So Yesterday was rough for me. I had work ('nuff said) and then I had to run over to my OTHER job before I ran back to the appartment, got a bottle of wine, then ran down to Garrison to see a (great) play at Boscobel. (Shakespeare, Naturally.) THEN Of course, after that, hope that I made it hope in enough time to have enough energy to hang out for a bit before I was required by my biological clock to crash and burn until this morning.
Well, the break between that day of here and there was of course, the running home bit. So, I did so, and when I pull in, I realize that there's a whole lot of garbage outside. Interesting. And in OUR garbage can as well. Double interesting. And as I get out of my car, my Love approaches, grinning fiendishly. He finishes up a conversation on the phone and then gives me a hug, then starts to lead me upstairs, saying, "You're going to hate me, I know you're going to hate me."
I get suspiscious, of course, at first. But then I go with it. And when i turn the corner to see our living space - I see that the man had cleaned everything. Threw out all the trash, reorganized the bookshelves (In our bizarre way of 'reorganizing') and cleared the floor od all debris!
My Love got much praise. And then I left and then I came back and was locked out of the appartment because my love is forgetful and fancies himself a catburglar. (It's fun to puzzle it out, ladies and gents.)
Our key last night consisted of a crowbar, a garden spade and a cutco mini-carver.
In any case, My love has taken upon himself to fix and/or replace the lock for us this morning before work!
Pros:
He will NEVER forget his keys again. Ever.
Our door closes and opens without getting stuck now. I think it had something to do with the levering process via crowbar.
I like shiny things
Best Love Ever.
Oru
Friday, July 2, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Be My Guest
Bear With me, Ladies and Jelly-spoons. Give this a once over and lemme know what you think.
Potted plants, richly colored furnishings, high ceilings and lots of sunlight catch the eye first. It is pleasantly cool, and the lobby is almost as bright as the smiling face behind the front desk, greeting guests with a warm, “Hello! How can I help you?”
Behind the smile is full time student, nineteen year old Mary Walker. She wears the professional black and white, and not a hair is out of place. I discover that she is a Visual Arts major at Dutchess Community College and she is presently undecided in what she wants to do with her life.
“So the hotel is sort of a waypoint between where you are now, and what you want to do?” I ask, curious.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that. I needed a job, so I applied to all of the hotels in the area, and the Hilton hired me!” She responds, smiling still. “It’s kind of laid back, and I like sometime, when people are nice to you, knowing that you helped someone out. That you made a difference. Know what I mean?”
Mary helps a guest, directing them confidently up to the Wal-Mart, which is literally two parking-lots and a side street away. The Hilton Garden Inn receives a great deal of out-of-towners, brought into the area by an assortment of occasions. They have already had 9 wedding parties in the house since May began, and on a separate occasion, they hosted an entire tour-bus of Virginian Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“What do you find most challenging, then?” I ask her next.
Without hesitation, Mary answers, “trying to answer the phone that’s ringing before 3 times, having someone on hold AND checking a million people in at once.” She laughs, and as if on queue, the phone rings, and her signature answer: “Thanks for calling the Hilton Garden Inn, this is Mary how may I help you?”
As laid back as Mary tells me it is, there must also be stress involved. Upon further prying, I catch the Manager of Sales, Krista Borerro. She too, is continuing with her education, aiming for her Bachelor’s Degree in English and Literature. And despite her title and the eight years she has spent in the hotel business, she is only a springy 25 years old.
“I started out at the Hampton Inn doing front desk.” Krista begins to tell me. “I worked with a core group for about six or seven years until I came here and we just really had a great time. We would follow each other from place to place.” She smiles brightly.
“Sounds fun, so what’s the challenge in your department?” I ask.
“The stress of dealing with difficult people sometimes.” Krista nods decisively. “[They] basically want something for nothing…you have to constantly make sure that they’re satisfied.” Sighing, she thinks a moment and then adds, “And sometimes the mothers’ of the Brides we get. And Bridezillas.” We both laugh.
“Do you take anything away from this job? Anything that benefits your everyday life, maybe?” I continue my questions.
“[The job] helps me deal with every day situations in dealing with the public, adapting to situations and keeping my cool. It helps me to think ahead. Helps me to be personable and responsible.” Her smile widens before she finishes, “but I also worry a lot too, hoping that everything is going smoothly around me.”
After I ask her what the Hilton Garden Inn’s most prominent traveler is, she responds with a thoughtful expression. “I know that Hilton has a lot of resort hotels, but … I think more of corporate traveler, than let’s say, your leisure or weekends in the area. They want to check in, go upstairs, eat, sleep, maybe have a drink, and then check out at the crack of dawn. But we do get very busy in the summer with weddings in the area, which can be stressful.”
I am reminded of her ‘bridezilla’ comment and I smile, thanking her for her time. And before I depart, I catch the ear of the Executive Housekeeper, Shiela Volli. She’s spent 15 years in this business, starting her career in the Hampton Inn in Newburgh.
She graces me with some time during her cigarette break, and answers between inhales and exhales. Through conversation, I pick out a number of her duties as Executive Housekeeper, and the work load is impressive. Ms. Volli must stock each cart (one per housekeeper, a total of 8 on high volume days) to make sure they have enough shampoos, soaps, and linens. After that she checks each room that was not occupied the previous night to be certain it is clean before the Front desk assigns them to near arrivals. After that is done, hopefully the housekeepers have finished cleaning a few of the rooms from this morning’s checkouts. If so, she checks each of those thoroughly as well. If anything is amiss, she explains it to the housekeeper in question and then continues.
Aside from those day to day duties, Ms. Volli is also responsible for arranging the weekly schedule, doing monthly inventory, politely reminding guests that check out is at noon. She also has rank over the houseman, a fun-kind-of-wacky man who mops and cleans the Lobby area and the halls of each floor.
“It’s stressful. It really is.” She confides in me. “Sometimes I bring it home with me, which just stresses me out at my house.” She takes another drag.
“Do you find yourself checking your own room when you go off on vacation?” I ask, genuinely wondering how influenced she is by the job.
“Oh yeah. There was one place in Vermont that was really bad. Hair on the bathroom floors, garbage behind the dressers.” Ms. Volli nods as she looks at me intently.
“Did you say anything?” I wonder.
“No. No I never say anything. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. That’s not me.” She shakes her head enthusiastically, though smiling as she takes yet another drag.
“What do you like about this job?” I ask, hoping to lift her spirits.
“The staff. We have an excellent staff. Housekeepers, maintenance, front desk, and breakfast, all of us are really great people.” She lists them on her fingers. “We all get along. Everyone gets along.”
This short interlude with the employees at the Hilton Garden Inn at Fishkill reminds me of a book I read once. I had stayed in this exact hotel sometime last year, and had asked if I could pluck it from its usual place beside the bible. It is called “Be My Guest” and was written by Conrad Hilton himself. A quote that seems to infuse this modest 111 roomed hotel is, “live with enthusiasm.”
Mary Walker, Krista Borerro and Shiela Volli all live with a verdant love of life that reflects in their acts towards each guest that walks through the door. Each one of these ladies, though without direct intent, voices the Hilton motto, “Think big…act big…dream big.” In no other place can there be found a brighter, more pleasant group of people.
Be My guest
The People of the Hilton Garden Inn at Fishkill
By Jessica Manna
June 30, 2010
The People of the Hilton Garden Inn at Fishkill
By Jessica Manna
June 30, 2010
Potted plants, richly colored furnishings, high ceilings and lots of sunlight catch the eye first. It is pleasantly cool, and the lobby is almost as bright as the smiling face behind the front desk, greeting guests with a warm, “Hello! How can I help you?”
Behind the smile is full time student, nineteen year old Mary Walker. She wears the professional black and white, and not a hair is out of place. I discover that she is a Visual Arts major at Dutchess Community College and she is presently undecided in what she wants to do with her life.
“So the hotel is sort of a waypoint between where you are now, and what you want to do?” I ask, curious.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that. I needed a job, so I applied to all of the hotels in the area, and the Hilton hired me!” She responds, smiling still. “It’s kind of laid back, and I like sometime, when people are nice to you, knowing that you helped someone out. That you made a difference. Know what I mean?”
Mary helps a guest, directing them confidently up to the Wal-Mart, which is literally two parking-lots and a side street away. The Hilton Garden Inn receives a great deal of out-of-towners, brought into the area by an assortment of occasions. They have already had 9 wedding parties in the house since May began, and on a separate occasion, they hosted an entire tour-bus of Virginian Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“What do you find most challenging, then?” I ask her next.
Without hesitation, Mary answers, “trying to answer the phone that’s ringing before 3 times, having someone on hold AND checking a million people in at once.” She laughs, and as if on queue, the phone rings, and her signature answer: “Thanks for calling the Hilton Garden Inn, this is Mary how may I help you?”
As laid back as Mary tells me it is, there must also be stress involved. Upon further prying, I catch the Manager of Sales, Krista Borerro. She too, is continuing with her education, aiming for her Bachelor’s Degree in English and Literature. And despite her title and the eight years she has spent in the hotel business, she is only a springy 25 years old.
“I started out at the Hampton Inn doing front desk.” Krista begins to tell me. “I worked with a core group for about six or seven years until I came here and we just really had a great time. We would follow each other from place to place.” She smiles brightly.
“Sounds fun, so what’s the challenge in your department?” I ask.
“The stress of dealing with difficult people sometimes.” Krista nods decisively. “[They] basically want something for nothing…you have to constantly make sure that they’re satisfied.” Sighing, she thinks a moment and then adds, “And sometimes the mothers’ of the Brides we get. And Bridezillas.” We both laugh.
“Do you take anything away from this job? Anything that benefits your everyday life, maybe?” I continue my questions.
“[The job] helps me deal with every day situations in dealing with the public, adapting to situations and keeping my cool. It helps me to think ahead. Helps me to be personable and responsible.” Her smile widens before she finishes, “but I also worry a lot too, hoping that everything is going smoothly around me.”
After I ask her what the Hilton Garden Inn’s most prominent traveler is, she responds with a thoughtful expression. “I know that Hilton has a lot of resort hotels, but … I think more of corporate traveler, than let’s say, your leisure or weekends in the area. They want to check in, go upstairs, eat, sleep, maybe have a drink, and then check out at the crack of dawn. But we do get very busy in the summer with weddings in the area, which can be stressful.”
I am reminded of her ‘bridezilla’ comment and I smile, thanking her for her time. And before I depart, I catch the ear of the Executive Housekeeper, Shiela Volli. She’s spent 15 years in this business, starting her career in the Hampton Inn in Newburgh.
She graces me with some time during her cigarette break, and answers between inhales and exhales. Through conversation, I pick out a number of her duties as Executive Housekeeper, and the work load is impressive. Ms. Volli must stock each cart (one per housekeeper, a total of 8 on high volume days) to make sure they have enough shampoos, soaps, and linens. After that she checks each room that was not occupied the previous night to be certain it is clean before the Front desk assigns them to near arrivals. After that is done, hopefully the housekeepers have finished cleaning a few of the rooms from this morning’s checkouts. If so, she checks each of those thoroughly as well. If anything is amiss, she explains it to the housekeeper in question and then continues.
Aside from those day to day duties, Ms. Volli is also responsible for arranging the weekly schedule, doing monthly inventory, politely reminding guests that check out is at noon. She also has rank over the houseman, a fun-kind-of-wacky man who mops and cleans the Lobby area and the halls of each floor.
“It’s stressful. It really is.” She confides in me. “Sometimes I bring it home with me, which just stresses me out at my house.” She takes another drag.
“Do you find yourself checking your own room when you go off on vacation?” I ask, genuinely wondering how influenced she is by the job.
“Oh yeah. There was one place in Vermont that was really bad. Hair on the bathroom floors, garbage behind the dressers.” Ms. Volli nods as she looks at me intently.
“Did you say anything?” I wonder.
“No. No I never say anything. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. That’s not me.” She shakes her head enthusiastically, though smiling as she takes yet another drag.
“What do you like about this job?” I ask, hoping to lift her spirits.
“The staff. We have an excellent staff. Housekeepers, maintenance, front desk, and breakfast, all of us are really great people.” She lists them on her fingers. “We all get along. Everyone gets along.”
This short interlude with the employees at the Hilton Garden Inn at Fishkill reminds me of a book I read once. I had stayed in this exact hotel sometime last year, and had asked if I could pluck it from its usual place beside the bible. It is called “Be My Guest” and was written by Conrad Hilton himself. A quote that seems to infuse this modest 111 roomed hotel is, “live with enthusiasm.”
Mary Walker, Krista Borerro and Shiela Volli all live with a verdant love of life that reflects in their acts towards each guest that walks through the door. Each one of these ladies, though without direct intent, voices the Hilton motto, “Think big…act big…dream big.” In no other place can there be found a brighter, more pleasant group of people.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Late Nights
The hotel is rife with that non-chalant sort of pleasantness. People coming in and out with their own brand of plastic smile. Not that the sentiment isn't received well - we like the manners well enough - but sometimes it's just a bit too fake.
It's a different face, different hair color and eye color, different body type, gender, fashion sense, shoe style, luggage brand, polo shirt, blue-tooth earpiece, touch phone and laptop - but the same smile.
The thing I hate most about it, is that on occasion I find myself doing the same thing. And in cases like that, I have to dissapear to the back room and try to think of something nice.
Most of the times, it's something like, "I'm going home in [x] hours!" or "My Love is waiting for me!" or "I can go play video games later!" Things of that nature usually spark up a real smile. But what gets me a majority of the time are those people that smile back at you for real. Those down-to-earth types that are just happy to be here, out of their houses on vaccation, or on a trip to see friends, or just get a nice room. I know I've said it before, but it does need re-iterating.
Be happy when you go to a hotel. It is contagious. And you've never had service liek that from a happy front desk person. I tell you - It will change your whole experience. And mine too.
Oru
It's a different face, different hair color and eye color, different body type, gender, fashion sense, shoe style, luggage brand, polo shirt, blue-tooth earpiece, touch phone and laptop - but the same smile.
The thing I hate most about it, is that on occasion I find myself doing the same thing. And in cases like that, I have to dissapear to the back room and try to think of something nice.
Most of the times, it's something like, "I'm going home in [x] hours!" or "My Love is waiting for me!" or "I can go play video games later!" Things of that nature usually spark up a real smile. But what gets me a majority of the time are those people that smile back at you for real. Those down-to-earth types that are just happy to be here, out of their houses on vaccation, or on a trip to see friends, or just get a nice room. I know I've said it before, but it does need re-iterating.
Be happy when you go to a hotel. It is contagious. And you've never had service liek that from a happy front desk person. I tell you - It will change your whole experience. And mine too.
Oru
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