Magical Maui...

8/22 - Today was an interesting day. 1 of our roomies had some friends over from the mainland. We took them surfing, hung out all day, invited the guy that bought a 1 way ticket to sleep on our couch in the garage (aka lanai), and next thing I know is some dude who is passed out on the couch is getting the water hose sprayed on him.
After I got done laughing (which was about 30 minutes) – I realized what was happening. One of our roomies was spraying down a drunk individual to make sure he was still alive.. He was questionable for a while. But the garden hose gave a lot of answers quickly…
I was called in to be the gentleman that made sure that the young damsel made it home safely. I was more than happy to do the job. I was grateful that I had a job. I was ecstatic that the 2 women I knew that lived in my house understood that I would be the one to make sure they made it home. Ultimately, I was the one they trusted…
I was happy! I knew I made more friends. I knew I made more friends that I could trust – because they trusted me… When the situation got tough – and you need a gentleman – who u going to call??
BRIAN!!!
It’s good to know that some things never change…

On another note…
I wonder if anyone can beat me on job title? I am the “Director of FUN” Seriously – does anyone even want to compete? I will be happy to entertain all contenders, but I am going to win in the long run… FUN is in my title!!!
Director
Of
Fun
I could not have dreamed of a better job… - yet I got it!!!
Life is such an extraordinary thing. Sometimes you dream and it comes true… Sometimes things change – but remain the same… Sometimes you have the courage to change things… and sometimes you are too scared to do anything… I know who I am – who are you?

8/23 - I was late today... My boss called & woke me up at 10AM. That is the worst feeling - being late - and your boss calling to wake u up... I hope I do not do that again. Worse even yet is talking to the owner - then him concluding by "So you had a sleeping problem today?" - My response - "Yes sir. I apologize. It will not happen again..." Enough said. End of conversation...

8/24 - I was officially named Director of FUN today!!! At the manager meeting - the owner of the company said I was the Director of Fun - and would be replacing my manager. Life is grand! (can u tell I work with some Irish chicks?)

8/25 - I got a call today from the VP of the company. He said they were working on my compensation package. He said I had not been forgotten. I said thank you.. What I really thought was - now that it has been announced that I am replacing my boss - and have been named as such - that I AM the one in control. I have the title - now they have to PAY me... Does that make since to anyone?
I think I am in a good position. I think I have room to negotiate...
I will let you know how it goes. I hope I am right.

I miss yall! I hope I can inspire you to have some "FUN" in your life. I know
I am...

8/26 - Another day at the pool… I had 2 of my Irish chicks working today. One of them told me they got a $5 tip – so I decided to make her day better. I asked her if she wanted to sit in on an activity. She had the choice between Lei making and Hula lessons. She chose lei making – and she was ecstatic that she could make lei’s for an hour, talk to guest, and get paid to do it. I was happy to make an employee happy.

I have the best job ever

Tonight I was in the lanai (aka the terrace, balcony, or in my case – the garage…) and five of us said we the best job ever. How many times have you heard that? Five people – each of them claiming that they love their job and each of them claiming they “Have the BEST job ever?” Turns out that 4 of us work at the pool at a resort at Ka`anapali. We all come home – ask how work was – and say “It was just another day at the pool…” We ALL know what the other means – we all know how the day was. How great is that?

The other chick in the lanai worked at a pizza place. NO way she wins – I worked for a pizza place for 10 years – and I KNOW that does not even come close to working at the pool….

I got my picture taken today. I am going to be on the wrap = the newspaper print that my resort places on the outside of the Maui News each morning. I am going to be claiming – that I have the BEST job ever! I am going to be endorsing my favorite activities. I am going to be in over 500 rooms a day! I smiled the whole time they were taking my picture. I KNOW I have the best job ever!!! I am the Director of FUN!!!

So – on a more serious note – you need to click on the picture from my previous post. It took a certain brother of mine over a week to figure out that if you click on the picture, you will see A LOT more… A Bra – click on the picture…

I found a link to a view of my office. You can even control the webcam and move it where you want. You can zoom in and out. You can escape your drab, dreary day at the office – and enjoy my world – just imagine another day at the pool….

THIS IS MY LIFE!!!
Amazing how you can change one thing – and change everything…
How u stay?
http://www.seehawaiilive.com/sm-cam.cfm

SO I got a package today... My brother Jon sent me some cigarettes. The box was postmarked June 6. It arrived July 14th. That is a slooow boat. I was happy to see it. Jon had given up hope - he thought it got jacked - and swore he would not send anything else. I still had hope. I knew it would arrive.. I projected positive thoughts during his negativity - and it came the next day.

He also sent me a DVD with out pictures from our vacation on it. I have a special treat for you. I picked out some of my favorites and uploaded them to the web.
I hope you enjoy my first week of vacation as much as I did....

Why I stayed in Maui....

Today was an interesting day. It was the first day that my boss was back. She asked me how it went and I gave her the book that was signed to me. She smiled and agreed. I spent the whole day in the office – more or less an internet café. I made one report (the hard way), made documents on the computer, printed them, laminated them and then posted them. It took all day.

I had lunch with my boss and 2 concierges.. The concierge sure can talk. They talked nonstop during lunch.

There was 7 weddings today – 7 weddings on July 7, 07. 7 weddings on 7.7.7. Crazy stuff huh?

I grew a new toe! 7/10/07

So I took my bandage off today. I left a Band-Aid First Aid Advanced Care band aid on for the last 2 days. This “super Band-Aid” is supposed to let bacteria out and reduce the appearance of a scar. I have to agree – it worked! I grew the end of my big toe back with it. So – when I took the band aid off – I noticed it was peeling the scab off – and then I noticed the new, baby skin that was underneath it. It was so soft it reminded me of a baby. It was so shiny, it looked like an old mans bald head. None-the-less – I was happy to have spawned a new big toe. It also made me appreciate how much dead skin I have on my toes.

Work is going well. I am in training to be the Director of FUN!!! What a great title. I never in my wildest dreams would have, or could have dreamed of putting “Director of Fun” on my resume. Like I said before, all I need is my foot in the door and I WILL succeed!!!

I opened a local bank account. I am too cheap to pay the fees if I need money. $2 here and there adds up. I would rather pay 4 bucs a month for maintenance fees than 2 each time I take money out. They offered me $7000 in a personal loan just since I opened an account. I was pre-approved – no application was needed. I declined. I could buy a car – but I am making it by on a POS jeep.

I am constantly amazed at how well the island provides you with what you need. It is an amazing thing.

• I am grateful that I grew a new toe in only a week.
• I am grateful for all of my experiences that have led me here – and for all of the experiences I have yet to create.
• I am grateful for my friends & family.

Life is good. I have a great tan. My hair is turning blonde – and it has not been blonde in 15 years – so I am pretty stoked.

Aloha!

Another day at the pool....

. So life has pretty much been work, poker, and sleep. My job is going well. I spend the whole day at the pool, talking to the guest and making sure they are happy. What a GREAT job. Last Saturday I went to the Tiki Bar next to our resort with some coworkers and had a few drinks, talked to some women and had some more drinks. When I got home, no one was around, so I went to Mulligans (the Irish pub) to have some more drinks. I borrowed a bike to get there and to get home – which in hindsight was a mistake. I made it home – but I fell off a couple of times, ran into a couple of things, and more or less cut the end of my big toe off. Yeah – it hurt. I am glad my 2 days off were spent lying around the house and sleeping. One of my roomies gave me some spray band aid, which I sprayed on my toe – and then almost passed out. I got tunnel vision and then I saw some freaky colors – it was kind of like zooming in to a picture and all you see is pixels. Needless to say – I slept all day.

The Fourth of July and fireworks were AMAZING. I walked to the beach, which is about 2 blocks away – and watched the fireworks go off over the Pacific. It was the best fireworks show that I have ever seen and it was GREAT!

I got a tip today. A lady gave me a book which she wrote and wrote on the cover page to me something along the lines of – thanks for the great service and treating me like I was the only guest in the hotel. Tell your boss you need a raise and promotion! I thought that was sweet. Turns out she is a judge. Pretty cool huh?

Sorry I have not been posting daily. I have been working, hanging out with some roomies and friends, and playing poker. I hope the mainland is treating everyone well. The island is treating me well. Aloha!

Monday Morning Bonus:

Good morning to all of my East Coast friends. I am just about to go to bed…

I trained the last 2 days for an Assistant Manager position – I am going to be enforcing the “wrist Band: policy. I get to work at the pool, and have 5 women working beneath me – that I am in charge of. This is cake- I get to talk to guest at the pool, and tell 5 women what to do!!! OOO – and I am going to Have an Assistant Manager. I am going to have my own ASSISTANT! I have always found that the best managers always hire people who are smarter than them – that way they can work less.

I am also going to hit overtime this week. I have worked 20 hours in 2 days – and I have 4 more days to go! I kind of miss riding the clock – you get to make your own hours – and when u do it right – u get paid $xtra….

I have learned to appreciate Reggae sine I have been here. My new favorite song is by Ziggy Marley – and is called a “Beach in Hawaii”. I love his whole album – maybe because “Love is my religion” – or “a Lifetime” is simply never enough to love you.

I LOVE Hawaii! I miss my friends and family – but I know that we are on a path – and this is mine. I hope that yall are brave enough to go after what you want – and that you recognize that when opportunity taps you on the shoulder – you respond – and most importantly - you ACT. Act involves doing something. Take action. Set dreams into the correct place so they become reality. What do you want? What do you wish for on your birthday? What do you HOPE comes true – but are afraid to share with anyone? What does your life hold for you? AND how will you make that come true?

Aloha!

I got PROMOTED!!!

Thursday: I had my interview for the Asst Manager of the pool deck today. I met with the Manager and HR director at 2PM. It went well, it lasted about 45 minutes. At the end, they let me know that I was meeting with the President at 3PM. I waited 15-20 minutes and then met with the Prez and owner of the company. I had some advice before I went in.

1 – Answer a question and move on. Do net dwell on it. Get right to the point and answer specifically.

2 – Do not smoke before you meet with him. Very good advise. I was glad the HR told me too….
The interview went well. I gave a little background of my career and why I was on Maui. My questions to him were:

Q1 – It seems that everyone I talk to, when your name comes up, they seem to hold you in just high regard and esteem. How did you achieve this with your employees?

Q2 – How did you get started in this business?

A1 – I doubt that everyone thinks so – but it is kind of you to say that. I think it is probably because no job is beneath me. I was out painting last night because it needed to be done.

A2 – I started by selling sunscreen. I started in Vegas and had the opportunity to go to Hawaii – and then I cam to Maui and was selling sunscreen at the resort.

Friday: I went snorkeling with Paul and Holly today. We went to Honolua Bay – and met one of the curators of the land. He told us that there were dolphins out there swimming today – and he told us that there was a white turtle on the left side that had turned white because of old age. It is estimated that he is 250 -300 years old. All of our jaws dropped. That is simply amazing that any creature can live that long. Let alone in the wild ocean - where getting eaten by a shark is a real possibility - especially to a turtle..

The water was clear – and we heard the dolphins, but we did not see them. We saw 5 turtles lying together. It was pretty cool.

I got the job as an Assistant Manager – I will be working on the pool deck making sure the people who use the pool are registered guest and giving them armbands. I will also be teaching snorkeling lessons and leading other activities for the guest. Basically my job is making sure the guests are happy and hang out with them at the pool. And hiring, firing, scheduling of my co-workers. Pretty cake huh? I get PAID to hang out at the pool. I start tomorrow and am probably on the fast track to a promotion. Pretty good for working 2 days huh :) All I need is my foot in the door and I create my own opportunities. If I can’t – then it is time to move on.

Today was also recycling day. We make 5 cents for each can, plastic or glass bottle we recycle and take to the redemption center. We always buy beer with our proceeds and share with everyone in the house. We made $18 today. It was 9 days worth of recyclables. We bought a12 packs of Natural Light and 2x12 packs of Natty Ice. Last week we made $32 for over 2 weeks of recyclables. We bought 2x24 packs of Keystone Light last week and a pack of rollies – rolling papers and tobacco to roll your own cigarette.

ALOHA & MAHOLO!!!