Going through the motions

Admittedly, there are some days when my job goes on automatic pilot. At least it sometimes feels that way. I have a set routine that I adhere to when I arrive at the Concierge desk. I usually have to restock the literature racks, answer the messages for Demo reservations, check the signage and the bathrooms, wipe the fingerprints off the main door, greet anyone walking through that door and making them feel that someone paid attention to them. I actually love this job because of the people. People cna be fabulously great or a colossal pain in the tooch. I honestly, sometimes think that my attitude is creating an environment for people to enjoy themselves, while they are here.

Family fun using Instant Messenger

Last night, I got home and wanted to show off my laptop to my sister in Portland. So I opened IChat and found that she and my other sister in San Francisco were online and text each other. So I created a Chat room for all three of us to exchange information. We reminisced about our childhood in Greenwich, Conneticut and swapped tales about the neighbors at that time in our lives. Then we got the idea to include other members of our family into the mix. I called my brother in Chicago in hopes that he might be awake and eager to do instant messaging with the rest of us. He obliged, even though he was in bed at the time. He booted up his computer and went to do a Google search for the latest Mac version of AOL's I.M. After the download ( which took about five minutes ) He called me back to have me walk him through the installation process. Well, wouldn't you know, that he tried and tried to get a secure password and username to no avail. The setup was impossible and I could not really be of assistance since I could not see the monitor. Unfortunately, he gave up and went back to bed. Someday, I hope that all my family and friends can meet online wherever we are. This would be a big step.

One Gorgeous Day

Today is March 18th, the day after St. Patricks day and the first day of sunshine in quite awhile. We had double rainbows in the Valley before sunset last night and the rain actually was refreshing. The ACAP students had their graduation last night and the parents of many of them had me take pictures of the families before the reception took place here in the atrium. Connie Willis is a student who had gone through the program and wants to be the next Rachel Ray ( a cooking show personality on the Food Network ). She actually has done some television work on the home shopping network but feels that she will be more qualified now that she has graduated from this prestigious school. She is quite shrewd at getting her way sometimes, but is not at all malicious. She is just agressive and works at getting her way at any means possible. I gave her family a long tour throughout the whole building yesterday and she was grateful. A whole new crop of Students will be coming to start the Spring semester classes shortly.The activity and foot traffic is certainly picking up as the tourist season begins

Tuesday Afternoon

The weather has continued to be stormy, cold and windy. February and March have really been wet and wild this year. Today, i am trying to find something to write about because this blog is starting to be reflective of how boring my life appears here on the web. I tried to upload a " racy " picture from the Academy Awards Gala but the server wouldn't do it, So I am left texting my observations without any imagery to back it up. Perhaps I will be able to upload a shot on this post ( i hope so ) , but if I don't I will probably try again sometime in the near future.

Academy Awards Gala

I stayed over until 6:30 pm last night at work. The Napa Valley Aids Project sponsored the Academy Awards Gala event that was held in our Barrel Room at the CIA. I watched as the room was transformed into a 70's style party. It was attended by lots of people who watched on a very large screen as the awards ceremony unfolded. The movie "Crash" won best picture and Phillip Seymour Hoffman won the best actor award for "Capote." Reese Witherspoon won best actress award for "Walk the line" which was a movie about country singer Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter. The movie, "Brokeback Mountain" won the award for best director Ang Lee. I enjoy watching this event every year because i try to make a point of seeing all the movies before the Academy Awards are handed out.