I love to sing, but from a young age, I’ve been told that I’m not good at it and I shouldn’t sing by multiple people, including my dad and brothers. I do anyway, but not within earshot of anyone.

One night, I am in the living room and my boyfriend is in the kitchen cooking. He is watching videos on his phone, and I have the radio playing. A couple of my favorite songs come on. I start singing softly, stopping after a minute or two, only to start again. This same process repeats over and over, and on the sixth or seventh song, my boyfriend yells from the kitchen:

Boyfriend: “WILL YOU SING ALREADY, GOD D*** IT?!”

Turns out I wasn’t as soft as I thought and he could hear me. He was pausing his video to listen to me sing. I guess it got annoying to hear the thing he was listening to buffer every minute. He asked me on the next song to sing all the way through so he could listen to me. He’s the only one that likes to listen to me sing and says I have a great voice.

I work at a small hotel on a popular tourist island. After the boats leave for the day, there is no other way to leave the island, and there is no other choice but to stay in a hotel or sleep outside.

This guest is someone who has missed the boat and is desperate for a room. We oblige, though because it is late, this involves calling in housekeepers who are off the clock. It is important to note that normally we are an expensive hotel, but the walk-in rate this time of year is 50% off.

It is about ten minutes after the guest has checked in.

Guest: “Excuse me, I have an issue with my room.”

Me: “I’m so sorry, ma’am. Could you tell me what the problem is so I can help resolve it?”

The guest slams the hot water knob for the bathroom sink onto the counter.

Guest: “I am appalled by your establishment. My son went to use the hot water in the bathroom, and the knob fell right off! I paid a lot of money to be here, and this is unacceptable! I NEED TO SPEAK TO A MANAGER THIS INSTANT!”

I know for a fact that this can’t be true, as I had helped the housekeeper get the room ready, and the knob itself looks like it was ripped forcefully from the base it attaches to. But we have been taught to never question a guest. My manager does not live on the island, so I get ready to fill out the appropriate forms myself.

Me: “I’m so sorry that this happened. Unfortunately, there is not a manager on property right now. However, if I can have you fill out this form, I will make sure you are not charged for the damage, and I will either call maint—”

The guest interrupts before I can give her the options.

Guest: “I know it wasn’t our fault. How dare you accuse me of that?! I can’t believe the service here! I am an important guest here! You need to do something about your behavior! Let me speak to a manager! You don’t deserve to work here!”

I am starting to lose my patience.

Me: “As I said, I’m sorry about the issue you are experiencing, but there is no manager here right now. I will let him know you would like to speak to him tomorrow. Now, I can call maintenance to fix your sink, or I can call someone to clean another room so you can move. What would you like to do?”

Guest: *Starting to yell* “I am an important guest! I don’t deserve this treatment! It’s late and we are tired. Those would take too long. You are forcing us to wash our hands in cold water like dogs!”

Me: *Taken aback* “May I suggest that, if the water is an issue but you don’t want us to fix it tonight, that you use the sink in the kitchenette next to the bathroom?”

The guest shrieks angrily and throws the faucet handle on the floor.

Guest: “I refuse! We will have to use cold water and it is all your fault! I will be back tomorrow to talk to your manager! I’ll have your job! I demand you give me the room for free for this treatment! This is not how you treat VIP guests!”

I am just done with this situation entirely.

Me: “I will see what can be done. Here is my manager’s card.”

The guest takes the card and storms off, still shrieking. I send an email detailing the entire situation to my manager, and the rest of my shift passes uneventfully. The next day, when I come into work, my manager asks to speak to me.

Manager: “I just wanted to let you know you don’t have to worry about the guest from last night.”

Me: “What ended up happening?”

Manager: “The guest told me you were rude and swore and refused to give her a room, and then, once she got one, it was trashed and you wouldn’t do anything. But I know you, and from the report you gave me and the housekeeper’s account, you did nothing wrong. When she checked out, I told her that we wouldn’t be giving her a discount for that, and she ran out screaming that we rob innocent people who just want a place to sleep.”

It turns out that she didn’t want to pay for a room after missing the last ferry boat, and didn’t want to pay for her mistake. I’m just glad that, for once, my manager stood behind me instead of the guest! The things people do…

This is my first time flying alone, and I have a five-hour layover in Chicago. I’ve been traveling since 6:00 am and it’s now 2:00 pm and I am craving human interaction. By hour three, I am bored out of my mind, and I pull out my [handheld gaming system] to pass the time while I wait by my gate.

I see a boy my age across the aisle with the same gaming system. I gesture to our gaming systems.

Me: “Twinsies!”

Gamer: *Sounding annoyed* “What are you playing?”

I’m playing a game that’s known for being easy and only popular with younger kids.

Me: “[Game]. You?”

Gamer: *Genuinely disgusted* “Wow.”

He goes back to gaming. Well, okay, I guess this guy won’t be my airport buddy. I’ll find a new airport buddy. About half an hour later, a stressed-looking mom sits in my row with her screaming baby and four- or five-year-old girl who’s begging for attention. As soon as the mom sits down, she gets a phone call, and she walks a few feet away to answer it, leaving the girl alone. She’s obviously very hyper and instantly runs down the aisle and stops at me.

She points at my chips and screams something in Spanish.

I kind of know Spanish; I know “Dora The Explorer” Spanish and I’ve memorized my quesadilla order in Spanish for when I go to food trucks. That’s about it.

Me: “Hi! Hello! No chip for you, no, ma’am!”

My gamer friend from earlier sighs and is acting as dramatic as possible about this small child acting like a small child. There’s more excited Spanish and giggling from the girl, and then she runs back to her seat and comes back with a stuffed pony from an infamous children’s series.

Me: “Oh, wow… Es eso [Blue Horse #1]?” Is that [Blue Horse #1]?

Girl: “NOOO! Eso es [Blue Horse #2]!” No! That’s [Blue Horse #2]!

Me: “Oh, wow! [Blue Horse #2]! Bonita!” Pretty! “I remember her. I used to watch [Show], too—”

Gamer: *Loudly* “Ew.”

I side-eye him but keep talking to the girl.

Me: “Where’s her hat?”

I point to the pony’s head.

Gamer: “I can’t believe you watch that. You’re a grown-a** adult.”

Me: “I’m nineteen.”

Gamer: “See? Grown-a** adult.”

Me: “I’m nineteen. The show came out when I was nine. I watched it when I was nine.”

Gamer: “You’re a f****** [term for people in the fandom], so—”

Me: “Ay! Don’t say the F word in front of a little kid, maybe?!”

The little girl’s mother suddenly whipped around, gasped, ran over and scooped up the girl, and moved to the other side of the terminal.

Way to go, man. You defended the world from a video game and a children’s series that I did, indeed, watch as a child.

We all sat relatively close to each other on the plane, so it was an awkward fly back.

Due to the health crisis, our school is offering classes in virtual mode via Google Meet session.

During one class, I’ve inadvertently turned on the closed captions, where the computer converts my speech to text. Since I’m a math teacher, the words aren’t always accurate. At one point, after talking for about ten minutes, my throat is a little dry and I need to take a sip of water.

Me: “Excuse me, I have a frog in my throat.”

I turn to my water cup and take a sip. As I turn back, I see the interpretation of my last sentence as captions.

Computer: “Excuse me, I have a f*** in my throat.”

I don’t know what subject the computer thinks I’m teaching.

It’s Wednesday and I have been sick for a couple of days. I try to be seen at urgent care, but due to the health crisis, they have nothing available until Friday afternoon. I take the Friday slot. Since some of my symptoms could also be symptoms of the current spreading illness, I also schedule a free screening at a county test site on Thursday. I get the results on Friday morning before my urgent care visit.

An hour and a half after my slot, the provider is able to see me. I describe my symptoms. 

Me: “I have a cough, sore throat, fatigue, and a little shortness of breath. I did get a [illness] test and it was negative.”

Provider: “It was negative?”

Me: “Yes, thankfully.”

Provider: “Then why are you here?”

Me: *Taken a little aback* “Because I’m sick?”

The provider finished the exam and diagnosed me with an upper respiratory infection.