I have had many different types of jobs in my life. I have been a journalist, a press secretary, a marketing director, a stock clerk, a bank teller – and even a vacuum cleaner salesman. But of all the jobs I have had in my life, the one I started on Monday is definitely my favorite – bartender.

Now that I am working at home as a graphic designer, and now that I am very happily single, I am more in control of my time than I ever have been before. So when I decided to look in the Courier Life’s classified section just to check out the Brooklyn job market, I saw an ad for a bartender. Seeing as how I have always wanted to be one, and considering that I ran a home bar for seven years – I decided to apply – and wound up getting the job.

The bar is called Secrets and it is located in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Equipped with a state-of-the-art jukebox, a pool table, an arcade game, two televisions and a collection of regulars, Secrets is certainly a great place to enjoy your favorite poison. Being a neighborhood establishment for many years, the bar itself truly exudes character. With brick-lined walls and a wooden bar strewn with scars left by former patrons, the bar displays a long history of satisfied customers. Tuesdays is dart night and Fridays is DJ night. I work Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday nights from 8:00pm until closing, which varies depending on business.

As soon as I walked in for my interview and met the owners John and Grace – we instantly hit it off. I honestly told them that I have never tended bar before and that I did not know how to mix drinks, but that did not bother them. What landed me the job, according to Grace and John, was my personality, the fact that I have no girlfriend or child to conflict with my job – and the fact that I am a compulsive neat freak. What sold me on them was their family-oriented attitude, their belief in me despite my lack of experience – and their willingness to give me a chance to do something I have always wanted to do.

My first night was Tuesday – and when I got home – my cheeks actually hurt from smiling so much. I was in Heaven from the moment I stepped behind the bar and served my first drink to my friend Lisa, who came to support me along with her boyfriend Kevin, and my friends Pierre, Howard and Frankie. I remember Grace coming over to me and asking how I was doing – and me telling her that I was only there for twenty-six minutes – and I was already having the time of my life.

Since I got my first apartment on my own in 1996, I have had a home bar. And when I would invite friends over the house – they would always sit at the bar while I sat behind it. Although my home bar was not an actual bar – I ran it as if it was. We would have theme nights, I would make sure everyone had a drink and get refills for those who needed them – and I would invite anyone who wanted to have a good time into my home bar for just that. So seeing as how I loved running my home bar – it was a natural progression to make money off of my hobby.

That is the amazing part of working as a bartender. I am literally getting paid to hang out, socialize, make new friends, meet new people, have a few drinks – and do exactly what I did for seven years in my house for free. In fact, at the end of my first shift on Tuesday, I began to clean up the bar for closing. As I was doing that, PJ, who is another bartender and a great guy, asked me if someone had told me what to do to prepare the bar for the next day. The truth is that no one did – I just knew what had to be done because I did it at home for so long.

So far, I only have three shifts under my belt, but already I feel at home there. The customers have already complimented me to Grace and John, I am getting the hang of some mixed drinks – and I even started to compulsively reorganize the items behind the bar. Tonight, I get a set of keys and will soon be responsible for the bar without any supervision. I am also going to help them develop a website and some more theme nights to build up the bar and bring in new customers – which will be beneficial to everyone.

I am very, very excited that I am a bartender and I thank Grace and John so much for the chance to scratch yet another item of my life’s “To Do List.” I look forward to being a good listener and “armchair psychologist” to everyone who comes into Secrets for a little, “Hair Of The Dog” and conversation – and more than anything else – I can’t wait to put all of my desire to tend bar and years of home bar experience to work – and be the bartender I have always wanted to be.