Tuesday, January 16, 2007

I know you are all celebrating my (temporary) absence from the blogosphere, but I want to interrupt your revelry with this update: My computer has been having seizures. I mean this literally, I start it up and the monitor image begins to distort and "shake". It also occasionally won't start up at all, but rather turns a brilliant hue of purple, followed by an odd morphing into other colors. No, I'm not on acid. It also occasionally talks of wanting to "Phone Home" and going to a farm with lots of rabbits. I suppose that is what I get for naming it Hal. In any event, it won't work for more than five minutes without shutting down, making blogging a pretty futile effort. (This is attempt 4 on this post) I managed to convince Dell to send me a new computer, which, according to them, should arrive somewhere between 7 business days and three years from now. So, provided Hal doesn't bludgeon me to death in the interim, I should soon return to my hallowed place in your web browsing history, just after Mauritanian Frisbee Golf highlights.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Sarah and I definitely didn't sit in my car in the parking lot drinking Scotch and listening to Hakuna Matata at full blast. That's far too ridiculous, even for us. And, there most certainly aren't pictures documenting the event, seeing as it didn't happen.

My computer has been even more spasmodic than usual lately, and my Dell technician, based in the Phillapines, informed me that the problems I was having with my computer were "weird". Definitely worth the 30 minute wait for that penetrating analysis. Go Dell. They finally gave up on me, and after three years admitted I got a lemon. The good news: this means they are sending me a new computer. The bad news: this means I can't justify getting a sexy new computer and switching over to Mac. It'll be a week until I get it, so my blog posting may fall off a bit. (I know, you are all heartbroken)

In less than a week, Jack's back. This really means far more to me than it should. Jack Bauer could strangle you with a cordless phone. Is it Sunday yet?

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Perfect conditions today so I skied the Men's Downhill course a couple of times from top to bottom. Actually skiing the thing, it is even more absurd to realize that the racers fly down it at 60. Celebrated Chanukah with the fam at my apartment tonight--lots of fun, and, as usual, some incredibly thoughtful, fun, and zany gifts. Sarah documented the event quite well, so I'll try and post some photos at some point. One of my favorite parts of quitting was that I had to sign a form stating I wouldn't set foot on Hyatt property for 60 days. Apparently, they think I'm a loose cannon. Then again, they may have a point. After 3 straight full days of skiing, I need to pass out in the worst possible way.

Friday, January 05, 2007

Well, two big items today: On a glorious powder day, I skied my first double black (admittedly, groomed, but nonetheless) and I quit my job. The job thing is a saga I don't feel like reliving, but it has definitely been brewing for a while. To be honest, it probably should have happened a bit ago, but I wanted to give it a far shake. At least it was a bit gratifying to have the HR people make every effort to keep me. Walking into the HR exit interview was like a scene right out of the Office. "Thomas, I really feel you should attend the HyStar dinner as it is in your honor, and it would send a really bad message if you didn't go" [Thomas is silent for a few seconds] "We are going to have steak." [Thomas says "I like steak. I guess I'll go."]

I'm definitely a little bummed the job thing didn't work out--I really tried hard to line up a good situation, and was very comfortable with the bars. That being said, it made no sense to be miserable for the next four months for no reason. My plan is to take the next few weeks and enjoy myself (the week my parents are in and the week following) and then start hunting around for another PT bar gig where they treat the staff like human beings.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Mom, Dad, and Sarah arrived safely today, and, as always it was great to see them. Also, as always, chaos nearly ensued. We are all pretty zany incredibly wonderful people, and mange to bring out each other's zaniness in ways only a family can. Within minutes of their arrival at my apartment, the keys manged to get locked in the rental, leading to profane outbursts and Dad trying to break into the car with a coat hanger. The other classic exchange of the evening occurred over a late, not so great meal of generic "Asian". My mom exclaimed "I think I am having an aneurysm" to which my oh so sensitive father replied "Does anyone want coffee?" I must admit to taking some measure of satisfaction watching Dad covet all of my sexy ski stuff. We also may or may not have killed a baby, but I'm not permitted to speak further on the subject.

Oh, and the place we are staying in (I'm staying with them) has an African drum. Really.
Commentary of the night award for tonight's Spurs-Cavs game, paraphrased for your pleasure:

Austin Carr: Like I said earlier, the Cavs started getting defensive stops and that led to energy at the offensive end.
Kevin McLeod: You're clairvoyant as usual, A.C.
A.C: [laughs oddly, trying to figure out if he knows what clairvoyant means, and whether it was a compliment or an insult.]
[long pause, A.C. still trying to figure it out, gives up]
A.C: Defensive stops, offensive production [loud thunk as McLeod slams head against desk]

All right, so it was a heck of a lot funnier live, and no where as good as anything that comes out of Bryant Gumbel's mouth, but it amused me.

My parents and sister are coming in tomorrow for about a week, so I decided it would be an opportune time to clean my apartment. Of course, I decided this still not feeling great and at about 1 a.m., (after impulsively making pancakes-and no, I wasn't high.) which meant that my brain thought "cleaning", but my body thought "drop two bottles of wine on the floor before you start cleaning for the added challenge" As usual, the body won.

To bed before an a.m. meeting with my boss that should be...interesting...

Monday, January 01, 2007

I really have always loathed New Years. A whole mess of people getting loaded to blot out all the horrific things they did last year. Or, conversely, getting loaded in order to get a head start on all the horrific things they will do this year. Besides, I don't need an excuse to get drunk and do things I'll regret the next day. Happy New Year, everyone!!

All right, I'm (almost) done with the misanthropy for this post. In all seriousness, a happy and healthy to everybody. Not surprisingly, my shift ended up getting prolonged so I worked from 2 p.m. to 3 a.m. on New Year's Eve without a break. I was also the only bartender with any background in the bar, as our other bartender was a Brazilian who usually works in room service and hadn't been behind a bar in 3 years. A really nice guy, but still, it was a touch overwhelming given that I sold $6,000 worth of drinks. On the bright side, I managed to make about $600 in tips despite the lousy service given as a result of being chronically understaffed. Other highlights included the lady who spent ten minutes telling me how dirty she liked it (her martini, I assume) and the lady who called me Joaq the entire evening (presumably because she thought I looked like Joaquin Phoenix. Conversely, I could have misheard her, and she could have been calling me Guac all night because she thought I resembled an avocado.)

After finally getting home around 4 a.m. I proceeded to vomit for the next hour in the hallowed New Year's tradition---unfortunately, not due to any revelry but rather due to an incoming flu. It was definitely one of my more interesting New Year's, and I suspect more drama to unfold in the days ahead. Stay tuned.