NaBloPoMo: Day 13 "Goals: Part 4"

Whew. Well, these brushes with illness are almost disappointing in their brevity. I feel like I was all worked up to being sick, and then suddenly... everything's ok, actually. :)

Sooo.... Yay! Here's to health, and doing all those things you're supposed to do (drink fluids, sleep lots, etc) and actually having them pay off?

Time to get back into the swing of things now, so I'm continuing my series on goals today. We'll call this the 5-year-goal. You know how people ask, "where do you see yourself in 5 years?" Well, I've had a pretty clear vision of that since coming to Korea 21 months ago. 

The plan:

Step1 - work in Korea for 3-4 years, saving oodles of cash as we go along, and having plenty of adventures.(*we recently added a very exciting adventure prospect to our agenda, more on that later)

Step2 - tote the cash back to the USA, and having done our research by then, plant ourselves in the most hostel-hungry city in the States. 

Step3 - make bank.

Step4 - use money from hostel #1 to open 2-3 more hostels in our favorite countries all over the world.

Step5 - spend our working lives doing what we do best, and love : traveling, hosteling, writing, being together.

And la voila, the rest of my life! Ok, so there were more than 5 years in that plan... :) 

I remember reading that it can be bad to share ideas before you're in a place to act on them because then your brain thinks that it's already done. I think that's doing a disservice to my brain, to assume it's that stupid. (Not really, but it's too late for me to when it comes to telling others my dreams. I've had this dream since a fateful shower in Korea back in 2010. But more on that next time.) 

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Carpe November!

P.S. Abs, CHECK. With Adam's help.

Squats, CHECK.

Minimalism, CHECK. (Opt out of store email offers. Done!)

p.s.

The hostel is slowly getting back to operational!

Fixed list:
- Internet (yes!)
- Leaking kitchen sink
- Leaking AC unit in dormitory
- Moldy, falling-down ceiling in common room (replaced)
- Water turned back on after getting shut off by city b/c boss accidentally wasn't paying bills
- Door to female only dormitory now locks again

TO BE FIXED list:
- Leaking roof in room 15
- Hot as hades Room 12, which is still waiting on an AC unit
- AC vents that blow hot air into faces in hallway need to be re-routed

- Leaking patio roof needs patching
- Dryer for laundry, currently having to ferry all our wet sheets and blankets to our bosses apartment and dry it there >:( GRRR!


I caught myself promising (myself) to have a maintenance person at MY hostel. Someone on-call, and someone dependable.  Oy vey. :)

J.O.H.M.: May 2011

May...THREE big events: 1. My mother graduated from the University of Utah with her Ph.D. in Nursing Oncology. I flew out and spent a glorious three days celebrating her and her accomplishment with the fam. 2. The second big event was the death of Adam's grandmother. He rode Amtrak to Atlanta and spent two days in Rockmart with his family, celebrating Grandma's life. 3. Another happy event capped the month off, with Adam's 28th birthday. I sent him on a relaxed scavenger hunt and he got a typewriter at the end of it. *Which, by the way, has been a very successful gift. He just recently whipped out a short story on his little Hermes Rocket, and is starting another!* We spent a happy, sunshiney day together, celebrating him and  his life.   


Oh yes. And then there were the Nigerians. I have had frustrating, demanding guests before, but NO ONE will ever trump the influx of Rotary members from Nigeria who stayed at the hostel for the Annual International Rotary Convention. They were hilarious and full of character, but I swear every person in that hostel - other guests included - gained a couple of gray hairs thanks to their unfamiliarity with hostels and how things work. It makes me chuckle now, but we were about as frazzled as we've ever been during that convention! The one thing I loved about having them was how they made me miss one of my dearest friends, Adetola. (Love & miss you, Tola!) 




 

ANNA

W.H.O.A....Crazy Canadian girls from room 1 left us $100 tip! Woohoo, they really loved us. !! #joysofhostelmgmt

1 May

ANNA

#joysofhostelmgmt: $100 tip 4 being awesome, $10 for hawking guest's JazzFest tix, & pair of new BCBG swank highheels b/c guest didn't want them.

1 May


ADAM

Impromptu party at my hostel, spurred by my giving every guest who saw President Obama's announcement of Osama's death w/ me a free beer.

1 May


ADAM

Had a guest arrive today who's name, bless her, is "Beata Ho". #joysofhostelmgmt

5 May


ADAM

Found a convenience store on Magazine St. that sells Coca-Cola in glass bottles... from Mexico. That's right: REAL SUGAR! Arriba!

7 May

ANNA

Worst morning ever: Found a dead kitten on the patio. #notajoyoushostelmoment

8 May  



 ANNA

@AdamVolle is chugga-chuggin' his way to GA at this very moment, thanks to Amtrak's cheep fares. RIP grandma Wilson.

18 May

ANNA

*catches breath* Getting a hostel-full of Nigerian Rotarian club members this week, and they are keeping me on my toes, to put it mildly. I'm missing my husband/co-worker!

19 May 

ANNA

Guest wants refund b/c he "couldn't get N2 room last nite- it was locked" He's surprised to find he was just too drunk to punch in the code.  #idiot

20 May



 ADAM

Back in NOLA. And not back for 1/2 hour before I was reminded of all the #joysofhostelmgmt. Anna wasn't jokin' 'bout those Nigerians... Oy vey!

22 May



ADAM

African told Wife he won't stay. Then told her to look for a hotel, compare prices, & reserve him the cheapest. Wow. #joysofhostelmgmt

22 May



ADAM

#Birthday #reviews: @unicornlury showed me the kinda day that'd ruin the other 364 days of the year for me, if she wasn't in those too. 5/5.

26 May

Dr. Mom with her boys

Dr. Mom and her girls

Dr. Mom and her man

Three Volle men in Rockmart, GA - Adam in the middle of his dad and brother

Adam's fave new drink - Mexi-cola

The writer at work. At Starbucks. Drinking a coke from the gas station across the street. :D

                                                      ...in motion! (as promised)




 

J.O.H.M.: March 2011

This month was absolutely dominated by the Mardi Gras festivities that begin 3 weeks before March 8 and ran strong and wild up to that day ... and beyond! It was definitely stressful, but totally worth it. I'm so happy we had the chance to experience this crazy party NOLA revels in each year. 

It was also dominated by BEADS. Beads, beads and more beads. For a month, it was as if the hostel was breeding the cheap, colorful necklaces because they were in EVERY corner, in EVERY room, in EVERY bush and bathroom. We hauled 4 trash bags full of beads to a donation center the end of March - they employ mentally disabled or handicapped persons to clean, sort and resell the beads for the next year.

Other updates I neglected in previous posts:
- We fired the thieving maid end of November, and hired a FABULOUS new housekeeper the beginning of December. Her name is Jess and I knew the moment I met her that she was a keeper. And she is - without a doubt, she's the best housekeeper this hostel has ever seen.
- In February at some point, I began taking weekly violin lessons from a local musician; finally reaching for a long-time desire of mine to play that instrument. As of right now, I'm not playing full pieces of music, just little bits - but I'm slowly slowly slowly getting better!

ADAM

Hostelsclub has chosen #MardiGras wk, of all times - & in the middle of the business day - to disable my site's back-office for maintenance. #joysofhostelmgmt

5 Mar


ADAM

One enterprising celebrant of #MardiGras has put wheels, a motor, & handle bars on his beer cooler and is riding it through the streets.

6 Mar

ANNA

6AM: fight breaks out between intoxicated couple in hostel- bruises, scratches, 911 call, broken chair result. KICKED THEM OUT. #whataday

6 Mar

ANNA

9AM:Wasted guests who STILL haven't gone to bed gossip like schoolkids about the fight, drinking morning beers & eating pancakes & king cake. #whataday

6 Mar  

ANNA

3PM: 3 private rooms check out early, which turns an easy-schmeasy day N2 non-stop, action-packed clean-fest. Domestic Hostel Goddess? Yes. #whataday

6 Mar

ANNA

9PM: Seriously? Guest asks if I know where he can get a good "nugget", because he really wants some weed. I tell him go to McDonalds. :D #whataday

6 Mar

ADAM

@Hostelworld says we've been one of their Top 10 Best-Rated Hostels in the USA for 2 mo. running! Nice to hear during #MardiGras stress.

7 Mar 

ADAM

My desk was phoned by a guy who apologized "for being off-topic". Wanted general info about a distant street in NOLA. Told him what I knew. #joysofhostelmgmt

7 Mar 


ADAM

Left our water bottles where guests saw them & ended up selling them for $1 each. Selling 4 paid for the whole case of 24. #joysofhostelmgmt

7 Mar

ADAM

Discovered a police road block in our alleyway. I'm thinking someone stole it and hid it there. Ah, #NOLA. #joysofhostelmgmt

7 Mar 

ADAM

Whew! #MardiGras, fin! Hostel's still booked right through March, but there's less pressure w/ guests paying $20 per dorm night than $100.

9 Mar

ANNA

Mardi Gras craziness is over - YES!... Now, back to our regularly scheduled craziness...

9 Mar


ADAM

We're up from 10th best-rated #hostel in the US to 7TH, and our bosses just told us we made 2X the #MardiGras profits of last yr! BOOYAH!

9 Mar



ADAM
Just commended the parents of a guy named Blaze. Turns out they wanted to name him "Blais" after Pascal, but the nurse misunderstood.
13 Mar


ADAM
The office is open 8:00-24:00, except in emergencies. Your need for a hair dryer IS NOT AN EMERGENCY. #joysofhostelmgmt
14 Mar


ADAM

Apparently I have now been accepted; the Boss has revealed to me the location of the best little local BBQ joint in #NOLA. And... wow. Yum!

18 Mar


ADAM

Tennessee Williams Festival in #NOLA this week. Includes a "STELLA!" shouting contest. As a Eng major, it behooves me to check this out.

24 Mar

Just NOLA

 

Karaoke night!

Jester baby at Mardi Gras parade

"Muses" parade, first week of Mardi Gras - lots and lots of high heels, as this Krewe was all girls :)

Sign says "$1 per go - $499 cheaper than bail. $5 for ALL DAY." Bathrooms are the tricky part of parade-watching. Lucky for us that St. Charles (main parade route) is only a 7 min walk from hostel!

Mardi Anna!

Mardi Adam!

Rows of "high chairs" for kids to be able to watch the parade over the heads of all the clamorous, drunk adults that will be pushing shamelessly in front of them  ^_^

J.O.H.M.: February 2011

February was a good month for getting my life (somewhat) organized. I started running in the mornings, writing regular blog posts (kinda), studying Italian irregularly and writing letters. I blogged about a beautiful Valentine's day, multiple lazy days off, visits from friends and sheets. Towards the end of the month, we started to get a good feel for the Mardi Gras craziness that was on the way - the hostel was busier than it had ever been, and we were FULL to capacity pretty much every day. I got all glammed up for the Oscar's Awards Night Gala at the Prytania Theater, and won a prize in a costume contest. That was heaps of fun. :) But it's very possible that the best part of the month was when a fabulous guest at the hostel, Susan, persuaded me to join her for a Zumba class. I've been going pretty much EVERY WEEK since then, and loving it immensely - I have a huge grin on my face from the beginning of class all the way to the end, it's so much fun!

ANNA

Woohoo! Just got an email informing us that our hostel's been voted one of the Top Ten hostels in the USA!!

7 Feb


ADAM

I may soon copy my wife's coping strategy of never looking at our hostel reviews.It's too much an emotional rollercoaster. #joysofhostelmgmt

9 Feb 

ANNA

C'mon people, knives facing UP in the dish-drying rack? Not cool, man. #petpeeve #joysofhostelmgmt

17 Feb

ANNA

The roofers are fixing this leaky hostel roof, but closing up the "skylight" in our loft in the process. It was just a hole in our bedroom ceiling, but I'm gonna miss that tiny piece of sunlight. :'(

18 Feb


ADAM

I have no idea why, but "Wonder Wall" is w/o doubt the favorite song for hostel guests to all sing together. Never fails. #joysofhostelmgmt

22 Feb

ADAM

I can understand wetting the bed (sort of, if you're as drunk as our guests), but how do you wet an ENTIRE DOUBLE BED? The whole thing was soaked. #joysofhostelmgmt

25 Feb

ADAM

Finer points of the Israel-Palestine issue should not be debated when all parties involved are intoxicated. My 2 cents. #joysofhostelmgmt

25 Feb

ADAM

Amazing how many people I've surprised w/ the news that OTHER PEOPLE would be sleeping in this "dorm room" they booked. #joysofhostelmgmt

25 Feb

ADAM

This #hostel has been an utter madhouse all day. If all #MardiGras season is this insane, we've got a very hard week-plus ahead of us.

27 Feb


ADAM

It's now clear my new guest has a severe, real case of OCD. He just came to my office to replace its trash bin's bag. #joysofhostelmgmt

27 Feb


ADAM

OCD Guest reorganized kitchen, has offered to grease the chains on all of our rental bikes & change all our light bulbs. #joysofhostelmgmt

28 Feb

Red Carpet Ready!

Sibling solidarity - a gift from Grace

 One of my favorite Zumba dance routines!

J.O.H.M.: September 2010

Another month of exploring New Orleans! I bought Adam a bike and membership to an office co-op (tho, we've moved on since then to more fun modes of transportation), we went to the zoo, we had more visits from family and we began to relax a bit into our roles as Hostel Managers. We learned how to better deal with troublesome guest, which is perhaps one of the most valuable skills I've gained so far.


ADAM

#joysofhostelmgmt Just walked into Rm 8 to ask the couple wrapped in sheets and post-coital bliss who, exactly, they even are.

2 Sep
 

ADAM

#joysofhostelmgmt Tell a new arrival where the best place to get good Cajun is, get accused of taking kickbacks from it. Fine, don't go.

5 Sep

ADAM

#joysofhostelmgmt Panicked phone call from lost guest: "Me and chicken are the only white meat out here! I'm about to be gang-banged!" He made it home safe.

5 Sep

ADAM

"In my hometown of Pamplona," says our Spanish guest, "someone dies every 2 years by a bull. Usually," he adds, "it's an American."

6 Sep

ADAM

#joysofhostelmgmt Being a biz in a residential 'hood, our trash output is way beyond the limit. So, we've bought off the trashmen w/ beer.

10 Sep

ADAM

#joysofhostelmgmt Why do reviewing customers gush about us in their comments - "PERFECT" - then give us a flippin' 80% score?

11 Sep

ADAM

#joysofhostelmgmt And why can't it be the other way around, since the actual scores are averaged to rate us on aggregators?

11 Sep

ADAM

 #neworleans Couple of guests just got back from their day out with a pic of themselves posing with Nicholas Cage. Cool.

12 Sep

ANNA

Day off starts NOW: check-ins are all tucked in for the day, Honey & I are watching "Date Night" and I'm staying up later than 10pm. YES!

14 Sep

 

ANNA

#joysofhostelmgmt: great thing about hostel guests is they're always willing 2 share- now enjoying someone's gift of a glass of Merlot!

16 Sep 

ADAM

Was just almost engulfed in flame helping my guest start the grill. Man left the gas on for a while, apparently. Quite the ball of fire.

19 Sep 

ADAM

#joysofhostelmgmt Sometimes you get lucky w/ who your guests are. Case in point: the French chef who just fixed us all dinner for $5.

19 Sep 

ADAM

#joysofhostelmgmt A LONELY PLANET writer just checked in! Well, he says he's one. Pretty damn ingenious of him if he isn't. Slave-mode: On.

20 Sep 

ADAM

#joysofhostelmgmt How much ya wanna bet these guys who've set their arrival time for 2 in the morning... are still going to be late?

26 Sep 

ADAM

WHOOHOO! Hostel's rating when we arrived: 79%. Today it hit 83%. If we hit 90% - and we've tons of time to do it - we get a BIG bonus.

28 Sep 

ADAM

Actual review for our hostel: "Anna + pancakes = a lot of fun in new orleans".  :)

30 Sep

St. Louis Cemetery #1

A sculpture in the Lower Ninth Ward - part of our City Tour took us to the areas most devastated by Hurricane Katrina

Boss #1 and Boss #2

This guy was the comedic interlude in our zoo trip

"Whee!"

:)

Biking by the ol' Mississip'

Audubon Park

@ Jean Lafitte Swamp Preserve: Happy family faces

Us with sweet Emma