What’s with the “message waiting” light on the hotel phone?
Has anyone ever succeeded in deleting it? If you have, you’re in rare company, because I’ve yet to meet someone who has.
I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve tried, in vain, to get that silly light to disappear.
Here is what usually happens to me:
Me: Notice blinking light, pick up receiver, push “message” button.
Telephone: “Welcome to hotel message service … to delete this message press #1.”
Me: Press button #1.
Telephone: “You are about to delete this message, to confirm press #2.”
Me: Press button #2.
Telephone: “Are you really sure about that? If so press #3. This is your last chance to change your mind!”
Me: Send telephone, via airmail, into the wall.
After a “waiting message” episode, I realized that the most successful road warriors I know are people who can look at the many travel challenges thrown their way and put them into perspective. In some cases it is to realize that “this too shall pass.”
In other cases, the best thing to do is laugh. Simply laugh. After all, what’s the alternative — high blood pressure?
I recently came across a great saying that sums up my new strategy for less-stress traveling: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”
In fact, it is now the wallpaper on my desktop … a constant, positive reminder.
Doug Lipp is the author of Stuck in the Middle Seat.
