Ringing in the New Year

New Year's Day is always slow, nighttime, at restaurants. But, you figure, most people have spent the night before, out, drinking too much, and wake up to nurse the hangover and watch bowl games. By the evening, they are done. Too much excessiveness to be able to continue New Year's Day night.

I walked into work and it was S-L-O-W.

Thankfully, I was not scheduled to close and so I knew that as painful as it was, I would have a way out. Next stop, Elway's. Why not? I rang in the new year by babysittting drunks and did not partake in the celebration. Our champagne toast was the worst possible champagne, available, without orange juice and so I opted out of the offerings. Plus, I knew that I would have to drive home amongst bad drivers, drunks and cabbies whom I think are a combination of the two, at times. Yes, champagne toast was skipped.

I decided to toast 2011 with red wine. I prefer that to champagne any day of the week. I ordered my standby--Hess Cabernet, but it tasted off. I mentioned it to the bartender and she suggested that I return to my past wine love--Rapture, and so I did. She was right. Delightful!
Elway's was slow, too, but I was able to watch the Nuggets and eventually a guy sat down to my right and began a conversation with me. We talked sports, tv shows, restaurants and other random things. He asked me what I did for a living and I said travel (I work to travel, right?). He was in sales, but had worked in the service industry for years. He offered to buy me a glass of wine and I declined. My wine is expensive and I wasn't interested in having a weird moment later when I would refuse to walk out with him. He paid his tab and made a grand show of how he always tipped 50% since he worked in this industry for so long. On and on and on he went about how great of a tipper he was.

I wanted to look at his tab to see if he were true or not. The bartender showed me since she too heard him brag about how great of a tipper he was. He lied. What a joke! If you are an adequate tipper, fine, but don't act like you are superior just to say it. I felt validated that I declined his offer of wine.

She topped off my wine and I paid my tab. 2011 was off to a splendid start. I hope yours was lovely, too!