Nightly Barman, the beginning
Becoming a bartender at night is like playing poker with an ex-girlfriend, you always want to go all in but are afraid the cards may have you losing it all. The temptation of embracing this bet are many- late nights, late mornings, flirtatious patrons and a requirement to pretend like your partying at all times- or at least providing an attractive atmosphere for an eager clientele. This romantic notion of a carefree profession where you mingle and mix is common and embraced, and if you’re a 20 something with time on your hands or no immediate plans it may be the perfect concoction of monetary gain and social networking. The people you meet, the places you go, the parties you join- apparently the sky is the limit should you have the skill to make a decent lemon drop and look good behind the bar. Such a life to be envied….. right?
Actually, no…. bartending isn’t like that at all. Rather bartending is a ridiculously shallow and shameless profession- with the room for growth limited to the tips you make each night- and in a town like Santa Barbara that increasingly depends on the whims of a student populace reliant on daddy’s credit card. Just hope those kids keep the grades up! Essentially you are a legal drug pusher, mixing whatever concoction the never satiated public needs. Your client base is usually drunk, and though occasionally horny, tends to spill, slur and dance quite horribly. Delusions of grandeur aside, you are a servant like any other- you are there to please and look good, and hopefully your drinking master will grant you a pittance of a dollar a drink.
However, behind the bar, when life is looked at through an objective prism, bartending merits both handsome praise and scathing critique. Much like any other job it carries with it ups and downs, stresses and joys. Unlike the typical server however, the goods that are dished out remain under your control. Food won’t make you drunk, a maitre d won’t give you liquid courage, and a bellhop can’t make you a cocktail that will relieve your stresses from a hectic week. Life behind bars puts you on a stage, at the center of attention in a world of glamour. What lies beneath the glamour, however, remains to be seen.
Actually, no…. bartending isn’t like that at all. Rather bartending is a ridiculously shallow and shameless profession- with the room for growth limited to the tips you make each night- and in a town like Santa Barbara that increasingly depends on the whims of a student populace reliant on daddy’s credit card. Just hope those kids keep the grades up! Essentially you are a legal drug pusher, mixing whatever concoction the never satiated public needs. Your client base is usually drunk, and though occasionally horny, tends to spill, slur and dance quite horribly. Delusions of grandeur aside, you are a servant like any other- you are there to please and look good, and hopefully your drinking master will grant you a pittance of a dollar a drink.
However, behind the bar, when life is looked at through an objective prism, bartending merits both handsome praise and scathing critique. Much like any other job it carries with it ups and downs, stresses and joys. Unlike the typical server however, the goods that are dished out remain under your control. Food won’t make you drunk, a maitre d won’t give you liquid courage, and a bellhop can’t make you a cocktail that will relieve your stresses from a hectic week. Life behind bars puts you on a stage, at the center of attention in a world of glamour. What lies beneath the glamour, however, remains to be seen.
posted by TRK at 5:52 PM
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