Bar-Fly (Imported Blog)

bar-fly n. or adj. when you just have a way with anyone who works in a bar; whether it is the bouncer, the dj, or - most importantly - the bartender.

First off, let's be clear: I do not intentionally go to bars expecting to be a bar-fly; nor am I the type of girl you would expect to be a bar-fly. Yet for all intents and purposes, my friends know me to be one of the best bar-flys around. My talents are lengendary and my methods border on sheer chutzpah and madness, but somehow I always leave any bar I have ever gone to knowing at least one of the guys working there.

Let's use last wednesday as an instance of my bar-flyness. I decided to head to a laid back bar that I had been to before and enjoyed, invited some friends along, and made it a last hurrah for the holiday season since I was flying out the next day. I was the first at the bar; made myself comfy in the back room, went to the bar to get a drink, and realized that I had met the bartender the last time I was there. Hmmm, now the story gets a little convoluted unless I go back to the first time I was ever at the bar, so....

The first time I was at bar K (a psuedoname for the place), I had called before going over to inquire about the specials that night. The bartender, M, answered and after answering my queries, was intrigued to know my name and asked me to introduce myself if I showed up that night. I showed up, I met him, he gave me free shots and hooked me up with other drinks, and I had a good time. Nor did this require me getting into any type of compromising situations. Now, we can move back to last wednesday.....

Well, went up to the bar, ordered a brew, then asked the bartender if he was M, right? He looked a little puzzled until I said "I am not sure if you remember me, but we met the last time I was here. I had called on the phone first....(voice trailing off)". Oh, yeah, he remembered. From that moment on, my night was spent being called "sweetheart", "honey", and "babes" everytime I went to order a drink, and I had quite a lot of fun. After that, I also got to know the dj as well since I was experiencing a dancing vibe and wanted some OutKast really, really bad. (just jonesing for some Andre 3000)!

By the end of the night, M was actually sad to see me go (which is kinda cute) and I know I will be a regular at that bar. Hmm, other bar-fly incidents have involved: me meeting a manager at two a.m. who then proceeded to sing his alma mater's fight song to me because our colleges were huge football rivals; me getting to know an Irish bouncer (with the hottest accent) while my friend was busy hooking it up with some random guy; and having a dj announce to a crowded bar that yes, he was single, and no, he was not gay though some people had recently asked (pointed stare in my direction - good thing we could both laugh about it later).

Some tips if you want to be bar-fly too:
- start off right by tipping well and often (it makes you more memorable)
- go frequently to the bar (or dj or whatever); i.e. go order your friend's drinks as well or ask the dj what he normally spins and if he plans to play a few songs you wanna hear
- start a conversation (it really isn't hard: ask the bartender if he gets hit on alot and move from there; tell the dj you love what he is playing but could he throw in a little [insert fav band here])
- do something memorable - whether it involves making a bar-flyesque fool of yourself or not
- most importantly, just be yourself and be glad you are getting to know one more person in the world (ok, so getting to know that one person may have benefits, but hey, that is not why you decided to be a bar-fly kinda girl or guy