Being selfish

Since moving to Maryland, I am still actively looking for a job.  It's been a roller coaster, but I'm trying to be hopeful that something will come up soon.

But I've noticed something kinda weird, and honestly, annoying.  The two of the three times I've been in contact with someone at Marriott, via interview or phone call screening, they seem to be way too interested in what Wolfgang's career.  Um..what the heck?!  Somehow he comes up in the interview, and the questions start coming,
"What does he do/what is his job title?"
"Interesting, now tell me EVERY DETAILS OF HIS DAILY RESPONSIBILITIES" (Ok, maybe I tweaked that one, just a little.)
"Where does he work?"
"Oh, I didn't know they did that at Headquarters"
"Who does he work for?"
"What hotels is he over?"
etc.

The first time it happened, I obviously wasn't giving satisfying answers cause the questions just kept coming. Unfortunately that was very soon after we had moved here, and quite frankly I was still figuring out exactly what my husband was doing for work.  In my head I was thinking, "Isn't this interview about me?" I was slightly annoyed and later just laughed it off when I told Wolfgang about it.

Well, today it happened again. I called someone today pertaining to a potential job that I may be interviewing for in the near future, and somehow my husband came up.  Some of the questions mentioned came up, and I just played along and answered as best I could. 

I know we are taught not to be selfish, but What the heck?!  I really don't get it. Can someone explain?  The stubborn woman in me is really put off by this, but, what do you do? I need a job and can't be picky.  Maybe it's just a weird man thing.  In the meantime I'm just going to get over it, and heaven forbid it happens again, I might not play nice again.

And the award goes to...

One of the many things that are admirable about Wolfgang, is that he loves his job.  Ever since he did his apprenticeship training as a teenager, he knew he wanted to be in the Hospitality and Tourism industry, and has never looked back since.

On a regular basis, he is always getting compliments from guests in person and on hotel surveys of how helpful he was, etc, which he takes great pride in.  Sometimes his "going above and beyond" personality is, quite honestly, inconvenient or annoying (like him doing a guest's laundry, in our washer and dryer last night at around 11:00pm...that will NOT be happening ever again, by the way. )  but generally, his hard work and dedication is something to look up to.

With that said, he was awarded "Supervisor of the Quarter"  on Monday!  I'm very happy for him, and the nice little bonus is not too bad either.

I'm honored to be married to someone who is a hard worker that takes his work seriously.   

What's been up, and what's next.

I always seem to need to have some sort of event, big or small, to keep me going and motivated throughout the week.  I haven't quite figured out if this is a good or bad thing, but that's basically why my blog title is, "What's Next?" Because it fits me perfectly as to how I tend to look at things.

The last couple of weeks have been great, we've been able to do things here and there that have kept us sane during this busy and slightly chaotic work season.  Here are some things we've been up to.

Spring Training

 A couple of weeks ago we went to a spring training game with the Diamondbacks (Go DBacks!)  vs Cubs.  It was a gorgeous day, and it was a chill but fun game.  Wolfgang is officially American, because he had a hot dog at a baseball game!  So proud.  Next step for us is to go to a legit game.


Treat Yo' Self.

Never heard of it?  It's only from one of our favorite TV shows.  Let me clue you in:



So, we decided to have a "Treat Yo Self"  mini (sorta)stay-cation.
We stayed at the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain for two nights; first night was free, second night on our employee rate, of course.  BAM!  It was fantastic. Not to mention, they had the best avocado fries, and buffalo tacos {salivating}

 

 During that little vacation, we also went to Saguaro National Park.  I just love them cacti!

Other festivities have included actually being social with friends and co-workers (woah, I know...)  and going wedding dress shopping with a friend of mine on several occasions, which was fun because I hadn't gone since it was me putting on all those dresses!



And now, the moment you've {I} have been waiting for, of what is to come in the {somewhat}  near future...{and sorry, to many of you, this isn't new news}
Flights are booked, and we are going to Austria for my brother-in-law's wedding in July, with a side detour of Wolfgang's old stomping grounds in England!!!

I'm so excited, I can hardly wait.  We'll be gone for about 2 1/2 weeks.  I've already got a list going of things we have to do, and things we should do while we are over there.  The Lonely Planet book of England has been very helpful, and seeing that I have a local informant for Austria, I don't have to do too much researching for that portion of the trip :)

I even loved  reading the confirmation email for our flights to/from Austria to England, because the English words and slang are different and cute.

Hope you are all doing well, and thanks for being patient with me as I figured out the new Blogger set-up, aka my laziness.

The city that never sleeps.

Stage two of the trip with the in-laws: Vegas! Good ol' Vegas.

Got in yesterday afternoon, and spent some short but good time with grandpa, aunt, uncle, and cousin n' boyfriend.

Being a Marriott employee, benefit #234 is that you can get employee discount rates for hotels that aren't really Marriott hotels, like The Cosmopolitan. Therefore, that's where we stayed at for two nights.

Wolfgang has been wanting to stay here ever since it opened last year, but they are pretty (understandably) stingy about giving employee discounts, so needless to say, he was really excited to find some rates for when his parents were coming here.

So, would you like a cheesy video tour of our hotel room? Ok, if you insist.


(sorry, after two long tries, my video wouldn't upload...maybe I'll put it on youtube and share the link)

The weather here has been great, rainy but enjoyable. I think fall is finally here? I'll be the judge when we are in Phoenix.

Monumental.

Today marks the first time ever where I have gotten my uniforms for a new job...and they actually fit. It was kinda weird. I'm happy about it.

Thanks Marriott, I like you already.

FINALLY.

Yesterday I had a job interview, and I was hired on the spot!

I am finally employed!!

It's been a long almost 8 months. I lost track of how many applications I have submitted, but the last time I counted was 75, and that was a couple of months ago.

Unemployment is stressful, frustrating, and among other obnoxious and very unhealthy things. The job isn't a career or anything of what I want to see myself doing in the future, but a job is a job right now, and I'm very happy.

I have been humbled by unemployment, and I now have a new understanding and a heck of a lot of compassion for those who are also struggling in this awful economy. For anyone else that is going through what I had to, all I have to say is...NETWORKING! I was annoyed when people would tell me this, especially when I didn't know anyone to network with. But in the end, I'm fully convinced this is the only reason I got this job, thanks to my husband and his connections.

Oh, and I will be working for the lovely Marriott International. Sound familiar? Just maybe...

Thanks Marriott

Having Wolfgang work for Marriott DEFINITELY has its perks. We had a fabulous Valentine's Day/Wolfgang's days off on Monday and Tuesday. With his Marriott discounts, we were able to stay a night at the Marriott Vacation Club Canyon Villas in a fancy villa which was probably a little bigger than out apartment, and got our first ever professional massage at the amazing spa of JW Marriott Desert Ridge. It was delightful, and also fun to pretend for a day that we had just as much money as all the retired couples around us.

Editions

I love the farmer's market on campus every other Friday (pay day, sneaky sneaky)

Today was especially quite the event, because along with the farmer's market was a health fair thing of some sort. The farmer's market has really improved since it first started, and today we notice a few editions to the "menu," yummy cinnamon rolls, and this:


Mmm. I love bread. Especially with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar... mm MMM!

and,

Wolfgang is loving his new job at the Waikiki (Marriott) Edition. He's been working there a few weeks now, and this whole weekend they are super busy with the grand opening. Word has it that Usher and Christina Aguilera will be there; Wolfgang will believe it when he see's it.

If Usher really does show up, Wolfgang said he's going to ask him if he will make him famous like he did Justin Bieber. He'll even upload a youtube video, if he has to.

The hotel has been really hush hush about everything, but now that they are officially open, they have come out to the public. Click Here to watch a little clip about it that they did on the news today. (two picture icons under the red "Video Gallery" first the one on the right, then left.) Then there are some more pictures here. Quite risky with their choice of colors!