Rocky Mountain High

Hi everyone!

Not a long email tonight, but I did have some down time this evening, so I thought I would catch up with you. I'm working until 8 tonight, so plenty of time to write without a boss peeking over my shoulder. :-)

Well, it seems that my escapee story hit the spot for more than a few of you. I'm glad that my personal embarrassments are so richly amusing to you; sharing them is the least I can do. :-)

So far, it has been a pretty quiet week. On Sunday, we said goodbye to a huge group of people (20 of whom were all here together for the 60th wedding anniversary of the grandparents). They were all very nice, and I even got my first tip! One of the guys in the party gave me $20 because I had printed out an update on the Tour de France for him every day. Nice! Of course, he gave it to me in a handshake, in front of all my bosses. The only problem with this is that there is a totally bullshit rule here that you are "on your honor" to turn in all tips to the office to be split equally among the staff. Can you even believe that??!! Plus, the guests pay a 15% Service Charge which is supposed to cover gratuities for the staff. Sounds nice, but in our "Crew Manual", it specifically states that the parceling out of that money to the staff at the end of the summer is done entirely at the discretion of the manager as to who gets how much. Corky says that she's been here three years and has never seen a dime of it, so I think that wording is just a shady way of getting extra money out of the guests, but never having to give it to the staff. In fact, if a staff member is caught discussing their salary (or anyone else's salary) it's grounds for dismissal on the spot. Now, THAT is shady. What are they afraid of us finding out? Are they paying the three Russian girls who work in housekeeping a scandalously/illegally low wage? It's all most suspicious.

I saw my first hummingbird up close this week. We have a feeder right by my window in the office and they come there all day long. Watching them dive-bomb each other, and passing guests, certainly makes the hours fly. So far, I've managed to sneek a few pictures of them. Now, if my mother would be so kind as to mail me my camera cord (which I was too rushed to remember to pack), then I will be able to post my pictures online for everyone to see. Not that you're dying to see pics of hummingbirds, but some of people like Corky and the scenery around here would be in order. :-)

An update on the Evil Chef front: yesterday I went to breakfast as normal and tried to place my order with him as he came into the Employee Dining Room (EDR) to deliver already-made breakfasts (which is the normal way, as far as I can tell). Well, he totally ignored me. I called out his name. He kept walking away. I called out his name again and he whipped around and shouted, "COME INTO THE KITCHEN!!" Great. But, unlike our last major run-in, I was ready for him this time.

So, I walked into the kitchen and confronted him as he stood in front of the griddle. He said, "If you want to tell me what you want, you come in here!!" And I said, "Well, how on earth am I supposed to know which you prefer when half the time you take orders in the EDR and the other half in here??!!" He then had the most surprised look on his face...like he would never have imagined that I would argue back with him! :-) He had no other comment, so I simply said, "I would like some hash browns and bacon please" and left the room. As I came back in, my bosses Dick and Balbir were sitting there with some others, and I said, "That is the rudest man I have EVER met." And Dick was like, "Who is that??" Everyone else piped up with "SCOTT!" Dick is so clueless... Eventually, Scott brought out my breakfast and my bacon was only *just* this side of raw. So, I finished it up in the microwave and silently cursed him out all the while. At least there is only one hateful, short, fat, balding chef here who detests me for no reason. Everyone else is most pleasant.

Well, my shift is almost over, so I need to wrap this up. Wednesday is my day off, so be thinking of me as I'm riding horses, fishing, and skeet shooting. It's about time I took advantage of all the things they offer out here. And yes, grandma, I will try my hardest to keep from A) Being dragged to my death by a horse, B) Sticking a fish hook through my hand, C) Drowning in the lake, and D) Shooting myself or someone else in the head. Oh, and I got my letter from you today, so thank you very much for that! I heartily enjoyed reading it and all of its important warnings. :-)

Take care everyone and I'll speak with you soon!

Shannon

PS-I'd like to leave you with a quote I heard from one of the little boys running around here today. When asked a question by his brother (which I did not overhear), his answer was a loud and clear, "Up your butt and around the corner!!" Now, how many people are having a flashback to the 3rd grade right about now?!! :-) It certainly made my day to hear that....I thought of little Stevie running around in his Superman Underoos... :-) Thanks for the pics, bro.