#travel bartender

[thewaybackcloset]

The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

Part 2 of what I learned travel bartending for a few months...

I've had several festival-goers and concert attendees gush over how lucky I am to witness "this" concert for free. It's true there are times where I have to blink and be like "yeah! I'm being paid to be here!" + the tips, but that's another story. We are a lucky breed of crazy that enjoy the lucrative opportunities that come with part time or full time freelancing. Traveling to shows or festivals for work is not for the faint at heart. You still have to be savvy choosing events to work. Ask yourself a few questions:

How am I getting there? Where am I staying? And how am I getting around? How much money am I going to make?

In summary: Will you be investing more money than what you will earn back?

This should determine if you want to jump into this topsy turvy world of travel bartending. For those who just want to dip a toe into event work, look around your local listings for events in your area. Stadium concerts, festivals, and sporting events are great for vending!

For those traveling and following a circuit of events, such as the PGA golf tournaments, it's great to coordinate with a group of friends or co-workers that all plan to split costs for lodgings, car commuting, etc. For music festivals, you should also seek out a buddy system when commuting in and out of those events. There are a couple of Facebook groups that offer plenty of work opportunities and can answer a LOT of questions regarding upcoming events.

The Good

Keep your overheard low and you'll make bank! If you're up for it and own a trustworthy car you can camp in, I say do it! You don't have to depend on anyone else to get you to and from work, your commute and lodging is your car, thus eliminating those extra costs. When my partner and I tried it for a month and a half, it got a little crowded at times, but overall making quite a profit with little overheard. The money... how good is the money? It varies event to event. I know zero to little about the game of golf. Though being a cheerful bartender will get you far in terms of tips, because golf is rich man's game.

The Bad

Not all tip outs are created equal. Music festivals are all over the place. Some tip-outs are determined by the hiring company though most I've encountered are festival-wide split.

Festival-wide tip pool means if Bar X is slammed and you're making bank but Bar Y is slow, they're getting an equal cut of YOUR money you worked your ass off for, vice versa. It's not great. If you're there for the experience, the music, and the money isn't the biggest factor, go for it. If you want to make that coin, stick to sporting events or solo concerts where you can vend and keep your tips. God bless golf.

Liquor laws also vary from place to place. Not all states are created equal, we all know that. Florida, Illinois, Texas, and Arizona all have pretty similar TIPS or MAST alcohol service programs that are interchangeable to those states. When researching if we should go out for Coachella this year, we decided to axe it because the California liquor laws required additional certificates and a local address not too mention camping in the desert heat. Similarly, Las Vegas requires a TAM and Sheriff's card... so no Life is Beautiful, When We Were Young or EDC for us. Basically, Nevada, California, and the west coast require their own documentation.

The Ugly

Many of you are aware that a shooting occurred in the campgrounds of Beyond Wonderland PNW at The Gorge this year. It's devastating that it happened at such a loving EDM festival that I was working. It's the second time I've been in close proximity to a shooting that was affiliated with a music festival. On October 1, 2017 there was a mass shooting at Route 91 country festival in Las Vegas, my home at the time. I was not attending or working, but was nearly quarantined on the Strip due to a security lock down. It's a risk that we are willing to take when we work in large crowds... though safety should be top priority. Always have an escape route planned no matter what event you're working. Know where you are and have a plan. If you have a buddy at the bar, stick together.

To wrap this up, travel 'tending is a wonderfully lucrative opportunity to do on the side. If you have a remote job that allows you to move about, it's a great way to make extra money. If you're savvy and have a minimal lifestyle, you can travel around making money for six months at a time and take the winter off. I've seen it happen. It all depends on your time frame, bills, lifestyle, and personal gains you have set forth. I wanted to try it while I had low overhead and no bills in between my career shifts. And life's short guys, you gotta explore! You will meet some lovely, albeit crazy folks along the ride.

[profoundbondfanfic]

A Fabulous Evening’s Apocalypse

A Fabulous Evening’s Apocalypse by MrBotanyB @mrbotanyb Rating: Teen and up Word Count: 62k

Look at it this way: Their trip to the far end of space and time to chase a (very) long shot at freeing Dean from the Mark of Cain could have ended a lot worse than it did. It wasn't even the worst idea they'd ever had. The so-called Restaurant At the End of the Universe loops endlessly in time through the final hours of Creation while guests dance, eat, and drink until the very last of last calls. A consequence of it being a time loop is that anybody who visits can meet everybody else who was ever there. Even a centuries-dead witch who likes the challenge of lifting unbreakable curses. It didn't work out like they'd hoped, but they didn't die. And Cas did get stranded there for a bit but they got him back. Eventually. So it was fine. That was then. And now, Sam and Dean are out of ideas for getting Cas out of the Empty. Dean has been thinking a lot about realizing important truths too late, and missed chances, and (very) long shots. And he wonders if the key to rescuing the Cas he lost might just be enlisting the help of the Cas he left behind nearly ten years ago. If it doesn't work, at least he'll get to see Cas one more time.

I'll admit I am the number one target audience of this fic. I am a massive Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fan. That being said, you don't have to love that series to enjoy this story.

Expect Dean and Cas in increasingly ridiculous surroundings, fun aliens, working conditions that would make OSHA weep, and some timey wimey ridiculousness that is really quite clever and fun. Also pining. So much delicious pining.

The OCs are a treat as is the setting at The Restaurant at the End of the Universe aka Milliways. If you ARE a fan of HHGTTG, you will also have fun spotting the references.

And, of course, like any good fix-it, we get a happy ending for Dean and Cas.

[astoldbychae]

Pinterest Inspired Moodboard: Norvina Hernandez 🍸

[flipfloptime]

I was recently in a bar in Zimbabwe and they were showing a whale documentary on the bar’s tv. The place wasn’t very full but everyone was just watching a whale documentary together, learning cool whale facts. And now I will never be able to go to a bar again without thinking that we could all be watching a nature documentary together.

[marilynsweet]

Some more Laura brain rot

[jazzmasternot]

At the airport and the coffee shops aren’t open but the bars are. No matcha latte? Well a tequila sunrise it is then!

[beanmaster-pika]

Ragnvindr bros angst is fun but it’s also very important to remember that these absolute dorks still hang out with each other despite the Everything. I’m oversimplifying here but it’s like fighting with your sibling but then texting them a meme twenty minutes later but ramped up to 11 and more emotionally fraught.

[passingthetime]

Fuck it I love sitting at the bus stop waiting for the night bus that'll be here in 30 minutes, eating fries and drinking aryan. European experience fr

[life-spire]

@ flpschi

See more like this.

[darrinjoakley]

DERBY

[bubblesorbubbles]

Masters of Singapore Sling

[dutybcrne]

Kaeya is chill with Diluc treating the Traveler to things and special drinks bc hey, the more people spoil them, the better. They DESERVE it, after all.

It’s if the Traveler asks him for a Cider Lake that he has a Problem.

[digital999placebo]

the lizzy grant gerita post…not even a gerita truther but venice bitch injects the messiest americana hot muggy summer gerita hallucinations into my brain so intense n overwhelming i sit still for a while . jsyk ure not alone in the cringe.

REAL AS FUCK ITS LIKE BEING ELECTROCUTEDDDDDD. AS SOON AS I FIND MU DRAWING PEN AND MY EXAMS R POVER I STGGGGG I WILL DRAW THIA TIME…. this clip in my head on repeat vvvvv

[nice-bright-colors]

When did this become a thing?

I know that I’m old. I like to think that I’m not a skeevy old man perv, but when did female bartenders wearing yoga pants to work become a thing?

I’m all for being comfortable. I work remotely, so I’m usually not in a collared shirt. Plus my camera is usually always off. There was a time when people just did business over the phone then met in person.

It used to be really tight jeans, but I suppose those aren’t practical all the time. Maybe because it’s V-day and they want all the lonely dudes at the bar to get some eye candy? Side note, I’m most likely in that group tonight.

I can tell you this guy doesn’t mind the other bartender either with her plaid skirt and open cleavage red top. Must be V-day, although I’m not complaining.

However, the yoga pants at work thing? With a hoodie nonetheless? Again, she’s a great bartender, and she has a great ass——so I’m not complaining. Just curious.

[marilynsweet]

- Nevermore -

-

Looking for a little something to sweeten your night? Look no further than Nevermore, brewed and distributed by Poe’s Spirits - it’s sure to prolong your night for hours upon hours~

Feat. Laura of Traveler’s Rest!

[neutronian]

can you imagine if sly & marissa ended up coming across texan michael on their road trip though.