freaked.....
I mean really....I just cannot seem to get my head around the way my life went yesterday. Truth be told, my head is spinning, and it ain't all hangover, kiddies....
Some of it is just pure out-and-out WTF?
Scott has been sick for 2 days....couldn't keep anything in, running to the bathroom every 30 minutes, the works. Been this way since Monday. Had to leave him to his own devices on Tuesday so I could go to work....
And THAT is about when the weirdness actually started....
I got to work early, and Eddie- the manager for banquets- met me in the office as I was getting my stuff for the function (AND it being no less than a let's watch the election returns and celebrate our wins for the conservative party-type function...lol) and said he needed to talk to me.
Now as fatalistic as I have been feeling here lately, for obvious reasons, I'm starting to get a little queasy, thinking if I'm not let go outright for whatever reason, they are about to cut back on what few hours I DO have at the moment....and with Scott out of work, that would have been BAD.....
Instead, what do I hear?
"We are so happy with the job you are doing, and we want you to start taking on more responsibility- so I need you to handle all the paperwork for the bars, all the management of the various stockrooms and coolers, etc. And you will have your own drawer at my desk for the paperwork and what not. "
Then he hauled me upstairs, yanked open the doors to the beer coolers and said "you have GOT to fix this- you're the only one I trust to do it right."
"Oh, and fix the gallery bar as well, and streamline the liquor bar for the Pan room, and while we are at it, we're getting the money to replace the beer cooler down there so it works like it is supposed to."
Then he tells me he wants me to set up a training program for all the new bartenders coming in, and my first batch for training will be on October 30th.
And what does the infamous mouth of the south do?
I just stood there, looking at him. He's grinning like a jackass eating sawbriar, and telling me he has all the faith in the world that I will make it all "right"....
I told him this was at least a day's worth of work, and he calmly says "I know, and you will get paid for it as well...."
Ok, so life doesn't suck QUITE as bad as I had been thinking....lol
So I came home, took care of Scott, got him settled on the couch, and I went to bed....
He was more comfortable sleeping on the couch, and that's fine.
But at 9:30 AM the next morning the phone started ringing, and I jumped up, still half asleep, trying to find either A) Scott or B) the phone, neither of which were in sight, so I bolted to the living room, and Scott had already gotten up and and answered the phone, so I went back to bed...
Then Scott came into the room, and snuggled up with me. He told me that one of the places he had emailed his resume to had called him in for an interview, and he had to be there at 11. So I wished him luck, and calmly drifted off to sleep....
About an hour later, he came back home, and climbed back in to snuggle. He told me that the people were very nice, he liked the printing company and the way it seemed to be set up, that it was a new business ( about a year and a half old) and he felt he had done well with the interview with one of the owners. I know him, and I know how professional he can be, so I was happy with that.
THEN.....
He told me that we had gotten mail. Actually I had gotten mail, and it was from the lawyer. He had already opened it. And he did NOT look happy....
Seems that the lawyer was less than explanatory when I was speaking to him after the trial. MY understanding was that this would only go on for another 20 business days TOTAL..
Seems that what it REALLY meant, and what everybody FAILED to tell ME was that HER lawyer had 20 business days to explain her evidence, at which point they had to file a brief and send it to MY laywer, so that now he has 20 business days to file HIS evidence and what not...
And of COURSE, she had her laywer wait until the LAST possible minute to get this done in time, so that it would take the absolute longest amount of time for this to be done with.....
AND....
My bill is now $2,527.50
This after me specifically telling them that I was going to have to wait till the end of this month to pay LAST'S month's bill, thanks to the rather expensive trip home for this circus, and missing work...
I was NOT happy people...and when the redhead ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy...
Suffice it to say, I called the laywer imediately, even knowing that it was 4:30 there, and ther might not be anybodt there.
I got the receptionist. She forwarded me to HIS secretary, Angela. She said he was away from his desk in that charming southern belle accent of hers, and was there anything she could do to help?
*insert appropriate raised eyebrow look here*
I don't know Angela, can you tell me why it is going to take ANOTHER month before this is finished?
"Well, I know we are filing a brief"
I was led to believe that after 20 business days this would be OVER-course, he also said that this was going to be over if I had to come home and go to court, too....
"Well. I know that we are almost done with this..."
AND I just got a bill from you guys today. Might I mention that I am already on the hook for last month's bill, which you well know I can't afford at this time, and WHY...so can you tell me how I am supposed to pay for all this?
"Well, I am sure there is something...."
And can you explain why I am having to wait to find all this out instead of getting the information in a slightly more timely manner?
"Hold on, I think he is back at his desk"
I'll just bet he is...
"Luanne, this is David"
"I filed the brief as soon as I could, but we had to wait for them to forward the transcripts and their documents forwarded to the court, and we are working on it right now. We can't make it go any faster."
David
"Yes Luanne?"
How the HELL am I supposed to pay for all this, when I told you guys from the beginning that I had limited funds, but that since I was back at work, I could manage as long as this didn't drag on too long?
"I tell you what. How about you just not worry about paying us until we get this settled once and for all"
again, a redhead sat stunned into silence....
Hell is truly getting chilly at this point, people...
A lawyer waiting to get paid?
So I agreed to that, thanked him for his time, and since Scott had been sitting right next to me, he had heard the whole thing, and for once even HE was satisfied with this....
So...my work was having it's annual Airband competition that night (this was Wednesday all this happened) and I had been threatened within an inch of my life by EVERYBODY I worked with that I had better be there under my own power, or they were going to shanghai my happy ass....
Can you feel the love...lol
Scott had gone back and forth for weeks about whether or not he wanted to go, because while I got in for free, it was $25 for him to go. At the last minute (I.E. as I was getting dressed to go) he decided to go with me, cause that way I could drink, and he could drive...
Little did he know...lol
as we are getting dressed to leave, the phone rang...
It was the guy he had interviewed with that morning, calling to offer him A JOB......
My lovely husband is once again gainfully employed, as far as we can tell....
And the celebrating is starting in earnest obviously...lol
So off we go to the country club, and of course, we are the first ones there.
Scott got us a seat at a table close to the stage, I got me a drink and him some water, one of the bartenders, Tristan, who had worked over the summer until he had to go back to school, joined us, pretty soon we had a table full of people eating DE lish food, laughing hilariously, and yes, people, I did teach them how to YEE HAW with the best of us...
Canadians are so funny when they are trying to be rednecks...LMAO
We had prize drawings, we had Airband acts (some live, some lipsyncing, some dancing, etc.) more prize drawings, WAY more yelling from our table, since none of us WON anything out of all those prize draws...
We all had WAY too much to drink, but none of us got shitty or anything....just goofy and happy...
THEN the GM announced that he was going to announce the winners of the "Above and Beyond Ultimate Host of the year". There would be 3rd place, 2nd place, and 1st place, with various prizes for each winner. Above and Beyond is the motto for the country club, and encompasses alot, mostly that we go that extra mile to make the guests as comfortable and happy as possible. The company recognizes the three people, who are nominated by their coworkers and voted on by the team leaders. In the past, winners were chosen by a drawing. THIS year, they decided to grade each action on it's own merits, and hand out prizes accordingly...
3rd place went to one of the kids from Hazards, our sister resturaunt, for helping out with getting some customers' clothes to the dry cleaner after another server spilled an entire pitcher of Clamato juice on an entire party at one of the tables. They got 13 points.
2nd place went to a young lady from the golf course staff who went out of her way to return a wallet to a customer who had left it behind after playing golf, and was leaving on a flight out of Vancouver the next day. She got 14 points.
1st place went to a lady who went out of her way to drive a group of people home after a guest suffered a heart attack at a wedding upstairs in the Panorama room on July 2nd, because cabs were going to be an hour getting to the clubhouse.
For those of you not familiar with my journal or that particular story, I suggest you go look at my journal entry for July 2008, titled "the wedding"......
That lady was me. With a grand total of 17 points...
The prize was originally supposed to be for a $2000 travel voucher for a 7-day, all expenses paid stay at a 4 star resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.....lol
I practically kill myself trying to get out of the southeastern United States, and here they want to send me to Mexico.
HOWEVER.....
At the party last night, before the winners were announced, the GM told everyone that because of the high quality of the winners this year, and the points awarded, they were changing the prize.
Instead of it being worth $2,000....
It was changed to $4,000
And Scott and I can go ANYWHERE that the voucher will allow for, in working with the travel agency sponsoring it.....
And once again, for the THIRD time this week, a southern redhead sat absolutely speechless while a crowd of over 1000 pepole, alot of whom I work with, absolutely exploded with cheers and applause.
I could hardly make my legs work to get me to the stage, I was so nervous. All I could think was there HAS to be a mistake...this kind of shit just DOESN'T happen to me.....
I got hugged, slung around, cried on, yelled at, applauded for, and just generally appreciated for something I did just because it was the right thing to do...
And I had JUST told Diane, one of the chefs, who was sitting next to me, that they were probably going to give it to someone who was going to be too drunk to get to the stage....
3 Mike's hard lemonades = $9
2 Heinikens = $6
dinner at a classy country club = $25
Knowing that I work with people who really truly love me and for a company that appreciates the effort people put into the jobs?
F******G A priceless......
After finally getting all the other stuff down, plus life in general since I have been home, I finally have a chance to sit down and elucidate on the final day of my trip to hell and back....i.e. the blasted return trip...
Bear in mind, kiddies, that when I left, it was 5 am in the morning (read "the butt crack 'o' dawn) on Saturday.
And Hurrican Ike was a-bearing down upon us...
I boarded my flight from Tallahassee to Atlanta on time, no problems there. Checked my luggage on through (making sure that THIS time it was actually going ALL the way to my final destination) and settled in for the 40 minute hop to Atlanta. I was just relieved to be out of there, truth be told. Between the trial, and the apocolyptic insanity that had overtaken Tallahassee the day before as far as gas was concerned, I was ready to get back to cooler (literally) and calmer heads in Canada. So I settled in with everybody else, and within 35 minutes I was happily roaming the Hartsfield International airport once again.
I found breakfast as soon as possible, with a LARGE coke of course, and settled down where my boarding gate was to wait for my next leg to start. I had roughly 2 hours to kill, so I read, watched tv, whatever.
Finally we began boarding the plane for my flight to St. Louis, I got comfortable and promptly fell asleep- no worries, since it was just over a 2 hour flight. I figured I would catch up on the sleep I hadn't gotten for the past FOUR DAYS, after all...lol
An hour later, fully expecting to wake up and be half way there, I instead woke up to find us STILL on the tarmac, because, and I quote:
"Looks like we got ourselves a bit of a traffic jam here, folks. Too many planes hit the runway at the same time. Just settle in, and we'll get you there as soon as possible....."
A quick calculation, a panicked 30 minutes of watching the plane edge towards the take off point, and I figured I would have about 20 minutes to make my connecting flight in St. Louis..
yuh hunh...SURE I did...
I got to St. Louis with that much time, only to find out that they had pushed ALL their flights back because of the hurricane, and the flights to Chicago (like mine) were being held up because of THEIR weather problems as well, AND the fact that they had discovered that one of their refuel tanks was contaminated. oh JOY....
My flight from Chicago to Vancouver was to leave at 3:15. At 3:15, I was leaving ST.LOUIS.
I had thankfully been booked on a later flight from O'Hare just in case, but I was kinda hoping that like all the rest of my flights, that that one had been delayed as well, and that I could still get to Vancouver at a reasonable hour, and be able to shed this GAWD awful week in time to go to work the next day...
I got to Chicago.
I checked with the FIRST gate agent I could find.
I had missed the aforementioned delayed (because yes it was delayed) flight to Vancouver by....
SEVEN MINUTES.....
that's right people, the gods were not looking kindly on me that day.
So I found the gate for my next flight, and discovered that IT didn't leave until 8:30
I had FOUR hours to kill....
I found me the first Chicago dog I could and stuffed myself to insanity...
Then I walked
And walked
And walked.....
And finally, at 8:30 give or take, I boarded yet ANOTHER plane, settled in for another few hours, and read....
I got to Vancouver at 10:15 (yes, I called Scott from O'Hare to let him know so he wouldn't be sitting there, smartass) and got to the carousel after flying through customs and immigration with flying colors, only to stand there and watch it go around...
And around
And around...
And finally come to the realization that my bag was NOWHERE to be found...
"Oh yeah- that bag is still in Chicago...it'll be here no later than noon tomorrow, and we'll drop it off at your house....."
A FOUR HOUR layover, and that flaming bag couldn't get from popint A to point B!?!?!
Heaven help us....
And in actuality, I went to work Sunday, and was HOME again before my bag finally got there at 1 AM Monday morning.....
But at least I was safe, home, and breathing cooler air...for which I am now thoroughly grateful.....lol
And this brings our saga to an end. Please make sure you have retrieved all your belongings from the overhead bins and from beneath your seats before disembarking this F****G plane.....
-----Original Message-----
From: bardiva@tds.net [bardiva@tds.net]
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 2:55 PM
To: David Kendrick
Subject:
Dear Mr. Kendrick;
After checking my calendar, I realized that the requisite 20 business days given to you and Mr. Lehman were up as of yesterday. I was hoping
you could give me an update as to the status of the situation.
Thank you
Luanne Kendall
Dear Luanne:
Just received Lehman's letter brief and we are working on our reply.
Mr. Kendrick
And I have heard nothing.
Not one fuckin' word.
The lawyer hasn't even had the decency to email me and up date me...
*sigh*
Looks like it's another long distance phone call again, kiddies...
COMMENTS
*hugs* hang in there!
Could send him a certified letter telling him that you are deducting all those long distance calls from his pay........as he has not had the professionalism to keep you informed. (not reality but it WOULD be nice to be able to do it, eh?) Hugs... :)
I'd do it.
COMMENTS
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LadyChordewa
06:51 Oct 17 2008
You are a prize my dear. I love you and miss our chats. I wish I could hug the stuffing out of you. I'm so proud of you!!!!!
Nightgame
16:54 Oct 17 2008
*jumping up and down screaming Yee Haw* Bout damn time all the good things you deserve are coming your way!!!! *hugs the stuffing out of you*
Vampirewitch39
04:03 Oct 18 2008
Being your true southern self paid off. Great news!!! Travel tickets work in Ky. I swear they do.
*hugs tight*
Your good news makes my night.
Khayman
01:34 Oct 22 2008
That's my girl. ;)
sahahria
13:58 Oct 23 2008
:D
Elemental
16:34 Oct 24 2008
YEEE HAWWWWWWWW!!! :)