Day Shift.

[snap shot of my day Wed 3.11.09]

10:56_ Watched A. mop the floors while trying to battle my hangover from last night. Damn Gatorade shots. Starbucks is like heroine to the soul. I’ve upgraded from my usual Tall to a much needed Venti and gulp it down within minutes of it touching my lips.
11:13_ [ahh] I begin to feel a little more like myself and start my morning procedures. My usual nature is to speed thru my opening routines but I’m predicting a rather slow day, so I decide to pace myself and stretch it out as long as possible. Glasses. Ashtrays. Fruit. Stock beer well. Napkins. Straws. [yawn]

11:32_ Bars too quiet for me and I’m missing my Cheshire Cat. Decide to crank out some reggae to liven up my mood and it seems to do the trick as I dance around singing at the top of my lungs. Who gives a fuck, there’s no one here anyways.

11:45_ Just dawned on me that the new girl isn’t here yet this morning. What a flake. Thank God M. told me to come in just in case. Today should be interesting. First day shift by myself. Time to take the training wheels off and see what I’m made of. Not gonna lie though, feelin’ kinda nervous and wish I hadn’t drank so much last night.

12:01_ Morning routine is done and I’m watching EPSN’s top 10. Good to get myself caught up on what happened yesterday. So excited that baseballs almost back in full swing. [no pun intended] Not sure how many games I’m going to make it to this year though with my crazy schedule. Looks like I’m going to do fantasy baseball too, wonder how I’ll do with that. Should start figuring out my picks now instead of waiting till the last minute like always.

12:18_ A. and I make a prediction on when we think the first customer will walk thru the front door. I’m going with 1:30ish if I’m lucky. I’m so bored. Had to plug my laptop in. Damn battery.

12:20_ New girl just walked in the front door. What a flake like I said. She takes one look at me and makes a comment about if she’d known that I was going to be here she would have saved herself the trouble of driving all the way out here! Are you kidding me? You’re over an hour late. LOL Thank God I was here sweetheart because you still have a job here because of me. She asks for a Redbull and straw and proceeds to share her current life drama with me like we’re best friends. Some people amaze me.

12:34_ FIRST CUSTOMER! Looks like A. and I were wrong and I’m happy to see it. Three foreigners. Interesting bunch to be honest with you. German, Dutch and a Russian. Sounds like the beginning to a lame joke. Have to pour my first pitcher and make quite a mess of it. New girl decides to throw in her two cents and give me a pointer for next time. [rolling eyes] Here’s a tip, get to work on time sweetheart.

12:45_ I have a full bar practically! 4 regulars just slowly streamed in the front door and then my foreign posse at the end of the bar.

1:02_ Make my first shot of the day -- Washington Apple. [gagging] Use to be one of my favorites and now I

can’t even think about Crown without wanting to puke.

1:25_ J. my newest favorite person in the world just walked thru the door and threw me a $5 for the juke box. It was starting to get a little quiet after my laptop died and I’ll be happy to not have to listen to the foreign jibberish anymore. $20 dollars worth of country music later, the bar starts hoppin. Couple more lunch regulars file in. Couple more shots are made. Foreigners finally leave.
1:58_ M. comes back from picking up E. and there’s a little animosity in the air. E. kind of made an ass out of himself last night by being a royal douche bag and then trying to justify it as not wanting to get walked all over by me in the future. Come on! We’ve been friends for a couple months now and he knows I wouldn’t do that to him.

2:10_ E. couldn’t handle the silent treatment so finally came up and apologized to me and we made nice. Thank God! Hated having to act like a silent bitch but I didn’t appreciate the night before. Got my usual hug and things are good to go now.

2:22_ Thought about C. for a whole minute and it made me laugh.

2:27_ 7 regulars at the bar which is more than I’ve seen during any of my other day shifts! We’re all watching the strong man competition on the TVs and doing our own commentary to what’s going on. It’s quite humorous and it’s helping to break down my nervousness. Finally feel like I’m getting the hang of things.

3:00_ Dwindles down to 5 people. Music is finally done so we vote to turn my laptop back on and listen to some reggae again. I miss the shit out of my Cheshire Cat by this time. Texting just doesn’t seem to cut it. 4 more hours until I’m off and then hopefully I can hear his voice.

3:01_ Remember to get my Rebelution CD from C. next time I see him.

3:30_ Just dawned on me that I haven’t eaten all day and I’m frickin’ starving. [growl]

3:45_ I make sure everyone at the bar is taken care of with fresh drinks and then J. offers to take me around

back and have a quickie smoke break. No one seems to object and I indulge in his request. Sit and bullshit for a few minutes about life and then head back inside to no new faces. I wasn’t even missed. [whew]

3:47_ Now I’m really fuckin’ hungry. J. walks down to the little Greek restaurant and orders me some gyro meet and taziki sauce.

4:06_ A new face walks thru the front door for me. Guess he’s a 4-5 regular and orders a beer. S. has amazing light blue eyes and I make sure I comment on how awesome they are. Blushes and makes me a napkin rose. Now it’s my turn to blush.

4:45_ Food arrives and I proceed to chow down with J. He insist that he buys me lunch so I don’t even fight him on it and we do a shot of Orange Gatorade to wash it down. Bud light keg went down so I called E. down at the pool hall and he ran over and changed it for me. I love the fact that him and M. trust me enough to go play pool and leave me unsupervised. LOL gives me the freedom to do whatever the hell I want to do and I like the feeling of not being watched like a hawk.

5:06_ S. closes out his tab and thanks me again for the compliment. Said he’d stop in on Saturday and have a few beers, told him to bring the old lady with him. C. walks thru the front door which I find ironic since he’s already popped in my head twice today. He runs out to his car and grabs the Reb CD for me and we vote on listening to it for a little while.

5:08_ Click on my phone and stare at the picture I have as my background. [sigh] I miss him xoxo

5:15 - 7:12_ Nothing really eventful happens that I haven’t already talked about through out the rest of the day. Made a ton more shots for J. and I -- he’s a functioning alcoholic he tells me and I’ve decided he’s my new best friend. Night bartender comes in early for her shift and does some drinking with us and we make up a couple new shots. Day time regulars start to tab out and slowly leave as the afternooners start filing in. I’m not doing to bad with remembering names and drinks. Couple more shifts and I should have everything down to a science. [knock on wood] One of the ‘lunch club’ guys comes in a little earlier then normal, usual not here till around 9. Finds out five minutes later that his grandma just died. OMG was the worst thing ever. I buy him a shot of Patron to shock his system and the drinks start coming shortly after. I hate to see a grown man cry and I almost want to run over and give him a hug but the night bartender beat me to it. Poor guy. I’m dreading getting that same phone call here real soon about my own grandpa. I don’t know how I’m going to take the news whenever it does happen. Couple guys from the Greek restaurant come in and buy some scratch offs. Made them like $20 bucks so they leave with a smile on their face. Poker regulars start to file in and most of them are surprised and happy to see me behind the bar now but sad that I can't stay and play tonights game. I'd rather make money tho then spend it [smile]

7:13_ Close down my register and take it back to the office to be audited. Was only a buck fifty short so someone made off with a little extra change. Such is life. Slow day as far as alcohol sales too, only did about $178 but after my shift pay and tips, I made $85 bucks! Can’t complain for my first day. Grab a drink with C. and J. and sit for a few minutes. First time I’ve sat since 11 this morning and it feels good to get off my feet! Can’t wait to get home and call my Cheshire Cat and tell him all about my day…..