Final thursday

Today was my last staff meeting and I gave a short presentation on my experience at the hotel and also a final presentation on the Grand Slam of Golf package. At my request, Dr.Umbreit mailed me some School of Hospitality Business Management pens for me to give to the managers. I passed them out at the meeting and they all seemed to like them, as much as anyone could enjoy nice pens :) When I finished, James said a few words and complimented me on my "sharpness." I don't know if I ever considered myself a "sharp" person, but I took it as a huge compliment. I suppose its one of those things that you need other people to point out before you realize it.

Tomorrow is my last day and there will be a pot luck in my honor! It was supposed to be a surprise, but someone accidentally told me. I'm excited about it and feel touched that they would put together a little pot luck for me. Although it might not sound like much to some, it is very symbolic to me in that everyone wants to contribute and celebrate something or someone special. I can't believe this is finally it. I've learned so much and feel like I'm a changed person for the better. I'm excited to go back to school and see how I can apply what I've learned in my classes and also in helping Dr.Umbreit with his class. A lot of things to look forward to!

Chillin like a villain . . .

I've spent the last two days working as a bell clerk and I'll be excited to move on. Tonight is my last night working as a clerk, and then I'll be back to helping James tomorrow morning. Its been an interesting experience at the bell desk, but its one of those jobs that's vital but doesn't necessarily need a lot of education. I was glad to help out and it was a great experience. I can check bell clerk off my list of things to do in life!

I went on a nice walk this morning and now I think I'm going to go hang out by the beach until work. I don't have many days left of Kauaian sun, so I better fit in where I can! It feels weird that everything will be coming to an end in a couple days, but I'm ready for it! Shoots!

PS- Here's the link to the golf package: http://hawaii-exclusive.destinations.starwoodhotels.com/princeville/golf.htm
Now we just got grab those guests!

One Week and counting!!!

My family left today and it was super fabulous to have them here, it just made me all the more aware of how ready I am to leave living in the hotel!

My family and I had quite the week, including road trips, eating bonanzas (yes it is actually possible to have an eating bonanza . . .), and toured some killa areas of Kauai. One of the highlights was a great boating/snorkeling trip we took along the NaPali Coast and on to the private island of Niihau (only true Hawaiians currently live there). The views were incredible and we even got to go under a waterfall off one of the NaPali mountains, but the ride was a little rocky and made a few of the riders sea sick. Of course, my family and I were troopers and kicked back to try and enjoy the ride as much as possible. We weren't originally going to go on a boat ride, but we won a free "two for one" ticket and being the adventurous type that we are, we decided to go for it. I begged for the day off and then we were set! It was a fun time and I can't wait to look at my mom's pictures from it.

It was great to have my family here with me especially since by the time they left, I felt that they had become kamaainas ("locals") to Kauai as much as I have. With the coaching of my Mom, after all of the hints that were being dropped by a number of employees, I decided to ask Kelly Hoen if they were considering a final offer for me. Kelly would make practically daily comments to me like "Well, when you come back next year . . ." or "Sure hope you'll be here to see the changes . . ." and even when my family was here she said to them "We REALLY want her to come back . . ." I was starting to get antsy. If she kept dropping me all of these hints why wasn't she giving me an offer? So I nonchalantly approached her about it and she said yes, they were putting together a final offer for me and that I would see it soon! Yay! Haven't seen it yet, but should be very interesting to see what they decide to give me.

With the news from Kelly, still not set in stone of course, but I started thinking about Kauai just a little differently. I looked at things as a person who could live here, a person who could make their home here. My family helped me see to see it even better. While they were here, I could see if they liked it and what their thoughts would be about me making a final move out here. It would be great to have a job in the bag before school even starts again, but I have to see what they offer me first. I really don't see how I could find anywhere better to work or a better group of people to work with, so I have strong feelings that I will come back to Kauai.

This week James asked if I would be willing to help out the Bell Desk this week, since they were short on staff. So tomorrow I will start as the Bell Desk clerk and work for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday night. Then I'll only have a few nights left and then be off to California. My parents spoiled me with great home cooking and now I'm even more ready to be out of a hotel. Oh well, won't be too much longer and I still have a few things to work out before I can leave :)

. . . going to a Hukilau . . .

My family has been chilling with me for the weekend and we've had a blast so far. I love how my family is just as open and adventurous as I am! It makes for doing family activities oh-so more exciting.

Friday night they arrived and we soon headed to their condo at Alii Kai, a very quiet condo complex in Princeville. We picked up some steaks, vegetables, and potatoes at Foodland and had an awesome BBQ at my parents' condo. It was soooo great to be in a kitchen! I've also noticed eating in a cafeteria doesn't give you much time to sit and enjoy your meal. I usually just scarf it down and head to my room. With my family here, I can casually eat dinner again! Yay!

Saturday, my family and I headed to a local south shore celebration called Plantation Days in Koloa. I talked my family in to going and I'm glad we did. We got to see a local parade full of local families, businesses, and politicians including the Hawaii Stat Governor and Kauaiian Mayor. Next to the parade was a big fair full of local foods and crafts. The celebration was supposed to celebrate the immigrant influences on Kauai, so the crafts and foods were very diverse. We didn't stay too long at the fair, because my Aunt Clare had recommend that we should try out "Puka Dogs," a Hawaiian style hot dog stop. We each had freshly squeezed lemonade and a Puka Hot Dog with different kinds of Hawaiian fruit relishes. I then took them through Kapaa and back on to Princeville. My parents retired back at their condo, and my lil sis George went back to the hotel with me.

On Sunday, my family and I headed to the great Sunday brunch. It was fabulous! I was so happy to be enjoying some of the great food again with some of my family. Since my family and I are big on food, I was glad to see the brunch got their approval. I knew it would, but its fun to still see it :) After some looking around the hotel and shopping in Hanalei, my family and I spent the rest of the day by Princeville Hotel's beach.

After we each had our prospective morning work outs, my family and I all met at my Parents' condo. We had a activities briefing from the condo's staff and also happened to win a 2 for 1 snorkeling cruise. This cruise will be amazing since it lets you go along the NaPali coast and is the only boat that will take you to Niihau, "the forbidden island." You can only access Niihau if you're 100% Hawaiian, so even to get close to it on a boat is an honor. My family and I are signed up for the 7-hour tour. Should be a long day, but what an experience! I'm pretty excited about it, since the NaPali and Niihau were two things I wanted to see. After going to the hotel and introducing my family to most of my coworkers, we headed out to Guava plantation and further onto Anahola. Once we finished driving around Kapaa as well, we went back to Princeville to get ready for the luau. Every Monday and Thursday, Princeville Hotel has a luau and since my window faces the luau grounds I usually hear most of the show without every seeing any of it. Since Jay had gotten a couple comp tickets for us to go to the luau, I was stoked to finally get to see it. The food was phenomenal! The dinner included things from poi, salads, fruit, marinated vegetables, "teri beef" (terriyaki beef), kahlua pork, rice, fish, and saimin noodles. Yum! My first taste of poi (mushed up taro, supposedly very healthy and also very Hawaiian) was pretty good, but I guess my mom claims that was the best she had ever had. Oh and did I mention free Mai Tais, well drinks, and Beer! Yes this was another favorite of my family as well. Dessert was delicious and I scored some great Haupia (kind of like a cross between coconut pudding and jello, very good especially if you like coconut) and rice pudding. After an awesome meal, the dancers performed and did a great job. Now I'm getting ready to head to bed, got to go to work tomorrow while my fam chills by the pool :) I know I'll be havin fun too though, how can you not have fun when you know your family is having a blast?!

Family Matters

Yay! My family arrives tomorrow!!! It'll be great to share Kauai with them and show them around the hotel too. It'll be fun to get their impression on things and finally picture all of the things I talk about. We've got an action packed weekend and then relaxing for rest of the week. I get to spend the whole weekend with them and even Monday too! Should be a lot of fun and I cannot wait :)

Wacky Wednesday

Today wasn't really that wacky, but it sounded like a cool heading :)

James and I presented our two versions for the 2007 budget to Kelly Hoen and discussed some of the changes we would need to make. After working with James on it for a while, I sat at my desk and sent some emails out about the golf package. We decided to offer the package out to the wholesalers and only allowed them commission off of the rooms portion. Typically wholesalers get commission off the entire package, but since only a portion of the package are things that the hotel gaining a profit off of (not including things like the golf, bus transportation, PGA Grand Slam Tickets, etc.) we're only allowing them to receive partial commissions. Today was our RevMax meeting and James and I presented some of the competitive pricing we were putting together. Basically our strategy is to try and yield the highest rates whenever possible. I was talking in the meeting about our pricing changes, and Kelly Hoen just looked at me, then said "So does this mean that you are going to be checking up on our strategies when you're back at school?" Then everyone started laughing and joking how I would be calling James regularly on the phone to see how are pricing was going. After finishing the meeting, James and I went back to working on the budget.

Tomorrow we'll be working some more on the budgets and trying to get them finalized to send off for approval by the regional DORM. After that we'll be working on the sales strategy for next year.

Kauai . . . the new Pullman?

So yesterday I wrote saying that I thought Kapaa seemed similar to Pullman, and tonight I'm just sitting here in my lil hotel room and feel even stronger about their similiarities. I've really enjoyed going to school in Pullman, not just because of the great school but also because of the town and area. Pullman is completely different than Walnut Creek, CA and was a great change for me to move to. Now that I've been in Pullman for the last 5 years (yipe! that sounds so sad . . . sigh), I've had fun am ready for a change. Kauai would be another completely different step for me to take. Although the location is very different than Walnut Creek or Pullman, Kauai share some similarities with Pullman. Kauai has visitors come and go year around, as Pullman has its student population occupy the town for only short periods of time. Pullman is a small rural town but simultaneously very worldly with the events and people that the university draws. Kauai is also very small with close knit communities and rural feel, but can be exotic and worldly with all the things that the traveling tourists bring with them. No wonder I feel so at home in Kauai! That was my tangent for the evening . . .

Today, James and I spent most of the day creating forecasts for 2008. Our internet was down and were limited to only a couple things, but tomorrow we'll hopefully be up and running online and able to finish 2007's budget.

Kapaa Weekend

Saturday I took advantage of my free time and took the bus and headed to Kapaa. Its a cute small town and reminds me a little of Pullman, except in the middle of Kauai. Although the towns don't look the same, they have similar feels from the local people. I got to do some shopping and got a great souvenir. I really like Hawaiian quilts, but they usually run at least $120 and I didn't really want to pay that for a quilt. Instead I found this awesome wall hanging with the same designs as a Hawaiian quilt. I have this big blank wall in my apartment in Pullman and this will be the perfect thing to put on it. Plus, on those cold winter nights in Pullman it will remind me of the warm and sunny beaches of Kauai.

Sunday, I just hung around the hotel and relaxed. Today, things weren't too exciting. I spent most of the day working with Joanne, figuring out how to pull data to update our reports for the week. I can't believe that I only have 3 weeks left here and continuing to fly by. Tonight, I was eating dinner in the employee cafeteria and I was sitting and eating with Carlos and Kawika. They're the two night security men and we usually end up eating dinner at the same time, so we all usually sit around and exchange stories. I learn about their families and their kids, and we all just laugh and enjoy each other's company over our dinners. Carlos and Kawika used to each be in the Marines and Army respectively, Kawika was even stationed in Frankfurt Germany before my family and I had moved there. Tonight, they were asking how much longer I had and if I was going to come back. I told them my generic answer of "Well, I just need a job offer . . ." Both of them chimed in that they were sure I wouldn't have a problem since they've both " . . . only heard positive things said " about me. I couldn't help but take a little pride in that I had been accepted by most of the staff at the hotel. It took a while for Kawika to be friendly towards me and it meant a lot to me that he was now supportive of me. I knew people would be talking about me while I was staying here, but it was good to hear that it was at least positive things ;) Of course, I suppose if it was really bad I'm sure they wouldn't have told me about it either. Oh well, still made me feel happy. Its been nice befriending them, makes the employee cafeteria less intimidating at night and a little more enjoyable.