Ok, so it wasn’t that bad…

St. Pat’s that is. At My Living Room. Really, it wasn’t. Started of very lame and very NOT busy. Very. Then the men’s team descended on us. Along with a few parade attendees… And it was fun, more on that in a moment… But it was also stressful, because dealing with the parade attendees, who have been drinking ALL DAY LONG is very difficult. Them: “I want a beer.” Me: “Really? What kind of beer?” Them: Dumb, vacant look like I’ve asked them to tell me where the Fountain of Youth is located. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. About a thousand times. Honestly ask Uncle Crappy or Mrs. Crappy. They witnessed one of what might be my favorite idiots of the day. (Right when they managed to find a seat at the bar!) UncleCrappy and Mrs. Crappy are super duper people. I’m incredibly happy I was done kinda early and could SIT DOWN and enjoy a drink while they had their beer! I’m pretty sure they rock the world because we all went to Ohio U. Right? Of course I’m right… But I have a special surprise for UncleCrappy in after the last pic…

The day was fun because the rugby guys who were there are ones I really like. I like waiting on them when I bartend and I like hanging out with them on the other side of the bar. They do NOT create stress over & above my waiting on them as a 30-man collective. They don’t CAUSE issues at My Living Room… I mean, who can be upset with these folks:

An these two? My adoring fan club at the end of the bar? Smiling at me…. Begging me to leave My Living Room and go to another bar with them? How could I resist that? Especially when they were there on the happiest day ever last fall??? How CUTE are my two fan club boys?????? How could I refuse??? Unpossible.

Thankfully we were entertained before the Crappy’s left…  A good friend of mine has been perfecting his bagpipe skills. And he was awesome. I’m sure UncleCrappy will back me up on this one. And here comes the big news for Uncle Crappy…

You see that guy on the right??? Yeah??? He’s an OHIO STATE FAN!!! He’s an OSU Graduate!!! Woot! He’s a new-to-rugby-guy. And dang if he didn’t make me mad first time I waited on him a few weeks ago. But after yesterday and today? I love him. He rocks. He’s a trooper. AND he forgave me at one point for the Fiesta Bowl fiasco. He showed up today, in pain for the Scotland v. Ireland rugby match. I have a feeling that this dude and I will become good friends in the fall… I finally have another OSU fan to watch football games with!! Yay!!

I probably have to go to practice on Tuesday and let him know that I’ve outed him as a non-Pitt, non-PSU fan, huh? Well after his day yesterday, I’m pretty sure he’ll still just be happy that I am also an OSU fan…. WIN!

Covered in Blood…

You think I’m kidding… I bet… But I’m not. Tonight an uber moron at the bar, who was kicked out during the Super Bowl, started a fight. With a new guy. And guess who got involved, along with oh, about 8 of my men’s team players? Me. And what was the result? I bore the brunt of the blow to the new guy’s nose. Covered in blood. This has never happened to me before. All the pics I have now are post-work. I did have someone take a picture or two right after, but haven’t received them yet…. here is my night, post-work, in pictures.

My jeans, as I looked working from 10pm or so on... nice.

Upper left hip. Awesome.

My left hip. Also how I wore them all night long.

The remainder of my left leg...

Oh, but it gets better. Cause I had to change my shirt… And the a-hole who caused this? Yeah, I put the new shirt on his tab. And he’s going to buy me new jeans. And an effing new bra…. Cause I have no idea how to get that blood out of my regular job jeans. eff me.

Most of my shirt.

Aw, nice. The bottom of my shirt.

Top of the shirt. Yes, my neck and face were covered. Nice. Right?

Left sleeve...

Right sleeve...

One part of the ruined bra. don't judge. i'm effing mad.

Yet another part of ruined bra. Don't judge, again.

Did I mention that jerk-face’s debit card was declined when we ran it? No? Well, god help him if I see him sometime soon. In the event he is not banned from My Living Room, I will NEVER, EVER wait on him again. My jeans are done. My Bra? Done? My shirt that I got for Christmas and wore outside of work for the first time ever?? DONE. And as far as I’m concerned, that jerk-off is DONE.

Way to go on that “Don’t Make the Nice Claire Angry” thing. Geebus.

Pretty Effed Up

That would be me – well, my life – right now. Besides my car and tire issues, tonight as I closed the bar, I knocked my phone into my co-worker’s “shift drink.” A White Russian. It may or may not be dead. I don’t know yet. It’s sitting next to me in a bag of rice – my attempt at drying it out.

Thankfully, I have my old phone that I can use. But geez… when is the suck going to end?

Don’t make the nice Claire angry…

As you all I know, I spend some of my free time bartending at My Living Room. I’ve been doing it now for nearly 7 years. I do try to wait on people quickly and efficiently, which should in turn earn me decent tips. And I admit that I am not always the friendliest bartender on the planet. It kind of depends on the situation – who I’m working with, who else is in the bar and so on.

My view of the world sometimes gets me into a little trouble when I work. See, I have what is called a conscience. Growing up, I always thought that everyone else did too. Sadly, I was very, very wrong. But I don’t care how wrong I am. I still think you should behave when you are in My Living Room (or any other establishment). This means you don’t walk out my front door carrying your beer bottle. It means you do NOT start taking off your clothes in the middle of the floor while pretending it’s a karaoke bar. This means you do not mouth off or physically harm another person or employee. This means you adhere to Bar Etiquette 101. Failure to do any of these things may result in the “Angry Claire” making an appearance…

Seriously. It’s not pretty and it’s something no one needs to see anymore… There was a time when Angry Claire was a mainstay behind the bar. It was a time when certain members of  The Organization believed that since it was their “clubhouse,” they could do whatever they wanted. It took a while, but my co-workers and I finally convinced them this was not the case.

However, there’s still some carry over from that time and the Angry Claire. There are certain people who I can glare at, yell their name, or use a code word (yes, we had to go that far with one person) and they will immediately behave. Sometimes they just apologize. I think it’s hilarious. For some patrons, it’s a spectator sport to watch me do this.

And it’s definitely fun when I force a 6′ 6″ muscle-bound dude and his two buddies leave the bar at the end of the night. When I’m not even working. Is that so wrong?

Thanks to Chachi, Missy, Sorg, Anthony Closkey, DjLunchbox, V_Rock, MadMike, Ashley, Jennie & Rob for a fun time at SingSing.

And thanks to Chachi, Anthony, Jennie & Rob for heading back to My Living Room. I’m glad you all had fun!

What the Reanissance Woman posts add up to…

… is me or at least what I some day hope I can be. For some reason, when I heard that term, Renaissance Man, or Woman (which is what the teacher said), I thought of my parents. And I’ve tried to live my life to be that kind of person. And dang if Echo doesn’t figure into this somehow, you’ll see… I’m not perfect. In any way whatsoever. But I’m sort of okay with that. Not entirely, but I am working on it. I don’t think I’d be myself if I thought I was doing everything right at this point. I’m a work in progress. I hope I always will be… And that’s what I’m okay with. We all have issues we have to work with. Some of them are dang difficult and seem insurmountable, but I believe we all end up okay.

Two days ago, I came up with the Renaissance Woman idea because I had just been to the bar – which will now be known as “My Living Room” – on Sunday afternoon. And did a bunch of things that made me think:

• Every time I go to the bar on the weekends during the day, I try to do some fix up work. Fix the bar stools, repair a door, whatever needs to be done. I have a huge toolbox that I keep in my car just so I can do these things.(I’ve upgraded from no toolbox, to mini-toolbox #1 to the current, giant toolbox #2)
• So I made a quick swing through the bar to do that, and then I sat down and started to pin the apron I was planning to sew. Sewing in preparation for a big-ass project that I’m sure I can get done, but it’s going to be a JOB. A big freaking job. But it’s for a good thing… Who sews in a bar? Me, when I’m in My Living Room. duh.
• All the while, we were planning the “Family Dinner” that my co-workers (at the least, myself and Viking… sometimes Peaches, sometimes the Drummer, Lion, D…) and I try to do every week on Saturday or Sunday. It’s fun. Sometimes it involves Mimosas, sometimes it involves power tools. We’re all big fans. Of late, dinner has been steak. With all kinds of sides. Delicious. I started the trend a couple of years ago, making meals that I loved but were too much for me to eat, even with leftovers forever. This week, we all contributed to the idea. We had so many options… But we settled on Beer Can Chicken with potatoes cooked in herbs and bacon and gravy that I swear God sent to us specifically. I can’t even tell you how long it seemed to take that meal to cook. But oh.my.god, was it delicious when it was done. Wow.

When I got home (with leftovers of course, and it was just as delicious the next day… need more!), I thought about what had happened over my weekend… I carved a pumpkin that won “Most Bootiful,” I took pictures that I’m sure (when I develop the film) will be awesome, I judged a costume contest, I made an announcement (costume winner) at My Living Room that was NOT last call!, I fixed stuff at the bar, I contributed to the “Family Dinner,” and I sewed. And then, when I got home, I listened to my iTunes. And I realized…

Everything my parents taught me, whether or not I realize or use it daily… is me. I love all the things my parents gave me. More travel to Canada and especially Scotland than any other young person has EVER experienced… Ice skating, cooking, power tools!, sewing!, art, craftiness, intelligence, MUSIC of every shape and sort, and caring for others… I am the “Den Mother” to The Organization. And I’m okay with it now. It’s part of who I am.

I’m a jumble of mixed up things and incompatible hobbies and ideas. I’m a super duper band nerd who now plays rugby. And here is where my current situation adds on to my upbringing to make me what I want to be… My friends range from what the everyday person would call “nerd” to the rugby folk, to people who would be called perhaps “scary” or “punk” or “rock” or something else I don’t really get, but some of them are tattooed all over or have piercings most people would raise an eyebrow to. I don’t even see any of that. I don’t even notice it. I see that person, for what they are. For what they mean to me. On top of what I learned as a kid, and I am hesitant to say it, but here goes: the unconditional love of that dang cat, Echo, and bartending has taught me to accept people no matter what. If you are a good, true person, you will have my acceptance and help forever. If you come to my bar and you don’t disrespect me and act like a person who has morals and values, you’re good to go.

I enjoy the fact that I need to regularly check websites to see what’s up… and I check the Pittsburgh Cultural District sites to see what’s coming up… (FAVORITE SONG EVER COMING UP NEXT YEAR. CAN’T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and I check band sites to see where they are playing… because I’ll go sometimes on my own if no one wants to go. Because I intend to at the very least remain the person I am right now. I might expand what I watch, see and do… but I’m not willing to scale it back. At all.

And I’m cool with it. I am a Renaissance Woman. Or at least a work in progress to get there..

There’s more I want to experience… and I plan to ask a certain person to help me with something he thinks is super “nerdy” but I want to know… And if you don’t agree, go ahead and tell me….

Bring it!