To start the story, I don't like lemon-aid. I never have not even as a kid. I was walking to the gym and these kids had a lemon-aid stand and they were just hollering at cars to stop and buy some lemon-aid. Well they didn't harrass me because I was on the other side of the street and they didn't see me walk by. Well after the gym I was walking back and I actually took a different route so I would bypass the lemon-aid stand. Have you ever watched the movie " Defending Your Life" with Albert Brooks? In this movie Albert Brooks dies and goes to a weigh station. At this weigh station , you are given an attorney and you have to defend, in a court, your actions throughout your life. The movie is pretty funny because they actually replay parts of his life. They include moments of fear, moments of love, moments of betrayal, lieing etc. So he has to defend his actions and prove that he should move on to a higher level. As I walked home from the gym, I was thinking that this was a moment I would have to defend. " Liliana, Why did you choose to bypass the little kids selling lemon-aid?" Since you can't lie in the court of "God" my answer would have to be that I changed my walking route because I don't like lemon-aid and it was easier to bypass the kids then tell them to their faces that I didn't want any.
Part of me knows that if I kept walking and was confronted by those kids that I would ,out of some sense of guilt, buy a glass of the lemon-aid. But I would feel pissy about it because I don't like fucking lemon-aid and the money wasn't even going to charity.
Obviously I need to start going to more yoga classes so I can become a better person.

I just found out last night that my former GM of New Orleans, Aaron, donated 22 inches of his hair to " Locks of Love" . "Locks of Love" is a non profit organiztion that uses human hair to make wigs for kids who have lost there hair due to illness or chemotherapy. " I'm proud of you Aaron. That was so nice of you."
Last night I took Jackson to the Ripley's believe it or not museum". I'm still thinking about the men who lived even though they were impalled with pipes. Pretty gross. Jackson loved the two headed cow.
New Orleans bar last night, I went in and met Njia a new girl. Quite a good dancer but not dressed properly for Coyote. Everyone seems to love her so I'll have to keep my eye on her. that's it

I have gotten 2 e-mails this week about the Denver Coyotes. Both pretty much saying that " they can do it better." Blah, blah. Let me clarify to all those people who think " they can do it better." These girls have never worked in a Coyote before, most of them have never even been to a Coyote before. With every bar ( every single one) it usually takes the girls a good 2 months to hit their stride and feel comfortable as a Coyote. If it was easy everyone would be doing it.
Now as far as the " I can do it better " comments. Go ahead and try. Any owner of a bar can tell you stories about how people will say " if I ran this place I would do this..." It is annoying to hear. And believe me I've heard a few real dumb ideas in my days. In Austin I heard " if I ran this place I would put a sign outside." Thanks dumbass! ( of course they have no idea about community board approvals on signs and zoning issues etc). Of course the old " if this was my place I would change the music." My response is " open your own place. Good luck."
It's funny but I've received hundreds of e-mails about how much fun people have had at the Denver bar but those two e-mails just pissed me off. Cup half full or cup half empty. I need to work on that.

Easter egg hunt went well. My son was so excited to find all the eggs.
Nashville had an easter shot hunt. I can only imagine the drunks trying to find the shots hidden in the 8000 sq. ft. bar.
At the end of Friday night ( in Denver) Jeff myers confessed to knowing all the dances. We had already dismissed the rest of the staff and it was just Kevin B, Lee, Jeff M., and myself. Kevin happened to have a video camera so Jeff and I got on the bar and did all the dances. I'm going to try and stream some of the footage on the site. Fucking hysterical!
Tonight I'm going to head to the New Orleans bar. I haven't been there in a while so I thought I would show my face.
An excerpt from denver's manager's log: " girl caught giving head to guy in bathroom"

Ok we hired a new GM, Kevin R. He is giving his job notice today. The club business is very cutthroat. I told him that I put $5 on them taking his keys and escorting him off the premises tonight. ( cash business, you never let a manager continue working when they leave notice). So I said if you get fired after you quit, you better show up for work tonight. Jeff M. told him "this will be your favorite job in this business, unless you fuck up."
Denver girls with some white trash moments this week. One girl already had to call in and switch her shift because she was in the slammer. The funniest story so far is a girl who was on "Judge Judy". Her ex-boyfriend sued her for money he spent on her boob job. He won.

Applicant #4; " the only way I'm going to move up in my present company is if I OFF two of my bosses." That was the first thing he said to Kevin and I at his interview. NEXT
Opening last night. Where do I start. The ice machine broke. The lighting sucked and the topper the music totally shut down for a few minutes and then played at an incredibly low low volume. Well, everything got fixed so things went well after that. The staff did so well last night. I'm so proud. Even with so much shit going on, everyone really pulled it together.
Pump and Tiny did great too! So proud.
OK back to work.

Ok I take it back we still have no GM in Denver. I had to get JeffM from Nashville to come here for a few weeks. To give you a little insight on the applicants we have had in Denver; applicant #1 had a subastance abuse record, a DUI, and an assault charge. Applicant #2 was labeled a stalker by last management. Applicant #3 Lied on his resume and was under suspicion of theft by his former employer. And now the topper Applicant #4 told me that he would have to "Off" his two bosses to move up in his company. ( He wasn't kidding)
I sent Marshall to Nashvile to help Heath out because both Kyle and Jeff M are here. I asked Jeff M. if Heath would be alright.He said " yeah sure. He'll either kill someone or someone will kill him" So I figured better safe then sorry and send Marshall to help.
Big opening tomorrow night

A lot of nice letters about the Nashville bar this week. Good going girls.
Heading back to Denver today. Back to square one on the manager front. Just a quick run down. Applicant 1: drug charge, Dui, and abuse charge. Applicant 2. employees at old job described this person as " stalker" Applicant 3. Lied on resume and was going to be fired from last job for "suspicion of theft".
We are batting 1000. I have Jeff M. from nashville here for a little while to act as GM until we find someone with no crimnal record.
I had bad dreams about Marshall and Heath all night. Marshall is going to help Heath out for a few days while Kyle and Jeff are in Nashville. Of course Heath doesn't think he needs help but I felt Jeff m's comment was reason enough to bring in some reinforcements. ( remember real southern accent ) " Lil Heath will be just fine! Either he'll kill somebody or somebody will kill him." Regardless that is too many hours for one person to do themselves. Now Marshall leaving Austin means Daniel will be alone there. I felt this was important so he could avenge the "wuss" comment I made last week.
I felt bad this week. I missed the New Orleans girls night out and I missed the Denver girls night out.
I had to attend my son's annual school fair, Fete de Francais. What a day. (I donated some beer and of course the driver showed up 2 hours late with the 4 kegs.) One the other hand, the French really know how to throw a good fair. The food was incredible. They had muscles , crepes, crawfish etouffe, coq au vin , pate, and a lot more. Vive le France!

Ok I hired a GM and AM. Leslie and Rich. What a burden off my shoulders. I hope they're ready. Alot of long hours before you see the light. Daniel , the am in Austin, has a styomach flu. Well South x Southwest ,the biggest event in Austin for live music, just started and Marshall is exhausted. He's been pulling doubles. I say get off your sick ass Daniel and get to work because this is the second busiest weekend all year for the bar. I remember, a long time ago, All the NY girls had some weird flu. The only two people who weren't sick were myself and this girl Caroline. We rotated day and night shifts for a full week, just the two of us. We had to double up on the weekend . I remember finally getting another girl to come in what a relief. These kids are such wusses.
I'm concerned about the Denver girls. They are missing a certain energy that you just can't teach them. I'm hoping when the veteran girls come in it lights a fire under the Denver crew. Sometimes pretty isn't enough and I'll tell you there are some very very pretty girls in this Denver crew.

Starting to freak a bit about GM situation. I flew a candidate in from Nashville yesterday. He has a lot of experience but a bit youngish. I want to make sure he can come to a new city with no fear . We took him out to dinner last night and I handed him some money. He was a little bewildered. I said " go out tonight and find out everything you can about the club/nightclub scene in our neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods. Tomorrow give me a report about what you found out." I'm curious what he will come back with. This exercise was more about judging how comfortable he is in a foreign city.
I'm on the phone with Chantel right now. She said the girls were disappointed that I missed the girls night out. I feel really bad about it. I told her that I'll take the girls out bar hopping in a few weeks. ( Chantel bought me a toy. I love her)

The girls are dropping like flies. I saw a recent study that said people from Colorodo are in the best shape in comparison to people in other states. Well we got the 34 girls who do not fit into that grouping. They are getting winded really early ( I know there is an altitude issue here, but these girls should be used to it.) Two days ago we were at 45 girls now we are down to 34. Yesterday some of the girls were crying and just very emotional. We have done nothing different in their training. In fact Jacqui has been cutting class early because the girls are so physically exhausted. In some ways I feel for the girls because I know they are trying but after 15 cities we have never encountered this. We are not asking any more from them then we ask from the other girls in the other cities. Very strange phenomenom. I hope today is the day that they get over the hump and start feeling better.
At the end of rehearsal yesterday a girl walks over to me and says that she saw the movie. That was fine but what she said after was so insulting I had to laugh ( well at least Lee did). " Why did they choose Maria Bello to play you in the movie, she is so blond and beautiful. I was sure when I met you guys that Jacqui was Lil because I figured it couldn't be you." Hence I pulled Jacqui to the side and said put a little pressure on her tomorrow to avenge my honor!"
Tonight is girls night out in New Orleans. I'm so upset I'm going to miss it! This year Chantel arranged dinner and then a sex toy party. I hope she buys me something . God knows I could use it!

Girls started training today. Really good crew, some very pretty girls and good dancers. We hired 45 girls. This is more then we need but we knew some would drop this week during training. The first day 6 dropped. One actually said that she couldn't handle the training both emotionally and physically. Yesterday my son said to me "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." I think that applies perfectly. (He was actually referring to his new skiing career.) No real good funny stories yet, I'm sure they will come. Yesterday Lee was frantic because we haven't hired a GM yet. Noramlly we hire the managers about 3 weeks out but I just haven't liked any of the applicants. So he called me and said "Lil my OCD is in full force today" Lee is so funny. We had interviews for bouncers yesterday. When I interview them, I like to get to know them ask where they have worked and just get a feel for them. Lee comes back with their applications and he created a rating system for them. I was laughing so hard.
Something on the serious side. One of our Nashville girls, Wendy, had her house burn down in a fire. She lost everything. She and her three kids are homeless. Every belonging, every toy, just everything but the clothes on their backs are gone. Unfortunately she did not have renters insurance so she can't recoop any of it. We are going to create a donation fund so she can get back on her feet. She's a good girl trying to raise 3 kids on her own. I hope people can help even if it's just a little.

Second day of tryouts in Denver. Yesterday over 200 girls showed up. Right now we have about 70 girls outside waiting. Some girls had to wait 3 and 4 hours to get interviewed. It has been very warm and sunny in Denver. Kevin actually came in because some girls were getting sunburned outside and he felt bad for them. If I go to fast I don't really get to know them if I go to slow then the line becomes way too long.
OK I'm ready

Girl search today in Denver. Yesterday Jackson and my flight was delayed 4 hours. Entertaining a 5 year old at an airport is definitely trying.
About 60 girls waiting outside so I figured I would do this now. The bar looks better then I expected. We put a barnyard wood on the walls and it really looks cool. The jukebox people fucked up. The volume goes about as loud as a one speaker, 20 year old transistor radio.
I'm pretty upset with the Mall people. They have put no money into advertising the mall entertainment venues. Sales people within the mall didn't know we were opening right on the third floor. Some didn't even know where Lucky Strike ( our neighbor) is and they have been opened for a few months.
Ok I'm ready!

My assistant Candice went to the nashville bar last night. I received a few calls and a letter today telling me they did not expect her to be so attractive. One letter was from a bouncer saying that he was upset over the non-fraternization rule.
" To all the employees whom want to date Candice, she is fair game. She is not a day to day employee for any of the bars so feel free to send flowers, candies, or love sonnets. " I'm waiting to get the picture Chantel took of Candice at the New Orleans bar . I think I will be waiting a long time since Chantel can't figure out how to send pictures off of her computer. (There are only two people in the world more computer illiterate then me and they are Jacqui and Chantel.)
This morning I had to write a letter to all of my GM's. It seems that the girls I take on these trips have turned something positive into a negative. I can't tell you how many times I hear from a GM that the particular girl I chose to come to an event becomes intolerable to work with and just a plain old horrible employee. " Girls no one is irreplaceable! It is an honor and a privilege to be asked to travel for Coyote. You should return from these trips wanting to do your best and help the other girls." Also for the record asking one particular girl to attend something does not neccessarily make her the best Coyote. It might just mean she fits a certain genre that we are trying to showcase for that particular event. Lee told me today that he felt we should hire promo girls who do not work at Coyote to eliminate these problems. It will be a sad day when I have to hire girls outside of my bars just because of these childish issues.

Marshall e-mailed me last night telling me that a manager I fired last year ( from a different Coyote) came to the Austin bar for a drink. I don't get that. If you were fired from a company wouldn't you stay as far away as posibble? Same thing happens all the time in New Orleans. We had fired this girl for stealing and every once in a while she comes in to visit. Aaron wanted to 86 her. But I feel if she comes back and spends her money maybe we can recoop some of the money she stole from us. Still getting back to the point. Getting fired is a very humiliating experience, why in the world would you show your face again? I don't get it.

I just wanted to drop you a line and thank you for hiring such amazing girls. This is Melissa, from the Nashville bar, and my fellow coyotes last night gave me one of the most amazing nights of my life.

I got word earlier in the day that someone I really didn't want to see was probably coming into the bar last night, and was pretty upset about it. The girls found out when I was quiet (very unlike me) at the 8 am dance pratice. I had several girls just show up at my house at 4 p.m. with arm loads of clothes, make-ups, hair clips, and everything to help me get "extra hot for work". They went to bat for me when they made me a couple of minutes late to work, and showed up to pay the fine for me. When I showed up for work, I was fawned over, and presented with new, gorgeous, boots that all of the girls had chipped in together on and bought me (I've been working in boots held together with duct tape for a month and a half). Three of the girls argued over who got to switch my back bar shift with their main bar shift, so I could be more on display when he got there, willingly taking a probably considerable pay cut. They constantly checked on me all night, and even got secuirty to keep an close eye for me. The amazing managers who were there, Jeff and Kyle, were especially understanding and wonderful, as was AC, our head of security....
When the person did finally show up, I felt invincible, and together, we put on one hell of a show.

Between the amazing managers, our BMFs, and most importantly all of my fellow coyotes last night who went above and beyond to support one of their own last night, I was almost moved to tears several times. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with some of the most amazing people I have ever had the priviledge of knowing, and I hope you are as proud of them as I am to be one of them.

Sincerely,
Coyote Melissa (Nashville)

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Every Sunday , my favorite morning activity is to read the Sunday NY Times. I read this morning, in the NY Times Magazine an interview with Martha Burk. Martha Burk happens to be the Chairwoman for The National Council Of Women's Organizations. Well I consider myself a modern day feminist . What does that mean? It means that when I'm at my own inauguration for president I will not wear a Plain blue business suit. I will be wearing something Versace , Prada shoes, and a Chanel handbag. Damn straight there will be cleavage showing as well.
What irked me in this interview was her stand on sexual discrimination when refering to the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Carly Fiorina. Carly Fiorina lost her job because she made a very costly error by acquiring Compaq not because men wanted to oust her. This was not a sexually discriminatory issue. She blew it! She fucked up and lost her job, (in lay man's terms.)
I have worked with thousands of women. I believe that women have the opportunities to do anything they want. But as all humans we have flaws as well. If I trip over my own shoes, it is nobody's fault but my own. (I have seen and done a lot of tripping.)
I despise this type of feminist and I'm sure they despise me.

Closing in on Cancun. That will be a great spot! What a treat. Get up go to the beach and then to work. My blue tooth ear piece is not working. Yesterday I was on the phone for 7 hours. I went to bed with a head ache and I woke up with a headache. There is a difference with using a land line phone and cell phone. I was a telemarketer for quite a few years and I never got the headaches that I do from using a cell phone.
Japan is on hold but we are being invited to meet some big wigs in London. Tony Blair just changed the liquor license laws in London so we are trying to secure a space. Jeff wrote me " you don't mind going to London in the springtime?" London is a beautiful city.
We had a meeting with people from Central america. They pitched us on San Salvador and some other central american cities. The next day I read an article about the New "Nicaragua". It is now becoming a popular tourist destination. The world does change.
I'm exhausted. I have had some problems with my computer. I woke up at 4 am and started backing all my files up just in case.

I consider myself a very professional business woman and pretty damn smart at times. But as you all know, I am very superstitous. Daniel, the am in Austin, has been doing an excellent job. But it just seems that when he works something bad happens. He is very upset and feels like he is jinxed. Well I'm no stranger to "the jinx". The Italians have a word for this , I think it's " maloche". Jacqui's grandmother used to be able to tell if you had a " maloche" on you and help take it off. Well unfortunately we do not have her to help our situation, so we must fend for ourselves. Today I wrote him a letter about advice an old bonereader once gave me. It involved bathing in salt water . As I told Daiel, " it may not help but it can't hurt."

I have 3 girls at the Nightclub and bar Convention, Libby ( New Orleans), Jaime ( Nashville), Adrianna ( San Antonio). Lee's report is that Libby is a pleasure to work with and he would would take her again. His only comment is that it is evident the New Orleans girls have the trashiest mouths.
It seems that the other two girls are having some problems amongst themselves. From what I understand, Adriana has been hogging the bathroom. This has really upset Jaime. Jaime's attitude has effected her attitude at work. Adriana is still working very professionally but obviously isn't very good at sharing. Lee said he told them that they didn't have to like each other but they did have to work together. Such primadonnas!!!
Jackson is so funny. Last night he said to me " Mommy, can you see farts under a microscope?" My answer was yes but that it was a gas which makes it unstable so it would have to be done quickly. Another friend said she felt it could be done but with a special microscope . The funniest response was: " Yes but your butt would hurt."

Back from Vegas. I love Vegas but I wish I didn't have so many meetings. I only got to play blackjack for 2 hours the whole trip. I used to date a professional gambler and I would play poker for 15 hours straight. Now I just wish I had a full evening so I could play and not have to rush somewhere.
The awards ceremony was good. A lot of very big corporations were represented there so I was honored that my company got chosen for one of the "innovators of the year" awards. Kevin came up to me and said that he was proud of me and that I should be proud of myself for being recognized in a room with some very impressive people in our industry. " Thanks Kevin!"
Now the "girl side" to the awards ceremony. I bought a very sexy Vera Wang black dress for this event. I was expecting more nightclub types to be in attendance. Well that was not the case and I definitely felt that the massive cleavage that I was showing was inappropriate. Oh well, at least they'll remember me.