Hotlanta with Kirsten Gum

I hate being sick on the road. I just got back from 48 hours in Atlanta where I was holed up in my hotel room with a stomach flu. I was supposed to be there shooting a Chase commercial for Cash and Treasures with Kirsten Gum. We were then going to shoot the new show open for the show. The first part of the trip was fine. DCA was perfect... no lines... flew through security and had plenty of time to grab the new Conde Nast Traveler and a coffee. I do have one question tho... how does Delta's zoning system work? You know... you get to the gate and they tell you that they are boarding by zones? Well, I was at the airport almost 2 hours before the flight and I was in zone 8! How does that happen? The best part is that they make you feel like a loser if you are in the "later zones"... oh, sorry dear, we are not boarding your zone yet. You will have to wait. F'n gate person. You think you have power. Are you hearing me right now, people?? I will get down to the bottom of the zoning and believe me... if you are not paying for first class...you are in the back of the line! Ok, off the soap box. I boarded the plane and I read about how Delta has an SVP of on-board experience. That sounded like a cool job. Anyway, the woman who holds that position is now creating cool new things to make our on board experience better. Most of the really cool stuff is in business or first...but, I did notice some adjustments to economy. For instance, they have music piped in as you board and as you are taxing to and from the gate. Nice. I like ambiance. They then told us that they were serving Rande Gerber cocktails as part of their beverage service. Cool. I also read about how they were improving the lighting in the planes so that you were given a less stressful experience. At least they are acknowledging that is is stressful! I sat back with my Conde Nast and enjoyed the hour and fifteen minute flight to Atlanta. When we arrived, we were met at the gate by a real Delta representative asking us if anyone needed assistance. I mean, they always tell you that a rep would be meeting us at the gate, but have you ever actually seen one? I just did! I followed the signs to baggage claim and quickly found my bags. I then met the rental bus for my car. I boarded the bus and I was told that I was not listed as an Avis preferred member. I told them that they must not have the right information in my record. I was told to go into the preferred office and when I did I told the girl that I was not on the list and she said to me... "Who are you?" I shit you not... those were her exact words. I then told her my name and she said that I was not listed as preferred. So, I handed her my preferred card and she corrected the information and gave me the keys to the rental. I then thanked her for her help and she said... "you can thank me by giving me that bag"... referring to my fake D&G bag that I bought in a market in Beijing. Yeah. Whatev. I then got in my car and made my way to the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead. If you ever go to Atlanta, make sure you stay in the Buckhead area. Its perfect for travelers. Great hotels, loads of restaurants to choose from and some great shopping. I chose the Ritz because I love the staff at the hotel. I used to come to Atlanta a lot for business and called that hotel my home for weeks on end. So, I naturally got to know everyone. The one thing that I love about the Ritz brand is that they get to know your "favorites"... doesn't matter who you are. Here's what I mean... I checked into the hotel and went up to my room. At around 8:45 I received a knock on my door from room service with a bowl of my favorite evening snack - mango sorbet. Yum. I had not had dinner yet... but, I was looking forward to chowing on that t like midnight while working on my blog. Kirsten, the host of Cash and Treasures met me at the hotel (she flew in fromLA) at 9 and she came to my room to work on wardrobe for the shoots. We then went downstairs to grab a bite at the lobby bar. We were served by a really cute waitress named Sherry-Lou. Again... I shit you not. We ordered some cheese and wine and a salad and I went upstairs to bed. We had a 7am call... and I wanted a good nights sleep. I got up to my room and took a hot shower and went to bed. Nice, right? Right. That's where everything got a little crazy. At 3am, I woke up with a violent stomach flu. I HATE being sick on the road. It sucked! I ended up sleeping about 2 hours that night and struggled to make that 7am call. Kirsten and I went to Starbucks and got some tea and headed over to the set. It was a nice set.. good people... and we were shooting on green screen...so, cool technology. Kirsten was in hair and makeup when I finally called it a day for myself. I was basically laying on a couch and just plotting my course to the bathroom in case nature called. I got into my car and went back to the hotel and climbed back into my 350thread count sheets. Kirsten and Caroline (another producer from our marketing department) came back to the hotel around 6 and checked on me. When they found me in a worse state, we decided to go to the hospital. We went down to the front lobby and asked for a cab to the hospital and the doorman insisted that we use the hotel's limo. The driver suggested an emergency clinic close to the hotel. I met with a doctor who told me that I had a stomach flu. Nice. The best part was the prescription of codeine that I walked out with! I had such a great sleep that night! So, needless to say... this trip was basically a bust. I was super glad to get home last night... my own bed. I love to travel... but sick on the road sucks. Until next time. - Lori