Zoo :D

Since Valentine's day wasn't as romantic as I would have preferred it to be, Kevin and I decided to hit the zoo the next day. Every year I get us some sort of annual pass to a fun San Diego attraction. Last april I bought us Zoo passes and we had only used them once. I'm really not one for sleeping in, but we managed to leave the house around 3pm and made it to the zoo fifteen minutes before closing.

We wandered for HOURS. It wasn't until about six that they finally found us and told us we needed to leave. In that time we explored jungles and savannas. We found Sasquatch and kevin tried to catch the birds. Almost NO one was in the park(since it was after hours) and maybe it was for that reason that all of the animals seemed to be focusing on us. They would try and lean out of their enclosures to smell us or just to get a better look at us. It was awesome.

We started looking around for places we could potentially camp out if they never got around to kicking us out, but they finally caught up with us in the reptile exhibit with slightly irritated looks on their faces. We made our way down town to little italy in search of food and beer, where we stumbled upon an awesome parking spot almost 30 seconds from Filippis Pizza Grotto. PERFECT. The line was pretty long, but that was to be expected on a Sunday during Presidents Weekend. When we finally got in, we peered over the wine menu, trying to be romantic, but eventually settling on a pitcher of New Castle between the two of us. What can I say, we're beer people. I proceeded to get "shmammared" and cant for the life of me recall the rest of the evening. :p What I can recall is the $9 for a whole pitcher of New Castle!! WOAH. Compare that to Hooter's $19.99 pitchers of premium beer.... yeah I know I know, instead of the cute girls pouring your beers you get plump italians but that didn't bother me...

Come Play With Us

To keep guests entertained and coming back, my restaurant has subjected it's Hooters Girls to various dress up days. For valentine's day it was angels and devils of course, and yesterday, for the hell of it, it was school girl dress up day and my third day of training. I arrived twenty minutes early and my trainer arrived thirty minutes late. And so I had fifty minutes of dreading what lay ahead of me. Sure I dress up. On Halloween and for those occasional "costume" parties that make no sense guys like to throw to get half naked girls to come over. But EVERYBODY is half naked so I don't feel as exposed if that makes any sense. This is Hooters. We give guys an excuse to go out and get lunch/dinner together as a group and still retain their machismo. We entertain the lonely, the tired, and the bored. Occasionally there is the bachelor party or 20 rugby players just in from Scotland... but it's bad enough prancing around in orange hot pants carrying platters of 50 wings and pitchers of beer that will only fuel potential lewd behavior. I know it sounds like I'm complaining about my job, and I am, but the good aspects definitely out weight the bad and that's why I'm sticking it out.

School girl day was a definite success, which is why this March we are getting dressed up for st. patties and for no reason at all again on the 26th! Come play with us!

Masochist

Fridays are incredibly boring at the office. I woke up this morning and limped into work, figuring I could handle the 8 hours of chair sitting, web surfing, texting, and doodling. My dispatcher and I began a conversation that consisted of him asking me questions about my personal life... something that, despite how I might seem to appear on this blog, I do not like to openly discuss with coworkers and anyone less than a good friend. I listen. I don't gossip. It's just how I avoid drama. I don't mind writing about myself because it gives me the opportunity to think about how I want to word what I want to say. But I like this dispatcher. He's from Argentina and has a cool accent so maybe that's why I fell into his survey trap.

After about fifteen minutes he looked at me with an open mouth, "Why do you do this to yourself?"
"What??" I asked, seriously shocked by his answer.
"Why do you work so much? Why do you do so much? When do you have time for yourself?"

I don't know. I guess I don't really need to work so much. I always thought this was my time. When I worked at the office and surfed the net or read or just thought. I don't remember my last girl's night. I actually hung out with some girls from work yesterday at the gym. That was pretty cool. But it's usually all about what my family wants to do or what my boyfriend wants to do. Wow Argentinian dispatcher. Seriously thank you for this eye opener. I grabbed my dad's REI Adventure Trip Catalog 2009 before I left for work early this morning. Maybe this is a sign....

Sometimes bad things happen to good people

I don't know if I've told you this before, but my teeth suck. I mean, they look just fine, but supposedly, while they were still forming in my mouth, I became really sick and it affected the way my teeth formed. Long story short, I have "soft" teeth, which just means I am cavity-prone. So, for the past week, I've been getting them filled. According to my dentist, that's more important than getting my wisdom teeth pulled at the moment. I can't WAIT for that walk in the park.

Afterward, with the left-side of my face still numb, I headed to the hospital for my annual appointment and I decided to donate blood while I was there. I finally weighed enough so I felt it was time to give back. On my way to bitch out AT&T for being late taking out my cell phone payment that is supposed to be automatic, I dropped off my pay check at the bank, went tanning, and received a call from my favorite Hooters Girl who invited me to go with her and 2 other girls from work to try out our new gym memberships. I obliged and headed to the gym with my boxing gloves. It was awesome! It's the most beautiful gym I've ever been to. Gorgeous saunas and steam rooms, tread-mills with little flat screened tvs attached and so many buttons I didn't know what to do. We were welcomed at once by the guy that signed us up a few weeks ago, and we were just in time for a class. The class was awesome. It kicked my butt. And I pulled a muscle in my back. I was fine for a while. Got jamba with the girls and went back for some more cardio. I did mention that a muscle in my back was spazzing out a little. I went home, showered, and cuddled up in my sheets with my towl for a little nap before getting up for work. Fifteen minutes passed and I realized I couldn't get up. No really, my back wouldn't work. I had training in an hour and my back wasn't working. I called my manager and explained my predicament. He took it well. It was only training after all. But I don't make tips training. And this means I'm set back. Luckily I'm not scheduled for this weekend. Horseback riding is out now. And my bf was so excited :o/ Well, I guess I get to watch the Office tonight after all.

I'm 21 and I threw out my back. I am the definition of pathetic right now.

Caution: you may barf

Postsecret. Shh.

I'm 21. I have this. Living can be scary when you have everything to lose.

Pismo beach camping trip August 2007. My boyfriend newly 21 and me at 19. My best friend is a sneaky one... but i love this picture.

Single Awareness Day

I am pathetic. I haven't been single on Valentine's Day since I was 13. I don't know what I would do if I were single on Valentine's Day. Probably secretly cry a lot thinking about my current bf (if we were to split) and then get "shmammared" with as many single friends as I could find.

And I (almost) completely agree with KH, the author of THE HOOTERS GIRL, when it comes to thinking Valentines Day has become commercialism's personal slut. While I do enjoy the holiday, to think people purchase their loved ones vehicles, over-priced jewelry, and even propose in the name of St. Valentine makes me want to hurl. I feel like my boyfriend and I have hit this holiday on target twice so far. Last year was our first together. He (pleasantly) embarrassed me at work by sending me a huge bouquet of red roses, balloons, chocolates, and a teddy bear. I still have them all :p Then after work we got dressed up and went out to a beautiful dinner at the Brigantine on Coronado Island.

This year it was his turn. Supposedly. So I woke up and bought Supercross tickets from our mutual friend who had purchased a whole section for our group to sit in together. Then, after getting ready, the boyfriend texted me DEMANDING that I come over at one in the afternoon. I stopped at his place and, keep in mind this was HIS v-day, on our bed were red roses, chocolate covered strawberries, a ring pop, and an ENORMOUS teddy bear. Damn him. So of course I tackled him right there and had my way with him.

We got to supercross around four via the trolley, which is always fun because it means we don't have to deal with traffic and parking. We met up with way too many of our "friends" at a tail-gate party and finally made it to our seats in the stadium. We filled an entire section. My best friend since sixth grade found me to say hello, completely wasted and supported by one of her male co-workers. My boyfriend got me nachos smothered in cheese and jalapenos and proceeded to spill the entire contents on my lap and into my purse, covering every article of clothing I had on. Twenty minutes later I came out of the bathroom to my boyfriend begging for my forgiveness while I tried unsuccessfully to persuade him that I really didn't care and thought it was pretty funny... HE was the one who had to hang out with the cheese girl all night after all, poor guy...

We tried to go back to our section only to see security guards carting off a few girls from the group who had apparently tried to fight each other, and one of their husbands came out in a gurney after falling down the stairs in our sections while trying to prevent the brawl. Kevin and I thought "fuck this" in unison and headed down to find my best friend who had scored awesome seats with her coworkers because she works in a motorcycle shop. I saw her for two minutes before she left to search for another drunk coworker whom she later found puking in the parking lot and had to take home. Kevin and I left early to catch the trolley before the madness of crowds got there and we managed to miss the last empty one and had to ride on the first crowded one. We were smashed in there tighter than anchovies while drunk supercross fans hurled insults and profane language at each other. Five of us bailed when the trolley wouldn't continue because one of our "friends" set off the fire alarm and entered another cab where our black friend proceeded to make fun of his own race; speaking in Ebonics, and doing dave chappell impressions. Happy V day everyone.

Hello Moto

Ms. Moto :) If you're one of the choice few that read my blog, you may have noticed a slight change in its design. Yes, the girlie-ness of Hooters is beginning to rub off on me. Also... despite how much I friggin LOVE this rain... it's been overcast much too long for San Diego and I'm beginning to miss the sun. So I've brightened up the blog.

Rumors...

Horray for Hooters Girls! Supposedly, we should have new COTTON Hooters Girl shorts by April! Eliminating the need for the camel-toe-inducing spandex dolfin shorts we've been wearing since 1983.  WOOP WOOP!!

I just got done with my second day of training today :o) my third day will be tomorrow evening.  My trainers have been great and every single girl has been more than helpful.  I really love my job.  My only worry is that they keep hiring new hostesses, which means they're probably going to add more servers in the next few months, severly limiting our hours.  

I felt good when I woke up today.  My hair seemed to fall just right and my face was spotless.  I was ready for anything.  I figured I didn't even need to really do my hair and make up.  And then I came to work and saw my trainer.  They might as well have given me barbie.  She's our calendar girl.  I began to understand how Jan felt when she stood next to Marsha.  While my gorgeous trainer was preoccupied with photo shoot photos, I was actually able to greet tables, get their drinks, take their orders, and get their check all on my own!  And only after one day of training so I was very happy with myself.  

I did have one difficult table, "um..." she grimaced white picking at her food..."I'm not a bone person, can you take these back and get me boneless?" 

"Sure!  I'd be happy to!" Sure!! Even though YOU ordered the WINGS which... yes... usually DO contain bones... I grabbed the plate and ran off to find my barbie.  

"See those crazy mexicans that just left?" Said one of my managers, "They're my family.  They were just discussing who had the best butt in the restaurant."

"What did they say?" Said one of the girls.

"Well one said you did, one of them said she does, but they all agreed that Britt had the nicest ass but that she looks too young so it's weird."

lol.  thanks.

The art of conversation is, like, kinda dead and stuff...

It was my second time working as a day host. It was Wednesday. It was cold. It was very boring. I began pawing through the most recent Hooters Magazine and as I read through the letter from the editor, a quote jumped out at me.

"It's like a personal stimulus package for the soul."

Said Mike McNeil of Hooters VP Marketing regarding the current economic crisis and why Hooters sales remain "flat" with last years, which is impressive considering the losses most restaurants are experiencing. Horray Hooters Girls :o)

During my excruciatingly boring shift, which sort of conflicts with the great news Mike McNeil promises us, both of my managers came up to me at different times staring at me with goofy smiles, occasionally making small talk. Then a few hours later, one of them came back and told me that they had all been talking and were really anxious to get me training and on the floor as a server as soon as possible! I'm going to keep this to myself though, because about ten to fifteen girls were hired in the months before me and about half have either been moved up or fired. The remaining may or may not be pissed that I'm moving up to server in 3 weeks with no experience vs their 3 months. Sort of a catch-22 but I'm taking it.


This month's edition of Hooters Magazine contains some interesting information regarding those single guys out there that are going to be heading to the single bars teeming with women looking to "validate" themselves, which I assume is PC for "hooking up" with a dude to make herself feel better even though the poor thing is single! This article was giving out advice for the men that get approached by women, and how to make themselves stand out. Ironically, the same advice can be used by women to humorously make themselves unapproachable when the occasion calls for it...
"So do you have a boyfriend?"
"Actually I have eleven. They're just driving me crazy so I had to get out of the house."
Thank you Hooters Magazine!!

Sick Days

I think this was one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. I traded shifts with a girl to get Saturday night off and spent the majority of the day running errands and getting ready for the desert while my boyfriend tried unsuccessfully to leave work early. We finally got to Glamis around six thirty after a pleasant drive through a beautiful thunderstorm. To our horror, all of our friends were packing up and getting ready to go home. My boyfriend was furious. We had been in contact with our friends the whole time and not once did they hint at the possibility of going home a day early. They had been there since Friday. I couldn't believe it either. I had been so excited that 3 Hooter's Girls from my work had agreed to come with on the camping trip. When I arrived only one remained. "I'm so sorry," she lamented, "I wanted to tell you that we we're planning on packing up but you were already halfway here and I didn't want you to have to turn around and just go home." Sigh. Hooter's Girl logic at its finest. My boyfriend and I stood under an easy up, our truck and trailer still packed, watching the madness of tents whipping violently in the wind as people tried desperately to pack up while the rain drowned out the deep growl of built up trucks pulling half buried vehicles out of the sand. It was mayhem. My boyfriend slumped into a chair by the fire, lips pressed together in a tight line.

I sat in his lap and took his face into my hands as I kissed him lightly, "Let's just stay."
He hugged me as we huddled by the fire, "I love you. You'll always be my ray of sunshine."
He has no idea how much those words meant to me. It's been a little rough after we got back together back in August. Our month or two split was good for us, but since then we've been more guarded and busy, leaving less time for the intimate moments like these that used to be so frequent.

I'm not sure how much time passed when I woke up, but the bf was laughing almost manacally as he swerved the truck off the road and into the dirt, something he likes to do when ever he has the opportunity. I didn't really think about it until I remembered what day it was, the unusual weather southern California was experiencing, that we were towing a trailer carrying both of our motorcycles, and that we were no longer on a paved road.
"Babe! What the hell are you doing?? Where ARE we?" I stammered as I sat up in the passanger seat.
"What??" he laughed "We're in Superstition," he trailed off, "you wanted to go home, didn't you..."
He knew my answer, "No way, I'm just a little... caught off guard."

The place was deserted. Very strange for a weekend during desert season. We flew by the few camps that remained and slowed when we saw a few people waving from a very tosty looking fire. I also noticed that it wasn't raining.
"Do you know them?" I asked.
"Nope," he began to circle back, "but they look pretty cool."
I love it when he's spontaneous :o)

We pulled up to their camp, on the outskirts of their trucks and tents turned into a protective corral around their fire, and came out to say hello. Almost immediately, everyone with a Y chromosome was around my bf's truck admiring his work and asking questions. And so we hit it off, sharing hot dogs, beers, and stories. The night was bitter cold but I liked it, cuddling with my boyfriend all through the night. The next day we rode into the dunes, firm from the rain. It was perfect weather, and if I hadn't almost ridden off of a cliff it would have been a perfect ride. As I tried to regain my constant heartbeat, I watched him ride through the natural playground around us, leaping into the air and riding up walls of sand. It was us again. Our little unit. I forgot how much I missed it.

The next day we both called in sick. We still woke up early enough for a pj run to McDonald's for egg mc muffins and hash browns. We came home and watched Boondock Saints with wide eyes, laughed through My Best Friend's Girl, and napped through Grandma's Boy as the rain continued to come down in buckets. We did NOTHING the entire day and we loved it. Around 5:00 I couldn't take it any more and told him I had to go to the gym. When I came back he was playing Full Moon by the Blackghosts on his guitar. Straight from the Twilight soundtrack. I said nothing and hugged him before we both headed out for some sushi.

:o) I have my old Kevin back

Sorry, Mom

So my sister and I both work in boring offices during the day and we love to call each other and waste valuable company money (joking) by gabbing on the phone and introducing each other to hilarious and sometimes ridiculous web sites and blogs. She just called me about five minutes ago to tell me about sorry-mom.com, a blog about hook-ups gone bad complete with photos and detailed descriptions. It even asks you to send in your own rendezvous. This web site makes me very very grateful to be in a long term, monogamous relationship.

Here's my favorite:

"I was really drunk, and he was really nice. In the morning i woke up naked in my bed and felt like a part of my soul gave me the middle finger, packed it’s bags and left my body. I barely ever see him, but when i do i cringe! And not just at his hair."

Perks

My boyfriend's friend's girlfriend at the time was a personal trainer, and last year she hooked us up with very very cheap gym memberships. I don't go a lot, but it's so cheap I don't want to cancel it.

Now, my Hooters has made a deal with a certain expensive boxing gym. Because we are going to feature a large ad for them in our calendars we put on all the tables, they're giving all of the Hooters Girls free gym memberships. Pretty sweet huh. This gym has everything a normal gym has, but the specific draw to it is that they teach awesome martial arts and boxing. HELL YEAH. I've always wanted to learn Jiu Jitsu and mixed martial arts. A little background in boxing and sparring might be pretty cool too. But do I cancel my really really cheap generic gym membership I have at the gym all my friends, and some of my family, go to? Hint... it's also open 24 hours too, while this swanky gym I just signed up with is only open during most daylight hours. Is it wrong to have both? I'm just going to sound like a total fitness nerd when people ask me what gym I go to. Either way, bring it! I can't wait to learn how to kick ass.

Straight from my head

Shh

Fitting in

I've never really fit in anywhere. I get along with people fairly easily, but deep down I'm a loner. A wanderer. I have friends everywhere but my home base seems to move often.

Working Hooters 5 days in a row is tiring. It is even more so when I have an office job where I spend 40 hours of my time during the week days. With school on top of that, I really don't understand how I manage to squeeze in a social life and my hobbies. So I'm trying to form bonds at my work places to keep me sane.

I've always said the Hooters girls are nice, but at the same time they're intimidating. I'm the new girl. I've never really felt pretty enough. But there I was in the middle of it all, talking with them and laughing with them. They thanked me for every little helpful favor. For a reason I don't even remember, I said "oh sorry" and one of the girls looked at me and said, "for what??" I laughed and said I didn't know. "That's what I thought," she teased. I felt at home. After work they played with my blonde hair and complimented the strawberry and honey colors. They touched my outfit and asked where I got it. For the past five days I've avoided eye-contact with my hard-ass manager. His moods seemed on the negative side and I didn't want to trip into his line of wrath. But today as he walked past with a bemused expression and a computer bag slung over his shoulders I laughed, "nice man purse." He stopped and turned to me, his face turning comedic, "I prefer 'sachel'," he smiled. It's nice feeling like I belong for once.

Epilepsy

"District police, this is @@@, how can I help you?"
"My son received a ticket," she laughed, "it says he wasn't parked in a designated parking space."
I paused. "Yes that does sound like a valid reason to issue out a ticket..."
"Well where can he park then." She began to sound irritated.
"Well ma'am," the door of the office opened, "he needs to make sure he parks in a marked parking place or he will get ticketed..." I trailed off as one of my officers pulled a half-conscious young woman into my office.
"Well that just doesn't sound fair to me," she argued.
"I'm going to lay you down on the floor ok?" the officer continued as he proceeded to lay her down in front of my desk.
I continued doing my job, "If your son wants to contest his ticket, he'll have to come into the police station and fill out an administrative review."
"Well can't I just print one out online?"
"No..." I hesitated as the officer held the girl's head when she went into seizure. Another officer entered, grabbing her feet. "...he's going to have to come in himself."
"@@@ can you hear me? The seizure was 15 seconds; her heart rate is normal; she's not breathing. @@@!" She began coughing. "Everything is ok, we're here, the nurses are on their way."
She has my name.
"Well, fine where is it then." The woman continued, obviously irritated by the distraction in my voice.
The nurses were here. "Oh it's @@@," she sighed, "did she have another seizure?"
"Yes, two so far, two minutes apart lasting fifteen seconds," they paused, "she's going into another one," I heard a loud thud, "can you hand me a blanket for her head please."
"There are police vehicles located outside..." I continued. I could see her violently convulsing again.
"Ten seconds long this time. Two minute interval. @@@? No she's out again."
"She's holding her breath again."
"The paramedics are here."
It's the absolute worst feeling. Helplessness. The inability to create change; to step in a fix a problem; to save someone.
The woman on the phone continued, "You know this is really inconvenient. Maybe if you posted SIGNS my son would have had the chance to park where he was supposed to."
"She keeps holding her breath after each seizure. Make sure she's breathing."
I took a deep breath. I didn't realize I was holding mine. "I do believe there are signs posted but I understand if they aren't clearly visible I'll have to alert my supervisors so someone else doesn't park there by accident."
The fire department was here.
"Can you hand me the I.V." I felt nauseous. Needles. Big needles.
"@@@ can you hear me? You're ok. Everything is going to be ok." And I felt ok. They knew what they were doing. This girl was safe.
The phone rang. "District police this is @@@, how can I help you?" The fireman and nurses looked up at the name.
"No but I can transfer you to business services." I paused and looked up and they looked back over at @@@.
"No, I don't need to go to the hospital." A weak voice protested. "This happens all the time."
"When was your last seizure?"
"Saturday."
"How many did you have?"
"Twelve."

So apparently people read this...

This blog started out as an attempt to channel my emotions in a more therapeutic way when I couldn't draw, run, play an instrument, drive, or do something I would normally do to vent.

But now, because of my Hooters blogging I've gotten a little bit more publicity thanks to:

http://thehootersgirl.blogspot.com/

http://www.mayorofwingville.com

Thanks guys!

So, in my new girly occupation, I learned that most of the women I work with wear clip in hair extensions. Something, I've honestly never heard of. That's right, you CLIP IN hair that holds curl better than your own hair, and then-after work-you clip it right out! Amazing! (Remember when I wrote about that girl with the beautiful long brown chesnut hair? That's right! Clip in! She actually has a bob!!)

I've also encountered a few negative Hooters girls. I remember saying that ALL of the girls I worked with were amazingly nice and easy to work with. I was wrong. There are a few exceptions. But I trust my managers when they tell me they get rid of all the bad eggs. Things take time.

Game day went great. I was slightly...no, who am I kidding... I was scared shitless of working Superbowl Sunday at Hooters. Everybody built it up to be this insane event. "The biggest day of the year at Hooters." Because of the high demand, we sold tables prior to the game day. Tables that held six people went for $40 for the reservation alone. Tables that held eight or more went for about $100. Because of my good nature, willingness, and flexability(not in the literal sense), my managers love me. Because my managers love me, they let me run food and beer inside the restaurant instead of freezing outside with the other hostesses who were trying to make sense of the chaos that was ensuing outside. I got to visit with the guests and was even able to make use of my Japanese-speaking skills with a linguistics major. Entertaining seems to be my niche.

After a well thought out and well written email, I finally told my mom that I'm a Hooters Girl... and she thinks it's hilarous and awesome! I love my mom :o)

I hope you all had a great Superbowl. I really thought the Cardinals had it. Oh well. I can't wait for next season. By then I'll be getting me one of these :o) (A cute Hooters Jersey. Less revealing than the plunge tank tops and twice as spunky. Perfect for the extra leery crowd that attends game days at Hooters...)

Oh and you can purchase the Hooters Military Mondays uniform on HootersGear.com so I'm going to assume that my fellow Hooters Girls and I will be required to wear them in the nearby future Military Mondays. Very very cute.