Home Invasions Scare me so much... For some reason it just seems so much more of and invasion of space and privacy when it is your home, vs. your car or a mugging on the street. Most people like myself feel home is my safe space from every day life. It is where you go to relax,entertain and mellow out. When someone comes in that is not welcome it is such a violation of your space, mind and heart.
I remember reading , "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote in 1979, and it never occured to me it was a "Home Invasion" But that is exactly what it was, not just a murder of the Clutter family, these two men penetrated the Clutter's lovely home and life. That was November. 15, 1959.
It is now 2008, and it seems home invasions are becoming more and more frequent and deadly.
Jan. 14, 2007- Greensboro, NC
June 2007- Bradenton, Florida ( elderly man)
July 23, 2007- Cheshire, CT - The Petit family ( 3 dead, wife and two daughters)in a lovely neighborhood, and to find out they were stalked first.
October 24, 2007- Minnosota
Nov. 26, 2007 - Miami, FL Sean Taylor (football star) Murdered in his home.
March 31, 2008- Bristol, CT Mary Ellen Walsh murdered during a home invasion at her friends house, and her friend in Critical condition- They were just having coffee and talking.
April 29, 2008_- Groton, CT a 94 year old man beaten to death by a thug.
May 22, 2008 - Pittston, ME ( Father 48 years old and Daughter 10) In critical condition William G. Guerette Jr. and his daughter Nicole.
May 26, 2008- Philadephia elderly woman
Case after Case. CT Congressman Murphy wants a new law about Home Invasion, will that help or have we become a society who just needs to bare arms as the Constitution says, because the scum buckets of the world are out there and think they deserve what you have, without working for it.
Why is this not all over the news?
Friday, May 30, 2008
This article from the New London Day caught my attention, due to I have kept a diary since I was 12 years old, I am now 43 and still have a journal/diary. I have kept all my diaries and admit, I have always thought it would be wonderful to turn them into a book. After reading this article, I know it would be so much harder than I imagine and my life seems somewhat boring compared to this wonderful woman.
Diaries are personal yes, but they also can see you through daily lifes ups/downs and downright strangeness. It is fun to look back and see who you were at that time, and how you have changed or not changed...
'A reporter never knows where a good story will turn up.
Lily Koppel unearthed one in a rather unlikely spot: a Dumpster. The then-22-year-old writer saw one filled with about 50 steamer trunks outside her apartment building on New York's Upper West Side in 2003.
”I'm not the kind of girl who usually Dumpster dives,” she says, but she couldn't resist this collection of things, culled from a dusty basement that the building owners were cleaning out. The trunks were covered with stickers announcing the places they had been: Paris, Monaco. Koppel describes them as treasure chests, and, in a way, they were.
”To me, this just looked like an absolute message in a bottle,” Koppel says in a phone interview. “I had the notion that each box was going to contain many more stories than I would ever be able to tell.”
It turned out to be one story in particular. Among the Bergdorf coats and flapper dresses was a diary written by someone named Florence Wolfson, when she was a teenager from 1929 to 1934 in New York City.
”It was like my story and Florence's crossed,” Koppel says. “Although we were two young women separated by 57 years, I felt so drawn to her, her search for love and meaning in her life. ... (The diary) was like the
best novel I had ever read. But it was all true.”
Koppel had moved from Chicago to New York City, where she was working as a metro and celebrity reporter at The New York Times. She wanted her life to be like “Breakfast at Tiffany's.”
She saw a semblance of that kind of life in Wolfson's diary. Wolfson wrote every day about her life: going to the El Morocco nightclub, meeting friends for tea at Schrafft's, starting a literary salon in her parents' apartment. She travelled, by herself at age 21, to Europe, where a member of the British Parliament took her to tea. She wrote in the diary about losing her virginity and about her romantic relationships with men and women.
Koppel says that Wolfson, who was a writer and a painter, created diary entries that were each “like a little piece of poetry.”
Through a private investigator, Koppel tracked down Wolfson.
”It was a surprise, to say the least” when Koppel contacted her about the diary, Wolfson says in a phone interview. Reading the entries, she recalls thinking, “Is that me? Was that me? Things change, but I kind of enjoyed it as I read it over because I had a lot of wonderful experiences in those days that are not available really now because New York isn't what it was. It was a town you could roam in. You could skate in Central Park. Nobody molested you.”
Koppel ended up writing an article and then a book about the diary and her experience meeting Wolfson. She will speak about her book, “The Red Leather Diary,” Monday at Waterford Community Center.
Wolfson, who divides her time between Westport and Florida, won't be there - “I am 92, almost 93. There's a limit to how much I can gadabout.”
The diary does contain some very personal information about her early life, but Wolfson says, “I did not really blush. I kind of admired my willingness to pursue what I wanted. ... I'm far removed in reality, but mentally I certainly empathized with what I used to be.
”I know it's a little off the mainstream, but (there was) nothing that I feel was anything but wonderful experiences. I had no negative thoughts, and neither do my daughter or granddaughters.”
When Koppel came calling, Wolfson says her life was rather dull. Koppel recalls Wolfson's saying to her, “How did I end up living this ordinary life?”
Wolfson wed - her husband died in 2007, after 67 years of marriage - and settled down, raising two daughters. She wanted the normalcy of family life and to be financially secure, Koppel says.
Now, though, she is gaining some fame and plenty of attention, even appearing with Koppel on the “Today” show.
Wolfson says, “This is the kind of thing my younger self would have said, 'OK, go ahead and do it.' “
Who: Author Lily Koppel
When: 7-9 p.m. Monday
Where: Waterford Public Library, 49 Rope Ferry Road, Waterford
Admission: Free
Call: 444-5805
'Dear Diary ...'A tossed-out journal sends author on an adventure of a lifetime
Diaries are personal yes, but they also can see you through daily lifes ups/downs and downright strangeness. It is fun to look back and see who you were at that time, and how you have changed or not changed...
'A reporter never knows where a good story will turn up.
Lily Koppel unearthed one in a rather unlikely spot: a Dumpster. The then-22-year-old writer saw one filled with about 50 steamer trunks outside her apartment building on New York's Upper West Side in 2003.
”I'm not the kind of girl who usually Dumpster dives,” she says, but she couldn't resist this collection of things, culled from a dusty basement that the building owners were cleaning out. The trunks were covered with stickers announcing the places they had been: Paris, Monaco. Koppel describes them as treasure chests, and, in a way, they were.
”To me, this just looked like an absolute message in a bottle,” Koppel says in a phone interview. “I had the notion that each box was going to contain many more stories than I would ever be able to tell.”
It turned out to be one story in particular. Among the Bergdorf coats and flapper dresses was a diary written by someone named Florence Wolfson, when she was a teenager from 1929 to 1934 in New York City.
”It was like my story and Florence's crossed,” Koppel says. “Although we were two young women separated by 57 years, I felt so drawn to her, her search for love and meaning in her life. ... (The diary) was like the
best novel I had ever read. But it was all true.”
Koppel had moved from Chicago to New York City, where she was working as a metro and celebrity reporter at The New York Times. She wanted her life to be like “Breakfast at Tiffany's.”
She saw a semblance of that kind of life in Wolfson's diary. Wolfson wrote every day about her life: going to the El Morocco nightclub, meeting friends for tea at Schrafft's, starting a literary salon in her parents' apartment. She travelled, by herself at age 21, to Europe, where a member of the British Parliament took her to tea. She wrote in the diary about losing her virginity and about her romantic relationships with men and women.
Koppel says that Wolfson, who was a writer and a painter, created diary entries that were each “like a little piece of poetry.”
Through a private investigator, Koppel tracked down Wolfson.
”It was a surprise, to say the least” when Koppel contacted her about the diary, Wolfson says in a phone interview. Reading the entries, she recalls thinking, “Is that me? Was that me? Things change, but I kind of enjoyed it as I read it over because I had a lot of wonderful experiences in those days that are not available really now because New York isn't what it was. It was a town you could roam in. You could skate in Central Park. Nobody molested you.”
Koppel ended up writing an article and then a book about the diary and her experience meeting Wolfson. She will speak about her book, “The Red Leather Diary,” Monday at Waterford Community Center.
Wolfson, who divides her time between Westport and Florida, won't be there - “I am 92, almost 93. There's a limit to how much I can gadabout.”
The diary does contain some very personal information about her early life, but Wolfson says, “I did not really blush. I kind of admired my willingness to pursue what I wanted. ... I'm far removed in reality, but mentally I certainly empathized with what I used to be.
”I know it's a little off the mainstream, but (there was) nothing that I feel was anything but wonderful experiences. I had no negative thoughts, and neither do my daughter or granddaughters.”
When Koppel came calling, Wolfson says her life was rather dull. Koppel recalls Wolfson's saying to her, “How did I end up living this ordinary life?”
Wolfson wed - her husband died in 2007, after 67 years of marriage - and settled down, raising two daughters. She wanted the normalcy of family life and to be financially secure, Koppel says.
Now, though, she is gaining some fame and plenty of attention, even appearing with Koppel on the “Today” show.
Wolfson says, “This is the kind of thing my younger self would have said, 'OK, go ahead and do it.' “
Who: Author Lily Koppel
When: 7-9 p.m. Monday
Where: Waterford Public Library, 49 Rope Ferry Road, Waterford
Admission: Free
Call: 444-5805
'Dear Diary ...'A tossed-out journal sends author on an adventure of a lifetime
Thursday, May 29, 2008
I do not usually get political, but I was wondering why no matter what Obama does, the media does not harp on his inaccuracies as they do for every other candidate.
on May 9, 2008: He stated he thought he had gone to all "57 states" , hello what world are you in? I thought the US had only 50 states?
May 27, 2008: Less than 24 hours after Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama mentioned how his uncle helped liberate the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War Two, Republicans were all over him — since it was the Soviets rather than the Americans who freed the camp.
The Obama camp owned up to the mistake, saying the Illinois senator meant to refer to Buchenwald, not Auschwitz.
The move by Obama to try to bring up military service came after likely Republican presidential rival John McCain blasted Obama for his lack of military service as the two candidates sparred over legislation to increase education benefits for veterans. Obama supports the measure and McCain does not.
Let's not forget his spiritualleader James Meeks:
Described in a 2004 Chicago Sun Times article as someone Barack Obama regularly seeks out for “spiritual counsel”, James Meeks, who will serve as an Obama delegate at the 2008 Democratic convention in Denver, is a long-time political ally to the democratic frontrunner.
When Obama ran for the U.S. Senate in 2003, he frequently campaigned at Salem Baptist Church while Rev. Meeks appeared in television ads supporting the Illinois senator’s campaign…
Since that time, not only has Meeks himself served on Obama’s exploratory committee for the presidency and been listed on the Obama’s campaign website as one of the senator’s ‘influential black supporters’, but his church choir was called on to raise their voices in praise at a rally the night Obama announced his run for the White House back in 2007.
Interestingly, the Chicago Sun Times has also reported that both Meeks and Obama share a history of substantial campaign contributions from indicted real estate magnate Tony Rezko.
“We don’t have slave masters. We got mayors. But they still the same white people who are presiding over systems where black people are not able, or to be educated.”
“You got some preachers that are house niggers. You got some elected officials that are house niggers. And rather than them trying to break this up, they gonna fight you to protect this white man.”
This man appeared in Obama campaign commercials. He served on Obama campaign committees. Obama campaigned at his church. Obama sought him out for “spiritual counsel” and political support.
Is Obama going to tell us, again, that he had all this interaction with Meeks but didn’t know the man was a bigoted, race-baiting homophobe? Is the media going to give Obama another pass for associating, closely and repeatedly, with a cretin like this?
How many hateful “crazy uncles” have to come out of Obama’s closet before we can say that there’s a reason why Obama sought these people out? And that reason is he agrees with them?
WHy is this not all over the MEDIA????
on May 9, 2008: He stated he thought he had gone to all "57 states" , hello what world are you in? I thought the US had only 50 states?
May 27, 2008: Less than 24 hours after Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama mentioned how his uncle helped liberate the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War Two, Republicans were all over him — since it was the Soviets rather than the Americans who freed the camp.
The Obama camp owned up to the mistake, saying the Illinois senator meant to refer to Buchenwald, not Auschwitz.
The move by Obama to try to bring up military service came after likely Republican presidential rival John McCain blasted Obama for his lack of military service as the two candidates sparred over legislation to increase education benefits for veterans. Obama supports the measure and McCain does not.
Let's not forget his spiritualleader James Meeks:
Described in a 2004 Chicago Sun Times article as someone Barack Obama regularly seeks out for “spiritual counsel”, James Meeks, who will serve as an Obama delegate at the 2008 Democratic convention in Denver, is a long-time political ally to the democratic frontrunner.
When Obama ran for the U.S. Senate in 2003, he frequently campaigned at Salem Baptist Church while Rev. Meeks appeared in television ads supporting the Illinois senator’s campaign…
Since that time, not only has Meeks himself served on Obama’s exploratory committee for the presidency and been listed on the Obama’s campaign website as one of the senator’s ‘influential black supporters’, but his church choir was called on to raise their voices in praise at a rally the night Obama announced his run for the White House back in 2007.
Interestingly, the Chicago Sun Times has also reported that both Meeks and Obama share a history of substantial campaign contributions from indicted real estate magnate Tony Rezko.
“We don’t have slave masters. We got mayors. But they still the same white people who are presiding over systems where black people are not able, or to be educated.”
“You got some preachers that are house niggers. You got some elected officials that are house niggers. And rather than them trying to break this up, they gonna fight you to protect this white man.”
This man appeared in Obama campaign commercials. He served on Obama campaign committees. Obama campaigned at his church. Obama sought him out for “spiritual counsel” and political support.
Is Obama going to tell us, again, that he had all this interaction with Meeks but didn’t know the man was a bigoted, race-baiting homophobe? Is the media going to give Obama another pass for associating, closely and repeatedly, with a cretin like this?
How many hateful “crazy uncles” have to come out of Obama’s closet before we can say that there’s a reason why Obama sought these people out? And that reason is he agrees with them?
WHy is this not all over the MEDIA????
Norwich - Juan Torres was the kind of student who just didn't show up. He didn't do his homework. He started things and never finished them.
Then, he said, he woke up.
The thing about failing classes and not showing up for school, said Torres, is it means going to school even longer.
”You don't want to be here another year,” Torres said. “When you're in high school, you don't want to be here anyway. But the thing a lot of people don't seem to understand is, you're not going to graduate if you don't come.”
Next month, Torres, 18, will graduate as president of his class at Thames River Academy in Norwich. He's college-bound to Three Rivers Community College and hopes one day to be a graphic designer.
Staff at the approximately 75-student regional alternative high school - which caters to students facing emotional problems, poverty and other life struggles - said it is students like Torres who keep them going.
”My hope is that he just takes it and runs with it,” said teacher Nancy Watrous.
Torres grew up in Holyoke, Mass., and came to Norwich in seventh grade. At Norwich Free Academy, Torres said, he didn't feel like he fit into the larger school environment. He had trouble concentrating and was having difficulties at home, he said.
When he came to Thames River Academy his sophomore year, Watrous said, Torres didn't come to school and didn't do his work. His brother also had gone through the school but dropped out before graduation, Watrous said.
Torres said that same year his mother, Rosa Powell, and his stepfather, sat him down and told him that he couldn't succeed at the rate he was going.
At the same time, Watrous said, Torres' older brother had started taking adult education classes.
”I think he saw his brother struggling and said, 'I don't want to go there,' “ Watrous said.
Torres said he did a 180-degree turn. He'd always imagined himself going to college, and he still wanted to fulfill that dream. He dropped the friends he hung around with, who weren't going to school or doing their work, and made completely new friends, he said, other “gamers” like him, who enjoy using computers and Anime.
”It was a really big change,” Torres said. “... That used to be 'cool' not to do my work.”
Torres said the smaller classes at Thames River Academy helped.
”If you have problems, you talk to teachers for assistance,” he said. “They don't want kids to fail.”
Every student at the school needs to complete 100 hours of community service in order to graduate. Several days a week, Torres walks one and a half blocks to Greeneville Elementary School, where he assists teachers at special classes like gym and art.
”They call him 'One,' like O-n-e,” Watrous said of the kindergartners.
Greeneville School physical education teacher Melissa Moore put Torres in the middle of the gymnasium and lined the kindergartners up at four colored cones. One pint-sized youngster in a Superman T-shirt squealed as he ran from one cone to the other, with Torres shuffling toward him - one step for every one of his four - arms outstretched like a monster.
Greeneville kindergarten teacher Kendra Turo said some volunteers just like to run errands for the teachers but don't really enjoy interacting with the kids. But Torres, she said, is wonderful with the children.
Laura Wraight, social worker at Thames River Academy, said someday Torres would be great working with youngsters or teenagers dealing with the same kinds of problems as those at Thames River Academy.
In Watrous' social issues class of just five students, including Torres, they discuss race, poverty and other issues that often affect the students personally.
”If somebody doesn't show up. He's usually the one saying, 'Where have you been? You have to come to school,” Watrous said.
j.wernau@theday.com
Then, he said, he woke up.
The thing about failing classes and not showing up for school, said Torres, is it means going to school even longer.
”You don't want to be here another year,” Torres said. “When you're in high school, you don't want to be here anyway. But the thing a lot of people don't seem to understand is, you're not going to graduate if you don't come.”
Next month, Torres, 18, will graduate as president of his class at Thames River Academy in Norwich. He's college-bound to Three Rivers Community College and hopes one day to be a graphic designer.
Staff at the approximately 75-student regional alternative high school - which caters to students facing emotional problems, poverty and other life struggles - said it is students like Torres who keep them going.
”My hope is that he just takes it and runs with it,” said teacher Nancy Watrous.
Torres grew up in Holyoke, Mass., and came to Norwich in seventh grade. At Norwich Free Academy, Torres said, he didn't feel like he fit into the larger school environment. He had trouble concentrating and was having difficulties at home, he said.
When he came to Thames River Academy his sophomore year, Watrous said, Torres didn't come to school and didn't do his work. His brother also had gone through the school but dropped out before graduation, Watrous said.
Torres said that same year his mother, Rosa Powell, and his stepfather, sat him down and told him that he couldn't succeed at the rate he was going.
At the same time, Watrous said, Torres' older brother had started taking adult education classes.
”I think he saw his brother struggling and said, 'I don't want to go there,' “ Watrous said.
Torres said he did a 180-degree turn. He'd always imagined himself going to college, and he still wanted to fulfill that dream. He dropped the friends he hung around with, who weren't going to school or doing their work, and made completely new friends, he said, other “gamers” like him, who enjoy using computers and Anime.
”It was a really big change,” Torres said. “... That used to be 'cool' not to do my work.”
Torres said the smaller classes at Thames River Academy helped.
”If you have problems, you talk to teachers for assistance,” he said. “They don't want kids to fail.”
Every student at the school needs to complete 100 hours of community service in order to graduate. Several days a week, Torres walks one and a half blocks to Greeneville Elementary School, where he assists teachers at special classes like gym and art.
”They call him 'One,' like O-n-e,” Watrous said of the kindergartners.
Greeneville School physical education teacher Melissa Moore put Torres in the middle of the gymnasium and lined the kindergartners up at four colored cones. One pint-sized youngster in a Superman T-shirt squealed as he ran from one cone to the other, with Torres shuffling toward him - one step for every one of his four - arms outstretched like a monster.
Greeneville kindergarten teacher Kendra Turo said some volunteers just like to run errands for the teachers but don't really enjoy interacting with the kids. But Torres, she said, is wonderful with the children.
Laura Wraight, social worker at Thames River Academy, said someday Torres would be great working with youngsters or teenagers dealing with the same kinds of problems as those at Thames River Academy.
In Watrous' social issues class of just five students, including Torres, they discuss race, poverty and other issues that often affect the students personally.
”If somebody doesn't show up. He's usually the one saying, 'Where have you been? You have to come to school,” Watrous said.
j.wernau@theday.com
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Good Afternoon readers. This weekend was quite stressful for me. My family arrived on Saturday at the resort, and even though I was at work, they kept coming into my office for things. I really do not mind, even though it sounds like I am complaining, it is just so nerve racking for me. I always feel I am inferior to my sisters and their lives, and this was the 1st time they have ever come to the hotel I work at, and everyone came.
My oldest sister is the center, she has a great marriage, 2 wonderful kids 20 and 18 and a good job selling mortgages, so she can pick her schedule. Her husband and she have been married for 21 years. I still can remember their wedding, I was in my 2nd year of college, and from the beginning you could see the love they have for each other, and what they want their lives to be for themselves. Lynne has so many friends, and even though she loves our family, her friends are more family for her, and then we are or ever will be. She moved away from Norwich, CT her first year of college and never came home again.
My other sister Gwynne, her and Lynne are 1 year apart, and have always been close, which has always made me jealous. Gwynne is divorces and has two children a 13 year old girl, who is going through the lovely signs of puberty, and then a 10 year old boy who is so smart it is scary sometimes. He has his own monologue and rules inside his head, and they might not agree with anyone else’s rules. He took a golf cart for a ride by himself, and when I questioned him and tried not to yell, he said, “The keys were in it.” That was his explanation, it was embarrassing when my bosses had to come up to me and tell me what my nephew did. He really is a loving kid, he just needs rules and chores and he is happy.
At the picnic on Sunday, my husband gave him a chore and it kept him busy all afternoon, my nephew loves little kids, he played with his cousins 2 and 4 years of age most of the afternoon. My brother felt left out; because my sisters did not include him in anything they were doing on Sunday morning. I felt so bad for him, we of course invited him over but he wanted to go to the beach.
My lips have blown up, it is so disgusting, when I get stressed my body reacts by having my lips have big a** sores on them to make them even more attractive. This has happened to me so many times over the years, but it is mainly when I am with family that brings them out lately.
Even planning and helping with weddings does not stress me out like my family. I know it is because I feel as if I am 12 years old, and my older sisters will not let me participate in their lives, and the fact I am 30lbs overweight and they are so thin and beautiful and I am the fat sister.
Sunday night, after it was just my sisters and my older niece, at the fire pit those 2 hours was the best of the whole day. We had music on, and were dancing and laughing. Lynne made a comment in our family none of us take ourselves too seriously, we laugh at ourselves, why not? In our family, someone will call you out on it, so why not start it yourself?
How was your Memorial Day weekend?
My oldest sister is the center, she has a great marriage, 2 wonderful kids 20 and 18 and a good job selling mortgages, so she can pick her schedule. Her husband and she have been married for 21 years. I still can remember their wedding, I was in my 2nd year of college, and from the beginning you could see the love they have for each other, and what they want their lives to be for themselves. Lynne has so many friends, and even though she loves our family, her friends are more family for her, and then we are or ever will be. She moved away from Norwich, CT her first year of college and never came home again.
My other sister Gwynne, her and Lynne are 1 year apart, and have always been close, which has always made me jealous. Gwynne is divorces and has two children a 13 year old girl, who is going through the lovely signs of puberty, and then a 10 year old boy who is so smart it is scary sometimes. He has his own monologue and rules inside his head, and they might not agree with anyone else’s rules. He took a golf cart for a ride by himself, and when I questioned him and tried not to yell, he said, “The keys were in it.” That was his explanation, it was embarrassing when my bosses had to come up to me and tell me what my nephew did. He really is a loving kid, he just needs rules and chores and he is happy.
At the picnic on Sunday, my husband gave him a chore and it kept him busy all afternoon, my nephew loves little kids, he played with his cousins 2 and 4 years of age most of the afternoon. My brother felt left out; because my sisters did not include him in anything they were doing on Sunday morning. I felt so bad for him, we of course invited him over but he wanted to go to the beach.
My lips have blown up, it is so disgusting, when I get stressed my body reacts by having my lips have big a** sores on them to make them even more attractive. This has happened to me so many times over the years, but it is mainly when I am with family that brings them out lately.
Even planning and helping with weddings does not stress me out like my family. I know it is because I feel as if I am 12 years old, and my older sisters will not let me participate in their lives, and the fact I am 30lbs overweight and they are so thin and beautiful and I am the fat sister.
Sunday night, after it was just my sisters and my older niece, at the fire pit those 2 hours was the best of the whole day. We had music on, and were dancing and laughing. Lynne made a comment in our family none of us take ourselves too seriously, we laugh at ourselves, why not? In our family, someone will call you out on it, so why not start it yourself?
How was your Memorial Day weekend?
Saturday, May 24, 2008
My family has arrived at the Resort today.. I have gotten alittle work done, but now they seem to be on my case about everything. Not happy, upgraded only 1 family and not the other. Drives me insane. Then asking questions as if they have never stayed at a hotel again.
My associates have been wonderful, but it is driving me insane. I did let my boss know I was planning on leaving at 4pm today,part of me thinks he was not happy and the other part knows he understands why it is important to me. My last appointment was at 11am this morning and my phone has not rung all day.
This is the first time, my whole family has descended on a property I work at, even my wedding was only 1 night for my guests and that was a snowy day in March. I am completely stressed out, I am happy they are here, but part of me wants to tell them to please be respectful of me and my time until I am off the clock.
I saw my boss and told him I was stressed out because of my family, he seemed to laugh at me. I hope he knows, my family is the only one that gets me stressed out, not anyone else. Maybe he can see, why I can handle brides and their families by looking at my crazy butt family.
Will let you know how this weekend pans out...
My associates have been wonderful, but it is driving me insane. I did let my boss know I was planning on leaving at 4pm today,part of me thinks he was not happy and the other part knows he understands why it is important to me. My last appointment was at 11am this morning and my phone has not rung all day.
This is the first time, my whole family has descended on a property I work at, even my wedding was only 1 night for my guests and that was a snowy day in March. I am completely stressed out, I am happy they are here, but part of me wants to tell them to please be respectful of me and my time until I am off the clock.
I saw my boss and told him I was stressed out because of my family, he seemed to laugh at me. I hope he knows, my family is the only one that gets me stressed out, not anyone else. Maybe he can see, why I can handle brides and their families by looking at my crazy butt family.
Will let you know how this weekend pans out...
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Do you ever feel disconnected? I admit I stress out when I can not please a client, and feel as if my clients think I am not thinking of them. I am working for a client now, and do understand their frustration with not being able to give them a answer right away.
It is hard to give them a answer when the people I need to talk to are out for two days, which they should be, I admit when I am home, if my phone rings from work, I stress out even before I answer it to find out what is wrong. Everyone deserves their time off from work, and clients have to know this is true.
My one issue with my new property is there is no SOP’s, which are Standard Operating Procedures in place for Sales. What we can sell, what are the black out dates, what are maximums are for guest rooms. I know it is all about revenue we are a business, but if I am getting different people telling me to book, then when I do giving my clients are hard time, it makes me look like I lied to them and I never do that, I am very honest, sometimes too honest and the clients get a bit scared.
Prime example, when I ask people during their wedding if there is a problem whom do I talk to? I do not mean that something is going to go wrong, I just want an in case number and person. It can be as simple as we are running a few minutes late, how do you want to handle it to make up the time? Or as elaborate as your Uncle so and so is drunk, and we are shutting him off, want you to be aware. I am being proactive so the day of your wedding we are not running to the bride and groom, I want you to enjoy your day.
Sometimes it is obvious on whom that person is, while other times it is not so obvious. I get angry with work, but not at one person, it is just the business, but my biggest anger factor is I hate to look like an idiot and even as a sales person, I think the client has every right to know everything up front so they can make an informed decision on if they want to book here or not.
I tell every bride, you will like and dislike something from every property, no place is perfect, it is what can you live with and what can’t you live with. Guest rooms seems to be the biggest concern for brides and no matter how many times you explain to them, your guests are adults they will make their own arrangements, you do not have to be so specific, they want to 2nd guess myself and their own friends and family.
When I got married I blocked 7 rooms and let me guest call and make their own arrangements and some upgraded and it didn’t matter, it worked out for the hotel and the wedding, why stress myself on the rooms, I have other things to worry about then where are my guests staying? As long, as there are enough rooms on property or near it, they are adults and can take care of it themselves and if they do not read my save the date information on when they have to book by that is their own fault.
Brides are stressed enough, why add to it?
It is hard to give them a answer when the people I need to talk to are out for two days, which they should be, I admit when I am home, if my phone rings from work, I stress out even before I answer it to find out what is wrong. Everyone deserves their time off from work, and clients have to know this is true.
My one issue with my new property is there is no SOP’s, which are Standard Operating Procedures in place for Sales. What we can sell, what are the black out dates, what are maximums are for guest rooms. I know it is all about revenue we are a business, but if I am getting different people telling me to book, then when I do giving my clients are hard time, it makes me look like I lied to them and I never do that, I am very honest, sometimes too honest and the clients get a bit scared.
Prime example, when I ask people during their wedding if there is a problem whom do I talk to? I do not mean that something is going to go wrong, I just want an in case number and person. It can be as simple as we are running a few minutes late, how do you want to handle it to make up the time? Or as elaborate as your Uncle so and so is drunk, and we are shutting him off, want you to be aware. I am being proactive so the day of your wedding we are not running to the bride and groom, I want you to enjoy your day.
Sometimes it is obvious on whom that person is, while other times it is not so obvious. I get angry with work, but not at one person, it is just the business, but my biggest anger factor is I hate to look like an idiot and even as a sales person, I think the client has every right to know everything up front so they can make an informed decision on if they want to book here or not.
I tell every bride, you will like and dislike something from every property, no place is perfect, it is what can you live with and what can’t you live with. Guest rooms seems to be the biggest concern for brides and no matter how many times you explain to them, your guests are adults they will make their own arrangements, you do not have to be so specific, they want to 2nd guess myself and their own friends and family.
When I got married I blocked 7 rooms and let me guest call and make their own arrangements and some upgraded and it didn’t matter, it worked out for the hotel and the wedding, why stress myself on the rooms, I have other things to worry about then where are my guests staying? As long, as there are enough rooms on property or near it, they are adults and can take care of it themselves and if they do not read my save the date information on when they have to book by that is their own fault.
Brides are stressed enough, why add to it?
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
I am getting so excited to see my family this weekend. On Sunday, we went to 4 different stores to get all the necessary equipment and food for this weekends picnic. I never realized how much stuff you need to make a successful event.
Our lawn was mowed yesterday and it is raining today, suppose to be a beautiful weekend. Today, is a bit sad for me, so I am trying to think of the positive. My friend Thomas who passed away in August, would be 39 years old today. It is kind of creepy that he always said he would not make it to 40.
In our house, at the bottom of our stairs in the living room, we have a table behind the couch with pictures of family and friends. Yesterday, while getting ready for work, a picture jumped and fell down twice, I did not think much of it, until I realized it was a picture of Thomas and I. I did tell him if he is haunting me, I know it is his birthday and still very much missing him.
For his 30th birthday, I had taken him to Savannah, GA for the weekend, we had so much fun, starting with getting on the plane, Thomas hates heights and hates to fly, so I did give him some drinks to calm him down. Even the Flight attendant slipped us a few bottles of vodka to keep him under control. We had just both read, "Garden of Good and Evil" and loved it, so we enjoyed our time there. I had not been back until last St. Patricks Day.
I miss Thomas so much every day, but today is harder than usual for me. My poor husband has been very supportive and understanding of my mood swings. I talked to my brother today and he mentioned that his wife is bad this week because it would be her mom's birthday and she passed away in November. She did not tell Jon about this, so he admits he has not been very supportive, I am very honest with my husband and tell him what is bothering me, so he can be prepared and not be shocked.
Yesterday, I told him about my bad day at work, but before I started, I told him I did not want his advise, I wanted him to listen. Men like to solve problems, and when I need him to solve it or help I will let him know, but if I just want to vent,I tell him up front it helps our communications. I admit it is new to me looking at my past relationships where I thought the man should know what I am thinking.
Anyway, Thomas you are still in my thoughts...
Our lawn was mowed yesterday and it is raining today, suppose to be a beautiful weekend. Today, is a bit sad for me, so I am trying to think of the positive. My friend Thomas who passed away in August, would be 39 years old today. It is kind of creepy that he always said he would not make it to 40.
In our house, at the bottom of our stairs in the living room, we have a table behind the couch with pictures of family and friends. Yesterday, while getting ready for work, a picture jumped and fell down twice, I did not think much of it, until I realized it was a picture of Thomas and I. I did tell him if he is haunting me, I know it is his birthday and still very much missing him.
For his 30th birthday, I had taken him to Savannah, GA for the weekend, we had so much fun, starting with getting on the plane, Thomas hates heights and hates to fly, so I did give him some drinks to calm him down. Even the Flight attendant slipped us a few bottles of vodka to keep him under control. We had just both read, "Garden of Good and Evil" and loved it, so we enjoyed our time there. I had not been back until last St. Patricks Day.
I miss Thomas so much every day, but today is harder than usual for me. My poor husband has been very supportive and understanding of my mood swings. I talked to my brother today and he mentioned that his wife is bad this week because it would be her mom's birthday and she passed away in November. She did not tell Jon about this, so he admits he has not been very supportive, I am very honest with my husband and tell him what is bothering me, so he can be prepared and not be shocked.
Yesterday, I told him about my bad day at work, but before I started, I told him I did not want his advise, I wanted him to listen. Men like to solve problems, and when I need him to solve it or help I will let him know, but if I just want to vent,I tell him up front it helps our communications. I admit it is new to me looking at my past relationships where I thought the man should know what I am thinking.
Anyway, Thomas you are still in my thoughts...
Friday, May 16, 2008
I am so excited for next weekend, my family is coming up to Maine, my sister and brother and their families, my mom & her husband. My Aunt and Uncle, I am happy beyond belief.
You may ask why? Well, for my career, I plan other people’s weddings and family reunions but my husband and I have always lived in small apartments or in North Carolina, so besides our first Thanksgiving as husband and wife where his family came and my mom and her husband came down to Charlotte, NC, we have never entertained my family.
My sisters for years have switched off and hosted Christmas Eve, and my Aunt and Uncle a summer picnic around July 4th, and of course, growing up, my mom has always entertained family and friends.
This year, my work had put out a family and friend rate for May, so I informed my family to come up and take advantage of it, and then on Sunday we will have everyone over to our house ( 5 minutes away) and have a picnic for everyone, we went out last weekend and bought picnic items, because I have to be color coordinated and matching, priced out a grill which we will most likely pick up this weekend. We bought croquet and boco ball, we are ready.
The house we rent has a huge yard, so it is perfect for a picnic, and we are so close to Popham Beach, I told my family if it is a beautiful day we can push back the start time for everyone to hang out at the beach and then come over afterwards for a cook out. I have set up our wicker furniture and firepit, and am getting ready for the big day.
My family is very important to me, I never realized it until we moved to North Carolina and I feel I have missed so much during those two years, even though it was a good time to really work on our relationship without my family getting really involved because my family does, and I am no exception, if someone has an issue in the family, my husband likes to make fun because it is like a phone tree, you hear from one and then we are on the phone with the others discussing and trying to figure out a way to help the other one.
I admit, I am excited to show them the property where I work and for them to experience it as a customer and give me feedback. I have been in hotels for 15 years, and to be honest besides my wedding my family has never really been to a property I have worked at, and this one is so special so I can not wait until next weekend.
How are you planning to spend Memorial Day? What is your family like?
You may ask why? Well, for my career, I plan other people’s weddings and family reunions but my husband and I have always lived in small apartments or in North Carolina, so besides our first Thanksgiving as husband and wife where his family came and my mom and her husband came down to Charlotte, NC, we have never entertained my family.
My sisters for years have switched off and hosted Christmas Eve, and my Aunt and Uncle a summer picnic around July 4th, and of course, growing up, my mom has always entertained family and friends.
This year, my work had put out a family and friend rate for May, so I informed my family to come up and take advantage of it, and then on Sunday we will have everyone over to our house ( 5 minutes away) and have a picnic for everyone, we went out last weekend and bought picnic items, because I have to be color coordinated and matching, priced out a grill which we will most likely pick up this weekend. We bought croquet and boco ball, we are ready.
The house we rent has a huge yard, so it is perfect for a picnic, and we are so close to Popham Beach, I told my family if it is a beautiful day we can push back the start time for everyone to hang out at the beach and then come over afterwards for a cook out. I have set up our wicker furniture and firepit, and am getting ready for the big day.
My family is very important to me, I never realized it until we moved to North Carolina and I feel I have missed so much during those two years, even though it was a good time to really work on our relationship without my family getting really involved because my family does, and I am no exception, if someone has an issue in the family, my husband likes to make fun because it is like a phone tree, you hear from one and then we are on the phone with the others discussing and trying to figure out a way to help the other one.
I admit, I am excited to show them the property where I work and for them to experience it as a customer and give me feedback. I have been in hotels for 15 years, and to be honest besides my wedding my family has never really been to a property I have worked at, and this one is so special so I can not wait until next weekend.
How are you planning to spend Memorial Day? What is your family like?
I am so excited for next weekend, my family is coming up to Maine, my sister and brother and their families, my mom & her husband. My Aunt and Uncle, I am happy beyond belief.
You may ask why? Well, for my career, I plan other people’s weddings and family reunions but my husband and I have always lived in small apartments or in North Carolina, so besides our first Thanksgiving as husband and wife where his family came and my mom and her husband came down to Charlotte, NC, we have never entertained my family.
My sisters for years have switched off and hosted Christmas Eve, and my Aunt and Uncle a summer picnic around July 4th, and of course, growing up, my mom has always entertained family and friends.
This year, my work had put out a family and friend rate for May, so I informed my family to come up and take advantage of it, and then on Sunday we will have everyone over to our house ( 5 minutes away) and have a picnic for everyone, we went out last weekend and bought picnic items, because I have to be color coordinated and matching, priced out a grill which we will most likely pick up this weekend. We bought croquet and boco ball, we are ready.
The house we rent has a huge yard, so it is perfect for a picnic, and we are so close to Popham Beach, I told my family if it is a beautiful day we can push back the start time for everyone to hang out at the beach and then come over afterwards for a cook out. I have set up our wicker furniture and firepit, and am getting ready for the big day.
My family is very important to me, I never realized it until we moved to North Carolina and I feel I have missed so much during those two years, even though it was a good time to really work on our relationship without my family getting really involved because my family does, and I am no exception, if someone has an issue in the family, my husband likes to make fun because it is like a phone tree, you hear from one and then we are on the phone with the others discussing and trying to figure out a way to help the other one.
I admit, I am excited to show them the property where I work and for them to experience it as a customer and give me feedback. I have been in hotels for 15 years, and to be honest besides my wedding my family has never really been to a property I have worked at, and this one is so special so I can not wait until next weekend.
How are you planning to spend Memorial Day? What is your family like?
You may ask why? Well, for my career, I plan other people’s weddings and family reunions but my husband and I have always lived in small apartments or in North Carolina, so besides our first Thanksgiving as husband and wife where his family came and my mom and her husband came down to Charlotte, NC, we have never entertained my family.
My sisters for years have switched off and hosted Christmas Eve, and my Aunt and Uncle a summer picnic around July 4th, and of course, growing up, my mom has always entertained family and friends.
This year, my work had put out a family and friend rate for May, so I informed my family to come up and take advantage of it, and then on Sunday we will have everyone over to our house ( 5 minutes away) and have a picnic for everyone, we went out last weekend and bought picnic items, because I have to be color coordinated and matching, priced out a grill which we will most likely pick up this weekend. We bought croquet and boco ball, we are ready.
The house we rent has a huge yard, so it is perfect for a picnic, and we are so close to Popham Beach, I told my family if it is a beautiful day we can push back the start time for everyone to hang out at the beach and then come over afterwards for a cook out. I have set up our wicker furniture and firepit, and am getting ready for the big day.
My family is very important to me, I never realized it until we moved to North Carolina and I feel I have missed so much during those two years, even though it was a good time to really work on our relationship without my family getting really involved because my family does, and I am no exception, if someone has an issue in the family, my husband likes to make fun because it is like a phone tree, you hear from one and then we are on the phone with the others discussing and trying to figure out a way to help the other one.
I admit, I am excited to show them the property where I work and for them to experience it as a customer and give me feedback. I have been in hotels for 15 years, and to be honest besides my wedding my family has never really been to a property I have worked at, and this one is so special so I can not wait until next weekend.
How are you planning to spend Memorial Day? What is your family like?
I am so excited for next weekend, my family is coming up to Maine, my sister and brother and their families, my mom & her husband. My Aunt and Uncle, I am happy beyond belief.
You may ask why? Well, for my career, I plan other people’s weddings and family reunions but my husband and I have always lived in small apartments or in North Carolina, so besides our first Thanksgiving as husband and wife where his family came and my mom and her husband came down to Charlotte, NC, we have never entertained my family.
My sisters for years have switched off and hosted Christmas Eve, and my Aunt and Uncle a summer picnic around July 4th, and of course, growing up, my mom has always entertained family and friends.
This year, my work had put out a family and friend rate for May, so I informed my family to come up and take advantage of it, and then on Sunday we will have everyone over to our house ( 5 minutes away) and have a picnic for everyone, we went out last weekend and bought picnic items, because I have to be color coordinated and matching, priced out a grill which we will most likely pick up this weekend. We bought croquet and boco ball, we are ready.
The house we rent has a huge yard, so it is perfect for a picnic, and we are so close to Popham Beach, I told my family if it is a beautiful day we can push back the start time for everyone to hang out at the beach and then come over afterwards for a cook out. I have set up our wicker furniture and firepit, and am getting ready for the big day.
My family is very important to me, I never realized it until we moved to North Carolina and I feel I have missed so much during those two years, even though it was a good time to really work on our relationship without my family getting really involved because my family does, and I am no exception, if someone has an issue in the family, my husband likes to make fun because it is like a phone tree, you hear from one and then we are on the phone with the others discussing and trying to figure out a way to help the other one.
I admit, I am excited to show them the property where I work and for them to experience it as a customer and give me feedback. I have been in hotels for 15 years, and to be honest besides my wedding my family has never really been to a property I have worked at, and this one is so special so I can not wait until next weekend.
How are you planning to spend Memorial Day? What is your family like?
You may ask why? Well, for my career, I plan other people’s weddings and family reunions but my husband and I have always lived in small apartments or in North Carolina, so besides our first Thanksgiving as husband and wife where his family came and my mom and her husband came down to Charlotte, NC, we have never entertained my family.
My sisters for years have switched off and hosted Christmas Eve, and my Aunt and Uncle a summer picnic around July 4th, and of course, growing up, my mom has always entertained family and friends.
This year, my work had put out a family and friend rate for May, so I informed my family to come up and take advantage of it, and then on Sunday we will have everyone over to our house ( 5 minutes away) and have a picnic for everyone, we went out last weekend and bought picnic items, because I have to be color coordinated and matching, priced out a grill which we will most likely pick up this weekend. We bought croquet and boco ball, we are ready.
The house we rent has a huge yard, so it is perfect for a picnic, and we are so close to Popham Beach, I told my family if it is a beautiful day we can push back the start time for everyone to hang out at the beach and then come over afterwards for a cook out. I have set up our wicker furniture and firepit, and am getting ready for the big day.
My family is very important to me, I never realized it until we moved to North Carolina and I feel I have missed so much during those two years, even though it was a good time to really work on our relationship without my family getting really involved because my family does, and I am no exception, if someone has an issue in the family, my husband likes to make fun because it is like a phone tree, you hear from one and then we are on the phone with the others discussing and trying to figure out a way to help the other one.
I admit, I am excited to show them the property where I work and for them to experience it as a customer and give me feedback. I have been in hotels for 15 years, and to be honest besides my wedding my family has never really been to a property I have worked at, and this one is so special so I can not wait until next weekend.
How are you planning to spend Memorial Day? What is your family like?
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
This is from the New London Day, what do you think? It is definately and interesting ruling, and it might make a few people think.
"Sarah E. Turner would like to get married, but the justice system has put her and her fiance asunder.
The 25-year-old New London woman is under court order to have no contact with William D. Sinclair, and the probation department has been working hard to ensure the two are staying apart.
Turner and Sinclair were arrested on drug charges after police raided their apartment on Lincoln Avenue in New London last year and seized a scale and a package of crack cocaine.
Both pleaded guilty to possession of narcotics, a felony. Both were given suspended prison sentences and three years of probation after completing drug rehabilitation programs.
When Judge Susan B. Handy sentenced Turner in October 2007, she referenced Turner's 4-year-old son before imposing the conditions of her probation.
”I would assume you want him to have nothing to do with drugs or people that use drugs or sell drugs?” the judge asked.“Correct,” Turner responded.
”So if I do a no-contact order with them, that's not going to be a problem?” the judge continued.“No,” Turner responded.
The judge ordered Turner to have no contact with Sinclair or any other known drug-users.
Turner said she had no idea the order would include Sinclair and sought to have it modified. She said she and Sinclair went through rehab together and are both clean, and that Sinclair has been like a father to her son.
Turner hired attorney Brian J. Woolf, who has petitioned the court to modify the no-contact order. While the motion was pending, Turner was charged with violating probation when the probation department received information that she and Sinclair were in contact. In February, Handy told Turner she would continue to monitor her for a couple of months before considering the motion.
On Tuesday, Handy denied the motion after Turner's probation officers informed the judge that Sinclair was seen walking toward Turner's car at a school he attends.
When a probation officer confronted her, Turner said she was there to pick up somebody else. Turner said she was not aware that she was under surveillance by the probation department, but insists she was doing nothing wrong.
”I spoke to Sarah,” said Woolf, her attorney.“She's trying hard. She swore there was no pre-arrangement to have contact.”
The judge said the violation-of-probation case is to continue. She said she was also disturbed by the fact that Turner has been in therapy for two years and“Mr. Sinclair's name has yet to come up.”
”When I made the order, I made it because I felt it was in Ms. Turner's and society's best interest that there be no contact,” Handy said.
Woolf said he is checking to see if there is another avenue for appeal.
“It's a constitutional right,” he said,“to marry and associate with whom you want.”
"Sarah E. Turner would like to get married, but the justice system has put her and her fiance asunder.
The 25-year-old New London woman is under court order to have no contact with William D. Sinclair, and the probation department has been working hard to ensure the two are staying apart.
Turner and Sinclair were arrested on drug charges after police raided their apartment on Lincoln Avenue in New London last year and seized a scale and a package of crack cocaine.
Both pleaded guilty to possession of narcotics, a felony. Both were given suspended prison sentences and three years of probation after completing drug rehabilitation programs.
When Judge Susan B. Handy sentenced Turner in October 2007, she referenced Turner's 4-year-old son before imposing the conditions of her probation.
”I would assume you want him to have nothing to do with drugs or people that use drugs or sell drugs?” the judge asked.“Correct,” Turner responded.
”So if I do a no-contact order with them, that's not going to be a problem?” the judge continued.“No,” Turner responded.
The judge ordered Turner to have no contact with Sinclair or any other known drug-users.
Turner said she had no idea the order would include Sinclair and sought to have it modified. She said she and Sinclair went through rehab together and are both clean, and that Sinclair has been like a father to her son.
Turner hired attorney Brian J. Woolf, who has petitioned the court to modify the no-contact order. While the motion was pending, Turner was charged with violating probation when the probation department received information that she and Sinclair were in contact. In February, Handy told Turner she would continue to monitor her for a couple of months before considering the motion.
On Tuesday, Handy denied the motion after Turner's probation officers informed the judge that Sinclair was seen walking toward Turner's car at a school he attends.
When a probation officer confronted her, Turner said she was there to pick up somebody else. Turner said she was not aware that she was under surveillance by the probation department, but insists she was doing nothing wrong.
”I spoke to Sarah,” said Woolf, her attorney.“She's trying hard. She swore there was no pre-arrangement to have contact.”
The judge said the violation-of-probation case is to continue. She said she was also disturbed by the fact that Turner has been in therapy for two years and“Mr. Sinclair's name has yet to come up.”
”When I made the order, I made it because I felt it was in Ms. Turner's and society's best interest that there be no contact,” Handy said.
Woolf said he is checking to see if there is another avenue for appeal.
“It's a constitutional right,” he said,“to marry and associate with whom you want.”
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
I know it has been awhile since I have written, been busy with work and around our house. On Sunday, May 25, 2008 my husband and I are hosting our first family function at our house. Since, we had moved to North Carolina when we got married, we only had about 10 people for our 1st Thanksgiving and that was it for functions.
This is a Picnic, with my family coming up from CT and staying at the Resort, I am so excited. I am now getting a bit nervous, our Banquet Manager has decided not to stay throughout the whole season, so we are on the look out again, we will be fine for at least 2 months we have enough people on property who can step in, but it is a bit frustrating. They are looking at my husband for the position, now I love him to death but our styles are so different for functions it will definitely be a test of our relationship if he does take the position if offered.
When he came in today, I showed him my BEO for our first Wedding, to make sure if he takes the position it is what he wants to see. He can be very critical when it comes to my work, when we got married, he critiqued my BEO and was not impressed. Of course, he will bring up again and again about the darn HOSPITALITY SUITE, GET OVER IT HONEY!!! He has a long memory when it comes to people slighting him, or upsetting him so I know whenever I bring up our wedding the one of his points was the HOSPITALITY SUITE and I did not follow through enough for him. It will be an interesting season with us kind of working together.
This is a Picnic, with my family coming up from CT and staying at the Resort, I am so excited. I am now getting a bit nervous, our Banquet Manager has decided not to stay throughout the whole season, so we are on the look out again, we will be fine for at least 2 months we have enough people on property who can step in, but it is a bit frustrating. They are looking at my husband for the position, now I love him to death but our styles are so different for functions it will definitely be a test of our relationship if he does take the position if offered.
When he came in today, I showed him my BEO for our first Wedding, to make sure if he takes the position it is what he wants to see. He can be very critical when it comes to my work, when we got married, he critiqued my BEO and was not impressed. Of course, he will bring up again and again about the darn HOSPITALITY SUITE, GET OVER IT HONEY!!! He has a long memory when it comes to people slighting him, or upsetting him so I know whenever I bring up our wedding the one of his points was the HOSPITALITY SUITE and I did not follow through enough for him. It will be an interesting season with us kind of working together.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Living on a Penisula:
On Sunday, I was leaving my house in the rain to go to Brunswick, to shop at TJMAXX, my husband was in Chicago and I did not want to stay in the house all alone, all day long.Especially since the power went out at 10am and I had no idea when it would be back on. On 209, we had to detour up and around through the backroads of Phippisburg. No one had power, I found out that some little car hit a telephone pole and it was across the road, which was why there was a detour, luckily there is one, since it is a penisula so even though it is 12 miles, it takes at least 30 minutes, with the twist, turns and the speed limit going up and down.
I remember being in a car in 1997, with a drunk man who hit a telephone pole it cost him $900.00 for the pole, so I wonder how much they are now,do you still have to pay for it I wonder.
I shopped and got chinese and then came home around 1pm, and no power until 4pm, which was not so bad except due to the rain it was a little dark and dreary to read and such. On Monday, I met up with my mom and we had a girlie day, pedicure and manicure, shopping at Target and then lunch it was so much fun. I will see my mom again this Sunday, for lunch/brunch with our spouses, I love hanging out with my mom she really is my best friend. I am looking forward to the family coming up to Maine over Memorial day weekend, we are having a picnic at our house, and they are all staying at the Resort. They have not all seen it, or if they have not when it is open, so I am looking forward to showing it to them.
The resort opened this weekend and it was a success. The clients loved it and want to already re-book for next year, YEAH!!! A TV show the Chronicle came up from Boston, this week and we will be featured, so look out for it.
On Sunday, I was leaving my house in the rain to go to Brunswick, to shop at TJMAXX, my husband was in Chicago and I did not want to stay in the house all alone, all day long.Especially since the power went out at 10am and I had no idea when it would be back on. On 209, we had to detour up and around through the backroads of Phippisburg. No one had power, I found out that some little car hit a telephone pole and it was across the road, which was why there was a detour, luckily there is one, since it is a penisula so even though it is 12 miles, it takes at least 30 minutes, with the twist, turns and the speed limit going up and down.
I remember being in a car in 1997, with a drunk man who hit a telephone pole it cost him $900.00 for the pole, so I wonder how much they are now,do you still have to pay for it I wonder.
I shopped and got chinese and then came home around 1pm, and no power until 4pm, which was not so bad except due to the rain it was a little dark and dreary to read and such. On Monday, I met up with my mom and we had a girlie day, pedicure and manicure, shopping at Target and then lunch it was so much fun. I will see my mom again this Sunday, for lunch/brunch with our spouses, I love hanging out with my mom she really is my best friend. I am looking forward to the family coming up to Maine over Memorial day weekend, we are having a picnic at our house, and they are all staying at the Resort. They have not all seen it, or if they have not when it is open, so I am looking forward to showing it to them.
The resort opened this weekend and it was a success. The clients loved it and want to already re-book for next year, YEAH!!! A TV show the Chronicle came up from Boston, this week and we will be featured, so look out for it.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
It is now the third day of being on my own here in Maine. Luckily, I worked on Thursday, Friday and today, but it is hard being at home alone. I have been eating Chicken and Pasta every night, mostly because it is all I know how to cook. The resort opened for our first group of the season on Friday and then on Monday, open to the public.
It is wonderful to come to work and see all these people around, golf carts zooming around, everyone in the lobby it is so exciting to me. I had two site visits today for weddings, neither was the bride it was parents of the bride, due to the bride is out of state right now. For me, it is harder sometimes to deal with the parents, because yes they want everything for their little girl, but also because to them it is an expense.
I talked to my husband and the SOBC conference is going wonderful, he is networking and learning how to improve his blog. He is so excited, part of me is jealous while the other part of me, knows if I was there, I would not be having as much fun, because yes, I love to post on my blog, but is not for a business it is just to get my own thoughts out into the world and a lot of times it is just my own ranting and ravings.
Lately, I have been watching the news on the huge fires taking place in CA, the one in my hometown of Norwich, a huge apartment fire that displaced 150 people. I wonder if they had rental insurance, fire protection, when you lose everything how do you start over? We have all heard about Feng Shei and purging of material things, everything should be scaled back, does this count? Do you really have a choice? Would those boxes in my basement that I have not unpacked, how bad would it effect me if they were suddenly gone? If I didn’t have the option anymore?
My biggest fear is fire, always has been. When I was a bartender and at the end of my shift, I would empty all the ashtrays ( yes, at the time people could smoke inside),and then dumb water in the garbage can to make sure nothing was lit. I would triple check everything in the kitchen to make sure every flame is out and nothing I could of done, could cause a fire. I have never been in a fire, and no place I have ever worked has gone up in flames.
Even today, I always double and triple check before I leave anyplace. Yesterday, I was going to leave my dryer on while I came to work, but I ended up turning the car around, because I read somewhere never leave a dryer working when you leave the house. I have been burned by a cigarette or match at one time or another in my life and that was painful, so if it was a full-blown fire how much pain would it cause?
I think, or believe I can handle anything life deals me, but I am not so sure when it comes to fire, what is your biggest fear?
It is wonderful to come to work and see all these people around, golf carts zooming around, everyone in the lobby it is so exciting to me. I had two site visits today for weddings, neither was the bride it was parents of the bride, due to the bride is out of state right now. For me, it is harder sometimes to deal with the parents, because yes they want everything for their little girl, but also because to them it is an expense.
I talked to my husband and the SOBC conference is going wonderful, he is networking and learning how to improve his blog. He is so excited, part of me is jealous while the other part of me, knows if I was there, I would not be having as much fun, because yes, I love to post on my blog, but is not for a business it is just to get my own thoughts out into the world and a lot of times it is just my own ranting and ravings.
Lately, I have been watching the news on the huge fires taking place in CA, the one in my hometown of Norwich, a huge apartment fire that displaced 150 people. I wonder if they had rental insurance, fire protection, when you lose everything how do you start over? We have all heard about Feng Shei and purging of material things, everything should be scaled back, does this count? Do you really have a choice? Would those boxes in my basement that I have not unpacked, how bad would it effect me if they were suddenly gone? If I didn’t have the option anymore?
My biggest fear is fire, always has been. When I was a bartender and at the end of my shift, I would empty all the ashtrays ( yes, at the time people could smoke inside),and then dumb water in the garbage can to make sure nothing was lit. I would triple check everything in the kitchen to make sure every flame is out and nothing I could of done, could cause a fire. I have never been in a fire, and no place I have ever worked has gone up in flames.
Even today, I always double and triple check before I leave anyplace. Yesterday, I was going to leave my dryer on while I came to work, but I ended up turning the car around, because I read somewhere never leave a dryer working when you leave the house. I have been burned by a cigarette or match at one time or another in my life and that was painful, so if it was a full-blown fire how much pain would it cause?
I think, or believe I can handle anything life deals me, but I am not so sure when it comes to fire, what is your biggest fear?
Friday, May 02, 2008
From the New London day, another great restaurant in Mystic, well worth the trip...
"Seafood supreme at Go Fish in Mystic
By David Collins
We had a hankering for fish one recent Sunday afternoon, one of those spectacular early spring days when the sun is warm and the air is still cool and it seems like you almost might be able to watch the leaves unfurl from the tree limbs.
Still, with a cool wind rising off the water, we weren't quite ready for an outdoor picnic table at a clam shack. We settled instead on the idea of Go Fish, the seafood yin to the Steak Loft yang at Olde Mystick Village. We were not the only ones, apparently, to have the same idea.
We got there early for dinner, so early the dark lighting was a shock, coming in from the bright April evening light. We were surprised, once our eyes adjusted, to see such a big place already so busy so early in the evening. And by the time we left there were the makings of a small wait for a table.
We were planning to work from the interesting tasting plates menu, small dishes of appetizer portions, the sushi bar and the raw bar, so we decided on Go Fish's most casual venue, the bar. This, like the grand lounge space at the Steak Loft, is sprawling. It's so big there are two levels, and a service bar in the pit looks like it could take care of a thirsty, war-worn army.
We had good fortune in a bartender that kept her cool, and kept pace with our rounds of food orders with a remarkable calm, given that it was the start of her second shift of the day and one of the other bartenders was out. The manager was pitching in, though, and the entire wait staff was slugging it out like professionals.
All around us - in tables around the bar, on into the busy dining room, and even further away, in the separate sushi bar - it looked like a happy crowd. It was a good night out for seafood.
We started with a plate of littlenecks, $1.25 each, served ice cold, with some horseradish, cocktail sauce and an array of plain crackers. They were perfect. We followed them up with a selection of oysters, including a few from Watch Hill, $2.10 each, big and plump and sweet, then some from Wellfleet, Mass., salty and also meaty, good, and some from Noank, $2, which we found a bit small and bland in comparison.
While perusing the menu again, poised for another round, we nibbled on the warm house bread that came with a nice crock of dip, white bean and roasted tomato.
We made a segue from the raw bar to the rest of the menu by way of sushi, namely the sansei roll, which was recommended by our bartender. This was a good-sized, fresh-tasting roll, $8.50, featuring spicy crab and drizzled with a sweet Thai chili sauce. It sufficiently satisfied our sushi itch, leaving us free to order the mussels with grilled sausage, $9.
This was a big order, and the plump mussels, cooked in a chunky and sweet marinara, were mixed in with big slices of spicy sausage. We liked the sauce, and we thought we recognized it again later, atop the crusty garlic bread on which our three plump scallops, served nicely browned from the grill, were staged. This was a favorite of the visit.
One of our least successful tastings was a lobster salad roll, $15, which was uninspired, served in an ordinary brioche roll, a little bland tasting and not especially meaty. Did some wise man once say that the first lobster roll of the season is never the best?
We had eyes for more from the tasting menu, like the clam and sausage roast, $11, tempura shrimp with guacamole and salsa, $11, or peppered tuna ciabatta with smoky onion relish and garlic mayonnaise, $11.50. But after so many rounds, our appetites were failing.
The tasting menu does have some choices for those who don't want seafood. There's grilled pizza, and a chicken Caesar wrap, but I have to assume that those people really should have corralled their party to Steak Loft, or split up.
The main entrees section of the menu is also, naturally, weighted toward seafood, with selections like baked sea scallops, $24, lobster ravioli, $28, or baked cod. There is steak, chicken and prime rib, though.
We did find room to try dessert, a smooth sweet and almost sour key lime tart, on a moist graham cracker crust, drizzled with a mango coulis.
It was still almost as bright outside when we emerged, swimming against the traffic from the parking lot, people headed in for their own spring seafood delight.
"Seafood supreme at Go Fish in Mystic
By David Collins
We had a hankering for fish one recent Sunday afternoon, one of those spectacular early spring days when the sun is warm and the air is still cool and it seems like you almost might be able to watch the leaves unfurl from the tree limbs.
Still, with a cool wind rising off the water, we weren't quite ready for an outdoor picnic table at a clam shack. We settled instead on the idea of Go Fish, the seafood yin to the Steak Loft yang at Olde Mystick Village. We were not the only ones, apparently, to have the same idea.
We got there early for dinner, so early the dark lighting was a shock, coming in from the bright April evening light. We were surprised, once our eyes adjusted, to see such a big place already so busy so early in the evening. And by the time we left there were the makings of a small wait for a table.
We were planning to work from the interesting tasting plates menu, small dishes of appetizer portions, the sushi bar and the raw bar, so we decided on Go Fish's most casual venue, the bar. This, like the grand lounge space at the Steak Loft, is sprawling. It's so big there are two levels, and a service bar in the pit looks like it could take care of a thirsty, war-worn army.
We had good fortune in a bartender that kept her cool, and kept pace with our rounds of food orders with a remarkable calm, given that it was the start of her second shift of the day and one of the other bartenders was out. The manager was pitching in, though, and the entire wait staff was slugging it out like professionals.
All around us - in tables around the bar, on into the busy dining room, and even further away, in the separate sushi bar - it looked like a happy crowd. It was a good night out for seafood.
We started with a plate of littlenecks, $1.25 each, served ice cold, with some horseradish, cocktail sauce and an array of plain crackers. They were perfect. We followed them up with a selection of oysters, including a few from Watch Hill, $2.10 each, big and plump and sweet, then some from Wellfleet, Mass., salty and also meaty, good, and some from Noank, $2, which we found a bit small and bland in comparison.
While perusing the menu again, poised for another round, we nibbled on the warm house bread that came with a nice crock of dip, white bean and roasted tomato.
We made a segue from the raw bar to the rest of the menu by way of sushi, namely the sansei roll, which was recommended by our bartender. This was a good-sized, fresh-tasting roll, $8.50, featuring spicy crab and drizzled with a sweet Thai chili sauce. It sufficiently satisfied our sushi itch, leaving us free to order the mussels with grilled sausage, $9.
This was a big order, and the plump mussels, cooked in a chunky and sweet marinara, were mixed in with big slices of spicy sausage. We liked the sauce, and we thought we recognized it again later, atop the crusty garlic bread on which our three plump scallops, served nicely browned from the grill, were staged. This was a favorite of the visit.
One of our least successful tastings was a lobster salad roll, $15, which was uninspired, served in an ordinary brioche roll, a little bland tasting and not especially meaty. Did some wise man once say that the first lobster roll of the season is never the best?
We had eyes for more from the tasting menu, like the clam and sausage roast, $11, tempura shrimp with guacamole and salsa, $11, or peppered tuna ciabatta with smoky onion relish and garlic mayonnaise, $11.50. But after so many rounds, our appetites were failing.
The tasting menu does have some choices for those who don't want seafood. There's grilled pizza, and a chicken Caesar wrap, but I have to assume that those people really should have corralled their party to Steak Loft, or split up.
The main entrees section of the menu is also, naturally, weighted toward seafood, with selections like baked sea scallops, $24, lobster ravioli, $28, or baked cod. There is steak, chicken and prime rib, though.
We did find room to try dessert, a smooth sweet and almost sour key lime tart, on a moist graham cracker crust, drizzled with a mango coulis.
It was still almost as bright outside when we emerged, swimming against the traffic from the parking lot, people headed in for their own spring seafood delight.
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