The Bartender Has Left the Building
For all those wondering why I haven't updated in a while...
All this week and most of last week, my workdays have gone from 7AM to around 6PM. The past two days have been particularly bad. Yesterday, I was in at 7AM and out at 6:30PM, and due to the hustle and bustle, i wilingly cut my nomral one hour lunch to twenty minutes, in order to get things done. Today was the worst of all. I was in at 7AM again, and this time, I wasn't out until 9:15PM with NO lunch break...I worked straight through, again, voluntarily, in the interest of getting things DONE. I'm now in charge of five new, untrained temps, and lately, my boss has succumbed to the flu...so, his absence puts added responsibility on me, since I'm the most familiar with the run of things.
On top of that, we wouldn't be working all this overtime if there wasn't a workload to match, right? I've been told that this is the biggest workload our production manager has seen in his five years of running the joint. So, for the first time ever, we should soon go from working days to working in shifts.
SO that's been what's up. That's why I've been rather reclusive lately. Suffice it to say I've been in dire need to cut loose. Cue yesterday and my Nigerian neighbors, who have been at our house parties here, where I'm usually pouring drinks...suffice it to say, I've developed a reputation for mixology. Being used to trashcan punch and cheap drinks, they wanted to get serious and stylish with the beverages for Friday night, but they didn't know where to begin. I offered to guide them in the direction of the good stuff, and offered to tend bar for their party tonight. So, they opened their wallets wide, (and I chipped in a bit, too) and here's what we ended up with:
MIXERS:
7UP, Coca-Cola, Tonic Water, Club Soda, Ginger Ale, Sidral Mundet, Cranberry Juice, Pineapple Juice, Grenadine, Sweet & Sour, Milk, Lemons, Limes, Cherries.
ALCOHOL:
1 fifth Bacardi 151 ($20)
1 fifth Alizé Liqueur ($20)
1 fifth Hypnotiq Liqueur ($20)
1 fifth Bombay Sapphire Gin ($20)
1 handle Seagram's 7 Crown Canadian Whiskey ($18)
1 fifth Sailor Jerry's rum ($18)
1 fifth Monopalowa Vodka ($13)
1 fifth Kalhua Coffee Liqueur ($13)
1 fifth Malibu Coconut Rum ($13)
1 fifth Dobryuk Triple Sec ($8)
I have no clue how many people showed up...all I know is that their apartment was PACKED, shoulder-to-shoulder. There had to be at least fifty people there, and that's a very conservative estimate. With all that I had on hand, I was pouring classics such as Rum and Cokes, 7&7's, Gin & Tonics, and even Long Island Iced Teas one after the other, along with my own concoctions like the Mazatlan and the Too Easy. What's more, I was inventing shit left and right, thinking up new drinks literally every few minutes...nearly all of it was well recieved. So well received, in fact, that one partygoer who happens to run a bar might soon be offering me a job bartending. The drinks started to pour at 11:30 and were mostly gone by 1AM...at which point I closed bar. We hadn't expected such a good turnout.
And now, I have to try and get some shut eye...I have work tomorrow (well, today, technically) at 7AM.