The Only benefit of Kevin Rudds RTD Policy.

You know thoses mornings when you just cannot for the life of you stop pressing snooze or saying to yourself '5 more minutes'? Well for me this morning was one of those and now I'm missing college, I'm only allowed 5 absences this term so thats 2 down already, so to counter balance my non-productive day I'm having a rant as such.

Ekka is just around the corner, busiest time of year for the pub I work in, this will be my 3rd! It's hard to beleive I've been here so long, I dont think I've spent more than 6 months at home since 2005, I haven't seen my sister for more than 4 hours since June 6th 2006 god I miss home and everyone. The Ekka or Royal Brisbane Exhibition as it is named in English, fucking Ekka, I'm as pedantic as my good friend Dave B when it comes to lazy talk and the good old Aussies have it nailed so well I dont seem to be offended anymore and that worries me, any Veg, the Ekka is much like the Great Yorkshire Show and the Stray Fair all rolled into one but imagine no Chavs and introduce Aussie Cowboys........Craziest bunch of people I've met in my life, as with all groups of society you get your good ones and your bad ones but there is a tried and tested method to tell who's going on your cut off list or being frogmarched outside by security, Those that drink Beer and those that drink Rum.

Your typical beer drinker will be jolly and fine most of the night with the occasional rant into the meaning of life and why the government are screwing everyone over, complain about the flies and the how dry the year has been and they will get slightly rowdy but not uncontrollably and maybe sing a song too.

Your typical rum drinkers however will do all of the above, leer at the barstaff complain about everything and then start fighting and ruin everyones night by just being rude, arrogant, disgusting arseholes.

I never thought I'd say this but the mistake Kevin Rudd made putting the tax on premixed RTD's (Ready To Drink, JD&Coke and stuff) up so high a Bundy rum and cola costs $9 instead of $5 is actually going to benefit all Ekka goers an staff that come in over the next 14 days as beer is still $5.50 a schooner or bottle so there will be less arseholes about the place, I hope.

I still think the whole tax on RTD's is bloody ridiulous, they've been finding kids just mixing a litre of Jack with a 1.25litre coke or just trying to get drugs instead because they are cheaper, its alo endangered bottleshop workers as we are being targetted for theft as the drinks are too expensive, our place has had shoplifters 5 times over the last 2 months from a good all round 3 a year.

Another round of applause for Kev.

I'm over babbling now! peace out brothas and sistas.

Oh and anyone who wants to donate $5000 so I can come home it would be muchly appreciated ;) or just click a few ads, I'll get there by 2010 I reckon.

Yay.

Why do Businessmen buy bars, attempt to run them and wonder where they fail?

Hi peoples.

It's been a while I know and I promised to update often I know, But I've had a strange and slightly stressful few months recently a laptop that got rained on and caught fire and a new Emily The Strange Epiphone SG guitar and 100w Kustom Amp to get to grips with.

I finished my first year of college in May so once I get my references and go to the Trade Recognition people I'm shall be a qualified Chef in the eyes of the Orstrayan government which is good, another year to go though on the business management and hospitality operations bullshit I've already done before in various places and I'll be able to aply stay here permanantly and open a decent bar hopefully, I wish that day was sooner rather than later though as I'm over the place I work in now.

The lovely new owners that took over the bar I work in are abunch of amateurs on the hospitality side of things. It's not just me that thinks so too, at least 90% of the staff and customers that know them agree. They have gave my manager and friend, Jeremy, notice that he would not be needed after the Brisbane Exhibition, which is a Great Yorkshire show type thing to those at home, AFTER he did all the planning for what is essentially the busiest 2 weeks in the Pubs life and after he nearly ending up in hospital for the bastards because of fumes from the workmen when they stained a room without ventilation and this is how they repay a hard working guy!

Jez has run the place on an evening since our old manageress left in november/dec they have just now got their heads out of their arses and actually started to care about the place and give us staff and equipment to work with although it has taken a complaint to Environmental health about the cold dish and glasswashers and the danger some of the building areas posed to people.

This is the icing on the cake though as far as their morally wrong and stupid idiotic work methods have been put in place. they have built 3 bars that are the shittest to work in EVER, they are either too high, wrongly built for service or have bad workmanship as taps dont work and tiles and stuff are coming off. They have taken staff discounts, bonuses, knock off drinks and incentives away but put prices up 4 times in 6 months 'Because of interest rates' and have also started to kill off the live music gigs, I've seen the GP and sales reports and its good too see them down since they destroyed the pub with their inept ability to treat people as humans and the ripping off the customers we used to have.

Anyone who wants to run a bar needs to treat staff well or they will rip you off left right and centre and not care about anything that happens to the place, its good having all these systems and easy ways to do paperwork but its no good knowing what to do back of house if you cant even fathom the actual face of the business itself.

Another warning I would like any would be bar owners or businessmen looking to open a venue, learn something about it first, whether that means jumping behind a bar for 6 months to get the feel or reading ALOT about it. Stop spoiling the fast dying art of Hospitality and Bartending with your greed and stupid ideas and start giving something back to the patrons and staff, you will make more money and your venue will also get a good reputation, higher prices do not mean more money, it means people spend less and seek cheaper watering holes.

Now lets move on, I'm getting annoyed! I met a guy I used to go to school with here whilst waiting for a taxi at 4am on fri or sat, crazy shit. I was soo drunk but it was good to see and hear homely peoples! More people shall be coming soon too, The lovely Janine will hopefully be catching up with me when shes in Brisbane and also I hear a rumour a Mr Matt whom I used to work at Gamestation will be here soon too for a week or so so hopefully they will alleviate some of my homesickness alongside the Mighty Boosh and the shop that sells twiglets and cherry coke....I'm the moooon!

On another note I'm quite happily healthy at the moment, although the social smoking is getting out of hand in the last few weeks (sorry mum). I lost between 20-25kg from christmas to May by cutting out beer Mon, Tues, Thurs and occasionally Sun, walking lots, eating more homecooked stuff now I'm chef boy and volunteering to do the harder jobs at work (they can get fucked now tho).

And thats that, lots missed out and a funny story saved for next time but I'll make up for it and this time I'll update at least monthly.

Love and miss all my friends and family! COME SEE ME!

Lee

PS. If you want to check out a cool bar in Brisbane check out the Lychee Lounge in West End. Just like I want my first place to be and it has a Yorkshire bartender, it rocks!