Vocal Point

Tonight at work, I had the pleasure of listening to Vocal Point...LIVE!

We often get high profile people at The Roof Restaurant since it is one of high end restaurants in Salt Lake City and tonight did not disappoint! 

Vocal Point, for those unfamiliar, is BYU's male a cappella group.  This last year, they auditioned for NBC's "The Sing Off" and made it through to the top 5 groups.  They do all the sounds like vocal percussion, bass, etc. with absolutely no traditional instruments!  I felt very well represented and was proud to be a BYU Alum as I watched them perform all season.  So you can imagine when I saw them walk through the door tonight that I would be a little excited.  What you probably didn't know (because I could not have foreseen it either) is that I would act like a total groupie!  Yep, that's right.  I'm a little embarrassed to say how thrilled I was to meet them.  I did save a little of my dignity and didn't ask for a picture, but I kinda wish I had.

A little while later, I was in the back of the restaurant and several of the servers were saying how they wished Vocal Point would sing before they leave, yet no one dared ask them.  So, being the groupie I realized I am, I asked them!  To be honest, I think they were a little excited to sing for us too.

They all crowded around our piano and asked the pianist to give them their tuning note and then...

I know!  That was all my phone got and I can't figure out why!!!  It showed that it was recording the whole time, yet it only saved 18 measly seconds. None of the good stuff!  Now you know why I wish I had asked for a picture. 

This is the song they sang to us tonight...

I later talked with our pianist about how they topped any possible serenade, ever!  She was surrounded by 9 amazing guys singing a beautiful song.  LOVE IT!

So anyway.  Its official.  I can be a total groupie.  But, that's just how its gonna be!

Hope you had a great weekend too!

Where I Work

Its only been three weeks since I started working at The Roof.  

I. Am. Loving. It!

I am constantly amazed at how well Temple Square Hospitality Corp takes care of their employees.  Each night, the head chef cooks a meal for the staff.  It is always delicious.  They provide us with free downtown parking.  The employees are all so very nice.  I love talking with people when they come to dine (something about learning about other people makes me really happy).  And the best perk... never working on Sundays!  

Well about 2 weeks ago, after I'd been working for a week at The Roof, the manager of H.R. called me up and asked if I would also like to serve at The Garden Restaurant.  They ended up being short staffed and would do well to train an additional server.  And since I have significant restaurant background, they thought of me.  Ya know, I may not have had much variety of employment throughout high school and during my time in Provo, but one thing I did right is work in the restaurant industry for a lengthy time.  Somehow there always seems to be a job available and my experience (and maturity, so they say...aka age, haha) is also a plus.

I just finished my training at The Garden yesterday and will be working most Friday nights.  I am hosting a few nights a week at The Roof and working their reservation desk on Thursdays.  And hopefully I will be trained soon as an assistant server at The Roof so I can pick up shifts as needed.  These are all blessings for me.  School is expensive and I still have bills to pay.  I am so very grateful to have these jobs and the great opportunity that comes with it.

Plus, the view from my work is pretty darn awesome!

I guess if one has to work on Christmas Eve, there isn't a better place to be then looking at His temple.

Cars, Cars, Cars

Cars.  A necessary money pit.

This past Friday afternoon as I was driving downtown for orientation at my new job, I experienced something that seriously got my heart beating.  I was pulling off the freeway when my car started jerking around.  At first I wasn't sure what was happening, but noticed after only a block that my check engine light had come on and the RPMs were way too high.
Oh no!  Transmission? Yep.  A couple more blocks confirmed it.  I could feel the transmission dropping gears while I was driving.  That is a terrible feeling!  I just kept praying that I would make it the last few blocks to work because how horrible would it look to be late on your very first day of work!  Thankfully my car stuck it out and got me there just in time.  Unfortunately, on the drive home after orientation, the transmission just kept getting worse.  I had to pull over several times and put my hazard lights on because my car wouldn't shift out of neutral or first.  It took me 45 minutes to drive a typically 20 minute route.

I, of course, then had to ask my dad to take me back to work that night and pick me up again after the shift.  Flash back to high school!  Wow.

The next morning, my dad took my car in to the shop to get it checked out.  The check engine indicator actually came out with three separate readings.  To fix all that is wrong with my car, including the transmission as expected, it would be nearly 5X the worth of my car...darn.  Part of me is really excited about the idea of driving a new (to me) car since I've been driving my accord since I was in high school.  But, now that I'm back in school again, I simply cannot afford the kind of car I want. This is absolutely the worst time for my car to fail me...right before the holidays...I'm no longer working full time...I do have a job now, but I'm only working part-time because of school, etc...  But, at least I'm living at home so there is usually someone willing to share a car or drop me off, and I can now walk to church, even in the snow.

So, together with my dad, we're deciding whether to fix the car and continue driving it further into the ground, or switch it up with a different car.  In the mean time, I'm stuck at home, borrowing my mom's car, or bumming rides to and from work.
As far as a possible car hunt...my dad keeps teasing me with the idea of an '89 Yogo.  [See right]
I tell him no and he simply laughs at me.  Even though he appears to be joking, I'm sure he secretly would love to see me drive it! 

Well, today I am very thankful for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday which is allowing me a few days off of school; which also consequently means I don't have to leave my mom stranded at home while I have her car.  I guess I didn't realize that when I decided to go back to school that I was signing up for all the other struggles that come with being a student!

Oh, and for the record, I am now working for the Temple Square Hospitality Corp as a host at The Roof Restaurant!  Feel free to come down and see me anytime.  We have a great view of Temple Square which will be lit up for the holidays starting this Friday!

Just Another Day

...in the office.

Sometimes I feel like I actually work on the set of The Office and someone is pulling my leg.  Here's the story.

Young male client applies for a life insurance policy.  We get it issued and mailed to him.  No response for 2 weeks from him that he received the policy.  I follow up.  He hasn't seen it, but will contact the post office to see if its there.  No response, so a couple days later I follow up again.  His response...



                       "Thanks Rachel- I was planning on emailing you today - here's the story. I checked

                        with my sister-in-law and she said that her dog probably got it... for some reason

                        she had picked up the mail that day and just set this "white envelope" of about the

                        right size at the top of our stairs, then it was nowhere to be found. Crazy. So

                        we're thinking that it was delivered to our house, but it probably will show up

                        somewhere in the yard when the snow melts [he lives in Park City so this could be a while],

                        if we're lucky... Hopefully no identity theifs out there will find it.

                       "So, bottom line- my family is nuts, and it would be great if you could

                        reissue the policy. So sorry!"

Yep, just like Dunder Mifflin.

What I Love About Halloween

Halloween always brings out another side of people.  There is always the guy who doesn't dress up, the girl who simply puts a hat on, the guy with the same costume every year, the girl with little clothing on and calling a costume (ridiculous!), and then there's the "go get 'em" people.  Personally, I think Halloween says a lot about the person... ya know, the way they choose to "transform" themselves, becoming their alter egos.  But all in all, its mostly just fun to see the variety of costumes!

Pictures from Deb's annual Halloween party, courtesy of Sarah

This year I went as Medusa and took my friend, Andrew, as Perseus.

Then of course, we all dressed up at work and invited the entire building to come to our office for treats and kids to trick or treat.  It was a fun Friday!

The two receptionists on the left were each other.  It was great!  We're also missing a few people in this pic.

Modern Holiday Party

This year, Modern tried something new for our holiday party. Instead of the department party and a simple potluck lunch in the office, our special event department lobbied for a fancier party. It didn't make sense that a company that throws parties for many other companies wasn't throwing their own shebang! It all changed this year.

Below is one of the centerpieces that adorned our fancy tables. The theme was Nightmare Before Christmas, and all the decor resembled Halloween and Christmas together. And, all of it was stuff we already owned! The linens were provided by one of our suppliers, the AV was provided by our friends at Webb Audio Visual, and the food was potluck. We held the party at our warehouse in the carpet aisle, but you'd never know with all the decor. Can you believe how well we can transform a place?

When our warehouse was built, it was thought that the north side of the building could be leased out (forming the name "Lease Side"), but was quickly filled with props, stage sets, and many more fun things for our Special Events department. However, because of the original purpose, there was no door built between the Lease Side and our Expo Warehouse that stores all our chairs, tables, carpet, etc. At our Christmas party, we broke down the barrier between our Expo and Special Events departments... literally, with the target below.

I had my way with the wall too! The target you see above is now a 9'x9' opening!

The "POD" according to Anne Marie. We go everywhere together! I love these girls!