I didn't get scheduled to work on Friday for the first time since July, so I headed the 90 miles south to Chicago to play in the gay volleyball open gym. Gas went down to $2.75 a gallon, I found a new way to avoid Milwaukee rush hour traffic and then darted my way through standstill Chicago traffic to make it to the gym by 6:30. Yay for me.
It was cool seeing old friends again and remembering why I need to find me one of them eating disorders that doesn't require too much time and effort. A few people asked when I was just going to move back to Chicago instead of being stuck in Milwaukee. Probably never. I'm just a country boy at heart. But, it was nice to hear. In a way the whole trip felt like going home again...if only for 12 hours. At least the people that never really liked me were cordial.
For the first few games I sucked it up something bad. Eventually I played something that resembled volleyball. I left feeling pretty good about next weekend's tournament in Vegas. At least I'll be drunk the whole time. That's a pretty good excuse for sucking it up. Then again, I play pretty well while drunk. I'll blame it on the desert heat instead.
Then everything went to shit. Saturday morning my roommate knocked on my door and showed me a letter from the landlord/slumlord that said he hasn't gotten me or my other roommate's rent checks for 4 months and wants $1200 by next week. I've been sending money orders for the last year or so because the guy likes to wait a good five months or so to cash our rent checks. Drama ensued.
Saturday night at work sucked something acrid.
The More You Know #124: (Bobby Flay) "When you dine out at your favorite restaurant, have a great time with good friends. But always designate...THE PERSON WHO CALLS TO CANCEL YOUR F-ING RESERVATION IF YOU"RE NOT GOING TO SHOW UP. No-Show is a four letter word your child should never learn. You heard me. Ole."
Showed up at 3:45 to serve two tables right away. I was assigned a party of 18 at 5 pm, a party of 19 at 7 pm and a party of 13 at 9 pm. Almost two hours for each party. Awesome.
At 5:30 I was told the hosts declared my 18-top a no-show. So, I lost out on an entire turn at my two biggest tables of the night. Cost to me: $50-70.
At 7:15, the manager came back to see what the hold up was with setting up my 19-top party only to find the stuffy, snotty, stick-up-the-ass, humorless, coupon-bearing party of 5 sipping their espressos and nibbling at a single piece of cheesecake squatting on one of my big party's two tables (the 5-top squatted, not the cheesecake...although that would have been pretty cool and appropo). Exactly the crowd that loves a server like me. After excusing themselves one by one to use the restroom and leaving a 9% tip, my 19-top party was already sat in another section. Cost to me: $50-70.
At 9:30, I was told the hosts declared my 13-top a no-show. So, I got 2 wonderful parties of 5 instead. Of course, coupons were presented and a gracious tip was not. Cost to me: $20-40.
On Sunday, I headed back to work. Of course, as I pulled out of the laundromat parking lot...my check engine light went on. Then it blinked. Blinked. Blinked. Wonderful.
Any ideas for a cheap addiction? Glue is pretty ghetto. Microwaved crayon shavings are too laborious to prepare. I need something trendy yet original and classy.
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