This evening we are gathered here in fellowship to honor our dearly departed er…. departing colleagues Susan Marie , Carl, myself and our outgoing chair Alan. As my students would say, It had been nice knowing to you and I know I am sad that this will be my last gathering with you all. You know.. that …. as commissioners we have learned many valuable lessons and experience that we will take with us as we work tirelessly in our field. So, I ..and my students, with the help of some volunteers would like to share some wisdom and reminiscences as we reflect on our terms here on the commission.

Susan Marie once told me her feelings about the commission… it was, of course, the valuable work that we do, for ,as we know, English is our grobal ranguage as our modern world is towarding a globalize economic…. . but it was also the people… She said “They are very kindly to me…I can spend everyday finely by their anxiety” *I know what she means—insert deep sigh* I think she also developed a new respect for her fellow human beings as she came to the conclusion that “People who stand on their own 2 feet are longing for me”

I for one, will miss the great times and the great dinners we have at commission expense. At the Japanese restaurant, when I eat lots of rice, I feel comfatable. Many of you remember that one place with the Japanese home cooking? ,…They make a wonderful Nikujaga with the wonderful taste of mother. It reminds me of my time spent in Japan oh so many years ago. My Japanese homestay mother is a good cook. She likes small dogs. I also recall the wonderful Indian Restaurant on King Street. I remember that I was a bit naive that first year on the commission because I forgot that most Hinduisms don’t eat beef. ..To them, it’s like eating your pets or babies. We all know that in some places “dogs are dinner” If we eat them, we feel cannibalisms and we see as disgusting even though taste may be good. Some of the most interesting experiences came from the various wait staff we encountered. One told us that some types of customer are very obedient..so you have good time with them. .. In addition, often you service your customer well, the customer will get a good impression from you and will probably will remembers you and he often will come to your restaurant…

I know that some of our commission chairs have never met a wine list they didn’t love. Speaking of drinking… one night after a wonderful dinner, We saw three girls who was drunk and they are saying a bad word, but we just smiled and passed away….

And Alan…. Our Alan…. who has just finished his fourth year on the commission. What can we say about Alan. He’s had an interesting story. As a young man in the UK, he studied hard in school.. and he is very rascal because he has many girlfriends.

But life changed for Alan as he left his little island home… and crossed that ocean to seek his fortunes. After working hard and considering his options, he realized he wanted his American dleam. His greatest challenge was dealing with the language. Seriously… because people in Alabama speak mercilessly. Another challenge was Culture Chuck and he and his fellow internationals had some problems in adjusting themselves. Academic were also an issue… when he had to study hard for his citizenship exam… he had to learn such things as…

1. You must learn t he value of money through your hardly work.

2. ..immigrants come to the US seeking economic opportunities, freedom or political persecution.

3. American people are really hard to get alone… (dating is difficult!)

4. There are three branches of government… the executive, legislative and the judicious branch.

5. There were also the history topics such as “The civil war lasted longer than it seemed to “

Alan had to learn other things that you just can’t learn from books. It took him a while to see that American husbands wash dishes and clothes as well as American wives and that there were difference in urban and rural culture, or in other words… you have to learn the difference between the city people and the village people. YMCA….

Susan Marie, Alan and I have learned so much about ourselves and our field while serving the commission. We have learned that to survive as commissioners and as educators, we have to learn the relevance between humor skills and long life. The results of research has shown that people who love longer, are worthless and boring. Above all… teaching.. is the greatest undertaking job in the world.

But because teachers are respected and hankered that’s why we do what we do. So, to wrap this up, I just want to say… and I think that I speak for the three of us… we will miss all of you. It’s been such an awarding and wonderful experience… and… *snif snif*… I don’t want to get too serious but….I just want everyone to bow their heads in NON prayer and consider something someone very wise once said… you must believe that there is one God and his passenger is ***he whose name shall not be mentioined***…. Piece be upon him. ..and peace be upon you all.

Good night.

Examples (From Wikipedia):

• "The radical reconstruction of the South after the Civil War was neither radical nor a reconstruction. Discuss."
• "The Holy Roman Empire was neither holy nor Roman nor an empire. Discuss." (This quote is based on a famous comment by Voltaire.)
• "The peanut is neither a pea nor a nut. Discuss."

• Right now the chicken is reading in the oven.
  
  
• They entered the workfarce.
  
  
• Woman Being.
  
  
• He likes his mustache, so he is short.
  
  
• "The green house gases that caused global warming are more than one kind. the global warming is not only due the the buring product CO2 but also due the product of fart. The animal husbandry is the main producer of  fart. The reason that animal husbandry is producing the most green house gas is that the umber of ox is too bug, and every one of them just stands there and farts every; day.  the number of fas that every cow fart a day is a bug number that even beat the gas that cars product in the world."
  

I think that this is turning into a hobby. Reviewing Marriott properties. I should live blog my next stay.
This is something I submitted to TripAdvisor. I'll put the URL up shortly.

I was definitely impressed with the West Des Moines Marriott. It’s a relatively modern property with clean and orderly public areas.  As you approach the building, it’s large, elegant and definitely says “Marriott”.  It is somewhat of a beacon off the busy intersection of I-80 and I-235 in western suburb of Des Moines, Iowa called West Des Moines (Creative, no?).  Although in a suburb of Des Moines, the hotel is on the intersection of two major highways, so every destination you need to get to is accessible.  As a result, don’t count out this location if you are attending a convention or seeing a show downtown Des Moines.

When you enter the building, you will be greeted by a large table with a dusty arrangement of plastic spring flowers in the center of the lobby.  The threadbare sofas and chairs on the left side of the lobby sit perpendicular to the nonfunctioning gas fireplace.  When your nose is assaulted by some kind of restroom air freshener, your eyes will be assaulted by the gray bath of fluorescent light.  On the right is the front desk but if it weren’t for the efficient staff behind that front desk, you wouldn’t know where to check in.   

We checked into the Marriot for New Year’s Eve celebrations. I made our reservation two nights in a suite and paid a reasonable state government employee rate. The online rates ranged from $139 to over $200 not including breakfast.  The government rate was much less.

Upon check in we were greeted in a friendly manner.  Kudos go to the front desk supervisor who did not blink when checking in a same sex couple into a king suite.  We often expect negative or surprised responses.  This gentleman and his colleague who assisted handled our check in with professionalism and courtesy.

After a quick check in, we were shown to the elevators and made it to the suite quickly.  Not being impressed with the lobby, we were a little apprehensive about the room. We were completely surprised at how pleasant the suite was in contrast to the shabby lobby.   It was clear that the two rooms had seen some renovation over the past couple of years.  The door opened into the living room which had two comfortable easy chairs, a sleeper sofa and a desk that extended into an L shape with easy access to wireless and cable internet connections.  There was also a full wet bar with coffee service and a mini fridge.   To our delight, there was a 36 inch LCD TV.  The TV was set up so that any number of devices could be attached.  As a result, we were able to hook up my computer to view some DVDs between shopping binges, shows and New Year’s festivities (note: cables are in the closet!).

Through the French doors, there is a slightly smaller room. A king bed, an easy chair and a bureau with another LCD TV fit nicely. Like other Marriott properties I’ve stayed at, the bed is well designed and has the most impeccably clean and soft pillows and sheets. Plus, there’s a down mattress pad and duvet which makes sleeping all the better.

The bath connects the living and the sleeping areas. The closet area is very generous. There’s a sink in the dressing area and there is also a full bath.  It’s set up so while your sweetie is doing his/her thing in the bathroom, you can still brush your teeth or pouf your hair to your heart’s content at your own sink and vanity.

As far as the décor goes, it’s nothing to write home about.  The more modern furniture and carpeting clash with the slightly dated curtains and faded floral prints. Think of it as IKEA meets Laura Ashley. Otherwise, the room was cozy yet large enough to spread out in.  It’s nice to have to seating area so that you don’t have to live on your bed.

As in past Marriott stays, when I went to use the coffee machine in the room, the carafe appeared clean but still seemed to smell of old coffee or tea.  It led me to believe it could have been cleaned a bit better.

The bathroom was attractive but a bit dated with the plastic vinyl wall covering and cream sold-surface counter. It’s a typical hotel bathroom; small but functional.  Everything was immaculately clean.  The water pressure was amazing.  No matter the time, the water was hot and had even pressure.

Pool Area and Exercise area: We did not use these, but they seemed very attractive and well laid out. The exercise area has a good selection of weights and cardio equipment. The swim area looked as if it was taken over by small children many of whom seemed to be unsupervised.

There seemed to be a small bell staff (staff of 1) who took care of luggage and also transportation in the area.  The shuttle van seemed to go to the airport but I think they also offer transport to the high end Jordan Creek Mall (Worth a visit!!!!). 

My major complaint is not with the hotel itself but the restaurant, CKs.  We wound up here after spending a lot of time trying to get a table at many of the nearby restaurants on New Year’s Eve. Defeated, we decided to go back to the hotel restaurant even though we normally stay away from hotel fare. The dining room is attractive with high ceilings and classic design.  Regarding prices, entrees range from pastas for $10 and up to steaks $28 and up. The bill for two with one beer was about $50.  During the lunch and breakfast hours, we observed very few customers in the restaurant.

This place would be a good candidate for an episode of Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant makeover show.  Advertising itself as a high end steak house, it was clear that this place is anything but.  Where things started to go downhill was, believe it or not, the bread basket.  We were presented with a fine silver basket with a crisp white linen napkin covering what we thought were some freshly baked rolls.  What we received were the same white mass produced cold and dry bread rolls one would get at the local Piggley Wiggley supermarket. We were also treated to a large ice cream scoop full of butter substitute and no bread places. “This can only end badly.” I thought to myself. 

The pasta marinara dish my hubby ordered seemed to be pasta covered in what appeared to be a blend of pasta sauce and Mexican salsa with chunks of unidentifiable vegetables.  The Mexican flavor was evident.   Moreover the dish was served at room temperature and had appeared to be set up into a solid mass of pasta.  If one were to turn over the bowl, it looked as if it would have made a “schlup” sound and maintained the shape of the bowl. The same chilly fate met my steak and side dishes.  After sending everything back, I was offered another drink but a second beer on an empty stomach could have only made my mood and hunger worse.  Hubby was offered nothing. It was interesting to note that all of the tables around me had sent things back to the kitchen. The waitress was nervous but maintained a professional attitude.

While waiting, we noticed the bus staff and wait staff were sorting and cleaning dishes in the dining room.  At two bus stations, the staff scooped dirty food and drinks into the trays directly in view of everyone.  To make it worse, the detritus remained leaving lovely mounds of rotting food and piles of plates with caked on dirt.

All in all, we should have been suspicious of this place. When we entered the restaurant at about 7:00 pm, we were only the 3^rd party in the entire restaurant.  Every other restaurant in the area was packed and had significant wait times.  However, it was quite easy to get a table in CKs. This should have been the first clue. 

Had I not been on a “date” that night, I would have had words with the management and sent back the meals again. As a result, I didn’t not inform the management of the problems; however, I did voice my concerns to the front desk manager upon check out.

Aside from the awful restaurant, I would stay at this hotel again and make a point of avoiding the awful restaurant. For a light breakfast or lunch, there is a McDonald’s on one side of the hotel and a Perkins family restaurant on the other side. For dinner, the Jordan Creek Mall area has a great selection of places from the Cheesecake Factory to PFChang’s to local restaurants.  

All in all, if I were able to get a good rate, (under $100) I would spring for the suite for the comfortable living room and bed.  The kind staff will also make your stay in the Marriott West Des Moines worthwhile.