Living in the staff house is just as I expected - loud and crazy but lots of fun and there's always someone to hang out with. G's room is our sort of movie centre, we have our weekly Jersey Shore sessions on Thursdays after the most recent episode comes out in America. Lots of nudity in the house, thanks Sarg and G, and a lot of banter. You must be able to take it and dish it back if you have any chance of surviving. Most of us generally have the same days off as you only really need one person and a manager working during the week days so we spend a lot of time in Guild Hall and on Commercial Road. During the sunny days we go down to the port which is really nice. Jimmy moved house and moved in with Mal who runs the Lyberry. The new place is so nice and has a really good BBQ area out back so we've been making the most of the nice summer weather and having Sunday BBQ's.
On the Thursday before Freshers Week we had a cocktail training night, to teach all the new staff and refresh the old staff on how to make all the cocktails. Sarg and I went with Jimmy to spend 300 pounds on alcohol for the night and get all the food for the BBQ. The new staff were there from one to learn how to use all the tills and see how the place work, then the rest of us arrived around seven for the BBQ and started cocktail training at eight. Basically about eight of the staff were at a different station which had the ingredients for one particular cocktail, and we went round in groups of four, watched them make the cocktail then made one ourselves. Naturally we got to drink them after. After we had been to all the stations, it was basically supposed to be a practice time where we try and remember how to make all the cocktails without instructions, but it basically became an experimental free for all. We all just started inventing our own drinks, some of which were actually really good and some of which were just plain nasty. I think the winner was Gabs' 'Black Jack Head F***' which to be fair, actually tasted alright but was lethal. Vinnie was definitely the one making the nice ones, by the end the newbies were just walking around drinking straight bottles of spirits. Around one we all left and went to Tiger Tiger. There were a few headaches the next morning, but was a pretty funny way to introduce all the new staff...definitely started out on a high (or should I say low?) point.
Being used to working full time as I did before I left Canberra, and with three jobs not one, I didn't feel like I was struggling to keep up with all the work after a solid four months travelling around the world. From the moment I arrived in Portsmouth, everyone at work kept voicing their dread for when students arrived back in town and the first two weeks would be absolute madness at work. I'd make some comment like, "Tonight seemed really busy," to which someone would reply: "Just you wait until Freshers week, it's messed up." They were pretty much right on the ball with that one. I think the population grows by around 30,000 in a week and it was just mayhem. I worked four fifteen hour days in a row, nearly going deaf during Magnetic Man's set on the Monday and let's not talk about the Gordy Shore girls' appearance on the Saturday. Didn't see too much of them while the club was open and we were slammed at the bar but when I was packing up downstairs at the end of the night and they came down I think they threw the 'C' word around about five times each. They stood at the bar yelling and carrying on, pulling out hair extensions and what not. All I could say was: "Can I get you a glass of water or something?"
Apart from serving so many double vodka red bulls, jaeger bombs and snakebites that everything you own and you as a person start smelling like red bull and blackcurrent, the week was going really well, until on the Monday night it turned out that someone had stolen a bottle of Absolute Vodka from the cellar. We don't stock this alcohol, it was just left over from our cocktail training night and in a separate basket of alcohol so obviously was easily noticed when it was gone. So naturally, during the hardest and most hectic week of the year, all our staff privileges were taken away - meaning no food or drink, no entry to the bar and club when we weren't working, and no staff privileges at all the other pubs and clubs in Portsmouth - yes they were all notified. Basically until the person who did it owned up or was caught, we were all banned. It was pretty tense, everyone thinking it was unfair, mainly because the promoters of our club among others from a company called 'Eskimo' were also in the cellar that night and were just as suspect as one of the Highlight staff, but were still allowed in and allowed to drink on their nights of etc. Luckily within a few days it was all sorted, we weren't told who it was or what happened, but all that mattered was that our ban was lifted and everything went back to normal pretty quickly.
It was a pretty intense week, I wasn't working on the first Purple Wednesday but Jimmy said they were at capacity (i.e. one out, one in) by about nine thirty. Things are starting to settle down a bit now as the rush of everyone getting back has died down but we'll be busy as long as uni is in session. I'm pretty much living off of pre-made sandwiches from the co-op, tuna melts at work and subway on the way to work if I'm on a night shift. Occasionally we go out for lunch or dinner, my favourite restaurant being Las Iguanas, a Latin food place which is delicious, and also make good cocktails! Other than that I spend most of my time in our house in Southsea or of course Gunwharf keys where Highlight is located. It's a pretty simple lifestyle, and cause I'm back in a massive routine now time seems to be flying by....I'll be home before I realise! Where did this year go?!
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