Chillin at 3:34am
I'm here on the graveyard shift with Patrick who is showing me the ropes. He's a really nice guy, Pinoy, older at 38, and we're pretty much done with what he does every night as the Night Auditor. Basically it's closing out the day's totals and getting reports ready for the day shift to look over. Tomorrow when I come in I'll be running all the reports while he watches and assists me. From the looks of it, although it's a lot of reports and paper it's really straight forward and once you get the daily reports done, the rest of the night is yours. Right now we're chillin at our PCs, me on my Mac that I brought since we've got wireless all over the hotel and it's free. I'm actually in the lobby in front of the fireplace. Never had a job like this before.
So as fate goes I received two phone calls, each of them from previous employers. My last place, the one that laid me off, has a position in security which handles things like VPN for employees. I know I can get that one done. The other is from BofA, also at my old department but in a different position. As much as I love BofA it's a lot further with a bridge to cross. But I know I could hop into the position and run with it. I'm interviewing this morning for the security position. If I take it I'll do part-time here at the hotel. I like it here and the wife loves the benefit of a cheap room at any of the Hilton family hotels, 39.99 a night...
First day of graveyard
I'm going to do the graveyard shift tonight but I'm still in training. I'll be working with another guy and apparently it's just going to be himself, me and a guy from hotel maintenance. I'm trying to prepare myself for staying up for the shift. It's kind of like the other day on black friday when we went shopping. I basically pulled an all-nighter for that. Apparently there is not a lot going on throughout the shift so it's not like it's strenuous. Most people check-in by 11pm and not many if any come in after that. After that it's just running reports and closing the books for that night. I'll be bringing my laptop and doing a couple things on it but I have a feeling I'm going to be bored, really bored...
Early Check-In
I had to cover a shift for someone today after they called in sick. I left here at 11pm and I came back at 8am, woo hoo! Anyways, the guests all thought that I never left and that I'd been here since last night and it sure feels like it. This afternoon there is an event in one of our ballrooms by a group called
My Artist's Place and it's a mad house. There are hundreds of people here with their children for a sort of entertainment portfolio for kids, almost like a casting call. I don't know if Andres and Emilio would be too young to come and get their pictures and video done but it would be pretty cool considering this is a free charity service. I met regret it if either of them turn out to be like Danny Bonaduce.
Small world
Keem is playing with his band tonight at an event in my hotel. It's a family reuinion/surprise 60th b-day party. The family is Filipino and many of them are staying in the hotel this weekend. Really nice people and they're helping the time move forward. Front desk can be dead...
Update: Keem is blowin' up in there! He's doing "Shout" and the crowd is into it.
Slowly but surely
My training at the hotel is moving along. For most of the time I'm on the computer doing the training modules which are pretty straight forward. I haven't really worked a full day since my manager just tells me to go home once I've finished doing what he's asked me to do. Eventually I'll be at the front desk, checking people in and out. The plan is to make me one of the managers on duty. When I make the switch to graveyard you'll probably see me posting blogs at 4:00am since I'll have all that time to just chill at the front desk. I'll be able to bring my own laptop and use the hotel's wireless network instead of using our computers at the desk. There are two computers in an office behind our station which guests are allowed to use. The other day I saw a guy who is staying the whole month of November on business. He was bored enough to go onto Craigslist and look for erotic services. I don't know if anyone came to the hotel for him but I heard on saturday they had to kick out two ladies in the lobby who may have been prostitutes.
First day pains
As you know, that first day of work is not much work at all. Whether you're just filling out paperwork or meeting people all over the place whose names you'll forget immediately (thank God we all wear name tags), my first day was uneventful. All I did was sit at a computer and do some PC training on the hotel software. When it started off it taught you what a mouse was and how to use the tab key to move around without the mouse. Tough stuff... Luckily, my manager who was leaving early that night let me leave after just five hours of being there. I got in at 6pm, he left at 7pm and said I could leave at 11pm. Good thing too because after sitting there doing all the different modules I was bored as hell. It should be a piece of cake as far as the software is concerned and dealing with customers looks to be the hardest part (if hard at all). Our lunch is paid for by the hotel so I get to go to the kitchen an order up whatever is on the menu, although there is an employee menu compared to the restaurant menu. Also, if there's an event like a banquet whatever food plates may be left is offered to us as well like prime rib. Mmm mmm, red meat....
Me and Paris
Well, it's been since May that I've been chillin at home and taking in that unemployment check. Well, looks like those days are over. A buddy of mine works at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield. (We did a gig there for Likha.) They were looking for someone to be the night auditor, a graveyard shift, and they found their sucker. With my unemployment kinda waning and a need to do something other than stay home, I decided to give it a shot. From the manager's perspective, the one who interviewed me, he sold me on the ability to move up and move up quick. With my position, I'm going to have to learn the in's and out's of the whole hotel. Of course, there are Hilton and Embassy Suite hotels all over that give me the opportunity to move around as well. I believe that I fit this job well in that I have great customer service skills. I have a feeling my experience at the Oakland Arena as a Luxury Suite Concierge is going to pay off. There's not too many places where you have people who have a lot of money and like to let you know about it or people who think they're important just because they're in a suite as a guest. The hotel and the suite are going to be very similar. The position will be Sunday night to Friday morning so I'll still be able to do gigs Friday through Sunday. They are also very flexible with schedules and that is also one of the reasons I took the job. I'm still hoping I can do the dj thing full-time. I'll still do my best to get that done, but now I have an opportunity to sell my business to wedding clients to our hotel as well. I can even get on the preferred vendors list. So I'll be looking our for Paris Hilton when she makes her trip out to Fairfield. I'm also looking forward to blogging about things I encounter at the hotel late at night (wink, wink...).
Another wedding coming up
I met with a couple and their emcee tonite in the city, Borders at Stonestown. I got there right before 9pm as I was meeting them at 9:30pm. As I got to the parking lot I saw a big sign hanging in front of the Nordstrom's entrance, "Half Yearly Sale". In college at SFSU right next door I was Nordstrom's little beeyotch shopping there like I could afford it with my Nordstrom credit card. I was tempted to go in and look around but I think the mall was closing so I didn't even bother trying. So instead I hung out in Border's looking at the different books in different sections. I met them all and we discussed their plans for the reception. They are Korean so it sounds like it's going to be a typical wedding reception. One thing I did notice is that both Chinese and Koreans take time to have someone from each family introduce and thank all the different family members who made it to the reception. I guess it's kind of like giving props to all of them. I haven't really had to set aside time at Pilipino weddings to do that. Sure the couple might acknowledge family members as well as friends who are in attendance but not someone from each side of the family. I have seen parents who have given speeches and have thanked family members for attending but it was never in the itinerary. Anyways, one thing the groom did say that could be said for Chinese weddings as well is that Koreans don't dance. We've always gotten comments at events that the music that we played was great and that people had a great time but we've seen that the dancing can be very limited. Sometimes you think it's your own music selection but then you just start seeing a pattern in that these groups of people just don't dance. The wife believes it too. She would know too with all her years working at the old OACC in downtown Oakland's Chinatown. The bride and groom said though that they will have a lot of non-Korean attendees that will party. Also, they are having an open bar and that should loosen things up a bit as well. As far as music is concerned the groom said he likes Old School R&B and some old High Energy music. He mentioned Connie's "Funky Little Beat" which got me smiling. I'll give that song a shot that night.
On the couch... vegetate.. we did...
Ugh, it's so nice to just stay home for a day or two and with the family on a holiday on friday it gave us the opportunity to just chill. What better way to do that than with an HDTV and Cinemax giving us non-stop Star Wars in HD all weekend long. From the whiny Anakin to the salvation of Darth Vader we chilled on the couch friday and saturday enjoying all six episodes. (It was on sunday as well but that was Forty-Niner day.) I'm a sucker for Star Wars and although I know EP I-III has it's critics, and I'm kind of one of them, I feel like I'm just glad that we got to see a prequel to the EP IV-VI. Like the saying goes, "you don't really know where you're going unless you know where you've been".
I can breathe!!!!
The House of Representatives has been returned to the people, not the Republicans. I say the people because they represent us. Not just their own political party but all of us in this great country. Republicans have lost their priorities. They are Republicans first and Americans second. They only care about staying in power. Well, the American people called them on it and have booted them out of the House and now the Senate may go to the Democrats as well. That will be an amazing feat and will show that the American people have awaken and are ready to take the country forward together. One party rule has shown itself to be such a tremendous failure and truthfully, the Republicans asked for it. Good for them. Now it's up to us to keep the pressure on the Democrats to continue to move forward and listen to what Americans truly want, world peace.
Day for change?
I haven't been politically blogging in a long while but everyday I read Op-Eds and political blogs and sites. I've been one of those people who wondered when America was going to wake up from this nightmare and ask what is going on with this country. The one thing I haven't done is actually go out and get active and I'm ashamed of that. I've had the time since I haven't been working. But I've been at home complaining unfortunately not getting active. In college I had no problem in missing a class or two to attend a rally protesting student fee hikes or the Gulf War or the Rodney King verdict. I think this is how the republicans want us to react: stay home, yell at your tv or radio but most of all stay home and do nothing. Today I have a chance to make some change but I had all summer and fall to do more. I'm sorry for that but I hope that at the polls today across the country that someone is going to be held accountable for this mess that has occurred over the past 5 years. There's still two more years under this miserable failure's watch but what we do today can make those last two years a nightmare for him. I'm hoping for the best.
To My Fellow Kababayans
Kamusta ka, in the spirit of the Pilipinas and due to the fact that we have a box and a half of hamburger patties from costco left over from Andres' party, we're going to throw a party for the Pacquiao-Morales fight on Saturday, November 18. An evite will go out but I just wanted to throw this out there for all our peeps out there that want to see The Pac-Man do his thing. And eat some burgers while we're at it.
A DJs best friend
I finally picked up something that I've been eyeing for the longest time. On friday I went to Hilltop mall with the wife to see if the Cars dvd she pre-purchased was in at the Disney store. It doesn't come out until next week so we proceeded to leave the mall. It was then that I looked into another store and saw it, the
Total Trolley. I'd seen infomercials on this thing time after time but was afraid to pull the trigger and make the call. At Hilltop they have the "As Seen On TV" store and I knew it was going to be mine. And I have to say it is an amazing item. It's a dolly, a handcart, a flatbed cart and a step ladder. On saturday, my first chance to use it, I was able to load it up and reduce the number of trips I usually take to move all the equipment. It moves easily, even on carpet which can be a huge hassle. I even used it as a step ladder when I had to raise the projector screen! Amazing! Now when I arrive at gigs I'm fearless, knowing that I'll be able to move my gear with such ease.
Sunday gig too
Now this is how it should be, two gigs in one weekend. Maybe even three if I can get a friday gig. That would be idea and I can be off and running do this full-time. This was a wedding in Oakland, the one I blogged about that would be in downtown. They had a "fake wedding" on saturday when a tv show designed their backyard and filmed their wedding in the new backyard. It was "fake" in that the tv show didn't know they were doing a "real" wedding the next day so that all their family and friends, over 250, would be attending. The ceremony took place in the courtyard surrounded by a lovely garden complete with a rock waterfall. The restaurant is called Cafe Verbena in the building of the shipping giant APL. You might see their shipping crates on big rigs on the highways. Anyways, I did the audio for the ceremony, complete with a wireless mic for a singer and a pick-up for a guitar player. There was a hard wind blowing and you could hear it in the mic. That was my bad because I didn't use the baffler on the mic to protect it from exactly that. After the ceremony we then proceeded into the dining area for the reception. For entertainment there was a family of musicians who played for the pre-reception. The mother played keyboard while an older daughter played the cello. I was able to plug in the keyboard to my board and I mic'd the cello which sounded great. The cello player also sang some classical songs, but not while playing the cello. Then, the younger daughter, probably no older than 11, maybe even a lot younger, busted out with the trumpet and played some classical pieces as well. Are you kidding me? The trumpet? It was awesome! Then they gave me a cd and she did a jazz piece along the cd accompaniment! This little girl got a huge round of ovation from the crowd which was well deserved. Hooray for after-school arts and music programs! Next was a performance by the San Francisco Taiko. The groom's sister is a member and she's also the person that hired me and who I had been working with for the event. The taiko's powerful drumming brought out a huge excitement in the crowd which was then treated to the entrance of the wedding couple. It was my idea to have the couple enter to the drumming but the emcee didn't bring out the excitement like I was hoping he would. I thought it was an opportunity lost, oh well. The reception went well after that although because of the high amount of speeches there wasn't much time for dancing, just an hour. There wasn't much dancing by the crowd. Maybe it was my fault or maybe the crowd was just beat from a long day. This time, I mainly used the Serato for dancing, no regular cds. I'm kind of getting used to it but I need one big harddrive not two different ones to hold my music. I've got a ton of wires and plugs all over the place. Thanks to Herna for referring me on this one. I met some really nice people from this event and look to maybe get other referrals from this as well.
Saturday lunchtime gig
My Saturday gig was a surprise birthday/retirement party that a son was throwing for his mother. It was in San Jose at the Doubletree Hotel off the 101 so I had to get up early and make the long trek out there. This was a referral from the Tuason families, Olivia and Kitchie and Nico and Bern. Edwin, the son, had been at three different events, all weddings and let me know he wanted me to be there for his mom's party. On the way I stopped by UPSer's house to pick up my VST & Hagibis cd that he had borrowed to copy. He was probably dancing to it late nights in his underwear. (Now there's a visual you won't be able to get out of your head for awhile.) The conference center of the Doubletree is very nice. There are actually two floors of rooms and on the first floor was where we were. We were sandwiched between a dentist conference (can you smell a conflict?) and another sort of conference. The surprise worked well and the luncheon began. I asked Edwin for a child's plate since it's hard for me to eat and work at the same time. I had chicken strips and french fries. We had a small delay with the video projector but it got going after a little tech support. The dancing got started with the Achy Breaky and we were on our way. After about four songs a lady from next door came directly over to me and basically reprimanded me for the loud music. She complained that she was in a dental conference and couldn't hear with the music going on loudly. I'll admit it was a little loud, but not as loud as it could be. I did what I could with the sound but it was really the hotel's fault for booking two different events next to each other. I was shocked that she came up to me, not the hotel security. I ended up moving the speakers onto the dancefloor but by that time the crowd started to thin out and leave. That was the first time that anyone from another event complained to me. I've had people within the party ask me to turn it down a little but never from outside. All in all though a good party and another chance to master my Serato.
New market opening up?
On friday I met with a family from Napa who is throwing a Bat Mitvah for their daughter next year in June. They're looking for a dj and I happen to have the biggest ad in the AT&T yello pages in Napa. As you may know, I'm not Jewish. In fact I don't know a lot of Jewish folks. I would love too but I just don't hang in the social circles. So, with my computer on I went to Wikipedia, looked up Bat Mitvah, got my info (really interesting stuff), and made it to Napa at the Embassy Suites hotel, across the freeway from the Premium Outlets (that one was for Ms. Luzon). The hotel is beautiful with an amazing outdoor garden in the center. I first met the father who was there separately and then the mother, daughter and her two friends came shortly afterwards. What struck me most was that the parents were so young looking. Both were very fit and slender. The father is a Tae Kwon Do instructor with his own school in town. Not sure what mom does but she was very attractive as well, short though. The daughter and her friends were giggling all the time but were very nice to me. I asked them what kind of music they listened to and of course it was Hip Hop. I asked if they liked Hyphy music and they were like, "Ummm...". They said they liked E-40 so I said you must like Bay Area rap and they were like, "Ummm..." (It's amazing, my hometown's infuence on the Bay Area rap scene is huge. V-town!) Anyways, we discussed ideas. The daughter is taking singing lessons so we thought that we might do an "American Idol" type event with karaoke, complete with big screen and video. They really liked my ideas and so they hired me for the party. Although I'm not Jewish, for the most part there's only a couple of songs that are needed. All the big events are occurring at the synagogue earlier in the day. I'll get to play Nagila Hava for the first time. They mentioned "Sunrise, Sunset" as a song to play. She'll dance with her grandparents for that. I'm excited because I'm hoping this opens up a bigger market for me. If I can pull this off I think it can be the first in many Jewish parties. Luckily it's not till June so I have a lot of time to educate myself but with my trusty computer I know I've got help.
New tv channel!
HD is expanding and if you have Comcast cable, MHD on 728 is one to watch. This is the Music: High Definition channel of MTV, VH1 and CMT. It's almost like going back to the 80s when MTV just started because it's just music, not "reality" tv shows. I saw a VH1 Storytellers for Pearl Jam, Alicia Keys "Unplugged" and an advertisement for a Duran Duran concert (I dvr'd the concert in HD already, but now they're going to show it on this channel too). I've also dvr'd a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert and am looking forward to watching that as well with the stereo blasting. I can listen and watch that while I clean the house. TNT now has an HD channel as well as Fox sports but unfortunately we don't get Warrior games out in Vacaville, it's part of the Kings region.
