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Buy Me Some Peanuts & Cracker Jack

Charges add up in a hotel room.

I get into my room at the Westin. Big room, huge bathroom. I loved it.

I don't stay at hotels all that much. But, enough to know that when there's a fridge stocked with booze, pulling bottles out will cause an automatic charge. I didn't even open it.

But right above it there were lots of little jars of goodies; roasted almonds, honey-roasted peanuts, jelly beans, and a few other things. I looked at the peanuts (I'm addicted to them), and another jar that I couldn't see inside.

I set them back down.

Later, my girlfriend shows me a paper that says if you pick those items up your room will be charged. It was something like $8 a jar.

I didn't want to seem like a cheapskate, but paying that for jars I didn't even use wasn't going to happen.

As I was shaving my girlfriend called the front desk. They said the electronic sensor showed I only held them for 15 seconds. And, as long as it's under 30, I don't get charged.

That was the funniest thing I've ever heard.

I thought about going back, grabbing a jar, opening it quickly, and downing as many peanuts as I could before 30 seconds came up.

There was also a small bottle of wine. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to uncork it in the alotted 30 seconds. I wouldn't even try.

It reminded me of my first trip to Las Vegas when I was 19 (first trip without parents, I should say).

My friends and I checked into our two rooms. And...when one group came over to our room they said, "Hey...you can see some of the adult movies on channel 3." We did what any teenage guys would do. We jumped for the remote, almost knocking over a lamp, and put it on. We saw 10 seconds of nudity, before a screen came up and said we'd need to press another series of numbers with a credit card, to see the rest of it.

As we were getting ready to head down to the casino, someone found another channel with a similar movie.

We found that if we waited 8 seconds and quickly put on the other channel, waited another 8 seconds and went back, we'd never see the screen. And we'd never have to pay.

Being cheap. And being teenage guys, we did this.

How long would you guess it went on for?

I'm ashamed to admit, we all sat by the TV for an hour, laughing, hooting and hollering, and happy to be beating the system.

When I finish this blog, I'm going to get those peanuts. I found some pebbles outside. I'm going to pull this Indiana Jones move where I quickly dump the peanuts onto a napkin, fill the jar up with the pebbles (just in case this sensor can gage weight).

Ah Hell...maybe I'll just steal some of those shampoo bottles.

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Before it was Ocean View Hills, it was party central

I get into my room at the Westin. Big room, huge bathroom. I loved it.

I don't stay at hotels all that much. But, enough to know that when there's a fridge stocked with booze, pulling bottles out will cause an automatic charge. I didn't even open it.

But right above it there were lots of little jars of goodies; roasted almonds, honey-roasted peanuts, jelly beans, and a few other things. I looked at the peanuts (I'm addicted to them), and another jar that I couldn't see inside.

I set them back down.

Later, my girlfriend shows me a paper that says if you pick those items up your room will be charged. It was something like $8 a jar.

I didn't want to seem like a cheapskate, but paying that for jars I didn't even use wasn't going to happen.

As I was shaving my girlfriend called the front desk. They said the electronic sensor showed I only held them for 15 seconds. And, as long as it's under 30, I don't get charged.

That was the funniest thing I've ever heard.

I thought about going back, grabbing a jar, opening it quickly, and downing as many peanuts as I could before 30 seconds came up.

There was also a small bottle of wine. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to uncork it in the alotted 30 seconds. I wouldn't even try.

It reminded me of my first trip to Las Vegas when I was 19 (first trip without parents, I should say).

My friends and I checked into our two rooms. And...when one group came over to our room they said, "Hey...you can see some of the adult movies on channel 3." We did what any teenage guys would do. We jumped for the remote, almost knocking over a lamp, and put it on. We saw 10 seconds of nudity, before a screen came up and said we'd need to press another series of numbers with a credit card, to see the rest of it.

As we were getting ready to head down to the casino, someone found another channel with a similar movie.

We found that if we waited 8 seconds and quickly put on the other channel, waited another 8 seconds and went back, we'd never see the screen. And we'd never have to pay.

Being cheap. And being teenage guys, we did this.

How long would you guess it went on for?

I'm ashamed to admit, we all sat by the TV for an hour, laughing, hooting and hollering, and happy to be beating the system.

When I finish this blog, I'm going to get those peanuts. I found some pebbles outside. I'm going to pull this Indiana Jones move where I quickly dump the peanuts onto a napkin, fill the jar up with the pebbles (just in case this sensor can gage weight).

Ah Hell...maybe I'll just steal some of those shampoo bottles.

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