Checking Out?

One of my favorite blogs, Wide Lawns, Narrow Minds is going out of commission. In solidarity, I’ve decided to actually blog, rather than thinking about blogging and never posting. As I’ve said before, I work the front desk at a small hotel in Northern California. On a daily basis, I’m bombarded with requests and reservations, not a few of which are made by rude, ornery people who destroy what little faith I have in humanity, bit by bit. Here’s a taste of what we’re dealing with right now:

Ms. Desmond is a woman I had the displeasure of meeting before I worked at the Hotel, during last summer when I was employed at the Raging River RV Park, which is situated in the same complex as the Hotel. Her usual attire consists of a full length cloak with a hood, scarf, and huge black sunglasses, ala Sunset Boulevard. Keep in mind, we live in a small county in Northern California, where most folks wear bluejeans to attend a wedding! Every other day or so, Ms. Desmond would breeze into the RV Park office/ mini mart to pick up a bottle or two of wine. Now, I’m not throwing stones, cuz I love my wine just as much as the next chick, but let’s just say that some people should not be allowed to drink! Ms. Desmond, a bi-polar with a taste for self medication likes to indulge in pharmeceutical binges (I have no idea specifically what she takes) that usually result in her sleeping most of the day and prowling/cooking/yelling/freaking out at night. When I came to work at the Hotel, she had been staying there for the last year.

Who the hell lives in a hotel, you might ask? Tweakers and Freakers, that’s who. I fully believe Ms. Desmond to be of the tweaker variety, albeit a very glamourous tweaker. Recently, our new management decided that the hotel would no longer accept long term guests and in an effort to “clean up” our image and standing with the corporate higher ups, evict Ms. Desmond. Of course, she freaked out. I got a call from coworker Shane one saturday night… “Ms. Desmond is here in the lobby, threatening to kill herself! Should I call the cops?”. Eventually, she calmed down, took some Valium (or Xanax, or Nyquil, or insert favorite downer here) and went back to her room. Ever since then, we have been engaged in a battle of empty threats with her and her “legal representation”. I know for a fact that this woman has more money than she knows what to do with. What I don’t understand is why the hell she wants to make her home in a second rate, business class hotel, where no one likes her. Go figure.