood Friday: Do you know how to respond?

Peanut gets excited about food. If she's really hungry (which seems to be quite often...I swear we feed her!), she is quick to shove food in her mouth before chewing. Combine that with drinking water too fast and we've got one choking-prone kid. Nothing serious, mind you...just a simple "hack hack hack" and she's right as rain.

A couple weeks ago, after playing for a bit in the living room, it was time for lunch. I set Peanut in her high chair and placed several pieces of cheese in front of her. As usual, she started shoveling the food in her mouth as fast as she could. Though this time her coughs were actual gags. She spit the cheese from her mouth and tried one piece at a time. Same thing happened. I was concerned...how could one small piece of food make her gag like that? So, as I'm standing there trying to figure out what is going on it happens. She wasn't gagging...and wasn't breathing. Peanut was full on choking.

I'm not sure what the time lapse was between realizing what was happening and having her facedown on my arm in the infant Heimlich position, but I can safely assume it was mere seconds. I only had to hit her back 2-3 times before the obstruction fell out of her mouth. She started coughing and crying (sweet, sweet music to my ears!).



This, my friends, is the safety seal off a bottle of lotion (folded in half). She must have shoved it in her mouth while we were playing on the floor (not sure how it got into the living room, it should have been in the trash). My guess is that every time she tried to swallow a piece of cheese, this would get caught at the back of her throat...until it finally lodged itself in place. I would have never guessed that something so small and innocent looking could be so dangerous.

Afterward, I cradled Peanut in my arms on the kitchen floor in a state of mild shock and relief. Once comforted (both of us), it was understandable that she didn't want to eat lunch anymore. It took a good 10 minutes for her to go back to being her happy-go-lucky (very hungry) self.

Why did I tell you this story? Awareness. I was a lifeguard for several years and was trained to respond to all types of situations. I never once thought that I'd have to use any of this on my own child.

So, please...if you are not CPR/first aid certified, do it. You owe it to yourself and your family. In the meantime, read this article. It gives you the basics on what to do if you are ever put in a situation where the Heimlich or CPR is necessary.

Hotel Tips

I spent a good deal of my employment life as a slave worker in the hospitality industry. Most of this experience was spent behind the front desk, though I did have a stint in the executive offices (ah, the Monday-Friday 8-6 life. A rarity in the hotel business). Anyway, I feel this list is important to share.

Here are 10 tips for anyone planning to stay in a hotel:

1. Call ahead (maybe a couple days before or the night before) to confirm your reservation. That way if there is any problem or the hotel can't find the reservation, it can be resolved at that time - not when you are at the desk (and there are a bazillion other people in line waiting to get their rooms).

2. If a guest service agent (A.K.A. GSA) asks for your last name, please don't spout off your reservation number, unless the person specifically asks for it. You have no idea how frustrating it is to have this conversation:

"Last name please..."
"I have confirmation number 1234567"
"...right, but what is your last name?"
"I just gave you the confirmation number"

If they wanted the number, they would have just asked.

3. Your confirmation number is tied to your reservation. If there is a discrepancy with your rate, room type, etc. giving them the confirmation number again is not going to fix anything.

4.1. ROOM TYPES ARE NOT GUARANTEED!! I cannot stress that enough...especially if you book online. Yes, the screen said "king bed non-smoking," but in actuality you are REQUESTING a specific room type, not guaranteeing it. They should do their best at check in to get your room type you requested...but if they don't have it, please don't get mad. Getting mad won't get you anywhere (see point number 6).

4.2. Please know the difference between the words guarantee and request.

5. Having all of your documents out and ready is recommended. This includes any or all of the following (depending on where you go): Photo ID (drivers license, passport...), credit card (or other form of payment), and confirmation number (in the off-chance they can't find the reservation).

6. This is true for almost any hotel you go to...if you have a problem and want it resolved, getting mad will not work. Majority of the time you will get the absolute minimum that person can give you. If you are nice, they are more likely to give you free stuff not only for the inconvenience, but just because (side note: don't go to far...hitting on the GSA could backfire).

7. So maybe you are a frequent traveler...that's great! They appreciate your patronage, but don't throw it back in their face. Some properties offer more for their club members than others - if you end up at a property that gives you bubkis, don't scoff at it...just accept it and move on. Otherwise, you seem like a spoiled little brat and will probably incite a slew of evil hexes thrown at you when you're not around.

8. Walk in reservations are risky. While you can sometimes get a lower rate if you don't book a reservation in advance, you run the risk of not finding a room at all. There are several times a year that the whole city of Chicago (including properties at Midway and O'Hare) will sell out...so much so that they have to relocate guests to the suburbs. If you still don't want to book a reservation, check availability over the phone first...save yourself the trouble of walking to every property looking for rooms.

9. Relocations...while they aren't pleasant for the guest or the GSA, they happen. Hotels are just like airlines in this respect - they overbook on rooms. So, if you have to be relocated, stay calm...they'll take care of you. More than likely the GSAs have been yelled at all day and it doesn't help your cause if you do the same (I have a built-in emotional "off" button as a direct result of these situations). The hotel should pay for your room at another hotel and transportation costs. So look at it this way...you get a free room - score! If you have a reservation, but think (or know) the hotel is sold out, ask if they are taking any volunteer relocations...this way you can get in on the free room deal as well.

10. Last but certainly not least - the employees are there for you, the guest. If you have a request, problem, recommendation, compliment, what have you...share it. You'd be surprised what they do for people each day just because you asked: complimentary ice cream from room service for a kid's birthday, complimentary upgrade for a newlywed couple...the concierge desk can even plan your whole weekend if you'd like (just remember to tip them and the doorman/bellman if used).

After re-reading this list, I realized I have some interesting stories from my time behind the desk. I think I'll revisit some of them for your reading enjoyment in the future.

* * * * *
Dance Party Time!
(Have no idea what I'm referring to?...read the bottom of this post)

Artist/Band: Katrina and the Waves
Song Title: Walking on Sunshine (how can you NOT dance to this song?!)
Kid-friendly?: Yep

Correction

ShankRabbit didn't want to call me out on my post (he's a smart one, that husband of mine), so I'll do it myself.

For those who would like to know the real way to write "feet" in computer-speak...here is a conversation to read:
Shankrabbit: well, you weren't "wrong" per say

as far as how humans interpret numbers

you were right

but if i fed that to a computer... it'd take a sh!t

well, it'd give you something you weren't expecting
Me: lol

computer poops...rad!
Shankrabbit: computers don't process numbers "base 10"

they do it "base 16"

or, as you know it, Hex

Shankrabbit: so, if you'd want a computer to understand it

it'd be
01000010 01000001 01000001 01001010

66 65 65 74

or base 10

102 101 101 116

or

feet

you did the binary representation of the base 10

Trolls

I'm not talking about the storybook ones.


Wikipedia definition:

An Internet troll, or simply "troll" in Internet slang, is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the intention of provoking other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.


This is a touchy subject in one of the online communities I am active in. Even saying someone is a troll (joking or not) can get you in a lot of trouble. Of course, this extreme repercussion for just uttering the word "troll" did not come as a shock...there was a lot of trolling going on in our group for quite some time. Some seemed to be people that didn't even belong in our group - some were active members posing as someone else to stir up some sort of controversy. Either way, it causes a lot of drama.


Here's the question that keeps bouncing around in my head: why would someone do something like this?

I just don't get it.

And as someone who doesn't like drama (in real life or online), I don't think I ever will.