Zachhaschanged - Archived Blog Posts

[zachhaschanged]

People piss me off. What is it about people that stay in hotels that just loose every piece of sense they have, and start acting like complete idiots.

It's raining and cold today here in Texas, like it has been the past couple of days, it has got to end soon. I actually burned 2 fire logs last night. Fire logs, in Texas?

 

[zachhaschanged]

I think I am in a shitty ass mood today.

Lets start with the good.

Lauren called me today at noon for plans we made on Saturday night. We were going to go see saw. I have been wanting to see this movie since it came out, but alas, everytime I was avaliable to go see it, no one else was. Same thing was happening the Lauren, so by god we were going to go see it together. I hurried my ass down to Galaxy Highland 10 for the 1230 showing, as I had to be at work at 3.

That was some bad acting, but me being the type of person that likes movies like that, I thought the twist was completely worth it. I could see certain elements of other movies through the entire thing. I was reminded of Cube, The Cell, Seven and The Bone Collector all in an hour and half. All movies I love. So in turn, I loved this movie.

I hurried my ass out of the theatre and went home to change. I stopped to check the mail, Ah, the letter from ASA. The letter I had been waiting for. When I didnt recieve a phone call the week after the interview I knew I would be getting a rejection letter sometime. It was finally in my mail box today. This is ok, I will tell you why in a bit.

I was greeted at work with a letter saying I would have to choose between having Nov 30-Dec 1 (which I requested off) off, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Uh, I am confused about how Nov 30-Dec 1 is in any correlation with wanting Christmas off. My supervisor told me it had come to her attention that she was playing favorites with me. Thats fine. I understand the pressure to not do that, I have been in that situation, but dont punish the person you like because you are worried people are going to get mad. The better employee will always get the shit end of the stick.

So, lets rewind to last Thursday. I arrived at the airport at 530 to get on my 620 flight to Corporate HDQ's for an interview with a certain airline that will remain nameless. I wasnt at all excited about the interview, and was tired. It took the gate agents 40 minutes to figure out how to ticket me, and another 10 to get through security. I made it on my flight though, and like always, they pulled out on time.

I had brought one of my books written by a jaded flight attendant with me. When the beverage service started I had in placed in the seat next to me. The flight attendant, named Sami, Sami with an I, noticed it. She stopped, bent over, and whispered, "Are you a flight attendant?"

"Soon to be," I said, "I am going to interview with your airline this morning."

The woman looked excited, she took me out of my seat and announced it to the entire plane. The entire plane wasnt all that concered with it, but Sami was. She took me back the Galley and showed me where everything was, she told me about how much she loved her job, and how long it would take me to get based in Dallas. By this time, I was pretty excited for my interview. It was nice to see a non jaded flight attendant, and thats when I realized all the non jaded flight attendants worked at nameless Airlines.

I arrived at the interview, and was ready. I soon found out that besides the girl I met on the plane from Austin that was going to interview, everyone was from Tulsa, OK or Little Rock. It was the true to form airline interview. A group of people sitting around in a circle and we all to tell everyone about ourselves and then answer a question. The said they would only be inviting 5 people to stay for one on ones. I barely heard my name called.

After filling out the applications, memos and forms they had lined up for us, I went for my interview with the Director of In Flight Recruiting. Hot damn I have never had an interview go that well. I left the small little room named Arkansas feeling good about myself, like I had nailed it. They then informed me that I would be going on to a second one on one interview as long as I didnt have to be anywhere that day. I assured them my schedule was clean and I could attend. 20 minutes later I am in the little room across the hall titled Arizona. I thought the interview before was good, but this one was better. I have never actually had the person who was interviewing me ask me questions on a personal level and tell me what a great person I was. She told me it was a pleasure to meet me and I could tell she actually meant it.

I waiting out in the lobby, and they came back and told me that if I could stay, I would be doing fingerprinting. Fingerprinting in an airline interview basically means they are going to spend a lot of money on you to send your information to the FBI for a background check. This means, if everything is clear in your background, you are in. After fiddling with the fingerprinting machine for 10 minutes they sent me on my way, telling me to expect a call within two weeks to take a drug test. When I pass my drug test I will be in the "pool" of people waiting to go to flight attendant training. I have no idea when that could be. Could be the end of December, could be March. So now I wait.

When my plane landed I had two voicemails.

One was from the guy I was intersted in. He was calling to cancel for the plans we had this weekend. This would make the third time in a week that he had cancelled on me. I was somewhat angry.

The other was from my mother, wanting to know how it went. I called her back and told her all about it.

And now I am here, and work, frustrated with everything else, because I know what I have been going after for the past two months, is finally, for the most part, settled.

 

[zachhaschanged]

One of my fuck buddies got his dick pierced and cant mess around for two fucking months.

That selfish bastard.

This means when we go out to dinner, we actually have to go out to dinner.

 

[zachhaschanged]

I recieved a call today around noon informing I had passed the entire interview process with Nameless Airlines and would now need to go take a drug test. I was given the information and headed off to Pro Med to take this drug test. I got my cup, and then, went. But it didnt fill the cup. Shit.

So I stood there, thing in hand, waiting to go, thinking of flowing rivers, the flooded Barton Springs, you get the idea. Nothing.

There was a knock on the door asking me if I was alright. I peeked my head out and asked what happens when you cant fill the cup up.

I was told to go to lunch and come back.

An extra large Jack in the Box Dr. Pepper and a stomach ache later, I was back in the room, and I filled it up, barely.

Then I had to go for the rest of the day. Thanks.

So, now everything is all administrative, I will at some point, be going to training. I think I will most likely be in the class that will go to training at the end of January.

Scary Boys and Girls!

 

[zachhaschanged]

Part of my job, sadly, is giving directions to people who have no idea where they are, and have a car. Which is a dangerous prospect in Austin. Why?

-Every Road has at least three different names, used at different points on the road. If you use the wrong name at the wrong time, your fucked.

-IH 35 - the main Highway through Austin, splits into a lower and upper deck when it goes through downtown. You enter the upper deck from the outside lanes, but these have no exits. The lower deck is entered from the inside two lanes and has all the exits you will need.

-Every street downtown is one way.

-The city opened a new airport in 1999. Follow the little blue Airport signs, dont go to Airport Blvd. Airport Blvd, runs by the old airport and if you continue on it, you will eventually be heading to the new airport, but this will take an hour.

-Most people in Austin have never even heard of a two way acess road off of a highway, so dont even bother asking.


So, back to my point. If you ask me for directions, I will be more than happy to give them to you. I have lived here for 21 years and know my way around pretty well. If you can navigate a highway, you can get around Austin well enough to get by.

But I do ask one request, if you ask for directions at my hotel, please fucking listen. to interrupt with your smart ass comments, or asking questions that are irrellevant. Listen to my set of directions first, then ask your questions. If I point with my hands, that is the direction you need to go. Dont point in the opposite direction and ask "This way?"

NO! Is that the way I am fucking pointing?

Thats all I ask, really. Otherwise, I will get you to where you are going.

 

[zachhaschanged]

It is hard for me not to get annoyed with my roomate. Before this current roomate that I have now (a 25 year old straight girl) I lived alone in a nice one bedroom apartment, and my current roomate, we will call her Anne, lived across the hall from me. We have been good friends for quite sometime and even lived together before 3 years ago, when we lived with two other girls in a house.

I didnt much like living alone, not at the age of 19. It felt like if I stayed in on the weekend I was all alone, and didnt have any friends. At least when I am living with someone, there is action and noise in my house that makes me feel like I am just spending a quiet weekend at home with Buffy.

Of course there is always those little perks that get to you. With Anne, they are leaving on the lights and leaving the front door unlocked.

The lights dont bother me as much as the door, but I just feel like turning off a light is such a careless task. It is just the flip of a switch as you walk out of the room. For some reason, Anne has a problem with this. She will leave the living room lights on when she comes home and I am already in bed.

On to the door locking. When we first started living together, the unlocked door was only evident when she would leave for work in the morning. I work second shift, so usually I am still asleep when she leaves for work, but she just walks straight out the door and leaves it unlocked, but at least she closes the door.

I am not a pansy, but I just dont feel comfortable when I wake up and find the door unlocked. Really, anyone could just walk right in, and hell if I would know, I am a pretty heavy sleeper.

One Sunday when I came home from work, the front door was unlocked and no one was home. I told her about this, her response was, I am sorry. But it still doesnt get better.

This morning, when I woke up at 6 for work, since I work the early shift, the living room lights were on and the door was unlocked. Anne uses my computer because she doesnt have one, so I left her a note on Wordpad telling her what she had done and to please please please stop it.

I have a sizeable DVD collection that sits in the living room. Ive totaled up its worth and it comes to around 4000 dollars, mostly because it is box sets. That is a sizeable chunk of change just sitting in my living room and I know I would be devestated had anyone of them ever been taken. I have had my entire CD collection stolen before and I remember the feeling. It feels like someone found one of the most personal parts of you and rips it out, leaving you with a missing piece. A DVD or CD collection is so personal, you spend a good amount of time finding just the right titles that are right for you, and then someone goes and takes them most likely just to sell them or throw them away.

Shitty.

Anyone, I am off the subject, point is, I love my DVD collection and if that ever ends up gone, my roomate will see a side of me no one has ever seen. The key only takes two seconds to turn.

 

[zachhaschanged]

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for having us here today and making sure that all our family got here safe. Thank you for this wonderful meal in which you have blessed us, and for which our bodies will be nourished for us to continue to pray to you. Thank you for watching over our family every day and please forgive us of all of our sins. We understand lord that at times we may stray from the path you have chose for us, but as we try and keep ourselves with the name of the lord we ask that you continue to love us. We are also grateful for helping George W. Bush win the election this month so that he can remain in office and keep our country righteous just as you have done with our lives.

In Jesus name we pray.

AMEN!

Now, I am sure you are wondering what the fuck is going on. This my friends, is your typical Southern Baptist prayer. This was almost the exact prayer said at my thanksgiving dinner. It works well when said very very fast and with a country twang, much like an airline pilot when he is explaining what runway you are going to be landing on in O'Hare.

So as to not cause any outrage on my fathers side of the family, I do bow my head when it is time for us to join hands and pray. This is also accompanied by me keeping my eyes open and sticking my hand in my pocket. My one cousin that is the same age as me doesnt even try, and usually just kinda laughs at everyone.

When the ending of the prayer started I was somewhat appalled. Then I remembered its no surprise to anyone that my family, who gathers in Waco, TX for Thanksgiving, is all Republican. Shit I am like a quarter republican sometimes, and I dont believe in religion, but leave Bush out of my prayer. Its hard enough to concentrate with Jesus in there.

After dinner some of us went outside to the overwhelming backyard and picked up pecans off the ground. My grandfather (called Pepaw) and my uncle were making fun of my dad for living in the only "Blue County" in Texas. Those damn liberals they would all say, while I walk around with a pecan picker upper thinking about how badly I wanted a cigarette and how soon could I leave.

When my dad told me to go and get a piece of paper and write down all the names of the family, so that we could draw names (Christmas Gifts) I did as was instructed (V. Honour thy father and thy mother) and got a piece of paper. I sat down at my grandmother (called Memaw) 's desk to write them out. I looked up and couldnt help but smile at what I saw.

That my friends, is W. and Laura, standing on the White House lawn, taped next to a letter from them thanking my grandparents for keeping them in their prayers and for wishing for a better America. I was glad that my grandparents cared enough to hang it on their walls. To some it may seem ignorant, but to me, it would worry me too much if a couple in their seventies had a picture of Kerry on their walls.

I was reminded of a Winston Churchill quote - "If your not a liberal at 20 you have to heart, and if your not a conservative at 40, you have no head."

You can find the shirt and the coffe mug <a href="http://www.cafepress.com/rightnation/151740 ">here.</a>

Soon after we got each others names on little slips of paper, I left. I chain smoked from the house to Temple, and went straight into work.


In a completely unrelated note, I found this product in Walgreens. I loved the packaging. Somewhat 80's but not. The name of the product is "SCREAMING YELLOW ZONKERS!"

That is a popcorn kernel screaming EAT!

 

[zachhaschanged]

And I am not talking about the act of fucking while sick.

Dont drink Thera Flu, the shit is nasty.

 

[zachhaschanged]

So, I recently found this page on JUB where there are several contests going on. Best Blog and Best Photo Album.

Knowing that I have only had my blog and photo album up for a while it has quickly accumulated a good amount of votes. Now this contest is a little odd, how exactly are you supposed to win this thing?

I could always promote myself on the boards, because everyone likes gift certificates, but I think that would just be ridiculous taking up peoples time reading posts about how I am fabulous.

So what do I do, just show my penis? Its not like there is a lack of penis on this site.

So, I guess, if you read this, it only takes a second to click that little button and vote for it. While your at it, go over and check out my photo album. Its four fun filled galleries. Woo hoo.

I promise I will keep everyone here updated on my adventures at becoming a flight attendant.

 

[zachhaschanged]

I am so in! I recieved my call to attend training with Nameless Airlines. I will be going to training on December 27th. Wooo hooo!


All the names of airlines and people will be changed in this blog.

So, that means I only have to put in two more weeks at the hotel, then I am going up to Virginia to see my mom for Christmas, and flying directly from there to training.

Ive got a crazy two months ahead of me.

 

[zachhaschanged]

I am so tired of waking up early in the morning with a headache. Such is the case today. Thanks mom, for blessing me with some kind of headache disease. In other news, the period, question mark and right shift key on my keyboard are very sticky and its pissing me off. And finally, my roomate is not helping me look for a replacement roomate since I have to move. You think she would care since she is going to be the person living with them.

 

[zachhaschanged]

 

[zachhaschanged]

When I look back on 2004 I will think of-

Making things happen.
Switching the subject.
Reading between the lines.
Giving up.
Imogen Heap
Gurlz Cellar
5 different jobs (ugh)
Being called a slut.
Shopping wiht Lori.
Tubing.
A silver honda cr-v.
Robert.
4 nervous drives to the airport.
2 depressing goodbyes at the airport.
A bright green bedspread.
A year without spacegirl.
A year without Danielle.
A year without my mom.
Garden State, Eternal Sunshine, Lost in Translation, Angel, Buffy, Sex and the City, The L Word, Saved, Mean Girls, Baise Moi and Irreversible.
A lot of moving.
A lot of late bills.
Chuys.
Chuys.
Chuys.
Dirty Martins.

and one failed attempt.

 

[zachhaschanged]

It was only 730 AM this Sunday morning and my day was already too strange for my own comfort. My dream last night was a simple one. We (Me, Lori and Barry Bostwick who was our teacher) and some other people were living in this big house. I liked to pretend to be the tourtured soul so I would leave newspaper clippings and journal enteries just "lying about" the house, that pretained to the fact I was sexually abused as a child.

WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?

My dreams are trying to make me desperate for attention or something. Thats bullshit. I dont want to wake up feeling like I am in the middle of a desperate cry for attention. I get enough of that. If I needed more I would post my dick all over the internet (too late) or something.

This morning about 15 minutes after I got to work I was compared to a Mr. Apolo Anton Ohno by PalePhoenix. Who is Apolo Anton Ohno you said. Dont worry, I had no idea either.

Evidently he is a short distance speed skater. Who knew. Thats just great though, I mean, really, who doesnt want to look like a puffy haired short distance speed skater. Come on!
So, I will just add that to the list of people I look like. Jimmy Fallon, Matthew Lawrence, some kid from some band named Busted. Yeah yeah, whatever.

 

[zachhaschanged]

I dont want to be nervous. I hate being nervous, but its in my nature. I just worry about everything there is to worry about. I need anti anxiety pills like no other. Hello mom, hook me up with the Paxil.

I am nervous about training. So much stuff to learn and memorize, I know I can do it, but hell if I am not going to be nervous about it. I will have to live in a hotel room with someone I dont know for a month. They said they tried to pair people up with others closest to their age range. So I will be in a hotel room with another 20 something year old guy trying to become a flight attendant. Family? I think so. Or at least I hope so, god it would complicate things much more if I had to room with some breeder.

What am I talking about, most of my friends are breeders. Well, the difference is, I dont live with my straight male friends in a hotel room for a month. Sigh.

Car insurance is bullshit. I feel better when I have it, and when I pay it, I feel responsible. Of course, this means I havent felt responsible since September. The insurance company has been emailing and calling me like crazy, trying to get me to reinstate it. I ignored them, because I dont have the money. And if you dont have the money, there is no need stressing me out about it. They were stressing me out.

So what does this insurance company do? They call my fucking father.

The insurance company tattled on me. Well dammit, now I have to face up to it. So I talked to them for a while today, to see what I have to pay to get it reinstated. With what money, I dont know, but I have to. Dammit. Seems pointless since once I finish training I wont be driving the car. Sigh. Most people have said I should just sell it, but I cant dare part with it just yet. I havent even had it a year.

Eh What are you gonna do?

 

[zachhaschanged]

1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before? Bought my very own car.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Dont make them.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My friend Shanisha

4. Did anyone close to you die? george My dog Checkers

5. What countries did you visit? None this year.

6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004? Vist France

7. What date(s) from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? The day I got my new car, New Years Day at Chuys, the night my dog died, the day I was called to go to training with Southwest.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Getting the opportunity to interview, and getting invited to training with Southwest Airlines.

9. What was your biggest failure? Screwing myself over financially.

10. Did you suffer any illness or injury? None!

11. What was the best thing you bought? A 2001 Silver Honda CR-V

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? I couldnt pick one person.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? She knows who she is.

14. Where did most of your money go? Fucking DVD's.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? going to training with SWA!

16. What song will always remind you of 2004? Mixed Up World - Sophie Ellis Bextor

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? happier
ii. thinner or fatter? fatter
iii. richer or poorer? richer in terms of the bank, poorer in terms of debt.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? I wish I had spent more time paying bills, I wish had tried a little harder at some friendships

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Wasting money on useless things.

20. How will you be spending Christmas? In the mountains of VA studying PA's with my family.

22. Did you fall in love in 2004? No comment

23. How many one-night stands? 3

24. What was your favorite TV program? The L Word, Buffy and Angel

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? I say I hate some people but only because I love them so.

26. What was the best book you read? The Reincarnation of Peter Proud

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Sophie Ellis Bextor

28. What did you want and get? The chance to become a flight attendant.

29. What did you want and not get? Larry

30. What was your favorite film of this year? Kill Bill Vol. 2

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I had a small get together at my house and Kelley and Jessica sent me on a hunt for a coffee mug and a wilson phillips cd. It was awsome.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If someone would have come and visited me.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004? Urban Preppy chic?

34. What kept you sane? Lori, Kelley, Jessica, Annie, my mom.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Again, Sophie Ellis Bextor.

36. What political issue stirred you the most? Gay marriage.

37. Who did you miss? Catherine and my mom.

38. Who was the best new person you met? Lauren, Lauren, Steph, Larry, Theresa, Miori.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004: Dont get desperate.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: "I am not good at not getting what I want."

Seriously, how could you not love Sophie!

 

[zachhaschanged]

The thing you have to understand about working at a limited service hotel is, its fucking boring. Some of the luckier ones will have a hotel that will let them surf the internet in downtime, my hotel even lets me bring in my own laptop, thus I am making this entry right now.

I hate being bored, and wonder when a customer will come in so that I can do something. Of course, whenever a customer does come in, I tend to get pissy. Usually they will have some question that I dont want to answer, will ask for directions and interupt me the entire time, or just come in and throw their credit card at me.

So, we have to find other things to keep us occupied. The hotel industry is run by gay men. Period. While there are ocassionally straight people who work the front desk, or in matainence, the entire industry would fall apart without the gay men.

Heads in beds is the slogan that the sales teams will go around saying.

Which only further proves my point.
Gay men know beds, and gay men certainly know heads.

Still, in a limited service hotel directed to business clients, it gets rather boring. I have heard stories of guys getting naked at the pool, or wild sex parties the front desk agent finds out about and joins in on, but Ive never had that kind of stuff on my shift.

When I get bored at work, I tend to start thinking about my dick. (Beds in heads remember?)

There is a growing trend of gay male hotel workers that take dirty pics in the back rooms behind the front desk. Ive done it, and most of my friends have done it. Thank god for camera phones. Because we all know, all we need is another picture of a dick.

Actually, me with my mind on my dick depends on what underwear I am wearing. Damn these CK Tech Boxer Briefs, they give me a hard on.

So, maybe I should just start up another porn site. Amatuer front desk agents posing in back rooms. We could even make our own videos, where *gasp* the DPS officer staying in the hotel finds out what he is doing, and tells the General manager and oh my, they all join in on the fun.

The more I talk about it, the better it sounds.

This gives new meaning to the phrase hard at work.

 

[zachhaschanged]

 

[zachhaschanged]

Lets go over some things that piss me the fuck off.

1. Talk to me like you know me and are elder to me.

If I do not know you, and we have say, chatted online or on a message board, then you have no right to talk to me like my father. That is a one way ticket to me hating you. Hate is a strong word, but there is nothing I hate more than some 22 year old telling me I am only 20 and to be careful about my decisions.

2. Obsessing online

If you IM me, where you have found me on some random website where I have pictures of my dick posted, please have something interesting to say. Do not IM me and then when I dont respond for 2 minutes start freaking out, with crazy IM's asking WHAT DID I DO TO MAKE YOU MAD!!! TALK TO ME!!!!

Talking to you is the last thing I want to do after something like that.

3. I dont want to talk about sex

If I have never met you, and am not talking to you in hooking up terms, I do not want to talk on the phone or on AIM about "what you want to do when we meet." That is the same thing as phone sex, and like Hall and Oats, I cant go for that.

Sure, call me a bitch, or rude or whatever. I just call it common sense or decency.

 

[zachhaschanged]

Yes, I am still here. Busy with work. I am Indy right now and going off to Raliegh today and then fabulous Midland Odessa the day after that.

Work is great. Still living in Austin after a little stint of living in the Bay Area.