tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137753342024-03-07T13:57:41.909-08:00damomooDamomoo was the license plate I had on my mustang that I crashed back in 98. I was so proud of that car and I just killed it. My bad. Anyways, it's a play on the tagalog phrase, the moo moo (sp?) or, ghost. I always like saying that.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.comBlogger205125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-91429825731764530952007-06-04T15:37:00.000-07:002007-06-04T15:57:12.071-07:00I'm really slacking!It's not that I've been to busy to blog but sometimes I just don't get that push you need to start to document what happened to you or what thoughts you have. Been keeping busy with all three jobs. <br /><br />The bank - I'm here monday through friday. It's a drag to get out of bed in the morning and put on a shirt and tie. Then to sit there in front of a computer and research this and that, get projects rolling or make sure they are in process. The good thing is I'm close to home and my schedule is pretty flexible. I truly have banker's hours. Plus, there's plenty of good places to eat around here. <br /><br />The hotel - Things are ok at the hotel. I haven't been working too many hours there, usually 2 nights a week but they are graveyard hours so on the weekday I'm pulling all-nighters when I go to the bank. I try to do a shift here and there on a friday or saturday so that I can sleep in the next day. I haven't gotten burned by a guest lately either which is a good thing. We're already into June but we're still not selling out on most nights. The one hotel story I have right now is about a lady who was a guest at the hotel and was joining other guests for drinks at the bar. She got a little drunk and started pulling up her top and showing off (she wasn't much to look at). Later, they decided to go to another bar since ours closes early. Two of the guys left the bar early trying to ditch her saying she was too much to handle. One guy who did stay with her did it out of pity. The next morning (I just worked the evening shift so this was told to me) she wanted to get the names of the guys she went to the bar with because she claimed they drugged her and stole her purse and her phones. We knew she was lying and was drunk because the purse was given to us and I inspected it and found 2 phones and that's what we gave her back. Later she called the cops and wouldn't talk to them when they arrived. This was all at 5:30am. We never heard from her afterwards.<br /><br />DJ'ing - I've done a couple gigs here and there. I'm trying to finalize using Serato so I ended up getting a new Macbook. I love this thing. It's fast, does what I need, has plenty of space and memory and looks slick. It's black. This past saturday I finally brought out the turntables with one CDJ as a backup. I used the turntables for mixing and it felt like old times. I'm going to bring these bad boys around more often. It is a little heavier and bulkier but once the party starts going you can tell the difference. I even bought new Ortofon needles that are DJ Q-Bert's model. I'm able to carry most of my music on a small portable Western Digital HD. I also got more music from my other DJ buddy, 45 gigs worth. You think you have enough space but then someone comes up with more music. Oh yeah, if you're wondering how the Hyphy movement is doing, it's alive and well in the Yay Area. It is all the kids around here want to hear.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-62639317260481612212007-05-10T01:03:00.000-07:002007-05-10T01:28:41.387-07:00Rest in PeaceA gentleman passed away in our hotel the other night. They found him in his room at his desk still sitting in his chair. I think he was an older gentleman and they've already moved him to the coroner's office here in Fairfield. That's got to be a horrible way to go, by yourself in an unfamiliar place. I believe his wife may be coming by the hotel and I'm at a loss as far as what to say to her.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-59957729645450579212007-04-06T21:43:00.000-07:002007-04-06T22:16:03.584-07:00Glad I've got boys?So a couple weekends ago, the hotel hosted a debut for a girl, I believe from Vallejo. I wasn't actually here but my buddy relayed the story, pretty funny. After the debut, the dad got his daughter a hotel room here. The family left while the girl stayed here with some friends. Their room got a little crowded and my buddy called to the room warning them four different times. Now, he knew they were Pilipino so he tried to cut them some slack. Four warnings is actually too many. On the fourth call, the houseman, Abdul, went up to the room, knocked on the door, and saw that there were at least 12 people in the room, a no-no. He let one of the guys know that they were too loud so the guy looked back at him and said, "What are you gonna do about it?" Abdul called down to Michael, my buddy the night auditor, and Michael just lost it. At that point he called the police and they all went upstairs to kick them out. Michael is a father of a couple of teenagers but you wouldn't know it right away as he looks young himself. He did all the talking when they opened the door. He asked which one asked what he was going to do about it. None of them responded. They all had their heads down, scared to look at anyone. Abdul then said it was this guy, pointed at him, and Michael proceeded to berate the teen. He asked him if he was the one who said it, he wouldn't answer. Michael told him to look at him and not to look down. He was scared. The cops in the back were cracking up. After Michael got his point across they were all removed from the hotel.<br />The next day, the dad called and wanted to know what had happened. He had a feeling his daughter was lying to him. He asked Jan who was now on the morning shift how many boys were in the room. She found out that there were seven boys in all. I'm sure she was busted at that point.<br />When I heard about this story I had a couple of thoughts and I know this is my mature, parents side talking, but it's the right side. This girl disrespected her family, especially her father, and embarrassed him to kingdom come. Here is this girl who was given a huge 18th b-day party with at least 10K spent on the party, probably closer to 17K if I know the prices of dinner here and what not. She threw her little after party in the hotel after being told not to do it. She lied about why they were kicked out of the hotel. Her father called her on it and was proven right. When I was at that age I'm sure I disrespected my parents in a similar manner. Not at my debut but with a gift they may have given me and the cavalier attitude I may have had with that gift. Next was the attitude that those guys gave to my houseman, Abdul. After four warnings they have got to realize they were on thin ice. And then to show the disrespect to Michael and the staff was just the icing on the cake for them.<br />Am I glad that I have boys instead of girls? No. I know that someday my boys are going to do something that only boys can do and I'm going to blow my top. Knowing what Pilipino kids/teens are capable of doing it doesn't surprise me what happened but at the same time what happened to "Honor thy father and mother..."?DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-41566337448218755992007-04-05T22:49:00.000-07:002007-04-05T23:02:23.920-07:00Busy Busy BusyOk, so I'm working like a Jamaican, Got Dem Tree Jobs Mon! So I had to just post a couple freaky hotel tales. These are the tales, the freaky tales...<br /><br />Last night I convinced a guest to try dinner in our restaurant, bragging about how fresh the food is and all that so he tried it. The hotel is pretty slow this week with it being holy week and all. He got into a nice conversation with our server, a pretty girl with blonde hair and highlights and all that. They were talking near the front desk while I was standing there and he told me dinner was great. Today, I hear from the houseman who stayed last night, that wasn't the only thing that was great. Apparently, they hooked up, bought about 50 bucks worth of beer and wine, and got it on all night. My houseman told me he went by the room around 5am and they were loud as you know what. That's the first I've heard of someone on our staff actually hooking up with a guest for the night. That's also grounds for termination...<br /><br />Another night, I wasn't here, I had just left, but these two young guys came into the hotel past 12am. The houseman tried to track them down, thinking that maybe they just went to the bathroom. He didn't find them there so he kept searching. He made his was to the ballroom/meeting room area in the hallway and when he opened it up, what did he see? One guy on his knees with a you know what in his mouth. And these guys were young, not older but really young...<br /><br />A couple came by and wanted a room, again after I had left. They had been here before, ebony and ivory. The female is really built, kinda like Anna Nicole Smith when she first got going in Playboy but with a little more cellulite. Anyways, she was drunk and they were demanding a room but my buddy told them we were sold out (we weren't). They proceeded to leave the hotel lobby but found their way to our bench right out front. With my housemen vaccuming the restaurant and the couple in full view they got it on right outside. They were out there for a good half hour. My buddy on watch that night called the cops but they came too late. Looks like he came just in time...<br /><br />Next time, the spoiled Filipina debutante...DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-45016908709083804322007-03-19T00:16:00.000-07:002007-03-19T00:26:53.106-07:00Finally, Bring That Beat Back, has come back...to the turntables. Yes, we gigged this past saturday. I had a wedding close to home, in Green Valley, for an old classmate from grammar school and high school. She's a year behind me and she actually found out from her co-worker, who is my old co-worker, that I was deejaying. She told me that I would get to see some old school folks and sure enough I did. It was really cool and weird at the same time but all good. We got to play a whole ton of different genres since they were an older white crowd. We played some hip hop here and there, but no hyphy and not much new stuff. Since Moe gave up red meat for lent, he gave me his steak. The plate had both salmon and steak, mmm mmm. Oh, and it was open bar, hosted.<br />On a side note, in my rush to get to the gig, I was loading up the van while also getting the boys ready since I had to bring them to my mom. I was in the garage with my house slippers moving things. After I got all the stuff, my clothes, dress shoes, the boys clothes and the like I rushed into the van and left the house. I always worry about leaving things plugged in like the toaster oven. I made sure that didn't happen. I was almost at the freeway when I realized my feet felt really light. I still had my slippers on! I forgot to throw on my tennis shoes. I remembered everything else but that. I called Moe, asked him if he'd left which he hadn't, and then asked him to bring me some slippers, the athletic kind. Embarrassing...DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-72654943037273355232007-03-13T20:52:00.000-07:002007-03-13T21:11:35.159-07:00Nuthin but a G Thang baby...Yikes, we almost bought a new car. Some guests in the hotel own the Infinity dealer here in Fairfield and I visited them last Friday. They immediately offered the 2007 G35 sedan to me after I told them what I was looking for and the kind of payment. Here's the thing, they offered a fully loaded car, all the bells and whistles, for a lease. I got scared right away. The thought of having this car for about 4 years, having to keep it under 15K miles a year and then just turning it in at the end with no car to show, put the fear in me that it was just not the way to go. There are some pluses though. You get a great car at a lot lower monthly rate than a purchase. At the end of the lease you can get a new car, start a new contract with no money down. I still have the option of buying the car at the end but why bother when you can get a new one. I won't be a victim of depreciation on the car since the value goes way down after a purchase. I can return it, get a new car at a lower rate as well and did I mention its new? I hear in Canada leasing is the way of choice. They say if you don't really try to keep cars and you like a new one every now and then it's also the way to go. Also, with a lease you can write off the payment as part of your small business. But again, I go back to the fact that after spending so much money for 4 years, if I don't renew the lease and I don't purchase the car, I'm ass out.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-2373911343667647252007-03-03T05:06:00.000-08:002007-03-03T05:20:57.778-08:00Shout out to the CanucksWhen I'm at the hotel, I get to meet a lot of nice people (from all over the world actually). When I pull up the guest lists I also see their home addresses or whatever address they're using. This morning the first person to come down and check out was from none other than Surrey, B.C. I let him know that it was my third favorite place (sorry guys, it used to be Vancouver until we went to Amsterdam!). He mentioned that they call Vancouver, "Vansterdam" since it has similarities. I told UPSer the other day that we need to plan a trip out there.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-22229921640089374152007-02-27T20:08:00.000-08:002007-02-27T20:52:39.515-08:00Rain Rain Go AwaySitting by the window at work I can see the rain coming down like crazy. It was last year in Vacaville, New Years Eve of 2005 to 2006 that we had flooding all over the area. I-80 was flooded in Fairfield. In my neighborhood there was flooding all around the main roads. Over the summer a run-off ditch was built to collect the water from all the rains and it's now filled. Hopefully we don't get a repeat of that New Year's Eve but it's day's like these that make you worried, especially as a homeowner.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-20315845919496810432007-02-24T18:49:00.000-08:002007-02-24T18:59:25.970-08:00Big Spenders in the HouseThere is a banquet going on right now with over 250 people. It is a wine tasting/dinner event with an auction. I believe it is a fundraising event for Northbay hospital here in Fairfield. I could have made a killing if I had a valet service because there were a ton of "Baller" cars from Maserti's to M3 convertibles to S600's. I was thinking my buddy here at the hotel, Abdul, who is the houseman for tonight, could have thrown on a coat and tie, take people's cash and driven some impressive cars. <br />Several people are dressed "black and white" but I feel sorry for those who didn't. You can see their faces as the turn the corner and see the rest of the party all spiffied-up. Some lady had a Louis Vitton overcoat with insignias all over her jacket. At least most people are acknowleding us as they pass by. There have been a couple of people who just walk on by but it's all good. At $275 a plate they're not really going to care whether or not I say something to them.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-23902768668879834852007-02-23T00:22:00.000-08:002007-02-23T00:38:30.824-08:00My heart aches for an old friendI was given the sad news just yesterday about Sam Largo, my friend and many others, but from that moment until late tonite did it hit me. I've lost family members much older who've spent many years on this earth. When I was in my teens I lost one of my best friends to a car accident and not a day goes by that I don't think of him. So now, to lose a friend who has lived as long as I have is heartbreaking. When someone leaves this life one of the things I think about is what were they were able to accomplish while here? Did they get to live a prosperous life? Were they able to contribute? I know that Sam did both but it hurts me knowing that he still had so much more to give. His work in the community was amazing. The stories he told me of the kids he worked with were at times heartbreaking but he showed so much compassion and care that you could feel that he was making a difference. No matter how difficult things got he still pressed on and did his life's work. I'll miss sharing the stage with you. I'll miss seeing you out of the blue when I least expected it. I'll miss your stories. I'll think of you often and pray that you're safe as I'm sure you are.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-26750722960135383992007-02-19T22:38:00.000-08:002007-02-20T00:27:34.983-08:00Switched hours at the Heartbreak HotelMy buddy is leaving the hotel so that he can pursue his new found job as a real estate agent. With that change the hotel offered me the Manager On Duty for the evening shift. So instead of working 11pm to 7am, I'll be coming here after the bank at 6pm until 11pm. Here and there I'll do the Night Audit shift but this MOD position is cool because it can set me up to be a manager in the future in a bigger position. We'll see. I'll be here four days a week and with these hours I'll be mainly checking guests in to the hotel. This is the general arrival time, after dinner, when late flights arrive for business guests and whatnot.<br /><br />I still worked Night Audit on this past saturday which was funny. There were two big parties that were going on. One was a surprise party for Pete Sanchez, the Filipino mayor of Suisun City. The other was a 20+ high school reunion for Vacaville High's Class of 86. Being that it was Vacaville, especially in the 80s, you can kind of guess what the crowd was like. One thing for sure is they love their alcohol. When the bartender came by to drop his cash he showed me a huge envelope with bills. I think it came out to 1100 bucks. What's cool is watching these people and seeing what time has done. Most guys were balding while many women were showing cleavage but what stood out the most was they showed their age. Time does not do the caucasian race good when it comes to physical appearance. Gotta love those Asian genes! When 12am came rolling around, they were still loud as ever straggling out in the lobby looking for the next party. All good though since it kept my night busy keeping an eye on them and making sure they didn't disturb our hotel guests. I'm looking forward to my 20 year next year!DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-28294096838633580922007-02-15T16:11:00.000-08:002007-02-15T17:05:01.002-08:00Valentine's Day is family day!With two kids and a long commute for the wife we decided to just chill and meet at the Fairfield mall and have an easy dinner of Mongolian noodles. The boys love noodles so it made it an easy choice. I drove by the hotel real quick to take care of something before I met them and saw that we were having a big restaurant event as well. Driving by other restaurants I could see how busy all the different places were. Parking lots were packed, people were driving around looking for parking and couples were waiting outside for their seats to be ready. It looked like a hectic time to try and have dinner at a restaurant. Even in the mall where there is a Red Robin and an Applebee's people were waiting for long periods. Although it would have been nice to take the wife out, just her and I, we enjoy our moments as a family.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-4995547545190830092007-02-12T03:45:00.000-08:002007-02-12T03:45:43.009-08:00Guitar Hero II RocksI went out and bought Guitar Hero II for PS2, even though I don't have a PSII. I figured I would just borrow one from my buddy who has been stuck playing his Xbox 360 and neglecting his PS2. I've been seeing it at Best Buy and playing the demo and I just knew that it would be a ton of fun. I was right. From the get-go, the songs they chose for the game just rock, there's no other way to describe them. From Motley Crue to Cheap Trick to Black Sabbath, the music just keeps coming. I've been playing songs at a medium skill level but I have yet to get a five star review. I can pass the songs and have been going through the different types of rock styles which gives me more and more music to try. I think my octavina playing helps a little with the fingering as well as my knowledge of the songs themselves. One key if you start playing, practice strumming up and down instead of just down all the time. Andres is rocking out on the game also. It's amazing how natural he looks playing the game. He must get it from his ninong OJ!DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-90072513769730183702007-02-12T03:35:00.001-08:002007-02-12T03:44:21.396-08:00Props to my Mary Kay galThe wife has been working hard with putting her Mary Kay business together. I'm really impressed by how organized she's been. Keep in mind that this is someone who is still working full-time in San Pablo, 45 miles away from our home. We've had event after event and she still keeps her smile rain or shine and I'm having fun supporting her in this adventure. Even Andres and Emilio are into it as well.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-9865448278434198302007-02-12T03:31:00.000-08:002007-02-12T03:44:53.804-08:00Slow start to the DJ seasonI haven't had any gigs ever since the end of the new year. It's kind of been a nice break but at the same time, I miss spinning and moving a crowd. I'm still hoping for a new laptop, one that will give me the speed to run my Serato to the best of its ability. There's been so many new improvements to it that it may be time to bring out the real MKII 1200s. We shall see. I do have some upcoming gigs in March which will be nice. One is a wedding for an old classmate from my grammar school days. She's actually a year younger than me but I know a lot of the people who will be at the wedding so it should be interesting.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-21486942193905444432007-02-06T15:52:00.000-08:002007-02-06T16:34:59.328-08:00New hotel horror storiesOkay, so I worked on Saturday night at the hotel after being there thursday night/friday morning. Saturdays usually have wedding parties in the hotel or some kind of party people since they get the hall for whatever event they may have. My buddy who got me the hotel job was still there finishing his shift and was waiting for another buddy of ours to come by since they were going to go out. So of course I'll be by myself doing my thing. At about 12:00am, a group of youngsters come by, 3 of them, asking how much a room is. My buddy helps them but because they are a little suspicious he tells them it's $199. It was actually at $129 but if someone will pay it we'll take it, so long as the credit card works and they're over 18 years old. <br /><br />So they say they'll take the room, he get their credit card and an id and they past all of our hurdles. When one of them comes by with some food and drinks from our pantry I smell something distinct. The time is now 4:20. (Wink Wink!) They ask for a smoking room which happens to be on the first floor. That kind of helps me because if they're going to party and be noisy nothing will make me happier than to have to call the cops to get them out and still make them pay. After they got their room two young girls came to the front desk asking where the gentlemen went and I direct them to the room. So as the night goes on it's just me and the houseman. I had some people go by the room to check on the noise and smell but so far no problems. I had them do this about 4 separate times just in case. I didn't get any calls of complaints, we couldn't smell anything funny and for the most part they were quiet. I go home, sunday rolls along and I'm not working at the hotel, and I don't talk to anyone from the hotel. <br /><br />Monday morning I meet up with my buddy who works here at the bank as well as the hotel, the same guy, and he tells me about room 104. Sunday they wanted to extend their stay and check out on monday. One guy comes by and wants more food from the pantry and wants to charge it to the room. When it's posted the credit card fails. This is the chance to get them out of the hotel since we don't allow a stay without a valid one. At 8pm sunday they check out and we have the room looked at to prepare it to be cleaned. It was a mess...<br /><br />Someone threw up on the carpet. The furniture for the room, a double-bed room, was moved all over the place. The bathroom was also a mess with condoms on the floor. It was all jacked up. The room had to be placed as out of order which sucked because we were sold out that night but couldn't make this room available to anyone. I'm not sure if we'll be able to recoup any of the losses incurred from carpet cleaning and whatnot. Usually, when that happens and since we have a credit card we can charge a gang-load of things to them. I'll update later when I know what final steps we took on them.<br /><br />Now, I'm someone who likes to give people the benefit of the doubt and a lot of times I feel that's part of my downfall. I don't like to think the worst of people because I like to believe in the good in them. I can actually be quite gullible. In this case it was like watching a car wreck in the rain because you had all the factors of a perfect storm in play: three guys (they were from Richmond), illegal drugs, young females and a really late check-in. We both wanted to say no and that we were sold out but wouldn't we be proving someone right of a charge of racism? At what point does common sense/perception & a racism claim become valid. What happens to the next set of people who might "fit the description" but mean no harm? Maybe they're too drunk or high to continue on the road and are responsible enough to realize that they need to stop driving and get a room. I do know that with all of the factors from this last event we should have said we have no rooms but it's too late for that. I do know that they've ruined it for anyone else that may be like them but legitimately need a room.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-737269240884891562007-01-29T14:19:00.000-08:002007-01-29T14:39:50.021-08:00Pagod Na Ako!Ugh, I'm on an all-nighter right now since I'm posting from the bank and I worked last night at the hotel. I'm rolling through the night audit and I'm really picking it up. I can get my work done in close to two hours and then just sit around for the remaining five left in the shift. It can make for a really boring night. Then again, after reading about <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/21/BAGHJNMLV714.DTL">this</a> I've been a little more cautious of who I let in the hotel. Couple things about the front desk. We only have two cash drawers and they only have $250 in each one. So if you rob us you get a whopping 500 bucks, maybe, if we haven't given away change. I don't know the combination to the safe, and it's not like you can steal a nights stay from me. Could you image me checking in some guy after he threatens me and says, "Give me a room!"? Even the safe deposit boxes aren't used very often.<br />Some poor gentleman who was in the hotel because he was visiting a hospital in the area had to call an ambulance. They brought him and his wife down with him shirtless and on the gurney and into the ambulance out in the cold. Also, since we host a lot of airmen from Travis AFB there are a lot of young guys hanging out, trying to talk to our young front desk girls. When I answer the phones I have to transfer calls to the different guests rooms. This whole week I've received a call from a girl who almost always has a baby crying in the background and she wants to talk to her husband. I don't think he cares about answering her calls since he's rarely in his room but usually in the business center on the internet. A lot of guys surf porn and some guys even look for prostitutes. A couple of guys have bought condoms from our little "pantry". I haven't noticed any "ladies of the night" come around yet but I'll be sure to post it if I do.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-69448272967122508682007-01-26T03:56:00.000-08:002007-01-26T04:02:57.347-08:00Fighting off a coldThe family has been staying home this week while the wife has been sick. The boys are ok but they're home since she can't take them to school. As for myself I've been feeling the tingling in the back of my throat ever since tuesday and as soon as I get to work I get some hot tea and soothe the itch in my throat. It works and gets me through the day but sure enough the next morning it's there again. Now I'm at the hotel which is sold out but it's really quiet. I've got to do an all nighter tonight since I'll be bringing the Matrix to the shop to replace the catalytic converter (gadzooks it's expensive). Then I've got some meetings with some big-wigs but as soon as the car is done I'm hoping I can bolt from work. The wife is doing her Mary Kay thing this weekend also so I'll be solo for a day and a half. I'll be with the kids taking them to soccer practice in the morning then off to the airport to take UPSer there. I should be at practice on sunday but I've got to scabbed up knees that are still healing, ouch!DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-5454244392001692682007-01-23T11:40:00.000-08:002007-01-23T11:41:56.038-08:00Coffee done right!Now this is what I call gettin' your <a href="http://www.greenllama.net/blog/2007/01/22/some-like-it-hot-cowgirls-espresso/">coffee grind</a> on!DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-76192676280320697522007-01-22T15:07:00.000-08:002007-01-22T15:22:09.057-08:00The Long Road BackAfter buying a nice Samsung DLP tv and the NFL Championship Sunday all raring to go I went to Likha practice. Instead of pro football in HD it was steamy studio in Oakland. No sooner than we arrived Rudi calls all the guys and it's knee-spin time. With all the new guys and the oldies we all lined up one right after the other turning to Rudi's rhythm. I knew I got the email but for some reason I just didn't think I'd make it out onto the floor but sure enough, me without my kneepads but wearing jeans I gave it a shot. Mind you the last active thing I've done is play softball back in October. Even then in softball I'm not moving around as much but here in the studio I can tell it's going to be a long day. I can tell that my body still knows the movement and I'm able to do them but I can feel a tingle in my hamstring just warning me be careful. Also after four or five turns in a row (thank God Moe had kneepads to share later on!) I was getting dizzy. It was almost like being at a picnic and playing "dizzy-izzy", the game where you spin around a bat and then try to run to a spot. Later, it was uya-oy which for the most part again, I still remember and can do. The hamstring was looking at the other hamstring wondering what the hell I thought I was doing with this old body. They held up though although they're making me pay for it today.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-54228573258488483292007-01-17T11:05:00.000-08:002007-01-17T11:34:06.936-08:00Design On A Dime (multiplied by 14990!)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXe4xTHQi6fBYoZG60KGqMcQEykIIks_943Eiw5KKwJe-tn1QfxDktAvlHS_gLPHv9eVRKupZEHAHJjwAftTJ9YYVCNbB7RROrmyn_Rs2IW0yyOph5W29dXNzA-JeNs43lsrDTKA/s1600-h/b2c_l_hls5087w.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXe4xTHQi6fBYoZG60KGqMcQEykIIks_943Eiw5KKwJe-tn1QfxDktAvlHS_gLPHv9eVRKupZEHAHJjwAftTJ9YYVCNbB7RROrmyn_Rs2IW0yyOph5W29dXNzA-JeNs43lsrDTKA/s320/b2c_l_hls5087w.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5021084615935045426" border="0" /></a><br />What better way to redesign your family room than by adding electronics! Actually, what we did, since the wife and I have been hankerin' for a new tv in our bedroom, was look for a new one. What we ended up doing was getting a new tv for the family room and bring up the Sony to the bedroom. I had been looking for a nice flat screen to put in our bedroom. Whether on eBay or at Best Buy or Fry's I couldn't commit to one tv. The one thing I did know was that I wasn't going to go plasma even though the prices have come down like crazy. I thought about going to Costco since you can buy it from them and then return it easily whenever you're tired of it. Not that you can just go there and tell them that but the return policy is a piece of cake. Anyways, a screen size that I was looking for was 42' or bigger and a price around $1000 to $1400, but when that's the range you end up with brand names that are unfamiliar like Maxent or Memorex (you get the idea). After going to the Warrior game on Monday we made our way back to Vacaville with a detour through Concord. We made our way to Fry's and looked around and when we got to the tv's the wife and I decided to take the plunge and get one. The LCD screens are amazing and although the pictures on the screens that you see aren't a true view of what you'll see at home you can tell that the HD will be awesome. Since the broadcast of the tv signal is split so many times by the different screens they have you'll see a lot of wavy lines and what not. The bigger 42' and beyond LCD screens are above $1700 so we made our way to LCD projection. Techincally, the picture is not as nice as a full LCD but it's very hard to tell the difference. We came across a Samsung 50' DLP with 1080P HD and for the price and features saw that this was the way to go. Now, 1080p broadcasts are not out there yet, only 1080i, but that's the direction it's moving so we went with that. Also, Blu-ray does have 1080p capability and if we ever get a PS3 then we got it covered. So tuesday night my buddy from the bank came over, helped me move 3 tvs around the house, hooked up the new one and Whoomp, There It Is. We watched a little of King Kong on HD and it was really impressive. I have to say it looked better than the Sony and it's still not even 1080p. I also hooked up the Sony in our bedroom also with HD and it's really nice up there. It almost covers the wall but we need a new stand. We're doing something for the Superbowl so if you're free come on by and check it out.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-1168952802857405942007-01-16T04:43:00.000-08:002007-01-16T05:06:42.896-08:00Night MovesI haven't posted much about my new position at the bank. There actually is a lot going on there but it's definitely not as exciting as the hotel. Just this past Sunday night there were two separate rooms that were having their own party. I came in at 11pm and was told that a guest was complaining about the noise next door and was going to call the cops. The girls who worked before me said that the noise wasn't that bad and that he was just overreacting. Boy were they wrong. Apparently this party got into the 20s with people hanging in the hallways and making noise there as well. The guest that called the police later spoke with me and questioned why nothing was done about them. Because I took the girls word on the situation I thought the best way to solve the issue was to get them a new room and move them away from the complaining gentleman. He later called me and asked if they were still in the hotel. He said that they should have been ejected and he was right but because I wasn't given the whole story I didn't kick them out. On the other hand the police did come and I think the party people got the hint as I had them remove their remaining guests from the hotel.<br /><br />Later, I met some people who were here because their friend had returned from Iraq. They had a gathering but not as large but they still knew how to make a lot of noise. I spoke to them three different times warning them about their noise level and they seemed to get the hint. But sure enough at 3am a gentleman called me and yelled about the noise next door. I called up to the noise maker's room and got no reply so I called the police to help me escort them out. When we went to the room we found alcohol bottles all over the place, three guys with two girls. The cops were straight with them and knew that they were drunk. One guy on the couch had a black eye and wouldn't stop making smart comments and the guy who just got back from Iraq was scared. Here he was in a room full of alcohol and the girls were underage. So as the cops try to get info they are to drunk to answer the questions properly and they are ready to be taken to jail to sober up. I was starting to feel sorry for the soldier because I could just imagine what kind of trouble he would be in but after being lied to so many times and seeing the room in the state that it was it didn't matter anymore. The officer then told them all to take a cab home and that they were just going to be removed from the hotel. They lucked out so bad.<br /><br />The other night while I was off, some guy came storming into the hotel looking for his wife who was with another man in the hotel. He went to the 2nd floor and knocked on all the doors looking for her all while it was 1 in the morning. He even called in a bomb threat to the hotel. The eventually talked and he came back and brought their kids to her. She asked to be kept in the hotel and not to be called the whole day and night. I have no idea what I would have done in that situation but I hope it would be the right thing.<br /><br />One last, apparently a gal who worked with us at the Front Desk (I've worked with her a couple times), had a problem getting here on-time for her 6am shift start. Sometimes she would just no-call no-show. She was eventually fired and we wondered what she would do considering she had an apartment to pay. I'll let you all guess what she's doing now to make that money...DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-1168255476141252202007-01-08T03:02:00.000-08:002007-01-08T03:24:36.170-08:00Back To The HotelI'm here again, late night/early morning at the hotel. We had such a long week and weekend, between work for the wife and I as well as taking care of the boys and preparing and going to the Likha retreat. I had been putting a lot of hours in at the hotel but this week I only worked on thursday night/friday morning. But that also meant going to the bank the following morning and then going to the retreat that night. I actually made it through the whole day and only fell asleep late friday night while at Bodega Bay. <br /><br />The next day was the big retreat and it was a lot of fun. First off, the place Herna got was beautiful. Sure it was scary driving out there at night and you weren't really sure if you were following the yahoo maps correctly but if you did, you made it there within the projected time. The house was huge with several bedrooms and a bonus room upstairs. If this was a house closer to the Bay Area it would top 1 million easily and it may very well have been one even in the deep part of Sonoma county. Positivity flowed throughout the day and we achieved a lot of things as well. Hopefully it translates to a good season but so many things can happen throughout the year that you just can't predict. And although the wife and I both have a lot of things we'd like to accomplish this year outside of the dance troupe we just see it as such a big part of our lives that we can't walk away so easily. <br /><br />The nice thing about the hotel is that as soon as I'm done with my end of the night duties, which is usually around 2:30-3:00am, I don't have much to do except sit here and go on the computer. I might try to take a nap but you never know when someone might show up for a late check-in. Also, other vendors like the pastries guy or the newspaper guys shows up throughout the night that you have to be ready for them. Monday morning, I was planning on going to work at the bank but unfortunately our babysitting plans fell through so I'll need to stay home with the boys. Oh well, if I can just get them to keep their rooms clean. Wish me luck.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-1167589821957474912006-12-31T10:10:00.000-08:002006-12-31T10:30:22.033-08:00Last gig of the yearThe wife and I went to Chinatown in SF last night for her old co-worker's wedding. The Chinese banquet was great with a ton of food but check this out. We were seated with several of her old co-workers in a table in the back. The only problem was that they weren't there yet. We sat at a table getting dish after dish all by ourselves. First the jellyfish, then chicken, then honey walnut prawns, then soup, then scallops, then duck, then rice, you get the idea. Thankfully, some people who were sitting in the vegetarian table who weren't vegetarian ended up joining us. <br /><br />Later on, when the dancing started, I got the dancefloor moving. Then I noticed the Serato was acting up. It would cut out the song in mid-stream and then catch up later. The whole while though, the song would go quiet. I tried not to panic and ended up trying to reboot and play regular cds for awhile. I ended up doing that for the rest of the night. I've been really loving the Serato because I'm able to pull music left and right without changing cds. I was getting a nice flow but now it was taken away from me and I had to go back to the old way (not that old, but old enough).<br /><br />The wife and I got to do a little dancing as well since it started to thin out and everyone was just chillin. We were doing our worst "Dancing With The Stars" impression. When we were packed up I ran to the garage up the street to get the car when I was joined but a couple who were guests as well. The wife looked at me and then looked surprised, realizing I was the deejay and that I was also dancing. She said you looked much bigger out there on the dancefloor. But now that I see you you're not that big. That right there made me want to hop on a treadmill and run for miles. If I could only keep that as a new year's resolution for 2007.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13775334.post-1167396118661737272006-12-29T04:18:00.000-08:002006-12-29T04:41:58.703-08:00All Over The MapI'm here again at the hotel on an early friday morning. I've been at the hotel practically every night this week, although I haven't stayed all night, just training on what I need to know and then going home for the rest of the night. Tonight though is an "all-nighter" night. Luckily, the houseman with me is cool and we've worked it so that each of us can take a nap while the other stays awake. I'm finally getting the hang of the night audit and am more confident with what my duties are and how to fulfill them. <br /><br />I'm starting to see the ugliness in some guests. Some people complain about everything. One lady who has been here all week complained four days later that her room smelled of smoke. She's on the non-smoking floor with a non-smoking room. The other day, some couple came in and started taking items from the coffee area like tea bags and sugar. She took the whole bin and was going to take it to her car. Then, she and her boyfriend began taking food from the fruit area, dropped the plate while making a big scene, and then tried to take more food. She didn't even try to clean up what she dropped. She was actually stealing from the buffet and then we ended up calling the police. They had a car with stolen plates, nice. Another night some people were smoking weed in their room and being loud. The lady who complained about the smoke complained about their noise and it turned out there were three girls partying with some guy, drinking as well. We called the cops on them but the girls left. We warned the gentleman that he'd be removed from the hotel. When he checked out his credit card was declined. I wasn't here at that time but I don't know what I'd do at that point. I'd be furious first of all but the customer service in me would get it straightened out.DJ Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862121682743123515noreply@blogger.com2