I like alternating paying, personally. I think one person paying for their date is romantic, but I also believe in equal treatment. That way there's both.To be fair, I'm pretty cute.

Sleet, did you just say what I think you said?

I'm in sort of the same boat as Seth, in that I'm of the opinion that I'd much rather be living a more meager lifestyle doing something I love than making good money doing something I can't stand.

My passion lies in the acting business: voice-over work and theatrical performance being the main focus. Obviously, this is a ridiculously competitive field, where only the absolute best of the best can actually make a full living doing it. For the majority, there needs to be some form of supplementary income to keep you going while you wait for that odd job to pop up. And a couple very common jobs that people get in this sort of field are waitering/waitressing and bartending. Both rely primarily on tips from customers to make money, and both have the potential to make incredibly high amounts of money in a relatively short amount of time; assuming, of course, that you're good at what you do.

And that's why I'm currently working at a diner. Getting myself some experience in the restaurant business is the best thing I can really do for myself at this stage, as that will open opportunities in the future when I eventually move out of my parent's house to a more theatrically rich community. I also plan to attend a bartending school in my area once I've saved up some money (and paid off my school loans); logic being that if I am able to develop a more rounded bartending skill-set, I will be giving myself a powerful edge over others in a field which can land me a job literally anywhere in the English-speaking world (however, it might be a bit trickier to get a job in a country where no one speaks English).

And that's where I'm at now. This also relates to my relationship status in that I wouldn't want to get myself involved with another person knowing that I'm planning to move out-of-state (potentially even across the country) in the next couple years. I guess that's kind of silly, all things considered, since a couple of years is still significantly longer than the average dating period, but I dunno. Maybe it is time that I actually put a little effort into getting myself some dating experience; I mean, I'll be 21 in April, and I've still never even been on an official date before. Which is ever so slightly depressing. :B

That is pretty deep of you to say man. I kinda feel like i am in the same boat, i don't want to burden someone with my shortcomings. On the same token if I always worried about these kind of things i would never be truly happy with myself. Believe me when I say that the person that you might one day fall in love with will want to be apart of your life. They will want to share their time with you freely and enjoy your company even when things are not so happy. It is very considerate of you to think of others, but just keep moving forward even if you decide to change your major six or seven times and with time and patience you'll find someone who gets you.

Yes.

And hush, Housey. You know I'm cute. *giggles*

0_o ! Something just happened....Right?

For those of you who are Facebook friends with me, I'm currently posting my senior pictures if you'd like to see them. They should be up in about fifteen minutes or so.

Gross.

(I'm kidding, please don't burn me to death. D:)

Also, having dated Sleet, she is definitely not horrible-looking!

Wow, I could pretty much pick and choose my situation from parts of you guys. So I'm gonna!

@Beagle: I'm the same, both with the parents/money thing and the best friend as a girlfriend thing. My parents don't hate each other but they drifted apart and, even now, they still have hang-ups about money with each other. It's heart-breaking. Also, I always like to be friends first. Also, that toilet paper test is cute, and completely true!

@Zukio: I'm the same, I've got so much I want to do now that I barely have time to see my friends more than once every couple of weeks for a movie or dinner. I don't want to get in a relationship if I can't give someone the attention they deserve, nor if I don't truly believe I'm worth the occasional wait.

@Seth: I can't imagine working eight hours a day, five days a week, especially doing something I don't love. Obviously I'll eventually have to bite the bullet but I've always thought I'd be happy if I worked Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, that way you get a day in the middle to truly relax (the weekend's usually filled with chores and shopping). That being said, I'm lucky in that my lower-paying dream job is my back-up, just in case I don't enjoy earning big money.

@RandomGeekNamedBrent: I've always earnt the money I needed for simple stuff (my parents still paid for high school and big things but I never ask them for anything) and I always said to myself I'd pay them back one day. They even occasionally joked saying "You're going to look after me when I'm old, right?" and I've just bluntly said "Yes." Paying for myself has meant I only ever JUST get by but it means if I ever desperately need money, people won't say "But I lent you that other $50 you still haven't paid me!"

@KJOokami: Don't worry, I'll be 21 in June and I've never been on a date! I always thought, what's the point of going out with someone in high school if you're just going to break their heart? I mean how many couples do you know that are high school sweethearts? NOW I know it was all about getting the experience. Also, I thought I'd need to go to bartending school to get a job at the restaurant I work at but I learnt everything I needed from the last bartender. What exactly do you learn at bartending school?

@RadioBlueHeart: It's probably not much consolation but you've always got us! You can't truly be alone and miserable if you've got someone to tell that you're alone and miserable. But I don't want to make any assumptions about your life. Also, that thing is ADORABLE!!!!!

My cousin actually married his high school girlfriend. As far as I can tell, they're still very happy together.

Yeah, the main reason I haven't bothered trying to pursue relationships, even when I knew I had a chance (potentially a really good chance), is because I knew they wouldn't be "the one" that I'd be likely to stick with for the rest of my life. But now that I'm getting to the age where I'm thinking about moving out and what I'm going to do with the rest of my life, I just want to get some experience to see what I've been missing out on all this time. That's not to say I'm just gonna go out there and start dating anyone and everyone who'll have me; I just feel like it's time to start actively trying to find someone that I could feel comfortable having a relationship with for an extended period of time.


The bartending course I was looking at is basically a jack-of-all-trades type training experience. It teaches you all about each type of alcohol individually--the history, how they're made, and what they're used for--and will teach you how to make somewhere in the range of 100-200 different kinds of drinks. They also offer advanced courses in things like that fancy behind-the-bar stuff you see in Vegas and the like, as well as more in-depth studies of beer and wine.

The main goal is to make sure that when you walk into a bar of any kind, you will have a more broad knowledge-base and more versatile skill-set than even people who have been working in the business for several years. Basically, they want you to be able to come out of this course, walk into literally any establishment that serves alcohol, give the owner an overview of your knowledge and skills, and walk away with a job. The way I understand it, most bars/places with bars will only really teach you, as you said, what you need to know. They teach you what you'll need to know in that particular environment. But that doesn't necessarily teach you all you'll need to know to get into a different type of establishment. Working at a local pub, for example, probably won't entirely prepare you to work in a casino, and working at a sport's bar may not prepare you to serve drinks in an upscale restaurant.

I could be entirely wrong in this, of course. But it seems pretty sound, in theory. The alternative that my mom (who asked some people she knows who have been bartending [in lowest-common-denominator type joints, granted] for a while) presented is to just walk into a bar of some sort and busboy for a time while the bartender teaches you how to bartend in his off-time. But to me, that doesn't seem like a good option at all, since it could take months of off-time for me to even learn the basics, whereas this course can teach me infinitely more--in a more hands-on environment, to boot--in a matter of a few weeks.

How long did it take you to actually get into legit bartending? Because time is probably the biggest factor for me.

(I hope this isn't too much of a derail; if it is, we can just take this to PMs.)

{side note}
You know i have never really had much any liquor to drink, besides scotch whiskey and rum. The first time I drank some liquor I had a shot of whiskey. It quite literally almost felt the same as pouring gasoline down my throat. (not that i have ever done that though)

I think I can finally call myself a redneck.

I drive a truck, started wearing my boots instead of my sneakers on a daily basis, and just today fired a shotgun for the first time.

I think those are the three requirements to being a redneck. That and Nascar, which I follow enough to be called a fan.

Wait do you still have all your teeth?
because until you start losing those you're just rural

oh Seth



I went to Mcdonnald with my friends today, and my friend forgot to bring his money, so I bought him a Mc Wrap. my other friend asked him when he is going to pay me back but I said food ain't a thing that someone owes or has to pay back. that's my belief. nevermind if we went to fancy fancy restaurant and I bought him something big. My friend said that it's southern hospitality, but it was more close to my family belief.
how about you guys? do you make your friend pay you back when you buy im foods? I'm confused.

Hmmm...
*sets up Netflix*
...
*goes to find Murder She Wrote*
...
*Notices Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest in the selection.*
...
*Trips out of his chair while getting snacks*
@_@

Nah why would I ask anyone to pay me back for a meal? It's really not a big deal to feed a friend, don't get me wrong though i am going to try my best not bankrupt myself buying friends food all the time. But every now and again I like to take my friends out so we can eat or chat. Now I can totally understand wanting to return the favor if someone else wanted to treat you to a meal because it simply is a polite and friendly gesture!

Teeth have no effect on if you're a redneck around here.


When it comes down to buying anything for a friend for me, it depends on two things:
1: Cost of object
2: How much money I have

If you're my friend, I won't mind shelling out a few bucks if you're short or something, but I'm not going to give more than 5 before I feel I should get it back. And on the same token, if all I have is $5, I'll loan it to you, but I would like to get it back seeing how it's all I have at that time.

That does sound really good, especially since it's only a few weeks, and it is a sound theory. I learnt everything I needed to know after three shifts with the old bartender, learning everything I need to know about the liquors took a small bit of reading and the cocktails I've been memorising as I go. I can do all the most popular ones by memory now, granted that's probably only like 15 different ones. I don't know any flair bartending but I'm quick and that just came from experience. I can't think what much more legit bartending would need, but it would also depend on the setup where you worked, getting used to where everything is is the main thing.

I don't think busing tables and being taught in the bartender's off time is a great idea, it would depend on the bartender but I basically got to watch everything the bartender did and then he'd tell me stuff in between customers, so I got to have his full attention. If he just tells you stuff when he thinks he has the time, it's possible you won't actually learn all that much. But you would be getting paid the whole time rather than having to pay someone yourself. Also, a lot of what he'd be teaching you is where everything is as well as what to do with it, but you can't really use that knowledge anywhere else. Plus, if you only get a couple of shifts a week, it could be a few weeks before you learn everything anyway.

If financial security isn't an issue, I'd say the bartending course is best. Another option is to buy a cocktail book, some of the better ones will have descriptions of all the liquors, glasses and what shaking/blending/etc does in the front. I also have a poster called the Periodic Table of Mixology, it's basically a giant periodic table of cocktails and it has everything you need to know, what's in them, what glass to use and how to make them. I'll send you a picture if you want.

Yeah, I'm pretty much the same, I don't drink so I never thought I'd be a bartender but here I am! That also meant I basically had to learn everything about everything, if you're a drinker you'll usually know a lot already from experience. But yeah, any of those straight is pretty harsh, I'd suggest a good quality rum with some ginger ale in it, it softens the alcoholic taste and if the rum's good enough, you can't taste the alcohol at all.



Oh jeez, it's been ages since I saw that movie. Ahh, childhood...
Also, yay Angela Lansbury!

I got +8 on a hipster test

My policy on debt forgiveness is that when it comes to things that aren't easily quantified, we just ignore it in all directions. Otherwise we try to pay each other back, but have trust in each other.

I got a perfect 0. not mainstream, not Hipster. Knowing who Parov Steller was (and liking his music) really boosted my score there.

I got a -7
I'm cool with that. Being a hipster is pretty mainstream anyway.
That's why I Ironically do things un-ironically

Just knowing about the red hot chili peppers,threw my score way off, sooo I'm just going to go ahead and say that I am a boring mainstreamer.

I'm sorry.
(not that there isn't some good stuff on the radio but it's more hit than miss for me.)

We have a few good stations here. I like our independent one. It plays the most random stuff! Not just "occasionally we'll play Journey after Katy Perry sometimes."

I made the mistake of getting used to satellite radio when I lived at home. Regular radio is just so bland now.

A while back the county station I would listen to took off the frequency that I had to listen to it on, so I had to find another one.

I don't like the morning wake-up show as much as the old one, but they seem to play a greater variety of songs.

Well I do have a lot of interesting things to say.

The term "redneck" came out of the labor struggles of the 1930s. Pro-Union miners in the Appalachians wore red bandanas around their necks as a symbol of solidarity. Reckneck really just means blue collar. As for the teeth thing, most people like that did not have the disposable income to go to the dentist.

With all this relationship stuff coming out, the forum is turning into a soap opera. It is almost as interesting as the comic that brought us all together!

For anyone who is interested, that little sea monster is called a Blue Dragon Mollusk.

You guuuuuys, my birthday party was yesterday and we had a Super Bowl party tonight at work. Too much happy food. My tummy hurts. =(

At least it wasn't for nothing. I'm sure both parties were fun. You can never have too much happy food.

They were very fun indeed, but now I wanna barf. I partied too hard. Unhappy Beagle is unhappy.

Unhappy Beagle shouldn't be unhappy, its bad for your face.

Hey look! I actually have internet access again For the first time in like... a week? Those Internet Badgers are unforgiving and relentless.

And here I thought you fell off the face of the earth! Well I'm glad you're connected again. You should see what happened when you were AFK for a week, it was pretty intense to say the least.

Financial security shouldn't be an issue, no. I'm still mostly dependent on my parents, so I've got no major bills to pay aside from my school loans. So while getting into this course would set that back a little bit, I feel like it would be a good investment in the long-run.

I would be interested in that Periodic Table of Mixology thing, though! Sounds neat. Also, as a side note, I know that the course includes a rather extensive book of beverage-mixing, and I think that you get to keep it once the course is over. Even if you don't, the school offers lifetime refresher courses in any of their locations, so I can always go back later on if I think I could use some refreshing on any particular subjects. They also include a lifetime placement program, which will help you find jobs wherever you are in the country.

Thanks for the advice!

That thing was amazing! Where can you get them? I keep thinking I'd love an aquarium if I could have something really interesting rather than just goldfish.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAGLE!!!! Enjoy sleeping off all that gloriously tasty, horribly sickening party food!
Wow, with all those perks I'd say that course would be a great investment! Maybe I'll find one near me just to boost my skills. I'll send you a picture of the poster as soon as I've got it too.

That post made my morning when I got up earlier.

Hi Nyaliva! My birthday is Feb. 5th, and it's 7:15 PM Feb. 4th here, but thank you! *hugs* I slept off that happy food quite well last night. I slept with the TV on and my wastebasket by my bedside, tossing my shoes across the room so I wouldn't accidentally throw up in them if I woke up sick. I feel better though! Now homework and leftover cake! ^_^

Oh, I didn't realize that you felt that bad. I've woken up in the middle of the night and gotten sick, and that's not fun.

Although I'm glad it sounds like everything turned out alright. Happy birthday a day early and enjoy that cake.