A Day (or Two) in the Life of Scott Hanno

Good evening once again and how are things where you live? The weather today was just great and a little bit on the warm side but yesterday was a little bit cooler and overcast for most of the day. I ended up mowing the lawn and then cleaned up some more of the planters and washed the car again as the pollen is turning things green ....... but my car is all nice and shiny again. And there's really nothing going on here and last week was a pretty normal week but I'm keeping myself busy so time is flying right by.

I ended up finishing up most of my grout removal project in my bathroom upstairs so I'm just about ready to re-grout the thing and hope that it turns out better than it did the first time. I bought a new grout removal tool for my Dremel yesterday and that thing cut through the grout like it was butter. I also used it to cut off the bolts holding the toilet to the floor as they were too tall to put on the caps but the mighty Dremel cut right through them too. I've also been working on my garage (drywall) quite a bit this week and think that I made it out there for at least a little while just about every day and I should be ready to start to paint sometime in the next couple of weeks. I also plan on doing the floor with the epoxy stuff and I also saw some really cool shelves at Home Depot yesterday that I might look into installing as well. They were king of just this slider bar that goes across the length of the room and then you can hang all kinds of stuff from it - actual shelves or lawn equipment or a bike rack, the thing had a lot of options.

I'm also headed off to Detroit this week for an owners meeting and the we are having an All Associate Outing on Friday to a bowling alley to try our skills ...... it should be a fun afternoon if nothing else. And my vacation to Punta Cana is also coming up quick and just checked the weather and it looks pretty consistent every day. The highs look like they are in the high 80's and the lows in the mid 70's with a chance of rain each day, kind of reminds me of Florida weather. But as long as it's sunny and warm that's about the only thing that I require.

I guess that's about it for today though, all is well with me and hope that it's the same with you. So that's it for another day, hope you are enjoying the spring weather and guess that summer is right around the corner. Talk with you soon.

posted by Scott @ 8:52 PM

Evening to you and what's new in your world? Not much up here but it sure was a nice weekend around these parts and both yesterday and today were sunshine and close to 80' each day! But my body is hurting after all of the crap that I got accomplished, my back hurts and my knees hurt and it's back to work in the morning again.

Yesterday I cleaned up part of the front planter, it's the same one that I pulled those old bushes out about three months ago and pulled up a bunch of rocks and then planted some small little green "boxer" bushes or something like that. Then I put mulch down and it's now looking much better - then I mowed the lawn and the rest of the usual stuff. I also decided that I was going to dig up the grout in my bathroom from my tile job a few months ago as it keeps turning white as soon as it dries and looks like crap - it's suppose to be this beige and looks normal after I mop it but then as soon as it dries it turns white again and it's really been getting on my nerves. I even wrote the company that makes the grout and asked them what to do and all they had to say was that they make a grout coloring which I'm sure wouldn't look normal either. So I ended up buying a dremel which is one of those small handheld router/sander things and they make a grout remover and I did most of that yesterday afternoon ...... but that also killed my back and my knees from having to work on the floor. Once I'm done pulling up all of the old grout I'll find a different brand of grout and try it again - and then once it's normal looking I can even hang the door back on again.

Today I got up fairly early and went out and washed my car which was the first time I've done that and it's kind of a beast but at least it's looking brand spanking new again and should last until the rains show up on Thursday. Then the rest of the day was mostly spent inside which was hard knowing it was so very nice out there.

Not much else going on though but last week was crazy for some reason so hopefully the upcoming one will be a little bit more calm but guess that only time will tell. My nephew sent me a note that he was looking for a hotel room in Boston in July as he has plans to go see the Red Sox but it's almost too early for me to check anything as most of the hotels won't open up their discounts until 60 days out. It was good to hear from him just the same though and he even donated to the Relay for Life while he was checking out my blog.

I guess that's about it, I've got a short trip to Detroit for an owners meeting next week that I'm going to and we are also doing an all associate outing next Friday where we are all going bowling which might be kind of fun ...... but guess that we'll see. And it's only a couple of more weeks until I'm off to the Dominican Republic for a week of laying on the beach! So I guess that's about it and there's really nothing going on here but feel free to drop me a line if you have a chance. Have a great week and enjoy the weather and I'll talk with you on another day.

posted by Scott @ 8:32 PM

Hey and what's up this fine Sunday? Not too much news with me but what's new, right? It rained for the better part of the weekend but at least I got out and got the lawn mowed again yesterday morning and it's probably been in the 50's for the high and down in the 30's at night. Today it's been raining a lot and rained for most the day but that's fine as I stayed inside for the most part. I did end up making a trip to Lowe's yesterday to check out sliding glass doors as I think that I'm going to replace my 25 year old slider that I have now and might even look at putting in those French door things that open in and out instead. But I didn't find much of a selection there so I guess that I'll need to keep looking around - plus there is no way that I'd be able to install it myself so I'll need to find someone to do it for me.

And it was a pretty normal week last week I guess, we had a lunch meeting in DC on Tuesday and had it at the L 'Enfant. We are also looking for a new revenue manager for a couple of our hotels and hopefully we are making progress there but guess that time will tell. I'd also like to set up a centralized call center for all of our hotels in the city at some point but think that it's going to take some time to get things up and running.

Oh, and I went and had a massage on Tuesday which made me feel much better but it was different than most that I've had as the lady more focused on pressure points instead of an actual massage. But I did feel better afterwards and guess that's what matters most, it was different but still did the trick ....... I think. I hope to have another one while I'm on vacation and guess that they offer them right on the beach so that might be a nice change of pace. I'm also starting to get a little excited about the trip and it's only a few weeks from now and I'll be hanging out on the beach. I'm still a little worried about not knowing any Spanish but one of my co-workers sent me the Spanish for Dummies book that I'll try and read but not too sure that it will do me much good ....... but guess that it's better than knowing nothing at all.

I also put my old laptop up for sale on eBay the other day and that was after reformatting and reloading windows on it and got it working just great again but I still don't have any bids for it yet so I'm not sure if there is much interest in it. I guess that if it doesn't sell I might come down a little bit on the price but I've still got a couple of days left so I might still get a few bites, guess you never know. That took me some time this weekend though and really don't like waiting for software to download and install - the windows updates took forever to complete!

I guess that's it though and told you that nothing was happening around here, my brother had me get him a room at the Courtyard in Syracuse this weekend and guess that he wanted to take the grand kids for a swim. I sometimes wish that I had a pool, but then if I had one I'd be complaining about how much work it was! Oh, and Loundoun County just opened up this cool Rec Center just a couple of miles from here and I went and checked out about a week ago - but with the kiddy pool and all that it was more like a zoo ........ but you can check it out as it is still pretty cool - click here for their site. That's it, have a great week and I will be talking with you soon.

Ps. My niece Megan participates in Relay for Life each year to celebrate survivors and raise money for the American Cancer Society and she sent me this note -

Relay this year is being held on May 5-6 and I'll be traveling to Delaware that weekend for the event. Although I've probably talked every one's ears off in the past about what Relay is, I'll give a brief rundown again. It is the American Cancer Society's signature event - teams of 8-15 people are formed and at least one person from each team must be walking or running on the track at all times. Entertainment and food is provided throughout the approximately 18 hours of the event. All money raised by teams goes toward cancer research and helping families who have been affected by cancer.

As you can see, it is all for a very good cause. It is also an event that I have become extremely passionate about during my time spent at the University of Delaware. We often ask participants why they take part in Relay For Life and the answers I've heard are often quite touching. Personally, I Relay for several different individuals in my life who have been affected by cancer and for the hope that someday there will be no need for Relay because a cure has been found. I'd also encourage any of you to visit the following link to see a few things about the event and why others Relay - click here. If there are any other questions about the event, I'd be happy to answer them!

After running the the event last year with my friend and co-chair, I'm a little more removed this year but just as committed to the cause. EVERYONE knows at least one person in their lives who has been touched by cancer in one way or another. Because of this, I'd like to ask for donations for anybody that is willing to provide them. No amount is too small - its amazing how pennies can add up!! It is difficult for me to put into words how extraordinary Relay is unless you've actually attended one, but just know that your donations are truly appreciated. Plus, all donations are tax-deductible. You can donate by going to my website and donating via credit card by clicking here.

Donations may also be mailed to me at (you can send them to me and I'll send them to her):
Scott Hanno
3 Selden Court
Sterling, VA 20165

U of Delaware has a goal of raising $200,000 this year. With your help, this goal can be reached!! Please consider donating!

Thank you for your continued support to such a wonderful cause.

"Be proud of what you do, you are not only saving lives, you are changing them!"

posted by Scott @ 8:58 PM

Hello and Happy Easter to you and yours ........ was the bunny good to you today? And not much news to report on this end other than winter is back and looks to be here for the next week - nights have been back down into the 20's and the days barely up in the 40's ...... very windy too. We even had a little bit of snow on the ground when I got up yesterday morning and that's tough to bare after seeing the 80' weather a couple of weeks back. Seems like it's been cold for quite some time ...... and has to be coming to an end.

I ended up taking Friday off as I had my six month Lasik eye surgery follow up and my doctor that I'd been going to on Saturday's got pregnant and had a baby and now they aren't open until she gets back. But that was ok as I needed the extra day off and that was only about 30 minutes of it and all went well with that and now I'm good for another year before I'm back to my annual check up ....... well actually it's 6 months from now as the last six months don't count as an actual visit. At least I've still got the same vision that I had right after the deal so I guess that things are holding up pretty well although I'm sure that it will slowly get worse again as I age gracefully. Other than that I did a little shopping and slept a lot but nothing too exciting like I said.

I've been selling a bunch of old crap on eBay lately and I'm getting to be a pro at it, I sold a cell phone, a camera, my old Palm Pilot, an old router and I think that's it (so far). It's kind of fun too as I am putting my marketing skills to good use and have been kind of surprised as how much I've been getting for some of this junk ...... and beats them sitting around in my closets. I've got more to go though so I'll just keep listing one or two things at a time and then I'm thinking of buying a new laptop to replace my old IBM that I've had for six years that I use for checking e-mail in my living room ....... about 12 feet from my desktop. After I do that I think that I'll list my old laptop and see how much I can get for that but I'm having issues finding the recovery cd's and need them to reformat the hard drive.

I've also been planning a vacation and had a week booked at Maya Riviera in Mexico for early May but I've been trying to find a flight that was a decent price and haven't had any luck. So last week Pam gave me the idea of going to the Dominican Republic where we have another Barcelo hotel and that's where I have decided to go. I am going to the Bavaro Beach Palace and the beach looks awesome ...... and that's all that I plan to do again is hang out and catch some sun and to do some snorkeling of the reefs right at the hotel. I can't wait though but I am a little bit nervous about going there no knowing what to expect ....... but I guess that variety is what life is all about. I probably would have been just as happy going back to Mexico but I've been there three times all ready so I guess that I'm due for something new.

I guess that's about all that I've got to report for this day, I hope that you are staying warm and that spring will show up one of these days. Take care and take it easy and I will talk with you on another day. Later!

posted by Scott @ 9:03 PM

Hello again and welcome to April ....... today is April fools day and I didn't even think about that until just now ...... hmmm. But I'd rather have it fall on a weekend so that I don't have to deal with all of the cruel jokes and this way I couldn't even tell the difference. Not too much going on once again but I got the lawn mowed yesterday and it's looking half way decent. It's pretty amazing how fast everything greens up and those trees with the white flowers are blossoming all over the place and seems like they did that overnight, let's just hope that spring is here to stay. It wasn't too bad of a weather weekend either and yesterday was sunny all day and in the 60's but it was pretty windy out so it felt cooler than it probably was. Today it's been cloudy all day and we saw a few quick sprinkles but that's ok as I stayed inside for most of it.

Last week I was in Chicago again on Monday and Tuesday for a focus meeting with a group from Starwood Hotels, and it was pretty cool as there were only like eight of us invited out of who knows how many thousands and they treated us great as well. I even had the Governor's Suite which was a huge room but guess that the governor wasn't all too special as the room was nothing to write home about. And we stayed at the Westin at the airport and the service is what makes the hotel, it's kind of old but they really do know how to take care of you. It was also like 85' there which kind of surprised me but was also wicked windy on Monday and guess that it was 85' here the next day but I got home pretty much when it was just about over. And then it was back to work on Wednesday and the rest of the week kind of flew right by.

I also had to go pick up my license plates for my car on Thursday and then ended up having to go back yesterday to get a inspection sticker which kind of ticked me off that they didn't put the thing on before I even picked it up. But I think that I'm pretty much done with all of that now and I can just enjoy the ride. I even had a woman stop me as I was leaving the grocery store tonight to tell me that she couldn't believe my car was a Ford as it didn't look anything like something that they made.

I am also taking off this coming Friday as a vacation day as I have an eye appointment which is my last one other than the annual thing - but my doctor that normally covers Saturday appointments is out on maternity leave and guess that they haven't found anyone to cover her shifts ...... but that's ok as then I can work around the house the rest of the day. Not too sure what I want to accomplish but guess that I'll figure it out when the time comes. And I've been thinking about maybe seeing what it would cost to install an in-ground sprinkler system so I might try and get a quote for that - and this one is way out there but I'd love to dig out my crawl space under the house and have them put in a basement. I know that would probably cost me a fortune if they even do such a thing but I think that it would go a long way in improving the value of the house as it's tight for space and that would make a big impact in that. I think that I'll at least see if it is possible to do but probably won't ever do such a thing assuming that it can be done.

I guess that's about it though and it's back to work in the morning and should be a pretty normal week. Not too sure what's going to come along but I am sure that I can find enough to keep myself busy. Oh, and I watched a couple of movies this weekend and one was Superman Returns which was just ok but the other was Talladega Nights with Will Ferrell doing the Nascar race car thing ....... and that movie was hilarious. I'd highly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet. Well, have a great week and I'll talk with you on another day. See you, stay in touch when you can.

posted by Scott @ 9:01 PM