Bartending = Crack

There is no other way to describe it- but sometimes, bartending is like crack. Though I will put out there on the record that I have never done crack, I just took D.A.R.E. and am aware of its characteristics! With that said, it is crazy how good holding cash in your hands can be! The kind of money that you can make sometimes is so addicting that there is no wonder why some people never leave the restaurant business. Which is yet another way that bartending is like crack- only crazy fuckers do it and don't think that it's killing them!

You can say as often as you'd like the following phrases, but it's always the same, you go back again and again for more:

*"It's only for now."

*"I know I need to make a change, but . . ."

*"I can quit at any time!"

*"It'll be ok, because I know I'm better than this!"

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah! These things are all well and good until you are holding this month's rent in your hand after one shift!



So what's the solution? Where's the rehab? I mean, most bartenders are alcoholics anyways (I'm not, though my mother may think I am teetering towards the edge), and we know there's a rehab for that. But how do you get rid of this high that you get when walking away from a long days work with mucho dinero in your hand? There are definitely the crack withdrawals in bartending- slow, no money days; stupid foreigners and bad managers; yet even when things are at their worst we hold out for that high! Ultimately, I think I'll have to hold out until I'm given the opportunity for performance high. I just hope I don't overdo on one before I have the chance for the other!