Now to the real thing

Eventually care of YouTube as a host and blogger as my outlet this will become a full fledged video blog, but I get the feeling that won’t happen till I’m a little closer to leaving this fair country of mine. For now all you can get is text and the occasional picture.

Who am I? I’m CJ, my friends call me a host of things but for the most part that’s what people know me as, what do I do with myself...I’m a barman... and have been for a few years so far and to the looks of it I will be for some years to come.

My opinion of Hospitality...you know the barman thing....it sucks...

• the hours are shit
• the customers expect the world
• you get next to no credit for anything you do
• you eat shit
• you drink too much
• your social life goes to shit unless you put so much effort into it that it’s not funny.

So often I have heard the joy that is hospitality described as a gateway job, the same way weed is a gateway drug, it’s a stepping stone to something else, whether that’s a uni degree which you’re working through or just another field that you need job history to get into.... unless you absolutely love the industry you don’t stay in it forever.

For the most part people like it for two reasons....

1. the money and,
2. the people you work with.

The money in this job is awesome compared to so many of the different jobs that are available to those with little experience, as a junior (under 18) I started on $12 an hour roughly...a far cry from most of my friends working at KFC and Coles; supermarkets and fast food joints, starting at a pathetic wage of $6 an hour.
(this is in Australia at least, I know that in other countries their governments don’t enforce the minimum wage rules, like America where the wages for waiting tables is abysmal)

Now that I’m a full barman I get $22.25, before tax at least, which is an awesome wage for someone who has no specialization training etc. The money is a major part of what has kept me in this trade for this long.
The other thing that keeps me here is the people I work with... in no other job that I have ever heard of is the dynamic and broad spectrum of people that you work so massive. You can chat to the patrons and the regulars...but in the end they are always customers, not friends. When you are forced to work with some of these people in such massive and at times high pressure environments the bond and friendships that you form with your fellow workers is huge. Not to mention that these are usually the people you have one or five beers with after your shift is finally over.

The people I work with vary from the 15 year old glassie to the 55 year old bar wench who has been here for years and I can say with some confidence that most of them I can consider friends.

On the same token however...there are always people you work with who will drive you fucking insane, whether they be management or fellow pleb’s there is always someone who will drive you up the wall. But like so many situations you just have to bear through it. It usually ends up better for it, if you can put up with some of the idiots you have to work with you can put up with anyone.

Now to take a slightly different look at it, and to change the subject....

Where do I work....

I won’t say a specific name while I’m still here and working stupid amounts of shifts, but I will say that it’s in Glenelg, Adelaide. It’s recently had MASSIVE renovations; it has a function centre and three other rooms that can be hired for all manner of random functions. It has a gaming room, a main bar and a bistro which is pretty awesome. It also has a rather large chunk of green stuff that people, some of them paid, play aussie rules football on.... now with all those hints I’m almost certain people can figure out where I work....but I’ve covered my ass when it comes to being liable and all that pleasant stuff.

The items to come in future issues could include:

• the Golden Rules
• the 10 commandments of Waiting
• the big list of DO NOT DOs

-CJ

Now for a bit of an introduction

Now that the initial bit of making a first post is done and over, its time to put the list of stuff I’m packing out into the open.

· There’s the laptop

o A small upgrade on my last one, and even then it’s a few years old
IBM T43

• 1.86GHz
• 2Gb RAM
• 60Gb HDD

It’s not the best, but it’s better than some, and I have it so tweaked that most people can’t touch it.

· There’s the webcam

o Logitech quickcam Pro 9000

It’s a good webcam, as most people will discover when I start posting using it. The one problem I have with it is the fact that I had to install and uninstall the drivers six times to get the software to work properly, no other qualms with it yet.

· There’s the headphones

o A $60 pair with mic. and inline controls, the best pair I’ve come across in some time

· There’s the pocket drive

o Seagate Freeagent Go 160Gb

Brilliant little thing that adds space and gives a separate spot for all of my music and movies.

That’s my run down of my hardware. Other stuff will come in future, till the next post.