  So, I'm doing my research for our trip to Europe this August. Since we don't want to squander all of our money in Europe, I'm looking into staying at some hostels. What are hostels, you ask? Well, they can be anything from a B&B, dorms, convent, etc. where you share rooms and bathrooms. Usually, the men sleep in one area and the women in another though private rooms are available for a slightly higher rate. Hostels are great if you want to keep things cheap and you want to meet loads of different people. For the most part, it appears that younger people stay at hostels - especially all of those who are backpacking across Europe.
I'm really intrigued by this whole concept and can't wait to stay in one! We'll, of course, have a few nights in a real hotel with our own private bath - probably in Rome and then in Paris. We're planning to take the eurail from Rome to Paris and stop at various places along the way. You know, keep our travel somewhat open and spontaneous. I think we must be tapping into some part of ourselves that missed out when we were just a bit younger and a bit poorer.
Yesterday after work, some of the girls, Chris and I went out for a few drinks at this place called The Grotto. Today, I'm going with Olivia to a margarita place - if the Chairman of our company doesn't open up a bottle of wine for us after work, that is. I'm hoping he'll open up the wine and we can drink here instead of spending our money elsewhere. I need to blow off some steam after today's fiasco of trying to get an earlier flight for someone that I work with. The whole thing ended with him on a later flight (due to weather delays) and him hanging up on me.
At that point, I went downstairs for coffee and a puff off of my friend's cigarette. I don't smoke unless I'm REALLY pissed off, which doesn't happen very often. Very frustrating! OK, time for a few links. First, the urlLink RoboReceptionist . I never thought I would feel threatened by the advancement of working robots in my job as an Administrative Assistant. When you see movies like A.I. or Terminator and the like, you think about automotive jobs or factory jobs being the first where robots replace humans in the workforce. Now, with the RoboReceptionist, they're hitting closer to home and I don't think that I like it. There are still downsides to this little experiment of theirs: the person seeking info must type in their question; she can't handle anything too complicated, etc.
It's just scary - that's all I'm saying. So do you remember they guy from the American Idol tryouts - Hawaii, I think it was - that made you laugh until you pee'd your pants when he sang Ricky Martin's She Bangs? Well, this guy has such a cult following from his 90 seconds of fame, he now has his own website and he actually has contracts and deals!
I saw him on TV last night on ESPN, I think. He's been on the Ellen Degeneres show and has been the subject of a skit on SNL. Check him out urlLink here . You'll need speakers/sound to hear his American Idol audition. Warning! William Hung has had NO professional training - just so we're clear on this. 
