Senseless Violence

My prayers go out to the families of the victims at Virginia Tech. I don't know too much of the details as to who and why, but to hear that 33 people have lost their lives is almost too much to bear.

When's My Day Off?

At least it was a relatively easy night as graveyard floor. The casino was busy earlier but died down quickly as the night wore on. Now I'm hoping for two days off today and tomorrow. Might end up being tomorrow and Wednesday. Who knows anymore.

One out of Three Ain't Bad

My hopes of a three-day weekend were dashed this afternoon, as TWO of the managers called in sick. Of course I could have said no but I've become the company man and with no plausible reason why I SHOULD say no, I agreed to go to work for the graveyard shift. I am scheduled for tomorrow off of course, but it is possible that I may have to work tomorrow as well. At some point I will get two days off (hopefully in a row). I can't complain because it is I who agreed to work. The alternative would have been to find a manager from one of the other locations. Besides, I really had nothing much to do tonight anyways other than perhaps catch a movie. There's always another night.

Textbook

My week finished off wonderfully at work, even though I had work my ass off to avoid OT. I had a number of mad rushes at 1am, 3am, 5am and 6am, but utilized my staff fully to achieve no OT. And it wasn't as if I closed tables haphazardly. Everything was done to perfection. I had three supervisors who were pretty sure they were doing OT for their 9pm-5am shift but I pulled off a miracle in the end. I couldn't have run it better if I tried again. And now it's hibernation time for three days.

Hanging On

One more graveyard managing shift and then it's three days off in a row (hopefully). It's been a weird week and I'm glad it will be over. The weekend will be spent doing very little, maybe catch a movie with Lil and then who knows. Let's hope the weather is OK although I've heard otherwise.

Talk to the Hand

That's become a favorite expression at work, even though it's usually in jest. But today, I was in an unusually bitchy mood and it was quite evident that it showed. And you know what, I didn't care. Once again, I had sick calls coming in left and right and it got to a point where I could have just given up. But I didn't. And in a way, I almost liked this mean streak that's becoming a part of me. I'm not going to let those (fill in the blank)'s take advantage of me anymore. I have a job to do. Outside of work we can be good friends but work is work. So piss me off and you can talk to the hand.

...(I forgot the third line)

It wasn't that it was a tough day at work as much as it was a frustrating day at work yesterday. It was a matter of dealing with the staff that wanted to go home early. Normally there is no problem with this; it all depends on how busy the casino is and if I feel (as floor manager) that I can close a table to send somebody home.

It was that one of the supervisors wanted to go home because she "just had surgery and she forgot to bring her painkillers". First of all, is she telling the truth? It gets to a point at work when I take every statement with a grain of salt. She could just as easily have said she "forgot to turn the iron off". Added to that, there were other people ahead of her on the list who always said "they weren't feeling well". Granted, she did look to be in pain, but then again, we have some great actors and actresses at work. Against my better judgement, I did send her home.

Then a dealer works no more than 30 minutes before she suddenly decides she wants to throw up because of food poisoning (because she ate some bad cake). So little by little, the staff disappears well before the end of the night. Meanwhile, I've been sick for two weeks practically unable to talk, taking shit from anyone and everyone.

"Calgon, take me away"

...let me count the ways

The week from hell will be over shortly. What was supposed to be four days of 2:30pm supervising shifts became a plethora of start times that would make grown men cry. Let us summarize:

Original Schedule:

Thursday April 5: 2:30pm
Friday April 6: 2:30pm
Saturday April 7: 2:30pm
Sunday April 8: 2:30pm

But Thursday I was awakened to be told that I would be working the graveyard managing shift instead, 9 hours later. This created a problem for Friday, as I would be back to work 7 hours 15 minutes after I got off work. Yes, it's "illegal" but I thought just this once, it's no big deal. Even though I was sick (but not as sick as the managers that called in sick!) I could handle it. And so I struggled on Friday, surviving on my can of Red Bull. I got home and it wasn't so bad.... except Saturday I was called to do the same thing again... another manager called in. Now as much as I love my job, I couldn't do the 2:30pm on Sunday. Luckily we decided on a 7pm start instead. I won't even begin to talk about some of the problems we had tonight, maybe another post. And now, my Neo Citran is almost finished so good night all. Happy Easter and all that.

Job - How Much Do I Love Thee?

Yesterday morning I was awakened at around 10am. I thought they'd needed me to come in earlier (I had a 2:30pm start) but instead, they woke me up to tell me that I was coming in later.... much later... almost 9 hours later at 11:15pm for a graveyard shift, as one of the managers was sick. While that's no problem (the occasional graveyard shift is OK), I just got home (finished at 7:15am) and my next shift is another 2:30pm supervising shift. And I'm sick. But once I drink my Neo Citran I'm going to bed for a few hours, then it's back to work but not before a Red Bull and perhaps my old favorite, triple espresso with caramel.

Trivia

Interesting trivia question that I came across which I can't seem to find an answer to (and I'm sure there would be a number of answers) even with my immense knowledge of TV and Movies.

Which TV shows or movies featured actors playing siblings ended up in real life with the actors engaged or married?

Did the question make sense? Like A and B played siblings on TV show C, then afterwards A and B hooked up. And no, A and B aren't siblings in real life. That would be a nono.

Blades of Glory

After a great week at work, and an unexpected early shift today (a 9am-5pm shift after a 3:15pm-11:15pm shift the day before!) I had time to take a quick nap before deciding to catch this movie. It was hilarious! I'm not usually a fan of Will Farrell's toilet humor, but this was an exception. Jon Heder (he of Napoleon Dynamite fame) has the makings of a real movie star.

And now I still get to enjoy two days off!

Feeling Good Again

It was an easy and pleasant three-day week for me after my vacation in paradise. Things went smoothly although there were a few hiccups. The holiday was a very good refresher and I went back to work feeling a lot better. And now tonight, it's back to the usual Vancouver favorite, KARAOKE!

I Need Another Holiday

Back to work today. It was rather uneventful although it was a bit hectic around 7pm because the poker room was full. As well, I had to cover some sick calls on the floor, but it wasn't like anything I couldn't handle. As a result, my first day back was nice and easy. Let's hope it stays that way for a few days.

Shooter

When I was in Portland I went to see this movie with Johnny. Wow, $5 for a Saturday matinee, haven't seen those in a long time! The movie was your standard thriller, nothing special. The two girls in the movie were hot. I remember Rhona Mitra from Hollow Man but the other one I don't recall from any films. Not bad at all.

Return From Paradise

And so ends my short holiday in Portland. Actually I stayed in a town called Colton, about 30 minutes drive from Portland. It was up in the mountains and it was so peaceful. The back of the house overlooked a stream that is actually a waterfall in the spring as the snow melts. It was breathtaking and I miss it already. Thanks to my good friend Johnny and his wonderful grandmother for their hospitality.

Aside from the amazing view, I had a great time at Powell's City of Books (as I knew I would), that's a bloody big bookstore. I also had a nice walk downtown to check out the LV store, and buy See's candies for my Mom. No tax! And of course Johnny and I spent Saturday night at Chang's Mongolian Grill, all you can eat for $10.95. How can you beat that?

I need a holiday.

Premonition

Yeah well I pretty much had a premonition that Premonition would be a bad movie. BINGO! It was too confusing and the supposed ending was just silly. What's with Sandra Bullock and all these back and forth in time movies as of late (first Lake House and now this)? Her acting is so bland there was just no chemistry between her and Julian McMahon.

Fido

No, this post isn't about my cell phone company, it was about the quirky Canadian-made movie I saw last night, starring Carrie-Anne Moss and Billy Connolly. I was pleasantly surprised at this comedy-horror mixture. There were some really corny lines but in the end, I really liked it. I'm glad because the last two movies I saw (Number 23 and Ghost Rider) were absolute duds. Next up is probably Premonition with Lily tonight.

Bye for Now

And so begins a well-deserved holidays for me, as the week didn't exactly end on a positive note work-wise. I look forward to visiting my good friend Johnny down in Portland, as well as: buying candies for Mom, booze and cigarettes for Daryl, checking out the coolest bookstore in the world, and eating Mongolian BBQ, and of course catching up on old times with Mr. Mc. I haven't decided yet if I will Greyhound it or Honda Fit it, but either way I can't wait. See you all on March 25.

March 14

To all the mathematical nerds out there, Happy Pi Day.

Cough Cough Hack Hack

I hate being sick.