VIVA CHILE

Definitely waking up early tomorrow for the Chile versus Honduras World Cup game.

(And yes, I am more excited about the Chile game than I was about the USA game... deal with it)

CHi CHI CHI LE LE LE VIVA CHILE!

That is all.

Bartender Tales: whoa there racism

Working as a bartender allows me to observe the strange behaviors of people and as an anthropologist I find this fascinating and amusing. I have the usually drunk people insanity stories, but sometimes behavior truly shocks me.

First some background. The restaurant where I work is located in a highly diverse neighborhood. The neighborhood is largely hispanic, but also includes plenty of other minority groups. If you're into ethnic food, it's like heaven. There are El Salvadoran, Mexican, Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, etc etc restaurants all over the place. I love diversity and so I naturally thrive on the mixture of cultures that surround me.

About a week ago, a middle-aged white man came to my bar and order a beer. As I brought his oh-so-delicious Miller Lite draft to him (seriously? you want to drink water beer?), he made a comment: "So you're American, right?"

(In my head: um... what? we ARE in the US!)

Kelly: um, yeah I'm from here.

Guy: I haven't seen an American in a while!

(In my head: WHAT?!?! Do you think we're in France or something? Surprise! there are Americans everywhere IN THE USA)

Kelly: um...ok?

Guy: Well, you know because you ARE a minority around here....

(WHAT THE F-BOMB!!!! Sooooo because I'm white that means I'm American ... and since the majority of people in this neighborhood are not white that must mean they AREN'T American?!?! Holy shit ! On top of that... if I'm a random white girl working in a place full of minorities why would you even think that I would agree with or appreciate your statement?!)

Kelly: ..... *and walks away before I punch him in the face*

Immediately following this I told my Latino manager the story. He was furious and about to kick the guy out of the restaurant. Fortunately the guy was gone and there was no angry scene.

But seriously? How are people soooo stupid and insensitive?

Driving a Man Magnet

After being a car-less wonder for two-some years, I finally have some wheels again. Since my current plans are to stay-put in gringolandia for the sake of my education, I figured having a car would make life much easier (I live in the 'burbs ... we have public transportation but it takes me an eternity to get anywhere worthwhile).

At first I researched basic used cars that wouldn't cost me an arm and leg in car payments. Just when I was about to give into taking on a sizeable amount of debt in order to buy a car, a great deal landed in my lap.

So what landed in my lap? A late-90s Acura Integra. The catch? It's stick. Kelly doesn't drive stick. Kelly is a girl about cars. I know nothing. If it gets me from point A to point B then I'm happy (a functioning radio is nice). But considering the price (or lack of) tag, I took on the challenge.

And now, Kelly drives stick! (Look out world!)

Since getting my car I've discovered that guys LOVE this car. When I tell them what I drive I get immediate respect. Then they point out that it's a stick and I'm a girl AND I can drive it! Whoa, impressive-ness!

Stopped at a red light, I frequently get a glance from the driver stopped next to me. The guy checks out the car ... then the driver ... BAM, look of shock. Tiny redhead driving a sweet car, whaaaa???

So I officially can drive a manual. AND I officially drive a MAN MAGNET.

(Obviously this is what I have ALWAYS wanted in life. SUCCESS!!)

Rules of margarita-making

So I have split personalities somewhat. I'm an ESL/EFL teacher by day and a drink slinging bartender by night (I need a superhero name, quick!). Strangely enough though, teaching and bartending have an awful lot of similarities which is probably why I enjoy both so much. But that is a story for another day. Today the topic is MARGARITAS.

So I have worked in two types of restaurant bars: Anonymous American fare and Anonymous Tex-Mex fare. Each one had a different recipe. As you can probably guess, the Anonymous Tex-Mex fare restaurant made them better. This fact and numerous experience drinking margaritas at other location has led me to the conclusion that one should only drink margaritas at a Mexican, Tex-Mex, or Latino style restaurants.

The Anonymous American Fare restaurant I work at now makes HORRID margaritas. Besides the typical 3 to 1 tequila to triple sec ratio, we have to mix in some weird combination of Orange juice, splash of lime, and sour mix. I guess this doesn't sound so bad, but trust me it is. First off, there is too much juice mixer added in general. Second, a REAL margarita doesn't use SOUR MIX!!! YUCK. (on top of everything, we use an extremely cheap sour mix which tastes extremely watered down.

Kelly's Rules about Margarita Making:

- Never use sour mix

- only use lemon and lime (OK, throw some sugar or simple syrup in there if it's too tart for your taste) (Orange juice is OK only if it's a Gold margarita - gold tequila and Grand Marnier)

- always drink margaritas on the rocks, never frozen. Frozen margaritas are for wussies. But leaving the name calling out, putting a margarita through the blender melts the ice excessively then waters down and destroys the taste of the tequila. If you want a frozen margarita please don't waste your expensive bottle of tequila, grab that plastic one that smells like hangovers and spring break parties.

-salt the rim. It's not a margarita without the salt. Sorry.

OK now close your eyes and imagine you're on a warm beach with beautiful blue water. Margarita Mission: successful.

Beer O' The Week

And the Beer O' The Week is............ Tyskie! I discovered this beer thanks to my mother. She ran across it in the supermarket and naturally had to buy it due to our Polish heritage and our shared love of brewskis (yes my mom is cool).

It's excellent. Buy it. Drink it. Love it.

So cheers to Poland and a shout out to Karina, my Polish "sister."

(Despite the name of the post... I am in no way promising a new awesome beer every week. But if I find another delish beer, I will post another beer o' the week.... although that could be 2 months from now. :) )

I'm NOT Irish

News flash people (for about the 587th time). I'm not Irish. Yes, I know I have red hair. And I know that the 1 Kelly is an Irish name. My name is some cruel joke thanks to my parents. The hair is (as far as I can tell from family tree information) from my Norwegian heritage. (Go vikings! Go!)

St. Patrick's Day is always a frustration for me when I'm in the US. People are always thinking I'm some insanely Irish leprechaun or something. And I know that a lot of people say "well everyone is Irish on St Patrick's Day!" But I just want to make it clear that I. Am. Not. Irish.

I probably add more to the confusion because I love corned beef and cabbage. And I have a strange addiction to potatoes (but seriously, other countries besides Ireland eat lots of potatoes - that is to say the people in the countries... not actually the countries themselves... err, ok sidetracked there for a sec). And my favorite color is green.

Point being, despite the signs - the hair, the name, the color, the food - the Kelly of this blog is not Irish.

But Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all anyway. Drink your green beer and whatnot. I'll be bartending all night and grimacing every time someone shouts, "hey red! You must LOVE this holiday, right? Cause you're sooooo Irish!!"

Mi querida Chile

No, I'm not in Chile right now. I'm in the US.

OK, now that that's over with....

As of this morning I've heard some type of news from everyone I know in Chile. Including one friend in Concepción (which was one of the harder hit areas).

My friends and family here in the States have all expressed relief that I am not in Chile right now. For me though, Chile is the only place in the world I want to be right now. You don't run away from those you love in times of tragedy and need. And I definitely love Chile. I have an unexplainable strong connection to that country. I know that I cannot be in my second-home at this very moment, but my heart is there supporting the strength of the people and the country.

For anyone in the DC area interested, the Chilean embassy is having a mass in remembrance of the victims of the earthquake this coming Sunday at a church in NoVa. Check out the details here. I have to work Sunday afternoon so I'll be unable to attend, but I hope others will show their support.