It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Sunday, January 5
Here’s how mild a winter it’s been up here: tonite was the first nite of the season where it was snowing driving into the hotel…We are not making that up…It wasn’t snowing too hard, but it was coming down and a safe speed was 45 MPH or so, at least until we came up behind this really cautious driver who refused to top 40 MPH
Fair enuff…This was still a resonable speed, far from being too slow, and we were happy to fall in behind him.
All Sparrow Winter Driving Tips (SWDT) were followed: a safe speed, at least four seconds behind the vehicle in front of you, not doing anything – like steering, accelerating, braking – too quickly…Don’t use cruise control, either, because then you forfeit the ability to take your foot off the gas, a very useful tool, especially when entering a curve…It took about 15 minutes longer to get to work, but we left early and were there even earlier than usual.
Madam Blab, the new gal, was there when we reported for duty at the hotel…All was confusion…She came in the back to announce she had “things” for me and she hoped I was ready for it…The hotel was still standing, so the “things” couldn’t be too bad, and it was plain she was willing to blab into matters right now.
We weren’t…We were about 15 minutes early and we got some coffee going and then took a crap and she dive in when we got back…We were putting our shirt and vest on and advised, pleasantly, to please wait until we clocked in…Evidently, “wait until I clock in” is code for “continue blabbing” because that’s what she did…Three times.
Eventually we found out the “things” were 245 was not pleased with the bed on their pullout couch and an unknown room said their room’s heater wasn’t shutting off, that it was hotter than hell in there and they were preparing to bake some bread…Madam Blab said this guest would be back down later to discuss the matter, on the theory that ol’ Sparrow would know what to do, even tho we really don’t…As it was, he never did.
We were not sold out, so it was a simple matter to move 245 to 249, altho this took a while because Madam Blab had not been shown how to do this yet…Understandable…You can’t cover everything in training and to her credit she’s an enthusiastic learner.
But she does not stop making noise…She’ll start in on how her “brain’s fried” and how “she can’t get my head” around things it’s been sooo busy, and when that’s done and no one’s in the lobby she’ll pick up her phone and start in on thrilling commentary on whatever catches her eye, a cat video, a current event, it could be anything…She’ll end this blather with “well, that’s where we are there” or something equally erudite…Occasionally, we’d grunt something to be sociable, but eventually, she took the hint, and the last quarter hour passed quietly, the Upset of the Year.
One of the downsides to working a hotel front desk is you find yourself fielding complaints from other departments…That’s not really a complaint; it’s as much a part of the job as taking a reservation or preparing Morning Coffee Service (MCS)…It’s not easy, and early on some find it too hard and go find something else to do…This morning Tammy and I continued to field guest complaints about the restaurant…They aren’t changing, either…Like yesterday, the service is slow, with guests having to wait upwards of 30, 40, or 45 minutes to be served…I’d complain about that, too, frankly.
One gent was not pleased with yours truly at all…The second time he complained to me he waved a hand at me and declared we weren’t listening to him…This was false…He had our complete attention: we were facing him (square to the play, as we say in officiating) and had eye contact…The problem was, tho, we were at a loss for words…This happens sometimes when you’re fielding a complaint that you had nothing to do with and that you cannot solve…All you can do is listen and offer some empathy…This wasn’t enuff, tho…Evidently we should’ve rended garments and commenced weeping…As a guest, there comes a time to recognize that your whining has been noted and that everything that can or will be done has been done for you…When that time comes, it’s time to call it a day, but this gent couldn’t do that…He walked away muttering that this wasn’t over.
We got some solid chatting with Anna in today, too…Among other things, we discussed epiphany, a religious holiday…Growing up Lutheran, it was celebrated on January 6 and tho we’re heathens now, some research shows it still is…Ukraine, tho, celebrates it on January 5…Anna says this is because this is when Europe does it and separates them from evil Russia, which she says is nonsense, even tho Anna doesn’t have any religious beliefs anymore.
There was some modest Epiphany hilarity, too…We presumed, with typical American arrogance, that Epiphany universally celebrated the arrival of the Three Wise Men to visit the baby Jesus…It doesn’t…In Ukraine, it celebrates Jesus’ baptism…In fact, Anna had never heard of the Three Wise Men before and we had to explain the legend of the star and their presents of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, which even we remembered from years ago.
We did some pretty good cardio work in the gym tonite…The right shoulder is still acting up and we really should get around to scheduling a massage appointment, but until then, cardio will serve us well.
It was like old times: we did out patented medicine ball twists, then battle ropes, then a run around the basketball court and finally some bike springs…We didn’t have unlimited time, but we got six sets in and that’s not too bad.
Sparrow’s Sleep Log: 1030 Sunday until 1830 Sunday…8.0 hours for the day, a solid, if unspectacular, start to the sleep week.
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The Diary of a Nobody is a novel. All elements are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Anything else is a coincidence.
The Diary of a Nobody was inspired by the 19th-century British novel of the same name.
Coming soon! Gaylon’s books in actual book form!
