Observe and Report

When you work at a bar, much like I do, you get to see some pretty entertaining and interesting things. People are very intriguing as is, but when you add alcohol, music, and in some instances other substances into the mix people become far more entertaining. I work at two of the more popular bars in Laramie, the Buckhorn and the 2^nd Street Cowboy Bar and Dancehall. Despite how small Laramie may be these two venues attract a far different crowd from one another. For those of you not familiar with either of these places the Cowboy is, go figure, a cowboy bar with a country atmosphere and live music. The Buckhorn on the other hand is more of a hip hop atmosphere with an upstairs that houses what is called the Parlor and offers Laramie a sort of dance club.

Since I have started working at the bar I have picked up a new hobby, people watching. People watching may sound a little weird but it is actually quite fun and you learn a lot about human interaction. People watching is simply just inconspicuously observing people from afar. As a communications major I enjoy studying people and how they act and interact with one another, so that may explain why I enjoy this unusual activity so much. In a sense it is a form of real life reality television for me and I get paid to watch it, which is a nice bonus.

As a bouncer I have to be assertive to the world around me and can not help but watch and laugh at times. You never know what you are going to see when on the job, especially since alcohol tends to make people a little unpredictable. Some nights the bars are really quiet and there is no drama or problems just crowds of people having fun, dancing, sharing stories, and laughing. However, some nights are the polar opposite, and this when people watching is at its prime, think Jersey Shore minus the tans and the steroid use. Even in little old Laramie we manage to attract drama, and a lot of it, welcome to college! Fighting is not something that is tolerated at the bars but it is always fun when it occurs. The back stories that the individuals have to tell about the occurrences are what make them the best too…you can imagine how ridiculous they get. Even after a long night at the bar I can always look back at the quality people watching achieved throughout the evening and realize that it was a good night and I am walking away with some good stories. Blog you later