Inspiration in the form of a plush rhino

Why I never had a fake ID.

I can't get away with anything "bad". It's just my luck, I guess. I don't speed (well, not any more than what the flow of traffic is doing), I don't steal (even when we were 10, and everyone was taking a candy bar for fun), I don't drink and drive (even if I'm feeling perfectly fine)... I get caught when I do anything that isn't kosher.

Case in point:

Over the summer, I got a job at a restaurant near the UT campus. I only intended to work there for a month or two, and then get another on-campus job and quit. This place was open REALLY late (3 AM) and had a notoriously high turnover rate. I wasn't expecting it to be anything great, but I figured it was money, and I could live with it for two months.

Right.

I'd been there about a week, and turned in a schedule request. I asked to have Friday night off, explaining that my best friend was moving to Cincinatti that Saturday, and it was her going away party. If it had been any other job, I could've just gone over after work, but by 3:30 AM, the party would be long over and I would be ready to die from exhaustion. I figured that they'd take pity on me and let me have the night off, right?

Wrong.

They scheduled me. I tried to find a replacement--NO ONE wanted to take the shift.

You're probably thinking "So call in sick." Well, that wouldn't work either--you weren't allowed to call in sick. You had to actually show up, and then they had to send you home sick--physical proof of your illness, I suppose--it's pretty easy to fake sick over the phone. In-person faking requires a talent I don't posess.

I carefully weighed my options.

No, that's a lie. I took ten seconds and thought "What's more important? A job I'm going to quit in 2 months anyway, or saying goodbye to my friend who I'll rarely see anymore? Gee..."

I didn't show up for work that Friday night, and never went back. I didnt' regret it a damn bit, either. I did avoid the restaurant until I left Austin, however, but you would think that was the end of it, right?

Fast forward to now. They also have a Dallas location near my place of residence. I've called them once before to have dinner delivered, so my information (address, phone number, name, etc.) is already in their Dallas computer system. I called last night to order delivery, and had this conversation:

"What's your phone number?"

"My phone number (like I'm giving it out on here)"

"What's your first name?"

"Kelly"

"Kelly, are you from Austin?" (note: my phone's area code is still the Austin code)

"Yeah"

"Did you ever work at Pluckers?"

Mentally: Fuck! FUCK! "Nope"

"Oh, OK. We used to have an employee there with the same name. I'm from Austin too"

"How weird."

I ordered my food, gave him my credit card number, and hung up.

THAT is why I didn't have a fake ID. That shit only happens to me.

I teeter between tired
and really really tired
I'm wiped out and I'm wired
but I guess it's just as well.

posted by K @ 9:23 AM