I'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.
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.
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.
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.
Rest in Peace
A 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.
Glad 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.
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.
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.
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..."?
Busy Busy Busy
Ok, 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...
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...
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...
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...
Next time, the spoiled Filipina debutante...
Finally, 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.
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...
Nuthin 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.
Shout out to the Canucks
When 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.
