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Feb. 20th, 2014 08:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tvordljBeen a decent week at work, was working on trying to built a difficult report and i was determined it would submit to my will. It looks like i have triumped but I'm now waiting for someone else to do some data work before I can add the last bits to it and give it a thorough testing. This is different than trying to debug something or fix something that's broke or just dealing with something that's being a pain in the ass. This is more of a challenge, knowing there *has* to be a way of finessing it and getting *this* close and knowing it's going to be just some little thing that's going to click. Which it did. I felt like doing a victor lap around the work station! I probably shouldn't count my chickens just yet but I think it's doing what it should be now. It will need testing and refining and a few minor cosmetic fixes but as far as i can tell at this point, the brain busting work is done. *knock on wood*
Booked the rental car for Manchester. I didn't use Autoeurope this time, and I can't remember why. I think it wasn't giving me the options or the price i wanted and I had a coupon code from Aeroplan to book and get some extra miles and a bit of a discount, though, with the added on extra insurances, it brought it back up to what it usually costs anyway. I know i can get those insurances through my credit card but when i'm out of country, i prefer to use the rental company's insurances just to cover everything and I think if anything should ever happen, it's a lot more straight forward just contacting the rental company than trying to get hold of the credit card company and dealing with that from overseas. Plus, an added bonus, booking directly through the rental company I didn't have to prepay like i do with Autoeurope though there was that option. It didn't make it any cheaper so why would you?
Prepaying things like cars or hotels often does give you a very good discount but the downside is there's no getting any money back if you have to cancel unless you have cancellation insurance. That will add onto the cost of the purchase or a separate policy. I've got a policy i bought with the air fare and I can probably add onto that for the rest of the stuff that I do have prepaid or the bits that are cancellation fees and things. The both hotels are free cancellation but though they say "free" it means they'll still charge you one night's stay and the travel agent's booking company also charges a small fee. For a two night's stay, that's most of the cost but for the five nights in Paris, it's better. I should add up my cancellation fees and prepaid stuff to see how much more that policy needs to cover. If i can't add on to that one, i can get another one through the travel agency. That might be just as easy. I'll see what the difference in cost is.
So all the major things are booked and most of them are prepaid aside from the car. I think we are going to stay at an airport hotel in Manchester overnight before going to Paris because the flight to Paris is really early. And while the hotel costs more than the taxi to the airport, we might not have to get up *quite* so early. There's a couple of cheap hotels right at the airport with a free shuttle to and from the terminals. We can drop the car off after checking in and getting rid of the luggage first, in fact we could check in in the afternoon, dump the bags, go find a nice pub somewhere first before dropping off the car and getting the shuttle back to the hotel.
44 Sleeps! Yes i am pathetic and have a countdown widget on my phone! :))) Oh why not!
When Graham comes over at the end of August for my niece's wedding, we are thinking we might do a road trip down to Boston though probably stay at Salem. They have a catamaran ferry that will take you into the city so you can avoid driving there. Probably just as cheap when you think of the gas and parking costs for a day.
Booked the rental car for Manchester. I didn't use Autoeurope this time, and I can't remember why. I think it wasn't giving me the options or the price i wanted and I had a coupon code from Aeroplan to book and get some extra miles and a bit of a discount, though, with the added on extra insurances, it brought it back up to what it usually costs anyway. I know i can get those insurances through my credit card but when i'm out of country, i prefer to use the rental company's insurances just to cover everything and I think if anything should ever happen, it's a lot more straight forward just contacting the rental company than trying to get hold of the credit card company and dealing with that from overseas. Plus, an added bonus, booking directly through the rental company I didn't have to prepay like i do with Autoeurope though there was that option. It didn't make it any cheaper so why would you?
Prepaying things like cars or hotels often does give you a very good discount but the downside is there's no getting any money back if you have to cancel unless you have cancellation insurance. That will add onto the cost of the purchase or a separate policy. I've got a policy i bought with the air fare and I can probably add onto that for the rest of the stuff that I do have prepaid or the bits that are cancellation fees and things. The both hotels are free cancellation but though they say "free" it means they'll still charge you one night's stay and the travel agent's booking company also charges a small fee. For a two night's stay, that's most of the cost but for the five nights in Paris, it's better. I should add up my cancellation fees and prepaid stuff to see how much more that policy needs to cover. If i can't add on to that one, i can get another one through the travel agency. That might be just as easy. I'll see what the difference in cost is.
So all the major things are booked and most of them are prepaid aside from the car. I think we are going to stay at an airport hotel in Manchester overnight before going to Paris because the flight to Paris is really early. And while the hotel costs more than the taxi to the airport, we might not have to get up *quite* so early. There's a couple of cheap hotels right at the airport with a free shuttle to and from the terminals. We can drop the car off after checking in and getting rid of the luggage first, in fact we could check in in the afternoon, dump the bags, go find a nice pub somewhere first before dropping off the car and getting the shuttle back to the hotel.
44 Sleeps! Yes i am pathetic and have a countdown widget on my phone! :))) Oh why not!
When Graham comes over at the end of August for my niece's wedding, we are thinking we might do a road trip down to Boston though probably stay at Salem. They have a catamaran ferry that will take you into the city so you can avoid driving there. Probably just as cheap when you think of the gas and parking costs for a day.
