Make friends with the bartender and you'll always have a "date"

So, clearly it was much easier for me to blog when I didn't go to work.  Now that I'm back in the swing of school, it's a little bit trickier.  And the fact that I have tons of paperwork does not help.  C'est la vie, I'm here now!  I wanted to talk about how easy it is to go out by yourself and not really feel like you are "alone".  If you make friends with the bartender, male or female, you'll always have a date.

Last night, I came home from work and wasn't ready to put on the comfy clothes just yet.  I just wanted to get a drink in my neighborhood.  I didn't feel like hopping on the train, getting on the bus, calling my friends and then waiting for my friends to come home from work themselves and then wait another 30 minutes for them to come meet me (this is what happens when you don't have nearby friends).  Or worse, they ask ME to meet them somewhere that I would have to...hop on a train, get on the bus, you get my point.  As you may have noticed, sometimes I'm just lazy and I have no shame in that:-)

So, I go to one of my neighborhood restaurants and sit at the bar (remember that's one of my rules).  I have been there a few times before and got to know the friendly bartender B.  I saw on my way home that he was working (although when you REALLY get to know your favorite bartenders then you will probably already know their schedules).  Now, the beauty of the "date" with the bartender is that he or she is not going anywhere:-)  They must stay there the entire time and talk with you; the good ones actually are really great conversationalists.  Yes, every now and then they'll go off and chat it up with some other customers: the regulars, the cute couple waiting for their table, the drunk bar hopping ladies, the old man that sits at the end of the bar just "looking", but eventually he will come back to you - because you ARE by yourself.

What's also great is that you may even make friends with other people that happen to know "your" bartender as well.  For instance, last night I got to my restaurant, sat at the bar, ordered a glass of wine and some ravioli and started a great conversation with B.  Then maybe an hour a half later a couple came and sat down next to me.  They knew B as well and that of course then made it a 4 person conversation.  By the end of the night, I had the couple's phone number, a date for game night at their apartment, which happens to be in the same complex as mine and new friends:-)  Gotta love NY!

And now, the next time I come home from work wanting to get a drink in my neighborhood but not having any nearby friends to call in time....I now have nearby friends to call - see how the cycle works?? :)