Hi. I'm Not Dead... Yet!

I spoke to my friend Anonymous Andrew from Fairbanks, Alaska via MSN tonight:

omg its Jen! says (2:22 AM):
sup superstar
Andrew says (2:22 AM):
Geeze, blog more imo
omg its Jen! says (2:22 AM):
nothing to write about atm
well nothing worth writing about tbh
Andrew says (2:23 AM):
With the Pengs in the finals you have nothing?
omg its Jen! says (2:23 AM):
follow me on twitter lawl

So Anonymous Andrew from Fairbanks, Alaska... this one's for you!



Andrew and I used to game together but right now I can't decide if he's more the Johnny Depp wannabe elf or the Unicorn? LMK Andrew, kk? xoxo

Anyway, The truth is here (with 100% degree of certainty) that I've been so incredibly busy with work that I haven't found time to even bitch about it. I got another 3hrs of overtime today because my morning supervisor wasn't able to stay late when someone called off so I had to do it. Honestly, I don't know what's worse here: the fact that a supervisory position might not be opening up or the fact that I may not want it when it does.

I spent most of my time in Vegas wanting to get promoted. I knew I'd be an awesome manager. I still think I'd be an awesome manager but 8 years later, I'm in a different city and with a different company that has different policies. Honestly, I don't completely agree with the "culture" of my current property because my experience is based out of a place nicknamed "Sin City."

Checking photo ID is considered taboo here. I don't quite understand why. Credit card fraud isn't exactly uncommon plus I want to know I'm giving the right room to the right person. Meyer and Myer are both standard spellings for the same name. If I miss something as easy as that, a guest could wind up in a wrong reservation. I've had to clean up that mess before. Its not pretty, especially if 1 of the 2 reservations was prepaid by a company like Expedia or Hotwire.

They let pizza delivery guys up on the floors. Admittedly, this procedure has changed since I started in August but it was because I was so adamantly against it. Just because a guy walks in with a pizza box and a Milano's tshirt shouldn't give him right of way onto my property. Cafe Milano's wouldn't see me busting into their kitchen to start stealing all their ingredients but unfortunately these delivery guys don't get it so they still try and slide by my desk unnoticed. They then give me an attitude when I stop them. You know, I hate Milano's! Giovanni's guys are way more respectful.

Its ok for housekeeping to leave rooms over until the next day. Anyone that's ever worked at a hotel will probably see the problem with this right away. If you're like me and you come from a property with nearly 4000 rooms, your head might explode like mine does every time housekeeping calls me to advise of the carry-overs. On days I'm not sold out, I still need the rooms cleaned. That's not to say I don't know where housekeeping is coming from since I used do do that job but Jesus dude... I still need the rooms ready even if someone has to go home early.

Speaking of housekeeping: do NOT refer to the housekeepers as "maids." Holy fuck did I get bitched out my first week of work!! A beer is a beer regardless of the packaging you put it in. Lager, Port, Stout... it's still beer, it's just another word for it. I've cleaned up after people and have been called a maid when I was doing it--there's nothing wrong with being called a maid. Don't hate the player, hate the game: meaning if you don't like being called a maid, get another job. Otherwise, a spade's a spade.

I could go on but firing people is a new past-time for our property so I'll refrain and reiterate that I'm happy to be under new management. Our new Front Office Manager (I guess that's his title???) is going to work out great. He's super nice and knowledgeable and is catching on fast to things that work, don't work and the department in general. Woo! He also has a GREAT name. I wish I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you.

The soles of my feet are incredibly itchy. The old wives tale says that when your feet itch, it means you're ready to travel. Ordinarily, I'd say "HELL YES, TORONTO HERE I COME" but I work in a hotel. My body might just be confused. For you hecklers out there, I've already showered.

Why is golf on TV?

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals starts tomorrow at 8pm. I'm not staying later at work then absolutely necessary. I don't need to talk about how great this match up is going to be, I just want to comment on 1 thing:

The media is exploiting this angle so I can too

I hope Hossa gets creamed. I don't personally hate the guy but I just think the irony of his situation is basically outstanding. Leaving the Penguins after last season and signing with Detroit to work with a better coach and a more productive team only to meet them again in the SCF is just mind blowing. Its also got loads of Schadenfreude potential. Pens in 5.

Also, Detroit Red Wings fans are obnoxious and easy to hate. I'm sure I'll start shit talking here pretty soon but in the meantime all I got is that throwing an octopus on the ice is only something an idiot would do. Why the fuck would you lug that smelly thing around? Also, can you imagine if that thing didn't make it onto the ice on the first throw? Some unsuspecting fan in the crowd gets to take an octopus to the head mid beer-sip. What a bunch of assholes.

My bell captain at work gave me a riddle to play with earlier today. Its Einstein's Riddle:

There are no tricks, just pure logic, so good luck and don't give up.

1. In a street there are five houses, painted five different colours.
2. In each house lives a person of different nationality
3. These five homeowners each drink a different kind of beverage, smoke different brand of cigar and keep a different pet.

THE QUESTION: WHO OWNS THE FISH?

HINTS

1. The Brit lives in a red house.
2. The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
3. The Dane drinks tea.
4. The Green house is next to, and on the left of the White house.
5. The owner of the Green house drinks coffee.
6. The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.
7. The owner of the Yellow house smokes Dunhill.
8. The man living in the centre house drinks milk.
9. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
10. The man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats.
11. The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.
12. The man who smokes Blue Master drinks beer.
13. The German smokes Prince.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
15. The man who smokes Blends has a neighbour who drinks water.

ALBERT EINSTEIN WROTE THIS RIDDLE EARLY DURING THE 19th CENTURY. HE SAID THAT 98% OF THE WORLD POPULATION WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SOLVE IT.

In return, I provided him the following question:

There's only 1 word in the English language that allows usage of all 5 vowels in order and even sometimes y. What word is it?

With that, I'm going to do my hair and go to bed.

Fleury vs Freddy, What Now Pittsburgh!

I can't sleep.

Its 12:30 and I've been in bed for an hour and a half. Insomnia frustrates the hell out of me. At the very least, I can find comfort in the fact that I can pinpoint the cause of the stress that induces my bouts of insomnia.

Work.

Yep, you guessed it. That grease-spot of hate called the "Hotel" is completely at fault. Laying in bed, I find myself staring at the ceiling positively dreading the alarm clock turning over to 5am. I ask myself how much longer can I go on like this? There's no end in sight. I've been in this position before.

That's when I finally quit my cushy job at Bellagio.

Quitting that job is pretty much where this new chapter of my life started. I got fed up being miserable and decided to give myself not just a physical make-over but a life make-over too... like Cher in Clueless when she says, "this time I would make over my soul." Sometimes I look back at the chain of events that happened over the course of 1 year and I wonder where I'd be if I had just stayed at Bellagio.

Oh wait, I know the answer to that. I'd still be miserable. Gotcha!

So why am I staying at my present job? Cuz its the best hotel in the city and I'm worth working at the best hotel in the city... only they're not paying me enough while they work me too hard and don't show any appreciation whatsoever.

You could say that morale is not only in the garbage but that it was just picked up by Waste Management and toted down the street, plowing over traffic cones as it went.

I need a new perspective, I've needed one for about 6 weeks now. I was banking on my 3 days off to rejuvenate me and had high hopes that I'd be able to walk in that building tomorrow refreshed and with a better outlook. Yeah right. Not even the Pirates beating the Cubs tonight could possibly inspire me out of this bubble of despair.

Although, I will say this: Freddy Sanchez is one of the best looking athletes on any Pittsburgh sports team right now (with the possible exception of a certain goalie that I harbor a secret crush on but would never admit to in public though I'll be sporting mighty #29 tomorrow afternoon. Hizzah)!

Fleury... Freddy... Freddy... Fleury
It might be illegal for me to put them side-by-side like this but... yeah. I do what I want.

Hmm.. I might want to change that caption, it reminds me of David Letterman's Academy Awards Hosting fiasco between Uma Thurman and Oprah Winfrey. Although I do think that my Pittsburgh version is better. Its certainly better looking, I mean look at those smiles. God, what girl (or lets be real, what homosexual male) could resist? I think this might be the best entry I've ever written just because I took the time to find those 2 pictures, put them next to each other and upload them. God, winner every time! I'll have to keep this in mind for future postings!

This is the kind of trouble I get myself into now that its 10 after 1am and I have 4hrs before I need to be awake for work. Coffee is obviously going to be key for tomorrow. For now, I'm watching the FSN replay of the Pirates game and wondering what would happen if Marc-Andre Fleury ever showed up at PNC Park while Freddy Sanchez was at bat... I think my universe would explode.