Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Night Auditor II: Electric Boogaloo (Or: why Las Vegas sucks) [language]

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Night Auditor II: Electric Boogaloo (Or: why Las Vegas sucks) [language]

    Hello everyone

    Merc is here with another round of stories, because I'm bored at work, and 10 hour shifts drag on. Especially when it's my friday.
    Now in a blatantly stolen completely original format! HOORAY!


    Sentient Taxis. Worse than Skynet.

    Sigh. The bad part about being out in Henderson (which is still part of Las Vegas, just a suburb of it) is that no one knows where the hell it is. We're off the strip, but we're still close enough that it's only a short drive to get there. Most people who stay at our hotel are business types who want to avoid the noise, congestion, and associated crap that Las Vegas proper has to put up with.

    Most of them arrive here by airline. Which means they have to take a cab from the airport, since our shuttle doesn't run that far.
    Which also means they get to deal with Vegas cabbies. Oh boy.
    Vegas cabbies are notorious for being absolutely psychotic, impossible to deal with, and they almost all drive like maniacs. I once took a cab out here, and in mid-trip, THE FREAKIN' DRIVER'S DOOR FLEW OPEN. He closed it like it was nothing.
    Also, a large number of them are completely clueless about anything outside of the strip. This causes problems.
    Such was the case with a cabbie earlier tonight.

    Me: *canned greeting*
    SC (Sucky Cabbie): "YES, I AM CAB, I NOT FIND YOUR HOTEL."
    Me: "...Okay...uhh...where are you at?"
    Apparently I'm talking to the cab itself now? I always knew the robot overlords would rise up against us, but I never knew they'd be this annoying. I'd prefer Skynet.

    SC: *two obscure roads*
    Me: "The fastest way here is to hop on Eastern headed south, then down to *other street*"
    SC: "I DO NOT KNOW THIS STREET. NO GOOD."
    Me: "...I just told you how to get here. Eastern to *other street*"
    SC: "I WILL STAY ON PHONE, YOU DIRECT ME."
    Me: "I'm sorry, I have to help someone at the momen--"
    SC: "NO, YOU WILL ASSIST, I AM CAB, I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO GET TO HOTEL."
    Me: "Look, it's easy to get here, you know Eastern, right?"
    SC: "YES."
    Me: "Just take Eastern headed south to our cross streets. You can't miss it."
    SC: "I AM NOT GOING. I WILL GET LOST."

    I hear him yell back to his passenger.
    SC: "YOU TAKE OTHER CAB, I AM NOT GO TO HOTEL THAT FAR."
    Passenger: "What?! It's less than ten minutes from here! The guy just told you how to get there, didn't he?"
    SC: "I NOT GO, YOU GET OUT AND FIND OTHER CAB, I WILL GET LOST."
    Passenger: "You've go to be fucking kidding me..."
    SC: "I NO FUCKING KID, WILL BE LOST. OTHER CAB."

    Cabbie then proceeds to hang up on me and presumably dump his passenger. Poor guy shows up half an hour later, and of course I have to hear about it.
    God damnit, I hate cabbies out here! At least the cab service our hotel uses has clean cars (they're Scions), drivers who understand freakin' English and know where they're going, and have the sense not to swear at paying customers.


    HURDLEDURDLEDUR

    The above word is the only way to describe how one particular idiot made me feel tonight. I was left so senseless by her stupidity that I've begun randomly shouting nonsensical words.

    Some woman calls up asking for directions. So I tell her where to go, and she hangs up. Two minutes later, she calls back. She headed the wrong way on the first road. So she turns back and hangs up.

    At this point I was keeping myself occupied by browsing the forums for Sins of a Solar Empire, my latest obsession. Her calls were cutting into my video game researching time, damnit.

    She calls again. This time she's at Eastern, but she doesn't know if it's the Eastern she's looking for.
    ...how many Easterns do you think there are?!
    A few minutes later...surprise! She calls YET AGAIN. Now she's turn onto our road but doesn't see us. Well yes, that's because we're a mile down the road, idiot. Like I JUST TOLD YOU.
    Then I get a call from the hotel down the street. She's at THAT hotel, and she's pissed off I gave her wrong directions.
    This is despite the fact that our hotels are literally two fucking blocks from each other.

    So she leaves the hotel that is clearly within sight of us and finally manages to find her way here. As I'm checking her in, she says "You know, you should really learn to listen more carefully."
    ...
    AHHHHHHHHHHHHEKWFJIOWEVMWEYFOISMHURDLEDURDLEDUR!!! !!11!!1!

    Porkchop Sandwiches!


    If your first thought upon reading the above was "OH SHIT! GET THE FUCK OUT!", congratulations, you are awesome.

    Anyway, someone wants to know where to find a good place to eat. But not just any place to eat. Somewhere that sells...porkchop sandwiches. Barely resisting the urge to yell out "You not cooking!", I inform him I really have no idea.
    "Oh man, I could really use a porkchop sandwich, know what I mean?"
    No, I've never been at a hotel and suddenly thought "oh god I need a porkchop sandwich right now."
    G.I. Joooeeee....

    ...Is he dead?

    Guy stumbles into our hotel last week and says he's waiting for someone to pick him up, and he'd like to just wait on our couch. Okay, no problem, happens sometimes. I can see only the edge of the couch from where I sit, but if someone is sitting on the couch I can see the top of their heads.
    The guy sits down, I head to the back office to do some paperwork stuff, and when I come out a few minutes later, I don't see any head poking above the TV stand. So I assume he left.

    A few hours later, as I'm getting ready to make coffee, I pass by the couch...and the guy is asleep on it. Great, another one of THESE people. Damn drunks.
    I try to wake him up. And try. And try. Gently at first, about a dozen "sir?", getting louder as he doesn't respond. I'm trying to avoid touching the guy, because I've had a drunk swing at me as he woke up. I'd rather that not happen.
    So I get a little louder. "HEY. WAKE UP."
    Still nothing.
    So I brace myself and push his shoulder a little. No response.
    Push harder. No response.
    By now I'm shaking the damn guy and yelling in his ear. "SIR, WAKE UP. COME ON, YOU CAN'T SLEEP HERE."

    By now I'm seriously wondering if this guy is in a coma. Or dead.

    So I call the paramedics, and they show up a five minutes later. Four of them, and a stretcher. They inform me that, yes, he's still alive (I knew he was alive, but he's as responsive as a corpse), and I watch them wake him up. They try touching his shoulder and saying "Wake up". When that doesn't work, they get a little more forceful.
    One of the paramedics kicks the guy in the legs, and the guy next to him yells "HEY, WAKE UP!!"

    The guy finally jerks awake, and I hear the following conversation:

    Paramedics: "Hey, you alright? What are you doing here?"
    Drunk Guy: "I was, uhh, waiting for.............a ride."
    PM: "Yeah, from who?"
    DG: ".......uhhh...my friend."
    PM: "What's his name?"
    DG: "............"
    PM: "What's his phone number?"
    DG: "..........."
    PM: "Do you know where you are right now?"
    DG: ".............."
    PM: "You're at the Hampton Inn. You have a few drinks tonight, buddy?"
    DG: "What? Uhh...yeah, a few."
    PM: "What's your name?"
    DG: "....Mark. Mike. Michael. Steve. STEVE. Eric."
    PM, while other paramedics are trying to stifle laughter: "Okay, well you need to listen to me, Mark Mike Michael Steve Steve Eric. Okay?"
    DG: "uhhhhh yeah"
    PM: "Do you know what day it is?"
    DG: "......"
    PM: "Do you know what MONTH it is?"
    DG: "December."
    *more laughter*
    PM: "It's June. How about the year?"
    DG: "Two thousand.......................................... ...........nine."
    PM: "Well at least you know that much. See? We're making progress here."
    DG: "Can I go back to sleep?"
    PM: "No, you can't. You need to get out of this hotel. We were called because someone tried to wake you for twenty minutes and you were non-responsive. That's usually a bad thing."
    DG: "Uh huh."
    PM: "Do you have someone you can call?"
    DG: "Yeah...yeah I can call. I have a cell phone you know."
    PM: "Great. Call someone and get out of here."
    DG: "Yeah, okay, fine."

    The PMs leave, and the guy calls someone to pick him up. As he's walking out the door, he look at me and says "Did you call the cops on me?"
    I told him I called the paramedics, because I was worried about his health, and wanted to make sure he was okay."
    He replies with "Fuckin' idiot" and walks out.

    Someone should lock him up in a room. A room...with a moose!

    Kudos to anyone who gets the reference
    Last edited by MercenaryMuffin; 06-26-2009, 09:37 AM.

  • #2
    Quoth MercenaryMuffin View Post
    Sigh. The bad part about being out in Henderson (which is still part of Las Vegas, just a suburb of it) is that no one knows where the hell it is. We're off the strip, but we're still close enough that it's only a short drive to get there.
    Bah! Henderson is about as right off the strip as compton is to LAX...sure it's not too far, but it isn't exactly right off it either.

    Quoth MercenaryMuffin View Post
    Someone should lock him up in a room. A room...with a moose!

    Kudos to anyone who gets the reference
    It's not Space INVADERs. One question ZIM! Is he eating nuts?

    Comment


    • #3
      Oh it's close enough to count! So there

      And it might be Invader Zim...
      *opens desk drawer*
      But then, you ne--AHH! BEEEEEEEEEEES!

      Comment


      • #4
        While I realize that I'm just begging for the moose by telling you this, firstly, I'm in a bear suit! Secondly, used to, you could get a killer porkchop biscuit at Bojangle's.

        You don't have those out there, do you? Poor thing...
        Drive it like it's a county car.

        Comment


        • #5
          Quoth hauntedheadnc View Post
          While I realize that I'm just begging for the moose by telling you this, firstly, I'm in a bear suit! Secondly, used to, you could get a killer porkchop biscuit at Bojangle's.

          You don't have those out there, do you? Poor thing...
          You know what you need?

          You need to get out more.

          Comment


          • #6
            Quoth bunnyboy View Post
            You know what you need?

            You need to get out more.
            I'm sorry, I can't. I'm waiting for the store to call and tell me my GameSlave 2 has come in. I gave them my name, Clarence Wong, and everything.
            Drive it like it's a county car.

            Comment


            • #7
              Everyone join me at Bloaty's Pizza Hog for the after party!

              Comment


              • #8
                Bloaty's? Rock. We just need to make it quick, tho, I don't wanna get caught there at the Foodening >_>
                "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

                Comment


                • #9
                  Guy asleep on the couch; yeah that's awkward. On the one side, you can't let him stay there, but you don't want to touch him and he won't wake up. You made the right call. Been there done that. At least I was nowhere near Vegas, so it didn't happen too much...But the hotel was up the road from the downtown area with about 40bars!

                  Ever have someone puke in your lobby???
                  "If anyone wants this old box containing the broken bits of my former faith in humanity, I'll take your best offer now. You may be able to salvage a few of em' for parts..... " - Quote by Argabarga

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    ALL THE TIME. Ugh. Had some couple a few weeks ago walk in, talking all normal, and out of nowhere, the wife just makes this HUHHHHHHHHHH noise, and pukes all over the floor.

                    Though, in a VERY rare case of being a non-SC, they offered to clean it up. AND THEY DID. Wow.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Hey merc; if you use that callsign (MercenaryMuffin) in Sins, I think I might have beaten you down in a match a few days ago.

                      Three Marza Dreadnoughts at Level 10 with Kol Support ruins anyone's day. :P

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Former Vegas (and Henderson) resident here.

                        How the hell does a cabbie get lost on Eastern? It's one of the city's "main" roads!

                        I caught the bit about the porkchop sandwiches. Those GI Joe do-overs were funny. And I don't know of any place in Vegas to get a porkchop sandwich either. They might have a pulled pork sandwich at Memphis Championship Barbecue (if it's even still there) but I'm not sure.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Quoth MercenaryMuffin View Post

                          HURDLEDURDLEDUR
                          I think she replaced her guidance chip with a cupcake
                          Last edited by Plank; 06-27-2009, 08:49 AM.
                          The customer is always right! Which is a shame, as my gun pulls to the left

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I hate the cab drivers here too. Once when I was a tourist years ago I took one from near the stratosphere to downtown. I'm wearing a tie dye grateful dead shirt, he is talking on his cellphone in super discrete drug dealer code "Yo I got that jacket you left in my trunk but I have a passenger *groan* so I'll call you back, how much did you need anyway" He then continues talking on the phone in straight up metric system (for those outside the US, lot's of people here only use the metric system for illegal drugs lol). As we turn downtown on one of the number streets people are RUNNING up to his open window placing orders, he yelled back "I have a passenger, I'll get you on the way back". Dude be discrete, some passengers wouldn't have found it mere amusing like I do. I was miffed he didn't offer me any (hello grateful dead tie dye).

                            Another time I called a cab because 3 busses had all passed me by and I needed to get to work (WTF busses not stopping at a bus stop?). It took two hours for a cab to finally get me, the first one picked up a hand waiving fare right where I could see them (not allowed here you have to call a cab, but they probably looked like a tourist and easier to cheat). I should have walked the mile or so to the gun store and caught a cab there (seems to have a constant stream of tourist cabs all day long).

                            Also had the "flat fare" happen to me while drunk once. He made an super high quote and I took it (I was desperate) didn't run the meter, took his huge flat rate and threatened me for a tip. No more cabs here for me.

                            So I believe you cabbie getting lost on freaking eastern and being an ass to his passenger in broken english is status quo.

                            I'm saddened that you get the drunken SCness of the strip all the way out in Henderson. I'm in between the two areas and it feels really "local friendly" here, I'm surrounded by like "real" people when I wander around my neighborhood. I do get to see the douches of the strip when I walk to an from work (I saw the trump card the other night "hooker on crutches" I wish I had a camera, minidress covered in sequins, six inch heels and CRUTCHES standing on one of the bridges with another dressed girl approaching all male passerby.

                            I'm toying with the idea of a Vegas CS meet-up sometime. It seems we have a good bunch that lives here (you and Horror Frog Princess for starters, who am I forgetting?) and a bunch more of us make it out here at some point. It could be fun. Lemme know what you think. Of course we'd have to move it over to the meet-up board, but I thought I'd throw the kernel of an idea out here first (if it's not ok mods let me know).

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Grrrr and don't get me started on the cab redirection due to the strip clubs illegally paying (up to $100 a head) cabbies to redirect passengers from wherever they intended to go.

                              During the last week I've seen a mom with a stroller stranded at a cab stand for 45 minutes while cabs were going in and out the whole time and there was no line to speak of (weekday). I also saw a group of females with one woman frantically smoking a cigarette talking on a phone saying "NO! we haven't made it to the airport yet" waiting in a limo staging area with 5 limos sitting in front of it idling. (the cab stand and limo area attendants get part of the cabbie kickback). If your a guy or group of guys you get approached soon as you leave a hotels doors by these attendants asking if you'd like a free limo, once you get in it's a super high pressure sale for a strip club (only the ones that pay cabbies) or clip joint. It's kind of sickening, the local government is working on a solution.

                              This was at a random casino I pass through on my way home, but it happens at most if not all.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X