The rest of my DC trip, but first. . .
. . .this has happened too many times to just be a coincidence. I had a Fox TV producer from a Dallas, Texas station call me about doing a story on cyberstalking. He was hot to trot and wanted to set up an in-person interview at my house or at a Fox affiliate near me. I told him I had a couple of Dallas victims who would be willing to speak on camera. I then mentioned that I'd been trying to get on Fox News in NYC on any of their shows for some time and haven't had any luck. He was surprised and said he used to work in NYC and would talk to the booking agent there. I thanked him. He said he'd call within the next couple of days to set up the interview.
That was on May 10th. I called and left three voicemail messages, the latest was yesterday asking him to let me know one way or the other if he needed me for the story; I emailed him three times as well. No reply.
This has happened before, because a certain person who is head of another online safety organization has basically been blacklisting me to major media outlets. She tells them she refuses to be interviewed if I am going to be on the show or in the same article. Seriously. She throws her weight around (literally and figuratively) that she's a lawyer. You know what? Just because you have a law degree does not make you a cyber crime expert. I've not only been a victim, but I train law enforcement and I work with victims all the time. I am truly a cyber crime expert and I do not exploit victims like she does. She actually told a victim that was in a news article I was interviewed for that she "owned" the victim for any media stories. Again, I am serious.
I wish something could be done, but I keep hoping she'll fall on her face one of these days. My mom always said that what goes around, comes around, and the bad people will get it in the end. The sooner that happens, in this case, the better.
Now on to the rest of my D.C. trip:
Monday, May 22nd, 2006
Did some running around in the morning, after I had to check out, then check back in. The hotel had the nerve to charge over $100 more for the same damned room because it hadn't been booked at the same time as the previous two nights. Grrrr.
Bought a ticket for the Lil' Red Trolley Tour that allowed me to jump on and off anywhere on the route. Took the trolley to Ford's Theatre, where President Lincoln was assassinated. Although the theatre was closed, the museum was open. It was interesting, but when I saw a pillow with Lincoln's bloodstains on it, that made me uneasy, but made it all the more real. Went across the street to the Peterson's Boarding House, where Lincoln died. Although the bed he died in wasn't there, a replica of the bed was. It was small and they had to place Lincoln diagonally on it. Even so, he still wouldn't have fit very comfortably on it.
Walked to the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History. There was an excellent exhibition of photos from an Antarctic Journey. I then went into the mammals exhibition hall and honestly, all those stuffed animals creeped me out. I would much rather see live ones in a zoo any day. The animals in natural poses, such as drinking water, were especially creepy. And seeing cute animals like lemurs and sugar gliders stuffed. . .eeyew. Honestly, I am not a PETA lunatic, but for some reason, this really bothered me.
Went through the dinosaur exhibit, saw the Hope Diamond (which was a lot smaller than what I'd always imagined) and decided to see the IMAX film Aliens of the Deep. If you go to the Smithsonia, DO NOT waste your money on this. It was so bad, it wasn't funny. When you have kids saying, "This is dumb," then you know it's bad.
Headed outside to wait for the trolley (which took about 45 minutes to get to me due to traffic) and rode it all the way to my hotel. We went by the Iwo Jima statue, WWII Memorial/Korean War Memorial Park, Arlington Cemetery, Jefferson Memorial and much more. I hope to post photos by this weekend.
Went back to the hotel, checked for messages, then downstairs to eat dinner and read the latest issue of LOST magazine (oh shut up).
Went back upstairs to start packing and getting ready for the 24 show finale. It rocked! On the commercial breaks, I called Chris (my hubby, if you didn't know) and we exclaimed about what was going on. It was kind of fun doing that. The ending of the show was good and sets it up for next season, which I can't wait to see!
Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006
Got a call from Orbitz (where my publicist booked my flight home) and discovered my flight was delayed an hour. Which meant I'd miss my connecting flight. I called US Airways to reschedule the connecting flight. Finished packing, checked out and took a taxi to the airport. When I got there, found out the flight was delayed further. I'd be at the airport for three hours. So I went up to the US Airways Club to buy a day pass. I thought you had to be a member of one of the mileage award clubs to do a day pass, but you don't. *Anyone* can buy a day pass, so keep that in mind if you're stuck in an airport for a long time. It was worth the $40. Free snacks, free beverages, comfy seating, free phone calls, wifi, not crowded, not loud and has several rooms so that you can pick a quiet room or sit in the bar area to watch TV or get a personal booth to work in. So I caught up on my email while watching TV, ordered lunch from Legal Seafoods (which was downstairs, but they deliver) and relaxed.
When it came time for my flight, went downstairs and realized how noisy and crowded airports are. I'm spoiled by the day pass now! Got to Philadelphia, got on my flight home, met a nice woman on the flight home who saw me reading my LOST magazine. She's a fan of the show and we talked about all the theories and what would happen on the finale. We exchanged business cards. Cool!
Got home and Chris had gotten lobster and baked stuffed shrimp for dinner, plus a card congratulating me on my new book, a very cute stuffed squirrel toy (which I named Squirt) and some Swiss chocolate. What a nice husband.
That was on May 10th. I called and left three voicemail messages, the latest was yesterday asking him to let me know one way or the other if he needed me for the story; I emailed him three times as well. No reply.
This has happened before, because a certain person who is head of another online safety organization has basically been blacklisting me to major media outlets. She tells them she refuses to be interviewed if I am going to be on the show or in the same article. Seriously. She throws her weight around (literally and figuratively) that she's a lawyer. You know what? Just because you have a law degree does not make you a cyber crime expert. I've not only been a victim, but I train law enforcement and I work with victims all the time. I am truly a cyber crime expert and I do not exploit victims like she does. She actually told a victim that was in a news article I was interviewed for that she "owned" the victim for any media stories. Again, I am serious.
I wish something could be done, but I keep hoping she'll fall on her face one of these days. My mom always said that what goes around, comes around, and the bad people will get it in the end. The sooner that happens, in this case, the better.
Now on to the rest of my D.C. trip:
Monday, May 22nd, 2006
Did some running around in the morning, after I had to check out, then check back in. The hotel had the nerve to charge over $100 more for the same damned room because it hadn't been booked at the same time as the previous two nights. Grrrr.
Bought a ticket for the Lil' Red Trolley Tour that allowed me to jump on and off anywhere on the route. Took the trolley to Ford's Theatre, where President Lincoln was assassinated. Although the theatre was closed, the museum was open. It was interesting, but when I saw a pillow with Lincoln's bloodstains on it, that made me uneasy, but made it all the more real. Went across the street to the Peterson's Boarding House, where Lincoln died. Although the bed he died in wasn't there, a replica of the bed was. It was small and they had to place Lincoln diagonally on it. Even so, he still wouldn't have fit very comfortably on it.
Walked to the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History. There was an excellent exhibition of photos from an Antarctic Journey. I then went into the mammals exhibition hall and honestly, all those stuffed animals creeped me out. I would much rather see live ones in a zoo any day. The animals in natural poses, such as drinking water, were especially creepy. And seeing cute animals like lemurs and sugar gliders stuffed. . .eeyew. Honestly, I am not a PETA lunatic, but for some reason, this really bothered me.
Went through the dinosaur exhibit, saw the Hope Diamond (which was a lot smaller than what I'd always imagined) and decided to see the IMAX film Aliens of the Deep. If you go to the Smithsonia, DO NOT waste your money on this. It was so bad, it wasn't funny. When you have kids saying, "This is dumb," then you know it's bad.
Headed outside to wait for the trolley (which took about 45 minutes to get to me due to traffic) and rode it all the way to my hotel. We went by the Iwo Jima statue, WWII Memorial/Korean War Memorial Park, Arlington Cemetery, Jefferson Memorial and much more. I hope to post photos by this weekend.
Went back to the hotel, checked for messages, then downstairs to eat dinner and read the latest issue of LOST magazine (oh shut up).
Went back upstairs to start packing and getting ready for the 24 show finale. It rocked! On the commercial breaks, I called Chris (my hubby, if you didn't know) and we exclaimed about what was going on. It was kind of fun doing that. The ending of the show was good and sets it up for next season, which I can't wait to see!
Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006
Got a call from Orbitz (where my publicist booked my flight home) and discovered my flight was delayed an hour. Which meant I'd miss my connecting flight. I called US Airways to reschedule the connecting flight. Finished packing, checked out and took a taxi to the airport. When I got there, found out the flight was delayed further. I'd be at the airport for three hours. So I went up to the US Airways Club to buy a day pass. I thought you had to be a member of one of the mileage award clubs to do a day pass, but you don't. *Anyone* can buy a day pass, so keep that in mind if you're stuck in an airport for a long time. It was worth the $40. Free snacks, free beverages, comfy seating, free phone calls, wifi, not crowded, not loud and has several rooms so that you can pick a quiet room or sit in the bar area to watch TV or get a personal booth to work in. So I caught up on my email while watching TV, ordered lunch from Legal Seafoods (which was downstairs, but they deliver) and relaxed.
When it came time for my flight, went downstairs and realized how noisy and crowded airports are. I'm spoiled by the day pass now! Got to Philadelphia, got on my flight home, met a nice woman on the flight home who saw me reading my LOST magazine. She's a fan of the show and we talked about all the theories and what would happen on the finale. We exchanged business cards. Cool!
Got home and Chris had gotten lobster and baked stuffed shrimp for dinner, plus a card congratulating me on my new book, a very cute stuffed squirrel toy (which I named Squirt) and some Swiss chocolate. What a nice husband.
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The day will come.