Our time has come

Today was the day we've been awaiting for so long. The Quality Assurance inspector from corporate checked into our hotel last night and spent the day evaluating our property. There were some glitches that threatened to keep us from opening (lack of carpet on the upper floors, etc), but around 5 the QA guy (more on him later...) pulled John, Jen, and JT aside and gave them the results of his inspection: we passed! That means that we've passed corporate's (high) standards, and will now be linked to the "central database." John popped the champagne, and we all took pictures of the big moment. Ironically, as we sat around sipping champagne from small plastic cups bearing our (now official) logo, we got our first walk-in. I'm sure he wondered just what the hell he'd wandered into, but he definitely got an enthusiastic welcome. He even posed for a picture with Jen.

Today wasn't just important to the powers-that-be who have invested so much money in our hotel; it was important to each of us personally. We've all invested so much sweat equity into the completion of this hotel that we all had personal reasons to want to see it open. We've watched the hotel grow from an unfinished construction site to a refined and beautiful hotel. More importantly, we actually feel like a team. A friend of mine that was hired to do part-time night audit made the comment, "I can't believe y'all are just meeting each other. Seems like you've known each other for years." It really is hard to believe we've only known each other for three weeks: we've already created a lifetime's worth of classic moments (for example: our chief engineer singing "Oops! I Did it Again" at karaoke night), and become our own form of special, dysfunctional family. While I might not love every member of that dysfunctional family (Princess), I love the family as a whole. I can't wait to get down to the business of filling some rooms.

Speaking of "family," the QA guy kept setting off my gaydar. Every time he passed within three feet of the front desk, I did my best to shine...and not just for the benefit of the hotel. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a nice smile...especially when that smile is on a man that looks good in a pair of dress pants. After he announced we'd passed our inspection, we went from inspector/nervous employee to members of the same team. While he'd been politely friendly all day, he seemed much more relaxed. Our chief engineer ("...it's Britney, bitch.") said he caught the guy checking me out after I'd taken off my blazer and walked past him to join in the celebration. I wasn't sure how seriously to take it, though. G has been known to mess with my head. Before he left, he made sure to pass his card out to the GM and AGM, and as he stood there, I asked for one also. He laughed and asked, "Why would you possibly need to get in touch with me? I'm not that important." For the sake of decency, I didn't answer that question the way I wanted to, but I persisted and he finally gave me a card. Maybe I'll give it a couple of days and send him a nice "thank you" email. You never know...