It all happened so fast, I didn't feel a thing.
You never do.
Follow the light. Wait. Am I supposed to?
Of course.
It was all coated in powdery snow
glowing like a diamond glacier
beneath an unexpected sunshine.
I squinted, understanding.
Of course
Deja vu encompassed me and
it didn't leave this time.
That inner warmth was restored
which only comes from being
home.
At last, and just how I had left it.
Of course.
Why was I so afraid?
Perhaps I enjoy it?
Fear only exists to manifest
Tranquility.
Never a moment too soon
nor a moment too late.
Of Course.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Monday, February 2, 2015
Crazy Kaz vs. Bruce Banner
I find it necessary to offer a prerequisite to this story. I know and I understand that the events outlined in this story are all my own fault. However, because my stories are all 100% true (Aside from the ones labeled "Fiction", obviously) I find it necessary to never stray from the facts to try to portray myself as righteous, unless I believe it so. In this case, I am certainly the "villain in the shadows", but that's ok with me. It's fucking hilarious!
In June of 2003 I didn't have much going on. I had just finished community college and wasn't sure what I was going to do next. I couldn't find a job so I was just spending my days and nights hanging out with friends. One friend in particular, Robbie Kazmark, was looking for work also, and so he had a significant amount of free time on his hands too. During the day-time we would search for jobs, always unsuccessfully. There were a couple days when we found some day-laboring stuff but I never did. Then, in the evenings we would be depressed about our current situations...and so we would drink. Consuming alcohol has always numbed the pain of shitty circumstances, if only for a few hours.
Anyways, one night we had been boozing and it had gotten to be really late. We were having a good time and having fun making some 2am prank phone calls. I always dial *67 before any number so that it will block the number from any caller ID. We were trying to think of somebody to call and I decided to call my brother Dave. My brother was living in Endicott at the time and working as an "Assistant Nursing Home Administrator". He knows all of my alternate voices that I use all too well so I let Robbie talk. He asked me what Dave's girlfriends name was and I told him. Now, it is important to attempt to describe Robbie for the sake of the story. Robbie is a very kind-hearted guy who would give a stranger the shirt off his back, but he is very sinister. In fact, he portrays himself as a deviant on a regular basis. With his "zero-sensor" language and his "fuck off" attitude towards artificial people, you might think he is a rebel. For this reason I had labeled him in my cell phone as "Crazy Kaz". However, anybody who truly knows him would tell you that he is a stand-up guy, I guarantee it.
After I dialed the number and handed him the phone I had absolutely no idea what he was going to say, but I knew it would be funny and dirty. "One David Reynolds, ha ha ha. Two David Reynolds ha ha haa". He was using the voice of "The Count", the vampire character from the TV show: "Sesame Street." He continued; "I fucked your girlfriend ha ha ha. One time I fuck your girlfriend ha ha ha. Two times I fuck your girlfriend ha ha ha." Of course I could only hear one side of the conversation, but this is the gist of it. And it went on and on for about 5 whole minutes with Robbie never once breaking character and only getting more and more graphic in his details. After he hung up I had asked him how he kept my brother on the phone for so long. He said that he sounded pissed off and was trying to figure out who it was. Anyways, I think we made a few more calls to some random people and then Robbie went home. The next day my brother called me pissed off, asking who had called him. There was absolutely no way I was going to tell him, he was way too pissed off. And besides, it was my idea to call him anyways.
Four months later I was living in Fredonia, NY. I had decided to transfer to college there in order to work on my bachelors degree. I had deliberately chosen Fredonia as one of the schools I applied to because my brother Dave was now living there. He had gotten promoted to "Nursing Home Administrator" and had to relocate for the position. Because we were both new to the area, we didn't really know many locals. Therefore, I spent a number of nights and weekends hanging out with him at his apartment. When he got his new job he had gotten a significant raise to accompany it. And being that he was single, with no kids, he now had disposable income to throw around. He would use some of it to bribe me to go pick up his take-out or to coheres my roommate to do stupid things. For instance, one time he paid my roommate $30 to eat 6 McDonalds double cheeseburgers. And another time he paid him $20 to do a lap around his apartment wearing only underwear and dress shoes. There was a festival going on across the street so there were about 300 people who seen it. My brother and I were standing on the roof watching, I don't know if I've ever seen him laugh so hard in my whole life. My brother was always coming up with ridiculous challenges for money. Here was a guy with a high-profile job making upwards of 6-figures, and yet on his spare time he was such a child at heart. This is the reason he has always been listed in my cell phone as "Bruce Banner". His middle name is "Bruce", and he had the alter-ego thing nailed.
One afternoon we were sitting around watching TV and having a few beers when he brought up the prank call from 4 months ago. I again stuck to my guns, telling him that I had absolutely nothing to do with it and that I had no idea who had called him. However, anybody who knows my brother Dave knows damn well that he can get you to tell him anything. Among his various traits lies a true art in the manipulation of people. That is why he is able to get people to do stupid things, and that is how he got me to give up some critical information. First, he flashes the wad of cash to the struggling college student. Next, he promises that he means no harm to "The Count", he just wants his identity. I ask him; "Why? Why do you want to know who he is so bad then"? He replies; "I just want to get him back. You don't understand just how pissed I was. I couldn't sleep, I was shaking mad". I apologize to him, I explain that it was all my fault and that I put "The Count" up to it. I told him that he doesn't even know him anyways, and so the information would deem useless. I thought that this would be enough, but of course it wasn't. "I just want to get him back. Just tell me his name, his phone number, and one personal thing about him and this is yours". He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a $50 bill. And so the stage is set.
He hands me the bill and I give him Robbie's name and cell phone number. He asks me where he works and I tell him that he doesn't. He is on unemployment making $202 a week, I've seen his checks. At this moment a sinister little smile comes over his face and he says; "Perfect", and then he reaches for a pen and paper. I respond; "What? You gonna call him and tell him hes not gonna be getting paid anymore"? He looks at me grinning and says; "No, I'm gonna make him think hes getting more".
Now, I didn't know exactly what he had in store, but after scribbling on that pad for only about 5 minutes he reached for his phone.
Dave: "Hi, can I speak to Robert Kaz..merk (He purposely stumbles with the pronunciation in order to create the delusion of "I don't know how to say your name") please?"
Robbie: "This is him"
Dave: "Hi Robert, my name is Stanley Kingston I work for the New York State unemployment benefits department, how are you today?"
Robbie: "Good".
Dave: "Good. The reason for my call today is that I was going over your file today and I noticed a slight discrepancy on your claim, a discrepancy on our end that is. I notice here that you are currently collecting $202 on a weekly basis, is that correct"?
Robbie: "Yes".
Dave: "Yea, you see there was a clerical error on our end that we just caught today. It appears that your weekly rate should have been $284.93, and that should have been your accurate all along. I notice that you have been receiving these inaccurate checks for some time now. Basically the reason for the call is just to let you know that we have corrected the error and that I am in the process of getting the claim correctly paid up to date as we speak. I really apologize for the error, it was actually a personal error. What I'm going to do is send you out a check today for the balance if that's ok? In order to get taken care of".
Robbie: "Yea, that sounds great"!
Dave: "Yea, it looks like its going to be, (He makes some meaningless noise on a calculator he has near him) $1,877.49........Now, that is the difference of the pro-rated amount minus the funds you have been paid previously".
Robbie: "Aww, that's great! Such perfect timing too I gotta buy books for school that I been worrying about!"
Dave: "Excellent. Like I said, I truly apologize for the error on our end and I will get that check in the mail for you today."
Robbie: "Awesome! Thank you so much"
Dave: "Thank you for understanding have a nice day"
Robbie: "You too!"
Immediately after he hangs up the phone he leans back in his chair and bellows in laughter. It was such an awful prank to pull. I tell him that he went to far and he says; "Dude, he fucking called me at 2am in the voice of count fucking Dracula, waking me up telling me that he fucked my girlfriend! I thought somebody died! That's the only reason I get calls at 2am!"
He stewed about the call for about 20 minutes or so, wondering what must be going through Robbie's head. Then he talked me into calling him. At first I told him I wasn't going to do it, but then he said; "What if hes spending money he doesn't have though?" Wow, I thought to myself, "Like you would give a fuck!" He started laughing again....but he had a point, I had to call.
Robbie: "Hey Dude!"
Me: "What ya doin"?
Robbie: "Im goin to the mall! Unemployment just called, they have been fucking me!"
Me: (Trying to hold it in) "What do you mean"?
Robbie: "Yea, fucking unemployment has been shorting me for a year and I caught them"! (Im not positive he said "caught", I cant remember exactly. But I think so.)
He was absolutely pumped! It fucking killed me to have to bring him back to reality. I could tell that he was in his car and on top of the world. I told him; "My brother wants me to tell you that you guys are even now from "The Count"." He didn't understand......
I said; "My brother is Stanley Kingston"?
"Who?" he said. He still didn't understand.
"My brother is the one who called you as a prank. There is no money"
He paused and I could hear the life come out of him; "Noooooooooooo" he said, and then he hung up. He didn't talk to me for a long time after that, and I cant say that I blame him one bit. I got lucky, he eventually forgave me.
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Thanks for being a good sport and letting me share Robbie!
RIP Bruce Banner, there will never be another one like you.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Pranking via Kemyatta
I worked in the finance department of a hospital in Jamestown, NY from 2009-2014. During my time there I had worked all 3 shifts at one point or another, and so I got to know all of the people in finance. When I worked 2nd shift I was in charge of hospital admissions, it would be crazy busy at times. However, there were some days when it wasn't and I would have down-time to bullshit with some of the women who worked in outpatient registration. Their work area was located just outside my office so it was impossible to avoid them. This is how I met Kemyatta Austin. Every once in a while you meet someone who is simply on the same frequency of life as yourself, and you gravitate towards them. And when you connect with these people, at some point you realize that you will be friends with them forever. Kemyatta was a blast to chat with, we would poke fun at each other all the time and it always seemed to make time at work go by much quicker.
Anyways, when I got moved to the day shift my office was upstairs, so I didn't see Kemyatta very much. However, I would go down to her office during my break-time most days just to bullshit with her. She didn't care much for most of her co-workers, and I could tell that some of them didn't like her very much either. Kemyatta was very outspoken, she pulled no punches and she didn't have one tiny little problem telling any and everybody just how she felt about them. It would be accurate to say that I liked this about her. There were some extremely "artificial" people who worked amongst us, and she lived to call them out on it. She would always have a squabble going with somebody each day, and this was primarily the topic of our conversations. The way she would describe the altercations was fucking hilarious.
One day I had went to see her during my break and she seemed upset. She said that her sister had played some sort of prank of her and she was steaming about it. I told her; "So lets get her back".
Kemyatta: How"?
Me: "Easy. Just tell me one thing about her".
Kemyatta: "What do you mean"?
Me: "Just tell me one thing about her personal life, and I'll show you".
Kemyatta: "Hmmm. She went to the gynecologist yesterday".
Me: "Perfect"! (Honestly, it was. There couldn't have been anything better) "Do you know which one"?
Kemyatta: "Yea. Why?"
I quickly did a google search for the phone number of her sisters gynecologist. Then, I told Kemyatta about this website that allows you to call anybody you want, and you can make any number appear on that persons caller ID. Then, I went to the website and punched in her sisters cell phone number. And, I made sure that it would show the gynocologists phone number on her caller ID. The stage was set. I made her promise me up and down that she would never tell her sister I was involved. She agreed...
Kemyattas sister: "Hello"
Me: "Hi, can I please speak to Kemyattas sister"? (I don't have her permission to use her name)
Kemyattas sister: "This is her"
Me: "Hi this is (So and so) calling from Dr (So and so's) office. How are you"?
Kemyattas sister: "Im fine".
Me: "Hmm, Im kind of surprised to hear you say that. I was reviewing you test results and I found something very alarming. Are you sitting down"?
Kemyattas sister: (VERY concerned) "Yes.....what is it"?!!?!
.........click, and I hung up the phone.
I looked at Kemyatta and I snickered. She burst out laughing. It was a horrible yet brilliant prank to pull. You see, I had inherited the gift of "Master Prankster" from my oldest brother David. It is a very dangerous gift, but it can be humorous and useful at times also. If I were a "Master" of the craft, my brother certainly wrote the book. A prank of this magnitude wouldn't even register on his scale. However, that is a different story entirely.
Kemyatta and I let that phone call marinate for only about 5 minutes and then she called her sister to see how she was doing. Her sister was in hysteria as she explained to (a mistakenly clueless) Kemyatta what had just transpired. She said that she called back the gyno office and went "nuts". Here she was shaking in her shoes, and the gyno office is telling her they didn't even call her. "I fucking hit redial on my phone mother fucker" she had allegedly screamed at them. They had responded to her with; "We don't even have any men who work in our office"! It was epic, I would have died to hear this conversation first hand. After she was finished her rant to Kemyatta, (Who was dying laughing the entire time) I hear her say "We even".
"What"? she sister responded.
"Remember that shit you did to me? We even now. That was me that called you"! Kemyatta said.
"What? How did you..."
"Don't even worry about it, we even now" and she hung up the phone and burst out laughing.
It was certainly a tasteless prank to pull on somebody, put it did the trick. Kemyatta wasn't pissed off anymore. And with that, my break-time was over.
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About a year or so after this previous episode, I was in her office again on break. Kemyatta was telling me about how she had got a part-time job at a gas station and she was starting that night. The finance department paid like crap, and so it was nearly impossible to pay your basic bills if you lived alone. I know a number of people who have to work second jobs in order to make ends meet, its bullshit.
I should have said that Kemyatta made the mistake of telling me about her new part-time job. Because, as soon as she told me about it I began to brainstorm ways to prank her. I suppose it is just the way that my brain operates at times. Like I said, it is an inherited trait. I cant tell you how many times I have placed wagers with my friends that went like this; "How much do you want to bet I can get this pizza place to deliver chicken wings with no meat on them"? That's right. I can and have called pizza places and asked them to remove the meat from the chicken wings. "I only want the bones", I would explain to them.
Anyways, Kemyatta told me that tonight was her first night and she was nervous about it. She said that she gets out of work at the hospital at 4:30 and that she had to be at the gas station from 5-9. So, once I got home from work, I drank a couple beers and then waited until about 7:30. I did a quick google search for the gas station and called the number. I was thinking in my head; "Please let her answer". And to me delight, sure enough,
Kemyatta: "(so and so mart) this is Kemyatta"
Me: (In a disguised voice. I have several) "Yea, do y'all sel condoms there"?
Kemyatta; "Hold on".....(I could hear kemyatta asking her co-worker if they sell condoms. lol) "Yea"
Me: "What kind"?
Kemyatta: "Hold on"....(I could hear her asking what kind) "Trojan".
Me: "That's the only kind"?
Kemyatta: (I could hear her asking again) "Yea"
Me: "How much are those"?
Kemyatta: (I could hear her asking how much lol) "$3.99"
Me: "What size are those"?
Kemyatta: (again, she asked lol) "Regular size".
Me: "Are they flavored"
Kemyatta: (I swear.....she asked) "No, they're not"
Me: (Doing everything I could not to laugh. I had to take a deep breath) "Ok, thank you"
Kemyatta: "Yep"
The next day at work I couldn't wait until break time. I scooted downstairs to Kemyattas office and I opened the door. Then, in the same voice I used on my phone call the night before, I said; "Do y'all sell condoms"? Her eyes got really big and she looked like she wanted to kill me. I quickly closed the door and I ran. As soon as I got back to my desk I had an email from her. It said; "Daniel, YOU ARE SO FUCKING STUPID! I HATE YOU!". I died laughing. When I went down to her office on break she wouldn't even talk to me. All she said was, "My first night Daniel? I felt like such an asshole asking my boss what size condoms we sell". Luckily, Kemyatta had a good sense of humor about it. There was another incident when she didn't respond so good.......
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This one time I was in the check out line at Rite Aid and I noticed Kemyatta at the front of the line. She didn't see me standing there, so it was perfect. She had asked the cashier for some cigarettes or something from behind the counter. As the cashier was ringing her up I hollered; "You better check her ID". I said it very honestly and sincerely. Kemyatta looked back and seen me; "Shut up", she said. I respond again; "I used to work at Walgreens and she got me fired. She works for the police department and catches people who sell tobacco products to underage people", again, I said it very seriously. Now, the cashier had a very paranoid look on her face when I didn't smile or acknowledge it was a joke. "Its your job", I said. Kemyatta stopped shuffling through her wad of cash and turned to me at the back of the line; "Daniel, if you don't shut the fuck up I swear to god"! Now, mind you, there was 2 lines full of people standing there witnessing this.
"I liked that job too, until I got fired. Go ahead and sell it to her, the police will be right in", I said. Again, the cashier and now all the people standing in line were getting nervous. I am pretty sure the cashier was fearing for her job at this point, but the customers were afraid Kemyatta was going to kill me. This time she lashed out; "Daniel, I am not playing with you! Im gonna come back there and punch you in the fucking face!". I was doing everything I possibly could to keep a straight face. I wasn't concerned, I knew that if she came for me I was much quicker than her. Kemyatta looked at the cashiers face and snarled; "Do you want to see my fucking ID"? The cashier shook her head "no", I think she only said "no" because she was scared. She had such a look on confusion and nervousness on her face, I will never forget it. Everybody in both lines were extremely nervous, but I was dying inside.
The cashier completed the transaction and Kemyatta exited the store. On her way out she said; "You play too fucking much Daniel. Im not in the mood!". I look over towards the cashier and say; "Its your job. Here comes the cops".
Anyways, when I got moved to the day shift my office was upstairs, so I didn't see Kemyatta very much. However, I would go down to her office during my break-time most days just to bullshit with her. She didn't care much for most of her co-workers, and I could tell that some of them didn't like her very much either. Kemyatta was very outspoken, she pulled no punches and she didn't have one tiny little problem telling any and everybody just how she felt about them. It would be accurate to say that I liked this about her. There were some extremely "artificial" people who worked amongst us, and she lived to call them out on it. She would always have a squabble going with somebody each day, and this was primarily the topic of our conversations. The way she would describe the altercations was fucking hilarious.
One day I had went to see her during my break and she seemed upset. She said that her sister had played some sort of prank of her and she was steaming about it. I told her; "So lets get her back".
Kemyatta: How"?
Me: "Easy. Just tell me one thing about her".
Kemyatta: "What do you mean"?
Me: "Just tell me one thing about her personal life, and I'll show you".
Kemyatta: "Hmmm. She went to the gynecologist yesterday".
Me: "Perfect"! (Honestly, it was. There couldn't have been anything better) "Do you know which one"?
Kemyatta: "Yea. Why?"
I quickly did a google search for the phone number of her sisters gynecologist. Then, I told Kemyatta about this website that allows you to call anybody you want, and you can make any number appear on that persons caller ID. Then, I went to the website and punched in her sisters cell phone number. And, I made sure that it would show the gynocologists phone number on her caller ID. The stage was set. I made her promise me up and down that she would never tell her sister I was involved. She agreed...
Kemyattas sister: "Hello"
Me: "Hi, can I please speak to Kemyattas sister"? (I don't have her permission to use her name)
Kemyattas sister: "This is her"
Me: "Hi this is (So and so) calling from Dr (So and so's) office. How are you"?
Kemyattas sister: "Im fine".
Me: "Hmm, Im kind of surprised to hear you say that. I was reviewing you test results and I found something very alarming. Are you sitting down"?
Kemyattas sister: (VERY concerned) "Yes.....what is it"?!!?!
.........click, and I hung up the phone.
I looked at Kemyatta and I snickered. She burst out laughing. It was a horrible yet brilliant prank to pull. You see, I had inherited the gift of "Master Prankster" from my oldest brother David. It is a very dangerous gift, but it can be humorous and useful at times also. If I were a "Master" of the craft, my brother certainly wrote the book. A prank of this magnitude wouldn't even register on his scale. However, that is a different story entirely.
Kemyatta and I let that phone call marinate for only about 5 minutes and then she called her sister to see how she was doing. Her sister was in hysteria as she explained to (a mistakenly clueless) Kemyatta what had just transpired. She said that she called back the gyno office and went "nuts". Here she was shaking in her shoes, and the gyno office is telling her they didn't even call her. "I fucking hit redial on my phone mother fucker" she had allegedly screamed at them. They had responded to her with; "We don't even have any men who work in our office"! It was epic, I would have died to hear this conversation first hand. After she was finished her rant to Kemyatta, (Who was dying laughing the entire time) I hear her say "We even".
"What"? she sister responded.
"Remember that shit you did to me? We even now. That was me that called you"! Kemyatta said.
"What? How did you..."
"Don't even worry about it, we even now" and she hung up the phone and burst out laughing.
It was certainly a tasteless prank to pull on somebody, put it did the trick. Kemyatta wasn't pissed off anymore. And with that, my break-time was over.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About a year or so after this previous episode, I was in her office again on break. Kemyatta was telling me about how she had got a part-time job at a gas station and she was starting that night. The finance department paid like crap, and so it was nearly impossible to pay your basic bills if you lived alone. I know a number of people who have to work second jobs in order to make ends meet, its bullshit.
I should have said that Kemyatta made the mistake of telling me about her new part-time job. Because, as soon as she told me about it I began to brainstorm ways to prank her. I suppose it is just the way that my brain operates at times. Like I said, it is an inherited trait. I cant tell you how many times I have placed wagers with my friends that went like this; "How much do you want to bet I can get this pizza place to deliver chicken wings with no meat on them"? That's right. I can and have called pizza places and asked them to remove the meat from the chicken wings. "I only want the bones", I would explain to them.
Anyways, Kemyatta told me that tonight was her first night and she was nervous about it. She said that she gets out of work at the hospital at 4:30 and that she had to be at the gas station from 5-9. So, once I got home from work, I drank a couple beers and then waited until about 7:30. I did a quick google search for the gas station and called the number. I was thinking in my head; "Please let her answer". And to me delight, sure enough,
Kemyatta: "(so and so mart) this is Kemyatta"
Me: (In a disguised voice. I have several) "Yea, do y'all sel condoms there"?
Kemyatta; "Hold on".....(I could hear kemyatta asking her co-worker if they sell condoms. lol) "Yea"
Me: "What kind"?
Kemyatta: "Hold on"....(I could hear her asking what kind) "Trojan".
Me: "That's the only kind"?
Kemyatta: (I could hear her asking again) "Yea"
Me: "How much are those"?
Kemyatta: (I could hear her asking how much lol) "$3.99"
Me: "What size are those"?
Kemyatta: (again, she asked lol) "Regular size".
Me: "Are they flavored"
Kemyatta: (I swear.....she asked) "No, they're not"
Me: (Doing everything I could not to laugh. I had to take a deep breath) "Ok, thank you"
Kemyatta: "Yep"
The next day at work I couldn't wait until break time. I scooted downstairs to Kemyattas office and I opened the door. Then, in the same voice I used on my phone call the night before, I said; "Do y'all sell condoms"? Her eyes got really big and she looked like she wanted to kill me. I quickly closed the door and I ran. As soon as I got back to my desk I had an email from her. It said; "Daniel, YOU ARE SO FUCKING STUPID! I HATE YOU!". I died laughing. When I went down to her office on break she wouldn't even talk to me. All she said was, "My first night Daniel? I felt like such an asshole asking my boss what size condoms we sell". Luckily, Kemyatta had a good sense of humor about it. There was another incident when she didn't respond so good.......
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This one time I was in the check out line at Rite Aid and I noticed Kemyatta at the front of the line. She didn't see me standing there, so it was perfect. She had asked the cashier for some cigarettes or something from behind the counter. As the cashier was ringing her up I hollered; "You better check her ID". I said it very honestly and sincerely. Kemyatta looked back and seen me; "Shut up", she said. I respond again; "I used to work at Walgreens and she got me fired. She works for the police department and catches people who sell tobacco products to underage people", again, I said it very seriously. Now, the cashier had a very paranoid look on her face when I didn't smile or acknowledge it was a joke. "Its your job", I said. Kemyatta stopped shuffling through her wad of cash and turned to me at the back of the line; "Daniel, if you don't shut the fuck up I swear to god"! Now, mind you, there was 2 lines full of people standing there witnessing this.
"I liked that job too, until I got fired. Go ahead and sell it to her, the police will be right in", I said. Again, the cashier and now all the people standing in line were getting nervous. I am pretty sure the cashier was fearing for her job at this point, but the customers were afraid Kemyatta was going to kill me. This time she lashed out; "Daniel, I am not playing with you! Im gonna come back there and punch you in the fucking face!". I was doing everything I possibly could to keep a straight face. I wasn't concerned, I knew that if she came for me I was much quicker than her. Kemyatta looked at the cashiers face and snarled; "Do you want to see my fucking ID"? The cashier shook her head "no", I think she only said "no" because she was scared. She had such a look on confusion and nervousness on her face, I will never forget it. Everybody in both lines were extremely nervous, but I was dying inside.
The cashier completed the transaction and Kemyatta exited the store. On her way out she said; "You play too fucking much Daniel. Im not in the mood!". I look over towards the cashier and say; "Its your job. Here comes the cops".
Friday, January 16, 2015
College Parking
When I was in college I thought it was absolutely ridiculous when I found out students had to pay for parking. After all, the university was located in the middle of a very busy freeway, how else were students supposed to get to class? If you are going to charge someone for school, shouldn't you provide them a place to park their vehicle? I mean, doesn't society want to encourage its people to further their education rather that give them reasons not to?
Since I graduated from college in 2005, I have realized that it is one of the biggest scams going. “We are lending money we don't have to kids who can't pay it back to train them for jobs that no longer exist". - Mike Rowe. The cost of an education has risen considerably every single year, and the amount of student debt has more than quadrupled over the past decade alone. However, this essay will only focus on the ridiculousness which is the "parking pass".
When I was in college the cost of a parking pass was only about $50 per car, per semester. Now, I say "only", because this was only 10-15 years ago and now some students are paying in excess of $700/semester. This entire concept alone is absurd, but let me just put it into perspective. Lets say I owned a fitness center, and I charged $40 a month for a membership. This fee allowed the users to come and go 24/7 and use all of the equipment in my fitness center. However, the fitness center is located in a plaza which I also own. So, I then sold parking passes for $20/month to park in my plaza. Then, I hired a private "security" company to just issue tickets to those who are caught violating. (Parking in the plaza without a pass) How ridiculous of a concept is this?
Almost every university that I am aware of employs a "security" company. They make it seem as though they are there to protect students, however their main function is to write citations for those without a pass. Actually, I take that back....
They can write tickets for a number of different offenses, here are the ones I recieved:
1 - Parking without a pass
2 - Parking in the teachers lot with a students pass
3 - Having your parking pass located on the wrong part of your vehicle
4 - Parking in a spot which is not an actual "parking spot". (Some people are forced to park along the shoulder of the lot or in the grass because the university does not provide enough spots)
5 - Parking where you thought was a spot, but when the snow melted later in the day and the lines became visible, it was no longer a spot.
Now, during my very first semester in Community College I had received "tickets" for all of the above mentioned offenses. My account balance for the above mentioned offenses totaled over $200 and the college refused to transfer any academic credits or allow graduation with this balance outstanding. Now, lets examine all of the incidences...
1 - I had parked my car very far away from the school in a university approved parking spot. I went to the registration office to purchase my parking pass. However, when I came back to my car to put it on, I had received a ticket during this small window of time. I took the ticket back to the registration office and explained my situation. She said; "Just bring your car into our lot, I will go outside and see it on your car, and write it off". So, I walked all the way back to my car again, (It was a good 10 minute walk) tried to park it in their lot, but there was no spaces except for a handicapped spot. I wasn't going to risk it, the line in there was too long, and it wouldn't surprise me if I had gotten another ticket. Also, the woman had just sold me the parking pass, why could she have not just written it off? So anyways, I park around back and go back into the office. When it is my turn, I tell her; "Ok, I brought my car up so you can look at the pass on my car". She comes outside and I tell her to follow me around back. "No, you have to pull it up front, I cant go that far away from my office"
"But there are no spots out front. It is right out back, it will only take 20 seconds"
"Sorry, I cant"
Now, at this point I am frustrated beyond measure. There is no place to park it out front. The ticket is only for $20 because it was my first offense. So, in a John Wayne moment of rage, I take the ticket back into the office with the crumbled up money and throw it at her. "Here is the ticket and the money. Have a nice fucking day"! I felt like I had been vindicated, like I had gotten my moneys worth and took out my frustration. But on my way out of the office she hollers back; "You have to pay that in student accounts"!
2 - Being unable to find a spot, I figured what the hell, I wouldn't even go to class then. I will just park in the teachers lot for 5 minutes and go hand in my paper. This 5 minutes turned into 15 and of course a ticket was on my dashboard upon returning.
3 - One day I returned to my car and was astonished to find a ticket, I had followed all of their stupid rules. The ticket said "Inappropriate decal". Now, at the time I had a large decal on the passenger side of my car which read: "POWERED BY DEEZ NUTZ". So, naturally, I thought it was referring to this. I quickly went and retrieved a security "officer" and questioned him. He said; "Yea, you have to put your "decal" on the driver side of your car, you can have one on the passenger side." Now, thinking he was referring to the "Deez Nutz" decal I explained to him; "It doesn't simply come off". He said; "Yes it does, it has to be on the other side". I had some choice words for him and then went on with my day.
4 - This one is the biggie. The university simply did not have enough parking spots to facilitate all of its students. I believe this is the reason they even employed a "security" staff. They knew damn well that they had way more students than they had parking spots, they had to of. I say this because, they certainly know how many students they have, and they know how many spots they have available. And, for every single spot to be filled up at 8:15 in the morning, I am guessing that the numbers aren't even close. So, some students would manufacture parking spots. They would either park in the grass or on the shoulder of the lot. These cars would ALWAYS have tickets on them, every single one of them. Now, picture this: The school is now writing tickets and charging students because the school does not have enough parking spots to facilitate the students that they have already charged to park. Please, let that sink in for a moment. The university has the audacity to penalize people (when they had no right to charge for parking in the first place) who have paid to park, and yet there are not enough spots. All I can say to this one is: "S... M. M.....F...... D... B...."!
5 - I began to arrive at school at 745am for an 8am class. I made sure to get there early so I would have a parking spot, and a relatively close one at that. Although I hated their parking policies, I figured this would finally alleviate the issue. It had snowed the night before and so the ground was completely covered. It was impossible to see any parking lines, so I just parked beside the other cars. It was a long day, I had several classes and a bunch of work to do, so I was there for most of the day. As the day went on, the sun had apparently risen and the snow had melted. When I arrived back to my car, it had a ticket on it for not parking within the lines and taking up 2 spaces.
----For all of these "offenses" I had tried to get them dropped to no avail. I will never forget the day the lady in student accounts sternly scolded me; "Listen Bud, this place is a business before it is a school"! I hated that college and everything it stood for.
During the next school year I had arrived again without a new parking pass. As I ran to the registration department all I could think about was getting a ticket for not having a new pass. After I got my pass, I ran all the way back to my car, and while on my way I noticed one of the security cars in the vicinity of my car. My blood began to boil. I had a large, plastic water bottle in my hand that was about half way full. It was at that moment I decided that if I had a fucking ticket on my car I was going to launch it at their car.
The closer and closer I got to my car my anger only increased. Then, to my despair, I noticed the bright orange citation fluttering in the wind beneath my windshield wiper. I was completely enraged and full of disgust. The anger had reached its breaking point and I had completely snapped. I cocked back that bottle of spring water and was just about to chuck it at the security car when I paused for a moment. What was I thinking? I had that parking pass right in my pocket, I suppose he technically had the right to give me the ticket for "No parking pass", right? So, I did the only thing I could possibly do in this moment of unweathering rage. I unlocked the door to my car, opened the door, and gently applied the adhesive side of the parking permit to the appropriate location on the rear, driver side window. Then, I locked the door, and began walking towards the security car, (I didn't want to miss) where I seen the "officer" writing a ticket. Then, I unleashed ALL of the anger I had for ALL of the times they had fucked with me. I reached back and I chucked that bottle of spring water as hard as I possibly could at the front of the security car. It hit the hood and exploded as it collided with the windshield and when flying. I seen the security guard with his pen and pad jump, startled as I screamed; "What the fuck"?!?!?!?!?!?!??
..........yes, finally, this was MY moment
This frail, scrawny little security officer suddenly became all turkey-chested. "What the hell man" he said. I responded with all my anger; "You fucking idiots give me tickets every goddamn day and I'm sick of it"! He comes over and examines the ticket, sees the permit in my window and has an astonished look on his face. He begins to apologize but I don't allow it, this was MY moment after all the bullshit they have put me through, I was going to take it out on him. "Every goddamn day you pieces of shit man" I tell him at the top of my lungs. Finally he says; "Listen, I might be a security guard but I have the authority to arrest you". I could hear the shakiness in his voice. In my anger I respond; "Oh yea, you put one hand on my and I'm fucking breaking it off"! He gets on his little walkee talkee as I tear up the ticket and get into my car and drive away. And I have to admit, I felt really, really good about it.
However, looking back I realize who is really to blame. It wasn't that poor officers fault, all he had done was selected a shitty job. Who would want to write tickets and ruin peoples days for a living? And it wasn't my fault, (Eh, maybe a little bit) I was just trying to further my education. The blame lie in the greed of the university. In fact, if you look deep enough...pretty much EVERY single problem in this world can be attributed to greed somewhere along the line. I challenge you to just think about it for a minute.
(Sorry, I didn't proof read this post, the concept disgust me too much)
Since I graduated from college in 2005, I have realized that it is one of the biggest scams going. “We are lending money we don't have to kids who can't pay it back to train them for jobs that no longer exist". - Mike Rowe. The cost of an education has risen considerably every single year, and the amount of student debt has more than quadrupled over the past decade alone. However, this essay will only focus on the ridiculousness which is the "parking pass".
When I was in college the cost of a parking pass was only about $50 per car, per semester. Now, I say "only", because this was only 10-15 years ago and now some students are paying in excess of $700/semester. This entire concept alone is absurd, but let me just put it into perspective. Lets say I owned a fitness center, and I charged $40 a month for a membership. This fee allowed the users to come and go 24/7 and use all of the equipment in my fitness center. However, the fitness center is located in a plaza which I also own. So, I then sold parking passes for $20/month to park in my plaza. Then, I hired a private "security" company to just issue tickets to those who are caught violating. (Parking in the plaza without a pass) How ridiculous of a concept is this?
Almost every university that I am aware of employs a "security" company. They make it seem as though they are there to protect students, however their main function is to write citations for those without a pass. Actually, I take that back....
They can write tickets for a number of different offenses, here are the ones I recieved:
1 - Parking without a pass
2 - Parking in the teachers lot with a students pass
3 - Having your parking pass located on the wrong part of your vehicle
4 - Parking in a spot which is not an actual "parking spot". (Some people are forced to park along the shoulder of the lot or in the grass because the university does not provide enough spots)
5 - Parking where you thought was a spot, but when the snow melted later in the day and the lines became visible, it was no longer a spot.
Now, during my very first semester in Community College I had received "tickets" for all of the above mentioned offenses. My account balance for the above mentioned offenses totaled over $200 and the college refused to transfer any academic credits or allow graduation with this balance outstanding. Now, lets examine all of the incidences...
1 - I had parked my car very far away from the school in a university approved parking spot. I went to the registration office to purchase my parking pass. However, when I came back to my car to put it on, I had received a ticket during this small window of time. I took the ticket back to the registration office and explained my situation. She said; "Just bring your car into our lot, I will go outside and see it on your car, and write it off". So, I walked all the way back to my car again, (It was a good 10 minute walk) tried to park it in their lot, but there was no spaces except for a handicapped spot. I wasn't going to risk it, the line in there was too long, and it wouldn't surprise me if I had gotten another ticket. Also, the woman had just sold me the parking pass, why could she have not just written it off? So anyways, I park around back and go back into the office. When it is my turn, I tell her; "Ok, I brought my car up so you can look at the pass on my car". She comes outside and I tell her to follow me around back. "No, you have to pull it up front, I cant go that far away from my office"
"But there are no spots out front. It is right out back, it will only take 20 seconds"
"Sorry, I cant"
Now, at this point I am frustrated beyond measure. There is no place to park it out front. The ticket is only for $20 because it was my first offense. So, in a John Wayne moment of rage, I take the ticket back into the office with the crumbled up money and throw it at her. "Here is the ticket and the money. Have a nice fucking day"! I felt like I had been vindicated, like I had gotten my moneys worth and took out my frustration. But on my way out of the office she hollers back; "You have to pay that in student accounts"!
2 - Being unable to find a spot, I figured what the hell, I wouldn't even go to class then. I will just park in the teachers lot for 5 minutes and go hand in my paper. This 5 minutes turned into 15 and of course a ticket was on my dashboard upon returning.
3 - One day I returned to my car and was astonished to find a ticket, I had followed all of their stupid rules. The ticket said "Inappropriate decal". Now, at the time I had a large decal on the passenger side of my car which read: "POWERED BY DEEZ NUTZ". So, naturally, I thought it was referring to this. I quickly went and retrieved a security "officer" and questioned him. He said; "Yea, you have to put your "decal" on the driver side of your car, you can have one on the passenger side." Now, thinking he was referring to the "Deez Nutz" decal I explained to him; "It doesn't simply come off". He said; "Yes it does, it has to be on the other side". I had some choice words for him and then went on with my day.
4 - This one is the biggie. The university simply did not have enough parking spots to facilitate all of its students. I believe this is the reason they even employed a "security" staff. They knew damn well that they had way more students than they had parking spots, they had to of. I say this because, they certainly know how many students they have, and they know how many spots they have available. And, for every single spot to be filled up at 8:15 in the morning, I am guessing that the numbers aren't even close. So, some students would manufacture parking spots. They would either park in the grass or on the shoulder of the lot. These cars would ALWAYS have tickets on them, every single one of them. Now, picture this: The school is now writing tickets and charging students because the school does not have enough parking spots to facilitate the students that they have already charged to park. Please, let that sink in for a moment. The university has the audacity to penalize people (when they had no right to charge for parking in the first place) who have paid to park, and yet there are not enough spots. All I can say to this one is: "S... M. M.....F...... D... B...."!
5 - I began to arrive at school at 745am for an 8am class. I made sure to get there early so I would have a parking spot, and a relatively close one at that. Although I hated their parking policies, I figured this would finally alleviate the issue. It had snowed the night before and so the ground was completely covered. It was impossible to see any parking lines, so I just parked beside the other cars. It was a long day, I had several classes and a bunch of work to do, so I was there for most of the day. As the day went on, the sun had apparently risen and the snow had melted. When I arrived back to my car, it had a ticket on it for not parking within the lines and taking up 2 spaces.
----For all of these "offenses" I had tried to get them dropped to no avail. I will never forget the day the lady in student accounts sternly scolded me; "Listen Bud, this place is a business before it is a school"! I hated that college and everything it stood for.
During the next school year I had arrived again without a new parking pass. As I ran to the registration department all I could think about was getting a ticket for not having a new pass. After I got my pass, I ran all the way back to my car, and while on my way I noticed one of the security cars in the vicinity of my car. My blood began to boil. I had a large, plastic water bottle in my hand that was about half way full. It was at that moment I decided that if I had a fucking ticket on my car I was going to launch it at their car.
The closer and closer I got to my car my anger only increased. Then, to my despair, I noticed the bright orange citation fluttering in the wind beneath my windshield wiper. I was completely enraged and full of disgust. The anger had reached its breaking point and I had completely snapped. I cocked back that bottle of spring water and was just about to chuck it at the security car when I paused for a moment. What was I thinking? I had that parking pass right in my pocket, I suppose he technically had the right to give me the ticket for "No parking pass", right? So, I did the only thing I could possibly do in this moment of unweathering rage. I unlocked the door to my car, opened the door, and gently applied the adhesive side of the parking permit to the appropriate location on the rear, driver side window. Then, I locked the door, and began walking towards the security car, (I didn't want to miss) where I seen the "officer" writing a ticket. Then, I unleashed ALL of the anger I had for ALL of the times they had fucked with me. I reached back and I chucked that bottle of spring water as hard as I possibly could at the front of the security car. It hit the hood and exploded as it collided with the windshield and when flying. I seen the security guard with his pen and pad jump, startled as I screamed; "What the fuck"?!?!?!?!?!?!??
..........yes, finally, this was MY moment
This frail, scrawny little security officer suddenly became all turkey-chested. "What the hell man" he said. I responded with all my anger; "You fucking idiots give me tickets every goddamn day and I'm sick of it"! He comes over and examines the ticket, sees the permit in my window and has an astonished look on his face. He begins to apologize but I don't allow it, this was MY moment after all the bullshit they have put me through, I was going to take it out on him. "Every goddamn day you pieces of shit man" I tell him at the top of my lungs. Finally he says; "Listen, I might be a security guard but I have the authority to arrest you". I could hear the shakiness in his voice. In my anger I respond; "Oh yea, you put one hand on my and I'm fucking breaking it off"! He gets on his little walkee talkee as I tear up the ticket and get into my car and drive away. And I have to admit, I felt really, really good about it.
However, looking back I realize who is really to blame. It wasn't that poor officers fault, all he had done was selected a shitty job. Who would want to write tickets and ruin peoples days for a living? And it wasn't my fault, (Eh, maybe a little bit) I was just trying to further my education. The blame lie in the greed of the university. In fact, if you look deep enough...pretty much EVERY single problem in this world can be attributed to greed somewhere along the line. I challenge you to just think about it for a minute.
(Sorry, I didn't proof read this post, the concept disgust me too much)
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