The line betwixt barkeeper and barista is fine and fuzzy here in the Czech Republic. Actually, there is no line. A bar is a bar and it's stocked with espresso and spirits, ready at any hour. I know this, and yet it surprised me when I pulled out some vodka today to pour four shots for a nearby table. Me, a bartender?
In the midst of the job hunt, I stumbled across the Globe (bookstore and cafe) and their need for someone in the bookstore. I'm filling in there while I continue the search for a more stable post, and it turned out the Globe needed some help in the cafe section, too, so I found myself waiting tables today and with that, tending bar.
You should know that my serving abilities are the stuff of legend. My finer moments waiting tables in college include dumping Sangria over a sweet little lady visibly trembling from a condition in her nerves, the corn on the cob on the business suit fiasco and, my personal favourite, spilling four glasses of wine, at once, on the same woman. You can imagine why I was a bit nervous about serving and relieved to finally be stuck behind the bar just making coffee.
The occasional beer order came in, and I was bested by the tap for a while-- a tap is harder than it looks if you've never done it. After filling a couple of glasses full of nothing but bubbles, I figured out there are a couple of ways to turn the nozzle. (Just after I'd figured this out, the other server came over to whisper, "if you need more bubbles, you can turn it the other way.") After a few beers, I was better. I guess I just needed to relax :) Kidding.
Just when you think you're safe, though, somebody comes in and orders a concoction of fresh orange, grapefruit and carrot juice. Really. Orange and grapefruit were easy-- most juicers are relatively similar. The carrot juicer was a different story. I threw in a carrot and flipped the switch, then stood in horror as carrot chunks went spewing out the back of the juicer and splattered the espresso machine, the counter and the far wall. I cut the power and heard a cry behind me, where the other server had come back and discovered my...situation.
"It's okay!" I said quickly. "I'll clean it up!"
She stood staring in horror for a few seconds before taking over the juicer. She even cleaned up the carrot carnage, but not before pointing it out to the next server. As though nobody's ever done it before. Ha!
I'm grateful for a job, sure, but I also know this can only end badly. For the sake of the Globe and everyone who goes there, I am committed to finding a job for which I may be better suited.
The bookstore, by the by, is pretty relaxing. When I fill in for a lady there I explore the books in the store, sip coffee behind the counter and talk with people from all over the world. Not a bad gig while I pursue the teaching I planned to do. We'll see how that goes.
In the midst of the job hunt, I stumbled across the Globe (bookstore and cafe) and their need for someone in the bookstore. I'm filling in there while I continue the search for a more stable post, and it turned out the Globe needed some help in the cafe section, too, so I found myself waiting tables today and with that, tending bar.
You should know that my serving abilities are the stuff of legend. My finer moments waiting tables in college include dumping Sangria over a sweet little lady visibly trembling from a condition in her nerves, the corn on the cob on the business suit fiasco and, my personal favourite, spilling four glasses of wine, at once, on the same woman. You can imagine why I was a bit nervous about serving and relieved to finally be stuck behind the bar just making coffee.
The occasional beer order came in, and I was bested by the tap for a while-- a tap is harder than it looks if you've never done it. After filling a couple of glasses full of nothing but bubbles, I figured out there are a couple of ways to turn the nozzle. (Just after I'd figured this out, the other server came over to whisper, "if you need more bubbles, you can turn it the other way.") After a few beers, I was better. I guess I just needed to relax :) Kidding.
Just when you think you're safe, though, somebody comes in and orders a concoction of fresh orange, grapefruit and carrot juice. Really. Orange and grapefruit were easy-- most juicers are relatively similar. The carrot juicer was a different story. I threw in a carrot and flipped the switch, then stood in horror as carrot chunks went spewing out the back of the juicer and splattered the espresso machine, the counter and the far wall. I cut the power and heard a cry behind me, where the other server had come back and discovered my...situation.
"It's okay!" I said quickly. "I'll clean it up!"
She stood staring in horror for a few seconds before taking over the juicer. She even cleaned up the carrot carnage, but not before pointing it out to the next server. As though nobody's ever done it before. Ha!
I'm grateful for a job, sure, but I also know this can only end badly. For the sake of the Globe and everyone who goes there, I am committed to finding a job for which I may be better suited.
The bookstore, by the by, is pretty relaxing. When I fill in for a lady there I explore the books in the store, sip coffee behind the counter and talk with people from all over the world. Not a bad gig while I pursue the teaching I planned to do. We'll see how that goes.
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