Work, work, work.

I just got my 2nd pay slip yesterday! Yay for not feeling broke. Double yayness for already earning a couple of hundred dollars of tips for the last 2 months combined. Hehe.
The things I hate about this job are how my feet get so sore and hurt like crap after 8 hours at least a day of wearing them, how I can’t get to see my boyfriend much because he also works in another hotel as management trainee, how I can’t eat properly and have since lost my previous appetite. And one of my colleagues who is so high-strung she makes work extra pressurizing. And her bad English… (When trying to express the need to empathize) “You gotta put your face on his shoes..” Yeaaa.

Other things are excellent. I love my Swiss German manager who isn’t too arrogant to ask for my help to prepare his powerpoint presentation, and always wears a smile on his face and murmurs nonsensical stuff over the Grid phone system like “Smile more….” when I’m serving wine to guests (why does he sound so silly when I describe him like that… Lol! ). I love how the regular guests treat the staff like their friends and address everyone by first name basis. I love how easy it is to make new acquaintances from every other departments, so when I walk from the locker room to the staff canteen I say hi to at least 3 people and I actually remember their names!

I also love the fact that most people see potential in me, which is very encouraging. I’ve already gotten 2 job offers to work in hotel development companies. But I’ll stay with my hotel, just because I think it’s an important component of character building. I hope after working in operations I’ll be patient, humble and worldly. Of course I still hold on to my dream of being in higher management after 10 to 15 years, but they say, after the initial stage of agony, everything flows easily. Hopefully then.

It’s all good, baby. All so good.

Movies

There are some things that I don’t really know how to describe. Like what it feels like to be another person. How do we make people understand what it’s like to live another life?

Life experiences are made up of a plethora of memories: How the streets smell like, how the weather makes your skin feel in the afternoon and when you wake up in the morning; the mannerisms of average people and the general vibe of a city…

That’s why I think movies are great biographies and history lessons. You can’t necessarily smell and taste the same things as the actors in the movie while you’re in the movie theatre, but movies move me more than any book or radio show. I just watched the Korean flick “Voice of a Murderer” based on a real kidnapping case in Seoul in which the culprit is still at large, pretty much like “Zodiac”. It doesn’t have a great budget, but like “Panic Room” which stars Jodie Foster, great cinematography and direction is enough to make a movie warrant a 5 star review rating. More importantly, I think in a time like this, movies become semi-documentaries as well. Done right, it’s actually rather enlightening, especially when it’s based on actual events, like “Border Town” starring J.Lo which reveals the victimization of women working in Mexico factories, “Fast Food Nation” which warns the public about what goes into their burger et cetera.

Sudden inspiration spurred me to write this entry, but I wonder how long the effect’s going to last. I guess to truly awaken a community with a warning (eg. global warming), or to change public opinion, it takes a succession of efforts to turn important messages into everyday reminders, but in a gradually memorable manner. It’s fascinating how propaganda can be applied to any medium, and watching how propaganda can turn into conventional wisdom (“coffee ain’t good for you!” VS “coffee has beneficial anti-oxidants!”) shows how easily people can be swayed. The majority, at least. That’s where censorship comes in. We don’t want the wrong messages to turn into acceptable conventional wisdom, do we? But of course, there are 10,000 other things to talk about if we go down that road of censorship. So. Back to where I started.

Movies can do that (propaganda) most easily because experiencing 2 hours of film “based on actual events” makes people feel like they are ready to empathize with the character and subject matter in the film. I wonder if I’m alone in this, but every time I step out of a cinema theatre after watching a very intense movie, I tend to be slightly affected by how the characters talk and feel, like after a thriller I’ll still be a bit uptight after the movie ends…but that feeling only lingers for maybe, 30mins tops. So. Yea just wanted to see if anyone shares this feeling. Or is it just me. Maybe that’s why I can’t watch horror movies.. I couldn’t face the TV for 2 weeks after watching The Ring when I was 14 years old. Lol. Talk about movie aftermath.

I love this look!

I wanta look like her! Ever since I ordered some stuff from Victoria Secrets, I’ve been getting mailers and email newsletters. I can’t stop window shopping on the website! If I had her figure, I’d really go for this look. Everyday. :p

Hotelier in the making part 3

So I got my results for my last module in my diploma programme. 4 marks shy of a distinction!! I thought I could get one final distinction and squeeze the last 50 bucks prize money out of Imbecile before I get my cert (which he has yet to call me for the collection).
AND I’ve graduated from my degree in management with law from UOL with a third class honours! Ok, it’s not fantastic results, but at least I don’t need to retake anything and waste another year. And this also means I get to go to London in March 2008 for my graduation ceremony!!! And guess what?!?? A very special guest at the hotel bar offered to use his connections (CEO of a certain airline) to get me free flights for my parents and me to London! Woohoo! It’s good news all around baby.

So ok enough of the good news. I think I’m getting the hang of the job.

- How to upsell drink orders: first you ask if they have a preference in the choice of the vodka (Stolichnaya, Belvedere & Grey Goose are hot favourites in the premium vodka range) or whisky (Glenfidditch and Johnny Walker Black Label are ordered quite a bit) or Gin (many British guests stick to Tanqueray; Bombay Sapphire is popular with tonic) etc instead of just using the house spirits,
then you ask if they want a double on that. This I learnt from my senior captain and it’s very useful. Especially since many guests order the same drink again after they’re done with the first.

- How to make guests like you: Well this is trade secret. Muahahahaha. The general rule is just be real. Never be pretentious, especially with the high profile guests.

Oooh I almost forgot… For the promotion of Heroes last month, half the cast of the show who came to Singapore to promote Season 2 stayed at my hotel. And guess who’s sent to offer them drinks??!!? I got sent to meet the VIPs on their arrival, to their table at the bar after their gala dinner, and again on the 3rd day when they were waiting for their counterparts at the lobby to go for dinner. I even got to know which room one of them was staying in because he posted his bill to room charge.. Not that I’d sell that information to anybody.. Haha. I think God must know I’m the only staff from the bar who appreciated who they were. It’s really surreal the first time I saw them… But the third time I met them, I started seeing them as just another group of guests mainly because it was a real busy night when they came to the bar and we didn’t have time to fuss over them although they did order a few bottles of champagne. Believe me, regular guests require more attention than guests who come by once in a blue moon (or once in their lifetime), although they can also be very patient when occasional big shot VIPs are around.

It’s only been about a month and a half, and I already love this job, despite the physical fatigue I sometimes get. :p

Anyways just a short story on my dinner yesterday… The canteen food looked so unappetizing that I decided to go for dinner alone at the Japanese joint in Food Republic (fancy name for that food court in Wisma Atria).. Had really nice cold sake and sashimi, plus some shrimp and vegetable tempura. Since it wasn’t busy and I was sitting at the sushi bar counter, I started chatting with the sushi chef who’s (no surprise here) Malaysian… He’s got 8 years of experience and had worked in Holland and South Africa before… Now he’s in Singapore cuz he said he’s no longer young and he wants to be closer to home (Johor Bahru)… So anyway he asked if I was full, when I said not really he offered me a concoction of chopped cucumber & seafood (deep fried fish fritters, shrimp & boiled calamari) with mayonnaise and chilli spices (ingredients which I pointed out one by one after tasting them) on a bed of lettuce at no charge. It went so well with the sake (which was really easy to down)…!! This must be like the most satisfying dinner I’ve had in a long time… because I was really really hungry after work… Definitely going back there again. Cuz the chef said he’ll do something different for me on my next visit. Haha.