Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Excuse me?

I work in a place where the clientele is mostly "Regulars". I consider the majority of them my "work-friends" and actually only socialize with a small percentage. These are the ones I've become actual friends with. We meet outside of where I work. I've met their other friends, family. That's not to say I don't want to socialize with others there. In most cases, there hasn't been time or opportunity to get to know them better outside of seeing them 10-15 hours a week at my bar. I consider myself lucky to be working in a place where I'm around people all the time that I can see myself being actual friends with.

You know what I mean. When you meet someone, start getting to know them, and think to yourself, "I could hang out with this person".

With that said, there is one guy in particular that I knew from the first moment I met him that he was going to stay in the "work-friend-I-will-never-socialize-with" category. Let's say that he may or may not have been the one that interrupted my breakfast the other morning by blowing smoke in my face while I was trying to eat.

I ran into this guy last Friday night while I was out in the area. Made a couple of minutes of small talk & that was it. Today he says to me, "You looked really great the other night. If you ever find yourself out late and wanting to "hook-up" with someone; I hope you'll give me a call." (This guy is a Chemical Engineer heading up a project for the Defense Department at the Pentagon. Not some Frat Boy.)

Okay.

Where do I even start.

#1. What makes him think he can speak to me that way? I am not the proverbial ditzy blonde cocktail waitress. I have a great reputation around here and I pride myself on it.

#2. Who the fuck does he think HE is?? Really, Baby; you're not all that.

__________________

The DC area (as other large cities) has a high percentage of restaurant/bar staff that are educated. Believe it or not. You can't swing a cat around here without hitting a few bartenders that have Grad degrees in something. Being a Bartender or a Server is considered a profession around here because you can make enough money in it to get you that nice car/house/boat/twice-a-year vacations that other people slave over a desk with their Phd's for years to get. Good "Wining-and-Dining" is damn near a Religion here.

The point I'm trying to make is that the 'ole "She's a bartender, so she must be a slut" idea doesn't fly around here. I really wish he had made that comment to me the other night when I was with all my "friends-I-didn't-make-at-work" friends. He would have been properly annihilated. They were all Bartenders.

__________________

Once again, I found myself in a situation where I wish I'd had Murphy there. If for nothing else than an alibi. "Officer, Murphy & I were having cocktails at the Time Of Death. We were discussing how hard it is for people like us to tolerate the ignorance of people like him."

peace

Comments:
Now you make me want to move back to the DC area to bartend. ;-)

Some people have preconceived notions about professions. Surprisingly in Lafayette, I have found that most of the bartenders are far more culturally astute and educated than the general population. However, I do hang out in the nicer places. Mainly because the nicer places play Jazz and blues, not country music.

I do not know what makes people seem to think that just because someone is in the restaurant business they are not educated or culturally astute. I have noticed just the opposite. Maybe they just have not been around much. Someone who works at the Pentagon does not strike me as worldly. I am ex-army, so I know a little bit about the mentality.

Whew, have you fallen asleep yet?
 
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