Knock, Knock ... Housekeeping.

I needed money, and I needed it bad. What kind of job could a deaf girl possibly get that would allow her to accommodate her fierce aspirations to be an amateur comic? That's exactly right: hotel housekeeping.

Now, I'm not doing it just because it's "sexy". I wanted a job that I didn’t have to take home with me. If I had taken a research position for example, I’d think about work non-stop. I am definitely not sitting here worrying at the back of mind whether or not I cleaned that toilet in room 214 well enough. As for alternatives to housekeeping, you'd be surprised how limited your options are when you can’t hear and aren’t willing to do real labour or work nights (because that’s when the comedy happens my babies).

My family was pretty supportive for the most part. In my parents' eyes, being gainfully employed was a huge step forward in my quest to continue living under their roof. My twin sister on the other hand, was appalled on my behalf. She interpreted my interview and on being offered the job and accepting, she had this to say on the drive home: "Just don't tell too many people. Like, don't embarrass yourself by putting it on Facebook or something." She makes me laugh that one.

I have been working at the hotel for nearly a month now. The work is actually much more exhausting than I had anticipated. I've done housekeeping once before. The summer I was 19 my sister and a friend and I all lived together in Whistler, B.C. We were "room attendants" at the Fairmont, Chateau Whistler. It was amazing and I had the time of my life. I seem to recall enjoying my job, but I was drinking and whoring a lot in those days and really shouldn't have trusted my memory. By lunchtime on my first day at the new job all the horrible memories of what housekeeping entails came flooding back. Riiiiiiight, this sucks.

In all honesty, I really don't mind the job. The pay is disgusting. Numbers as small as the one I saw on my first pay cheque make my heart hurt. However, I never have to work past 3:00pm which means work never interferes with the sporadic, unpaid gigs I get. I also really like all the girls I work with. They've been amazingly patient and dedicated to communicating with me. Emily in particular has had the biggest challenge I'm sure, since she was the woman charged with training me. I felt pretty stupid the first day. In addition to having the usual first-day jitters, I couldn't understand anyone, which made for a very awkward situation. Being deaf is enormously humbling. Which is probably for the best since I am so damn beautiful I can hardly take it.

My colleagues have also been amazingly supportive of my comedy ambitions. They are just getting to know me and they all came out to support me at a gig I did last week in Mississauga. It meant so much to me and really re-defined the whole concept of "good co-worker" for me. Way to raise to bar girls!

Next time you stay in a hotel, don't forget to tip your housekeeper. Also, please flush the toilet before you check out.