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Barflies - What is the deal?

#61
hbarcat said:
When I was 21 I worked for a restaurant/pub and got into the habit of staying after work (night shift ended about 10pm) and drinking until close. It didn't take long for me to start hanging out in bars on my days off and develop a habit of drinking every day. Fortunately, this was just a summer job I took between semesters in college and I went back to school and sobered up for a semester of studying. The abrupt change in lifestyle from being a barfly to being a physics student came as a real shock. The next summer I went back to the same job but I didn't go back to being a barfly - for two reasons. 1) because I saw how pathetic the scene was from the previous summer. and 2) Because I had a new wife and she gave me a reason to enjoy life for what it is and not sit on a barstool getting drunk.
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Glad to hear stories like this. You saw the crap and you decided not to step on it. Also, I love physics but it is literally the toughest major in my opinion. You need to know a lot of math, and that's where I get a bit lost.

Ya I know calculus, but once the math has every Greek letter in the equations I'm just lost. Props to you. Obviously a smart fellow. Bet that's why you're no longer a daily drinker. Very few people are better for heavy drinking. Almost none.

Be well and thanks for the insight!
 
#62
Killed_by_Death said:
AFAIK this guy didn't crash his car due to drinking. He was driving on bald tires in the rain.
His other mistake was not having full coverage on his vehicle. So now he owes the bank for the loan on the vehicle & the insurance won't be buying him another vehicle.

If he was a drunk he'd have asked me to drop him at the bar & leave him there, LOL!
Apparently he starts work there this weekend. Not sure if he'll be a bartender or just a barback.
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Well, at least you're a good friend. The times I bought my buddy groceries he would ask for beer and I never bought it. He respected me for it until he couldn't even respect himself. So I threw in the towel.

Losing friends sucks. But being an accomplice to their road to oblivion is not something I could live with. Glad you're a good friend.
 
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#63
TOOL460002 said:
I love physics but it is literally the toughest major in my opinion. You need to know a lot of math, and that's where I get a bit lost.

Ya I know calculus, but once the math has every Greek letter in the equations I'm just lost. Props to you. Obviously a smart fellow.
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LOL!

Just like you, I was pretty good with basic differential and integral calculus, but once the Greek letters were piled on top I got lost. I managed to struggle through for 3 years and accumulated about half of my major classes necessary to get my degree and then left in frustration.

It takes a particular type of intellect to get a physics or engineering degree (my father has a masters) but I just don't have it. I remember reading somewhere that less than 5% of 1st year students succeed in getting a degree.
 
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#64
hbarcat said:
LOL!

Just like you, I was pretty good with basic differential and integral calculus, but once the Greek letters were piled on top I got lost. I managed to struggle through for 3 years and accumulated about half of my major classes necessary to get my degree and then left in frustration.

It takes a particular type of intellect to get a physics or engineering degree (my father has a masters) but I just don't have it. I remember reading somewhere that less than 5% of 1st year students succeed in getting a degree.
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Ya, my buddy is a physics major and its like discreet math or some weird crap where the equations have literal stick figures. Like they ran out of stuff to use and the person that discovers it or whatever can do whatever they want. I guess.

Calculus is like a new language, but fairly similar. That stuff... like learning mandarin for me. I just never needed that, so I went bio!

But it does take a special person to learn that new language. Some people just have a feel for it. Same as some people pick up an instrument and have perfect pitch and dexterity. A lot of us have to put in hours of time and learning to get there.

It's fun stuff though!
 
#65
Killed_by_Death said:
I took a page from Lemmy when I chose my apartment in Bangkok. Nearest my preferred pubs. I even got the tip for the landlord from the pub.




We had a place like that here. It was set up with only booths along one wall & a long bar counter on the opposite side.
I only went in there a couple of times, but they served good food. It surprised me how folks were doing exactly that, reading the paper, watching TV.
It got shut down last Fall, however.

Maybe I subconsciously envy these folks. I do wish the nearest pub wasn't 3 miles away. Then I could walk there, get loaded, and stumble home.
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You aren't much of an alchy if you won't walk 3 miles to get loaded.
 
#66
I half joke with my current lady friend by saying this song was written for her >



"She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smokey kingdom
And her scepter is a wine glass
And a bar stool is her throne.
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favor
And see which one will take the Queen of the Silver Dollar home.

She arrives in all her splendor
Every night at nine o'clock
And her chariot is the crosstown bus
That stops right down the block.
The old piano minstrel
Plays her song as she walks in.
And the Queen of the Silver Dollar is home again.

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smokey kingdom
And her scepter is a wine glass
And a bar stool is her throne.
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favor
And see which one will take the Queen of the Silver Dollar home..."
 
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#69
KBD, i've known a fair number of people who always say they're totally broke, then buy cigarettes at the most expensive places possible and buy food at 7-11. one woman i know gets $80 manicures, pays $75 for hair trims, buys star bucks every day and every month she can't pay her rent...

guy n. cognito said:
An odd thread, with at least one predictable responder! ;)

The only way you can know that people hang out in bars during the day, is to be in a bar during the day. And then you are one of those people who hangs out in bars during the day.
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well, i don't drink but i used to be the daytime bartender at a place, so i did know who was staying all day hanging out and who just stopped in for a drink :D

catcauphonic said:
I half joke with my current lady friend by saying this song was written for her >



"She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smokey kingdom
And her scepter is a wine glass
And a bar stool is her throne.
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favor
And see which one will take the Queen of the Silver Dollar home.

She arrives in all her splendor
Every night at nine o'clock
And her chariot is the crosstown bus
That stops right down the block.
The old piano minstrel
Plays her song as she walks in.
And the Queen of the Silver Dollar is home again.

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smokey kingdom
And her scepter is a wine glass
And a bar stool is her throne.
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favor
And see which one will take the Queen of the Silver Dollar home..."
Click to expand...


wow, haven't thought about that song in literally decades!
 
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#70
pcake said:
people who always say they're totally broke, then buy cigarettes at the most expensive places possible and buy food at 7-11
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I had a difficult time understanding this back when I was younger & smokes were 85 cents/pack, but now that a carton of cigarettes can be $50, it makes even less sense :roflmao:

Smoking is just bad, and not just for your health.
We had a lot of smokers where I worked in *Sriracha.

Many of them took smoke breaks all through the day.
One day the big boss (Managing Director) looked out his window & there were half a dozen guys there having a smoke break at 13:20 (20 minute after they just had a lunch break).

He asked that their names be taken down & their contracts not renewed.
Moral of the story, don't take your smoke breaks where the boss can see you!


*the town the sauce is named after
 
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#72
Killed_by_Death said:
I had a difficult time understanding this back when I was younger & smokes were 85 cents/pack, but now that a carton of cigarettes can be $50, it makes even less sense :roflmao:

Smoking is just bad, and not just for your health.
We had a lot of smokers where I worked in *Sriracha.

Many of them took smoke breaks all through the day.
One day the big boss (Managing Director) looked out his window & there were half a dozen guys there having a smoke break at 13:20 (20 minute after they just had a lunch break).

He asked that their names be taken down & their contracts not renewed.
Moral of the story, don't take your smoke breaks where the boss can see you!


*the town the sauce is named after
Click to expand...
Here in WA state, a pack of Newport 100s costs between $7.50 (Reservation prices, the cheapest) and near $11 (at 7-11, & most big name mini-marts), so a carton of those premium coffin nails will set you back $75 at the least! Smoke shops fall right in the middle at around $9.50 per pack.

I wish i had invested in Lorillard stock when i first started smoking a pack a day back in 1984 (i believe Lorillard was bought out by RJ Reynolds in the last few years.)

:cigar::cigar::cigar:
 
#75
catcauphonic said:
Here in WA state, a pack of Newport 100s costs between $7.50 (Reservation prices, the cheapest) and near $11 (at 7-11, & most big name mini-marts), so a carton of those premium coffin nails will set you back $75 at the least! Smoke shops fall right in the middle at around $9.50 per pack.

I wish i had invested in Lorillard stock when i first started smoking a pack a day back in 1984 (i believe Lorillard was bought out by RJ Reynolds in the last few years.)

:cigar::cigar::cigar:
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When I was in the Marines, a carton of cigs cost $3.50 at the PX (but I didn't smoke). A pair of Levis was $4.98.
 
#77
catcauphonic said:
I half joke with my current lady friend by saying this song was written for her >



"She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smokey kingdom
And her scepter is a wine glass
And a bar stool is her throne.
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favor
And see which one will take the Queen of the Silver Dollar home.

She arrives in all her splendor
Every night at nine o'clock
And her chariot is the crosstown bus
That stops right down the block.
The old piano minstrel
Plays her song as she walks in.
And the Queen of the Silver Dollar is home again.

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smokey kingdom
And her scepter is a wine glass
And a bar stool is her throne.
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favor
And see which one will take the Queen of the Silver Dollar home..."
Click to expand...


She's More to Be Pitied

She's there at the bar every evening
Face powdered and cheeks painted red
Her beauty has faded too early
Brought on by the fast life she's led

She's more to be pitied than scolded
She needs to be loved not despised
Too much beer and wine, too many good times
The lure of the honky-tonk wrecked her young life​

She once was the belle of the ballroom
She'd a made some man a sweet wife
But too many parties on the wrong side of town
Ruined her happy young life

 
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#80
I just want to mention there are two ladies in my life who I love dearly, and who are among the sweetest angels the world has ever known. When sober. Both have made a habit of calling me up drunk, and being "abusive." The reason I say "abusive" is that while their "abuse" would have really hurt my feelings 20 years ago, it only makes me sad today, because it's beyond pathetic. I love both of these women enough that I would die for either one, and that's even with plenty of good, non-alcoholic women in my life. Liquor has robbed them both of their potential, their futures, and most importantly their happiness. A week or so after the "abuse," the apology calls come in.

If you're drunk and trying to be nasty, I will shut you down, but without judgment.

If you're sober, I will forgive you every time.

Rinse and repeat.
 
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