Bringin' Tom Collins Back

Life in Vail is starting to improve slightly. I still have a lot of adjusting to do, but I’m getting there. In the past few days, I’ve gotten to play tennis with some Plum people, went to a party, and went to a bar. So there is life in Vail, its just kind of…strange.

The party was hosted by one of my coworkers in East Vail (I live in West Vail). Apparently, his place is in the same apartment complex as the old intern house. I really wish we were still in East Vail, since the apartment was gorgeous. I guess the house in West Vail has a more college feel to it…

Anyway, the party was pretty good. The boy to girl ratio really showed itself at the party, as it was basically a late 20s, mountain sausage fest. Andy and I were the only ones still in college, and it was a little strange to be at a party with an older crowd. There was still drinking games, awkward dancing, and copious amounts of booze, but the overall vibe was very different. I was the designated driver, so I played Jenga. Despite the unfamiliar vibe, the party was fun and everyone is so supremely friendly. There were a few girls there, and I really do want to try to meet and befriend some other girls, but it’s a little hard to pick up chicks at a party when you are an openly straight chick. I’m considering just approaching women on the street and persuading them to go see Sex and the City with me and be my friend. It’s not that the boys aren’t nice and Andy is a fantastic housemate, but I need some girlfriends.

It was about 11:00 on Friday night when Andy and I got tired of sitting in our rooms and reading and decided to go find fun in Vail. The dive bar across the street seemed like the perfect place. Well, I don’t know if we found fun in Vail, but we certainly found the characters. The bar wasn’t exactly hopping. There were about 15-20 people, calmly sipping mixed drinks with classic rock playing in the background. Andy and I decided to stay for one drink, and if that didn’t work out, we would just get McFlurrys and watch Juno. Feeling inspired by the wonderful Caitlin Conway and wanting to relive a piece of the Backer, I ordered my usual Tom Collins. Let me explain something here first. Caitlin had the magnificent idea of reclaiming gin for the young, since rum and vodka aren’t that enjoyable. We started with gin and tonics, but then Caitlin made the most fantastic discovery: Tom Collins—gin, sour mix, tonic, and whatever fruit piece you want (I prefer cherries). I realize the Tom Collins drink might be a bit....classic for my age, but it is delicious and I’m determined to make it happen. So, back the bar. I ordered a Tom Collins and got the weirdest look from the bar tender. “I haven’t made one of those in 8 years!!!” he exclaimed, continuing to look at me as if I had ordered a skunk’s pelt on a platter doused in maraschino cherry juice. “You’re the youngest person to order that! What’s even in that???” Every time I order a Tom Collins, I have to explain what’s in it. Due to Caitlin, Emma, and my frequenting the Backer, the bartenders in South Bend seem to know it pretty well by now. But now, I have to conquer Colorado with the magnificent drink. I think I will order an obscure drink every time I go to that bar, just to get that bartender’s reaction.

Once Andy and I got our drinks, we realized we were out of things to do at the bar, so we played pool. During our game, some red-headed guy in a poet laurite looking shirt dame up to me trying to pick a fight or something. He was all up in my grill, but when I agreed to fight him, warning him that I did have a pool cue in my hand, he backed off. His sketchy buddy sitting in the corner downing the rum and cokes found this a good time to ask where we were from. It turns out he is from Cleveland and went to St. Ignatius. Of course, since he’s from St. Ignatius, he knows everyone who ever went there (including Shawn…) and is still reliving his high school days. For the next 45 minutes, I could not get a word in edgewise. My new friend Chuck rambled on and on about all the famous people from Ohio and all the people he played against in high school football. He kept name dropping, and it was really difficult to figure out which names I was supposed to be familiar with and which I was supposed to ask about. He was quite a character. I looked up some of the names he was dropping, and it seems his story might be exaggerated. His uncle’s friend is not, in fact, the CEO of Clear Channel radio. Chuck gave us his number and took Andy’s and promised to get us in touch with his brother, who is some sort of sports anchor in Boston. This bar will obviously be a regular hang out if it can promise people like Chuck each time.

The job (the reason I'm here in the first place) should pick up soon, and the other roomies will be moving in this week, so there are more stories to come.