Nothing but Song

Feeling :  giggly  Listening :  Saved by the Bell on The N  Reading :  The Mind Reader, Claudia and the Bad Joke, and Indian in the Cupboard

Yesterday was hectic. I had worked 8 days straight to get Wednesday/Thursday off, but that’s because we needed coverage at work on Tuesday. I’m used to having Tuesday/Wednesday off. Because I worked so early on Tuesday, I had a v. funny feeling they were gonna give me a taste of what our leads go through. And boy, did I!

I was also unofficially christened one of my supervisor’s adminstrative assistants. English is his second language, so when he sends emails, he writes the way he speaks, rofl. When he heard that English was my major, his eyes lit up and he said I have to interpret his emails. So all the emails he allowed me to read (in between calls and stuff), were hilarious to try and make it sound like readable English, bless him.

It was actually kinda fun to learn the crap our leads go through. I hope they don’t offer me the relief lead position that my supe was emailing our head cheese about. I mean, yeah, I’d be very good at it, because I take pride in my work, but I don’t want that responsibility. Or maybe I do and just don’t know it, haha.

My supe was also saying I could be a CEO someday. My work ethic is impeccable, so he says. I guess that’s true. Then I got to thinking, “Maybe I could.” Maybe that’s why I’m floundering where I am now. I like being in charge. I like taking control of things. I’m very ambitious in that sense. But when I’m hindered by anything because of my role as a corporate peon (rofl), I feel stilted. Like there are certain things I simply cannot do because I am only an agent. If I was a supe, or manager, I would do anything to please my guests. Period.

I dunno. It just made me think.

Then my supe also said something very sweet. He said that guys are afraid of smart and pretty girls, which he said I was. I blushed, because nobody has ever really told me that, you know. Girls have such low self-esteem that when compliments like that come out of the blue, it really boosts their ego.

Also, I tweeted that I got busted for being on the Internet. Turns out that head cheese called my supe, and I got called out on it. I was so ashamed because it makes everyone look bad when somebody does something they’re not supposed to do. It’s like the one time I space out on the internetz, during a lull in business, they walk by! Ugh. Luckily, I’m not working at that desk anymore, rofl. But I learned my lesson. You always have to be on your toes, ’cause you never know who’s watching.

On Wednesday, I was so ready to not do anything, even though I had a bunch of errands to do (which I didn’t even really finish). I had to drop off some packages to ship, went to the ATM, to the library (got some goodies at the used bookstore there, they’re in my Goodreads account), and then we spent almost 2.5 hours at Ross. I had only wanted to buy a few things, but I had taken my nieces along and since school starts next week for us, I agreed to buy them a few new things. It’s kinda funny; I went to the fitting room a ton of times, but towards the end, I didn’t like any of the shirts and pants I was trying on. The first few I tried on, I fell in love with and bought. Isn’t that weird?

I bought a new bra (that is uber comfy, my other ones are only marginally comfy, rofl, and would’ve bought more in the same style, but they didn’t have any in my size), 3 new tops, new Dickies, and leather boots (that C said remind her of Ryan Ross, which is why I fully bought them!). They got some really cute shirts between them too. I wanted more unmentionables, but alas, I did not have the cash. I’ll have to budget for them soon.

I checked the bookstore to see what books I needed for my classes, and thank GODDESS, most of them I can put on hold at the library. The rest I’m gonna have to shell out a pretty penny. One class has a book that’s $100+. I found it on Amazon for maybe $90.

I’m hungry, but I’m too lazy to see what’s downstairs that I can eat, haha.

But Back to the Future, Part II is on TV! Yay! BTTF and Indiana Jones made my childhood, pretty much.

?: “Favourite movie from your childhood?“

So one of my last guests today asked if he could use the Internet for a few minutes.

Since that’s what we do, I said very professionally, “Certainly, sir. It’ll be $15 for half an hour.”

Then he jokes, “You won’t let me sneak on?”

“No sir.” *smile*

“I like that! You don’t bend the rules at all, do you?” But he had a smile on his face, so I knew he was only teasing.

So I got him started on the internetz, giving my usual spiel.

As he was paying for it later, he saw the tip line on our receipt, and he goes, “Even though you gave me good service, I’m not leaving you a tip.”

That’s perfectly fine; tips are not expected in my position, but welcomed if offered.

“You know, if this was a restaurant, I would give you an excellent tip.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You’d probably get paid more if you did work in a restaurant anyways.”

I laughed ’cause it was funny.

He looks at me seriously and says: “I’m joking, but I’m serious. You would do well in a restaurant setting. Your attention to the rules is very good. You’ll go far in life.”

I thanked him politely, and sent him on his way with good greeting ringing in his ears and a smile on my face.

This guest pretty much canceled out the jerkwad in the previous entry, all in a matter of five minutes’ of interaction.

It’s really a guest-by-guest basis, isn’t it? Depending on what that person is feeling, I have to deal with Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde. Obviously I prefer Dr. Jekyll, but I guess running into Hydes keeps me on my toes. It does put a dent on my mood when I deal with them obviously. But like a duck in a rainstorm, I have to shrug off dem Hydes and file away the Jekylls for good times.

I just downloaded “Fast Times at Barrington High” by the Academy Is… from iTunes, and I like it so far. It’s definitely got that “third album” feel to it, if that makes sense. “Almost Here” has that young indie feel to it, “Santi” was the angry album, and “Fast Times” has that “we’ve made it to the third record and we’re just gonna have fun.”

They’re selling presale tickets to Bill & Trav’s Bogus Journey Tour, their fall tour with We the Kings. And they’re playing at the House of Blues this year! D: And my niece can’t go, so I need a show buddy to go with. Anyone wanna go with? It’s on a Tuesday night though.

Guess what I’m watching at work during lunch? My Boyfriend’s Back. It’s this cheesy 90s movie about a boy who comes back from the dead to go out with his dream girl. And everybody knows he’s a zombie, but it’s business as usual. “Just because you’re dead doesn’t mean you can come late to class!” I can’t believe how incredibly dorky it is. I loved it when I was a kid. It’s my new guilty pleasure movie, haha. The main reason why I loved it was because they used “Hanging On for Dear Life” by MMC for Missy and Johnny’s dance. I LOVE that song!

I should go, early day tomorrow!

?: “Guilty pleasure movie?”

… so don’t tell me how to do mine.

I dealt with a guest today that started off okay. Dressed nice, but he had an air about him. He asked for a couple envelopes and pieces of paper for whatever. I gave it to him, no problem. We had the supplies, why would I say no?

But what he asked next was what made me… not angry, but thoughtful.

“Can you check when the next Southwest plane leaves for Phoenix?”

“No, I’m sorry,” I say with an apologizing smile.

“You don’t? This is business services, isn’t it? You can call them can’t you?”

“Oh yes it is, but I’m sorry, we don’t do that.”

“Well then, I’ll just tell the manager then, won’t I?”

“Okay.”

“You know what, young lady? You’ll get farther in life if you don’t do the robotic act.”

“Okay.”

“I’ve been to this hotel three or four times, and every time they’ve been able to do that for me.”

“Okay.”

“You’re the first person who hasn’t done that for me.”

*flounces off*

I mean, honestly, what do you tell people who lecture you about the way you do your job? I just smile politely and apologize. I mean, there’s not much else you can do.

As a matter of fact, we used to be able to do that sort of thing for guests. But we don’t do that anymore because the rules changed. We are not allowed to book, check, or change anyone’s flight plans whatsoever. Period.

We got in trouble a few months back when one of our agents changed a flight plan for a guest. Long story. The moral of that story is: if you’re gonna get fleeced by a guest, they will find a way to do so by any means possible.

I’m not gonna get in trouble for doing something I was expressly told NOT to do, no matter how many times another agent has done it for them in the past.

And as another matter of fact, I’m not gonna stay in this industry, because of self-righteous guests just like him. I don’t get paid enough to deal with their “make my emergency your emergency” attitude. Like that old cliche, “poor planing on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.”

I’m making moves, making something of myself. I’m gonna get out of this town. The only time I’ll come back to Vegas is to visit family that live here, and the friends that I’ve made. Vegas already has put a bad taste in my mouth… and I haven’t even left yet! It represents drama in my past, drama that probably would’ve been easier to deal with, had I made the right decisions. In the future, I wouldn’t voluntarily live here unless the job was hella good, and it was in my degree field. Then of course, it would have to pay enormously. I’m a capitalist pig, what can I say?

I would’ve told him all this, if he hadn’t lectured me.

But anything I would’ve said would have fallen on deaf ears, I’m sure. People like him, they have no compassion for people on the other side of the counter. They only hear what they wanna hear. And if they don’t like what they hear, then they shut themselves off, like a little kid who plugs their fingers in their ears and says, “blah blah blah.” My mom always said - when talking about how stubborn us kids were - “it’s like talking to a brick wall!”

Which is just as well. I’m gonna put him in one of my stories someday though. That’s why I’m writing about him now. I’ll look back for inspiration at my old blog entries and think, “he’d be perfect for this scene or this character.”

Like Chaucer said in A Knight’s Tale: “I will eviscerate you in fiction. Every pimple, every character flaw. I was naked for a day; you will be naked for eternity.”

So I thank you sir, for your inspiring performance.

Someday, you’ll be famous.

?: “How do you deal with people who behave like brick walls?”