TALES FROM THE FRONT DESK

Not the actual hotel where I am employed!

Wow.  That was a busy few weeks for me.  As I had hoped, working the 3-11 hours does allow me to work with my sister on the home staging business.  It does make for some long days, though. 

Things at the hotel have been busier.  We had a group buy out the entire hotel for a few days.  They had some cocktail parties in the lobby bar and I had to play bouncer a time or two when people wandered into the hotel despite the big signs on the door saying it was closed for a private party.  One guy was an ass about it - surprisingly he is a local realtor who I recognized from his picture in all his ads...you would  think having that kind of exposure would make you behave better in public!

Then there was the woman who took one of our Easter decorations up to her room with her.  We though she might just leave it there (she was intoxicated when she came in) but she packed it up and took it with her!  She may notice the extra charge added to her room bill...

The lobby bar seems to be a popular spot for meet ups which could me nothing else but  Match.com arrangements.  The sad thing is how frequently they come in and then want to try to serve themselves from the sideboard we keep with coffee, tea and snacks for our hotel guests.  When told they will be charged for it - they usually just ask for water or have nothing.  How sad that you would arrange to meet someone but we unwilling to buy a drink to  sit over.  (We have decided that there must be some post out there that incorrectly says we offer free beverages in our lobby and these folks come in expecting it.) 

Then there is the regular who occasionally comes in with a much younger woman who spends the night with him.  She is notorious with the staff for her sticky fingers.  She has taken so much stuff (some of which has been charged to his bill) including coming into the continental breakfast repeatedly and emptying the pastries, fruit and even smoked salmon plates.  The manager finally told her that she had to stop or she would have to talk to her gentleman friend about banning her from the hotel.

The most fun for me are the wedding couples arriving in all their finery to check into their honeymoon room.  All but one couple have been amazingly young.  Sometimes they come in and change into street clothes and head out again, more frequently they arrive hungry and we order pizza for them!  All that planning for the perfect wedding meal but no time to eat it! 

No stories tonight, though.  A quiet Easter evening - and then a couple of days off. 

WORKING NIGHT AND DAY

My sister and I had a very specific business plan for our home staging business.  We were not going to invest in a lot of inventory, pay for storage and hauling of furniture - no.  By specializing in owner occupied homes we would keep our overhead low and have a niche business.  Well, that lasted for 5 jobs.  On the sixth job, when asked to stage an empty house - we said yes. 

We are not sure why we said yes; does anyone in business manage to stick with their business plan?  We decided to go for it and see what we could do with a mix of our current inventory and a few pieces which made sense to purchase and keep. 

For two weeks I have been scouring Craigslist, making calls and sending e-mails in search of some specific items we needed - like a prop TV set.  I have been through furniture warehouses and every Ross, Home Goods, Marshall's, Target, and TJ Maxx in a 30 mile radius.  We have purchased and returned and re-shopped as we altered our plan and adjusted our budget.  We had a signed contract on April 11 and had to have the house furnished and ready for market in 10 days.

Then we lugged and hauled furniture, rugs, beds,  mirrors, towels, pillows, lamps, art and bedding into the little house and set it up.  It looks pretty great if we do say so ourselves...we hope it sells quickly so we get the stuff back into our hands to use again.  We are still adding up the receipts to see if we made any money...but it has been quite an adventure to furnish a house in 10 days on a budget of about $1800.00!

More info and Before & After photos will be on my Dwell to Sell blog and website.  Still looking for a prop TV...anyone have one for sale?  Cheap?!

SUFFERING FOR THE FIRST TIME



The culprit...



For the past 5 days I have experienced something I never thought would happen to me.

Allergies.

I am suddenly beset by sneezing, sniffling, coughing, eyes watering, post nasal drip and general malaise.  I understand why they call people with allergies "sufferers."

And apparently it takes a week or so for the Claritin or whatever to make a dent in the symptoms.  I usually throw my windows open and deeply inhale the wonderful scents of my garden this time of year.  The jasmine and the wisteria are just bursting into bloom and here I am thinking of purchasing those particle filtering masks just to make it through the day!

I am taking odds on whether the allergy meds will take effect before whatever is blooming is done - one way or the other I know it will be over soon and I will be able to enjoy the Spring again.

MEMORY ISSUES RUN IN MY FAMILY...

Actual e-mail exchange between my mom and me:

From mom - dated March 22


Do any of you have the March issue of Oprah? There was an article that told what kind of hair products to use for different types of hair. I was going to try the hair spray for straight, thin hair, but I gave away the magazine and I don't remember what it was. Sigh!

From me  - dated April 7

Did you get the info from the O magazine? I have it but can’t remember from upstairs (where the magazine is) to downstairs (where the computer is) what the name of the product is!

From mom - dated  later in the day April 7 


I can remember telling you about the "Magic Eraser" by Mr. Clean but it was given to me by a friend and had nothing to do with the O magazine. Is that What you are talking about or something esle to do with O Magazine that I have completely forgotten? Sigh!

From me - dated April 12

I finally brought the magazine downstairs!

You asked about a hair spray for thin hair – it is called Ojon Thickening Spray. From Ojon.com
If you buy it, let me know if it actually works!

FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.)   We have been busy marketing our staging business and it seems to be bringing in some inquiries and new business!  Two big new jobs lined up.

2.)  I was getting a head of steam up about the Republicans  being willing to shut down the entire federal government if they couldn't shut down Planned Parenthood - sending poor and uninsured women into the world with fewer options for birth control, health care and potentially increasing the need for abortions by 2/3rds!!

Then I read that this is actually a very cynical set-up "Washington Style" allowing everyone to posture and point fingers and "look good" to their electorate when it is settled.  The Republicans actually just want more cuts and they know the Democrats will never, ever give up PP so they are using  that as their game piece.  When they withdraw it, the Dem's look good for "protecting" it and the Republicans get more cuts in return.  I am sure the new cuts will be equally abhorrent to taking funding away from women's health.  They always seem to be.

3.)  We had an actual recognisable (by me) celebrity staying in the hotel last night.  Ally about died when I told her who it was.  I am hoping the promised signed photo actually comes for her.

4.)  Everyone out there hold a good thought for my son Zac tomorrow.  He is doing his college Capstone project which involves teaching 25 or so high school kids how to build  rope bridges as they did in ancient cultures.  It is a math thing - so I certainly don't understand it.  He is supposed to have it all filmed and made into a mini-documentary.  When that happens, I will post it.  Meantime - he needs lots of good vibrations...

LAMENT OF A REAL, REAL HOUSEWIFE

 I know I spent years creating this situation by treating the housework as my job, because,well,  it was my job.  I was an actual housewife.  Not a big haired, foul mouthed, scantily clad female with loads of money and household staff.  An actual budget watching, grocery shopping, meal cooking, errands driving, laundry folding, homework helping, housework doing, kids raising, housewife for more than half of my marriage.

HOWEVER.  For the past 8 years I have worked outside the home.  Most of the kids have left the nest.  The one that is still here is 17.  The hours I work allow me a lot of time to continue my household "duties" before I go to work for 8 hours in the evening.  I usually make a dinner or have a list of easily prepared items available for heating posted in the kitchen.

And yet each night when I come home, there are dishes on the counter and sticky forks and other utensils scattered about.  Occasionally my husband washes the bowl his salad was in.  Just that one bowl.  Nothing else.  And he leaves it sitting out on the counter. 

Yesterday Ally wanted to make pancakes after I had cleaned up the kitchen, swept and mopped the floors and vacuumed the rugs.  I said it was OK if she cleaned up after herself.

When I got home last night, included in the usual dinner mess were all the breakfast dishes.  When I confronted her this morning after I had cleaned up most of the mess, she looked around and said "it's just one bowl."

This is my lament.

RANDOM ACTS OF CULTURE

I love these "flash mob" things that they call Random Acts of Culture.  This one was in the Please Touch Museum where my daughter works.


 .

SMALL KEYPAD, OLD HANDS

I sent a text to my daughter this weekend.  She  responded that I should check out this website:  whenparentstext.com. Later on while I had down time at work I checked it out and was stifling giggles and guffaws so I wouldn't draw too much attention to myself...and I wondered if she thinks my texts are as "parent like" as some as these:

April 1, 2011



What Happens In Vegas
Mom: You have been in Vegas for 24 hours now and haven’t checked in. Call me!


(5 Hours Later)


Mom: CALL ME! I just watched a show on girls that go missing on vacation! I don’t know where you are or who you’re with. You need to check in with your mother!


(1 day later)


Mom: If I was with you right now would I be happy or would I be sad?



March 31, 2011



YouTube
Mom: Where can I watch the new Lady Gaga music video?


Me: Try youtube.


Mom: Whose tube?


Me: Youtube mom, its a website.


Mom: Do I have a tube?

March 29, 2011



PF Changs
MOM: We are at pf changs and i am drunk. Do you want sausage in your lasagna?



March 26, 2011



Care Package
ME: i got the package with my charger in it today. thanks for the shoes! that was a nice surprise!


MOM: You’re welcome. Did you notice the leftover crackers we put in there?


ME: umm yeah…


MOM: Well no one here was going to eat them



March 26, 2011



A Serious Crime
MOM: I just wanted to let you know that if you ever committed a serious crime, I wouldn’t turn you in.


MOM: But I would really encourage you to turn yourself over to the police.


(15 minutes Later )


Mom: tonight I’m making tex-mex!

March 25, 2011



When Grandparents Text:

Grandma: Hey honey!


Me: uh hi g-ma.


Grandma: What’s ‘G-ma’?



March 25, 2011



First and Last
Mom: Hi Honey, this is my first text ever! It has taken me over 10 minutes to type so I think I’ll just stick to calling. Love, Mom

I could go on and on adding to these examples. There are just so many, may I say, LOL funny ones on this site.  Check it out when you need a good laugh!  So I am not sure if my daughter was suggesting that my texts might make it into print someday...but I will have fun monitoring for them!