Observations from the Bsider

1. Away Chiefs games (especially big ones) = busy, crowded sports bars. Please do not tell me that comes as a surprise. More people / set # of bartenders/servers = less attention for you. My tips on avoiding possible frustrations:

Problem: waiting on drinks

Solution: order early, before you actually need one…. If you’re a fast drinker, maybe even order your next one when the server delivers the last one
Problem: waiting on food

Solution: order early, be prepared to wait a little while, or if you’re in a hurry order food that takes the least amount of prep time. Salads, chips/salsa, nachos (if they use queso, not melted cheese), soup or anything else that can be prepared ahead of time or without an oven/grill will be the fastest. Anything deep fried will always take longer. Across the board, pizzas and wings tend to take the longest.
Problem: can’t find a table/not enough chairs at your table/the TV nearest you is on a different game

Solution: If you care that much about the game, get there earlier! You can reserve enough tables, seats, etc. The only reason the TV by you is on the Denver game is because the Denver fan was smart enough to get there early and request that the TV be put on his game.

2. Please don’t be the jackass who thinks you can stand at a crowded bar, yell at the bartender, and automatically be helped first. Even worse, don’t think you can yell a generic girl’s name at the bartender and get helped. You think you’re being oh-so-clever by guessing my name, and that even if you’re wrong it’s going to seem cute or witty or flirtatious. If you yell “Hey Katie!” at me, I will probably turn around: (1) because I’m trying to figure out why there’s some random chick named Katie coming behind the bar, and (2) when I figure out what you’re doing, I want to see exactly who said it so I can be sure to serve you dead last.

3. The nicer you are to me, the nicer I am to you. If you acknowledge that I’m swamped and running my little butt off but doing a good job, I’m more likely to check on you first/more often every time around.
4. When guys ask for your number, be careful of just answering with a fake number. Apparently, creepster guys are getting smarter and getting wise to this. I watched this poor girl get completely humiliated when she gave this annoying guy a fake number and he said “Great. Here, I’ll call you so you have can save mine too.” …. Obviously, her phone (sitting 3 inches away on the bar) did not ring, and it was soooo embarrassing. For all of us (though I’m sure especially for him).

Don't Google.... Goodsearch!!!

Not really a blog post, but just something that I love and think is a great idea and wanted to share. I learned about the website Goodsearch.com four or five years ago from Reader's Digest. There was an article on ways to give back, and this was the one that stuck in my mind the most because it is soooo simple and is a part of your daily life anyway, and can really do some good.

Goodsearch is basically a search engine, powered by Yahoo! and shows all the same results as a Yahoo! search would, so it's really thorough. The difference is that every time you search, you're making money for charity. All the advertising money on the website (like the sponsored results and the banner ads along the tops) goes straight to charity, instead of to Yahoo! or Google. Like I said, it was a few years ago so I don't remember all the details, but I think that money is donated for every search you make, every search result you click on, etc.

The part I like the best is that you can choose what charity to Goodsearch for, and there are TONS! When I lived in Lawrence I volunteered at the Lawrence Humane Society and saw firsthand how bad they could use some donations, so it was awesome that I was able to help contribute without having to give away some of my extremely meager student loans that I was living on. There's always a Charity of the Day that's highlighted, and if I remember correctly that charity gets all the proceeds of any searches made that day when a charity isn't specificed by the user. And not that it matters, but it also shows "Who's Goodsearching" and tells you some celebrities that Goodsearch and for what charity, as well as businesses that work with/donate to Goodsearch.... make me feel a little bit better about spending my money if I'm shopping with them.