I’m rememberin’ I promised to forget you now
But it’s rainin’, and I’m callin’ drunk
And my medicine is drownin’ your perspective out
So I ain’t takin’ any fault
Am I honest still? Am I half the man I used to be?
I doubt it, forget about it, whatever
It’s all the same, anyways

Earlier when I was driving home from work I was thinking about how I wanted to write about this song, because the idea of only being willing to say something to someone when you’re drunk is foreign to me. I forgot I wanted to write about it and was just doing some admin work on my computer, and right as I finished this song came on a playlist and I remembered. I guess it was fate if you will.

I’m not sure I have a ton to say, and I’m a big ignorant to the scenario because I’ve never been drunk, but the idea of saying one thing drunk, but a different thing sober is strange to me. I guess like I can understand not having the confidence to say something to someone, because we(people around my age) grew up in such a digital era that looking someone in the eye and telling them how you feel is a horrifying idea, because we weren’t exposed to enough in person rejection in our lives.

That’s why we’re this bizarre generation that dates through apps. I think dating apps are a waste of space, time, and energy. I can’t believe we’re at a point in society that the idea of just going up to someone and complimenting them is nearly nonexistent, or considered creepy, but “swiping right” is acceptable even though you know nothing about that person other than what they look like and wrote in a bio.

For me personally, I experience energy. People have energy, and I find myself more attracted to people’s energy than I do someone’s looks, per se. I don’t give a shit about your selfies of you drinking with your pals, or your mundane bio about what you do for work or how you won’t date someone under 6 feet tall.

I’d rather get to the point. What sets you on fire? what keeps you up at night? What’s your guilty pleasure?

This all really stems from something that has nothing to do with dating. I’ve recently been thinking about the state of the hospitality industry in Boston. I’m one of the only people my age who got to work directly with some of the people that put the Boston hospitality industry on the map, now those folks are getting older, moving on from the industry, or moving into operations and not in day to day service roles. I keep wondering what that means for Boston, what’s next for us?

Back in the late 90’s or early 2000’s places like No. 9 Park and Eastern Standard opened, and changed the way hospitality, and cocktails, and food were approached in Boston. Twenty+ years later, Eastern Standard now is a shell of its old self, and Barbara Lynch’s Empire has crumbled.

Where does that leave us?

What’s the next game changing space in Boston?

And when did we start caring more about food and drinks and less about each other?

Don’t get me wrong I love writing a cocktail list, I love eating, but for me I do this hoping I can make someone feel better, even if for a short time. Whether it was a tough day at work and they need a stiff drink to forget, or they got a promotion and wanna pop a bottle to celebrate, it’s about that feeling. The feeling of popping a bottle of champagne is so fun, the sound makes people go crazy, yet “proper” wine service says there should be no noise when you open that bottle if it’s done right.

When people come into the restaurant they aren’t saying “I didn’t feel like cooking so let me spend triple what it would have cost me to cook”

They’re saying, I’d like to experience your space, the lighting, the music, the service, and most importantly the connection whether it be with fellow guests, or staff members.

For me management has always been the goal so I can learn what I need to learn to open my own restaurant, but working the bar is like a high I can’t explain. You’re doing 100 things and not thinking about a single one of them. Every night you put on a show and throw a party for your favorite friends you haven’t met yet. Where did that feeling go? and how do we get back there?

Where the skies are gold not gray,

J.