November's Over

so..
..what

It's not a month that's condemned..it's me

November came in like a Lion and left like a Lamb, I suppose that's a good thing..I mean the end note is usually what everyone remembers and reflects on...Michigan beat OSU, I rushed the field, people came around and back in my life, i realized what i missed and what mattered...it's kinda funny to think that one of the happiest days of my life came during the most hated months..

So there we have it, it's all said and done and now i can move onto the next month, right? Well, it's kinda silly to pigeonhole an entire month..i mean bad shit happens all the time, you can't just say "it's november" - as every last one of you has always said..

Sure November has now became a self-fulfilled prophecy, but there's more to it than just that. November isn't just bad for me however. November has the highest reported suicides out of any of month. For most, November marks a seasonal depression - what with the holidays, weather change, etc. So it may not seem fair to say that November sucks, but in all actuality, it's just that horrible time of the year..sorry 'bout ya.

Now yes, the end of October was bullshit for me, and that's why November came in hurting..and it seems like December is starting to do the same. The uplifting end to November was a high that could only last so long it seems, and once again we're right back where we started from.

Now I do apologize because i did take some time off from posting, i was on a roll, then as the holiday festivities hit, there went any time to keep up with the blogging, heck, I honestly don't know how i got thursday's post in. And as I tried to play catch up with my life once I got back to Cali, all I could think about was how I had something positive to write about...of course, as I now have the time to do so, of course it's no longer the case...

I've got more to say, this was just something to get my fingers going again, and now that i've gotten my routine back, i'll write some more...don't worry you three followers, lol.

So here's to you, to me, and all the bullshit in between.










"...."

New iPhone?

did you really...
..could it be true

yes, yes i paid $300 for something i already had

sooooooo, what's the fuck..why would someone who has so vehemently hated the iphone, gone out and bought, literally the same thing..paying good money for something they already had? well, long story short, it's not the same.

the iphone 3Gs should have been the first iphone that apple put out, this phone is worthy of having a label associated with apple. the first phone was a crapshoot - i don't know if i ever posted my extreme dislike for that piece of shit on here before, but one of TJ's friends once asked for a review on it as they were doing a paper on the phone right after it came out....we both wrote our responses, each response totaling close to two thousand words, when come to find out the paper only had to be 750 words, lol.

the second phone that apple introduce was a joke of an update. after one year they hadn't resolved much of any of the the problems with the original...and what i hated most probably were the tons of people that would some pick up their first iphone and rally behind it, as if they were supporters the entire time...as if this 3G phone was actually better than the first...people would soon fall from their self-proposed pedestals...

so now two years later from the release of the original and where are we..3Gs? what the fuck does "s" stand for..super, stupid, shit, stellar...in my opinion, "shoulda been the first, oops"

out of the box the "s" looks exactly like the 2nd generation 3G, but you know the old cliche saying of "don't judge a bitch by her rack" from the get-go the feel is different...the screen has a new coating on it that is noticeable to the avid iphone user...the response time to finger movement is amazing (one thing i have praised apple about is their ability to have a great touch screen interface, very response, no hard hitting needed, no delays, nothing from the competition can *coughcough* touch it) the applications also load a lot faster as well, as a new processor and o/s were installed in the "s". the bluetooth capabilities are now legit-no longer do you need that little box attached to the bottom of your phone for stereo-the camera has had a major overhaul allowing for focusing and now video, and the list can go on...

i love how the 3G'ers are all pissed and refuse to recognize this phone as superior to theirs, but truth be told in side-by-side comparison, it kicks it's ass...my suggestion - if you have the original, get the "s" ...if you have the 3G, get the "s" ...with video capability and soon mms messaging on a faster network, it's like an actual phone...you know, like the one you had before you tossed it aside and got that shitty iphone..do you remember....

ahhhh, i can't wait to have mms to have a real phone again, but in the meantime, i am actually happy with my purchase....











"32gb White please, and no funny stuff..i don't want to chuck this phone through your window like i did with the last one"

National Doughnut Day!

if america runs on dunkin...
..consider me Usain Bolt

donuts, is there anything they can't do?

so today is national doughnut day..the first friday of june every year....i don't know the story behind it, why that day in particular, i just roll with it. so i made a mission to hit up the three major doughnut shops on the southside; DD, KK, and Long's.

my first stop was my beloved Dunkin Donuts. They had a promotion for the day, if you buy any drink, you get a donut for free..alright, i have time for that..although this is very similar to their standard everyday promotion of buy a coffee and get a donut for free...whatever, DD is my favorite, i think i like the cake versus whatever everyone else uses..

the next stop was onto Krispy Kreme. now unlike DD, KK had no signage or banners or anything informing people that it was NationalDonutDay, so i was skeptical...already having a dislike for KK this was not going to go over well with me...now i'm sure what it is i don't like about KK, but if i had to say i think it was everyone's overhype about a sub-par product..that i didn't grow up on KK, but rather DD reminds me of weekends spent with my grandparents...that DD is part of my life whereas KK is an infiltrator...well, lucky for them they were celebrating the holiday..all you have to do is walk in and get your free donut of any kind...this is similar to their "when the light is on, come and get a free donut" - granted it's just their standard donut, it still is an every day thing...none-the-less i am happy with my blueberry frosted donut and we are on to our third and final stop.

we pull up to long's bakery, the quote staple for donuts in indy endquote. again, no signs or anything making note of the holiday, so we head inside..there's a line so i think this must be a good indication, then again, everyone "loves" long's so it could just be that..we make it to the front of the line and i ask the lady behind the counter if they are doing anything special for the holiday made just for them...the lady is aware of the holiday, but apparently long's doesn't acknowledge it and therefore are not doing anything special in terms of pricing or give-aways. i preceded to make a scene, quoting the quote mentioned earlier in this paragraph, and leave letting them know this was the final straw...i would officially be boycotting Long's - again, another dislike for another donut shop because people claim it to be better than anything else..how dare they..

the only donut shop that could rival DD would be Square Donuts based out of TheHole..sure they are KK like, but the shape is what makes them...they opened one in Btown and for those of you who have yet to try them...seriously do...granted the one in Btown has erratic hours, if you see they are open with the sign on, go in, you will be amused and happy!

but like all good things, my holiday must come to an end...sure it is friday, but i'm scheduled? this will be the first friday i have worked since...valentine's weekend? so i suit up and head on in...but are there donuts at work..no....ughhh, i'm losing faith in people...











"today is what day? -- FUCK YEAH DONUT DAY!"

Best Night in Indy (cont'd)

who cares about racing...
..just show me your tits..

because the best has yet to come...

so my night is over at work; i run my checkout, take one last look at the lobby, and start to head out the backdoors. the everyday procedure i go through is stopping at security for them to check my bag, yes, i carry in an over the shoulder bag to hold all my belongings...i used to just leave everything in my jacket pockets, but people kept stealing all my shit...so i finally got tired and used the bag work gave me....so every day i have to make a stop and let security look inside my bag....

over time with all the stops i have made friends with security, we'll chat it up about all sorts of random things, but today would be a special day. as i enter the security doors we start conversation about the party upstairs...that's when i notice they have three blue bands laying on their desk. i ask what the different colors meant, as i have seen blue, yellow, purple, and red on various peoples in the lobby..security tells me they've just been running out of colors as they have oversold for this event by almost three times..wow. they claim it to be a madhouse up there at the party and don't recommend me going, but i cannot let this opportunity pass. so i snatch the three wrist bands and run out the door down the street to wherever my car is parked.

i made mention to gary earlier in the night about us going, he only wanting to go if he could get in for free, and i said that security would give us the hook up...and well, i turned out to be right. on my way home i gave him a call, told him to get his sorry ass out of bed and be ready in 25 minutes because we were going to the playboy party! he couldn't believe it, but in a way he expected it.

at home it takes me no time at all to shower and pick out an outfit to rock out in. shortly thereafter we head back towards downtown, towards the chaos, towards destiny. we are lucky on a night like tonight to get a parking spot close to the hotel without having to pay. we take a leisurely stroll down to the entrance and make our appearance known. of course i'm going full fledged rocker, wearing my sunglasses at night, but gary is obvious...the hotel employees recognize him right off the bat, and i think our cover is blown....and for a moment it is...i play off as if i have no idea what's going on and just continue to walk in as they question gary if he is allowed in and such...i show my wristband and they open up the velvet ropes

we're in! well, we made it past the initial security and my heart is racing a little bit more with each step i take. after a passing with the security wand we are waved to go up stairs! This is really happening, i want to scream like a school girl at an N'sync concert..i keep repeating "i'm the coolest person alive" we make it up the stair case and start to walk through the open door way to where the party is at. walking in to the room was like walking into a night club..lights flashing all around, loud music playing, bar in the middle, girls in bunny outfits on stage, people everywhere...wow, this is intimidating.

i break my shell when i see an employee i was talking to just hours ago, obviously not recognizing me i walk up to her and say, "so you must be one of the bunnies" to which she gives me a weird look and a reply of "yeah right..no, not at all, i work here" i just smile at her as i place my hand on her waist, dropping my head down to show just a little bit of my eyes from the glasses and say, "well, you could have fooled me" as i give her a wink.

from that moment it's on. i don't make it another two feet without a group of people yelling to me, in a good way. they love my look, they love the fact i am wearing sunglasses inside..yes, i am indeed that guy, BUT i am that guy who can pull it off...which is sad because i can pull off a lot of stupid things, just look at my outfit for that night....

we start walking towards the front of the party, making our way around the bar, that's when we see an employee working the bar area right behind us. we go up and order some drinks, something to get us in the chill attitude...granted it's now 1am and this party started at 8pm...so we are a little behind. i want to get on stage..i brought my travel duck with me for this very reason..sure i can take pics of people with myself in it, but it's more fun to have the duck take my place..

gary spots another employee and starts conversation...we are still not close enough for me to see how to get up on stage, if there's a line or where it begins or just what, but i know you can get on there because there's obviously people up there with the bunnies. so just as the security guy was about to leave i say, "hey, how do we go about getting on that stage? where's the line" he asks, oh you want to get up there..follow me. so he starts walking in the opposite direction and we follow..i'm confused as we are walking away from the stage heading back towards the route of which we entered, but i trust him...then in a "Goodfellas" - esque moment we go through an employee side door and start walking in the back hallways..passing employees doing what employees do behind closed doors, and then we are brought through another door which leads to the side of the stage where an actual armed officer is standing..the security gives him the clearance on us and away we were...up on stage!

so now we are on the stage, but we are off to the side..we need to get in the middle because that's where all the action is, also where all the people are. i ask gary to use his size to bulldoze through to get closer in and i would just follow..but he doesn't ever take initiative, so i down my drink then use my small stature to worm in and out through the crowd.

before i know it i'm face to face with a playmate..i start to get a little nervous about doing the photo shoot with the duck, let alone speaking to her..but once he pops his little yellowed head out everything was golden. the first playmate, stephanie, was really nice - even throughout the rest of the evening she was one of the most chill - so stephanie, loving the duck takes him and shoves him in her cleavage...if only i were that duck...from then on i was no longer intimidated by the bunnies and kept my social high rolling

i find more bunnies to shoot with..we continue to stay on stage realizing this was where all the cool people hung out..and celebrities. we met other girls who were in love with our rockstarness...but the best part came when security, along with the armed officers, came to clear out the stage...they started kicking people off the stage as deemed necessary by the fire marshal in order to not shut down the party..so i figure, well, it was fun while it lasted - but the officer comes up to me, asking to see my wristband, to which i show him, and he gives me the clearance to stay on the stage...apparently it was the blue wristbands that were the uber-VIP's, the blue wristbands which i got from security, which allowed for me to have the best night of indy..

funny side story, while the officer was clearing off the stage one of the girls i had made friends with had on a purple wristband and he asked her to leave...so i try to play it cool and ask if it's cool if i say she's with me, would the ultimate blue band be above the law..but that's when he tells me about the fire Marshall and all that jazz, shutting down the party...so then i apologize to the officer, turn to the girl, and tell her to get the fuck off my stage...priceless.

the night continues..more dancing..then three ladies on the floor come up to the stage and finger-call gary and i to come on down...they don't look worth my time, but i follow to to see where this might take us. it ends up these girls work for a radio station, to which i had a surreal moment when one of them starting talking in my ear..i swear i was listening to the radio at that point...

gary goes to get the girls some drinks and that's when it gets shady..one of the girls asks me to get the attention of some guy on stage..i'm not playing lackey..so then a little bit after gary returns with drinks he asks me for my other blue band...why's that? oh because one of the whores wants to get on stage of course...using him for a blue band to go and find another guy..women are manipulative bitches..and they just got free drinks...this is why i don't buy a drink for a girl unless i'm drunk or i care, see former...

i separate myself from gary and bitchnumber3 and do my own thing...i get lost in the sea of people on the floor, returning to the stage every now and then...then in a random chance i run up with a bunny i had yet to meet. she was alone on the edge of the stage, sitting, and dancing. so i approach her and start to make conversation...she complains that her feet her, so i pop a squat next to her and dance with her...we talk more..she loves the duck..yadda yadda yadda

after awhile she says her boss is watching and she has to get up and dance...so i hep her onto her feet and she pulls me back into the crowd. we dance. she strips off my jacket and wears it. then, she has to go, saying something came up...riight, i know how this goes, she's spent enough time with me, now she's off to play with others, got ya..

in the meantime derek hough and i become friends - he actually said he was jealous of me for being able to pull off the popped collar on the jacket and sunglasses inside...he then wore my sunglasses as he sang and then popped his collar...i told him i appreciate the gesture, but people will see him and people will see me and think I'M copying HIM! he realizes i am right and returns the glasses and pulls down on his collar.

more dancing, more singing..i swear i have to be in a hundred photos because i was center stage the entire time...it was interesting because i had no idea who these people were i was singing and dancing with...any time i met up with gary on the floor with his girl he would tell me, "uhh, do you realize you were just dancing with *insertcelebritynamehere*?!"

in my random ways, i almost got in trouble. see, the girls have these bunny ears and bunny tails..and it's hard not to go "bloop" and hit them. well the one time i touched the ears the bunny turns and starts to bitch out gary..apparently touching the costume is an offence worth getting kicked out for...wow, drastic. so gary throws me under the bus, to which she doesn't believe him, but i apologize taking full responsibility..to which she becomes all not angry and sweet with me, telling me i'm a nice guy..loves it.

it's nearing 3 and the party is about to end, then i feel a tug on my jacket as i'm in the middle of doing whatever, singing to boston? no i don't need another drink, yes my wristband is blue..oh wait, it's...her...the bunny who said she would return..pilar. she felt bad for the time away but had to get tings straightened out..but she returned...of course it was the end of the night and the bunnies were leaving...so what do i do..ask to exchange numbers...with a playmate...

first of all, who the hell do i think i am..asking for a bunnies number....i don't remember lying to her..what the...ughhh....but the worst part of it all...it worked

so the party ends, we exit the hotel when a gentlemen asks to see my duck...to put in his Maserati...so he does and i take pics..i swear that duck is actually cooler than me!by this point i am on cloud nine...and gary, his whore, and myself all go to SnS where i get a steakfrank. home by 6am..the end.










"oh my god i love me"

Best Night in Indy

Playboy Party..
Raceweekend..

need i say anymore?!

on what could have been a really shitty day, i somehow focused in on the positive notes, or rather i ignored those negatives and made my own positives...maybe that's what life is all about after all. it's the saturday of race weekend, the day before the race, almost the last day to be chaotic - parades, alcohol, parties, and more consumption are what is on the minds of the majority of the new weekend residents of indy.

every year indy invites half a million people to come in and destroy it's town all in good fun of the sport of racing..and for those in the industry, it means long hours and getting all your bills paid in that week (unless you partake in the parties, then you're right back where you started, but you only live once..) today is in the top three busiest days of the year for our restaurant, and that being said you know tensions are high, longer shifts create a more tired, more irritable workstaff, which can create a lot of problems when people are already strung out on their last wit's end.

it was last night after i closed out my last tab and walked back to the car when i felt how tired i really was - and given that yesterday was my day off and i had only been out partying for three hours i knew it wasn't looking good for saturday.

because of all the activities downtown many streets that i normally would take were blocked off, parking a complete nightmare, but even given all that i was only five minutes late to work - good since i even got off to a late start...but the kicker would be when i found out i needed to be in thirty minutes earlier than what i thought, whoops. and it continued to go downhill from there...my first table was sat, then left to go to the parade..so my next table was at noon..a one top, who just ordered an appetizer....but then the parade was over and we got busy..well, everyone else but me..i had two two-tops and an 8 top...and then i tried to pick up as much business in the cocktail lounge to help the bartender out...and then a 17 top was getting sat in the cocktail area..but a server who just got on the floor swooped in while my back was turned and took it from me....

after the rush was over i ran my checkout and took a break..i don't know if i was supposed to, but i didn't care at that point...i bought an energy drink and sat on the circle to watch people...it felt good to sit...but i knew i had to return eventually and i did just that. i was energized and that puts me into a good mood - that and i like to be loud and obnoxious just to make myself smile..and some other people do too (i'm on a boat mother fucker!). my tables at dinner are nice, not with the tipping, but they are not assholes..plus i'm still in a good mood (even though i'm not making any money) so i just roll with it...until the last table...

so this guy makes a reservation for the busiest weekend in indy for 7 people - side note the way our tables are able to expand and open up the max you can put on a round table is 7, should you need more than that another table with an extender is needed..so a week before the reservation the guy calls back and asks for the table to be for 8, he is told that it is not possible as we are fully committed and do not have an extra table to throw onto for his party...he says ok leave it for 7...well, you can see where this is going...

it's their reservation time and i just got the prior people to leave off the needed table..so as i am heading up to the host stand to confirm the size and let them know the progress i see a man yelling at one of the hosts, demanding he be sat for 8 people..he's a regular in vegas, he'll never dine here again, yadda yadda yadda...so that's my table? after the managers get involved they somehow pull an extra table out of their asses (ok, upstairs storage) and throw it along the side of the original table, now blocking off one of my other tables making it impossible to sit.

as they are being seated, everyone from the host, to my gm, to the cocktailer who ordered them drinks are telling me what fucking pricks they are..greaaaaaat. i approach the table and use my very stern, very professional tone and demeanor with them..it's a table full of alpha males, but the prick who went off on the host is definitely the one in charge...it doesn't take me long to break down the gentlemen and establish a comfortable rapport with them..they actually seem to like me, good..

throughout the service i am receiving high regards and very casual talk from the dominant male, i think all is well...of course until the bill comes. Man prick doesn't pay but one of his slackies does...it's an eight top, i only got them to 700, horrible, and they only tipped $80, even more horrible..but it's my last table and i just want to get home - no sets to make, no sidework for me to do, i'm a happy man. (especially since i watched the ending seconds of the Lakers game with Ludacris, talking shit with him)

before i leave i take one more look into the hotel adjoining us - yeah, that playboy party is gonna be hella tight....if only there was a way to get in....










"boobies, everywhere!"

SNOW DAY Part 1

more like blow day...
more like blow me...

it's kinda like a two-four-one...but it's really only two-eight...

it all starts with yesterday, err tuesday...i never got to talk about tuesday, and the only reason i note this is because tuesday was actually worth talking about due to the fact it was a decent day, or night rather...in the end...

of course it started out on a bad note, again with the no sleeping til late/can't get out of bed funk i've been in lately..which completely throws my day out of whack by not giving me enough time to do what i want to do in my day..whatever...so i sit and stew for a better part of the afternoon until it is time for me to leave for work..it's been snowing all day and my car is covered...

i'm leaving for work a little earlier than i normally would, or rather, i left my apartment earlier than i normally would..in the end i realize i should have 'left' a lot sooner..that way i would have not been late...

so i brush off the snow and do all that jazz, and amidst the digging out my car, i go in to start it - therein enters my problem...she turns over, but she won't stay started....now, i just bought a brand new battery last month, and i filled her up with a full tank last night..soooo what gives...

i sit there, and i crank and i crank...holding forward that key, hearing it turn, hearing the motor chug and chug...sometimes she'll take and i'll release the key and after a short few seconds, like a last breath, she putts to a deathly calm. i pop the hood, look inside - god only knows what for - i'm no mechanic, and it's too cold for me to check anything..so i jiggle this and that and continue to scrap off some ice...

i get back in the car, i try some more..i probably spend a good twenty minutes trying, taking small breaks here and there...cursing...then, like from a scene from back to the future as i bang my head on the steering wheel...she starts..kinda....i apply the gas as i turn her over...it works and i release the key, giving just the right amount of pressure on the gas pedal...as i ease off i can feel her start to die..too much, same results...sooo i basically had to feel out the car, knowing what she wanted when she wanted...after about a minute of this toying around i knew she could go on her own (off my life support) i released the gas and she started idling high..but i knew she was running right...

i made the call to work saying i would be late...honestly, had i not gotten the car started i probably would have just called off....given the way the weather was, the way it was not gonna stop snowing, i figured there was gonna be a lot of cancellations for the evening and me being there would just agitate me more...

i get to work thirty minutes late, just as preshift was ending..nobody questioned it at all..i found out what section i was in and went to work...as i was detailing my section and setting it up for the right amount of guests i found a penny nearby one of my tables...it was heads up..so i snatched it up and called it my lucky penny....how this would soon to be plausible...

from that moment on my night picked up...i at one point in the night was running five, yes five tables..a single, two deuces, a three, and a five...granted that was my entire night for covers, it was all i needed...one of my two-tops finished out at $600...and all my tables ignored the "Dirty Thirty" menu and ordered off the real menu..well, all but one..the five top..which were supposed to be the ones to order off the regular menu..such is life i guess....

now i was running around frantic, but keeping my server cool..i mean i'm always quick with my movements, but nobody can ever tell when i am truly weeded..not even me.....with five tables running, all at different courses needing different things and attention, i was still able to run food for people and do a wine presentation to a table..are you kidding me?! on top of all that, my SA sucked balls...i swear i could have done better without him, because...there wouldn't have been a difference..

all in all i ended the night with 1600 in sales, not too shabby if you ask me...i'll take that...and i'll especially take that on a random tuesday night....even more so during the "Dirty Thirty" menu....i enjoyed the part when one of our crappy servers that was in a section near me tried to take a fourth table and soapy told him he couldn't even run the three he had correctly, and i got to take the table...and then i told him, thanks for five!

i had just finished my cash out and took a moment in the office to unwind before i headed out as soapy and i would discuss how bad that server Jude really was...just then a server came in to tell us that the 10:00 reservation was partially arrived..and they were going to wait for their others before they ordered..but get this..after they placed their order they were going to go back to their rooms and have us call them when the food was ready...mind you, it's 1033, they are already 33 minutes late, and technically we are closed..(in reality we say we close at 1030, but as a service to our guests we extend those hours fifteen minutes after what we say...i know i know...why cant anyone tell the truth anymore?)

The chef is in the office and overhears all this as he is talking to his wife..he starts to make comments about how much he loves his life while mentioning something about putting a knife through someone's throat and him laughing at them...ahh, cook humor....he asks the server to get him a drink from the bar..this is about the time i decide to exit, and as i leave the office doors i, in my best chef impersonation, (as he does this weird high pitched noise when mocking people) say, "this place makes me drink" - soapy erupts into laughter as i hear chef muttering to himself...tonight, was a good night..

"hey do you know who my SA is back here - Oh it's me - Oh, well then that explains why i had to greet and water all my tables so far..." ~whoops