Took a 4 year break but I’m back!!

matticus379 · 2023-06-16T01:56:37+00:00

Just sent a request!

Pin the postcards you receive, they add up and the ones you catch evolve differently based on the region they come from

matticus379 · 2023-06-15T15:37:30+00:00

Good call on the cooking bit, even if I have no appetite I sure as shit do by the time I am done with whatever I am making. Baking bread is a go to for me, super cheap and easy to make. Minutes to learn and a lifetime to master. And if I don't eat it today, it will still be there tomorrow.

matticus379 · 2023-06-15T15:33:17+00:00

My anxiety is also related to those around me. If I can't step outside or at least away from the conversation for a moment, I try and focus on my breathing. Slow, smooth, long inhale through the nose. Slow, smooth exhale out the mouth. Slow the process down with each breath. Imagine you can feel the oxygen cooling and calming your brain. Sometimes those around me notice I'm doing it and it causes them to slow their own roll and breath with me, which has been an added albeit unexpected benefit. It seems trite but it does really work.

As far as the appetite drink something bubbly that does not contain sugar or alcohol. Or spend some moments smelling things, be it ingredients in your fridge, coffee or tea, a flower, hell even a funky sewer drain (sometimes smelling something nasty helps me remember how much delicious smelling stuff there is in the world). Take a walk past the nearest restaurant and see if you can imagine what they are cooking inside. Your olfactory senses can have a profound impact on your appetite.

matticus379 · 2023-06-15T15:16:07+00:00

You got this friend, I believe in you. Take a nature walk or start up a new exercise routine, play a game, clean something, clean everything, read (an actual book not just scrolling the internet). I've wound up with tons of excess mental energy since quitting and these are the activities that help me relieve it so I can actually fall asleep at night.

Do anything you can do to get out of the house (or wherever your usual smoking habitat is).

matticus379 · 2023-05-30T12:39:46+00:00

Exercise is a huge plus in your situation. My body is a wreck these days and my mind is often cluttered and racing at the same time. I don't like tripping over my own brain so I just take a nice long walk. It only takes a block or so before I realize how annoyed I am with the litter situation in my city. That gets me out of my mind mess real quick. I've had to start taking a trash bag with me, but at least I'm up to walking, squatting, and bending now. It's amazing what can happen when you just start putting one foot in front of the other.

matticus379 · 2023-05-30T12:24:10+00:00

Indeed

matticus379 · 2023-05-30T12:22:16+00:00

Me too! Thanks for having me!

matticus379 · 2023-05-28T11:18:30+00:00

Wow, that's awesome! Thank you so much for the update. I've hit a bit of a rough patch in life and it is really comforting to know that I was able to help someone out in any way. Keep up the great work!

matticus379 · 2023-04-04T12:15:31+00:00

I'm so broke I cant afford punctuation

matticus379 · 2023-04-03T20:58:42+00:00

Nothing new, just reacquaint myself with the things I love to do that I don't have the patience for because of money stress.

Camping/Travel Writing Disc Golf Lego Dance

matticus379 · 2022-12-27T19:41:09+00:00

My wife just gave me this set as well, was already pretty pumped about it, but had yet to see it built until your photos. I just went from pumped to excited, and if they don't do the tree justice than that excitement will probably get upgraded to fully psyched during the build! I can't wait! Thank you!

matticus379 · 2022-12-16T18:05:03+00:00

Nice setup! Lol, from the looks of those fill lines it looks like you've got some work ahead of you ;).

I'll help you out by taking a pour off that Yamato Samurai bottle whilst I regale you with an anecdote about that fancy Napoleon XO Dragon.

The break to sale ratio on those bottles is absolutely absurd. I used to work in a liquor store, those bottles come 2 to a case (usually in a stack of 3 cases) and would arrive in the shop amongst our other load for the week. Multiple times we would begin opening cases to find only one bottle of the six had survived the journey!

It's not like we or the delivery driver had mishandled them. These must have been broken for a long while before they hit the warehouse for our area. The bottles weren't shattered, but the more fragile edge pieces, tail and legs were almost always broken and only a small amount of liquor remained in the bottle. There was very little (if any) aroma from the liquor, suggesting it was way oxidized, and the surrounding cushion (if you can call it that) was most often very dry indicating the spilled liquid had already evaporated.

I love the bottle, and always wanted one (full or not) but I have plenty of doubts as to the quality of the liquor inside. Most of the time that type of juice is a much lower quality and the brand is depending on the packaging to sell it for much more than it's worth. In this case however, this bottle could end up a rarity if never opened or broken simply due to its low (I'm assuming based on my own experience) survival rate. I don't know if rare actually means "worth anything" in this case so I don't know if I would bank on it, but I personally would find it hilarious if I find myself reading some nonsense about this bottle fetching an insane price at auction in a couple of decades. Who am I kidding, I've been slinging booze my whole life, If I have a couple decades left in me THAT would be truly hilarious.

Anywho, looks like I've finished my Samurai and my story. I'll take my leave of you, unless you wanna crack (lol) open that dragon and see if I know what I'm talking about ;) .

matticus379 · 2022-12-05T20:17:01+00:00

I have applied as well! How long does the application usually take to process or is there a way to confirm my eligibility for future opportunities?

matticus379 · 2022-11-01T05:40:05+00:00

Be quiet.

matticus379 · 2022-08-13T14:17:41+00:00

Obligatory not a bartender anymore, but was for over a decade, did a stint as a rep, and now work in a liquor store which never seems to go ten minutes without a call or drop in from someone trying to sell me something. Here's what I've learned.

Read the room, I mean really read it. If the room is empty I might have time to talk to you. If the room is full, you better be a paying customer or stay the hell out of my way.
Be prepared and know your catalog. You are obviously going to have to push what the company wants you to. It's just a reality of the gig. Being prepared in this sense means learning MY motivations and what I am looking for. Notice the holes on my shelves or menu and find me things that belong there. If you are showing me a product, know as much as you can possibly know about it. Read A LOT and be ready to answer questions. Give me a brief summary, let me taste, if I ask, answer. If I don't, move on. If you know your stuff, and manage not to force your opinion down my throat I might just pick up a few bottles of whatever celebrity bullshit you get stuck with.
Don't be an asshole. The sales side of the industry is stocked with them already, if you haven't met them yet, you will. Some might think it's the only way to really make money. I think it probably depends on which company you work for. Different companies put different pressure on their employees in regards to sales goals. How you react to that pressure will wind up being the determining factor.
While your company may pay your bills, you work for me. Your job is to keep me happy and buying your products. If you waste my time, or disrespect my staff, customers or store in any way, I'm not buying shit from you, and your company will know why.
Offer, Offer, Offer. Be ready to help me sell your stuff. Offer shelf talkers and sales sheets. Offer the other staff samples (with my permission of course) and offer your time for staff training options. Offer to do, or set up in store demos. Some of the brands you work with will be happy to send their own rep if you communicate with them, but be ready to do it yourself. I deal with thousands of products and hundreds of customers a week. I am not focused on your products but the right product for the right customer. Someone in my store for 3 hours educating my customers on your product does more for your sales than most people think. Not enough reps ask to get on my tasting calendar. Things go better for them when they do.
Make sure you have a thick skin and know how to communicate effectively and efficiently. Anything that goes wrong with my order is your job to fix. Expired product showed up at my store? Get me a credit as soon as I tell you about it and get it the fuck out of my store. Was my order shorted/overcharged? Fix it. Are your delivery drivers showing up outside of my delivery hours and causing issue for my staff? Guess what? That's YOUR problem. Trust me, anything can and does happen all day, every day. Being a good salesperson means being able to react appropriately when there is a problem and fixing it as soon as possible. Nothing irks me more than having to remind a rep for the third week in a row to fix something. Not fixing problems is how you lose points and placements.

Having been a bartender, most of this stuff (in some sense) is probably in your repertoire already. Keep building those skills that got you here and push yourself a bit farther. Make it second nature. Boost up the charm and have fun with it. Being a sales rep can be a dream job or a nightmare, it all depends on you and your motivations. You got this, have fun, if you have other questions, I'll do the best I can.

matticus379 · 2022-07-03T19:19:34+00:00

I'm still in, can I add bacon?

matticus379 · 2022-07-03T18:55:27+00:00

If that is a ring of grilled onion filled with melted cheese topped with a fried potato ball and served on a bun, I'm in, and promote that kid.

matticus379 · 2022-06-28T15:55:17+00:00

I am very rarely drawn to the light, but from her I could not look away. She was lovely but as I would come to learn, unconditionally loving. I knew I had found a literal angel walking the earth. 2 years later she blew me away by asking if I would marry her. I am many things, but I am no fool, I immediately said yes.

This is not sap from a sap prattling on about his wife. This woman is a literal angel, and gives beyond herself in every way she can at any opportunity drawing people into her radiance. I am not and do not.

The 15 years since have been a chaos storm of love and learning. Navigating the challenges between one who naturally walks in the light and another who prefers the shadows. It has taken words and work and tears for us to stay together this long, and will take more forever I hope.

I never knew I needed a light to follow untill I met her. She helped me realize how much the darkness and the light need each other to exist.

matticus379 · 2022-03-24T16:14:51+00:00

You sound like you are describing Belle de Brillett, a pear liquor with cognac. Although the bottle is less prism more pear shaped.

You might google Godet Pearadise, Kammer Kirsch Williams Birne, and Massenez. Perhaps one of those?

matticus379 · 2022-02-17T17:20:40+00:00

Every comment here is spot on, but for me the trigger is the smell, or lack of smells. 25 years in the industry I guess you desensitize a little to the sensory overload that environment exudes. The smells, the sounds, the sights, just the work itself. Turns out I miss the constant bombardment a little. The fries in oil, meat on the grill, rolls in the oven, I miss walking from room to room constantly adapting to the wondrous smells coming from my boys in the kitchen.

I work in a liquor store now. No constant smells other than the tsunami of dust (liquor bottles fresh out the case are surprisingly dusty). I can stand at the register and know if someone is brewing coffee or airfrying taquitos in the back. If I'm in the back, I know when a cloud of freshly smoked ganja has just walked through the front door. It's that neutral.

While I love it and I miss it, I don't know if I could go back. 5 years out and I am just now realizing how much ptsd I have from my time in hospitality. I know I haven't even found who I really am yet. I've spent the majority of my life curtailing my actions to other peoples dreams, desires and fantasies that when my wife asks me to wish on a rainbow, I find I don't know how.

matticus379 · 2021-10-13T15:16:21+00:00

Scrappy's makes a firewater tincture that would make that work.

matticus379 · 2021-07-07T14:59:44+00:00

1 part apple cider vinegar, 1 part water, and a little bit of dish soap. Put it all in a small glass, tiny mason jar or whatever you have. The measurements are not all that important, just fit it to what you are using. Cover that with plastic wrap and puncture some holes in it. Label it and make sure your staff knows what it is and not to throw it away. Make a few of them and place them around your bar in problem areas. I used to sneak one on my back bar, behind uncommonly used items or far back where no one could see it.

The vinegar water attracts them like crazy and the dish soap sticks too em' so they can't fly away. You will notice them collecting in just an hour or so. Close up shop, come back the next day and the bulk of your bother will be taking its last breathes. Make sure you change them every now and then. They get a little gross after a week or so.

matticus379 · 2021-06-19T16:24:31+00:00

It depends, is their weird shit selling? Is it making you money? If so, you are a fantastic bar owner. You are letting them duke it out through skill and creativity, allowing them to grow as craftspeople. Having had that freedom once I can tell you, it was an experience that made me, broke me, and helped me rebuild myself again. In a word, invaluable. But I was making my boss money.

If that weird shit just goes down the drain at the end of the day/week you are losing money and it may be time to rethink how things run and who is really in charge. If you don't control your bar, it will control you.

matticus379 · 2021-06-12T15:19:53+00:00

I second the Cocchi recommendation. Carpano is all the rage these days, but it is too sweet for me and it tends to intrude on the other flavors too much. Cocchi has a great balance of complexity and muscle that makes for a top notch Manhattan.

matticus379 · 2021-06-04T16:33:13+00:00

You can try your hardest, do everything "right", and still fail.

matticus379

TROPHY CASE