Grand opening; my thoughts and ideologies!

HOT NEWS UPDATES - in addition to some of my thoughts and ideologies...

Grab a snack, sit back, and enjoy.

Hola ladies and gentlemen! What's the good word? Obviously you have returned to my website in order to get the latest scoop on my scene. The Great One has absolutely nothing against that. In fact I encourage it. Brace yourselves as I have plenty to say in this particular post. As many of you already know, yesterday marked the opening of P.F. Chang's China Bistro in Atlantic City, NJ. Leading up to that point, I had suggested to many friends and fellow employees that opening night would be unpredictable. Nobody quite knew what to expect in regards to the grand opening. With cloudy skies and a hint of rain, the weather conditions were less than inviting. The Great One did a wonderful job and managed to survive the evening.

Julius Erving, the great and dominant basketball player commonly known as Dr. J, came in to the restaurant early in the evening for a bite to eat. The manager for Destiny's Child (who happens to be Beyonce's father) made a reservation for a party of 50 on Saturday, December 18.

Provided that I am working on that evening, it will interesting to see who exactly is going to attend that party. My guess is that Beyonce and possibly even Jay Z will be amongst such a sizeable crowd. What a thrill it would be for The Great One to seat such talented and well known artists! As hosts we must remember to remain professional as well. I will have to face the challenging task of restraining myself in front of the celebrities that walk through that door. I had previously been instructed to notify the managers that a celebrity has arrived the moment they walk through the front entrance. Managers want to have the celebrities seated as quickly as possible.

My philosophy is that they are people just like anyone else. We as restaurant employees are not there to scare people away. The objective is to make as much money for the restaurant as possible. By scaring away our guests, we limit our chances of achieving our goals. I do not plan on losing my cool over the excitement of seeing some familiar faces. One must acknowledge that they are people and they want to enjoy the same dining experience that all of the other guests are experiencing.

Wait a second... scratch that.

Knowing who they are and how much money they demand, I am sure they are looking to experience enjoyment that is 100 times greater than our average guest.

Nonetheless, I will be treating them like regular human beings. Besides, one never knows how generous or cheap they could possibly be with the tips. Some of the world's wealthiest people can have the most greed. The fact that they are stars could signify that they will try to take advantage of us because of "who they are". You never know what is going to come out of their mouths.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Why am I not being seated at a table?? I am 'Johnny such and such' and I deserve expedient service because I get paid MILLIONS of dollars to perform for you in motion pictures!"

Some of them may not even be nice people. Many people do not take such factors into consideration. Therefore it is in my best interest to avoid being star-struck as often as possible. Afterall there is a fine line between being star-struck and being excited to see a star.
Apparently the managers do an adequate job of following the standards that they preach to their workers. This was evident last night, as two of them stood outside directly in front of the restaurant and took it in their liberty to smoke cigarettes. During the week of training, they had instructed us not to smoke cigarettes in front of the restaurant for the primary reason that it gives the restaurant a bad image. Smokers were advised to take a walk across the street or to to boardwalk if they had to smoke during breaktime. Therefore why were the managers doing it? I suppose they are anticipating their holiday bonuses and that anticipation is obscuring their perception of the values our restaurant has. Whatever. I am not a smoker so that is not my problem to deal with. To each their own I suppose.

Alright. Enough about my job for the time being. The job is decent, but if I ramble on about it too much, I may begin to bore myself.

Who is looking forward to winter recess?? Who is looking forward to the holidays???? Is anybody going on vacation? The Great One welcomes the holiday season with open arms baby! There comes a time when one just needs time to think and have some privacy. Living on campus has been a privledge in all the years I have been going to school. Living with the friends I have lived with has been a pleasure, but I am looking forward to having some time off from school and work. I would like to go home for a couple weeks so I can enjoy some time to myself.
One's privacy is limited by living in an apartment with three other residents. The single dorm was a positive experience, but the availability for single dorms was limited this year. Having said that, I have absolutely no dislike for my roommates nor do I intend to disrespect them. They are genuinely nice people, great personalities (Jeremy and Sean, that is), and I totally enjoy having them in my presence. Ya'll know I am not in the habit of surrounding myself with trouble makers and drama queens. We all know that I eventually detect those bad seeds and kick them to the curve where they belong. Nonetheless, Jeremy and Sean are friends of mine. There are very few people that I could even think about living in an apartment with. These guys are cool cats.

Going home for the holidays, watching television at night, staying up late to do whatever I want to do, and just having free time to think about certain things is going to be really healthy for me. I remain optimistic that I will feel a whole lot better when I return to school for the spring semester (my final semester to be exact ). In a sense it will be a new beginning. I look to turn over a new leaf. Next semester will be an entirely different story from this one. I will be taking three courses (two of them major-related) instead of five. Those three courses include Hospitality Controls, Facilities Management, and Money and the American Imagination. I will also leave more free time for myself when I give the managers my updated availability for next semester. Spring time has always been good to The Great One and next spring should be no exception. My goal will be to pass those three courses successfully, complete the internship, and finally get the paper I so rightfully deserve!

Donna recently advised me to live in the now and to stop feeling so frustrated over my late entrance into the program. Now comes to an end, we do our best to learn from now after it has become history, and tomorrow immediately follows. I am The Great One. I will always be who and what I am because that is the way I was born. I would not want to be anybody else but me. Why would I?? I must accept my life for what it is. God has blessed me with will power and a strong mind that classify me an amazing individual. I am articulate, good looking, exquisite, flamboyant, personable, and thoughtful. Why else would I be in a host position at work?

I am THE TRUTH.

At this point, it is time for me to go. Have a great day and keep on the look out for further updates. One love.
Peace.