I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts But How Do I Get a Lovely Bunch of Pina Coladas?

     I'll be the first to admit that I'm a rookie at bartending, but I do my best. Considering I didn't get any formal training and have no experience whatsoever, I think I'm doing alright. And I only do it about once a week anyway, unless I bar-back on the weekends too. And it's not like I'm in a bar or club, I'm in a restaurant. Anyway, tonight was probably the most fun I've had behind the bar so far. It's Monday - let's get real, not the most popular night for dinner and drinks so we were pretty dead but the last table to come in was a 7-top of guys after a baseball game. I get the beer flowing and after about an hour they ask me what was up with the music. I'll be honest - we have one of the most eclectic playlists you've ever come across and it never changes. I am so tired of hearing the same 200 songs every day, so I decide to have a little fun with these guys. I pull out the restaurant i-Pod and go to a different playlist and we play "guess the artist". It wasn't anything crazy, but these are the customers that make me love my job, that brighten up an otherwise dull evening. I watched grown men try to walk like an Egyptian while they make fun of me for knowing music that been out twice as long as I've been alive. Some day I hope to have some pretty crazy bar stories; I suppose I already one or two, but I'll keep them to myself for the sake of those involved. For now, I will enjoy the little not-so-crazy moments as I work up my martini-making confidence.

     So where did I leave story-time? I suppose let's form a plan here: before I get back to story-time, I'm going to outline a few things I've taken from said stories so maybe you'll have an idea of where this will eventually go. Here we go:

     1. Just because you say you're okay alone, doesn't mean you really are. But one day, you'll wake up and realize it's the best thing ever.
     2. What you need and what you want are usually two different things and it takes a lot of courage to pick what you need over what you want, but in the end, you'll be all the better for it.
     3. If you throw a pirate party, don't be surprised when you wake up the next day and house has been literally pillaged and plundered (and all the rum is gone).
     4. It's okay if people were only meant to be in your life for a brief period of time for a very specific reason, only to disappear over the horizon in a flash.
     5. Bros before hos. Always.
     6. Sometimes it's the smallest thing that makes you take a step back in a big way.
     7. If you did your best, you can't say you didn't try and you'll never have regrets or wonder "what if".


     Now, I'm not going to address these in order. I'll go back a few months to the beginning of my growth spurt, the beginning of my truly becoming an adult. So for tonight I'm going to start with #6.

"Sometimes it's the smallest thing that makes you step back in a big way." 

This will explain the ending of my last post:

If you need something to keep you going, check out this song:

"Alone" - Trampled by Turtles

It literally changed my life, but again, that's another story.

And change my life it did. It was mid-May of this year and Mr. President had just broken up with me for the millionth time. If we want to be technical, I'd say it was actually the 12th time in two years. Yeah, really - I'm that dumb sometimes. Anyway, I knew Trampled by Turtles were going to be in Lawrence and I just had to go see them. I was a little apprehensive about it because as many concerts as I've been to in my life, I've never been to one alone. But I told myself it was about time I just did something for myself, by myself. Lawrence is about an hour a half's drive from Manhattan and I ended up getting to the venue a little early, which meant there were plenty of spots for me to stand awkwardly. After a little while, I decided that it sucked so I scanned the crowd to see who I could try to make friends with. I honed in on my unsuspecting victim, a relatively cute guy just hanging out, also alone. I turned to him and asked if he came alone. He said he had so I asked him if he wanted to my friend for the evening. He said sure and sounded really sincere and appreciative. We went over to the bar, ordered a beer, found a good place to watch the show, and made small talk until the band came out. The opening band was Brown Bird. I'd never heard them before and they blew me away, I loved them (if you like folk, bluegrass, or blues, I encourage you to check them out!). They gave the crowd such a great energy for the evening and when TBT finally came out on the stage, I was buzzing with excitement. They opened their set with a newer song that I hadn't heard before (that song happened to be "Alone" of course) and I remember when Dave Simonett started singing those first lyrics "you come into the world alone, and you go out of the world alone, but in between there's you and me...the summer breezes blow so tall, and the winter nights are cold and so long, and in between - the falling leaves." my spine tingled, tears welled in my eyes and I just remember thinking how beautiful that moment was in my life. I was alone, I could do whatever I wanted to do. I was so content with my life in that moment that the rest of the show became euphoric for me and everything has been different since then. And yes, in case you were wondering - Mr President and I got back together again, but once more, that's another story. I'll keep you hanging until tomorrow...

For now, sleep tight. I'm going to eat cookies, watch Disney's Robin Hood, and cuddle with my Pooh Bear - I'll introduce you to him later. 

Toodles,

Miss Georgia