ladies (& james),
right now in governor suite. 2nd nite of my stay. took a laptop along to do my AP accounts etc... and usin the internet access. will be a long long field report.
first, the dinner last nite. had a great time, tho i had plenty of hiccups all the way to AD. things like wine (supplier delivered shiraz instead of cabernet), mother forgot to bring IC for solemnization.
and of course, the headache with the suite allocation. originally it was governor for AD, and i bought oriental for 2nd nite. and then vera requested me about givin up governor to accomodate one of her regular guest. in return, she upgraded me to presidential, and offered for both nites as well, with oriental rate. quite a good deal, i thought.
then things went wrong, vera got back and had issue with the following nite couple (5/7) who also was promised presidential. and asked if i can take governor on 2nd nite instead. i didn't want to make it difficult for vera, and consented.
then the eve of AD, vera reported issues again. some frontdesk mixup resulted in my 2nd nite not confirmed in governor. asked her to try and sort out the mess, which she did by 6pm on the eve. much to my relief.
and then my montage went wrong. i designed my own photo montage, and sent in a copy for their AV guy to run through for march-in, montage, and food entry. my own montage had the borders clipped off by the projectors, and partial content were off the screen.
as such it was a mad rush on midnite of 2 jul, as i raced to edit and produce one that will have a margin all around to take care of the issue.
check in by my helpers in advance, but with some problems. also slight problems with the access card reading on the lifts.
meanwhile, my evenin crew linked up with lewis, my banquet IC. he did a great job, walking me through the whole thing. i was too physically and mentally exhausted to register and process anything, and had other non-banquet issues to deal with. just requested him to 'hold my hand' through the nite.
and so the show started after delay.. at about 8.30pm, due to guest latecomin. everythin went through smoothly. and we cleaned off the 30L barrel, and even a couple bottles of martell. wine strangely was consumed at about 12 (complimentary by hotel) + 9 (corkage free brought in) bottles.
2 commendable things lewis did for me. 1, he gave me the trick to prep myself for the liquor onslaught. even though with only 1/4 tank in stomach, it held well enough to allow me to send off all my guests. drank a neat cup of martell to thank my brothers who helped me in the day.
2nd thing he did, was to help me control the liquor movement. my brothers would probably have wiped off 3 bottles of martell if he hadn't found a way to deal with the situation. and he managed my 30L barrel well.
farewell for guests ended @ about 10.45pm, with everyone gone by 11.30pm.
vera did great to help me with the evenin complimentary meals. i had been too busy preparin for my solemnisation (in Coleman Room), that it wasn't consumed. she arranged for me to consume on 2nd night of stay, but as a buffet in indulge (the cafe). of course, plenty of ear listening, as i ranted about all the issues i had to face in preparation of this day...
now, the presidential suite, was... great. plenty of space to let everyone do their things. and same inhouse jacuzzi tub as the one in governor. as i was so much in a hurry for the day, i didn't bring my digicam along to take pictures of the suite.
2 levels of the suite. upstairs has a small kitchen, toilet, and dining table, with a sofa set. whole space about the size of a governor suite.
downstairs, an office table, sofa set, and the bed. with the bathroom, wardrobe etc. that one, even bigger. about an extra room space.
and yeah, before i go, had a relaxin time at the outdoor jacuzzi earlier. catch up with you guys again later, with pictures of the governor suite. my dad had to bring down my digicam today, so i can snap some pictures for those interested.
