I love to bartend

a little rant I feel lately, breathe, and yes, that is much better

I keep allowing myself to get caught up in the feeding frenzy at the bar.  somebody always needs something immediately, interrupting, and yelling at me.  there I said it,  I feel so much better. :)

I am going to improve my reaction skills, and even as the bartender, I am not going to allow myself to get caught up.  I need to keep myself peaceful, I share better energy this way.  For myself and others, and when I come home I am not completely exhausted and wanting to hide from the world.

it’s a great learning lesson, and one that I am still working on improving within.  I love always working on improving.  There is really nobody else to blame but myself, it’s easy to put it off on others, however this is a coping mechanism I prefer not to keep.

it feels good to talk it out with myself.

#bartending

and another note

I’m having more of you subscribe to this feed:

are there any questions that I can help you with?  anything you want to know?  I recently had a conversation with a super geek in SF about becoming a bartender: I gave him this advice.

A networking bartender is very valuable, especially in these times.  Regardless if you know how to pour a drink or not is not the only thing that matters.  A bartender is like an independent employee.  We are responsible for bringing in the crowd and maintaining that crowd.  You can be the best drink pourer in the world, but if you do not have a crowd to pour to, what is the point.

If you want to become a bartender, start looking around you, see what place might fit you more.  Get to know the ins and outs of the venue:

club/nightclub: high volume, speed bartender needed, not much time for conversation, just look good, move fast, and bust your ass all night long, your money comes from volume.  (i’ve done this a little, it’s not my favorite, I am a really fast bartender and can hang with the best of them, but I love quality time with my people)

high end wine/martini bar: slower tempo, mixoligist needed, slower, more time spent with people, higher end clientele, can lead to great connections, or adventures.  I have done this too.  I liked it, I made a lot of great connections. :)

sports bar: never take it too serious, you are serving drinks, burgers, and sports.  it’s a tough environment, people can be super intense, but usually always has a good crowd.  good crowd = money in your pocket.  choose wisely. :)

gaming: a great bar to work at if you get the opportunity. living in NV I have worked as a bartender and the gaming industry.  I really enjoyed the money that I made from them.  I did not however enjoy the smoke.  new laws in NV state that restaraunts cannot have smoke, so if you do go into this type, make sure this is food available if you want to avoid the smoke.

locals bar: a great place to network and meet people of all degrees.  these are my favorite types of places because of the diversity that trickles in the door.  I’m all about diversity. :) usually takes more effort to build a regular following crowd.  It’s taken us about a good year to make our tues and wed nights consistant.  be patient, don’t ever give up.  you are there, they will come.

okay, enough for now, have questions, anything, share :)

kisses

@gcrush

the goal from now on........

shone and I recently had a conversation with the boho crew. and it came down to something like this.

no matter where we are, or what we are doing we need to be present, and we need to always and reach out and introduce new people that are merging into our network.

there is never a better opportunity for this than when I am behind the bar and I am surrounded by all of the amazing people that come down to spend time on a tues and wed night. :)

I always try to do my best to give love to every person, regardless of what they can tip or not, what they look like, or how they live their life.  I am going to try and take it a step further to reach out to at least 3 people every night and get to know something about what they love.  And then to introduce them to somebody within our group. :)

I love community!!!!

@gcrush bartending guide 101

I am going to start training @nopantsdance how to be a bartender: I have about 10 years of experience under my belt, and thought that while I was sharing some of my knowledge with her, that I would jot some stuff down here, incase anybody should ever find the need to want to start bartending. 

Now let me give you a little idea of my kind of bartending.

1.  I’m not the greatest bartender in the world, in fact I always tell people I am the worst.  I don’t know anything about beer, I don’t drink beer, I’m not up on the latest of the proper etiquette of wine and pouring, I drink it right out of the bottle, it’s easier to share with your friends.  

2.  I personally like to have fun and mingle with people.  This is why I do like to bartend.  I like to make drinks, however I do not know a lot of fancy things.  I can make all of the basics, and if you have a drink that I don’t know of, if you can tell me the basics, I can pretty much make anything you need.

3.  I like to work hard, and I love to be challenged.  Throw the entire kitchen sink my way, and I will dig in and won’t give up until I have control over the masses again.  

4.  I love everybody, and will treat everybody just about the same, regardless of how much you tip me.  Now if you come in and run me ragged, and boss me around, and then don’t tip, I will still love you, but my guesses are when you come in again, I might find myself a little busy and will not be waiting on you hand and foot. (even if you tip me a bazillion dollars!!!)  I like nice people, who are kind, and who treat me like a person, and understand that I am human, and that there is only so much you can ask of somebody in the service industry.  There is only one of me, and a bazillion of you, and while in bartending shoes, I am serving and tending to more than just my customers, the entire establishment is on my shoulders.  I need to make sure my cooks are happy, my servers are happy, and tending to their needs as well.  (i.e-shots and treats to keep all of us smiling and grooving along.)  so please understand, we need to share the love and spread it all around so that everybody, and I mean everybody is having the best time ever.

5.  I get overwhelmed at times, and if I am not smiling, it usually means that I am a little in the weeds, or things are not going as smoothe as I would like them too, please don’t yell at me and tell me to smile (this does not help), simply flash your boobies, cock, or pussy, and it will reboot my system, and all things will return to smiles.  (there was one night when I really was not feeling well, so yucky, that life was hard to manage, but I still finished out my entire shift, and did the best that I could possibly do).  a little flash goes a long way!

6.  I’m not into wearing uniforms, and although at times you have to give a little to get, I have worked my way up yet again to getting my way.  I love to wear short shorts, boobies shirts, and little dresses.  Winters are so tough, I have too wear so many clothes and it really bogs me down. :)  Yes this is my excuse, and I use it proudly.  

7.  Currently I am a spoiled little bartender.  I am surrounded by so much love.  I have a work husband, a work crew, and the best entertainment possible on my tues and wed night shifts at the amendment 21 here in Reno, NV.  We play it normal for a couple of hours to blend in with the normal folks, and then once 10pm comes around, we take over, turn the lights down, bring out the hula hoops, strum up the dj’s or the emcees, and we go for it!  We are there as long as the party is there, and sometimes this means until the sun comes up!  Shone is always by my side, either sitting out in the crowd talking with friends, or behind the bar with me learning how to tend bar himself, and help me out with dishes and such.  We truly spend 24/7 together regardless where we are at.  I couldn’t imagine life any other way.

8.  I LOVE tuaca!  I have turned so many people onto tuaca that one might think that I worked for them.  When I love something so much, I share it! :)  If you ever want to come down on one of my shifts, and you have not tried tuaca before, let me know, I’d love to pop your tuaca cherry!  I’m quite good at it you know.

9.  I learned how to be a bartender while working at Bully’s Sports Bar and Grille.  When I started working there we didn’t have computers yet.  I started when there were only 2 in existence.  Yes, I am dating myself, but those years of experiences have permanently altered my life.  I can be a Bully when I need to, so please don’t push me to that point. :)  I asked nicely, please don’t ever forget this.

10.  I have seen it all.  From friends jacking off at the bar, to people getting it on, to flashing my own, bar fights, food fights, craziness, I have seen it all. :) Regardless, I just love to have fun, and make it the best I possibly can.  I work 8-10 hour shifts each time, and that is plenty of time for so many things to happen.  You might have been on one of my shifts and it was mellow, trust me, you just did not hang out long enough. :)

next post, we’ll get into more…..have any questions?

dear universe

@nopantsdance wishes to become a bartender!  I think that she would make a fantastic bartender!  she rocked the playa her first year, and was the bartender extraordinaire!  

we have quite the collection of bartenders in our boho crew!  we all love people, we are all hard workers, and we all love to have fun!

I'm surrounded by bartenders!

I love that so many of my friends are becoming bartenders right now.  It’s a great way to develop a connection to your community.  So many people come to the bar.  Some drink, some don’t, most just generally like the company.

In my reign as a bartender, I have met some of the most influential people of my life.  It is in fact where I met shone, my love, my business partner, my best friend!

let us all unite in our journeys!!!

and let me remind you that it is a great job, a great way to meet people, spend time with friends while introducing them to new ones, and if you use twitter like I do, you’ll soon build an army at your bar!