Conference Call
Oh, my stars and garters! Shit, this is a dry as hell call. It's about sales. I suppose if one doesn't really know what to do, but it's really kind of a basic "Sales 101" call. I don't get to say anything. I am in "listen mode". Whee. This is going to be about an hour out of my day where I really don't have to do anything, apart from listen in, figure out if the information is important to me, and then either listen? Or not. Obviously right now? It's the in the "or not" category.
So, work is going all right. I am still stressed out about the fact that I don't have an assistant and am always swamped in more work than I really know what to do with. Does that stress me out? Yes, yes it does. What do I have on my plate, you might ask? Well, let's get into this. Apart from the usual work that the General Manager does, I also fill the role of the Front Office Manager, or Assistant General Manager. That means if anyone gets sick and I don't have a replacement? I get to cover the shift. Which is stupid, because I still am trying to figure out how the fuck I am supposed to complete my own job, let alone the jobs of everyone else. Add into this that Housekeeping is having challenges.... Yeah. Recently, we have been having a trend of people who have not had their "Do Not Disturb" sign on their doors, but still have no been receiving service. I have already spoken with my Executive HK about this. Yesterday, we had another one. I spoke with my EHK this morning. She says that the lady who was supposed to clean the room said she cleaned the room. I asked her if she inspected the room afterward to make sure. She said no. She insisted the lady cleaned the room. I told her that this has been happening to often. She needs to talk to the lady, and we need to get this pulled together. Yeah, she's on my shit list again. She'll probably avoid me like the plague again for a couple of days. Might be a good thing for her, because if this continues, I will fire her ass, and find someone else better, and who can pull that department together. I don't have time for the bullshit.
On another front, I did get a call from my old boss (from over at the Hampton Inn & Suites). She's now working at a place off Power and University. I got to go out last week for an interview. I have no idea how well it went, as I haven't heard back from either my former boss, or the guy who interviewed me. If I am offered the job, I have no idea what I would say. It would be selling about 25,000 sq. ft. of meeting space to weddings, proms, anything out there. It's not a hotel, so it would be meeting and banquet revenue only. No room revenue involved. Ok, it would involve a paycut, but I am still curious. And, naturally, I would have to make some sort of decision. The bonuses that would be possible, would almost double the base salary if all criteria were met. I don't know that I could meet all the criteria. And if I weren't so stressed at my current job, I probably wouldn't even consider it, because, in all honesty, I really didn't like sales. It wasn't my cup of tea. But, I have to say that this place DOES have it's potential. This place does entertainment, they do dinner shows, they have a theater, they have a stage, they have a full catering staff. If I wanted to do a "Paris Night" type function, I could do it. If I wanted us all to go back to Ancient Rome, and wear togas for a function, I could do that. They have the costumes and props, and all the stuff that could make it truly FUN! I would actually have money in the budget to do some real marketing. If I wanted to, I could do radio spots, or commercials. I could go to the different wedding trade shows. I could actually get real photography done that would showcase what the place offers, rather than rely on generic collateral with pictures that aren't even what I have. Would it be hard work? Yes, it would. Would it be fun? Could I have the freedom to be creative? Yes, I could. Could I get new equipment if I wanted/needed it? Yes, I could. Would it be a little less stress? Yes, I think so. I would actually have an assistant. Imagine that. So, there are pros and cons to this whole thing. My little mind has been working. I would be able to work with my old boss, as well as one of my old co-workers, both of whom I have missed terribly. Hell, if I thought I could steal my old co-worker to be my EHK, I would fire the lady I currently have, and hire him in a heartbeat.
The younger demon child turned 2 on the 25th of July. He has taken to biting, and lobbing things at people. I got beaned in the nose the other night by one of his larger plastic toys (a toy car my parents sent him for his birthday. Go figure). Though, he does think he'd like to start using the real potty. Ok, he hasn't actually DONE anything in it yet, but he'll tell me he wants to. And he chatters. A lot. And he's getting to be more and more intelligible. In some ways, it's truly amazing. The older demon child will be 4 on the 16th of September. I just can't believe she's going to be 4 already. For her part, she has been challenging everything that I tell her. Getting her to go to bed at night is a shouting/screaming/arguing match. Myself or Ashdragon does a lot of the shouting, she does a lot of the screaming/door kicking, and all three of us do a lot of the arguing. She is horribly smart. And rather clever. She has learned how to lie. She is learning that lying to mommy and daddy is not a smart thing, and we know when she does it. She is learning that asking mommy something, then asking daddy the same thing when she doesn't get the answer she wants, is not a smart thing to do. Yet, she continues to try, thinking it will get her somewhere. So, maybe she's not that smart after all. She drives me nuts. Ashdragon still wants to give the smaller child to the gypsies. I still would like to give the bigger child to the gypsies. I guess it's all relative, really. The small one does better with me, and the big one does better with him. I suppose this is pretty typical of kids, though. Soon, I will be getting some flashcards with numbers, and letters, and workbooks for the larger one. I would like her to be ready to go to school. I guess she goes next year. I am not quite sure exactly when she's supposed to go. At some point, I suppose.
Some fairly recent history. A month ago now, Nameless1, Formosus_Ferus, Ashdragon and I went to ComicCon out in San Diego. We ended up staying in El Centro, because my owner was able to get me a free room there. So, we were about two hours outside of San Diego, but considering the entire city was sold out, that was really ok. Getting there very late on Friday night was all right. We got checked in, made ourselves comfortable, then I fell asleep. Everyone else had problems with sleeping. Unable to get comfortable, moving around.... it sorted itself out but was still kind of interesting. Saturday entailed going to the beach. We rented a couple of boogie boards, and I tried desperately to recall how to properly ride the wave. I failed, quite miserably. Nameless1 braved the waters for a brief time, then laid out in the sun. I wouldn't have braved the water, but Ashdragon made me do it. Once in the water, it was actually kind of nice, and it was a lot of fun. Ashdragon did not get the hang of the boogie board. If you enjoy seafood, there is a restaurant called "Nick's" right across the street from Ocean Beach. The pricing is a little higher than middle of the road, but the food was absolutely worth it. It was so amazingly good. Saturday night involved roaming around San Diego. We hit up the mall, wandered down to look at the convention center (holy shit, it's HUGE). We found a Halloween store that wasn't open, mostly because it wasn't close enough to Halloween. I found a hotel that I really wanted to go into, but I couldn't find an entrance door. Looking in through the windows, it looked like the place was in service, and there were lights on in the upstairs windows, but the front door was impossible to find! I really liked the architecture, and for whatever reason, it had an interesting energy. My theory is that it was haunted. :) Don't ask me why. Then, we went and ate dinner at this place called "Dick's". It's the place where, should Ashdragon ever feel the need to wait tables, he can go to be a complete douche to people, and not only not get fired for it, but get tipped better the more of a douchebag he is to folks! I loved it! It was awesome! The food was all right. Wasn't the most awesome of food I've ever had, but it definitely was edible, and quite tasty, and I just loved the service. Our waiter was hysterical. Yes, that is Ashdragon's new home of employment, should we ever move to San Diego. Sunday involved roaming around the convention, buying a few things here and there, getting to meet Chief from Battlestar Galactica (yes, I have an autographed photo!), finding out (much to my sadness) that BSG really is ending. It's not a joke. They are not planning a movie mini-series to follow it up, it's actually ending. This next season better fucking rock my world, or I am going to be on pissed off girl. Not like my opinion matters much in the grand scheme of things, but still. What bullshit. Easily the best show on TV, and they fucking end it, because they put it into a shitty timeslot. And they put some other stupid fucking show in it's place. I call bullshit. I also saw a scad of people wandering about in the Urahara green and white striped hat. I wanted one. Naturally, by Sunday, it was too late to find one. (For those who don't know, Urahara is the odd fellow who trains Ichigo in "Bleach". If he were categorized, I suppose he would be chaotic neutral....) So, I instead got a little Urahara plushie. In recent days, and having searched on eBay, I have found that there are other plushies of other characters. Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Byakuya, Kenpachi.... Kon. :) I need. I want.... *steeples fingers before rubbing hands together* Must.... add.... to.... toy.... collection!
Completely forgot to post about the Warped Tour trip. That was hella fun. Found some bands I'd never heard of before. Finally got to see Bad Religion. They put on a pretty kickass show. Sadly, missed Pennywise. But, will see them again another time. And if you'd like to know just how lame Ashdragon and I are.... there we were, enjoying Warped Tour, and the fucking summer heat, and we came across a screen upon which people were playing Guitar Hero II. And guess who stood around like complete and utter idiots watching these people play? Oh, that's right, you probably don't need to guess, because one of these idiots is typing this post. :P Got pre-screening passes to Superbad, which we went to. Superbad, which is now out in theaters. Holy shit. Go see it. Funniest fucking movie I have seen in AGES. Everyone ditched us, so it was just Ashdragon and myself, but it was SO worth it.
Middle of this month, Ashdragon went to GenCon. Just before going to GenCon, the older child managed to get an infection in her foot, and had to be in the hospital for IV antibiotics. Yay. I got to miss a day of work when it was NOT the optimal time for it. However, Ashdragon was off, and on his way, and he made a pretty good showing of himself. The National tournies that he competed in were retarded. They changed the format, which was stupid, and so Ashdragon got his ass kicked by a totally shitty player. Which, he would have defeated had the moron not taken up almost half the time for the ENTIRE GAME in ONE TURN. Fucker. So, needless to say, Ashdragon did not participate in any more of the National tournies. He did, however, do very well in the Hardcore tournies. He ended up taking 3rd. Of everyone there. Not sure how many people were actually there, but he took 3rd. I am very proud of him. I know next time he goes, he will do better. Why? Because I will be there, and my presence will make him do better, even if his dice don't agree. :P
And, that's kind of it, in a nutshell. I suppose I should get back to work, and stop avoiding actually DOING anything. I just feel a decided lack of motivation. I am tired. I am fighting off a cold. I would rather go back to bed. I feel a cross between bloated, and hungry. I don't know if I want food or not. I feel fat. I should probably do room inspections. I don't want to do room inspections. I need to do room inspections so that I can hand my EHK another bunch of rooms that haven't been cleaned properly. Gah. I want to go back to bed.
So, work is going all right. I am still stressed out about the fact that I don't have an assistant and am always swamped in more work than I really know what to do with. Does that stress me out? Yes, yes it does. What do I have on my plate, you might ask? Well, let's get into this. Apart from the usual work that the General Manager does, I also fill the role of the Front Office Manager, or Assistant General Manager. That means if anyone gets sick and I don't have a replacement? I get to cover the shift. Which is stupid, because I still am trying to figure out how the fuck I am supposed to complete my own job, let alone the jobs of everyone else. Add into this that Housekeeping is having challenges.... Yeah. Recently, we have been having a trend of people who have not had their "Do Not Disturb" sign on their doors, but still have no been receiving service. I have already spoken with my Executive HK about this. Yesterday, we had another one. I spoke with my EHK this morning. She says that the lady who was supposed to clean the room said she cleaned the room. I asked her if she inspected the room afterward to make sure. She said no. She insisted the lady cleaned the room. I told her that this has been happening to often. She needs to talk to the lady, and we need to get this pulled together. Yeah, she's on my shit list again. She'll probably avoid me like the plague again for a couple of days. Might be a good thing for her, because if this continues, I will fire her ass, and find someone else better, and who can pull that department together. I don't have time for the bullshit.
On another front, I did get a call from my old boss (from over at the Hampton Inn & Suites). She's now working at a place off Power and University. I got to go out last week for an interview. I have no idea how well it went, as I haven't heard back from either my former boss, or the guy who interviewed me. If I am offered the job, I have no idea what I would say. It would be selling about 25,000 sq. ft. of meeting space to weddings, proms, anything out there. It's not a hotel, so it would be meeting and banquet revenue only. No room revenue involved. Ok, it would involve a paycut, but I am still curious. And, naturally, I would have to make some sort of decision. The bonuses that would be possible, would almost double the base salary if all criteria were met. I don't know that I could meet all the criteria. And if I weren't so stressed at my current job, I probably wouldn't even consider it, because, in all honesty, I really didn't like sales. It wasn't my cup of tea. But, I have to say that this place DOES have it's potential. This place does entertainment, they do dinner shows, they have a theater, they have a stage, they have a full catering staff. If I wanted to do a "Paris Night" type function, I could do it. If I wanted us all to go back to Ancient Rome, and wear togas for a function, I could do that. They have the costumes and props, and all the stuff that could make it truly FUN! I would actually have money in the budget to do some real marketing. If I wanted to, I could do radio spots, or commercials. I could go to the different wedding trade shows. I could actually get real photography done that would showcase what the place offers, rather than rely on generic collateral with pictures that aren't even what I have. Would it be hard work? Yes, it would. Would it be fun? Could I have the freedom to be creative? Yes, I could. Could I get new equipment if I wanted/needed it? Yes, I could. Would it be a little less stress? Yes, I think so. I would actually have an assistant. Imagine that. So, there are pros and cons to this whole thing. My little mind has been working. I would be able to work with my old boss, as well as one of my old co-workers, both of whom I have missed terribly. Hell, if I thought I could steal my old co-worker to be my EHK, I would fire the lady I currently have, and hire him in a heartbeat.
The younger demon child turned 2 on the 25th of July. He has taken to biting, and lobbing things at people. I got beaned in the nose the other night by one of his larger plastic toys (a toy car my parents sent him for his birthday. Go figure). Though, he does think he'd like to start using the real potty. Ok, he hasn't actually DONE anything in it yet, but he'll tell me he wants to. And he chatters. A lot. And he's getting to be more and more intelligible. In some ways, it's truly amazing. The older demon child will be 4 on the 16th of September. I just can't believe she's going to be 4 already. For her part, she has been challenging everything that I tell her. Getting her to go to bed at night is a shouting/screaming/arguing match. Myself or Ashdragon does a lot of the shouting, she does a lot of the screaming/door kicking, and all three of us do a lot of the arguing. She is horribly smart. And rather clever. She has learned how to lie. She is learning that lying to mommy and daddy is not a smart thing, and we know when she does it. She is learning that asking mommy something, then asking daddy the same thing when she doesn't get the answer she wants, is not a smart thing to do. Yet, she continues to try, thinking it will get her somewhere. So, maybe she's not that smart after all. She drives me nuts. Ashdragon still wants to give the smaller child to the gypsies. I still would like to give the bigger child to the gypsies. I guess it's all relative, really. The small one does better with me, and the big one does better with him. I suppose this is pretty typical of kids, though. Soon, I will be getting some flashcards with numbers, and letters, and workbooks for the larger one. I would like her to be ready to go to school. I guess she goes next year. I am not quite sure exactly when she's supposed to go. At some point, I suppose.
Some fairly recent history. A month ago now, Nameless1, Formosus_Ferus, Ashdragon and I went to ComicCon out in San Diego. We ended up staying in El Centro, because my owner was able to get me a free room there. So, we were about two hours outside of San Diego, but considering the entire city was sold out, that was really ok. Getting there very late on Friday night was all right. We got checked in, made ourselves comfortable, then I fell asleep. Everyone else had problems with sleeping. Unable to get comfortable, moving around.... it sorted itself out but was still kind of interesting. Saturday entailed going to the beach. We rented a couple of boogie boards, and I tried desperately to recall how to properly ride the wave. I failed, quite miserably. Nameless1 braved the waters for a brief time, then laid out in the sun. I wouldn't have braved the water, but Ashdragon made me do it. Once in the water, it was actually kind of nice, and it was a lot of fun. Ashdragon did not get the hang of the boogie board. If you enjoy seafood, there is a restaurant called "Nick's" right across the street from Ocean Beach. The pricing is a little higher than middle of the road, but the food was absolutely worth it. It was so amazingly good. Saturday night involved roaming around San Diego. We hit up the mall, wandered down to look at the convention center (holy shit, it's HUGE). We found a Halloween store that wasn't open, mostly because it wasn't close enough to Halloween. I found a hotel that I really wanted to go into, but I couldn't find an entrance door. Looking in through the windows, it looked like the place was in service, and there were lights on in the upstairs windows, but the front door was impossible to find! I really liked the architecture, and for whatever reason, it had an interesting energy. My theory is that it was haunted. :) Don't ask me why. Then, we went and ate dinner at this place called "Dick's". It's the place where, should Ashdragon ever feel the need to wait tables, he can go to be a complete douche to people, and not only not get fired for it, but get tipped better the more of a douchebag he is to folks! I loved it! It was awesome! The food was all right. Wasn't the most awesome of food I've ever had, but it definitely was edible, and quite tasty, and I just loved the service. Our waiter was hysterical. Yes, that is Ashdragon's new home of employment, should we ever move to San Diego. Sunday involved roaming around the convention, buying a few things here and there, getting to meet Chief from Battlestar Galactica (yes, I have an autographed photo!), finding out (much to my sadness) that BSG really is ending. It's not a joke. They are not planning a movie mini-series to follow it up, it's actually ending. This next season better fucking rock my world, or I am going to be on pissed off girl. Not like my opinion matters much in the grand scheme of things, but still. What bullshit. Easily the best show on TV, and they fucking end it, because they put it into a shitty timeslot. And they put some other stupid fucking show in it's place. I call bullshit. I also saw a scad of people wandering about in the Urahara green and white striped hat. I wanted one. Naturally, by Sunday, it was too late to find one. (For those who don't know, Urahara is the odd fellow who trains Ichigo in "Bleach". If he were categorized, I suppose he would be chaotic neutral....) So, I instead got a little Urahara plushie. In recent days, and having searched on eBay, I have found that there are other plushies of other characters. Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Byakuya, Kenpachi.... Kon. :) I need. I want.... *steeples fingers before rubbing hands together* Must.... add.... to.... toy.... collection!
Completely forgot to post about the Warped Tour trip. That was hella fun. Found some bands I'd never heard of before. Finally got to see Bad Religion. They put on a pretty kickass show. Sadly, missed Pennywise. But, will see them again another time. And if you'd like to know just how lame Ashdragon and I are.... there we were, enjoying Warped Tour, and the fucking summer heat, and we came across a screen upon which people were playing Guitar Hero II. And guess who stood around like complete and utter idiots watching these people play? Oh, that's right, you probably don't need to guess, because one of these idiots is typing this post. :P Got pre-screening passes to Superbad, which we went to. Superbad, which is now out in theaters. Holy shit. Go see it. Funniest fucking movie I have seen in AGES. Everyone ditched us, so it was just Ashdragon and myself, but it was SO worth it.
Middle of this month, Ashdragon went to GenCon. Just before going to GenCon, the older child managed to get an infection in her foot, and had to be in the hospital for IV antibiotics. Yay. I got to miss a day of work when it was NOT the optimal time for it. However, Ashdragon was off, and on his way, and he made a pretty good showing of himself. The National tournies that he competed in were retarded. They changed the format, which was stupid, and so Ashdragon got his ass kicked by a totally shitty player. Which, he would have defeated had the moron not taken up almost half the time for the ENTIRE GAME in ONE TURN. Fucker. So, needless to say, Ashdragon did not participate in any more of the National tournies. He did, however, do very well in the Hardcore tournies. He ended up taking 3rd. Of everyone there. Not sure how many people were actually there, but he took 3rd. I am very proud of him. I know next time he goes, he will do better. Why? Because I will be there, and my presence will make him do better, even if his dice don't agree. :P
And, that's kind of it, in a nutshell. I suppose I should get back to work, and stop avoiding actually DOING anything. I just feel a decided lack of motivation. I am tired. I am fighting off a cold. I would rather go back to bed. I feel a cross between bloated, and hungry. I don't know if I want food or not. I feel fat. I should probably do room inspections. I don't want to do room inspections. I need to do room inspections so that I can hand my EHK another bunch of rooms that haven't been cleaned properly. Gah. I want to go back to bed.