Skunked

So, I work in a tipped position. I am expected to make a certain amount of money each night - well, hourly actually - and my paychecks are taxed as if I have made that amount of money on top of my hourly wages.

Well, every night, I have a goal to make that much money so I am not losing anything simply by being clocked in for my full 8 hours. Sunday night was the first night I made absolutely nothing. ZERO DOLLARS :( I was a sad zebra. I keep track of my nightly tips and when I got home and had to write down that goose-egg, I was frustrated. Seriously, I expect to make less when I'm on the slow side, and I understand certain times when I don't see many cars why I would make less money. But it was fairly busy and people seemed to be in a decent mood -- much better than Saturday night, but that's another post. I don't know, but it was weird.

Sidenote: I'm a math person, so numbers and different ways to look at them fascinate me. Tip average per car, per hour, per shift, based on which side I'm working and how many HighRollers I open the gate for are all numbers I have floating around in my mind. For the last 3 shifts (Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday), I have made 1/6th of the tips I will be taxed on. That's less than 17% of my expected! Grrr....

Back to the topic at hand: tip, people! There is no excuse to leave without tipping the people in the service industry who have made your night a little brighter.

Alternative reason for the title of this post: Skunk. The number of cars that I had to move Friday night that were still full of a smoke fog (due to a certain type of clientele being there for a concert) was ridiculously high, pun intended. I lost count at 27. All night I had a dull headache and strange urge to eat Doritos... Weird! ;)

More mumblings soon.
~A

1:48 AM

That's not the time I was bored that night. Actually, at that time, I was anything but bored. I'd been busy up until almost 1:30. At this moment, I had been having a great conversation with a security officer, MamaL. I'm not sure why we call her that, but that's what we call her. We were just chatting about nothing important when I was abruptly interrupted by someone who hasn't said 4 words to me since 2010.

I knew this was bound to happen, it's been a fear of mine since I took a position where I work. With a family as big as mine, an alcoholic here, an addict there, it's really only been a matter of time until I ran into one of them at work. And with as many rifts as my giant family has, it was bound to be as tense and awkward as it was.

So, the story goes like this: In the lobby on the busy side, we're chatting and up walks a man who says "You're Allyson, right?" and I recognized him immediately, so my sarcastic comment was "That's what the name badge says, and that's what they've called me for 24 years. How are you *name*?". Then of course, came the nervous glances around the lobby because he must be here with HER. This gentleman isn't a member of my family, by blood or by choice, but he is the "friend" of my aunt, who is a frequent guest. Naturally, she's there, and it's a moment of mutual avoidance. Then, the niceties were exchanged "Oh, wow, I thought that was you, but you look great!" Well, of course I look great, I'm half the person I was last time you saw me....

You may not realize, it's in my job description to open doors for guests, and our managers are ALWAYS watching. So, their car arrives and I open the door to let them out. I'm curious now if she's a decent tipper, so I follow him out and open the passenger door (another part of my job). She's behind me as we walk across the traffic lanes and the only comment she makes is "You're not Hope..." ("Hope" is a greeter on another shift) so I simply say, "Nope, she's never here this late. Drive safe." and close the door. 3 words in 4 years... Lovely.

The runner who brought up her car is my Work Hubby (story for another post) and he knew right away something was up. I explained and he couldn't stop laughing. I found out that she's always a great tipper, usually to the greeters when she arrives and when she leaves, she tips Hope or the other greeter who opens the door for her or scans her claim ticket when she's leaving. Well, apparently I'm the only greeter who gets stiffed by her... Awesome.

Every day is a new adventure. Come join me!
~A

43

That is the number of vehicles I wrote up last night... In an 8-hour shift. Now, mind you, I did take both of my breaks, so I really only worked the door for 7 hours. But still, that's 6 cars per hour... And I can guarantee you that there were at least two 45-minute stretches of time where I didn't receive a single vehicle. I can tell you this with confidence because of my new watch. And because of the depth of conversation I was able to have with the security guard... They'll all despise me soon enough. Well, I might have one who will still like me. But, he wasn't at that post last night. Ha!
An average of 10 minutes between cars is a little on the boring side. Friday might even be worse because I'll be on the slow side. AND no security guards there to bother talk to.

The first time I looked at my watch out of boredom was at 3:37AM. Might think that's not too bad -- almost half-way through the shift -- but I'd only been back from break for 16 minutes. Then time just sloooooooowed down for the next 4 hours. I'm sure I'll get used to it soon. Or, I'll go crazy. Eh, who are we kidding, we all know I'm already crazy! ;]

Positive: a few guests already recognize me. One of them even gave me a hug last night. Aww....
Another: I made tips both nights so far, enough to cover what we're expected to make (read: I made the amount they take out taxes for). That's kind of my nightly goal I guess.
Last: A few of the runners made a point to say they were glad I was on their shift and they liked working with me -- so far. AND a few of my old day shift guys said they missed me. [Insert warm fuzzy feels here]

Here's to hoping tonight is busy! Check back soon for more mumblings.
~A

Becoming a Vampire...

OK, kids, the fun is about to begin!
Tonight is the first night I will work my new position on my new shift. Grave shift greeting. So, that means, I'll be receiving vehicles to be valet parked, writing up the vehicle information and providing excellent guest service. All in the middle of the night.

So, if you're ever bored and want to come see me, I'll probably be bored out of my mind and very willing to chat with you. Maybe less willing if the security guards nearby are the hotties.... Hah! ;]

Tomorrow's post will be about my first night, so stay tuned for more mumbling.

A weekend of double shifts.

You read that title correctly. Double shifts, plural. As in, not just one, but two, shifts worked on the same day. And repeated the next day. So, 32 hours of work in a 40 hour period of time. Awesome.... But the paycheck will look good.

I actually like working all my hours on the weekends. It keeps me busy, out of trouble and gives me more fuel to tell stories about work. And that's the whole point of this blog, right?

I'll have plenty of material to share after the weekend. Including introducing you to my coworkers. Remember, their names will be changed to prevent awkwardness in case anyone ever stumbles on this site and wonders what my true opinion is of them.

So, see you guys all after my weekend in the dungeon!
~A

A Warm Welcome

Hello!

I'm glad you stumbled over here. Well, maybe I sent you a link and proceeded to bother you for an hour about whether or not you'd read my blog yet, but either way, I'm happy you're reading this!

This blog will serve a specific purpose: To mumble and ramble on about life.
The title of the blog sorta indicated that, right? Oh, you wanted to know more about the "Mystical" part of things... Well, that has to do with my current place of employment. Still confused? Don't worry... Sooner or later, you'll catch on. (Hint: wagers are often made)

Names will be changed to protect the not so innocent people that are forced lucky enough to call me a co-worker. Otherwise, the stories you read here will be true stories, with a little emotion and personal opinion thrown in for flair.

Like I said before, welcome to my world... And enjoy the ride!
~A