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Oh god, what just happened?
I had a very fun shift this week...I was supposed to be working the bar a couple days, but got sick and had to call off for one shift, but I switched my days to come in later in the week to get the hours back...no problem, since the day I switched to was 10x busier, so the extra person was needed for sure. Now, our bartenders also cook the food we serve at first, so I helped out there, than set up and got ready to do the drink thing, same old, same old, no big deal. Anyways, the night is going more or less normally: too many drinks, not enough tips, but I get paid my night auditor rate regardless so it's not as big of a hit to me.
Now, the bar is pretty busy, so we're getting a decent line, but people all seem to be in good spirits and I'm not really getting any SCs. Normally this would be a warning sign for me, but I've gotten so few SCs at this job, I guess my paranoia is all out of whack lately, so I didn't even see this one coming. It all started so innocently:
SC: Hey, do you know about a bar named Charlies?
Me: Well, I know there's one named Charlies in downtown (city)...I'm not sure about one with the same name up here in (city). Was the downtown one the bar you were heading to?
SC: I think so...it's a Cowboy bar?
Me: Sounds like the one I've heard of, half Cowboy bar, half techno/dance bar. One of the more popular gay b-
Hit the lights, something is now wrong. I don't know what just happened, but slowly over the course of the next few seconds I come to several realizations:
One, I become aware that I am suddenly on the floor with no recollection of how I got there.
Two, I can clearly hear a lot of screaming and shouting.
Three, my head is pounding.
Four, I'm pretty sure that someone is beating me up, because it feels like someone just threw a brick at me or something.
Five, I want them to stop, but I can't seem to remember where my legs are, so I curl into a ball and cover my head instead.
Six, the floor is wet. Fucking bar floors.
Seven, did I mention my frigging head HURTS!?
I don't even know for sure what happened, because our cameras don't record audio. I remember starting to tell the guy that Charlies is a Country Western gay bar (and the only bar I know in our area with that name), and apparently something in that sentence hit his rage button. I had the bad timing of looking at the glass I was filling with beer so it wouldn't overflow while I talked to him, which meant the mean right hook he threw came in on my blind side.
Now, I'm not a small guy. I've had to get involved in a few scuffles over the years, and while I'm not fond of those moments, I generally consider myself somewhat able in terms of self defense. That said, when you get cold cocked from a sucker punch, you generally drop like a rock. I was saved from further damage by the fact that the guy tried to dive over the bar to get to me, but his friends grabbed him and stopped him, before running out of the building. Thus far, no one knows who the guys were (they were paying cash) or what the hell set the guy off (no one else was listening to the conversation), but my best guess is he heard me telling him it was a gay bar, and decided that was somehow insulting to his manhood. I mean, that's the reasonable explanation, right? It's either that, or I unintentionally entered the fist catching tournament, since I apparently have a face that looks like it could catch a fist well (and let's face it, you know there are people who have those faces). There aren't many other logical alternatives.
Got some workers comp tests done at the doctor's, and I'm sporting a nice shiner (with a headache to match), but it certainly wasn't what I was expecting from this work week...
On the plus side, several people staying at the hotel all week saw what happened, and they've all given me wonderful tips since then as a consolation prize. I guess there's a silver lining after all...
Edit: I really need a smiley emoticon that has a black eye
I had a very fun shift this week...I was supposed to be working the bar a couple days, but got sick and had to call off for one shift, but I switched my days to come in later in the week to get the hours back...no problem, since the day I switched to was 10x busier, so the extra person was needed for sure. Now, our bartenders also cook the food we serve at first, so I helped out there, than set up and got ready to do the drink thing, same old, same old, no big deal. Anyways, the night is going more or less normally: too many drinks, not enough tips, but I get paid my night auditor rate regardless so it's not as big of a hit to me.
Now, the bar is pretty busy, so we're getting a decent line, but people all seem to be in good spirits and I'm not really getting any SCs. Normally this would be a warning sign for me, but I've gotten so few SCs at this job, I guess my paranoia is all out of whack lately, so I didn't even see this one coming. It all started so innocently:
SC: Hey, do you know about a bar named Charlies?
Me: Well, I know there's one named Charlies in downtown (city)...I'm not sure about one with the same name up here in (city). Was the downtown one the bar you were heading to?
SC: I think so...it's a Cowboy bar?
Me: Sounds like the one I've heard of, half Cowboy bar, half techno/dance bar. One of the more popular gay b-
Hit the lights, something is now wrong. I don't know what just happened, but slowly over the course of the next few seconds I come to several realizations:
One, I become aware that I am suddenly on the floor with no recollection of how I got there.
Two, I can clearly hear a lot of screaming and shouting.
Three, my head is pounding.
Four, I'm pretty sure that someone is beating me up, because it feels like someone just threw a brick at me or something.
Five, I want them to stop, but I can't seem to remember where my legs are, so I curl into a ball and cover my head instead.
Six, the floor is wet. Fucking bar floors.
Seven, did I mention my frigging head HURTS!?
I don't even know for sure what happened, because our cameras don't record audio. I remember starting to tell the guy that Charlies is a Country Western gay bar (and the only bar I know in our area with that name), and apparently something in that sentence hit his rage button. I had the bad timing of looking at the glass I was filling with beer so it wouldn't overflow while I talked to him, which meant the mean right hook he threw came in on my blind side.
Now, I'm not a small guy. I've had to get involved in a few scuffles over the years, and while I'm not fond of those moments, I generally consider myself somewhat able in terms of self defense. That said, when you get cold cocked from a sucker punch, you generally drop like a rock. I was saved from further damage by the fact that the guy tried to dive over the bar to get to me, but his friends grabbed him and stopped him, before running out of the building. Thus far, no one knows who the guys were (they were paying cash) or what the hell set the guy off (no one else was listening to the conversation), but my best guess is he heard me telling him it was a gay bar, and decided that was somehow insulting to his manhood. I mean, that's the reasonable explanation, right? It's either that, or I unintentionally entered the fist catching tournament, since I apparently have a face that looks like it could catch a fist well (and let's face it, you know there are people who have those faces). There aren't many other logical alternatives.
Got some workers comp tests done at the doctor's, and I'm sporting a nice shiner (with a headache to match), but it certainly wasn't what I was expecting from this work week...
On the plus side, several people staying at the hotel all week saw what happened, and they've all given me wonderful tips since then as a consolation prize. I guess there's a silver lining after all...
Edit: I really need a smiley emoticon that has a black eye
Glad to hear you're doing OK. As Kaibutsu said, 
I'm crazy, not dumb. Well, not TOO dumb. Ok, I'm not excessively dumb.
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