Thursday, August 26, 2004
Bagels & Booze
After working a twelve hour night shift last night, a group of my co-workers and I decided that we needed to go for happy hour. Why shouldn't night shift folk be permitted the same indulgence as you mainstream day-shift people? Who cares that YOU don't drink at 7:30 in the morning. You have to think in the opposite terms to understand. Our 7:30am is your 7:30pm. Wouldn't you catch a drink with a pal at a bar at 7:30pm after a hard day of work?
Enough of my defensiveness... I don't need to justify my behavior to anyone. Right! (You couldn't guess from the tone of this posting that I'd been drinking now, could you?)
Jenn called around town and found a bar that opened at 6am, so we had a destination.
Three of the eight of us (Liz, Pei and I) thought it best not to drink on an empty stomach, so we stopped on our way to the bar to get bagels. Not many other food choices were available at that hour in the Castro. But why not bagels with your booze?
The bartender was so excited to have a crowd of eight show up for multiple rounds of drinks so close to opening and offered us free shots before we'd even bought anything. The shots were some blue concoction with "mother" in the title. I'd only eaten half of my bagel so far and the drink hit me like a brick. I then proceeded to throw my second half of my bagel onto the bar, making theatrical gymnastics as the bagel did a swan dive off of a bar stool before landing on the floor.
Did I mention I'm a light weight?
The Pendulum has an outdoor patio in the back. And today was the loveliest weather possible. San Francisco summers are usually unbearably dreary. You may have heard the expression:
"The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco."
But this morning, the sun was bright, the sky was clear. Not an ounce of fog in the air. So we soaked up the unusual warmth while we sipped our respective alcoholic beverages.
Within minutes, however, I managed to knock over my "slow screw." (I'd asked for a screwdriver that's light on the vodka and was corrected in it's name). Half my drink spread across the table. I sat there stunned, perhaps partly from sleep dep and partly from the alcohol that had already saturated my brain. Fortunately, as everyone in the crowd was in the "helping profession," Kristen jumped up immediately and ran to get some cocktail napkins to soak up my orange puddle.
A second round of free shots then appeared. A pink drink called "Cherry Bomb" or some such. Unlike the shot glasses placed in front of each of my coworkers, however, the bartender handed me a tumbler.
"And the virgin drink for the girl who doesn't drink."
Okay, so I knock over a few items within minutes of walking into a bar, but suddenly I am "the girl who doesn't drink?" Okay, maybe it's true. I don't drink often - maybe once a month at most. But I mean, really.
Just to make a point, I ordered a SECOND "slow screw."
Fortunately, the third round of free shots arrived after I'd already stood up to head home. Otherwise, I'm not sure I could have gotten myself out of the patio chair.
There was talk of these field trips to the Pendulum becoming a tradition, but if I agree to go again, I may have to wear rain gear and bring one of the wheelchairs from work.
Enough of my defensiveness... I don't need to justify my behavior to anyone. Right! (You couldn't guess from the tone of this posting that I'd been drinking now, could you?)
Jenn called around town and found a bar that opened at 6am, so we had a destination.
Three of the eight of us (Liz, Pei and I) thought it best not to drink on an empty stomach, so we stopped on our way to the bar to get bagels. Not many other food choices were available at that hour in the Castro. But why not bagels with your booze?
The bartender was so excited to have a crowd of eight show up for multiple rounds of drinks so close to opening and offered us free shots before we'd even bought anything. The shots were some blue concoction with "mother" in the title. I'd only eaten half of my bagel so far and the drink hit me like a brick. I then proceeded to throw my second half of my bagel onto the bar, making theatrical gymnastics as the bagel did a swan dive off of a bar stool before landing on the floor.
Did I mention I'm a light weight?
The Pendulum has an outdoor patio in the back. And today was the loveliest weather possible. San Francisco summers are usually unbearably dreary. You may have heard the expression:
"The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco."
But this morning, the sun was bright, the sky was clear. Not an ounce of fog in the air. So we soaked up the unusual warmth while we sipped our respective alcoholic beverages.
Within minutes, however, I managed to knock over my "slow screw." (I'd asked for a screwdriver that's light on the vodka and was corrected in it's name). Half my drink spread across the table. I sat there stunned, perhaps partly from sleep dep and partly from the alcohol that had already saturated my brain. Fortunately, as everyone in the crowd was in the "helping profession," Kristen jumped up immediately and ran to get some cocktail napkins to soak up my orange puddle.
A second round of free shots then appeared. A pink drink called "Cherry Bomb" or some such. Unlike the shot glasses placed in front of each of my coworkers, however, the bartender handed me a tumbler.
"And the virgin drink for the girl who doesn't drink."
Okay, so I knock over a few items within minutes of walking into a bar, but suddenly I am "the girl who doesn't drink?" Okay, maybe it's true. I don't drink often - maybe once a month at most. But I mean, really.
Just to make a point, I ordered a SECOND "slow screw."
Fortunately, the third round of free shots arrived after I'd already stood up to head home. Otherwise, I'm not sure I could have gotten myself out of the patio chair.
There was talk of these field trips to the Pendulum becoming a tradition, but if I agree to go again, I may have to wear rain gear and bring one of the wheelchairs from work.
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