thanks

It's Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving. Have you noticed this Holiday doesn't get as much hoopla as most holidays? It's because it isn't controversial! It is simply a day to give Thanks and celebrate with friends and family. Unless, of course, you're in my family.

Because my dad is leaving to Iraq for a six week tour starting tomorrow, our family has had some early Thanksgiving dinners. And at each one, people were left more disappointed than thankful.

At the first dinner, all seemed well. My cousin Karina, had taken the week off of school, flew in from San Diego and graced us not only with her presence, but with some shocking news as well. She had found her dad. What's weird about the whole thing is, she wasn't even looking for him. She was waiting at an intersection with a friend, when a policeman asked her if her name was Maria. It wasn't, but she told him her grandma's name was. And then she told him, her grandma lived in Tucson. Two and two were put together and after Karina revealed her mother's name, the policeman said, "I'm your dad."

Since finding her father, Karina has been spending a lot of time with her dad, which really stuck in her mother's craw. Which is understandable since Karina's dad left her and her mom when Karina was just a baby. No word or any sign of notice, just gone. Here one day, gone the next, leaving my aunt and cousin to fend for themselves.

And if one surprise wasn't hard to swallow, me leaving to Milwuakee, was just as hard. I thought my mom had told everybody, but I guess not. There were a few cheers, mostly jeers, all followed by tears. I couldn't possibly think about leaving Tucson. Who would say all the lame jokes and tell the bizarre stories? I didn't have an answer to any of these questions and for a brief moment, I felt sorta bad for leaving. My family did have a few points. What did I know about shopping for food or paying a utility bill? Sure, I could order decent take out, but was that enough to survive on my own?

These questions were nothing new, but I'll admit they were questions I never really gave a second thought to. I think I just got caught up in the aspect of moving and starting a whole new adventure.

On top of it all, I was actually honest with my cousin, when he asked me how I felt about his girlfriend Tori, which he did not take too kindly. I told him she was a name dropper. And a pathetic one at that.

"My mom only shops at Macy's. Our entire home is decorated like a Macy's Christmas catalog."

and

"I buy all my jewelry and accessories at Urban Outfitters. Everything else looks so gaudy."

Some family members found her cute and endearing, but I just found her boring, with her upper-middle-class, brand name dropping. So, I ignored her throughout the day. Which is when my cousin decided to ask me about her. I thought he was looking for some encouragement to dump her. If I had known the truth, I would have lied. Because that's what family does. No one wants to hear about deadbeat dads or moving away or your true feelings towards the girl you just moved in with. No. Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks and that's all. Everything else should be taken with the adult approach of mutual delusion and complete and utter denial.

I'm thankful, none of my family knows that.

patience

I called my boss Alice yesterday to try and resolve the issue of unpaid paychecks, only to discover she was traveling to Phoenix to go...shopping. SHOPPING! Ugh! And all she could say was patience was the key to resolving all our issues. Fuck patience, I felt like telling her. I wanted to scream at her. She knows I need my money and she has money, but like a non-organ donor, she's been relentless to let it go.

So I hung up with her. She was on the freeway and all I needed on my conscience was to know she got in an accident with her children in the backseat. So, I called up the Board of Labor and the unemployment office, only to discover it takes weeks to file everything. And to make things worse, at the bottom of the claim, near my signature it states in black and white:

"I UNDERSTAND that acceptance of this claim by the Labor Department does not guarantee collection."

So, even if I do file a claim, it doesn't mean she has to pay me. And if she received the claim, it would only upset her more, which means there's a less likely chance she will pay me. So, now, it's nothing but a waiting game. It's all I can do at this point. And it sucks because I feel like one of those damn damsels in distress. I'm here at home all by myself with an animal sidekick (my puppy), my hair is growing longer and out of control and my wicked witch (more like bitch) of a boss seems to be gaining more and more power rather than losing it.

Proving once again, a soft heart will only hold you back in the real world. You can't just be nice. Nice guys always finish last. But don't nice people occasionally succeed? People like Jimmy Carter and Audrey Hepburn? Or what about Mr. Rogers? But then again, his ratings were never that high.

raving & ranting

Last Thursday, they turned my iPhone off. It probably has something to do with the fact that I haven't paid my bill in over two months, but who can really tell about these things? All I know is that I feel as if I've lost a part of me. A part of me that I can still sometimes feel. The way an amputee can sometimes still feel their lost limb.

It'll turn back on soon, I have faith in that, but in the meanwhile...it's made me realize how dependent I've become on this 4.5 inch multi-communication device. And to think a decade ago, I was okay without having to know who e-mailed me or who called me.

That's why I LOVE this rant!

the flyer

It's been over two weeks and my boss Alice still hasn't made any effort to make contact with me. No text. No phone call. No email. Not even snail mail. Nothing. Then, my co-worker, Amanda, who hasn't worked since the last Monday in October, made a trip to the flower shop to talk to Alice about her paycheck. The shop was closed and in its place was a flyer:



Something is definitely shady. Something needs to be done. Something like...legal action.

change

I was at the gym, when it was announced that America's votes had been tallied, and Barack Obama was presented as our future, historically significant, President. And as he took the stage with his historic future First Family, I started thinking about change. If most Americans were open to the idea that a man from a culturally mixed background could be president and were ready for a great change, then so could I. Except, this time, I would change myself.

The year of 2008 has been a really eventful one for me. It started off as really good and I thought things would only get better. I had a great job. Two, great jobs, in fact. One of which allowed me to attend some of the best and most sought-after events, nightclubs, parties and affairs in Tucson. I never got caught up in the glitz or the glamour of it all, since I knew most of the golden carriages and golden people I had seen and met would turn into pumpkins and mice at the end of the night. Still, I had fun and I even got to share that fun with my family and friends.


I had taken my first world tour and left the small U.S. region of the southwest to cross the Atlantic and into Europe. I was in Italy, the birthplace of pizza and Prada. I got to see priceless works of art and taste unbelievably delicious food. I had never experienced such a beautiful country with a beautiful culture and it made me want to explore other regions of the world and absorb as much as I possibly could.


I met a lot of new people and made a lot of new friends this year. I even got to spend time cultivating some of those friendships and learned a lot about myself along the way. I had no idea I liked beer! The best part was that Lucy, my pride and joy, had actually survived a year with me, which was a miracle considering every living thing (including plants, birds, and that one time I had to babysit) I took under my wing before, became physically and/or emotionally damaged (don't worry...the kid wasn't that damaged when I returned her and eventually her hair did grow back). I had actually been able to take care and love another living thing without hurting it or destroying it.


But then, before I knew it things changed. The magazine went bankrupt and there went my front-of-the-line-VIP-access pass. A carton of milk had more shelf-life than my career as a writer. I don't even know if it can be considered "experience," since the only thing I learned from it was the delicate art of schmoozing. I didn't get paid for any of my stories because I was told the magazine was "still getting everything sorted out," which apparently is code for, "write as much as you can, while I rob you blind." Talk about the phrase, "fool me once..." And though I'm upset about the money, I'm more upset about my next scheduled story never seeing the light of day. It was supposed to be about making downtown the "IT" place to be and it was my chance to help change the culture of my generation and the future of our city. And next to my article was going to be a picture of my name in lights on the marquee of the historic Fox Theatre. Which, is a little vain, I'll admit, but it would have been exciting, nonetheless.


And if having a job that didn't pay you, wasn't bad enough, having another job do the same is just as bad. As bad as having to poop right after you take a shower. I thought my job at the flower shop was stable, but after trying to cash in a bounced paycheck, I'm guessing not. Fool me, twice. It's been about three unpaid paychecks and two weeks since I've spoken to my boss Alice. In one low swoop, she single-handedly ruined my credit, my birthday, Halloween, Elton John, and Las Vegas. I'll never be able to look at any of those things ever again, without thinking negatively about Alice. I really did try to keep an open mind and try to be patient and understanding with her, but all the facts point to her mis-using sale money for her own selfish needs like sushi dinners and Girl Scout fees. I do understand that this year hasn't been easy for her, but to take advantage of a loyal employee is beyond disgusting. It's really made me question not only the relationship of our professional lives, but the relationship of our friendship, as well. And the thing I hate the most is that it's made me bitter, affecting everyone around me.

My friends flew back in from Vegas on Monday and I haven't been able to talk any of them. There's an air of awkwardness between us, because, no matter how much I want to hear about what happened in Vegas, a part of me doesn't want to know, since it's a painful reminder of what I missed out. It's not every day you're allowed the chance to see drunken D-list celebrities up close and personal. Up until the very last moment, I had hope in my boss, that she would somehow see the error in her ways and somehow find extra cash to give to me to take to Vegas. But hope never came, and an already paid plane ticket and concert ticket sat unused. Alice never contacted me. Well, unless you count that lame text she sent me to try and make up for it.


And it was there, working out on a full body core machine, that I realized if I didn't change, I would just become more and more bitter. So, I've started looking for another job. I was able to send out an email to one friend without it being weird. And according to a lawyer, they agreed to represent me if I should decide to file a lawsuit against my boss for unpaid wages. Yikes. I don't know if I want to take it that far yet, but at least I'm heading in the right direction.