If I won the lottery...

Top ten things I would do with the money in order:

l) Hire a really good financial planner.
2) Do whatever he tells me to do.
3) Pay off all of my debt.
3) Get health insurance.
4) Give a substantial amount to my immediate family members and charity
5) Buy a new car... a sensible one, that runs well and gets good gas mileage.
6) Buy a sports car... you know, for fun.
7) Buy a condo, with cash. (No more rent or mortgage!? Yes!)
8) Finish my degree
9) Move to Germany
10) Take lots of vacations with my family.

oh boy...

Creeping up from behind... sneek, sneek, sneek... SLAM!

Yup, I can't help it. I'm a total cynic. It's like I'm fine one moment and then, all of the sudden, I've screwed myself into a corner.

With my cynicism... screwdriver? ahem

 They say, "You are your own toughest critic". Now, I'd say that's pretty accurate.

So, taking that in to consideration... I'd say I have myself defeated before I even step out the door most days.

...

Sorry, no moral to this story yet. I guess it's a work in progress.

James goes to the Air Force today to determine the direction our life is going to take now.

It's been a hard days night...

I do believe I am the worlds worst paid babysitter...

No, really. I get paid minimum wage to babysit fully grown drunk people. All night long. I work the grave yard shift at a fairly popular "Family" hotel chain. Well, when you live in Wisconsin, "Family" means -Lets all get drunk and watch our kids try to drown each other in the pool! And amazingly the unsupervised children are far better behaved than their inebriated parents. Or at least they have a little respect.

Now, I've been working in the hotel industry since I graduated from high school... so, going on five years now. This is my fourth hotel. I can guarantee you I'm used to being treated like a hologram. Like some sort of automated ticket machine at the airport. I never hear the word "please" from adults and very rarely do I hear "Thank you".

"But, Rachael!" -you say, "You're being paid to do it, it's your job!"

You're right it is my job. I get paid a pittance, not even enough to pay my monthly bills, to be a servant to the whims of hotel patrons with 3,875,610,984,592 membership points. Although, I don't quite understand how getting paid to do your bidding equates to you also having the right to treat me like a sub-class of human being.

I see this more and more often.

For whatever reason, people who don't work in service jobs feel some sort of entitlement to treat those in the field of service like dirt.

This drives me crazy.

 Like for whatever reason the fact that I'm out here, working my ass off, through a college degree, below the poverty line, refusing to accept food stamps, in a menial service position makes it okay for you to grind me down even further because of your own personal success. Do you spit on the homeless and laugh at the handicapped too? Or is it just those of us in the service industry you target for your own selfish pat-on-the-back displays?

Normally, I can handle that. I'm pretty well used to it by now. Fine so you think you're better than me. You  had a crappy service job 10,000 years ago and everyone treated you like shit too. BUT you've risen above it! Now, you have earned the right to treat me like crap as well.

I get it.

Whatever.

My biggest problem is being an adult babysitter. You know what I'm talking about. Like, when you and your friends think it'd be funny to race up and down the hall ways? At three o'clock in the morning?  And you're 32? And you're on the second floor? And you each way over 150lbs? And I have to ask you 2+ times to knock it off?

You know how when your kids do something naughty they might get three strikes?

Well, guess what!? YOU'RE ADULTS Learn how to behave like it. I am not your mother. I am not nearly as nice as she was. If you continue to act like children I will have to deal with you in a way you will not like. I might even have to ask you to leave. Yes, I have the authority to do that. No, I'm not afraid to use that authority. And if you choose to argue with me, I will call the police. And you can tell your sorry little excuses to the nice officer who is here to escort you out of the building. No, you will not receive a refund. DO NOT EXPECT ONE. Naughty children do not get a replacement toy for the one they just foolishly broke.

I haven't got nearly the patience for it, and I am sorely underpaid to put up with your crap. There are probably 100 other guests in this hotel (who are capable of behaving themselves I might add) and you happen to be negatively effecting their stay. It is my job to correct that. I have no pity for you. I don't care who hit who first. All I care about is that it stops right now. And does not start again. If that can be achieved in one "talking-to" then we wont have a problem. No hard feelings, I'm not going to hold a grudge. We can move past it. However, if I have to ask you yet again to act like an adult you will not like the consequences.

Which brings us to tonight, and let me tell you, it's shaping up to be a real winner...

6 room noise complaints - for the same room...
5 drunken assholes throwing beer cans from their pool view balconies down into the pool area...
4 drunk women swimming after hours in their clothing...
3 complaints from the bar about guests behaving badly...
2 drunk idiots fighting in the parking lot...
and 1 old women who has requested I bring something to her room 4 separate times with never once a please or thank you.

So, please dear friends. I beg of you. Next time you're out and about and you happen to come in contact with someone in the service industry, think about this post.

Think about how they have families at home too .

Think about how they are just people, deserving of respect and understanding.

Think about how they probably put up with pretentious jerks all day, everyday and you being nice to them might just make their whole week a little bit brighter.

Think about the golden rule.

Think about Barney for all I care.

But please treat them with respect, and thank them honestly for the job they do.

 because we're all just doing the best we can

*Let me add that when asking guests to play nice the situation rarely escalates to the point where I have to call the police. *

Hey hey ho ho Scott Walker has got to go!

Okay, so this post does not actually have anything to do with the politics in Wisconsin (even though things are crazy right now). That's just stuck in my head so now it's my title...

This post actually has a lot more to do with how much of a slacker I am. Because I have only posted like once in the past two months. I have been super busy with life but that's really no excuse what so ever. This is such a fantastic outlet, I have to do it more or I'll explode. In fact I did... this morning... at my roommate, and then apparently at my fiancé.

So, here we go kids...

About two weeks ago James and I made the decision to actually have a wedding! Originally we were planning on getting married in Germany in about six years because that's where we are planning on living eventually. BUT this summer James is joining the Air Force. So, we talked about just having a court house ceremony and still having our wedding in Germany later. However, I truly believe that most of my family would feel like, "Well, you guys have been married for like five years already, why would we want to waste our money to come to Germany to see you get married again?" After thinking about it for a while I decided I don't want my wedding day to be about me feeling like crap because my family didn't feel the need to come to my wedding. So... we decided two weeks ago to have a wedding this summer before he leaves for basic. Wow, it sure does take a lot of planning to get a wedding up and running in less than six months! Venues, caterers, photographers? They're all booked like a year in advance... so I ended up asking all three what days they have available and we'll just have to move the wedding to that day! Turns out no one gets married on Labor Day weekend. So I apologize in advance if most of my posts from now until September 3rd and beyond are wedding related.

Stylish!? Who me?

Why yes, in fact I've been nominated for the Stylish Blogger Award not once, but twice!  It is very, very awesome, and I am very, very honored. Since it's been like 43,874,308 years since I was actually nominated I absolutely must, must accept now that I feel I can fulfill the conditions of my acceptance.... kinda.

Now, on with the conditions!

1) Nominee is required to thank and acknowledge the blogger who nominated them. I personally don't believe a condition should be required since what kind of a person wouldn't thank and acknowledge someone who gives them a shiny award?!

Like I said I was nominated twice so a great big huge Thank you goes out to Sunny from Sunny Sings the Blues who was my first ever follower (excluding my Fiancé and my mother).

Umseti over at Stupid America also deserves a big thanks for nominating me and kicking my butt in to gear!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

Condition # 2

Make a list of Seven things your readers may not know about you.

1. I'm terrible with money. It's really tragic. For some reason I feel like money is just dirty pieces of paper until you spend it on something. Money has no real value to me. This becomes kind of a problem with James because he likes to have a cushion of money, just in case. I feel like it's a total waste just sitting there not being used for anything. Don't get me wrong I'm super good a saving FOR something. As long as that goal is there... if it's just for the heck of it I can't do it.

2. Speaking of saving FOR something. James and I are maybe, hopefully, might be, if we can, buying a house in a few months. Maybe. So there is more money in my savings account right now than I have ever seen in their before. Ever. I'm also working two jobs so that money grows even more.

3. We have two smelly, drooly, droopy, hairy, loud Bassett Hounds named Walter and Harvey. They are amazing and fantastic and wonderful and totally and completely gross. If you don't completely love animals with all your heart and have the capacity to put up with lots of cleaning don't get Bassett Hounds. They are amazing with children, loyal to a fault, and very smart (as long as you have food).

4. I wish I were really good at something. I mean other than giving blow jobs. That really doesn't count now that I'm engaged. :/  No, I mean like painting, or drawing, or singing, or photography, or sports, or... something. I'm just not. My talent is being average at pretty much everything and being down right bad at everything else.

5. I love Audry Hepburn and if I could look like any other person in the whole world it would either be her or Rachel McAdams who is unbelievably gorgeous, cute, and beautiful all at the same time. I also love, Marlon Brando, Billy Joel, Amy Grant, George Carlin, and Rob Thomas. Love. Love. Love.

6. Someday I will have a 1968 Stingray Corvette that is T-top, candy apple red, and with white leather interior. Someday....

7. I also hope to someday move to Germany and teach English. I love it over there. That is where my family came from and I really adore the language and the people.

Alright! Now the third condition of accepting the award is to share it with  other bloggers. Technically you are supposed to share it with 15 bloggers who are just starting out. Well, I believe I follow 15 bloggers but only about four of them are just starting out... Two of those already nominated me... hrmm. I think I'm just going to have to improvise a little bit.

Here are a few blogs I read that are newer to blogging:
I found Amanda of Fond of the Silliness over at Curvy Girl Guide a couple of days ago.
I actually found The View From Macy when she was also nominated by Sunny.

Now I feel so totally undeserving of this award because I can't name more than two 'new' blogs BUT I swear I'm going to update and post when I find more.

And here are a few blogs you may not be familiar with but they are hilarious, inspirational, and required reading for anyone who blogs.
Curvy Girl Guide is fantastic for us bigger girls who need a little advice or a pick me up every once in a while!
#FreeAnissa is hosted by an amazingly strong woman who is an inspiration to everyone who reads her.
Barefoot Foodie is unbelievable hilarious I almost pee my pants every time I read her writing.
I've been following the Parsley Thief for years for fantastic recipes.
I've been following Nobel Pig even longer for fantastic recipes.