by Debbi | Jul 14, 2008 | Stories
And yes, we often project the upstairs camera onto the downstairs televisions. That means that the people downstairs can see what the people upstairs are doing, which can often be quite funny.
This girl, who has been highlighted here before due to her frequent mentions of The Sandbar on her personal blog, wondered why we have a camera upstairs that we can see downstairs.
So the employees downstairs can see what happens upstairs. Yes, it really is that simple.
Once upon a time, we had a gift shop upstairs. There were t-shirts and grass skirts, trinkets and toys, and it was wonderful for a long time. But then, people changed. We started to catch people trying to steal things, so in went the camera. We caught even more people trying to steal things, and eventually decided that the gift shop was no longer productive.
Next, we created a beach upstairs. There’s nothing there to steal, but it’s funny to watch what people do upstairs, especially if they don’t think anyone can see them.
We have a new surprise coming soon to our upstairs beach, and I can promise that the view from downstairs will become a lot more entertaining.
by Debbi | Jul 13, 2008 | Stories
The beloved unicorn tang fish in the large saltwater tank at The Sandbar has suffered an traumatic injury.
Bob, which is believed to be the name bestowed on the fish by the resident fish-namer Coleen, now sports a broken nose and is left with a bloody-looking stump in place of the horn that previously extended from his nose.
Sources close to the incident believe that Bob was swimming at an abnormal rate of speed around the tank and crashed into the wall. Witnesses have seen the fish run into the wall on previous occasions; however, Sandbar staff has been unable to locate any witnesses to the recent, and most serious, incident.
If you have any information regarding this accident, please leave a comment.
(It was hard to get a decent picture of the injury due to a variety of complicating factors: the glass, the glare created by the sun, and the fact that Bob seemed very much aware that I was trying to take a picture and subsequently tried to hide.)
by Debbi | Jun 23, 2008 | Stories
My trusty Google alerts gave me something good today.
I actually discovered this particular blog about a month ago, when the writer mentioned The Sandbar in one of her posts and it hit my alerts. I started reading her blog and realized that she actually mentioned The Sandbar quite often (which made me curious about the accuracy of Google, for not notifying me of the Sandbar mention earlier).
Her most recent post explains how she is attempting to squeeze in all the things she always wanted to do in Lawrence before she moves away. Apparently one of those things was to dress up in the mermaid costume at The Sandbar. (Isn't that everybody's goal?)
One of her friends shot a short video of the blog writer and her other two friends dancing on the bar as mermaids. Dave makes a cameo in the video.
The video wasn't protected, and the internet is pretty much public domain, and since I'm linking to the source and giving credit, and most importantly since my husband is in it, I decided it was okay to embed the video here so you didn't have to click away to another website to see it.
If you want to read the original post that goes along with this video, you can go here. It's kind of an amusing read.
by Debbi | May 27, 2008 | Stories
Homer puffed up today! It was soooo…neat! He was the size of a volleyball!
–Coleen
by Debbi | May 23, 2008 | Guest Blogs, People, Stories
I have a special treat for you today: a guest blog written by the very witty Chad.
Many a Sandbar regular is familiar with Frank, probably even more of you than actually realize it. Frank comes to The Sandbar to do two things: drink Guinness, and kick butt at video crack (that’s the innocuous looking, soul-sucking box that sits on the end of the bar taunting your quarters with it’s gaping slot.)
If Frank is not playing trivia, it means that he’s content with the outrageously high scores he’s cataloged, and he’s just happy to sit back, watch the poor wretches mindlessly chase his high score, and consume Guinness as if in training for the tippy cup Olympics.
It was only a matter of time before such resolute consistency and determination came to the attention of the academic world and was put under a sociological experiment. The following is a re-enactment of an actual conversation Frank had with the bartender at Henry’s, just up the street from The Sandbar.
Bartender (dropping an olive into a $12 martini):
So, Frank, did you know you were unwittingly a participant in a sociology experiment?
Frank (dutifully downing a Guinness and limbering up his trivia finger):
Most things I participate in are unwitting.
Bartender (gingerly mixing a Cosmo and taking Frank’s keys):
Yeah, my sociology class had a project that required us to go into social settings around town and record our observations. A girl in my class came back and reported that she went into The Sandbar to observe and record. Not unlike the voyages of Star Trek, she was required only to observe and not interfere. Her notes indicated that in half an hour, the bar patron she observed played trivia and consumed three Guinness, while never once speaking to the bartender, simply sliding the empty glass to the edge of the bar. I heard that and I knew it had to be you!
Frank (nodding knowingly):
So, how did her report go?
Bartender (adding a sprig to something):
Well, one of the keys to sociology is being social, and since you didn’t actually interact with anyone, she got a do-over.
We at The Sandbar, however, believe the study to still be ongoing, so be on the lookout for studious looking persons with notebooks playing trivia and ordering Guinness.
by Debbi | Apr 18, 2008 | Stories
We've talked about lines here before, but it's always a hot topic that deserves to be revisited.
Every once in awhile, I run into an acquaintance who was recently at The Sandbar and had to wait in line. Whether it was 5 minutes or half an hour, they give me an earful about how they don't understand why they had to wait in line, because they know me. (Or they know Dave, or Peach, or "the owner." It's all the same).
What's funny about this is that it's never a close friend who makes this complaint; it's always someone we know who's a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend. In other words, someone who wouldn't think to call and invite us to a party, but by God, we shouldn't make them wait in line at The Sandbar.
The thing people don't understand is this: we WANT you to come inside. We want ALL of you to come inside. Whether we know you or not. We want you to spend your money, buy drinks, tip our bartenders, sing and dance and have fun. We don't want to make anyone wait outside.
Unfortunately, our legal capacity is only 49 based on fire codes. If we let everyone in whenever they wanted, not only would we be violating fire codes and subject to a hefty fine, but it would also be unsafe.
So, don't take it personal when you have to wait in line; we don't enjoy making people wait. It has nothing to do with your status as a person. It's a necessary evil and we all have to do it at one time or another.
In fact, the last time someone complained to me about this, I had spent about twenty minutes waiting in line that night too.
