Yet Another Job Perk

I'm still getting used to this new job, but the perks seem to be popping up all over the place.

We are contracting with a brand-new hotel to house our visitors and volunteers during the ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Because the hotel is brand-new they offered us a great deal...a better deal than the ELCA has with four other hotels downtown.

About a week ago, we got an invitation to the grand opening event, held yesterday. The Operations Manager and I decided that we needed to check out the facility again. We got there and entered the crowd of people filling the smallish lobby.

There were hotel employees (I learned later that many were front desk people) who were offering platters of food. There was a bar where we got some white wine. Then we ventured to the 2nd floor, where all the meeting rooms are. Each room had a different food item inside. There was the salad room, the fruit room, the meat room, and the dessert room. Needless to say, we spent quite a bit of time up there. There was also another bar that had large containers of a green liquid. It looked like Ecto-Plasma Cooler (for those of you who remember that). I asked, and was told that it was a "Garden-tini". I am not one to turn down an adventure (free!), so I took a glass. It tasted like spicy grass.

We then learned that there would be a prize drawing for all the guests. Some people won Twins tickets, and a 9 year-old boy won $100 to Zelo's restaurant. I ended up winning $100 to McCormick & Schmick's seafood restaurant. Later, I found the boy trying to find who won the Twins tickets, so he could swap.

The last event was a butterfly release. I thought that sounded pretty cool. They invited us outside, but we sat by a window to watch the action. The butterfly release was a bust. They gave each guest an envelope with a butterfly in it and asked them to release them all at once. I only saw about 10-15 butterflys actually fly up to the sky. The rest crawled around on the hands of the people who were to be releasing them. I guess they got attached.

I'm excited to go back in August and work with this hotel. If you are going to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, and you need a place to stay. Contact me!