Beautiful weather, snow white beaches, emerald water and the best sunsets you can find on the Gulf Coast, who could complain about working under these conditions? So many people I run into find out what I do for a living and think, "She has got it made. She gets to throw parties and travel around working in different vacation spots." Now do not get me wrong I am no Debbie Downer, but this is not exactly an accurate view on my chosen career choice. Allow me to explain.
As an incentive travel company we do not just throw parties, we take the simple skeleton of what our client wants and take it 10 steps further. We offer unique entertainment, exquisite dinning experiences created specifically for the client and there is always more than one "WOW" factor hidden in each event. We come up with out of the box opportunities and we guarantee it will take the experience our client is giving to their customer to the next level.
For every event, we are on-site hours before it begins making sure every linen is cleaned, every centerpiece is up to par, every bar is stocked and every light is at the perfect level to set the atmosphere our client expects. We shake hands with every waiter, bartender and custodian because we are partners making this experience come to life.
The sand may be hot, but our feet do not get burned. The sunset may be the most beautiful sight ever seen, but we are moving food around on the buffet so it does not look picked over. The fireworks may give you goose bumps, but ours come from the cold AC in the ballroom we are setting up.
My line of work is hard work and it is pleasing to make an experience come to life for 300 people. When we travel to the beach to escort a trip, we are not spending our time boozing it up and burying our feet in the sand. We are awake at 5:30 am until midnight making sure our clients have what they need and are being taken care of. We may get to work for a week in Cancun or Disney World, but it is rare we get to walk outside of the hotel lobby doors.
So next time you ask me what I do, do not be so quick to judge. I work hard just like you do and I get frustrated and tired just like you do. I just get to do it in a hotel room on a remote beach every now and then. Not much different than you.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Fun in the Sun: Day 1
I have arrived here on the beautiful beaches of Sandestin and honestly have absolutely nothing to complain about. It is an odd feeling, one I am not very accustomed to, but I think this could work out really nice. Do not get me wrong, I still feel more comfortable when I am bickering about how nobody can do their job as well as I could, but I can change…for a week.
I had three amazing hours in the car day-dreaming I was on stage singing Sugarland one minute and Flo Rida the next. It was just what I needed to clear my head and get ready for the week ahead. I was overjoyed when I received a call from Debbie before I even got to Troy and out of cell phone service to let me know we already had changes. Yes! Needless to say I put the pedal to the metal to get out of cell phone service range and back on stage. Liz did a great job of following me and to my surprise kept up with me most of the way. I think I may have scared Kristin when we stopped to use the restroom at a filling station outside of Elba, AL. It is one of my routine stops. I cannot help it if the bugs like to camp out in there to get out of the heat. I would too.
Everyone here at the Hilton has been amazing. I may have already told about five people I love them. Matthew and I had lunch together and shared Destin gossip. It was great to get a fresh perspective on many challenges I have had from other positions. We ended the meal in agreement, we are new best friends.
Pre-con was great! Everyone was active and not counting the minutes until they could walk out the door. Normally you would not say there are things you love about pre-cons or that you had a great time at your pre-con, but when Liz is involved, they are always exciting. All you have to do is say the word “pyrotechnics” around her and she is sold. It is as if the pocket book just falls open. We heard they have a guy from Tallahassee who does fireworks for them on the beach and within the hour we had him agreed to it and a permit from Walton County to cover it. Now do you know how long it takes to get any sort of permit from Walton County? I do. Not less than an hour!! I have spent years working with Walton County on alcohol permits for various events and it takes at least a good decade. I mean there are hoops you have to jump through and then come back and do a backbend through. Not for this guy and not for Liz! I need whatever phone number they have!!
Once we had the fireworks display set and scheduled, Liz totally called me out in front of the Banquets Manager. Here is how the story goes. We were reviewing the Banquet Event Orders for the Farewell Dinner. I had created the menus and all had been approved by Liz and the client. We all agreed on Mini Crab Cakes. Being the good service provider that she is, Liz read up on all our notes from when we visited the Hilton in February. She remembered those notes mentioned no crab cakes with exclamation marks. She called this to my attention in the meeting stating, “Someone came up to me at the Feb. event and noted to not have crab cakes at the next event. They did not like them.” She kept asking me who that was and if we need to take them off. Finally I just confessed. I gave a little smile and a bashful head drop and said, “Oh. That was me.” The room started howling! You would have no way to know this, but I am quite the crab cake snob and I admitted in front of all Hilton Staff that I do not like their crab cakes. They were just too rich for me and I needed to make a note of it. I just forgot to elaborate on the note. So now, the Hilton Staff are all threatening to place crab cakes in my hotel room!
One more note before I go. If you ever plan to go to dinner with two college girls headed into their second year, do not try to dress cute, because it simply will not work. I realized tonight that I am no longer the cute one at dinner. I am simply older and my style is too. I really showed my age when I started talking about the One Size Fits All CK1 t-shirts that were the big thing when I was in middle school. They of course had no idea what I was talking about and when I explained to them the shirts were cut wide and really short to show your bellybutton, they laughed. In my face. Oh, and did I mention the waiter asked for our drink order and only offered Liz a margarita? What is it going to be, I look too old or too young? I will take too old. At least I can drink!
I had three amazing hours in the car day-dreaming I was on stage singing Sugarland one minute and Flo Rida the next. It was just what I needed to clear my head and get ready for the week ahead. I was overjoyed when I received a call from Debbie before I even got to Troy and out of cell phone service to let me know we already had changes. Yes! Needless to say I put the pedal to the metal to get out of cell phone service range and back on stage. Liz did a great job of following me and to my surprise kept up with me most of the way. I think I may have scared Kristin when we stopped to use the restroom at a filling station outside of Elba, AL. It is one of my routine stops. I cannot help it if the bugs like to camp out in there to get out of the heat. I would too.
Everyone here at the Hilton has been amazing. I may have already told about five people I love them. Matthew and I had lunch together and shared Destin gossip. It was great to get a fresh perspective on many challenges I have had from other positions. We ended the meal in agreement, we are new best friends.
Pre-con was great! Everyone was active and not counting the minutes until they could walk out the door. Normally you would not say there are things you love about pre-cons or that you had a great time at your pre-con, but when Liz is involved, they are always exciting. All you have to do is say the word “pyrotechnics” around her and she is sold. It is as if the pocket book just falls open. We heard they have a guy from Tallahassee who does fireworks for them on the beach and within the hour we had him agreed to it and a permit from Walton County to cover it. Now do you know how long it takes to get any sort of permit from Walton County? I do. Not less than an hour!! I have spent years working with Walton County on alcohol permits for various events and it takes at least a good decade. I mean there are hoops you have to jump through and then come back and do a backbend through. Not for this guy and not for Liz! I need whatever phone number they have!!
Once we had the fireworks display set and scheduled, Liz totally called me out in front of the Banquets Manager. Here is how the story goes. We were reviewing the Banquet Event Orders for the Farewell Dinner. I had created the menus and all had been approved by Liz and the client. We all agreed on Mini Crab Cakes. Being the good service provider that she is, Liz read up on all our notes from when we visited the Hilton in February. She remembered those notes mentioned no crab cakes with exclamation marks. She called this to my attention in the meeting stating, “Someone came up to me at the Feb. event and noted to not have crab cakes at the next event. They did not like them.” She kept asking me who that was and if we need to take them off. Finally I just confessed. I gave a little smile and a bashful head drop and said, “Oh. That was me.” The room started howling! You would have no way to know this, but I am quite the crab cake snob and I admitted in front of all Hilton Staff that I do not like their crab cakes. They were just too rich for me and I needed to make a note of it. I just forgot to elaborate on the note. So now, the Hilton Staff are all threatening to place crab cakes in my hotel room!
One more note before I go. If you ever plan to go to dinner with two college girls headed into their second year, do not try to dress cute, because it simply will not work. I realized tonight that I am no longer the cute one at dinner. I am simply older and my style is too. I really showed my age when I started talking about the One Size Fits All CK1 t-shirts that were the big thing when I was in middle school. They of course had no idea what I was talking about and when I explained to them the shirts were cut wide and really short to show your bellybutton, they laughed. In my face. Oh, and did I mention the waiter asked for our drink order and only offered Liz a margarita? What is it going to be, I look too old or too young? I will take too old. At least I can drink!
Monday, June 15, 2009
I want to wish a Happy Birthday to someone very special. She is a great friend full of live and full of laughter. She keeps me on my toes and keeps my rap music up to date. I wrote her a little poem last week and thought today would be a very appropriate day to post it.
It is amazing how words can come together to create such a vision of love.
This is poetic genius right here!!
-------------------
I have a friend who lives in Birmingham
She is fatter than any one I have ever known
Every day she eats a pound of ham
And gets mad when nobody wants to take her home
You can tell when she is near
When the ground begins moving
For her smell stales every beer
And makes your stomach start pucking
Do not get me wrong
I love her even through all of her disgusting fat
But when she wears a thong
The sight will blind you as a bat
She likes to turn her rap music up too loud
Hoping you will think the thumping is from her car
When it is really just the ground
Praying she will stop and not try to walk too far
She has a friend who looks just like her
Their combined fatness is just too bad
There is a mighty stench lingering in the air
When you see Lyndal and Fat Brad
Happy Birthday Lyndal!!
Thank you for being such an inspiration for my poetic endeavours.
It is amazing how words can come together to create such a vision of love.
This is poetic genius right here!!
-------------------
I have a friend who lives in Birmingham
She is fatter than any one I have ever known
Every day she eats a pound of ham
And gets mad when nobody wants to take her home
You can tell when she is near
When the ground begins moving
For her smell stales every beer
And makes your stomach start pucking
Do not get me wrong
I love her even through all of her disgusting fat
But when she wears a thong
The sight will blind you as a bat
She likes to turn her rap music up too loud
Hoping you will think the thumping is from her car
When it is really just the ground
Praying she will stop and not try to walk too far
She has a friend who looks just like her
Their combined fatness is just too bad
There is a mighty stench lingering in the air
When you see Lyndal and Fat Brad
Happy Birthday Lyndal!!
Thank you for being such an inspiration for my poetic endeavours.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Him
OK. I am really going out on a limb with this one. This is very private, but something is telling me to just post it. I do not think he reads this blog, or even knows how to find it, but I just feel as though I need to get it out there. Climb out on that limb and hopefully get comfortable. Maybe even take a nap. Let's just hope I do not fall.
Here goes nothing......
-----------------
Year after year you have waited
You have attempted only to be shaded
Your eyes were always wrapped around me
And your comfort was always protecting
I have been scared of your heart
For I knew I would follow
My eyes have been focused in the mirror
Seeing only my soul as may reflection
My eyes have been cast away to see what lies around me
You are standing near, in a place you have never left
I lay in your arms only for a moment
Finding the place I have been looking for
I do not want to leave this time
I will not push
Could it be too late
To walk the rest of this path with you in hand
Have you tired of the wait
And moved on to a better land
You deserve love that moves you each day
To show you my love, each night I pray
I will wait for you now
To be ready for my heart
My eyes only see you
While we whisper in the dark
Here goes nothing......
-----------------
Year after year you have waited
You have attempted only to be shaded
Your eyes were always wrapped around me
And your comfort was always protecting
I have been scared of your heart
For I knew I would follow
My eyes have been focused in the mirror
Seeing only my soul as may reflection
My eyes have been cast away to see what lies around me
You are standing near, in a place you have never left
I lay in your arms only for a moment
Finding the place I have been looking for
I do not want to leave this time
I will not push
Could it be too late
To walk the rest of this path with you in hand
Have you tired of the wait
And moved on to a better land
You deserve love that moves you each day
To show you my love, each night I pray
I will wait for you now
To be ready for my heart
My eyes only see you
While we whisper in the dark
December 31, 2008
Here is another old friend. I wrote this entry out of knowledge, not out of want. When I lived in Destin, FL I thought I was in love. Maybe I was, but it is not a kind of love I want. It was an experience, an adventure. On this night it seemed a great introduction to a book. I am just not certain how to start the rest. Maybe keep this truth and build the rest on fiction? One day, I will get there.
December 31, 2008
I remember a time in my life where each day was not remembered for only one key moment. Each hour seemed to have a turning point or a meaning all of its own. I was twenty three years old, working at the beach and living in a house built for wealthy vacationers. I could hear the waves with my balcony doors open, and I could smell the salt on my skin. I was in love.
He was six years older than me. The fact that he was older than my sister made me squirm, but he had those lines in the corners of his eyes when he smiled. He could predict each sunset to the very minute by holding two fingers up between himself and the sun. We won a lot of free drinks off of that talent alone.
He would surprise me too. When I would meet up with friends without him, I would try to sound okay with it, but he knew I would rather him be there. So, at some point in time he would always show up beside me. One time the bartender brought me a shot from “someone at the bar”. I sniffed it, but there was no smell, and then I tasted it. I immediately started to laugh and found his eyes across the bar. He was so coy, sending me a shot of water.
Every morning started with hot showers and lonely goodbyes. There would be calls here and there at the office with hilarious stories about him and his co-workers on the job sites. I was the first one out of the door at five o’clock, so I could find him waiting for me on the front porch.
He was, and I believe still is, one of the most understanding men I know, but if you give him an inch, he knows how to take a mile.
I remember a time in my life where each day was not remembered for only one key moment. Each hour seemed to have a turning point or a meaning all of its own. I was twenty three years old, working at the beach and living in a house built for wealthy vacationers. I could hear the waves with my balcony doors open, and I could smell the salt on my skin. I was in love.
He was six years older than me. The fact that he was older than my sister made me squirm, but he had those lines in the corners of his eyes when he smiled. He could predict each sunset to the very minute by holding two fingers up between himself and the sun. We won a lot of free drinks off of that talent alone.
He would surprise me too. When I would meet up with friends without him, I would try to sound okay with it, but he knew I would rather him be there. So, at some point in time he would always show up beside me. One time the bartender brought me a shot from “someone at the bar”. I sniffed it, but there was no smell, and then I tasted it. I immediately started to laugh and found his eyes across the bar. He was so coy, sending me a shot of water.
Every morning started with hot showers and lonely goodbyes. There would be calls here and there at the office with hilarious stories about him and his co-workers on the job sites. I was the first one out of the door at five o’clock, so I could find him waiting for me on the front porch.
He was, and I believe still is, one of the most understanding men I know, but if you give him an inch, he knows how to take a mile.
Monday, January 12, 2009
I have a file entitled "Not Posted". These are the entries I have been too afraid to post. Reading back through them, I learn more and more about myself, my growth today and what really matters. Here is a post I wrote in a very down time when I was unemployed. I still feel this way on many occasion even though I am employed, but today I walk a little taller and I run a little faster. I know that I am headed in the right direction, because I know who is guiding me. I still have fear, but as I have said many times before, the most fearful aspects of life end up as the most worth while.
Monday, January 12, 2009
I find myself wanting to feel things again. I want butterflies and bashfulness. I want to be proud of my home and of the risks I choose to take. I want to turn the key to a home I created, and lay in the bed I designed. I want to get frustrated because I wake up and it’s Monday and not Saturday.
I remember I used to look out my car window driving home from work and I was so proud of myself for the life I had made for myself. I did not depend on anything but God and myself to get where I was. I woke up excited and went home content. I was actually marking things off of my “List of Things to Do in Life”.
I do feel things still. I feel fear. I feel confused, completely lost. I know there is light somewhere at the end of this tunnel, and I know it is not a train. I just wish I had a quick remedy to get rid of this grey cloud up above.
Most of the time I am just mad. Mad at myself for getting this way and thinking like this. When did I start feeling so sorry for myself? When did I start letting the world get to me. Is this depression, because I refuse to be depressed? I have more confidence in myself than that.
I know I am strong and I know I am bigger than all this. I guess right now it is a matter of getting up and being bigger than this.
I am just so ready for the day I surround myself with someone who can look at me and know exactly what I am feeling or thinking.
Is that real?
Monday, January 12, 2009
I find myself wanting to feel things again. I want butterflies and bashfulness. I want to be proud of my home and of the risks I choose to take. I want to turn the key to a home I created, and lay in the bed I designed. I want to get frustrated because I wake up and it’s Monday and not Saturday.
I remember I used to look out my car window driving home from work and I was so proud of myself for the life I had made for myself. I did not depend on anything but God and myself to get where I was. I woke up excited and went home content. I was actually marking things off of my “List of Things to Do in Life”.
I do feel things still. I feel fear. I feel confused, completely lost. I know there is light somewhere at the end of this tunnel, and I know it is not a train. I just wish I had a quick remedy to get rid of this grey cloud up above.
Most of the time I am just mad. Mad at myself for getting this way and thinking like this. When did I start feeling so sorry for myself? When did I start letting the world get to me. Is this depression, because I refuse to be depressed? I have more confidence in myself than that.
I know I am strong and I know I am bigger than all this. I guess right now it is a matter of getting up and being bigger than this.
I am just so ready for the day I surround myself with someone who can look at me and know exactly what I am feeling or thinking.
Is that real?
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