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Desparation in Indianaolis...


jester3681

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Well, guys I thought I'd share. Railroaders are notoriously cheap, and today I think I earned my stripes. My new goal is to spend as little as possible while away since I get a $20 meal voucher for each trip. Here we go...

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Step 1: Raman Noodles. Unfortunately, in Indianapolis, we stay at Holiday Inn Express. At North Baltimore, we stay at Extended Stay with a full kitchen. No kitchen here...

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Step 2: Coffee Maker. This is the closest thing I found to a kitchen in the hotel room. I wonder...

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Step 3: Loaded the coffee maker with water, loaded the urn with noodles and seasoning.

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Step 4: Start the pot and wait for it to brew. NOTE: I did not put coffee in the maker. Just raman noodles.

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Step 5: While waiting for my noodles to... brew?... I tracked down some "dishes." The fork is from my lunch box.

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Step 6: Half way through brewing, removed the noodles to...

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stir everything together. Back into the maker for the rest of the brew. Now, I eat my raman as noodles, not soup, so...

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Step 7: Drain into sink. Finally...

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Step 8: Two styrofoam cups of raman noodles to enjoy! Yum!

Believe it or not, taste just as good (bad?) as if I made them on the stove. I win! :lets-eat:

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Ah yes, the days of living in hotels. I remember those days. Hated them. Either stayed in Detroit or the Natti. Hated it. Glad those days are over.

Couldn't tell ya how many meals I've cooked on the sidewall heater or on the water tank :nono:

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Worked on the IORY out of Lima. Served a 10 year sentence as an engineer before I got out.

You still railroad, or something else? I've not heard good things about life on the IORY.

And Josh1234, yeah 16+ hours in a hotel, you find ways to entertain yourself.

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Taco Bell Meal Deal #4, plus a Bacon Ranch Chicken Flatbread. $3.17, and you can save the Doritos for a later snack. Or taking pictures of them in the hotel room?

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Another trick is if you go out to eat and have leftovers you want to chill / heat back up but dont have anything.

Use the Ice bucket bags and fill them with Ice and set on top of your food in the sink. that will keep it cold.

To heat back up. Put the food in the ice bucket bags and tie them closed, then put them in the sink and turn on the hot water and fill the sink. Open the drain just enough so that you can keep the hot water flowing 100% but not over flow the sink. After about 15min, youll have hot food.

Or the cheap route is go to the lobby and use the microwave.

Ive found all kinds of ways to eat cheap at hotels.

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everyone has a dollar menu dude....just sayin.

every stinking bit of this!

Maybe its cuz I'm a food loving fat kid but there are so many things I'd rather save money on than food. Nobody should have to eat ramen

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WOW i need to re look at this. I give our guys $50 a day! LMAO and to think how much money they could save our company if i could just buy them all a case of noodles and a coffee maker!! :D

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Keep in mind guys, our "meal allowance" is union negotiated...and has nothing to do with the amount of money anyone else gets for Per Diem. We're actually lucky we get anything at all!

I look at it like this...little things like being payed the same when I'm riding in a taxi as when I'm working a train...makes up for the little money I make to pay for food. Nothing like $100 an hour while sleeping in a taxi while deadheading home from Garrett Indiana/Toledo Ohio/Cincinnati Ohio/Indianapolis Indiana(while working out of Marysville).

Last year as a whole, I only stayed in a hotel 21 times...but I deadhead 89 times. That's $420 for meals while in the hotel versus $28,569 for riding in a taxi(based on a trip rate pay of $321 out of Marysville Ohio).

And Josh...you only get $12. I'm the one that get's $20, lol!!

Edited by BadTrainDriver
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Lol...I don't eat that crap!

When he and I worked together, we met over at Applebee's for dinner, I had a $20 steak...he had a salad.

To each his own. I don't judge...

Also, for the record, I don't make $100 unless I'm riding in a taxi...I just used that as an example of the way we get payed at times.

Edited by BadTrainDriver
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Man, y'all are gettin hosed!! Here is what we used to determine per diem rates, maybe it's because we worked under gov't contracts...

http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21287

I think Vancouver Canada was my highest ever, 120 a day and that was if I used it or not!

My bike doesn't leak oil, it's sweats awesomeness!

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