Flair for Flair's Sake!

         Meet Chuck. (the guy above)... Chuck is a great friend of mine, and a Flair bartender in Orlando that works at BB Kings next to where I work. He also works at Tgi Fridays, which now hosts some of the biggest bar comps. He competes in bar comps around the area and is associated with some crazy talented Flair Bartenders. Until I moved to Orlando I seriously had no idea about the world of Flair, and you know what is missing? FEMALES! Now I have taken it upon myself to learn to Flair. (Chuck is suppose to teach me, but he is seriously slacking). I bought a couple tins. a practice bottle and went to work. Ya, def not as easy as it looks. But you know what helps? I already know how to juggle! Coincidence right! It honestly is a good thing that I am so eclectic with my life because it all ties together in one way or another. Now the juggling is a start and every once in awhile when I am working a morning bar shift, I will start fiddling with the tins and I have gotten some pretty crazy tips! One guy gave me a hundred bucks to flair for like 10 minutes and was so impressed! (He was from Minnesota but it still counts!) I seriously think that this is the golden ticket! If I learn to Flair, become marketable, then I will be unstoppable. This is probably one of the more time consuming things on my ongoing list of hobbies though, but check with me in about 2 years and I might just be pretty good! Or I will learn to Flair enough to say I can, use it at work to make some extra money and add it to the never ending Bucket List that is my life. Either way I am happy.

I am posting a youtube link here if anyone is interested in checking out some pretty incredible flair. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch5QIowUmsI

Violinist in the Making

When I was young I played the flute, and quite well if I do say so myself but of course as a kid you move on to different hobbies and forget about the old ones. (which I tend to still do sometimes) So I decided a few months ago to give a musical instrument another shot, but this time a stringed instrument (since of course I mastered a wood-wind instrument). Now in my mind I figured I would set aside an hour or two week to play so I bought all of these instructional books that showed you finger placement  (and even came with cd's that haven't been updated since the 90's) but of course time tends to get in the way. I have since learned jingle bells, mary had a little lamb and the intro to a Mozart song, but I like to think that my effort has not been wasted and it is a great achievement for somebody that is teaching themselves!

Now my on going list of new hobbies, is constantly growing but I live my life by the motto that I would rather be good at a bunch of different things, than be excellent at just a few. Maybe in my mind it justifies the overwhelming amount of ideas of new adventures I come up with on a weekely bases, but I would like to think that it just makes me well rounded. So my dream of playing the violin on stage for an audience may never actually come true, but when someone asks me if I can play an instrument, I can say, "Well as a matter of fact I do, I am a violinist." (Who needs to tell them that my greatest achievement is a Christmas song with 3 notes?)

Prosit, Prosit, Prosit!

Bavarian FunFest. First of all, any excuse to make a trip home (Pittsburgh) is a good enough excuse for me, but this time was the greatest excuse of all. Funfest hasn't been held for 20 years ago, but this year they decided to bring it back and see what the younger generations would make of it. Now let me tell you, I was warned about drinking, dancing and down right genuine authenticity, and that's exactly what I got ( minus the dancing on my part, just not having it). There were dozens of food stands, giant tents filled will folk music and polka dancing, and yes my favorite..CRAFTS! But after 5 days of meeting more people then I knew what to do with (honestly by the end of the week I was hugging everyone just because I wasn't sure if I had met them or not) and more rich and greasy food than anyone should consume in that short amount of time, I was tired and about 5lbs heavier (well maybe 10, lets be honest, I am still in denial).  I cannot deny however, that FunFest was an experience, and one that I hope to enjoy next year and lets face it, anything that involves my boyfriend's dad singing Polka music in the car, is good by me.
                           Now I stayed in PA for another few days after the Bavarian Fun Fest ended, and if you can imagine a place on the water, with great company that is surrounded by wineries..that is how I ended my vacation. The cottage on the Lake Erie might possibly be one of the best places on earth and to add to it, I drug Lon on a chartered fishing trip at 5am to catch fish that I refused to touch, all the while I won the biggest fish contest and about 30 bucks! Funfest and the Cottage..combined..they make for an excellent vacation!

StarStruck?

 

Patrick Dempsey..Need I say more? I stopped by my job yesterday..just because I rarely go 24 hours without being there..im pretty sure it is impossible..and I find out that Patrick Dempsey is speaking at BB Kings right next to where I work. Now my first reaction is to run screaming and possibly strangle the first person that keeps me from entering the building..but come on now..who wants to be THAT person. Apparently me, because that is exactly what I did..minus the strangling. If you know me at all I probably will strangler you and who really needs that in their life.

Now I am not really a starstruck individual..mainly because I can never come up with anything reasonable to say to a complete stranger that apparently rocks at life way more than I do..so I keep my distance and then totally exagerate the scenario to my friends in a way that makes me seem like my life is a little bit more exciting than it truly is. But Patrick Dempsey..as a die hard Grey's fan..you have to get a little bit hysterical..and lets face it..meeting people like him is 100% payback for the people that I am forced to serve to make an honest living. When you're day consists of people asking not only where the bathroom is but if you even have one..we deserve a little celeb action to keep us from going completely insane.  On a side note..here's a tip for anyone that has ever been confused about the location of a restaurant bathroom..it is typically in the corner..with a sign above that reads BATHROOM..with a friendly arrow pointing you straight there. And if you have to ask if we HAVE one..do us all a favor and stay home..lets face it..there is no friendly response to that..especially when you wonder in the server station where all the waitstaff is hiding from you just so they dont have to pretend like youre not a complete idiot.

One last tip...if you are trying to avoid washing your hands because the last thing they touched was someone absolutely awesome..thats just gross..but even so..i waited a good 4 hours.

The Bucket List Begins

Well today is the day that Lon has FINALLY turned 30. After months of planning a surprise party,trying to figure out a mini vaca to take and picking out presents ( which by the way..I totally rock at gift/card giving) .. the day has arrived. Now I have been thinking this whole time that he is stressing about being 30..but let me tell you..it is way more stressful to be the planner, and i will be happy to go back to my usual stresses of work and school. We decided to stay the night in Ormond Beach at a completely and totally serene Hotel that not only has crazy modern decor, but plays slightly awkward indian aromatherapy music by the pool deck while random girls talking about converting their possible love prospects in to greek orthodox enthusiasts. Dinner would be the most eventful part of this trip thus far though. Hibachi...not my taste..as you get to know me you will quickly find out that food is not my thing and my Bucket List will consist of very little adventures surrounding cooking/eating. We were placed at a table by ourselves ( mind you this table fits about 20 people) while we had rice tossed in to our mouths (which Lon almost choked and died on..Happy 30th right?) and I reluctantly tried a piece of Sushi. Thankfully I did not spit it all over the table and Lon did not die via rice. To conclude this landmark in Lon's life, we have Japanese lanterns that you light on fire and send them soaring in to the night sky that will be set off tonight while we comb the beach for baby sea turtles. All in all I would say this day has been a success, and thankfully I can scratch elaborate Dirty Thirty celebrations...off of my Bucket List.

Well..Here it goes..

So I am FINALLY posting my very first blog. My name is Jillian and I am a server/bartender at a  tequila bar that I like to consider "organized chaos." I must be honest, I never really saw myself ever being a blogger, but I guess I just never new how much fun it is! This blog is going to be a sort of Bucket List ( hence Pail of Water) and I honestly cannot wait to jump in to it. I am a Pittsburgh girl, born and raised, and miss it quite a bit since I am now a Floridian... but I guess Ill have to endure the clear skies and beautiful beaches for awhile until its time for me to go back home and get a big girl job. Coincidentally I have found myself a wonderful guy whos hometown in the great city of Pittsburgh is only an hr away from my hometown. I guess sometimes it takes moving a thousand miles to find somebody pretty great..and it helps that we love the same sports team because that could have been detrimental to our relationship. Lastly before I finish my very first post..I must say that I have two very dear friends, miss Kaylee and miss Cami who are responsible for my blogging endeavors..that I am seriously one lucky girl to get to spend my thursday evenings eating great home cooked food and enjoying crazy conversation. Love you ladies!