Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Don't forget your number

So, I definitely haven't posted for a while mainly due to no inspiration and the sad fact that my so-called-life has become as dull as the the knives in my kitchen. In any case, the most exciting thing that has happened in the past week was the two coat check shifts I picked up thanks to my sister. Sure, it's not the most glamorous job, but it makes me quite the bit of cash without any full commitment, and I get to do whatever my big heart desires in those boring 7 hours--not to mention the fact that I get to regale you with the encounters of my coat check patrons.

The two nights combined into one; in the sense that I'm not sure what event's transpired on what night; what I do know though is that I very quickly learned to address people by the brands of their coats. It's like being in someones closet and checking out how much money they actually spend on their clothes. For me though, I'm not big on spending $300 on a scarf ,$140 on cashmere gloves, or $900 on a coat of any form. I'll tell you who is though;
Mr. Burberry Jacket. Yes, that's right. Mr. Burberry owned a long navy blue Burberry coat, decked out in gold plated cuff links. He came about once or twice to grab his jacket to engulf his lungs in tobacco and in the end left me a very shady $2 tip. It's not much for me to grab your coat of fthe hook, twice but you can't fool me into thinking $2 is all you can spare at an open bar event Mr. Burberry; I know you're a wealthy man and that your pockets can spare more than $2.

Along with Mr. Burberry was his friend Jones New York. Adorned in grey wool and black trim, the Jones couple didn't quite sit still on their hangers. Was it that they were made with too much fabric and too heavy for the hangers, or was it that the hangers were not made well enough for the couple themselves? I believe it was Jones New York who left me a very generous $5 tip at the beginning of the nightwhich I was content about, considering he claimed his wife's jacket a half dozen times to join in with the other tobacco filling lungs outside.

Among the nameless coats lay a handful of Danier Leathers. Oh the trouble they gave; falling off the hangers, bending the hangers, breaking the hangers and taking up too much room. Between this group of coats, the tips were average; $1 here, maybe $2 there. Sure, again I don't expect much, but they're just a handful of trouble I tells ya. The reason they're so heavy is cause their pockets are full of cash meant to give to the coat check girl. Though, I'm not sure they were ever aware of that.
Tragedy.

I would however like to give a shout out
to the husband of the fur coat who was very stealth in handing me his tip. $10 dollars baby. Of course it was because his eccentric wife enjoyed filling her lungs with tobacco every hour. But let me tell you; Mr. Husband-to-the-fur coat slipped the 10 in my hand as I passed him his wife's coat and with the nod of his head, walked up the stairs and into the darkness. He pretty much made up for the dozens of people who left me nothing in my poor little tip jar.

Of all the coats and all the brands that I observed and all the cellphones that were left in pockets that went off throughout both nights, it was the people themselves who were really something. Where to start of course is the question. The first thing that comes to mind is the handful of people who lost their tickets and though describing their coats would suffice; surprisingly I seemed to remember the faces with the coats of many people, but yet still had some trouble.

One guy; who I need to mention was
very attractive, lost his ticket. Now, he was one to remember considering he was very intoxicated. I asked him to describe his coat and he was barely able to articulate his words. He asked if it was cool if he came in to my booth and at first I denied him entrance , since I was very protective of my booth. It made me feel important and I couldn't risk him coming in and messing up my coats!! I mean, what would the world come to if coat # 750 came after 767???? (hahaha) Anyways, I kept asking him yes or no questions figuring it was a better method in his state, and in the end pointed to the coat I believed was his only to be denied. Upon letting him in, surprise surprise it was the right coat.

Among him, there was another guy who walked into the booth without asking, looking for his coat as if it was his own home closet (he ran off at the beginning of the night before I could hand him his ticket). I suggested that he step out and I that I would take care of it, since he was throwing my whole zen off, but he insisted rudely that he would look for it. So ,I stepped aside and waited until he left. Rude, or what. Maybe more like aggressive actually.

Ohhhh. Talking about rudeness, some woman who had helped plan the event, stored her purse in the coat check booth along with her coat and entered and existed the booth as she pleased. I didn't mind as much since she
needed to, but what did tickle me in the wrong way was when she put her glass on my drawing/doodle that I was working on (which everyone who came to retrieve their coats was impressed by). She didn't even notice or apologize when she took her glass and left her dirty napkin too boot! Luckily it didn't stain my drawing, else I might have mixed up her coat to get her back; what a pickle she would be in--even though I would probably be the one getting it for her in the end.

So, this drawing that I did started from a doodle, but turned into something apparently impressive. Mr. Suave came by a couple times to get his coat and on the second time noticed my drawing and was impressed. And in his drunken manner began to discuss how he too is an artist; but a musician while trying to hold up a meaningful conversation. He inquired as to why I drew what I did and I replied saying it was whatever was in my head. After 10 more minutes of meaningless and drunken discussion, he left for what I thought would be the night. Soon after he came back and told me that he wanted my drawing; I didn't think I would care at first, but I had grown an attachment to it within those short hours and he realized that but still tried to coerce me into giving it away; "artwork to another artist" were his words more or less. He told me he was going to go for a smoke and come back and expect to have my drawing signed and dated. He was a pretty weird character, consdiering he kept addressing me as "delicious." "Hey Delicious, whats up; hey Delicious, whats that?
"

In the end I decided I would give it to him, even though I was somewhat attached to it--but I felt there wasn't any point creating art if it couldn't be shared. But he never did come back, which really did make me happy, because it meant I got to keep my drawing without any form of guilt.

Im sure there are more stories but I'm too tired to think about them. If I do, I'llbe sure to post them. I've got another boring shift on Saturday, but I'm sure it means more stories. Anyways, below is the doodle I did during that weekend and beside it, what I've worked on since.

Cheers
So as you can see, its crappy-ish
and the lines aren't so clean, but
I was doing it on my lap. I like it
though.
<----



This one is a bit cleaner and sharper.
Same idea though.
ps my scanners kind of low budget.