суббота, июля 30, 2005

Motherfuckers


Did you know that "motherfuckers" spellchecks to "motorbike?"

Today I got fired. Fired is a bit of a harsh word, it was more like "let go" or "downsized" but in my little world fired is fucking fired. I get to work the next two days and that is it. I get all of August to myself. I'm very appreciated and I can always come back next year, but after this shit why would I want to? Next stop, the Radisson.

Interesting day this was. One guy who had left for about a month came back, and nobody likes him. He only got the job because he asked the owner's wife, who is the sweetest lady in the world, and she was happy to give him a job because she didn't know any better. At the same time, the general manager decided that we needed to drop down to three bellmen. Apparently, we are overstaffed... which is why we hired so many people in the first place and worked with that many people for three months... (wtf?) We had five, meaning that work was actually comfortable and there was enough people to do everything. So, we needed to drop two and now a third for the asshole who came back and nobody liked.

They decided to drop the last two kids hired and myself because I was leaving the 15th anyway. I was ok with that really, but I kind of expected that extra paycheck. Oh well. I was more pissed about the fact that they canned the other two guys to hire the asshole and that we only got two days notice. One of them is currently on vacation in Dallas, so he will find out when he comes into work and finds out he doesn't have a job. (I had already scheduled past when he comes back.)

To be quite honest, if they didn't fire me I would have fucking quit to give one of them my job, so that worked out ok. My manager told me who they were letting go very slowly, and told me I was leaving last after saying a lot of meaningless manager babble beforehand. He was scared, I think. But the fact that he is a ass kissing yes man is part of the problem to begin with, he won't stand up for his staff.

Even more baffling is that they did this before the Sturgis Rally... our busiest time of the year when we need the most staff... (wtf? again.)

The owner's wife was in tears because she felt responsible for it. That was sad. She talked to me about it and apologized alot. Basically, nobody bothered to tell her that the guy was an asshole nobody liked, or that we didn't actually need him at all. Oh well. She gave me a hug because she was so sorry.

So now I have all of August to screw around and am going to come up about 600 bucks short of where I thought I would be. Good thing I got that MAP grant.

On the plus side, my friend might quit too out of spite. That would be funny. I actually said it might happen before he even knew about it. That would leave them with two bellmen, and the other might go two because one of the kids they canned is his best friend. That would leave them with the asshole. That would make me laugh.

I thought about just quitting now and not coming in those next two days. But that doesn't really prove anything and just makes everybody else's life more difficult for no reason. So all I really have left is to do my job well and take pride in that. Also, if the asshole owner tells me to do something I get to tell him to fuck himself. (His wife is really nice, he is evil. It makes me sad.)

What also pisses me off is that I don't get a new uniform after all that shit I had to go through to get them. Fuckers.



I guess all I can say is that my staff did a damn fine job, and there was not any of them I'm not proud to have worked with.

четверг, июля 28, 2005

A Quick Glimpse into My Life

I go to work, fairly simple day. I wander around, lift things, and generally squander company time.

Some time around five a tour bus arrived. "Tauck Tours." I curse my rotten luck, now I have to work. I summon my lackey and we attack the luggage. It is lots of heavy lifting. The driver gives us his count, 52 bags. Fifty two fifty pound bags of doom. Luckily, my lackey is even bigger than me, so it isn't too bad.

I try to lift a bag with an airport "heavy" tag on it. I applaud their flair for dramatic understatement. After much grunting and a possible hernia I lift the bag onto the cart, the wheels gently slump under the strain.

We pull the luggage laden carts into the main lobby just as the herd of old people hit the elevators. Their greeting took just long enough to cause them to get in our way. Using my strategic bellman mind I declare one of the elevators off limits to guest use until the freight is finished. Surprisingly, it works. Apparently if one acts as though he has authority people assume you actually have authority. So, they got the fuck out of our way and we got their bags upstairs in a timely manner.

On our way out, an old man wanted to know how to work his TV. We didn't have time to answer his questions, so we told him we would help him in a few minutes, as we had other bags to deliver. He refused, and challenged us to a duel. Revealing his vampire fangs, he lunged at me. Luckily my lackey clubbed him over the head with a samsonite, throwing him off balance and into the wall. I quickly stomped his head until a foul black ooze squished under my black work shoe. Not enough to kill a vampire, but I was out of stakes from the AAA membership group that was in this morning. Hoping we stunned him enough we finished the bags and returned to the front desk.

Once there, I started working on the schedules when the front desk girl came back wondering if I could teach her something on the computer. Thinking to myself that the computer would be an uncomfortable place to 'teach her something' because I am a bad person, I came out to the desk. After showing her the required keystrokes to make the computer bend to the will of the user I walked back into the office. I sipped quietly on a cup of applejuice and began to type again. I could not hear the Office Daemon stalking slowly behind me. His shadow loomed above me as I patiently typed out the dates and times my henchmen worked. I pretended not to notice and took another sip from my cold glass. Just before he lunged I spun around in my chair and blasted him with my eye lasers. I laughed as his unholy flesh sizzled and burned under my amazing superhuman gaze. He shrieked and returned to the foul pit of bureaucracy he was spawned in.

This is a bit of an exaggeration, I was drinking from a Styrofoam cup, actually.

Anyway, it seemed that the busiwork was done for the day, so I spun around in my chair for a few hours and then my lackey and I went to Perkins for coffee.

That's how boring my life is, but it is true, I swear.

I GOT NEW BOOTS!


I GOT NEW BOOTS! Posted by Picasa

суббота, июля 23, 2005

From Something Awful

If you were basing your opinion of South Dakota purely on what was visible from the highway, then you would think the entire economy of South Dakota was based around a drugstore, a reptile zoo, and a palace made out of corn. This of course would lead you to the logical conclusion that everybody in South Dakota is insane beyond all measure. But believe it or not, driving through South Dakota you see hundreds of billboards advertising "Wall Drug," a reptile zoo, and the mystical Corn Palace. Somewhere I guess they are hiding Mount Rushmore, but really, what's Mount Rushmore compared to a building made out of corn or a gallery of lizards? Maybe if Mount Rushmore was made out of corn and covered with lizards it would be something worthwhile, but it's not.

I couldn't have said it better myself really. Taken from SomethingAwful.com

четверг, июля 21, 2005

The Invincible Wheel

http://www.kontraband.com/show/show.asp?ID=856&CAT=movies&NSFW=5&rtn=search-856&searchstring=tiger

Go to this web address.
Watch the video.
Your life will change forever.

I am the invincible wheel.

вторник, июля 19, 2005

My Life Quests

While Jake had an interesting and colorful guess to what one of my life quests would be, here are the actual quests. I was going to put them on my last post, but for some reason it decided it wanted to double space everything and I couldn't fix it so I gave up for the night.

1: Get the correct version of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries.
2: Obtain the Silver Monkey Idol.
3: Obtain a Ruger Redhawk and become a halfway decent shot with it.
4: Defeat the Frost Giants.
5: Call my granddaughter a harlot, in the affectionate pet name sort of way. Some of you may have heard that story already.

As you can see, my life quests at this point are less than impressive. I thought about having conquering central Europe as one of them, but that seemed unfeasable and I only really want to do that when I'm drunk. Genetics are funny like that.

And Then There are the Days I Just Want to Poop in Someone's Pants...


I'm not sure either.

We are getting an IHOP in Rapid City. That makes me happy. Soon I can stop going to stupid Perkins and their lousy service and start going to IHOP and their soon to be lousy service.

Not much is really going on around here. Made the mistake of trying to go to Borders the day that Harry Potter came out. (I didn't know.) On the plus side they had the right version of Ride of the Valkyries and one of my lifelong quests is now complete.

A little background in the madness.

A long time ago I watched Apocalypse Now and decided that Ride of the Valkyries was the coolest song ever. The problem was getting the song. I got a Wagner CD, but it was only instrumental. The song is good, but it needs the operatic pieces to be truely good. At one point we had Napster, but I could not find a decent recording of the peice on there anywhere. Also, we only had 56k at that point... so I couldn't do it alot.


The process wouldn't be too hard, except nobody really specifies whether or not they have the opera or not. After a few years of searching half-heartedly I got I-Tunes. Unfortunately, none of the 30 second clips on it were of the part with singing, and none of them said if they had a Diva in the ansemble. After buying two deceptively titled versions that suggested they had the opera and didn't I found one that did have the opera. But, because God doesn't like me, it had the wrong divas. Basically, they were sapranos instead of mezzosapranos or altosapranos or something like that. Anyway, their voices were too high, so it didn't sound right, and at some points it sounded downright goofy. (The high notes came out as a yelping WAAAA.) So, again I was defeated. I turned to Amazon and read lots of reviews of various Wagner CDs until I came upon one that said, "I had been looking for the version of Ride of the Valkyries they used in Apocalypse Now and I finally stumbled upon this one, it is the exact same one and I am very happy." (Only longer and more eloquent.) Then I simply sauntered off to Borders and picked it up.

Dana gave me a Silver Monkey Idol. So that only leaves three of my five life quests left to be completed.

воскресенье, июля 10, 2005

July the 10th and the Days that Have Preceded it Since I Last Posted

It is the 10th, meaning I have 48 days between now and the day I get to go back home. (Not counting today or the Day of Much Driving itself.)

Not a whole lot going on. The other day I won the "Justin Mosier Employee Appreciation Award." It was the first of the season. It is the same sort of award I was the first to win last year, only now it has a really long name because of the death of a beloved employee. Last year I got a surplus backpack with "South Dakota" embroidered on it. They got handed out during some convention to guests, and I guess we had an extra. I filled it with gift packs and took it to school with me and was kept in shampoo and detergent all year.

This year it Sandy (the lady who is in charge of it this year because Justin was related to her I think...) asked me what I wanted so I ended up with a $25 gift card and some other stuff on the side. The card she gave me had a puppy on it, and she asked me if I like puppies.

I replied, "I am a human being, of course I like puppies."

I like puppies.

Anyway, this means I have won Employee of the Month, Excellent Customer Service Award, and now the Justin Award. What I have not gotten is a motherfucking raise. Sandy wrote some nice stuff in the card though, and that made me feel good.

I realized that it really helps to work in a place if you feel like you are appreciated.


What else...

Um...

Wow I'm boring.




(sigh)

среда, июля 06, 2005

An Interesting Thought (I Feel Not Like Posting)

"Perhaps you saw what place our universe plays in the scheme of things as no more than an atom in a blade of grass. Could it be that everything we can perceive, from the microscopic virus to the distant Horsehead Nebula, is contained in one blade of grass that may have existed for only a single season in an alien time-flow? What if that blade should be cut off by a scythe? When it begins to die, would the rot seep into our own universe and our own lives, turning everything yellow and brown and desiccated? Perhaps it's already begun to happen. We say the world has moved on; maybe we really mean that it has begun to dry up.

"Think how small such a concept of things makes us, gunslinger! If a God watches over it all, does He actually mete out justice for a race of gnats among an infinitude of a race of gnats? Does His eye see the sparrow fall when the sparrow is less than a speck of hydrogen floating disconnected in the depth of space? And if He does see ... what must the nature of such a God be? Where does He live? How is it possible to live beyond infinity?

"Imagine the sand of the Mohaine Desert, which you crossed to find me, and imagine a trillion universes encapsulated in each grain of that desert; and within each universe an infinity of others. We tower over these universes from our pitiful grass vantage point; with one swing of your boot you may knock a billion billion worlds flying off into darkness, in a chain never to be completed.

"Size, gunslinger . . . size . . .

"Yet suppose further. Suppose that all worlds, all universes, met in a single nexus, a single pylon, a Tower. And within it, a stairway, perhaps rising to the Godhead itself. Would you dare climb to the top, gunslinger? Could it be that somewhere above all of endless reality, there exists a Room? ...

"You dare not."

-Stephen King, from "The Gunslinger"

вторник, июля 05, 2005

And Here I am Again...


So that was fun. Now I'm back here in SoDak livin' it up on the prairie.

Woo.

Just taking an extra day off to dick around before I go back to work. Because I don't wanna go back to work.

Anyway, my brain isn't coherent enough to make up something funny... So I'm just going to go away...

понедельник, июля 04, 2005

The Wedding (El Weddingo)

Hey Hey It's Wedding Day! WOO!

Oh well, that went pretty good. I ended up being the best man. Nobody told me about it, but I can deal. My brother did the toast at the reception instead of me, so I got off pretty light. (He had one he had been planning... the best I could have thought up on the spot would have been something like, "And may they have many strong, healthy warrior children to fill the halls of Valhalla!")


He quoted his "favorite author" but neglected to mention it was Stephen King. But he picked one of the more poetic quotes from the Dark Tower books. (Fate (ka) is like the wind.) So that was cool. I told the bride's brother that it was King and he was like "Really?" Of course, the Dark Tower series was kind of King's way of saying, " I can do better than evil clowns and dead animals!"

Everything went well and they were happy and the Bellagio was beautiful and yadda yadda. Apparently their family was impressed by my brother and I's wit and tact and stuff like that. I put on a good face.

Anyway, they are happy which is what matters. (Also, the bride Jennifer "Kat" had a really nice dress. )

The Bride's mother was impressed by my ability to push around people. When we were lining up groomsmen and brides maids and all that stuff I the guy in front of me didn't give enough space so I just kept walking so to stand next to my brother and he got the point that I was going to go into him if he didn't git and started to shuffle off.

Here are some pics.

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Fate is like the wind...
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This makes a really cool wallpaper. Posted by Picasa

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A variety of pictures from my Vegas adventure. Most of the non-wedding photos are of sculptures at Ceasar's Palace. The other two are of the Bellagio's Fountain show. I think you can pretty much guess who is who. Posted by Picasa

суббота, июля 02, 2005

Walking The Strip

Loading, Please Wait...
You have entered The Vegas Strip.


A Street Vendor scowls at you, ready to attack.

A Street Vendor Hails YOU!
A Street Vendor Harasses YOU for 5 points of damage!
A Street Vendor Harasses YOU for 5 points of damage!
YOU politely refuse A Street Vendor for 20 points of damage!
A Street Vendor goes to bother someone else!
YOU have become better at Dodging Salesmen (12)
YOU have gained 100 exp.

Or something like that. It is an Everquest thing...

Anyway. Walked around on the stip. It was fun, but there were a lot of jerks handing out coupons and offering amazing opportunities for free shows if they can have just a moment of my time... We politely waited to find out what one of them was about (timeshares) and then just ignored the rest.

There is an entire store dedicated to M&M's. That amused me. Apparently they are coming out with their own brand of Skittles. They were good. Yay free samples.

Oh well.

Our hotel has a couple of areas where they have conveyor belts to drag you around... I feel like a Jetson only without the talking dog.

Today my dad and I had a discussion and determined that there is a "Boyle Gene" that makes us behave stupidly because we think we are funny. Anything more than that will require a private discussion because it is not fit to be posted on a public forum...

VIVA!

VIVA THE BUFFET!

So, I am in Vegas at the Bellagio. So far I haven't done much touristing, but I have eaten a lot of food.

Here is what I have eaten today.

- 1 Egg and Sausage Mc Biscuit
- 3 Cups of Coffee
- 1 Cheese Danish
- 2 Servings Roast Leg of Lamb
- Lots of Barbeque Wild Boar Ribs.
- Some Sort of Cookie with Strawberries and Custard.
- 1 Serving Sea Urchin Sashimi
- 3 Cokes
- 1 Cup of Clam Chowder
- Wasabi
- 4 Pieces Some Other form of Sushi, (California Rolls?)
- Half a skewer of Teriaki Chicken
- Lots of Gulf Shrimp
- 1 Serving Steamship of Pork (Whatever that is...)
- 1 Bowl Tofu Soup of Some Name I Cannot Remember.
- 1 Tiny Bowl of Cucumber Salad (very small)
- 2 Glasses of Fuji Water
- 1 Baggie of Mini Oreos
- 1 Ginger Ale

Eaten (not in the above order) on the road to the airport, on the plane, at the Bellagio's Buffet, and at some Japanese food resturant with my brother and his soon to be.

Really, the interesting thing of this time around was the raw sea urchin. It was ok, it was kind of like eating a bland pudding with chopsticks and rubbing it in wasabi for flavor. It was ok, not something I'd order again, but worth the attempt. Also, wild boar tastes like every other kind of pig in existance.

On the flight over here I learned that the tops of clouds look pretty much like the bottoms of clouds. Also, my state is even more boring from a mile up.

Vegas is 106 during the day and while I was strolling about 102. It is dry heat and I find it quite pleasant... but apparently I am the only one of that opinion. Oh well.


Now to find me some caveman hookers.