So I picked up the Dark Age of Camelot expansion Catacombs and what follows is my first experience in these new areas. I installed the game first of course which comes on 4 cd’s. And like the other expansion packs for Camelot this is a whole new version of the game. Each expansion that has come out has had it’s own client for the game. Which means that I’ve wasted another 2 gigs or so for this game that I’ll play maybe for a month at the most and end up canceling again.

Then of course I patch. Patching Catacombs involves the normal Camelot patching system plus a download of some bigger file not added by the patcher. No problem here of course since the expansion has been out a while and it’s not having to patch everyone and their brother. Once the game loads up your greeted with a new character selection screen, which is a nice fluff feature added by the expansion. All of my character except my level 50 were able to change their faces here at this screen. Turk (my level 50) could not do so. Which is no big deal as I found out I can talk to a npc in game to do this later. I picked my 50 and entered the game.

And of course I zone into Avalon City. This of course just shows how long ago it was I played the game last. So to get to these new expansion areas I have to run to a nearby town and take a horse to another town where I’m able to teleport to Camelot City. Then one goes behind the church and enters the Roman Aqueducts. And this is where the games unfriendliness becomes very apparent. You zone into this area and there is no real indication of where you need to go, other than heading forward. I guess I’ve grown used to WoW and it’s hold my hand approach.

So I’m exploring these Roman Aqueducts and having a general fun time minus the fun. I go past this Blue shiny thing and pay no attention to it. Which was a mistake because it is an Obelisks that transports you into the city for your side. But I had no idea and I explore all around this maze that is the Roman Aqueducts. And I’m having a fairly decent go at it until I come to a dead end which the only way to go is to jump off down to your death.

And of course I skillfully manage to fall to my death at this dead end as I’m making my way out of it. Which is no big deal I’m level 50 the experience loss is not an issue nor is the 17 gold it costs to buy back my con. It’s just the whole idea of this death. It’s like the game (or the developers) relish the idea of killing the player.

I can invision some sort of big scoreboard at Mythic that keeps a tally everytime the game kills one of their players. And again maybe I’ve been babied to much by World of Warcraft. But I just can’t find the fun in it anymore and I’ve tried. Oh well I’ll spend a few more days in Camelot as I gain up some great rested xp in WoW and see how many more times Catacombs can kill me.

So World of Warcraft has me firmly in it’s grasp once again. I’ve been playing quite a bit (for me) this last week and have managed to level up to 25. The game is of course still not a finished product. Granted that can be said for all mmorpg’s on the market. But WoW just at times feels like it’s unfinished. Gameplay mechanics aside it has to be the constant god damn Weekly Scheduled Maintenance that Blizzard seems to relish inflicting on their paying costumers.

And now that I want to play the game again it pisses me off when I can’t. I’ve done a few of the lower level instances and I’ve grown to enjoy the rewards that comes from them. I’m talking about the phat lewt man. It has to be one of the most important reasons to play a game of this type. When I’m not working or sleeping I’m playing WoW. At work I spend all of my time checking out my character profile over at WoWRankings.com trying to figure what kind of gear I need to replace. I’m trying to get all of the stamina and strength items I can find.

Which is odd. In Camelot I never really thought about item stats and how it really affected my character. I just played the game in a daze really. But this stuff is important here in WoW and I do pay attention to the details. I’ve also noticed I’m really worried about how I spec out my talents for my Shaman. Again this wasn’t something I thought about in Camelot to heavily. But I do wonder what will make my character the best. It is a PvP server I’m on after all and I’m sick of getting ganked and I want to be able to be the one doing the ganking when the time comes.

And with all of that said I’m in no hurry to hit the level cap. I don’t plan on setting any records in leveling up quickly. Of course this time I don’t plan on taking over two years to hit the cap. This time I would like to be able to do it in under a year. But we will have to wait and see if I manage that.

So the hotel is continuing it’s downward spiral. I’ve been hearing a lot of disturbing things from other employees and it amazes me that the place has lasted as long as it has under these current owners/management and I use those terms very loosely.

First up is some new policies the hotel has put in effect. It’s pretty simple. If you work for So & So Corporation you are a better person than any other guest that stay at the hotel. Plain and simple. If you don’t work for So & So Corporation your scum of the earth. We treat So & So Corporation like they are special people. We go out of our way to make their stay at the hotel an enjoyable one.

This is how we treat So & So Corporation employees. First you get to stay in our special wing. The only thing that makes it special is the fact it is in better condition than the rest of the rooms in the hotel. Secondly we offer employees of So & So Corporation access to a special business center that has computers and free internet. Not available to you family types that stay I’m sorry to say. Your not good enough. Thirdly when the employees of So & So Corporation stay in the hotel we have security on staff during the third shift. And again it’s only when So & So Corporation is in the hotel.

I find this disturbing on a number of levels. To me the purpose of a hotel (or any other business that deals with people) is to make sure everyone has an enjoyable stay. But this clearly is not the case here. We treat these fucks from So & So Corporation with special attention that the average guest does not see. And in my mind that is wrong. But what can you do?

Now the other bit of info I’ve heard is that soon an ad will be appearing in the local paper for the position of front desk manager. Now I hate to adopt this kind of I told you so manner but it does seem that is the way it is.

You (and you know who you are) have done a great job doing something that you have not received pay or a title for doing. So you should not feel bad in that respect. But this recent turn of events leaves you with no option (in my mind) than to quit. And I’m not talking a two weeks notice kind of quiting. No I mean the hey sorry I can’t come in you rat bastards I quit kind of quiting. You can find another job doing less work and for the same (or more) pay elsewhere.

Don’t let these fucks step on you like this man. Your better than that damn it. Burn the bridges. It’s the only thing one should do in this situation. And call and quit on a morning I work just to really give them some shit to deal with. But I see no other option for you. Fuck them and burn those god damn bridges.

So I saw a link to this loser quiz over at Blue’s News and figured it was one of those quizzes for me. You can find my results displayed proudly below:

The results go onto say in more detail that:

75% are cooler, and
25% are more of a loser than you.
What does this mean?
Tending towards loser status, get help soon

I can live with that.

It's not often I get a response from someone in Hotel Management that doesn't even work at the hotel I do. And John a front desk manager of a HI Select stopped by and posted this comment in the forum thread regarding my post about how the hotel treats a certain company special. The following will be my attempt to address this guys comments.

I have stumbled upon your site while looking for training information regarding breaches of hotel security.

First let me welcome you to my site. Welcome. Now that's out of the way let's take a look at your opening. You say you found me while searching for info on breaches of hotel security? You sure about that? Because when I look up info on breaches of hotel security I use these search key words to find the info I'm looking for. While your search was using a slightly looser set of terms. I'm sure that google search led you to all kinds of info regarding breaches of hotel security. So you will have to forgive me if I don't take you as a credible expert in your position of front desk manager and your comments are already dismissed as another anonymous troll who is just looking to piss me off. You going to need to work a little harder as I've had a lot more talented trolls than you.

I find your viewpoint refreshing, although considerably one sided. This particular view is that every traveler should receive VIP treatment, not just those whose company spends a large sum of money with the hotel. I agree that in a perfect environment that would be fantastic, however back here on Earth it simply is not possible.

I think your reading comprehension is a little lacking John. Read it again. No where did I say anything about everyone receiving this "VIP treatment" These assholes from the So & So Corporation receive more than just some "VIP treatment" as you call it. These people from the So & So Corporation are the only ones we go out of the way for. We don't treat the guys at This And That Inc as good I can tell you that.

98 % of employees in every company that exists think that they are underpaid and undervalued, and is unwilling to go that extra mile for every patron.

98 percent? So your telling me that only 2 percent of the employees will go out of their way for a guest? Where do you get these statistics John? Because I find these numbers very fascinating. And just for your info John the employees at my hotel are underpaid and undervalued.

Management knows this and has to attempt to cope with it in some manner, rather than eliminate the employees that don't do as they should for every customer, management has decided that as long as they don't lose the large accounts then the small incidents and occasional aggravated patron is simply a part of doing business.

I'm sorry but this statement makes no sense to me. So in your real world John instead of fixing the underpaid and undervalued status of your employees you allow your them to slack off and not do their job? Maybe Management should invest some money and training in their employees and maybe this kind of thing wouldn't happen. It's this line of thinking I hate.

While I applaud your calling out the indiscretions that exist in your hotel, I ask myself, what are you doing to better the situation?

Well John I do my job. That's it. No more, no less. And I treat all guest equally. In fact to even further incriminate myself let me say that I treat guests the same way they treat me. It's not my job to better the situation John. I leave that to management. I'm just an Auditor.

If you fail to lead as an example of someone who knows what should be done…

Your right I don't lead. They don't pay me to lead John. As I said I'm just an Auditor. No leading involved with Audit John.

then how can you fault others for not doing what you think they should…..more simply, if you do not do what you know should be done, then why should they do what you think should be done?

At this point you should have reread were you wrote "I find your viewpoint refreshing" because this is just that. I'm not faulting anyone John. Sure I like to take pot shots at these fools that own/manage my hotel. But all this really is John is pot shots. I'm just sharing my opinion with the internet.

It seems to me you are telling someone to quit because management in some form or fashion has offered a job to the public rather then grant it to that individual who has stepped up and filled a void…

And yeah John I'm saying the guy who is acting as the front desk manager should quit. I thought that was pretty clear in what I wrote John. To the best of my knowledge the guy is not getting paid to be front desk manager. He's making the same wage a front desk clerk makes. So yeah excuse me if my advice is to quit. As it looks to me they are playing him like a fool. So yeah quiting to me is still the only right thing for him to do.

…yet you still continue to work for the "bastards". Can you say hypocrite?

I can say hypocrite John. In fact I say it quite a lot. I'll often stand at the front desk and just chant hypocrite when no one is around. It's a job John. Thanks for stopping by and showing to everyone what I say about management is right. You would fit right in here. It's to bad I'm so against revealing locations and brands John because it sounds like your the perfect candidate to fill in the front desk manager position here at my hotel. A clueless corporate shill who just loves playing the part of a yes man. Not that is what the add is calling for, but I do imagine it's something close to that.

So you got your W-2? I don’t know about the rest of you but I was pretty happy to receive mine. I filed online as soon as I got home from the bank. But here’s the thing. take a look at your W-2. See the Employer ID number in box b? Now take a look at the Employer ID number in box 15. Notice the difference? In b it starts 10 and in 15 it is 01. For everyones benefit let me tell you that as long as you use the Employer ID number found at number 15 you will be fine.

Now that all said and done this latest fiasco makes me wonder just what that place can’t fuck up? One already has to copy their time card to make sure your paycheck is right. Of course that is if you didn’t sign up for direct deposit. Did you know that last payday direct deposit people didn’t get their money on payday? A number of people also feel that their federal tax amount is wrong as well. So it goes back to my question of what this place can’t fuck up?

So you got to look at what they have fucked up and just figure out all the things left they have yet to fuck up. Lets start with the easy one. I know (if they haven’t yet) that these people in charge could definitely fuck up a wet dream. That was an easy one. So what else is there? And this would a great time for some comments from you hotel employees (and anyone else that wants to take cheap shots at my bosses). So hit the comments link above and speak your mind!

My site turns seven today. As I pondered last year I’m not always certain that my site maybe a dubious achievement. Because I ofter wonder what has the site brought me? And the unfortunate answer is that it played a part in getting me fired. So should this be an occasion to celebrate?

For me to answer this question you have to look at what my goals were for this site. When I first decided to start writing about the hotel that employed me, my honest intentions for this site was for it to become a hub of sorts for all employees of hotels to find a safe place to discuss (and bitch about) their work environment. A place that anyone could use. A place for all levels of hierarchy to feel free to rant and rave just so they could blow off some steam. And in that respect the site has failed miserably. I do now and then attract a stray night auditor in the forums. But not many tend to stick around. I understand maybe people are afraid. I guess that’s the only thing I see as what stops people from sticking around.

Of course I do happen to have the honor of also hosting the forums and website for a Dark Age of Camelot guild called the Acolytes of Destruction. I’m happy to say the guild has been around for a number of years. We even recently branched out into the game World of Warcraft. So to a certain degree my original idea is not a total failure. The site has become a gathering place for some like minded individuals. It’ just that the target audience I was shooting for didn’t turn out to be my target audience. Which I guess isn’t a bad thing.

One last thing that does baffle me. While I don’t particularly like the terms blog or diary, this is what my site has become. It’s really what it always has been. Every now and then I attempt to make the site a little more known by signing up for places that keep track of this sort of thing. For example in early march I submitted my site to a place called the Diarist.Net Registry. And for a brief time I was indeed listed. Now I happened to to take a look earlier this month to see if I was still there and to my surprise I was not listed any longer in this registry. The requirements as found on their Submit your site page states:

This registry is specifically for online diaries, journals, and personal weblogs. Please do not submit commercial sites, generic personal sites (i.e. poetry, pictures of your dog, etc.), or topical or link-only (non-journal) weblogs.

And I’m pretty sure my site could be considered as an online diary or a journal and quite possibly a personal weblog. And I’m also pretty sure this site isn’t a commercial site as I don’t make a sent doing it. Neither is this a place to find poetry or pictures of my dog. So I just wonder why my site isn’t listed in their so called registry. So maybe I thought because it was that I write about my job. But a search shows there are many sites listed that do cover a persons line of work. Which makes me wonder just why I’m not listed? I find it all funny of course. It’s just something that baffles me.

Maybe someone read my post and took offense to it. Which in the end it doesn’t really bother me all that much. It’s more of a curiosity really. And maybe if and when this site hits the decade mark I’ll have earned the right to be listed with all of these other diaries, journals, and personal weblogs.