Success (in Klingon)! Qapla' is pronounced in this way "kap-LA!"

What success am I speaking of? Well, I Made it Through Another Year! I did it and I have to say it was ONE HELL OF A YEAR! Almost punctually my new year starts with an assortment of new things though one takes up more time than any other - my 9-5. Since I'm pretty much in charge of it all at work. Of course many other things have happened and I'd be remiss to say events during the past year haven't affected me in substantial ways.

Just as I mentioned work above, I've mentioned most of my ups and downs already. Now. Now in this moment I choose to reflect on one thing - yesterday. My B-Day!

Throughout the day from the first minute through the day and even into the evening I was acknowledged by friends, co-workers, strangers, and of course mi mudda at 10:53 AM. She hit the nail on the head this year. And with the cell phone too. Mudda has made a monumental leap forward technologically over the past year. Yea Mudda!

I was interrupted at one point during the day by two co-workers while I was working on a Radmind configuration on a client machine (a most excellent OS X distribution tool - radmind.org) by the term "strippers". "We're scheduled to be here to strip for Gary. We're kind of new though so where should we set up?" My reply? "Well, we might as stick with the theme of the office so you can dance on top of this printer and you can strip on that printer." They're very large printers mind you. After that they asked each other what to start with... a belt? "I was going to start with my pants." replied one. To which the reply was "Oh, I was going to start with my belt." Ah... It's great having a Y chromosome. = D Ha cha cha! Happily everyone involved felt comfortable with all the innuendoes so going in to work today was easy as pie. And the best thing about pie... I like pie!

In the evening Emma and Avenga took me to Dave and Busters for a late night snack... er, well, for me it was a snack. They both tore into some nacho like thing with either lots of bean, lots of guacamole or none of either. I was in a happy go lucky mood so I was a bit giddy and passed all that fun energy on to as many people as I could. Avenga lost it JUST before the cake with my candle was put on the table. BWAAAHAHAH! I struck at the heart of her laughter! All the while Emma was happy go lucky with her $2.50 cent (25 cents of cranberry juice not included in the price) Cranberry Vodka thing. YES! I know my drinks!

A question unanswered last night was this: "What other shelf levels are there? Well, Top, and?"

Edukashun time kidez!

Well Drinks
"The well", or "rail" is the speed rack that the drinks are poured from. It is what the bar stocks to make most of their drinks, and kept handy for the bartender. It isn't what you see on display behind the bar. It is cheaper because it is bought in bulk, doesn't have a fancy bottle, and has probably never had an advertising campaign. It isn't necessarily inferior, but you are not getting the best of spirits either. If you are ordering a cocktail with a soft drink or juices, chances are you won't notice the difference in taste.

Call Drinks
From the "well", we step up to a "call" drink. This simply means that you name your spirit of choice. A Tanqueray and Tonic is a good example, however at some bars, this may be considered their "top shelf", but at others it may be the well. It just depends on where you hang out.

Premium Drinks
Premium is the same as "top shelf". It is the best the bar has to offer. This is what you would order most likely for a straight drink, as an example, a Grey Goose Martini. Included are your single malts, some reserves, single barrel bourbons, and extensively filtered vodkas. Be prepared to pay.

Reserve Drinks
From "top shelf", some bars hold ultra premium stuff. This is rare or vintage. Take out a second mortgage, or be able to afford to drink this.

Answers courtesy of about.com - http://cocktails.about.com/library/weekly/aa051500a.htm

So there ya have it. Al-key. That's about as much al-key as I'll get near.

The day decided to finally turn itself off and so had my brain due to excessive amounts of being up late. Friggin Russians!

Now... Should anyone that offered me their kind words yesterday happen to read this I'd like to extend my thanks. For me a kind word means a great deal and I was offered many such acts of kindness yesterday.

Lastly, I'd like to offer up three proverbs for posterity sake...The first is a Japanese proverb I think of often:
"One kind word can warm three winter months."

The second and third I find to be true (for lil ol me). Oh those pesky Germans and perky Sweds.
"Who has never tasted what is bitter does not know what is sweet."

"Those who wish to sing always find a song."

07-14-2004 08:28 pm
- posted by garyploski @ 7/14/2004 08:28:00 PM