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Friday, July 30th, 2004
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8:24 pm - LA Trip Upcoming
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I have scheduled a trip to Los Angeles for Labor Day weekend. I will arrive late on the night of Thursday, September 2nd and leave Monday, September 6th. Anyone wanting to host me, join me, or whatever else with me is more than welcome.
I will call to see if I can get another suite at the Hyatt West Hollywood or Park Hyatt LA like I did last time. Otherwise, I'm sure that one of you out there will be happy to take care of me. =)
I am looking forward to seeing some of you I haven't seen in a while, and meeting some others I haven't met yet.
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(7 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, July 24th, 2004
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8:17 pm - L.A. Trip & Loneliness
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I think I'm going to dump the idea of making it to Vegas anytime soon and just plan a trip to L.A. around my birthday (August 30th). Anyone there want to throw a huge birthday bash for me? I know you do! I might look into the possibility of getting a free suite at the Hyatt West Hollywood like I did last time. Unless someone wants to put me up who lives in that area, which I wouldn't mind either.
Also, it's Saturday night and I'm bored silly. I don't think that's happened in like....well, um....I can't remember the last time that happened. Anyone wanna come visit? I'm in one of those weird anti-social moods where I don't want to make the effort of calling anyone or making plans to go out, but someone stopping by would totally relieve me of my depressed mood right now.
I've had a lot of people express an interest in dating over the past couple of weeks. But as lonely as I feel lately, I am not prepared to just go out on a whim. I've dicked around too much, gone on dates with people whom I knew the first time we talked were not meant to be. I'm done with that. The only question is: when will the right one come along?
I guess in a lot of ways I still need to decide what is going to make me happy in life.
current mood:  lonely
current music: "Why Georgia" by John Mayer
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(23 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, July 17th, 2004
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5:38 pm - Getting Cheated On (and being strangely happy for it)
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First off, I don't think I mentioned in my last post that I was heading to San Diego last weekend. I took a week off work (thank God!) and went with my friend Ned to San Diego for 3 days. It was a blast. We relaxed on the beach a lot, drank a ton, and I came back with bright blonde hair, which nearly got me fired from work upon my return. I had to color it back, and got an indirect lecture from my GM about how he thought I was a great young manager and he was disappointed in my "22-year old behavior." Oh well, it's over now and he was joking about it with me yesterday.
Regarding the cheating thing (thus the title of this post).....it turns out that on my first night back in town from San Diego, Zac attempted to cheat on me. This in and of itself doesn't surprise me. I half expected a friend to tell me they saw him out with someone else over the weekend. What DID surprise me was that he had done it with one of my best friends, Andrew. Of course Andrew got awkward, left the bar, and called me. What else should Zac expect?? Andrew had me come over to tell me about it right away, and while I was at his house, Zac text messaged and called, asking him to go out the next night and such.
When I confronted Zac about it, first he played dumb, then went into denial & blamed it on Andrew, and then finally began to attack me and called me "another drama queen", and said he thought I was different from all of the others. Did he mean that I was different in that I would allow him to cheat on me with my best friend?? I guess I just didn't follow that one. In the end, he apologized and said he hoped he didn't hurt me. He did, but in the end I think I am better off. Clearly I have lost a boyfriend, but not much of one if he's going to cheat on me like that.
There is one thing I have continually noticed over the past 6 months though....why is it that I am happiest when I am single, and yet I spend all of my existence trying to find someone to love and spend the rest of my life with??
current mood:  blah
current music: "I Surrender" by Laura Pausini (Mike Rizzo Remix)
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| Wednesday, July 7th, 2004
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6:30 pm - Crossroads
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Life has been a blur as of late. It has been a hodge-podge of people, places, events, and changes. I'll simplify it here:
Work is Blah. Too much work, not enough time or money. I'm somewhat disenchanted with it. I need to figure out if a long-term "career" with Hyatt is what I really want. I'm contemplating buying a house, fixing it up, and renting it out, marking the unofficial start of my real estate investment career.
Friends are Fun. I've been hanging out with my friend Ned a lot, and Andrew & Joe a little bit. Ned mixes paint at Home Depot and wants to get a job at the Hyatt. Andrew works night audit at a hotel and wants to work at Hyatt. Joe is a bartender and definitely does not want a job at the Hyatt. Ned and I are going to San Diego this weekend. I think Ned has a crush on me, but he's respectful enough to not push it, because.....
Boyfriend is Great. I've been dating a guy named Zac for about a month. It's been unusual so far. I came in with no expectations. I now have a few because it's been a month. I don't know what they are though. That is kind of confusing. Zac is interesting. He works as a manager at a trendy restaurant here in downtown Phoenix. He wants to move to NYC. He said I should come too. I don't think we are that serious yet. Some days it seems like we are serious. Other days it seems like we are just friends. Zac is pretty hot. He treats me like gold. I'm not in love with him though. Will I be?
Overall I'm happy, but things are very complex right now.
current mood:  happy
current music: "I'm Ready" by Cherie
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(14 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, June 12th, 2004
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8:05 pm - Back to Life (and dating??)
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I decided to finally put some of my experiences from the past month or so into writing, lest they be lost in time.
Over the past month or so, I've finally started to develop some of the close, "real" friendships that I had been seeking ever since I moved to Phoenix. About 2 weeks ago, before my trip to Ohio, I was sitting here in the apartment alone, and just thought to myself for the first time in a long time..."I am happy today." It is a very nice feeling. I've been spending significant time with Andrew, Joe, Jesse, Wil, Ned, Nic, Joanie, Mike, Marisela, and Renee, and I'm starting to feel like I always have people to be with, and that I have a niche here.
And last night at Amsterdam, it really hit me that I was able to just plain spend time with people as opposed to flying around the bar trying to meet people. For the first time since I lived in Ohio, I actually felt like I knew enough people there to be comfortable hanging with one group of people until others ventured along that I knew.
The only concern I have right now is over my dating future....
After brief glimmers of hope that something might work out with Ned and a couple of others that, realistically, weren't my type, I have gone on several dates with a guy named Zac over the past 2 weeks or so. I've been "single" for 2 months now, and I think that singleness is a big part of the reason why I've been so much happier lately. Zac is a really cute guy, and treats me amazingly well. But at the same time, I really am not sure that I want to date him, or that he is my type, or whatever. Quite frankly, I'm just plain confused. Everyone else thinks he's gorgeous and that I'd be silly to walk away from it. Maybe they are right? I know I told myself coming into this weekend that we were going to spend a lot of time together, and that I would be able to figure out my thoughts during that time. Well, halfway through the weekend I am even more confused. Perhaps it's the huge crush I have on the new Sales Manager at the Hyatt that I can't seem to put out of my mind?
Stay tuned....
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(9 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, May 20th, 2004
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9:12 pm - Catch-Up Update #3
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So at this point, we should be caught up.
Since my last update, and returning to Ohio, life has returned to normal. Minus a couple of things, that is....
1) I shaved my head!!
2) I joined a bowling league
3) I've started listening to alternative rock again
4) I've been content being alone
5) I've been content being single
Regarding #1, don't ask me what happened. One night, I decided I was bored with my hair and that I was going to shave it, so I did! Everyone has been commenting on how they like it so much better than before. Honestly, I agree that it's okay, if only because I look much more butch and a little bit older. But I really did like it better before, so I'm growing it back out now.
The last 2 items on the list are what is really surprising. I had been consistently dating someone for a very long time, at least until Shawn and I broke up a couple months ago. And the surprising thing is that I've been strangely content with my singleness. It's not like I've been whoring around or anything either. I can honestly say I haven't touched a guy in a month. It's not that I don't want to, but I am perfectly happy not to at the same time.
I have, for the first time in my life, been at peace while spending time alone. For those of you who know me, you realize that I go insane after spending 5 minutes alone, so this is a major breakthrough. Lately, I have been spending entire days by myself, and am completely enjoying it. And the surprising thing is that despite this, I have started to make some of the first true, strong friendships since I've been in Arizona. This makes me very happy.
The only real negative that has happened in the past month is that I really don't have a roommate anymore, though even this has been not all bad. Shawn started dating a guy a couple weeks after we broke up, and since then he's only spent a night or two at the apartment, and I only see him once or twice a week in passing. Lots of people are telling me this is a good thing, since I essentially have my own apartment now, but also have someone to pay half of the bills. It makes sense, I suppose! :)
Alright, I'm going to bed now. And did I mention that I've been going to bed at like 9pm every night? What's up with this?!
current mood: mellow
current music: "So Far Away" by Staind
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(30 comments | comment on this)
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| Sunday, May 2nd, 2004
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9:57 pm - Catch-Up Update #2 (Visit to Ohio)
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This one will be much shorter than the last, since I'm late to get to bed and sick.
This past weekend, I visited back home in Ohio for the first time since I moved to Arizona a year ago. I cannot even begin to express how excited I was to see everyone. I've done a relatively poor job of staying in touch with everyone (but then again, it does go both ways), but one thing I always promise is that I will never completely lose touch. Regardless, it was great seeing everyone for the first time in a long while.
My flight landed Thursday afternoon, and my family met me in Columbus with a car to drive for the weekend. We had dinner, and then I drove straight down to Oxford. I met Michael, who was getting dressed to perform in Cincinnati that night, and we went to the Spectrum meeting, where I met Barrett, Katie, and some other people I knew from school. We left and went to Pipeline in downtown Cincy from there, where we had a great time. Amazingly, I bought a round for everyone and several other drinks for myself (probably 12 in all), and yet my tab only came to $25. Explain that. So we stayed until the bar closed at 2:30, then decided we were hungry. We went into a restaurant that claimed they only sat tables of 4 or less people (there were a lot more of us that that!), so we decided to ditch that place and randomly ended up in northern Kentucky eating at the "Anchor Grill Good Food Restaurant". And let me tell you, it was a treat! (not really) I had pancakes, bacon, orange juice, part of a burger, and fries.....and maybe something else, but I forget. :) Needless to say, this place wasn't a palace, and the bunch of us completely took it over. I think they were slightly overwhelmed.
So Friday, I never left Oxford. I spent a few hours meeting old co-workers in the athletic department, took a nap to recover from Thursday, and then went to a gay house party. It was kind of lame at first, and only had a keg that cost $5 per cup if you wanted to drink. So I ran to Kroger and bought a whole bunch of vodka and various Pucker varieties. I spent the next hour or so bartending, and got some better music playing. By the end, I think everyone was having a lot of fun. Yay!
Saturday was the day of many lunches. First, I had lunch with my new friend Tim, then with Matt, Ryan, Laurie, Nicklaus (sp?), and their friend whose name I forget. Thankfully, my third lunch with Steve from the AD was canceled. My fourth lunch (by then it was basically dinner) was with my old friend John Perge and his buddies. From there, I drove myself to Pipeline in Cincy, where Michael was performing again, then left to go to my old friend Chase's party, and then to the Dock for some dancing. Whew! We finally made it back to Chase's to pass out by about 5am, and then I got up at 7am to drive across the state to see my family in Cambridge.
It was nice seeing my family and their new house and all, but I was soooooo tired that all I wanted to do was sleep the first day. Didn't really do much in the day and a half I was there. We talked a lot and went out to eat a couple times. Not much else.
Alright, I'm tired and my throat really hurts. Off to bed....this was a really boring post. Sorry.
My Friend Perge
This is what I got when I asked for bread at the restaurant....
Chase & I
My Grandma & Little Brother
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| Thursday, April 29th, 2004
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8:53 pm - Catch-up Update #1 (The White Party)
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This will probably be a series of 3 catch-up updates. I've been so busy lately (albeit with travel and vacation) that I haven't even had a chance to consider posting. This particular post is about my weekend in Palm Springs for the White Party 3 weeks ago. The White party is arguably the biggest gay circuit party around.
I've never considered myself a "circuit boy" or anything even remotely close to it. In fact, I had never been to one prior to the White Party. Based on what everyone told me, I was expecting a ton of drugs and sex to be just thrown in my face all weekend. I expected to be completely overwhelmed by it all. But amazingly, I wasn't. And in fact, I had an absolutely amazing time.
I went with my friend Andrew, arrived in Palm Springs at about 1am on Friday night, and checked into the Hyatt (I love my free rooms!). I kind of expected the entire city to be overrun by partying gay men, so I was surprised to find the Hyatt so quiet when we got there. Granted, there were gay men everywhere, but not climbing the walls and fucking around every corner as I was told. So we met Gary from Phoenix and went to the Friday night After Hours Party at "Heaven", which was DJed by Roland Belmares (who coincidentally plays at Rise Phoenix this Saturday). We danced until 8:30am. It was okay....definitely the low point of the weekend though.
After leaving Heaven (that sounds really strange somehow), we went to Starbucks and Einstein's for a quick breakfast (yes we actually ate at the White Party), then went to the pool party at the Wyndham. This is where it hit me that we were actually at the White Party. Hot men (and some ugly ones too) everywhere, and I was definitely the most overdressed person there, with my dorky red swim trunks. =) Had a lot of fun there, then we went back to the Hyatt with my new friend ucpsychguy (Seth) to take a short nap before the actual "White Party" Saturday night. So upon waking, we squeezed into our hot new white outfits and headed to the big event. It was an amazing time, especially since Seth and I had VIP passes that allowed us to go above the party and get free food and watch men who were paid to have sex. LOL. I swear, it really wasn't that raunchy. Tony Moran was spinning all night, and was really awesome, with the exception of the last hour or so that we were there, which was just so-so. Anyway, we partied and danced from 11pm until 5am, when we left and headed to the After Hours Party, spun by Abel. Abel spins some pretty intense shit. I don't really remember much of the After Party, despite the fact that I was completely sober. It's all kind of a blur. I know I had a lot of fun though! We danced there until about 8:30am, at which point I was physically unable to walk any longer. My legs hurt so bad after 30 hours of almost non-stop dancing that I couldn't stand it.
I remember being half passed out on the floor of the VIP room Sunday morning, in a pile of other men. That's all I really remember about that. Eventually, we did make it out though, and went to Einstein's again for breakfast. Took another catnap before heading to yet another pool party. Andrew and I passed on the T Dance and Closing party Sunday night, because we had to leave at 6am on Monday. Plus, I really couldn't walk, so dancing was out of the question.
All-in-all, it was an amazing weekend. Coming in, I figured this would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but I honestly think I'll go back next year. I had an incredible time and met some great new friends, yet was not high or drunk the entire weekend. Who woulda thunk it?
View from the VIP Area
The Fab Five (minus me)
The Fab Five at the Saturday Night White Party
Boys Having Sex on a Pedestal in the VIP Area
During the "Annie Lennox" Show
Hanging out at the Saturday Night After Party
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| Saturday, March 27th, 2004
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4:21 pm - New Travel Plans and Old Relationships
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My travelogue for April is now complete. It looks like this:
April 2-4 - Phoenix Pride (okay, not really travel, but plans nonetheless)
April 9-12 - The White Party in Palm Springs, CA
April 22-24 - Miami University in Oxford, OH to visit my old school and friends
April 25-26 - Cambridge, OH to visit family
Yikes, that's a lot packed into one month! If anyone is going to the White Party, let me know, because as of now I'm going alone. I don't intend to end up going alone, obviously. :) I have a free hotel room, and would like to share it with SOMEONE. To my Oxford friends, I'll be getting in Thursday evening, the 22nd, so be ready to party! ;)
Regarding travel for the rest of the summer, I will probably be taking May off since I'll be broke from April. I plan to take a trip somewhere with someone in June or July, but it's completely up in the air. I'd love if some of my old college friends would be able to meet to take a trip somewhere, but my guess is that isn't realistic, even with a free hotel room. I also plan on taking a vacation with my family in August, but the location is still TBD.
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So last night was both a great night and a horrible night. It started off great, with 3 different parties to celebrate a co-worker's promotion to San Diego. It was a freaking blast. Then I was stupid, and thought I wanted to go out to the bar, which turned out to be a huge letdown. I had no fun at all, and ended up leaving after no more than 20 minutes there. Shawn was there, and when I left I assumed he'd be coming home after the bar like he usually does. I stayed up because it was only another 30 minutes until he'd be home anyway. But then after like an hour and a half, he wasn't home yet. I called, only to find his cell phone turned off, which immediately enraged me because I thought he was trying to avoid me for some reason. So I was silly and got worried, and went to an after-hours bar that was the only place I could imagine him going, and didn't find him there, nor did I find him at the "gay Denny's", which he likes to go to late at night after the bars close. So I gave up and went home. Eventually he called when he was on his way home at 3:30, and we fought a little bit, and eventually the discussion led to the fact that neither of us can be happy with the other, despite the fact that we love each other, so we decided to break up. Honestly, it's probably for the best, but admittedly, it feels very weird right now. I haven't been genuinely single in well over a year now, and I'm not quite sure what to do with that. I honestly feel like if we were both 10 years older, once I am over my need of being with someone all the time and once he's over the need to go out drinking so much, we'd be a much better match. But will we be in each other's lives when that time comes? I am positive we will not be.
I normally don't ask for responses, but on this post I will do just that. I would love to know what each of you thinks about all of this. How should I be feeling right now? I would love to take this opportunity to get to know you folks better as well. ::hugs::
current mood: disappointed
current music: "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence
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(44 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, March 23rd, 2004
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6:30 am - Well what good will this do if he's not Prez anymore??? :)
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| Sunday, March 21st, 2004
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4:28 pm - What a crazy week!!
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I didn't go out last night for the first Saturday in ages. I had a 70s party I was supposed to attend, but I'm glad I passed on it. It was nice relaxing and being in bed by midnight for once. And as a result, the perpetual cold, stomachache, and hangover state I was in for the past week has finally subsided, and I feel good again.
What a week it was, though. My friend Matt was in town for the week, and for a few days at least, I felt like I was back in college. It started on Monday, when we met up and pre-partied here at the apartment, then hit up Amsterdam for what I would call my best night out in months. Had an AMAZING time, as nearly everyone was there, and I met a few new people as well.
Tuesday, I was so sick and felt like death warmed over, but Matt and I still met for dinner. Then, it was time for my friend Joe's birthday party at George & Dragon (I'd never heard of it either). I needed sleep badly, and planned to just stay for 10 minutes to be nice, but ended up there for 2.5 hours, with shots being thrown down my throat, as well as my first car bomb. Reminder to myself: I will never again have a car bomb. Disgusting!!
Wednesday night I got off work early and met Matt and the Ohio crew to go to the big block party/concert in Tempe. The concert was headlined by Barenaked Ladies. It was a lot of fun--for a couple of hours--but I ended up feeling really sick and left at like 10pm after 5 hours of drinking in the hot sun. (I think I would've been over my sickness by Tuesday if I hadn't kept drinking every night!)
Thursday night I had planned on going out, but my sickness caught up to me and I ended up passing out and sleeping 15 hours that night. Boy, I'm getting old.
Friday night was the night I'd been waiting for all week. I love going to AZ88, and was looking forward to showing it off to Matt et al. In the end, just Matt came along, but it was for the better. We drank a few cocktails at the Hyatt Scottsdale before heading to AZ88, where I had a few martinis. I don't remember what Matt had. :) We met a few people there, including some hot guys at the table behind us. It just so happened that one of them knew my HR Director Rafael from LA and was going to the 70s party that I ended up skipping last night. So we hung out with them, and actually ended up losing our table because our waitress thought we had left! So from there, we went to Amsterdam, which was a lot of fun, but not as much fun as Monday night.
It was at Amsterdam that I found out I have a free hotel room in Palm Springs in 3 weeks for the White Party. I'm not sure who to take, or what to do with it. I've never been to, obviously, and have heard a lot of stuff about how it's nothing but a big drug-fest/orgy. I'm not so much into that scene, but I have to say it would be interesting to at least be a spectator one time.
Then Saturday, I ended up hanging out with my friend Shawn and watching Requiem for a Dream and Finding Nemo. It was fun, and nice to just lay around the house for an afternoon. I ended up deciding not to go out at all, and retired early. I spent much of today lounging around the swimming pool and catching up on my reading. I think maybe the return of 90+ degree days has revuvenated me to a point. I wonder if it'll carry into the coming week.....
current mood: relaxed
current music: "Someone" by Ascension
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| Sunday, March 14th, 2004
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6:23 pm - Life
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Since it's been so long, I'm going to use this entry to talk about the status of my life as it stands. And since in a lot of ways, I have no idea how I feel about my life right now, this will be a confusing entry. :)
I've been working at my current job as Employment Manager at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix for 7 weeks now. Long enough to get an idea of what it's going to be like long-term. Things are definitely settling down there. No more 70 hour weeks. More like 50 now. And the verdict? It's okay. Not an exceptional job, but not a bad one either. I'm pretty confident that I'll be looking in other directions down the road. But not for a little while.
Shawn and I "celebrated" our one year anniversary yesterday. And by "celebrated" I mean it was acknowledged that we had been together a year. Not a whole lot else was made of it. As with every other day, we really didn't see each other much. I'm not sure how happy either one of us is with things right now. I think we both WANT to be happy with it, but are probably both lacking the willpower to do the things necessary for a successful relationship. We'll both need to attain that ability to be successful in any relationship--be it our current one or any future ones. I will say that at times things are good, but it's very up and down.
In terms of my social life, I think I can safely say this is the least happy I've been since my sophomore year of college. I think I remain as outgoing as ever, but unfortunately, good friends are so much more difficult to attain after college. Everyone else has their own lives and other things to do. I definitely miss always having fun things to do in the evening and on weekends.
Perhaps the brightest part of my life lately has been that I no longer have to worry about money. I've been making far more than I spend since the promotion, so I've been able to go out and do things whenever I like. Now if I could only find fun social things to do with that money! :)
Cheers,
Dustin
current mood: bored
current music: "Next to You" by Darude
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| Saturday, February 28th, 2004
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11:30 pm - Oscars 2004
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Okay, so it's been like 6 weeks since I wrote. I've been busy. And I mean BUSY, with the new job and all. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and I think this coming week should be the first small step down from the craziness of the past month and a half. I promise to play catch-up in an entry in the very near future. For now, I will list my abreviated version of my 2004 Oscar predictions. Last year's entry was very drawn out, and the result was that nobody read it, and those who did made fun of me for it. :) But hey, I was damn accurate, wasn't I?!? My goal, as always, is to correctly predict 50% of the categories, and to get Best Picture correct for the 5th straight year, as well as 9 years in the past 11. I truly believe that LOTR will dominate the Academy Awards this year, which is reflected in the fact that I have picked it to win 10 Oscars, which would be among the most a film has ever won. We'll see how it plays out.
Best Picture - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Seriously folks, if this one doesn't win, there will be a giant gasp let out by everyone in America. Easiest year to pick since Titanic.
Actor - Sean Penn (Mystic River)....This is a tough pick! I'm not a big fan of his.
Supporting Actor - Tim Robbins (Mystic River)
Actress - Charlize Theron (Monster)....Amazing job in this role!
Supporting Actress - Renee Zellweger (Cold Mountain)
Animated Feature - Finding Nemo
Art Direction - LOTR
Cinematography - Seabiscuit
Costume Design - LOTR
Directing - Peter Jackson (LOTR)
Documentary Feature - The Fog of War
Documentary Short - Chernobyl Heart
Film Editing - LOTR
Foreign Language Film - The Barbarian Invasions
Makeup - LOTR
Original Score - LOTR
Original Song - "Into the West" (LOTR)
Short Animated Film - Destino
Short Live Action Film - Two Soldiers
Sound Editing - Master and Commander
Sound Mixing - LOTR
Visual Effects - LOTR
Adapted Screenplay - Mystic River
Original Screenplay - Lost in Translation
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(26 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, February 2nd, 2004
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7:57 pm - Snow?!
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I'm leaving tomorrow for my first recuiting trip.....heading up north a couple of hours to Flagstaff.
Tomorrow's forecast? High of 30 degrees with 10-12 inches of snow expected. OMG! And I've been whining because it's only been getting in the 60s here the past week or so. I'm hoping maybe it'll be bad enough that the NAU career fair will just be called off. :) Yeah, right!
Gotta go pack, so I'll talk a bit about my new job in the next post. I hope everyone is well.
current mood: content
current music: "Overture" by Bjork
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(30 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, January 19th, 2004
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8:48 pm - The Long Awaited Announcement
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So after nearly two weeks of guessing, hoping, and stressing, it is official......
I have been promoted to Employment Manager at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix.
A few comments......yes, I know I was in Sales! A few weeks ago, I was finding myself sitting bored in my office a lot, even though I had a lot to do, and was wondering how on earth I was going to do that for the rest of my career. And when I started thinking about it, I realized that I had never expected to be in Sales for more than 5 years. So why was I even in it to begin with? So, coincidence of all coincidences, the Employment Manager here got promoted to Assistant HR Director, and there was a position open in HR (which obviously I was interested in), and I went for it. And the rest is history......
So, unfortunately all of my planning for a move to Cali was for naught because I will be here for at least the next 1-2 years, but I'm still so glad that I got to see SD & LA and meet everyone that I did, and I still look forward to visiting those places again and likely will still end up there at some point in the future. I am absolutely elated to have this opportunity here, as I am just now feeling at home in Phoenix, and feel that close friendships like I had in Ohio are just around the corner. And of course there's Shawn. :)
So I was offered the job at 8am this morning, and was in training by noon......talk about a quick turnaround! My work is cut out for me, and I will be putting in some crazy hours for the foreseeable future, but at least my future is now secure and laid out in front of me, just like I wanted. Big sigh of relief. Off for a celebratory martini and then to bed ASAP.......work at 7:30 tomorrow! Goodnight. :)
current mood: ecstatic
current music: "Waiting for You" by Seal (Mike Rizzo Mix)
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| Sunday, January 18th, 2004
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7:30 pm - Since I still have nothing else to post about yet......
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States I've Visited:
1) Alabama 2) Alaska 3) Arizona 4) Arkansas 5) California 6) Colorado 7) Connecticut 8) Delaware 9) Florida 10) Georgia 11) Hawaii 12) Idaho 13) Illinois 14) Indiana 15) Iowa 16) Kansas 17) Kentucky 18) Louisiana 19) Maine 20) Maryland 21) Massachusetts 22) Michigan 23) Minnesota 24) Mississippi 25) Missouri 26) Montana 27) Nebraska 28) Nevada 29) New Hampshire 30) New Jersey 31) New Mexico 32) New York 33) North Carolina 34) North Dakota 35) Ohio 36) Oklahoma 37) Oregon 38) Pennsylvania 39) Rhode Island 40) South Carolina 41) South Dakota 42) Tennessee 43) Texas 44) Utah 45) Vermont 46) Virginia 47) Washington 48) West Virginia 49) Wisconsin 50) Wyoming
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| Thursday, January 8th, 2004
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11:25 pm
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Some big shit's coming down in the next 24 hours. Stay tuned, and pray that it all works out for the best.......
current mood:  nervous
current music: "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence
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| Sunday, January 4th, 2004
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11:53 am - I'm not gonna talk about New Year's, thank you very much :)
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Thank you to everyone I met during my trip to LA last weekend. You truly created a great time for me, and I look forward to visiting again sometime in the future. The possibility of a move there is so far off and out of my control that I'm not even going to concern myself with it yet.
Friday
I got into LA early Friday afternoon and checked into the Hyatt West Hollywood (piece of shit hotel for a Hyatt, but right in the middle of everything). I was fortunate enough to get a complimentary suite, which was wonderful, except for the fact that the decor consisted of silver, black, and white stripes, polka-dots, and checkers. It was totally 80s Hollywood and is in need of a complete redecoration. But I had a nice balcony that you could see EVERYTHING from, with Sunset Blvd right below me, and much of LA within view, from downtown all the way to the ocean. And the weather was perfectly clear, so you could actuallys see all of that stuff.
Aaron ![[info]](http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/web.archive.org/web/20040802030207im_/http:/=2fstat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) polaris_a was to meet me for dinner, and I wanted to meet Christian kerouacvictim, who works at the Wood Ranch BBQ at the Grove. The Grove was only a few blocks from where I was staying, so Aaron and I decided to have dinner there. Good times, and Christian was nice enough to give me his employee discount. Muchos thanks!
After that, we decided to go out, so after some fashion advice from Aaron (who knew that black was the only color allowed?), we headed to The Abbey. Here's a crazy story for you......while waiting in line to get into the club, who else would randomly walk by but Justin Natale, someone I graduated from HS with back in Ohio! What are the chances of THAT?!? So we hung out at the club all night, had an incredible time, and I finally got back to the hotel at about 2 I think. Great first night in Hollywood.
Saturday
Saturday was my day to check out some of the Hyatt Hotels in the area, so after some prodding, I was able to pick up Rob allaboutnumber2 and bring him along. We went to lunch at some lil' ol' place where the women dressed like it was the 1800s and the food was really big. That's about all I remember about it. :) Then we proceeded to check out Hyatt Regency Orange County, HR Irvine, Hyatt Newporter, and HR Huntington Beach. LOVED Huntington Beach, really liked Orange County, and Irvine reminded me a lot of my own hotel here in Phoenix. Newporter sucked. It was at Huntington Beach that we finally got to get out and walk along the Pacific. It's amazing how much nicer the beaches are around LA than San Diego. The beach across from the hotel there must've been a quarter of a mile wide. Though on second thought, the beach on Coronado Island in SD was very nice.
After dropping Robert off, I went back to the hotel to change for the evening, then met David davidology out for dinner at The Grand Lux Cafe, a very nice restaurant at the Beverly Center. Waited about 30 minutes for our table, and had a couple of my favorite appletinis. Thankfully David was able to drink, because he had his wallet stolen in New Orleans just a couple days before that and didn't have his license. He improvised well though. Anyway, we had a great dinner (WAY too much food though), and I think we really enjoyed each others' company. We also enjoyed the company of our waitress (name help here David), who was hands down one of the best I've ever had. At one point, I asked about an entree, and she proceeded to take my hand and take me around the restaurant to show me what other people were eating. :) So after dinner, I took him back to show him my suite and watch TV for a little bit. Christian and Aaron were supposed to call so we could go out, but they didn't until way late. :( So there was no going out for Dustin on Saturday night, since David didn't have an ID. Oh well, they both know they owe me. ;)
Sunday
Sunday I met my grandma's best friend for brunch at Johnny Rocket's in Beverly Hills, then checked out the Park Hyatt LA, where I randomly ran into one of my co-workers from Phoenix. Crazy coincidences, huh? After that, pretty much just packed up and headed back to Phoenix. Of course, after being sick the entire weekend, I was feeling MUCH better at this point. :) Figures. All-in-all it was a great weekend though (and I apologize to those of you who bothered to read the whole thing!). Until next time......
current mood: good
current music: "Waiting for You" by Seal
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| Sunday, December 21st, 2003
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11:24 am - Relationship, Future, trip to LA next weekend
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Quick Catch-up
After much ado, Shawn and I have recouped our lost love and all has been on track more-or-less over the past several weeks. Some of the problems we had before are still there, and I think perhaps we're starting to acknowledge them and do something about them. All-in-all, I feel as good about things as I've felt since at least August. But unfortunately, it may not matter for long.......
My Future
I had lunch with my GM on Friday. Since I've gotten so many different stories and beat-around-the-bush answers over the past month, I point-blank asked him, "What are my chances of getting placed here in Phoenix once my promotion comes in March?" After starting to beat around the bush like everyone else, I made him give me an honest answer. We had a great conversation for probably 20 minutes, and what it came down to was this--I have about a 10-20% chance of staying in Phoenix come March. He told me that it is tough, but there will be better opportunities for me by moving to another city, and that I am lucky that I've only been here 8 months because I haven't had time to build many attachments yet.
So basically, I need to start preparing myself to move again. It's crazy, because it honestly feels like I just got here in a lot of ways. I can't kick myself though.....I knew coming into this that my first hotel would likely be my shortest stay. I guess I just fooled myself into believing that I would be here for a while. Over the past couple days, I've started trying to change my frame-of-mind about this. When I moved to Phoenix, I was excited about the new opportunity and life (plus, having Shawn here waiting helped a lot). I will not have that waiting for me when I move again, which brings me to my next topic.......
L.A. Trip next weekend
I've gotta start figuring out where I want to move to in March! Ultimately, Hyatt will give me a short list of places that are available in our Division to choose from. Since 75% of the hotels in our division are in and around LA and San Diego, I figure that's a good place to start looking. I took the trip to SD a month ago just in case I ended up having to move. Now I need to do the same in LA. I need to check out our 10 Hyatts in the area to see where I might like to work. Hopefully I'll get to meet some of my LJ friends from the area, and if I'm lucky there will be enough time to get an idea of what areas are the best to live in. Last time I moved, I had half a year to find a roommate, a place to live, etc. This time, I'll only have several weeks between finding out where I'm moving and the actual move, so I have to lay out a lot of the groundwork first, which is kinda scary. Plus, this time I expect I'll be staying a lot longer, so I need to be double-sure to do it right.
I still haven't made official arrangements, so I don't know if I'll be staying in a hotel or at someone's house, or whatever. I'm hoping to avoid staying in a hotel because that was 2/3 of the cost of my San Diego trip, and I can't get free Hyatt nights next weekend either. I may be bringing a friend who has connections out there, and that would solve my problem, but if anyone else has any ideas, let me know! Wish me luck with all this.
This song is from The Return of the King and I think it is so appropriate for how I feel right now.....
( Read more... )
current mood: lonely
current music: "Into the West" by Annie Lennox
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| Tuesday, November 25th, 2003
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6:47 am
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So Shawn never came home last night.....spent the night at some guy's house who he had maybe talked to a combined 10 minutes prior.
I don't think I've ever felt more worthless. I had been stepping back, putting some perspective on my life the past few days, and was honestly ready to give us another chance. Things even seemed to be getting better the past couple days, where that would have been a possibility.
Then, out of the blue, he tells me he's not coming home. I was forced to play my hand and tell him that I was willing to get back together.....but to please not screw our chances up by sleeping with Eric. And then he trumped my hand. No matter what I said, he was very insistant--in fact adamant--that he was going to spend the night at Eric's. I don't know why it was so important that he spend the night. I think he knew damn well what the consequences would be, and now he's going to have to face them. He gave up my love, a chance at a new life together, and most likely even my friendship in order to spend a night at some guy's house whom he barely even knew. But it was his choice--I told him what the options were--and he unfortunately made the wrong one.
I know he'll say that I did the same thing to him over the past month. And I'll sadly admit, I was reckless with some hearts, most of all my own. But I never so blatantly said "no, I choose Eric," like he did last night. If he would've begged me to come home because he was writhing in pain, I would have without a second thought. He flat out refused--without a second thought. Again, he made a choice. The wrong one.
Edit: So I've confided in a couple of my closest friends with all of this, and as a result I have a much more thoughtful update to this once I get off work. For now though, please don't bash Shawn in your responses. He doesn't deserve it any more than I do.
current mood:  pissed off
current music: "In the End" by Linkin Park
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