June 10th, 2018
I arrived at work about a minute late, but given yesterday’s news regarding our new revised ‘point’ system for attendance, and knowing that the whole toteboard is going to get reset in 20 days anyway, I was feeling rather ‘fuckit’ on the subject and didn’t let it sway me.
What did give me pause for a second was seeing Jerry the Older behind the bar as I ambled by to get my money for the day. It’s not horribly out of the ordinary, I thought. Obviously the day barkeep is getting herself out, and they pulled Jerry down here from the service bar to cover the lounge while she did it. I go to the cage, get my cash, get the customary extra $200 that I like to pack on a Sunday, and headed back to the bar. Once I got installed, and Jerry knew he was clear, he start packing up to… leave? That’s odd.
It turns out our day barkeep called in this morning. Jerry got called pretty close to immediately, but wasn’t even awake to answer the phone so they were able to get him by noon-ish, no doubt delighting the daytime supervisor who had to man the bar otherwise. Jerry was given the opportunity to hang out behind the bar with me, but decided he’d just take the opportunity to go relax instead and not mess with my tips for the night by being there. Good man.
So the service bar is closed, and it’s just me! Normally this would be fantastic, almost perfect-storm grade stuff. Two cocktails, one of whom is kinda flaky. I should make big bucks.
Now if only we had -people- at the bar and not crickets. Yes – the slow dreary part of the year continues.
Ah well.
It was a good opportunity to do important things! Like… stock the stir sticks… and the napkins… and the celery. Truly – rockin’ now on the excitement train, folks.
At one point I noticed that the beer lines on one side were actually not flowing, whereas the tappers in front of the bar were. Uh-oh. I know what that means, so I grabbed the most solid bottle opener we had, and as soon as the few straggling guests walked off, I stalked into the walk-in cooler.
Yep. My beer lines are icing over. In some cases just a milimeter or two. In a couple of noteworthy instances, a good inch of ice surrounding them. It’s no wonder the beer’s having trouble. Cold is fine, but just like anything, you can have too much of the proverbial good thing. I made several trips in and out, bludgeoning the ice to smithereens, and peeking out to make sure guests weren’t getting ignored. I pried a couple of huge pieces of ice off the back of one of the cooler walls and brought them out to show the regulars who were hanging out. That was kinda fun, honestly.
Most of the night otherwise was pretty unremarkable, though. The bar largely ended up consisting of our native regular drinkers, and assorted beverage staff doing the same, save for Jerry the Older, who was content with water and a spit cup for his chew. Beats him getting drunk again, though, and the experience has apparently left an impression. His doctor is apparently worried about ‘squishy’ bones in his back. This is I assume, a technical term. It does mean he might possibly be in line for surgery, though, which I don’t envy. Time will tell.
Charon assured me that I’m clear to not show up at the mandatory meeting on Tuesday (it clashes with things with my kids), and I brought up a couple of important procedural things for her to ask about. I mean – if surveillance is once again going to watch us like hawks (to which I calmly noted, “What else is new?” – I mean, I assume they always are. It’s why I’m still employed) , then let’s be sure we have all the bases covered, right?
At the end of the night, I walked him slightly ahead of the game in terms of the goal I’d set for my tips for the two nights I was there. Can’t complain, I’d say. Can’t complain.
Closing observation :
- I have to be honest with myself and note that I really just don’t like Haley all that much. Too much of a drama factory. She’s just pleasant enough though that I can hold myself back from outright irritation.
- That honestly kind of applies to Dougie as well, our erstwhile and often MIA dayside barback. He’s friendly enough. I just wish he cared more about doing the job right. Or paid more attention. Or… something?
Next up : Thursday