Impromptu Vacation

By way of both jobs rearranging schedules, I'm on a vacation for the week.  Or, rather, "until further notice".  Here's what happened in a nutshell:

-At the lounge, I was offered a different position.  Not a promotion, but rather a related job.  So, they're working out the details with my new schedule there, and I'm pretty much off until they know what's going on and notify me.  I'd emailed my boss about my availability earlier this week, and have yet to get a response.

-At the store, we have a new manager.  Said authority forgot what my availability was, so he left me off the schedule and told me he'd call if there was anything available during the week.  I also notified two other stores of my new-found freedom this week, in case they need anyone.

So, there you go.  It's been a while since I took any sort of major time off.  Years, probably.  I'm so used to working two jobs or having one job while going to school that I really don't know what to do with myself and the extra time I have.

I will say this much: My next two checks are going to suck.

Doctor, Doctor...

Under recommendation from my mother (a former nurse), I visited a new doctor for a routine physical.  She was a PA-C, and I usually trust those more than normal doctors.  Still, I distrust medical personnel in general despite having two such people in my immediate family, so I remained wary.

Turns out, the doctor was not only really pleasant but remarkably quick.  She blew through the tests with remarkable speed and fired both diagnoses and advice at me in a dizzying manner!  She linked my chronic headaches to my sinuses (which was probably pretty obvious, but it was still nice to hear it likely wasn't something more serious), gave a preliminary judgment on what my pains were caused by and told me not to Q-tip my ears so friggin' hard.  She also let me know that my allergies, which I assumed were never that big of a deal since it never impairs my day-to-day functioning, could be a bigger detriment than I expected.

So, yeah, productive first day with the doc.  If more medical professionals were like this, I would probably have less stress about seeing them.

Adding to My Repertoire

After an odd request from a customer at the bar, I decided it was time to start tracking new things I learn on a daily basis (recipes, skills, etc.) and posting them here.

First off, a couple of customer-requested cocktails that took some research:

Tokyo Tea:
1/2 oz. each of tequila, vodka, gin, rum and triple sec
1 oz. Midori

Shake and strain into a highball glass (or, in the lounge's case, a large rocks glass).

Alternately, I can do this:
3/4 oz. each of tequila, vodka, gin, rum and triple sec
1 1/2 oz. Midori

Shake, strain into a pint glass, fill with Sprite (or other lemon/lime soda).

Alien Secretion:
1 1/2 oz. each of Midori and Malibu rum
2 oz. of pineapple juice

Shake, strain into a large rocks glass.

On top of those recipes, I've also been learning a few basic flair tricks.  Nothing fancy, but a couple of things that would be eye-catching at the bar.

That's all for now.  More recipe research and flair tricks to go!

Good Friday. Somewhat.

Good news: Things may be changing for the better in terms of Sam's career opportunities.  As to not jinx things, I won't say what, exactly, is happening or when, but it will definitely be excellent should it come to pass.

Better news: I finally got my paycheck from the previous term, as well as my current check.  However, this still makes me wonder what happened to the original amount that was to be direct deposited into my old account.  Chase has shown nothing transferred into the closed account and my boss has heard nothing from his bank on the matter.  Ergo, the original funds are stuck in a sort of financial Purgatory.

Bad news: I didn't get to be a finalist in the mixology competition I'd entered.  Bummer.  More surprising than that, the theme of my drink for the contest wasn't as rare or original as I'd expected (three of the finalists used my same theme as theirs, but with differing recipes).  Oh well.  I'd only heard about the contest three days prior to the deadline, so I prepped what I could in a very short window.  Live and learn.  I'll take what I learned from this one (my first official competition, mind you) and carry it on to the rest of the competitions.  Next up: A cocktail contest hosted by St-Germain.  I vow to have better results in this one.

Speaking of "live and learn", I'm still here.  Either I was skipped in the Holy Draft or Mr. Camping has a lot to answer for.  Guess I'll know by tomorrow evening (or today, rather, since I'm writing this at 2am).  After all, 200 million people to be taken in this supposed "Rapture" means you should be missing at least one friend, family member or neighbor in the course of events.  And California should have been blown up by way of the San Andreas Fault, according to his predictions.

I suppose I should be grateful.  Last thing I want is news carried to me from my boss at 5:59pm (GMT, PST or what-have-you) of a terrific nature and be taken away in the middle of celebration.  That would imperially suck.

Right, then.  Off to bed for me.  Those of you not in the 3% of the world's chosen populace...we'll talk again after Sunday.

The Ram's Long Island

For anyone who wants to enjoy a Long Island Iced Tea Ram-style, here's what I like:

3/4 oz. vodka (mine is Russian Standard)
3/4 oz. rum (I use Bacardi Select)
3/4 oz. gin (New Amsterdam for me)
3/4 oz. tequila (Sauza goes in mine)
1/2 oz. triple sec
1/4 oz. Tuaca liqueur

Throw these into a pint glass full of ice, fill to about the 2/3 mark with sweet & sour mix, shake, then top off with Rockstar Energy Cola (make sure it's the cola and NOT the regular drink!!!) and a wedge of lemon.

What you get is a slightly less sour, bolder Long Island with a caffeine kick. This recipe is not for the faint of heart, but it IS the perfect drink for the all-night gaming gladiator.

And that's the Ram's Long Island.  Cheers!

In Transition

It's been quite some time since I've posted to this blog.  No matter.  What was once my SEO creative content blog is now my rants and ramblings on being part of Vegas' bar industry.

To give all of my readers (all two of you) up to speed, here's the last three years, abridged:

Became part of a terrible economy, lost the house, couldn't find any other office or writing jobs (despite my resume and rather impressive portfolio), did some pro-bono work for an electronic entertainment website, found a part-time job, took up bar management as a secondary profession, easily earned my certification, got a job as a barback for an arcade/ultralounge in Fremont Street's East District and I'm entering recipe competitions to boost my reputation as a Vegas-area mixologist.  And met a very supportive lady during it all.

There.  You're up to speed now.  Have a Coke and a smile.

I have to admit, being a barback is quite a bit different from what I'm used to.  No need for the ability to type 80+WPM with perfect (or, at least, near-perfect) grammar, no use for the ability to throw together a functional spreadsheet, no worries about typing up press releases.  Cerebral dexterity is set aside while physical prowess takes over.  It's rough work.  Rough, but good.  I can feel parts of my body getting tougher every day, much like a blacksmith shaping raw metal into a sturdy and functional tool.  Although the scale says that I'm losing no weight.  Lies.

So, yeah, things are picking up for the Ram.  Good job, decent part-time secondary gig, great girl that I've been seeing for several months now and I'm back in the land of blogging.  La vita e dolce.