Look, I'd like to apologize to you whose blogs I follow. I know I haven't been keeping up with you very well. I've been meaning to stop in and comment on all your new stuff, honestly.
Trouble is, because I'm such a nice guy, I am now following something like, I don't know, 45 blogs. And a lot of you are as prolific as I am, if not more. You're a little tricky to keep up with sometimes, particularly when I'm trying to pass my bar exam (excuse me, I meant bartender's exam) and still keep up a full-time job. Things have been a bit mad around here this week. There was a big hullabaloo with reserving my tickets to England; and I had to go into the bank and sit in a soft chair and flirt with the pretty blond on the other side of the desk for forty minutes. (Raw deal, right?) And that wasn't my only money-related worry. I don't know if I'll be able to save up enough to even go to England if flights keep getting weather-canceled like they have been. I only worked one day this week, Friday. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were canceled out of hand due to weather concerns.
This, needless to say, sucks eggs. I need that money. And if the friggin' spring winds don't die down around here, I won't get it. This could be a problem. It'd be grand if I could get a job tending bar nights to supplement my currently minuscule income. Grand, that is, if I could pass my bloody test. I went down to Riverside on Thursday (which turned out to be a beautiful day) to do the written portion. I sat around for about an hour and a half, reviewing the flashcards and the textbook; then I went straight up to Missy (Wade's wife) and said, "I'm ready." Turns out I wasn't. She gave me a little oral quiz right then and there to determine if I was ready, and I messed up. (I said zinfandel was a white wine—ha!) Very gently, she suggested I study a bit longer, and then come get her. Face burning, I sat back down and reviewed for another half-hour. Then I got up and volunteered again. Missy handed me the test and said "There you go! Good luck."
Oh, it was a nasty one. I knew the wines, liquor classifications and alcohol-related laws like the back of my head. But I just barely failed anyway. I missed six drinks; maximum's five. And it was all simple stuff that I'd forgotten, too, like glasses and garnishes. Shazbot.
Soonest I can re-take it is early next week. It'll probably be tomorrow. Next weekend's booked up, because we're starting our first six-day week at work. The drone pilots are going to be flying some simple landing-pattern practice runs on Saturday and Sunday. They're short days, but still, I'm glad. It'll give me a fighting chance to make up the monstrous deficit. In the irrational part of my brain, I'm still holding out for that pie-in-the-sky trip to England, here.
Wish me luck. I'll try and make it over to your blogs sometime this week. In the meantime, please stop by mine and see if you got an award! I've been getting deluged with them lately, so it's statistically likely that you, dear reader, have received one. I only follow 45 blogs, you know.
15 comments:
Good luck on your trip! I feel your pain. I'm trying to save money to go to Poland, but surprise attacks from the bill police keep setting me back.
Buggers. Sorry about the test and lack of income. I do so relate! Had to cancel my Maine trip (3rd week of March). Turns out they're having really crappy weather and floods and all sorts of dilemmas. So, looks like it turned out for the best in my case. Ya just never know.
You, on the other hand, still have time. I'm rooting for you.
I kinda miss the good old days, when it was more or less just you and me around here. Things have changed quite a bit recently for both of us. I have been completely absent from the blogosphere, and it's felt awfully strange.
Happy Easter, whatever that might mean for you.
Sorry to hear about the test and the rain. Hopefully things will go better for you on both fronts next week. :)
Christi: I hear ya! That's exactly the problem. Darn ol' bill police. I hope you make it to Poland; heard it's incredible. When were you thinking of going?
Rebel: Howdy there! Thanks for the sympathy. What a crock! Maine would be so lovely at this time of the year, but for the bad weather and floods. You can always reschedule, right? I'll root right back for you, then.
Polly: That certainly was a magical time, wasn't it? I could always depend on having you comment on what I wrote. Felt sort of nice and personal, like. Things have certainly changed. It's good to have you back, though! I thought we'd NEVER see you again. Where've you been, if I may ask? How are you feeling? How's everything?
For me, Easter means a picnic (we gave up on the egg thing a long time ago). It still means a nice day at home with the family, no matter what. So thank you for the well-wishes. Happy Easter to you too. (For you, I imagine that meant a vigil at the church, some thoughtful prayers at home, maybe even a purification rite? You'll have to tell us about it.)
sarahjayne: Thank you for stopping by, and for the kind wishes. Although, if my troubles DON'T end, it should make for some marvelously sarcastic and vitriolic posts...
See, that's just it. I have been involved in no rituals, prayers, or churchgoing of any kind. My life has shifted radically lately, and I don't even have words to describe it, which is part of the reason I haven't been blogging.
The other reason is that I've been very busy with grantwriting and teaching. Things are about to slow down a bit though, so my blog should be making a reappearance some time in the near future. We'll see.
Come to London Postman!!!!!!!!!
Sorry to hear about your exam. Better luck next time.
Oh, I'm also a follow-aholic. 35 blogs, but I need to stop adding, because I don't want to be a follower in name only. I want to be able to read ALL the blogs I follow. RIght now, that's like a job!
Dude; this made me laugh so much. Boy do I miss it when I don't get by here for some time. I have a regular Sunday blog theme of complaints - no not in those nice a words - and I'm going back to add a link here because this "complaint" is the essence of what my Sundays are about.
I'm as guilty as you about showing up at the blogs I follow. I'd like to say it's caus I'm busy writing - revising actually - but I'm not always. And, there are so many to get to; I don't know who to visit first.
If people wouldn't be so Interesting, and write so well, I'd have a lot more time to procrastinate.
I'm trying to re-vamp my blog and not doing that too well, so I'm feeling like I'm failing a simple test.
I loved your soul mate narratives. So very well thought out. And your creative lies, all excellent. I'm betting you're an excellent riddler; you seem like a guy who can figure things out in short order.
No way could I have said no to my inner moralizer either with that admonishment. I'm glad you listened - your head might have exploded or something equally awful if not.
I see you've replaced the awesome plane with blue sky. Lovely. Can we have some flightline to go with that?
Thanks for divulging your name; Andrew. I had lost sleep over trying to figure that one out.
Well, I better go pretend to write again. Good luck with your bar exam (lol) and having good weather for flying. I can't wait to see the pictures you send back from England.
........dhole
Polly: So I've heard. What do you attribute this change to? How do you feel about it? Are you filled with self-reproach or a sense of liberation? Or are you uncertain of everything at the moment? You've mentioned this radical shift before, and I know when you're ready you'll tell us something about it, but as a friend, I can't help but be curious and want to know if I can assist in any way.
How's the grantwriting/teaching going, too? Not badly, I hope? Sounds like you have enough on your plate.
Mashlip: I am!!! I fly down there a day early just to make sure I can get my flight out of Heathrow. I'll be in the vicinity of the West End, on the evening of the 23rd, I believe. We should meet up!
Thanks, Claire, for the commiseration. Yeah, I feel the same way. I'd like to be a vocal follower (except on things like photo blogs where it isn't always necessary). But keeping up IS a job. Almost full-time. Takes me hours.
DH: ALL RIGHT! I made somebody laugh. My day is made. Glad you liked it. Complaining is my hobby. And like most hobbies, it's better shared. Thanks in advance for the link love. I must stop over and review your blog as well; I've been letting it slide.
"If people wouldn't be so Interesting, and write so well, I'd have a lot more time to procrastinate."
EXACTLY. I think that's what I was trying to say.
Revamping a blog is confusing. I have no idea what the heck's going on with HTML, so I can't personalize my headers or backgrounds or anything. All I can do is put pretty pictures up top. Speaking of which...I ditched the plane because it (like the other pics) came from Airliners.net, and it seems they have a policy about using their images for anything other than wallpaper backgrounds. So I felt it best to get rid of it. If I find any free-range pictures of flight-lines (heck, I should just go down and snap one of the Apple Valley Airport, shouldn't I?) I'll stick 'em up there pronto.
Riddler-guess duly noted. Thank you so much for the kind words - I slaved over those lies. And the Soul Mate narratives. But they were inspired by yours. I used your excellent and entertaining entries as models. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done.
I was going to be one of those uptight guys whose cynical conservative heckler said "NO, I'm not revealing my name on the Web! Who KNOWS where that might go?! Are you nuts?" But then that humanist angel said "Oh, Andrew, what harm it'll it do if you just reveal your given name? It'll make this blog seem more personal, won't it?"
Just kidding. It was actually an accident. I didn't even mean to put it in there. I only noticed it after I'd hit the "publish" button. And then I thought, "What the heck, it works." If I'd known you were losing sleep I'd've stuck it in a lot sooner.
Thank you for the well-wishes, friend. Nice to see you again. Thanks as always for stopping by and leaving such wonderful comments. Glad you're enjoying yourself here. I appreciate it all.
I figure you will do okay on the next test 'cause you will settle down and whip through the thing without a care. It's as if that pretty girl across the desk is asking the questions and you blithely whip out all the technical details while she sinks in orgasmic awe.
Zinfandel is not a white wine? Oh.
There you go. I just have to imagine that she is perched across the desk from me and is...ahem...rather impressed every time I get one right.
Thank you for the encouragement.
Apparently zinfandel is actually a red wine. Just a rather light red. Hmmm...
Oh dear.
In the UK you don't need to sit an exam to work in a bar.
Basically, if you can pull a pint, you have a job. And an accent ensures that job!
When you get to the UK, you will be all set.
SC: Well, technically I don't HAVE to pass this exam. I'm doing it out of choice. This school churns out some competitive bartenders, and I'd like to maximize my chances of getting hired.
Oh, and I picked up a few pointers about pulling pints from some of my U.K. friends, but I'm afraid I'm still fuzzy on the exact amounts of beer, head, etc. Thanks for the encouragement though! I feel better...
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