Man, I swear this place will drive you crazy. Every damn day, it’s nothing new when I walk into the Shake Back Inn. feeling like I stepped into some alternate universe where the bad days numbered the good days.
The reasoning behind that? Front desk? All ladies. Hotel manager? A woman. Housekeeper supervisor? Marlena woman. Laundry? Breakfast? Housekeeping? Women, women, and more damn women!
And there's me. Jacoby. The only man in this sea of estrogen, trying to keep this patched up hotel from falling apart. He’s the maintenance guy, the fix-it man, the guy who gets called when a toilet's backed up or the smart TV's need programming.
"Jacoby! The ice machine's isn’t making ice again!" That's Tiffany one of the at the front desk day time receptionist.
"Jacoby! There's a spider in room 103!" Marlena, of course.
H. Manager: "Jacoby!"
Jacoby: (Oh here we go, the boss lady herself). Yes ma’am?
H. Manager: "The parking lot needs repainting. Get on it!"
Damn I swear, sometimes I think they forget I'm the only maintenance man here today. It's like they see two of me. I can only be in one place at one time.
Don't get me wrong, I respect all women, I truly do. But damn, would it kill management to hire another guy? Someone who could come and take the load off my back. And from around all this... feminine energy?
The other day, I overheard one of the ladies talking about a "girls' night out." Tiffany was all excited, going on about margaritas and dance clubs. They were going on and on like I was invisible.
Sometimes I wonder if I should just quit, find a job where everybody not trying to be the boss. But then I remember my dad's words: "Son, a real man doesn't quit or run from a challenge."
So here I am, still at the Shake Back Inn, surrounded by a whirlwind of perfume, gossip, and the monthly cramps stuff. Jacoby the only dude on the staff and the rest are women, just trying to make it through another day without losing my mind.
Maybe tomorrow I'll suggest a poker night. Yeah, right. Maybe sewing night. Aww how sweet.