Wednesday, December 7, 2005

BOOK 'EM!

Tuesday found us very busy early on with the bar being booked for a private holiday party for a group of advertising execs. The party began at 6pm, to the chagrin of the few diehards who live for DOLLAR DRAFT MADNESS. While it's rare that we shut the bar to the public for a private party, it does happen occasionally and when it does, it's usually during the winter holiday season. So while we didn't exactly "kick" anyone out who wasn't connected with the party, we suspended the dollar mugs promo during the course of the party, and that pretty much weeded out the party-goers from everyone else.

The party itself was pretty good in that the advertising crowd tend to have fun whenever they get together; that usually brings a good vibe to the bar and everyone else usually feeds off of that. The advertising crowd is a strange bunch in that you pretty much have a two-class system: entry-level employees who work long hours w/little pay (equals less-than-spectacular tippers); yet they tend to be hard-core party people who make the best of a situation b/c they get to attend all kinds of cool industry parties. Then on the flip side, you have the white-collar executives who roll in with fat, phat spending accounts that they use to woo clients and such (equals very nice tippers). It's always interesting to watch the two dynamics at work in one room, and last night was no exception. In general, they are a good bunch to deal with, with minimal babysitting involved.

After the party ended, the crowd began to thin out a bit. One of my regulars stopped by and dropped of a gift certificate for me, which was pretty cool. I often find myself being caught off guard by gifts from customers. I can see folks giving gifts to people like the mailman or a doorman of an apartment building, but to a bar guy? I never heard of such a thing, but it's flattering nevertheless.

When the bar thinned out, I turned over the door-minding duties over to my new protege, DREADLOCK J. It was actually perfect because I needed to turn my attention to booking a flight home for the holidays. I didn't get to go home for Thanksgiving and if I were to miss Christmas as well, i'd never hear the end of it. I had spent the night before researching flights and prices and such and it was such a pain in my ass, that I knew that if I didn't secure a flight soon, I would end up having to pay through the nose later on. So I did my research and surfed all over the 'net and was eventually able to secure a pretty good deal on a flight w/hotel for a rather good price. I'm flying out on Dec. 21 and returning on that Sunday night (Christmas night). Four days in Cleveland.... Lord help me.

Today I have to concentrate on taking care of a couple of things for the bar and then back to doing research on a computer purchase. My roommate suggested that I get a laptop; Others have suggested the same thing. However, for some reason, I am very uncomfortable with the thought of having/using a laptop. For starters, I don't like the way the keyboard feels on my chubby little fingers. Second, I tend to be clumsy, so the thought of me knocking over or dropping a laptop frightens me, quite franky. Third- If I ever lost or had my laptop stolen....forget about it. But I promised that I would look into it anyway. One thing is for certain: I have to get a new computer ASAP. Old DirtMcGirt is dying a slow and painful death, having given me ten good years of service. If any of you technophiles have any suggestions on what to buy, please drop me a line.....

SONG OF THE WEEK: "Cortez the Killer" by Neil Young (I went a bit old school this week, but this is a great song, nevertheless). It's a good listen and great lyrics to boot.

That's about it for now. Drop by the bar tonite and check out the MOLSON XXX we just brought in. In a nutshell- it kicks ASS!

NUFF SAID