Next week I switch my timetable from working days to working nights. I am about to become ever so familiar with the London night bus system, and may not be seeing daylight for the forseeable future. That's right, ladies and gents: I'm working in a bar.
It's not just any old bar, though. Those who enjoy a classier night out in this city will probably have heard of Be At One, a cocktail bar reknowned for its happy hour and the potency of its drinks. With ten branches spread across London, its a perfect place to relax after work or meet up with friends in preparation for the night ahead. Be At One is famed for its 200 cocktails, all made with intricate care and skill, with bartenders who carefully taste test every drink they make to ensure it's exactly right. And, come Monday, I will be doing the same. Over the next two months I am going to be educated in the way of the cocktail, learning every single drink on the menu. Every one of those two hundred mixtures, from their ingredients and the order they're added, to the measurements and the glass they're served in. Despite having hankered after learning this craft for a long while now, I am ever so slightly terrified.
I'm not even quite sure why, really. I know it's something to do with being under pressure to learn so many drinks. I found out on my trial shift that we're tested twice over the course of the teaching; the first test, you can take repeatedly until you pass, but the second? If you fail it once, you're out. I completely see their reasoning behind being so stringent, but it's obviously a bit scary to know you can't afford to get things wrong, even once. The other thing that's getting to me is the fact that we're supposed to learn on the job. At one of my (many) interviews for this position, it was discussed that a combination of training would be given - sometimes on evening shifts, sometimes in a closed bar during the day. But I've been sent my first week's rota, and a significant part of my shifts are going to be when customers are very definitely sitting in front of me, demanding an impeccable margherita. And that worries me a little bit, as I quite dislike not being able to deliver when someone makes a request of me. That said, they must go through this with every one of their trainees, so it really shouldn't be bothering me.
The last thing, though, is both the worst and the most obvious. I'm not going to have any TIME. Pretty much every person I know - or see on a regular basis, anyway - works a typical 9-5. Up until now, so have I, and it's still been difficult to organise meetups around prior engagements and unforeseen events. Some of the shifts on this rota I've been handed start at 3pm and finish at 4. In the morning. Ok, so those shifts arent' mine (I think they're easing me in 'gently'), I can't even fathom doing an 11 hour shift - but even more, I can't concieve that I'll be able to do anything with the next day. Surely getting out of the bar at 4am means getting home by 5am at the earliest - sleeping after a bar shift is going to be 8 hours for certain - making it 1pm to wake up, eat some food by 2pm and get to work again by 3. For another potential 11 hour shift...
Ok, I'm obviously overthinking it. I'm not planning on working myself to death at this job anyway, so I'm sure I'll have at least 3 days off a week to sleep and catch up with people. But it's still something of a worry - not to mention having to book my friends into my diary approximately a month in advance and revering the occasion like it's gold dust. And ultimately, if I find it too strenous, I can always say the job is sadly not for me - although I hate the idea of quitting. I really I won't find it as hard as I'm portraying it. At the very least, I need to show off my cocktail making skills at all the Christmas parties I can find time in my rota to get to.
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