2003-09-09 11:02 a.m.

Yesterday I told my boss that if she could get me a 15 to 20 percent pay increase & change my job responsibilities so that I'm not so bored all the time, then I'd stay another 18 months. Just like that. Kindof a Wow Moment now that I think about it. She's presenting a business case to our Regional on Thursday, so I guess we'll see what happens.

It may work out really well, because I want to move to Vegas at much better salary than I have now. But Vegas is still a small market in terms of Marriott. There's only one full-service that's corporate and 8 limited service. I could do that in my sleep. But a new Rennaisance is opening in '04 and if the market goes Total Hotel, there could be some good opportunites for me.

The option after Vegas would be the whole LA area - which is actually about 4 clusters I think, because for whatever reason Orange County and LA county are in there together as far as hotel codes (they all fall under LAX), then are broken back down into Revenue Managenment clusters. There are 21 full-service Marriotts & Rennaisances there, 3 Ritz's - who don't play in the clusters, then about 50 limited service ones that may or may not play. Big opportunity there, but not a big help in the whole Cost-Of-Living issue.

Well, I guess that's enough boring work talk for now. As a change of pace and for no reason other than because, here's some quotes:

Harold Bloom, "How to Read and Why:"

"The pleasures of reading indeed are selfish rather than social. . . Solitary pleasure is finally the only real reason for reading, which makes it sound more like a vice than a virtue. Now, if we can only convince everyone else of that, it might catch on."

Bertrand Russell:

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."

Confucius:

"Only the wisest and the stupidest of men never change."

Dante:

"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crises maintain their neutrality."

Malcolm Muggeridge:

"Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream."

Mary Ellen Kelly:

"Natives who beat drums to drive off evil spirits are objects of scorn to smart Americans - who blow horns to break up traffic jams."

Lewis Thomas:

"The great thing about human language is that it prevents us from sticking to the matter at hand."

Aesop:

"The smaller the mind, the greater the conceit."

Albert Einstein:

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."