On the Set

Keith Makes His Grand Intro at the deLuxe

This is Keith Tyson; I’m a bell/valet at the Hotel deLuxe and have been with the hotel since June of ‘06, close to when the hotel reopened. What’s the favorite part of my job? I would have to say, meeting guests and getting to know my co-workers. I love surprising guests by getting them whatever they need. The look of pleased patron is priceless. My co-workers have made the job feel like more of a pastime than work, which makes it easy to spend a long week at work if the hotel needs me.

When the hotel doesn’t need me, I enjoy the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest. Scenic mountains, wild rivers, and a serene coast line are some of the reasons Portland lured me out here nearly two years ago. That’s not to mention the trees. The forests here are plenty. After growing up in southeast Pennsylvania and attending college in Cedarville, Ohio, Portland is just the city for me. I enjoy hiking, skiing, snowboarding, camping, climbing, biking; basically anything outside.

I’ve come to find out that there is plenty to do in the Pacific Northwest indoors as well. You can find my friends and me at one of many awesome craft breweries and local pubs in and around Portland. My favorite, hands down, bar none, is the Horse Brass. It’s on the eastside. Downtown has a lot to offer too.

I like spending the day with my fiancé on NW 23rd and then catching a night show at the Crystal Ballroom. As far as music goes, I’m a fan of bluegrass, blues, jazz, and occasionally rock. After I moved here, I compiled a list of places to visit on my free nights and after two years I still have a long ways to go until I exhaust that list. I still need to check out Jimmy Macs. My friends tell me it’s great for some good Jazz.

My goals as of late are to all over the map but first and foremost I want to find a great apartment for my fiancé and me to live. We are getting married just before Christmas. So far, it’s been hard finding an apartment that will allow a pet. We really want to get a husky; sorry duck fans. Eventually, I want to start my own business. I would love to start a hoagie shop. Portland needs an authentic Philly. It’s hard to find a hoagie roll out here that serves the sandwich justice. Someday, I want to buy a place where I can grow and sell local produce and have lots of pets. Maybe even run an NGO for troubled youth.

I really love animals, especially alpacas. My fiancée can make a pretty sweet alpaca wool hat and I love to sew, so maybe we could make our own alpaca clothing. I’ve been getting into building furniture lately. Right now I’m working on an illuminated end table with a tile mosaic designed on top. I had a picture of it on my MySpace page before I put up a picture of my most recent creation, my Halloween costume, the werebear.

Anyways, I could go on but I have some guests to attend to. Hopefully this gave you a little bit of insight into my head. I can’t wait to hear from everyone, so please feel free to drop me a line anytime.

Catch you at the deLuxe,
Keith