Strange Days Indeed
It was a very odd day, yesterday. Working at a bar, especially one right across the street from a major university, you get used to regulars coming and going. It usually happens at the end of the semesters, when folks graduate, and at the beginning, when a new crop comes in. But last night, which does not happen to fit either of those categories, there was a whole new crowd in. I did not recognize at least 95% of the people in the bar, and yet they all seemed to know me. Maybe I'm becoming a fixture in this town, which is, I think, kind of sad. Weird, at any rate.
I got several comments on how I am the "best bartender in Gainesville, which is not all that unusual. People suck up to bartenders all the time, looking for freebies. It is just very odd to have people speaking with you as though they've known you forever, when you've never seen them before in your life.
It was also a bit more of the fraternity/sorority crowd, when our usual clientele is a bit more, how should I say, casual. Mine is not a dress up kind of bar. It is more of a relaxed atmosphere.
One young lady, who "loved me, I'm the greatest" even felt compelled to come behind the bar, several times, and squeeze my buttocks. Maybe I should have found this thrilling, but it was more of an annoyance. I had not even served the young lady at all, and there was no prior flirting of any sort. Just boom, squeeze. What the heck?
Then there was the older gentleman, who had been in earlier with a younger man, who apparently abandoned him to our care. I had to warn him a couple of times, as he was flirting heavily with several of the young ladies in the bar, who did not appreciate the attention. Near the end of the evening, our waitress informed me that he told her he "had a lot of money, a hotel room, and was desperate". I informed him he needed to leave, immediately, and, lucky for him, he complied.
After the bar closed, I was restocking my liquors, and picked up a bottle of Jagermeister, which is kept refrigerated, and because it was sweaty with condensation, it slipped out of my hands, bounced off my toe, and shattered. The perfect end to a perfect evening. I really am getting to old for this crap....
I got several comments on how I am the "best bartender in Gainesville, which is not all that unusual. People suck up to bartenders all the time, looking for freebies. It is just very odd to have people speaking with you as though they've known you forever, when you've never seen them before in your life.
It was also a bit more of the fraternity/sorority crowd, when our usual clientele is a bit more, how should I say, casual. Mine is not a dress up kind of bar. It is more of a relaxed atmosphere.
One young lady, who "loved me, I'm the greatest" even felt compelled to come behind the bar, several times, and squeeze my buttocks. Maybe I should have found this thrilling, but it was more of an annoyance. I had not even served the young lady at all, and there was no prior flirting of any sort. Just boom, squeeze. What the heck?
Then there was the older gentleman, who had been in earlier with a younger man, who apparently abandoned him to our care. I had to warn him a couple of times, as he was flirting heavily with several of the young ladies in the bar, who did not appreciate the attention. Near the end of the evening, our waitress informed me that he told her he "had a lot of money, a hotel room, and was desperate". I informed him he needed to leave, immediately, and, lucky for him, he complied.
After the bar closed, I was restocking my liquors, and picked up a bottle of Jagermeister, which is kept refrigerated, and because it was sweaty with condensation, it slipped out of my hands, bounced off my toe, and shattered. The perfect end to a perfect evening. I really am getting to old for this crap....
posted by Turtle at 10:47 AM
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