Thing Update: Get a Bartending Job

Minor progress here: I was the bartender for a private party a couple of weeks ago. It counts because I responded to an ad on craigslist and got paid (as opposed to just bartending for friends), but I'm not knocking this item off the list, because it was just a one-off gig. To complete this thing I want to either find a part-time job at an actual bar, or get more definitively involved in doing occasional-to-regular event bartending. I definitely enjoyed the party gig, though, and am looking forward to more gigs or more work.

Thing Update: Inventory my book collection

I am probably about half-way through inventorying my books. Trouble is, I didn't get it finished before we moved (just a few houses down the street). Now we're mostly settled, but a question remains as to whether we will be shuffling the room arrangement upstairs. The current situation has the master bedroom (and the bookcases) in the room closest to the street, and the second bedroom is setup as an office (and spare bedroom, in the event of guests). This might be swapped due to the fact that we can sometimes hear our neighbor's television in the front bedroom and it seems the second bedroom is quieter. Summary: the books are still in boxes waiting to be unpacked.

In the meantime, you may notice that I've added a "Currently Reading" feature to this blog.

Thing Update: Sandman Vol. 4

I just finished reading The Sandman Vol. 4: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman. Although composed of a number of individual episodes, this entire volume told one basic story, that of Dream attempting to recover the soul of a women who once loved him that he condemned, perhaps wrongly, to spend eternity in hell. His recovery mission is complicated when he arrives in hell only to find it has been recently vacated, Lucifer having decided he's ruled hell for quite long enough, and the woman who once loved Dream is no longer there. A good, solid volume, with some interesting ideas about the concepts of heaven and hell.

Thing Update: Mixing Drinks 2/3 Complete

Two weeks in, one more to go. Since I managed to cram one week's worth of classes into two weeks (due to some work/schedule conflicts), next week I will be finishing the classwork. The final step (passing the written test as well as a mixing-drinks-for-the-instructor-in-a-timed-setting test) may stretch to the following Monday, depending on how confident I'm feeling on Friday. So far on every quiz and the midterm test I have scored exactly 99% (no more, no less), so I'm feeling very confident about the rote memorization and book-learning part. I'm not as confident with the mixing of the actual drinks yet, so I'll spend some extra time this week practicing to boost my confidence.

Thing Update: Mixing Drinks, Class #1

Three styles of classes are offered: two weeks of daytime classes, two weeks of evening classes, five Saturday classes, or any combination thereof. I'm opting for the latter. This week, I'll be attending evening classes (with one day to make up next week). Next week, I'll be out of town for several days so that will interfere with most of the class sessions for the week. The third (and final) week, I'll plan on the daytime class schedule.

The class atmosphere is great, and in the current session there are only about 6 students so there is plenty of one-on-one time available with the instructor. The classroom is equipped with a mock bar large enough for five bartenders to be working side by side. We work with actual bottles, but they are filled with colored and painted waters, so the focus is on procedures and presentation, (no taste testing during class).

Class format is typically an hour or so of instruction/demonstration/'lecture' followed by partnering up and taking turns ordering and making every drink from the chapter. Each class is kind of a stand-alone unit, and the first class (after certain orientation details) was on Martini's, Manhattan's and Rob Roy's (which are all the same type of drink, just different alcohols). I learned a total of 12 drinks and variations last night, and I can now make a classic martini: dry, dirty, or perfect, whatever your preference.

And contrary to what James Bond is famous for ordering, a 'classic' martini should not be shaken and should be stirred...of course, he had his reasons.

Thing Update: Mixing Drinks

I took the first step today to becoming a professional mixologist by registering for a 40-hour course offered by the Professional Bartending Institute. Classes begin Monday. It's normally a 2-week course, but I have some conflicts with the class schedule during the second week so it will probably take me an extra week or two. More updates as I go.

P.S. Spellcheck recommends I change "mixologist" to "sexologist"...

Thing Update: Sandman

Just finished volume 3 of 11 ("Dream Country"). I incorrectly thought I had read this one but I had not. This volume is one of my favorites so far (also the most recent, which could influence that opinion). "Dream Country" includes the dark but powerful story of a writer who imprisons one of the muses; a story of cats dreaming of a revolution; and a wonderful telling of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in which the original players perform for an audience which includes the real Oberon, Titania, Puck and other faerie-kind known to appear in that particular play.