Interning at Madison

Praise Buddha, I'm no longer unemployed. I finally nailed an internship at my local dream job, Madison Hotel.

Conceited, I know. But it is a really nice boutique property downtown. One of a select few 4-star properties in Memphis.

I love being a part of a hotel that isn't just another chain.

Sure, being a part of a chain gives you perks, like the IHG Conference in Las Vegas. Lots of support, instant brand recognition.

Being independent is difficult, but has the reward of not following a big company's rules. It is more flexible. More creative.

Which is much more Madison.

I am going to spend the next few months as an intern in housekeeping, then on to butler (basically their concierge), and finally front office.

This will hopefully help me narrow down what to do with my life. I like a lot of parts of hospitality, but I'm not sure what I love enough to make a career of it.

I love Disney, but only as a seasonal cast member. I simply can't work there full time and still love it. It just won't work.

Over the course of my four years in hospitality, I've learned a lot from each job.

MALCO Theatres: I definitely can't handle something mundane and ritualistic. I HATED being around food. Too many rules. It was only a concession stand, but it was enough. I like movies and all, but you won't find me running a theatre.

Hilton Hotels Corporation: Even though I worked in a complaint department, I really liked the job. I enjoyed talking to different types of people all the type. I hated the corporate office environment. I couldn't stand to be in that building and inside all day under fluorescent light.

Disney: Semi-mundane, but enough variety in people to converse with that it didn't matter. Lots of perks. Lots of sunshine and being outside. Much more mundane now, though.

Homewood Suites: Working at the front desk is fun, but it is checking-in and checking-out all day (boring). The great part was, again, getting to know all my guests. Not a wide variety, but still a great time.

Madison Hotel: Here I am. In housekeeping. I started this weekend as a front line housekeeper. I'm not kidding. I cleaned rooms and bath rooms. Made beds. Cleaned toilets. All in a dorky dress.

I'm definitely staying in school.

In fact, I'm going to work ten times harder now.

I'm really glad I had the chance to actually do it, though. It's tough. We all know it, but you don't really know it until you do it.

I think every hotelier should spend a weekend as a housekeeper. Spend one day cleaning rooms all day, just to wake up and do it again the next day. It makes you more compassionate and more logistically understanding when it comes to how fast rooms can really be cleaned by one person.

Great experience. There are amazing people that clean your rooms. They are unbelievably humble. I met one who was only doing it so she could pay for her daughter (my age by the way) to live in her own apartment because she was so proud of her.

Humanity makes you so proud sometimes. That's absolutely beautiful.

They work so hard and often help each other clean rooms once they are done. They look out for everyone. Each one genuinely wanted to know how I liked it and did their best to help me.

At the end of it all, I truly deserved my sleep this weekend. I valued my free time so much more now after such a hard day.

I realize how lucky I am that I will never have to do that full time. I have had so many opportunities from loads of different people in my life that gave me a chance. I often think of a quote from Chuck Palahniuk:

"Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everybody I've ever known."

So thank you for reading. And occasionally commenting. Thank you for all you do for me on my life's journey. I can't wait to see where the adventure goes.

Viva Las Vegas

Well, my last night in Vegas was quite the adventure.

Nothing crazy. A lot of walking.

I really enjoy the theming of each casino. They really stay true to their theme through a lot of mediums.

The Venetian especially. There is a canal that runs through the property and shops align it as if you were actually in Venice. Many of the gondola drivers sing as they push their guests through the property's canal.

The fountains, the marble, the carpet, the signs, the furniture - everything says Venice.

It's like Disney World for adults.

Seriously!

Looking for EPCOT's World Showcase? There's Italy to be found at the Bellagio (oh boy did I gush when I went there, I'm a HUGE Ocean's Eleven fan) and the Venetian. And Roman look a-likes at Caesar's Palace. And, of course, the Paris Casino!

The sleek feel of EPCOT is noticeable at Stratosphere and the Cosmopolitan (one of my favorites).

Hollywood Studios: MGM Grand with it's hollywood-like atmosphere and New York, New York (even complete with a rockin' roller coaster, definitely check it out) which resembles the "streets of America" found within the park.

Animal Kingdom- exhibits at the Mandalay Bay (sharks) and MGM Grand (lions). There's also Circus Circus with hosts acrobatic acts (Festival of the Lion King show, anyone?).

Magic Kingdom? Advenureland at Treasure Island. Frontierland at Bill's Casino. Fantasyland at Excalibur. Let's keep it current and assume no toon-town. And tomorrowland at Stratosphere.

I couldn't help, but let my Disney nerd run loose. My apologies.

I learned a lot about IHG at this conference and where they are going with the Holiday Inn (google "The Hub") and even rebranding Crowne Plaza.

There were also lots of strategies on increasing revenue, stregnthening branding, and taking care of people.

One notable one was from Trayce Robbins on dealing with our generation. Crazy generation Y.

She wanted the company to accept that we were not going to be "lifers," but also to understand that this is not such a bad thing. She emphasized how important it is to maintain post-job relationships. In essence, don't let them leave on a bad note, because they will leave, accept it, but they will also possibly be future customers and, more importantly, refer friends to the company as employees.

And if they were a great employee, won't their friends be, too? Plus, with our generation moving so much, each of us has a wide variety of experience and diversity to bring to the table everytime we move. I truly hope the current industry leaders really take this to heart and understand that constant shifts aren't so bad afterall.

Well, it is time to get back into the swing of things and get some homework done. I need to get to work on the student portion of my "spoiled student" lifestyle.

A Crazy Two Weeks and Then, Vegas

I've had a crazy two weeks. I'm sure you have missed me, although, I have my doubts, ha!

I've been emptying my life.

Like throw away all that stuff, from the trinkets of ex-relationships to pure junk. Make room for new things, new memories, your new life, and make sure you leave room for space to think. I mean this all physically and mentally.

I've realized that if you want something you've never had, you have to do things you've never done.

Like run your first 10K. Your first trail race.

And, eventually, we all place.

I placed in my division for the first time last week at the Overton Park 10k. 2nd place in women's 20-24. My trophy was a silver gnome, ha!

It felt like a reward for all the pain.

All the self-destruction.

All the emptiness.

I had made room for new victories.

And here I am in Las Vegas. The farthest west I've ever been.

I spent my first evening getting, as my friend would call it, "white girl wasted" at Cosmopolitan. A beautiful property by the way.

And then we headed to Planet Hollywood, where, according to rumors I flirted our way in the door for free.

I'm not completely sure if that's true, but that's what they say.

And while I was going about my completely irresponsible ways and spending the next day in recovery basking in the desert sun by the pool, my friend received a very magical proposal at Disney.

I can't help but to consider myself a bit of a relational wreck at this point. No regrets on being single, but I guess I feel an obligation to "grow up, get married, have babies" soon since everyone else is doing the same.

Now, I'm a bit stubborn, so I won't give in so easily. Albeit, I will stand my ground with a bit of self consciousness.

I mean, if I ever break down and do the marriage thing, I will probably have to settle for a boy coming out of the divorce stage. And I just don't want that baggage.

Relational rant of the day is over. My apologies.

Being at the Intercontinental Hotel Group here in Las Vegas really makes me realize what a spoiled student I am.

No other major gets to go on trips like these. No other hospitality school takes their students on as many trips as I have been on.

I spent the day with "grown ups" talking about real problems in the industry and what exciting things lie ahead for each brand under IHG.

At the end of the evening, they threw a party on the pool deck of the Venetian. And boy was it a blast. Each of their 4 or 5 pools was themed after a different Olympic Host Country: Beijing, Brazil, Russia, England, and, Norway?

That last one doesn't sound right.

And it could be wrong.

There was an open bar, so it could definitely be wrong.

There were also dancers/performers for each country as well as themed food and alcohol.

It was an amazing time.

If I ever work "for the man" you can bet it will be for IHG.

They are even having a fun run 5k tomorrow and wednesday, but considering I really messed my knee up on my long weekend run this past week, I'm going to give it a rest.

Being at this conference and spending a lot of time with our director of the school has made me realize what an advantage I have over most students in the industry. I can really do well here, and, he's convinced I can do better than most all of the men that stood before us on the executive boards.

But women leave the industry before they can move up because of family life.

One woman who I look up to a lot, however, is Angela Brav. She came and had a private meeting with a few of us at the school once. At the time she was high up in IHG in the Americas. Now she oversees Europe.

She admitted there is no such thing as work-life balance. You lean towards one or the other. She couldn't help but be hurt that when she was home, her kids asked for dad when they were sick or scared. She felt like it shouldn't be that way, but this is the life she chose. And, for the most part, she doesn't regret it.

I feel like if I have worked this hard in school for my career, I won't leave it behind for family life.

I'm the next Angela Brav, maybe.

I couldn't bear the opportunity cost of being the perfect mom, just like many women I know can't bear missing out on being the perfect mom.

I could handle having kids that prefer dad.

I couldn't handle feeling like I missed out on my own career.

So, at the end of it all, yes, I will probably end up always "being the bridesmaid, but never the bride" and, down the line, the cat lady, but I would rather have that than a shortened career.

Good Grief

Death has been a crazy underlying theme of this week. It has been on my mind and I haven't taken the time to post on it, but with the passing of Steve Jobs, I feel like I have to now.

I ran the Camp Good Grief 5K on Sunday. It was held a Memorial Gardens, a beautiful cemetery here in Memphis.

Creepy, I know, but it was the perfect place.

Camp Good Grief is a bereavement camp for kids who have lost parents, siblings, or very close family members. It is an amazing organization.

It's one of those needs in life that people really don't consider. People don't like to think that there are kids out there that need bereavement counseling.

Kids aren't supposed to go through that.

As Danny Thomas noted, they shouldn't die in the dawn of life either.

While running this race, I realized that Memphis gets a lot of bad stuff our way, but we handle it like champions.

High obesity rates.

High crime rates.

High poverty.

And churches on every corner.

I'm not proud to be a citizen of a city with any of the above. You would think that the first three and the last shouldn't correlate, but, for whatever reason, they do.

There are things, though, that I and many others love about Memphis.

St. Jude

Memorial Gardens

Le Bonheur

The Med

UT Medical School

The Zoo

The Art Museums

We may have bad things here, but we do our best to change lives. We raise millions for St. Jude every year. Just mention the name and you have already rallied the room.

Even if we aren't good for much beyond medical care, we change lives all over the world by being a volunteer, raising or giving money, or being a direct experience of any of the medical facilities here in town.

Even if I'm just a mediocre runner with an average time and generally average and boring lifestyle, I still want to be a part of something greater.

Even if I'm a nobody to the rest of the world, here, it is so easy to get involved and be something else.

Something better.

Memphis isn't the rich family with all these standards to keep.

We are a pretty country city. And pretty dysfunctional at times.

Yet when things get hard, we aren't too good or too big to admit problems and do our best to change them.

I wouldn't want another family for the world.