Finally on DAYOFF!

Remember how I used to think that life after school was going to be a piece of cake?
Towards the end of my fifth year in college I was super excited to finally be free of exams, projects, theses, and all the other school requirements I had to constantly deal with for the last 15 years of my life.

I had always pictured life after school to be an 8 to 5 thing...where I would work my ass off within this timeframe, hang out afterwards, be able to sleep at 10 or 11, and basically just be rewarded after all my hard long years during school.

Boy was I wrong!

Contrary to my earlier assumption that I was going to work in this company where I would be practicing my IE profession, improving productivity, setting time standards, charting processes and the like...I ended up quite far from my field.
I ended up working for the Events Department of this major hotel chain, which entailed the following consequential details:

1. Since my workplace is quite far, my day starts at 5AM when I have to wake up so I can leave the house by 6:30 to avoid heavy traffic and the big trucks that usually infest the streets I have to pass through.

2. Because of the heavy workload and the demands of the company and its clients, I go home late at night to avoid having my work pile up for the next day, or to ensure the success of an event.

3. I have to tie back my hair (which I hate), as part of company policy.

4. Pressure from management, from clients, and even from yourself to do your job with special attention to detail.

5. You have to learn how to multitask. In a single day you have to meet with clients, coordinate with others for an upcoming event, generate your revenue reports, update weekly lead logs, deal with returning clients, answer your phones and emails, route paperwork, handle a tour group and supervise an ongoing event all at the same time. And I'm not saying it's just ONE event in a day. The hotel has numerous function areas, and for some reason people like holding events at the same time (10/10/10 for example, or Valentines and the Christmas Season).

6. Since events usually occur on weekends or on holidays, there go my hope of holiday offs.

7. An events person's work is never done. Before the end of one event, you are already in the preparation stage for the next one, in the negotiation stage for another one, and also in the process of getting new business for more others.

8. You are on call 24/7. Since you take ownership for whatever group and task you handle, the hotel and the rest of the team call you for whatever concerns may be going about your group, even on dayoffs.

9. All these, plus the pressure of having lots of bosses you have to answer to.

Did I say I hated it?
Honestly, I did at first. I thought to myself:
'What did I get myself into?'
There are, however, several upsides to my job:

1. I'm actually learning a lot! Everyday I meet different people, get to try different things...and the opportunities and the exposure that I experience everyday are (no exaggeration), BOUNDLESS!

2. Then, I used to hate having to go home late. But now, there's a relaxing rush you feel when you walk along the hotel at night. There's just something cool about walking through the expansive lobby while acoustic music plays at the lobby lounge, something great about greeting the different people you pass by, and something relaxing about the cool evening breeze in the open hotel air.

3. There is actually this fulfilling feeling when you cross out your long list of things to do everyday.

4. The happiness and accomplishment you feel upon the successful execution of an event.

5. The contacts you get to make with the groups you handle.

6. I've grown to love the people at the hotel.Everyone in the different departments have slowly become close to me. Having met these different people and knowing their stories, and working side by side with them has made me realize that the hotel's credo of US being a heartwarming family was not cheesy anymore...as it now holds true for me.

7. The pressure that comes with the job is actually good training. Emerging from all the stress, I can honestly say that a little more time in this profession and I may be callous to whatever challenge life may throw my way.

I guess what they say is true, that you really never know where you will end up. As I write this blog, I'm enjoying a long overdue day off from work. After 11 October weddings, a nephrology group and the ministerial meetings, and with the Accounts Review coming up, I feel like I've been practically LIVING in the hotel!
But I'm not complaining. No matter how exhausted I am, I just feel really good right now :)