Learning the Hard Way

The situation at Club Vortex continued to get worse. The hourly employees got paid bi-monthly and I got paid weekly salary. About one month ago, the employee's paychecks bounced so some of the security quit since, unlike the bar staff and waitresses, they don't make cash each night. After my 2nd paycheck bounced I told Phil that I was going to quit if I didn't get paid so he started paying me cash.

On Thursday March 29th we had a concert featuring a Mexican gangster rapper. Because of people quitting I only had 7 security with 3 of those on the front door and 1 on the back door. One of my door guys quit half an hour into his shift because Travis had told him he would bring his check down the night before but he hadn't so that left me with 6 security guys.

Towards the end of the night 2 Polynesian guys tried to start a fight with one of my security guys, Bushy and me. I called Code Red (the code for a fight that brings all security to that area) and waited for back-up. When back-up arrived we told the two Polynesian guys to leave but they refused and a big Caucasian guy that was with them got mouthy. Then a brawl broke out and one of the Polynesian guys came up behind me and punched me once in my eye and twice in the back of the head. It was at this point in the fight that someone supposedly shot a gun from the upper level but I didn't hear it or see it. I did hear some bottles getting thrown and saw some people throw bottles. Everyone backed up and most of the customers panicked and ran out of the club. My security guys chased after a guy that had thrown a bottle at a mirror. I asked the performers if they were O.K. and they were so I followed my guys downstairs.

Even though I had previously told my guys not to chase people outside of the club, they did. When I got outside I ran around to the side of the building and part way down the street I saw the two Polynesian guys that had started the fight inside attacking one of my security guys, Mervin. He was on the ground as I ran up to back him up. As soon as I got to him a police officer drove up with his siren on. I pointed out the two Polynesians as they were getting into their car so the police officer got back into his car and pulled them over as they went around the corner back in front of the club. At this time Bushy, who had been out there with Mervin, got frustrated and punched one of Club Vortex's windows which resulted in a big gash on his forearm.

Mervin had to go to the hospital for a concussion and broken ribs and Bushy went to the hospital for the gash on his arm. The two Polynesian guys got arrested for Inciting a Riot. The Caucasian guy that was with them got away. After talking to the police for a while, filling out an incident report, helping Ryan repair a door that got broken when the customers fled the building, and locking up the club, I went to one hospital to check on Bushy who needed plastic surgery on his arm. Then I went to the other hospital to check on Mervin who had to stay over night at the hospital but had no permanent injuries. Mervin came back to work on Friday (what a trooper!) but missed Saturday.

Sunday night Phil called me and told me that the owners of the building had locked us out but they had not done it legally because they had not given us an eviction notice. He told me to go down to Club Vortex on Monday morning at 9:00 to meet Travis and the locksmith so I could get the new keys.

When I showed up Monday morning there were two cop cars out front. I walked inside and saw one of the owners of the building talking to two police officers. He asked me what I was doing there and I told him that Travis had told me to meet him there. One of the police officers told me to leave because I was at a crime scene so I left. Later that day I found out from Phil that someone had got into the club and stole the plasma screen TV's and some of the computers. He told me that we were closed down but he was looking for some new investors/owners to replace Travis and he hoped to reopen in a few weeks. I told him that I still needed to get paid for those bounced checks. He told me to talk to Travis since he was the investor and had not put the money from the club into the club account which was where the paychecks were drawn from. Travis blamed Phil for the money not being deposited in the account. Based on what I know, I believe that Travis was at fault because I know how tight he was with his money. I am going to the Labor Commission next week because Travis is refusing to compensate me for the bounced checks.

Although Phil did treat me better than he has in the past, I was still in a situation where I was suddenly unemployed and owed a lot of money. Phil blames Travis for the bounced checks and Travis blames Phil. Although I believe that it was more Travis's fault than Phil's, it still doesn't change the fact that I got screwed over again. I know I said that I would never work for Phil again when he fired me from Club Exchange but I would it would really stupid of me to work for him ever again.

After being unemployed for two weeks I got hired at Teleperformance to do tech support for Dell computers. I started training this past Monday. The training is seven weeks long. The first two weeks are for A+ certification. The third through sixth weeks are for Dell training followed by one week of on-the-job training. I'm getting paid $10.50 per hour during training and $12.50 per hour after training. I started working one day per week at Gamerzz in Taylorsville right after Club Vortex closed down but my current schedule at Teleperformance conflicts so I am now just an alternate employee.

This past Tuesday I went to court for the car accident that I was in back in October that totaled my car. Because I am pleading not guilty to the charge of Failure to Yield (since the other driver ran a red light) but guilty to the charge of Driving Without Insurance, my hearing was rescheduled for July 26th.

Because of the bounced checks and the fact that I was unemployed for two weeks I am in a financial bind but my Aunt Beverly and Uncle George are sending me some money to help me out. I thank God for their generosity!

I've seen a few good movies lately. I've seen 300 (A+) three times. It is one of my favorite movies of all time! I also saw Peaceful Warrior (A+) again because it was re-released in theaters. Peaceful Warrior is also one of my favorite movies that I've ever seen! I've also seen Shooter (B) and Grindhouse (F). Shooter was good but not nearly as good as 300 or Peaceful Warrior. Grindhouse was a total waste of time (more than three hours of time). I'm looking forward to seeing Next, The Invisible, Civic Duty, and Spider-Man 3.