I Enjoy Drinking on the Job

Last night was a night out at Changing Times with friends and their bands.

Longneck Road is the band of a guy I work with and this was the first time he and his band publicly played his music as part of an electric band rather than as an acoustic duo and it was fantastic. They'll sound great on MTV Unplugged. Do they still do that?

Southern Embers is a southern rock band composed of the husband and brother of another co-worker and another fantastic musician that I don't know very well. (Click on the link above to find the links to both bands.) You just never know where life will lead you. When I started working at my current job, who would have ever thought that eight years later, this little group of people would be hanging out in a local dive, some playing music and some working the door. Life is strange.

As is customary at Changing Times, the bands furnish the person to work the door. This is my favorite part of watching friends play at Changing Times. The last time I was there, Darlene and I worked the door. This time, Darlene and Shannon and I (but mostly Darlene) worked the door. Shannon and I mostly sat there and tried to come up with the life stories of the patrons. (Shannon was convinced that we'll soon be seeing one of the girls who came into the club on Nightline telling the tragic story about how she was kidnapped 10 years ago and has always been too afraid to tell anyone.)

My most interesting customer story happened sometime after my fourth beer when Shannon and Darlene left me alone at the door to go outside and smoke. A guy came in and said, "I'm paying for myself and for a girl who'll be coming in shortly."

"No problem," I said.

Shortly (as predicted) a girl in a pink flowery halter top and shorts came in and said, "A guy just paid for me. Akjoife lkmoive lkmo mcwe."

"Huh?" I asked.

"Akjoife lkmoive lkmo mcwe?"

"Five dollars?" I said, trying to guess her question.

She said, "I'M NOT STAYING! GIVE HIM HIS MONEY BACK."

"Oh. Okay," I said.

She walked over to the guy, told him she wasn't staying and came back to me.

"Akjoife lkmoive lkmo mcwe," she said again.

"Five dollars," I said again.

She said, "NO!! GIVE HIM HIS MONEY BACK."

"Oh. Okay," I said.

When Shannon and Darlene got back, I told Darlene that we owed a guy for the cover charge for a girl he paid for who decided not to stay. About an hour later, I saw the guy walk by and told Shannon, "Hey, that's the guy, he never came back for his money. I guess he was too embarrassed to tell us his hooker...I mean...his chick didn't want to stay."

"Poor bastard," said Shannon, "If he comes back, I'm giving him back her cover charge and his cover charge, too."

Maybe it was the five beers, but that story seemed funnier last night. I like drinking on the job.