I Have the Most Amazing Job in the World

Today, as I am writing to you, I'm sitting in the most beautiful hotel room I've ever set foot in, looking out over the waters of this amazing Great Lake, with the outline of the bridge just visible through the fog. And you thought you had the dream job!
Really, there is no where in the world I would rather be than exactly where I am right now. I'm surrounded here by great friends, a loving and accepting church family, awesome co-workers, and of course the most beautiful "albergo" I've ever seen...sorry but I find that the english word "hotel" just doesn't fit this place! the Italian word is much more worthy of such an awesome and incredible property. Studying "La scienza di alberghieri" was the best decision I've ever made.
The backstory to my hotel stay today - Every once and a while when our hotel has a large number of unsold rooms, my manager will offer some of the employees to stay. Not only is it a great perk to working here, it also helps me do my job a lot better. Because I spend my day on the phone with potential guests, actually having the experience of staying in the hotel, eating dinner in the main dining room, and breakfast in the morning are all things that you really need to experience in order to describe. I wish I could share pictures on here so you could all see what I'm seeing, but I'll do my best to describe it to you.
The room is shaped like a half moon, curved on one side, flat on the other. (I'm on the left-most, curved corner of the hotel, if you were facing the hotel from the outside). The bed sits against the flat side, looking out through the curved wall of windows over the lake, with some trees and a beach visible to the right. In the left corner of the room is this adorable and extremely comfortable light-pink chaise. It looks like something Jackie Kennedy would have had in her home. Between the (king sized) bed and the chair is this cute little green and white desk, and to the right of the bed is a nightstand and a little wardrobe, all green and white as well. Off the bedroom area over by the door is the bathroom, and there's also a little sink area and chair for doing your hair, makeup, etc. There is a closet next to that, and what I assume to be a little mini bar/fridge. The walls are painted a cool mint green, the bed has a mint green and white striped comforter to match the walls, the carpet is a darker, solid green, and the window treatments are a flower pattern that bring all of the other colors in the room together.
I'm sitting on the bed, looking out over the lake and trees, drinking my coffee. Soaking it all in.
Who knows when I'll be back here? How could I possibly find a job better than this one after graduation? Is there any other place in the world I could be content in after experiencing all of this?
It looks like I may just have to come back.

I was almost ready to pack up and go home, and then..

This morning, after getting only a few hours of sleep last night, I woke up late, leaving myself just enough time to bike through the pouring rain and high winds up the hill to the hotel in time for breakfast.  Exhausted, soaked, and hungry I walked upstairs to the employee cafeteria, set down my things and went immediately to get some coffee...except there was no coffee. Just my luck. So, I grabbed some decaf just for the hell of it, and went and got my breakfast (the hotel's version of french toast...at least I think it's supposed to be french toast...) A few minutes after sitting down to eat, a woman walks up to me and says, "Hi. I just wanted to let you know that you have bike splatters all up your back from your bike. Your jacked caught most of it, but there's some on the dress too."

Fricken. Awesome.

I finished eating and went down to the bathroom to wash my dress and dry my still dripping hair, and then at 8 went into the office to begin my, oh yeah!, 12 hour shift.
So, coffee-less, wet from the rain, and still hungry from barely eating breakfast, I took a minute to ask God for strength to get me through the day, knowing it was probably going to be rough.
To my surprise, it was far from it. The phone calls I took were pretty uneventful, I didn't get yelled and once, and my boss gave me some extra, thankfully stress free, responsibilities.  Pretty much everyone in the office seemed to be in a good mood, and we spent most of the day cracking jokes and laughing. My favorite part of the day, however, started at 6pm when the phones went off. We all went up to get dinner for a half hour, and then stopped back down to chat with my friend who works at the news stand, and then back to work. But when it's after 6 pm...it's not really work anymore. See, after 6 PM, we're all in our element.  One of my good friends, a guy who works in my department, put on his "diva" pandora , and we spent the next hour and a half listening to the best of Whitney, Beyonce, Mariah Carey, and of course Aretha Franklin. Oh, Aretha. Yeah, about two measures before she went into the chorus of "Natural Woman" the girl who sits next to me let's out the LOUDEST burp...fitting, of course, that seconds later Aretha goes into "you make me feeeeel like a natural womaaaan."

Another awesome thing happened today! We had Christmas at the office! Well, kind of. There are 6 people in my department, and today 4 of us got packages in the mail. We all circled up and opened them together, it was very touching. My wonderful mama sent me my guitar in a box today! So happy to have it, now H and I can head down to the park to entertain some tourists.

So, I end by saying that I learned two things today. Number one: God listens. Number two: Don't lose hope in the end just because the beginning starts roughly.

Day off!

GREAT news from my boss... I get the entire day off on Tuesday! I can't tell you how excited I am. This will be my first day to just lay around and relax...Only one shift between me and Tuesday, and unfortunately its probably going to be a 12 hour, but hey..I'll take it.
A couple of days ago I was actually woken up by the sound of the island ambulance (one of the only cars here). It's really strange when you're pretty much isolated by motorized noise, surrounded by sounds of horse hooves and their carriages, to hear that early in the morning...its just weird.
Work has been going well, the days are starting to go by faster and I've definitely gotten the hang of what I'm doing. Today I spoke with a couple about their aunt who is coming here next week to celebrate her 90th birthday and they asked what kind of gifts/baskets we have that we could put in the room for her...I said, "Well...can she still, like...drink?"

Seriously, do 90 year olds drink?

This one apparently does, a lot! The guy says back to me "That's how she made it to 90!!"
You know what they say, a glass a day keeps the doctor away. As if I needed another reason to become a wine connoiseur.

So speaking of my date yesterday. I guess we weren't....but now that we are...! Yes I went on a dinner date yesterday... This guy who works at the front desk asked me out a couple of days ago so we went to a little restaurat downtown for pizza...It was a lot of fun and he was cute, but I'm thinking it'll be a one time thing...I've only been here a week and definitely am not looking to be "dating" anyone here. Working 12 hours a day, there's no way I'd have time for something like that anyway. I'm here to meet friends, have fun, work, and learn a lot! A cute island boyfriend unfortunately just doesn't look like it's going to fit into that picture.


And on that note, have a great day! Hopefully I'll have more to tell after my adventures on Tuesday!

The Tiramisu Dream/ FAQ's

So, the title of this post has very little to do with my actual post. Really, I just had the most amazing tiramisu today...went up to the cafe to get coffee with a co-worker and there it was. Just sitting there, calling my name. Ignoring it would have just been rude and I would certainly hate to be rude. I did what any other polite, courteous person would do. Devoured it. Yum.


Uh, yeah. That was about 5 hours ago and I'm still thinking about it.



Exciting news from yesterday! I got to eat in the main dining room ! My boss sent us up there so we could "know what it was about when people called and asked about it." Oh my goodness. Never in my life have I had such good food! (except mom's home cooking, duhh). Unfortunately, I ate lunch at 12 yesterday, stayed at work for a 12 hour shift, and then worked a 10 hour shift today, so I can't even brag about what I ate! I have absolutely no idea, I just know it was amazing, so take my word for it.

FAQ'S
Q: What can I expect if I'm working in reservations?
A: Getting yelled at.  From angry people with accents you can barely understand, to elderly people who can't hear you, to angry women waiting at the boat dock after they find out their reservation was never made, to someone in your own department who you've never met who is demanding information over the phone that you CANNOT give out over the phone. Yeah, expect to get yelled at a lot. Uhh, theoretically speaking, of course.

Q: What is an interior view room?
A: That's a room that looks out the back of the hotel?
Q: What's out there?
A: Trees and rooftops
Q: Is there a parking lot?
A: No ma'am
Q: Are you sure?
A: Yes ma'am
Q: How do you know there's no parking lot?
A: There are no cars allowed on the island ma'am


Q: Does John Stamos really work at the bar down the street?
A: Yes

Good news!

First of all, sorry I took the weekend off! Not much happened and I figured that writing about nothing would just turn people away, but today I'm back! I went in at 9am, and I'm officially on my own on the phones! I got a compliment from a woman today (who just so happened to be from northeast Ohio) who said I did great and couldn't believe I was in my first week. I got the OK from my manager to do a different job which they generally don't give to people who have been there less than a year (one week, people). Plus, being on the phone for 9 hours straight made the 11 hour day fly by. I'm really starting to love it.
In other news, I'm meeting lots of new people, have a pretty promising love interest, and am having a great time. The only thing missing is a nice winter parka, some mittens, and a hat.




IT SNOWED THIS WEEKEND.











IT'S MAY.










That's all for today. If you have warm weather, enjoy it for me. I'm currently sitting outside an inn stealing internet because I got out of work after starbucks closed, and I think if I stay out here any longer I'll lose at least one finger...frost bite is making some serious plays at my extremities.

Living on an Island isn't always sunshine, clear skies and hot guys

Like when it rains.
Its about 40 degrees here, windy, rainy and miserable. Not what I was expecting with island life, but I am up north so I suppose that was my mistake. Had to ride to work this morning through pouring rain with no umbrella, couldn't sit on my bike seat because it was soaked so I got a good workout\!! Definitely felt like I almost lost a few fingers to frostbite in the process! OK that's a little dramatic. But it was cold.
Also, I finally started training on the phones today! The guy training me tried to hand me the headset after I listened in on two calls. He goes, "If I just put you on the phones now you'd probably be fine." That was really nice to hear, since that's pretty much how I'm feeling. Answering phones is pretty much the same anywhere you go...not difficult stuff. Anyway, had a very boring day other than that, but things should pick up when the weather gets better. Hopefully this will be one of very few boring blog days!

My parting advice for the day: If you have warm weather, go for a bike ride. If you don't have a bike, "borrow" one from the guy down the street (they do that other places than here, right?) and if you have cold weather, snuggle up under a blanket and watch a movie with your puppy.

John Stamos

That got your attention, didn't it ladies. ;-)
No, John Stamos didn't come to the hotel, sorry to disappoint. Although if he did I wouldn't be allowed to tell you, so I guess you'll never know! There is a point to this though. I went out with some friends (when i say "out" I actually mean "next door" to the little bar down the street) to watch the Red Wings game. And my waiter looked EXACTLY like John Stamos. I will be returning to this bar quite often I think...


My friends and I also discovered (well...they discovered, and then invited me...) roof access in our house. Spent some time up there last night playing guitar and jammin out having a little concert. My friend H (name omitted) and I were singing together a little bit and may be going down to the park with an open guitar case for a little supplemental income...tourists love that stuff anyway. Updates soon to come.



In other news, there was a huge power outage on the island today, almost the whole place lost power!
I never thought about it, but I guess when an entire island loses power, its kind of like being in a third world country. You know, the kind with generators to keep your third world computers and refrigerators on, and emergency lights to illuminate the third world hallways of your luxury hotel.
But yes, we lost power! Lasted about 4 hours? Very interesting experience on my second day of work.  Unfortunately, I'm going to have to keep it brief today...suffering from a bit of a headache from combining staring at a bright screen in a dark room all day AND wearing my hair in a bun. Not a good combination.
If you ever wondered how a hotel operates when the power is out, let me tell you it is NOT FUN! For me or for you! We kept all the vital things operational...computers for reservations and checkins, cash registers and the like. Elevators? No. Which, as you can imagine, is a pretty big problem for some of the elderly guests. Definitely not an ideal day in the hotel world. You never want your guests to leave unsatisfied!

You know what else sucks about power outages? Bathrooms. More specifically? Bathrooms in a hotel that is pretty well known to be haunted.

Yes I had to go to the bathroom in the dark.

Yes there was a ghost.

Yes I screamed and ran out when it GRABBED ME WHILE I WAS WASHING MY HANDS.

NO this is not made up.

Ok. Yes, I PROBABLY imagined it, but who knows. That's probably what the ghosts want you to think.
Guests don't have to worry about that though, we keep their bathrooms illuminated so the ghosts can't get to them. I think people would be tentative to come back after having an interaction with a ghost in a dark bathroom.
The bright side of all this was that my day FLEW by. Time to go swimming! Have a good night everybody!

The Pink Bike

So, a couple of years ago I bought a bike. It was great...bright red. Black handle bars. A couple of gear options. But as time went on and my handlebars got sticky, it was time for a change. But I love that bike! So the bike stays, but those handlebars had to go. When I got to Mackinac, what was the first thing I did when my parents left? Did I go on a "I'm away from my parents and can do whatever I want" rampage? Did I go drink with all the other people in my house that night? Did I go down to the beach and enjoy the sun and clear blue skies? No, no, no. I went down the the bike store and bought some new handle bars, and a cute little basket for my bike.
You're probably thinking to yourself, ok she's got a basket..some new handle bars...what more could a girl ask for when she's living by herself on an island? Well here's the thing. My handle bars are pink. My bike is red. And that simply does not work. So, long story short, this guy that works at the bike shop (who may or may not be my age and super cute) was talking to me about it and offered to paint my bike...for free...if I go to dinner with him (which may or may not have been a serious offer- I honestly don't know). Needless to say, I was hungry and I hate clashing colors. Fill in the rest yourselves.

So, in addition to all of this excitement, I started work today! I know you're probably all excited to hear about this, but at the moment there is not much to tell. I'm working reservations, so I'll spend the day in the back modifying and creating reservations for future guests. I'll save my witty comments about the nature of such calls, to preserve my professionalism. I'll admit, it's not the best job in the world. Certainly not my dream job. And the 8 hours a day (minimum) 7 days a week certainly leave a lot to be desired.

But do you want to know something?

This is why I LOVE working in hotels. Because at the end of the day, after being surrounded by people who are working jobs for the money, and who feel stuck on this island because they have no where else to go, no other job available, no family to go to, no school to save up for...after being surrounded by negative energy and feeling tired and wanting nothing more than to get up and come down to Starbucks to get my coffee and forget about my day, I still loved every second of it.

No, I don't have the greatest job in the hotel.
No, I don't even get to talk with guests and smile and welcome people in.
No, I don't get to see the sun, go outside, or bike like some other employees get to do.
I am stuck in the back of an office, talking on the phone for 8 hours.
Staring at a computer screen for 8 hours.
Sitting in a hard, wooden chair for 8 hours.
And yes, I still love it.

The way my heart beats when I get to walk from the cafeteria out into the lobby of this incredible hotel reminds me that no matter what job I'm working, how horrible or amazing it is, or how many hours a week I have to do that job, I will always remember something. I fell in love with this business while I was on my hands and knees scrubbing other people's toilets, making other people's beds, picking up and changing their towels. You can never imagine the things I saw, and the situations I dealt with. You will also never know the personal struggle I went through as a 16 year old pushing myself to keep moving, keep going, knowing that there was something better beyond that job.
If I had been given the opportunity at 16 to go sit in the back office of one of the most beautiful hotels in the world to answer phones and take reservations, I would have been out of there so fast my clothes would have ripped off in the wind. So while I'm struggling with this now, I will never let myself forget where I was a few years ago, how I felt the same thing I am feeling now, to some degree. But I still love what I do. I love hotels, this one in particular. And, when I am running a hotel like this in 25 years, I'll be glad to have this experience under my belt. Some day, I'm going to be the manager to a girl who is just like me now, and I want to be able to look at her and say, "I've been where you are. And if you keep going...just for 4 more months...something better will come. What you're doing now is important, even if it feels trivial to you, this hotel could not operate the way it does if it were not for people like you. So even though you feel down, you wish you were in a different department, wish you worked better hours, wish you had more days off, just remember that someday this will all pay off."


Someday this will all pay off.

Do I actually get to live here?

No roommate...a sink, mirror, medicine cabinet in my room...bathroom right across the hall...one block from downtown. How did I get so lucky? And did I mention the view of the hotel right outside my window? Paradise.


I'll be honest, one of my biggest worries was that I was bringing too much stuff, and that it would be a problem getting it on the ferry and over here. To my relief, the first words out of the girls mouth on the loading dock were "wow, you didn't bring much compared to what most other people bring."

*sigh of relief*

Everything got on the boat no problem, and we had a very beautiful and relaxing ride across the straights. You wouldn't believe how clear the water is! It's really incredible.
So, major stress number two of the day was the process of getting me and my stuff to the hotel and to housing, respectively. The people at the dock weren't quite as helpful as I was expecting, but we all got where we needed to be, and I went to the HR office, got my papers signed and got acquainted with everything. One small change - I will not be working front desk, at least for now I'm going to be answering the phones in reservations. While I'm tempted to worry, I've decided this whole summer needs to just be a carefree, go with the flow lifestyle or I won't survive. So, reservations it is!! I'm sure it'll be fun, and I'm excited to meet more people who work at the hotel.

After we left checkin, my parents and I went to my room (my single..!) (with its own sink..!) (and plenty of drawer space...!) and waited for my luggage to arrive.

So we waited.

And waited.

And....went to get some wings

And waited a little more.

Don't worry, the story has a happy ending, guys! The luggage finally came, so we went up and unpacked, and then went back downtown for some coffee, fudge and ice cream.
Now let me tell you about this fudge.
The main street here can't be more than a quarter mile long, where the shops are. There have to be at least TEN different fudge shops, if not more. I don't understand it! Its horrible..! The smell of it fills the streets, and everywhere you walk you either see fudge, smell fudge, or you're eating fudge. My dad goes, "Now go easy with the fudge, or there will be a whole lot of Lizzy to bring home!"
That will not happen.
Needless to say, if you are a friend, expect to receive some fudge at the end of all this. But be careful, it's dangerous stuff.

So, mom and dad took the ferry back, and I went down the street with my bike to get a basket and some new handle bars and then went exploring. Let me tell you, this island is BEAUTIFUL...and way bigger than it looks. My legs are killing me!! All of you people out there like me who think to yourself, "well I don't work out, but I'm active, and I think I'm still in pretty good shape" --you will never know the truth until you go for a bike ride on this island. Let me just tell you, you're not as in shape as you think you are, I know I'm sure not! So I biked around the island, spotted a few good sunning areas, and then headed to dinner where I met a nice elderly man and chatted about the island while I ate some pasta, fruit and broccoli (all WAY better than Clet Fine Dining, for any NU readers). I left dinner and went back to my room for a bit, and then headed to Starbucks

where the coffee is great, and the wifi is free ;)

So here I am, sitting at a window, looking out at the people, horses, dogs, and shops along the street. I am so blessed to be here.  Right here. Looking at Josie's Fudge. Ugh the fudge, I just can't get away.
Anyway, Starbucks closes at 7:30 here, so I'll be getting kicked out soon, but I hope you all enjoyed reading, I certainly enjoyed everything I wrote about! All the nerves are gone and I am just soaking in the great atmosphere here. I absolutely love it. I may never leave.

The Journey Begins!

Day one!
Can't believe it's already here. Left home earlier, made it to a hotel about two hours out from the final destination (which shall remain nameless for the sake of keeping my job..!) with mom, dad and a carload of stuff all safe and sound.

A little background on me, for those that don't already know...I started in the hotel business when I was 16.  My family and I went on a vacation the summer I started to the very hotel I am going to work at this summer! Through some family connections we actually got a private tour of the hotel! I was in awe. Every room was decorated differently, everything was exquisite, unique, and unlike anything I had ever seen. The staff was incredibly polite and kind, and I fell in love. I decided to go back home and look for somewhere that I might learn a little bit more about the business, so I went down to the local Hampton Inn and annoyed the GM until she gave me the job!

Her exact words were, "I don't usually hire 16 year olds, because they generally aren't very good at cleaning rooms, but since you just kept calling I decided to take a chance on you. Don't let me down."

I'm pleased to say I didn't. I stayed with the hotel until I graduated, and then went to school for the business I had fallen in love with. Right before going to college I got a short internship position at another hotel about 45 minutes from my house.  After two and a half weeks there, the GM told me that if I needed a summer job at any point that they would be happy to get me back. Nine months later I gave him a call, and there started my summer internship for 2012. I worked housekeeping, front desk, banquets, breakfast, and sales. Gained more experience from that than in the whole previous year of hospitality classes, but hey 38K a year only gets you so much I guess..seriously though my school is awesome. Anyone interested in hospitality should take a look at Niagara U. But frankly field work always offers learning experiences that you just can't get in a classroom.

So, back to school for another two semesters. Right before leaving I got into contact with someone high up at this hotel and was offered a position there. One job application plus a few letters back and forth and one phone call with the front desk manager equaled one VERY happy college student.

So here we are. Sitting in a hotel room, watching the hockey game about two hours out from the hotel. Waking up very early so we can get moved in early and get the rents back on the road and back to a very lonely puppy waiting at home. More to come, post move-in.