www.leefur.com

So it's 1:45am, and I'm in the airport. Kinda drunk. Cuz, you see. Well, it goes like this. I said I wasn't gonna bother whining anymore, but here goes anyway.

Something like 5 years ago, I started talking about San Diego. I talked and I talked about wanting to live there, about how wonderful it'd be. And then, eventually, one day I worked my situation and made a move to San Diego happen. After years and years of anticipation, San Diego finally happened (yall have no idea how many times i've had to go back and fix drinking-related typos).

Anyway, so fast-forward a bit, and I finally actually move out to San Diego. Two fucking weeks later (max), I am starting to make some good friends but I am told that I'm being pulled away, to fly up to Oakland to work on what sounds like the most utterly disinteresting and high-pressure project in the world.

So I report in for that assignemnt, and turns out it isn't even as good as it sounded. It's worse, in fact. But I keep plugging away, because I was told "we just need you to fill in while the IA from the last phase finishes up, so at the very latest we'll need you through February 22nd, the day of the big presentation." Well shit, that sucks but at least it ends soon, only like 3-4 weeks on the project.

Then I find out I'm being booted out of my apartment and I have to somehow find a place to live while I'm being forced to travel up to Oakland for slave labor each week. Shit. Shitty, but at least I know it ends in like two weeks.

So fast-forward to this morning. I've spent two solid days this week conducting interviews with high-ranking managers, sounding like a doofus cuz I haven't been given the right amount of time/attention to understand what the fuck we're doing. I'm on pace for about a 65-70 hour week. Up at 8 this morning, in to work. But at least it's really just this week and next.

Last night I moved my flight because I was told there was no way I was getting out on time this Friday evening. So the only flight is nine-fucking-thirty, getting in at around 11. Great.

So I get into work, and swiftly find out that despite the literally-to-my-face-from-the-VP-promise that I'll be on this through, at most, Feb 22, it turns out that's not true. I'm officially staffed through March 11. So that's like 3 more weeks, nearly doubling my time on this shitass project and away from home.

So fucking great. We start slaving away, 6 of us in one small room (different than that other room I described). So slave, slave, slave. About 7.30p I finally leave for my 9.30p flight, 70 hours done for the week. I'm brain DEAD. Understandable, right?

So I cross the street to the parking garage for my shitass Ford Focus rental, and instantly remember seeing the sign that they close at 7p ("surely I'll be back by 7 on a Friday"). Luckily the guy is counting out the register, and I yell to him, and he lets me in and begrudingly lets me get my car. I pull up and offer my AmEx, but he tells me it's cash-only. So I quickly toss aside my wallet (cards only), and pull out my cash and pay my $12 and I'm on my way.

Find my way to the rental place, return the car, catch the shuttle to the terminals. Okay, got like an hour and a half - I'm in good shape.

In the terminal, walk up to a self-serve check-in kiosk, and reach for my wallet to get my credit card for the machine. Uh-oh. No fucking wallet. Quick mental rewind. Shit. I quickly tossed my wallet down in the garage, because I was already putting the guy out and wanted to get him what he wanted quickly - cash. Thanks work, for making me stay past garage closing time. Oh and thanks for making me so tired that I couldn't remember where I'd put my wallet.

So I quickly go back to the rental car shuttle and go back to Avis. "Err, forgot my wallet in my white Ford Focus. Here's my contract." Some really nice manager lady takes the contract and we start walking around the lot looking for a white Focus. Can't really find one. So ... hmm. We look on the back lot - no luck. So we go over to the Budget lot (they share). No luck. So we go to "the north lot", which is a dark, rape-friendly type place. Nope, still no white Focuses. We head over to the repair bay, no luck. Just a silver Focus with a plate ending in 484, instead of 848 like she says we're looking for. So we go back and double check all the other spots. Then she looks back at the contract - it's a SILVER car we're looking for, ending in 484, not 848 - woopsie! Seems we saw the car that probably has my wallet, like an hour ago. So back we go. We find the car. Finally!

Doesn't have my goddamned fucking wallet. She offers to drive me to the airport, and if I can't work anything out, to rent me a car under my already-entered info, so I can at least drive the 9 hours down to San Diego. Drops me off. Four cops (state cops, tough-guy dickfucks) yell at us for blocking traffic. I'm like "dude, i'm trailing a 70 hour week with ... ugh ... fucking forget it". Cops give me shit. I roll my eyes and move along.

Southwest counter. "Hey ... so I'm in a world of hell, lost my license and I'm 3 hours late for my flight to San Diego now." ... "Hmm ... I can get you on a flight to Ontario, if you want". ONTARIO!? Uh, no thanks, but thanks. Turns out he meant Ontario, CA, which is sorta kinda sorta near San Diego. No more flights down to SD tonight. Too bad once I got to "ontario", I'd be screwed. No credit cards, no ID ... stranded. Next option for San Diego is tomorrow.

Hence, I'm sitting here at now 1:35am, waiting till 4:30 comes around so I can get my ticket for the 6am flight to San Diego. I'm not really functioning, more of a shell at this point. I was really, really, REALLY looking forward to having two (or three) vodka-cran's on the plane. Settling into that seat, then getting back, hopping in my jeep, and pulling the covers over me when I got home.

Instead, no sleep tonight. And all my credit cards are gone. And now I have no ID. I also have no place that I live. So when the DMV asks for a proof of residency in CA, I'll have none. And tomorrow I'm supposed to sign my lease. So when they ask for proof of ID, I won't have that either. Nice little Catch-22 for me.

Oh and I'll be handling that on zero hours sleep.

Oh and I have to fly back up to Oakland for more of this shit on Monday. Probably with no ID. That oughta all work out jjjjjust fine.

Sigh.