Presents
Tomorrow is Glenn's birthday. I wanted to make his birthday one to remember, unlike mine was this year. But the past few days I've been less than impressed with him and just couldn't bring myself to get him ANYTHING else. Am I bitter? Yeah, somewhat. Do I feel I've already done more for him than I received? Definitely. But I'll still be going out of my way to make his birthday the happiest I can.
He's had nearly EVERY Wednesday off since moving to his store 4 1/2 months ago, so he didn't think to request his birthday off. And wouldn't you know it.....he has to work! Ok, well this week is kinda unusual, in that Tracie and Nancy are in Hawaii, so we are two managers short at our store. And we knew Glenn would likely be covering some shifts but NOT on his birthday. I'll be working until 5:00 pm, and he comes in at 5:00 pm to close the store for the next two nights. Bummer. We can't even go out to dinner or anything.
But not all is lost. As it turns out, one of our best cooks just started a second job and had to switch to nights. (We miss him during the day.) This cook will also be celebrating his birthday on Wednesday, and also works 5:00 pm to close. So I ordered two cakes, which I will pick up after getting off work, and then a few of us will be meeting back up at my store to sing and celebrate. And with any luck, it won't be nearly as busy as it was on my birthday.
I told Glenn ahead of time that he wouldn't be getting any presents from me on his birthday. But not because I'm being a bitch. Just the opposite. Two weeks ago, I purchased 4 tickets to WWE Raw, which will be in Fort Worth on March 28th. He really wanted to go, so I got the tickets for him. Tracie wants to go too, as does James, so I got one extra ticket for Glenn to invite someone since I'm not really all that into going. James may not be able to go now because of driver's education classes, so that may leave two extra tickets. Anyhow, he's going and that is his present. (Those tickets are not cheap and I'm sure he'll end up buying some souvenirs.)
However,Glenn got an early, unexpected birthday present on Saturday. One that will likely rank right up there with his trip to WWE, if not higher in some ways.
Saturday started off chaotic. I had to borrow Tracie's car because I found out late Friday that Lil' Miss had practice early Saturday morning. I was tired, cranky and not wanting to be running around town. We were running late and ended up skipping breakfast so we wouldn't be late for practice. Well, we ended up getting lost and driving around for 45 minutes, never finding the school because, as I later found out, the directions and school description were both flawed. Ugh! Finally, I said screw it and asked her if she wanted to get something to eat.
This was like pulling teeth with her. She wanted pancakes, and I was in no mood for cooking so I suggested IHOP. We drove over there and damned if that place wasn't so packed, it made Sunday mornings look slow. So then we decided to grab some Sonic, but I was NOT going to our local Sonic, as it sucks ass, big-time. We drove to another nearby Sonic and were surprised to find it all decked out in splendor worthy of Sonic big wigs coming in from the corporate office. It was unbelievably nice. The girls were ALL on skates and in poodle skirts. They had balloons, banners and even a bounce house for the kids. I only wished I had brought my camera. It seems a local radio station (one of the few I don't like) was coming to broadcast later that day.
So we ate and were going to head home, when I heard my favorite radio station was down the road broadcasting from the new Home Depot. They were giving away tickets to various shows and concerts along with $1,500 in gift certificates. We drove over there, in hopes of taking home some of that money! Instead, my name was drawn....WOO HOO!....for George Carlin tickets!!! I was so excited, until I found out that the show was that night and I had to work 5:00 pm to close. I figured Glenn would easily be able to find someone to go with him and we could hire a babysitter.
I was so eager to tell Glenn, that I called him several times on the cell phone, but I kept getting the voice mail. Finally he called me back, agitated and worried that something was wrong. (DUH....I'm so stupid, to not realize me calling over and over was gonna worry him.) He didn't have a chance to get excited, as he was VERY BUSY and quickly hung up on me. I was deflated and felt like shit for upsetting him. He called me back a few minutes later to tell me he was coming home. My phone calls had rattled him so badly that he lost his momentum at work and he was screwing up, and ended up snapping at everyone, including his manager, who ended up just sending him home. DAMN IT! I didn't mean to get him in trouble, but it wasn't totally my fault either because he'd forgot to turn off the cell phone ringer while working. (A big NO-NO!)
So he gets home and starts calling around to everyone he thinks might want to join him. No one can make it, or they aren't available. He's starting to get bummed that he won't be able to go afterall. I suggest he either drive out there and try selling the tickets (as was suggested by the radio station to me....those tickets costs MORE then the WWE tickets) or just take Lil' Miss with him. He looks at me like I've lost my mind to suggest he take our 6 year old daughter to see one of the raunchiest comedians ever. I explain my reasoning: the show isn't until 9:30 pm, and she's been awake ALL day and will likely fall asleep shortly after the show starts. He agrees and says he'll take her in if he can't sell the tickets first or find other arrangements. By this time, I have to get ready to go to work and have no idea what will end up happening.
Glenn calls me at work at 9:20 pm to tell me they made it there, couldn't sell the tickets and that Lil' Miss was already getting drowsy. A-ha, see, I'm not totally stupid. I know my child! LOL! I wish him well and hope he has a great time. I don't get home until nearly 2:00 am and they are both in bed sound asleep. I see a bag on the couch with a receipt for a George Carlin CD, but the bag is empty. I find the CD on my desk.
WAIT! Is that a signature I see on the CD cover? Sure seems like it. So I open it up to check to see if it was real or a part of the photocopied cover. That's when I see the two ticket stubs, each bearing the same signature! SWEEEEET! I listen to most of the CD, before crawling into bed and falling fast asleep after a LONG LONG LONG day.
Sunday I ask Glenn for details and this is what he said: The show was really good, considering George Carlin admitted that he had just gotten out of rehab and stumbled a bit over some of the material (very un-Carlin like). He said he was laughing so hard, he thought he was going to wake up Lil' Miss, who passed out during the warm-up act. He hadn't realized all the seats around him were also listeners who had won tickets. Which explained the idiot couple, who upon seeing our daughter and the gift-shop bag, asked Glenn if he saw any Thomas the Tank Engine gifts, because they weren't able to find any. They were shocked at the racy material and ended up leaving part way thru the show. (I couldn't stop laughing at their stupidity. Yes, George Carlin did once play Mr. Conductor on Shining Time Station, but did they really think he was gonna be putting on a kiddie show at 9:30 pm???!!!)
When the show ended, Glenn got turned around as to which exit to head to, to get to the parking garage, and ended up walking in a big "S" around the Bass Performance Hall. As he was about to leave, he looks over and lo and behold THERE is George Carlin, also leaving. He stares and catches George's eye.
George walks over to Glenn who is holding a very sleepy Lil' Miss, shaking his head and says to Glenn, "Did you see the show?"
"Yes," Glenn answers, not shy or nervous.
"Please tell me you didn't bring her to see MY show!" George asks.
Again, Glenn answers, "Yes."
George laughs and says "I may have to include that in a future show about stupid things people do; not that I'm saying you're stupid."
Glenn laughs and says, "That's ok."
George, seeing the gift bag says, "So what did you buy"
"One of your CD's," Glenn replies.
"Can I autograph it for you?" George offers.
"Really? That would be great. Can you sign my tickets, too?"
"Sure." George signs all three, then notices that they've been spotted and a crowd is heading towards them.
"Well, gotta run; here comes the flood. Thanks for coming."
"THANK YOU!!!"
I have NO IDEA HOW on Earth Glenn was able to fall asleep after all that.
He's had nearly EVERY Wednesday off since moving to his store 4 1/2 months ago, so he didn't think to request his birthday off. And wouldn't you know it.....he has to work! Ok, well this week is kinda unusual, in that Tracie and Nancy are in Hawaii, so we are two managers short at our store. And we knew Glenn would likely be covering some shifts but NOT on his birthday. I'll be working until 5:00 pm, and he comes in at 5:00 pm to close the store for the next two nights. Bummer. We can't even go out to dinner or anything.
But not all is lost. As it turns out, one of our best cooks just started a second job and had to switch to nights. (We miss him during the day.) This cook will also be celebrating his birthday on Wednesday, and also works 5:00 pm to close. So I ordered two cakes, which I will pick up after getting off work, and then a few of us will be meeting back up at my store to sing and celebrate. And with any luck, it won't be nearly as busy as it was on my birthday.
I told Glenn ahead of time that he wouldn't be getting any presents from me on his birthday. But not because I'm being a bitch. Just the opposite. Two weeks ago, I purchased 4 tickets to WWE Raw, which will be in Fort Worth on March 28th. He really wanted to go, so I got the tickets for him. Tracie wants to go too, as does James, so I got one extra ticket for Glenn to invite someone since I'm not really all that into going. James may not be able to go now because of driver's education classes, so that may leave two extra tickets. Anyhow, he's going and that is his present. (Those tickets are not cheap and I'm sure he'll end up buying some souvenirs.)
However,Glenn got an early, unexpected birthday present on Saturday. One that will likely rank right up there with his trip to WWE, if not higher in some ways.
Saturday started off chaotic. I had to borrow Tracie's car because I found out late Friday that Lil' Miss had practice early Saturday morning. I was tired, cranky and not wanting to be running around town. We were running late and ended up skipping breakfast so we wouldn't be late for practice. Well, we ended up getting lost and driving around for 45 minutes, never finding the school because, as I later found out, the directions and school description were both flawed. Ugh! Finally, I said screw it and asked her if she wanted to get something to eat.
This was like pulling teeth with her. She wanted pancakes, and I was in no mood for cooking so I suggested IHOP. We drove over there and damned if that place wasn't so packed, it made Sunday mornings look slow. So then we decided to grab some Sonic, but I was NOT going to our local Sonic, as it sucks ass, big-time. We drove to another nearby Sonic and were surprised to find it all decked out in splendor worthy of Sonic big wigs coming in from the corporate office. It was unbelievably nice. The girls were ALL on skates and in poodle skirts. They had balloons, banners and even a bounce house for the kids. I only wished I had brought my camera. It seems a local radio station (one of the few I don't like) was coming to broadcast later that day.
So we ate and were going to head home, when I heard my favorite radio station was down the road broadcasting from the new Home Depot. They were giving away tickets to various shows and concerts along with $1,500 in gift certificates. We drove over there, in hopes of taking home some of that money! Instead, my name was drawn....WOO HOO!....for George Carlin tickets!!! I was so excited, until I found out that the show was that night and I had to work 5:00 pm to close. I figured Glenn would easily be able to find someone to go with him and we could hire a babysitter.
I was so eager to tell Glenn, that I called him several times on the cell phone, but I kept getting the voice mail. Finally he called me back, agitated and worried that something was wrong. (DUH....I'm so stupid, to not realize me calling over and over was gonna worry him.) He didn't have a chance to get excited, as he was VERY BUSY and quickly hung up on me. I was deflated and felt like shit for upsetting him. He called me back a few minutes later to tell me he was coming home. My phone calls had rattled him so badly that he lost his momentum at work and he was screwing up, and ended up snapping at everyone, including his manager, who ended up just sending him home. DAMN IT! I didn't mean to get him in trouble, but it wasn't totally my fault either because he'd forgot to turn off the cell phone ringer while working. (A big NO-NO!)
So he gets home and starts calling around to everyone he thinks might want to join him. No one can make it, or they aren't available. He's starting to get bummed that he won't be able to go afterall. I suggest he either drive out there and try selling the tickets (as was suggested by the radio station to me....those tickets costs MORE then the WWE tickets) or just take Lil' Miss with him. He looks at me like I've lost my mind to suggest he take our 6 year old daughter to see one of the raunchiest comedians ever. I explain my reasoning: the show isn't until 9:30 pm, and she's been awake ALL day and will likely fall asleep shortly after the show starts. He agrees and says he'll take her in if he can't sell the tickets first or find other arrangements. By this time, I have to get ready to go to work and have no idea what will end up happening.
Glenn calls me at work at 9:20 pm to tell me they made it there, couldn't sell the tickets and that Lil' Miss was already getting drowsy. A-ha, see, I'm not totally stupid. I know my child! LOL! I wish him well and hope he has a great time. I don't get home until nearly 2:00 am and they are both in bed sound asleep. I see a bag on the couch with a receipt for a George Carlin CD, but the bag is empty. I find the CD on my desk.
WAIT! Is that a signature I see on the CD cover? Sure seems like it. So I open it up to check to see if it was real or a part of the photocopied cover. That's when I see the two ticket stubs, each bearing the same signature! SWEEEEET! I listen to most of the CD, before crawling into bed and falling fast asleep after a LONG LONG LONG day.
Sunday I ask Glenn for details and this is what he said: The show was really good, considering George Carlin admitted that he had just gotten out of rehab and stumbled a bit over some of the material (very un-Carlin like). He said he was laughing so hard, he thought he was going to wake up Lil' Miss, who passed out during the warm-up act. He hadn't realized all the seats around him were also listeners who had won tickets. Which explained the idiot couple, who upon seeing our daughter and the gift-shop bag, asked Glenn if he saw any Thomas the Tank Engine gifts, because they weren't able to find any. They were shocked at the racy material and ended up leaving part way thru the show. (I couldn't stop laughing at their stupidity. Yes, George Carlin did once play Mr. Conductor on Shining Time Station, but did they really think he was gonna be putting on a kiddie show at 9:30 pm???!!!)
When the show ended, Glenn got turned around as to which exit to head to, to get to the parking garage, and ended up walking in a big "S" around the Bass Performance Hall. As he was about to leave, he looks over and lo and behold THERE is George Carlin, also leaving. He stares and catches George's eye.
George walks over to Glenn who is holding a very sleepy Lil' Miss, shaking his head and says to Glenn, "Did you see the show?"
"Yes," Glenn answers, not shy or nervous.
"Please tell me you didn't bring her to see MY show!" George asks.
Again, Glenn answers, "Yes."
George laughs and says "I may have to include that in a future show about stupid things people do; not that I'm saying you're stupid."
Glenn laughs and says, "That's ok."
George, seeing the gift bag says, "So what did you buy"
"One of your CD's," Glenn replies.
"Can I autograph it for you?" George offers.
"Really? That would be great. Can you sign my tickets, too?"
"Sure." George signs all three, then notices that they've been spotted and a crowd is heading towards them.
"Well, gotta run; here comes the flood. Thanks for coming."
"THANK YOU!!!"
I have NO IDEA HOW on Earth Glenn was able to fall asleep after all that.
posted by Zette at 8:35 PM
3 Comments:
What a great story, and with a happy ending too! So tell me, Zette. Is your Life always that crazy? Do you take time to breathe? LOL!!
Glenn should have told Carlin about the couple who hoped to see the conductor from "Shining Time Station". Bet he would have liked that one!
roflmfaoooooooooo@ thomas the tank engine...omg what a pair of numbnuts..LOL.
Carlin came to Altoona last year and I didn't go. I'm STILL spanking myself.
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