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Be Smart – stoopid.

December 5, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Where ever you work, there’s always going to be politics, whether its in the office, in the gym, or at the bar.

When you work in an environment with heaps of young people, you begin to feel old when you start saying “well when I first started…”, or “back in my day…” and recently I’ve had many of those such conversations.

Just the other day a topic came up that made me smile…
One of the managers was saying… “well back in my day…” and it occurred to me that her day WAS my day, and that yes, now I guess I do go way back. Ugh!

So “back in My day…” when I was a budding adolescent/wanna be adult we would work our butts off, then with equal amounts of effort party our faces off! I remember 5 things from my first serving job, my manager pulled me aside and said, ok listen:

1. – In the bar industry 1/2 the time the customers are right, the other half are just drunk a$$holes, talk to them like they’re in primary school and you’ll be just fine.
2. – Skin to win baby, flirt with everyone appear available but never be available, you’ll increase your tips.
3. – No matter how much you drink the night before, DO NOT call in sick. You don’t have to be 100% functional, just be 100% there. AND NEVER EVER ask to get off work with a whinge about ya, then sit in the bar or in the bar next door and drink your face off.
4. – Sweep an isle means to multi-task, drop off dishes, grab empties, take orders…
5. – Be the life of the party but never be the last to leave, if you can’t hold your head up, prop it up with a stubby…

So that’s what we were discussing how “Back in the day…” you were expected to never have empty hands in a restaurant/bar, if you had time to “lean” you have time to “clean” – attitude. Servers were expected to take their orders, run their drinks, run their food, clean their tables, then at the end of the day you sat around with a ciggie and a knock off and polished silverware and reset the restaurant.

Now it seems when you go to a restaurant you see staff ushering people out by 11p so they in turn can go get on the piss themselves. If you come for breakie some places are shorted staff cos a few too many servers were spewin up Berocca and couldn’t harden the “F” up as Chopper’d say. C’mon mate use your head.

I started in the hospitality industry as a dishy in a banquet hall when I was 14, one side was for weddings and one side was for bogans, is was our local watering hole so for a town of 1200 you really got to know the in’s and out’s of the town.

I remember being forced to gut out some of the most disgusting jobs, and was told – you’ll appreciate it when your older. Or fell victim to various pranks like getting the cooks the “pickle peeler” or the “ice mix”. or to close the windows upstairs during a downpour when there was no upstairs… etc.

Do I wanna rant about the “youngsters these days” bloody right I do! I sometimes feel that they get a sense of entitlement from the way they were raised and protected from all sorts of things. But then I just feel bad for them, cos at the end of the day it’s that sorta grunt work that taught me strength, respect and feeling good about a hard days work. Plus, I have HEAPS more wicked stories to tell when we do slap the goon!

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Need to get your RSA?

November 10, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

If you need to get your RSA, try doing it this way! RSA with a cause…

In today’s uncertain financial climate it’s easy to understand why some individuals and small businesses may not be able to donate to charities as generously as they have in the past.

A training organisation with a difference is bucking this trend by donating a percentage of its course costs to an environmental charity, the Australian Marine Conservation Society.
Train to Gain offers 100% online accredited Responsible Service of Alcohol, Hospitality and Food Safety Supervisor training. Company directors Brendan and Nat Bolton feel they have an obligation to do something to help preserve Queensland’s beautiful beaches and oceans.

Mr. Bolton says:

- “We both have many years experience working in the hospitality industry and have a real appreciation that each year many thousands of people travel great distances to enjoy all that Queensland has to offer.”

- “The hospitality industry in Queensland is greatly dependent on unique attractions such as the Great Barrier Reef and our amazing beaches and waterways,”

- ‘”We wanted to provide a service that is convenient and accessible to hospitality workers.”

-“We understand that even though training is extremely important, often the last thing someone wants to do after a long shift or on their day off is to spend hours doing face to face training.”

- “This is especially true of hospitality workers living in remote areas who have to travel long distances to do this training.”

- “Our courses are completed 100% online and people can gain the certificates they need at their own pace, in the comfort of their own home and at the right price. They can also print their certificates right away so they aren’t waiting for them to arrive in the mail.”

- “We pride ourselves on giving the best customer service in the business. We answer the phone on weekends, public holidays and even during Masterchef.”

Why this is a great way to get your RSA:

Train to Gain donates part of its course fees to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, a charity that’s committed to protecting Australia’s oceans and marine wildlife.
Tara Janssen from the Australian Marine Conservation Society said that as a not for profit charity, the Society depended on donations from businesses and individuals across the country.

“Train to Gain’s support for our work means we can continue working to free our oceans from pollution, overfishing and oil spills, and create a better future for our children and our precious ocean life,” Ms Janssen said.

Brendan and Nat don’t intend stopping their charitable activities there. They are also on the lookout for a charitable organisation to be associated with their online Food Safety Supervisor course.

“We gain a lot from helping organisations which do great work, so if a charity or organisation feel they would be interested in being associated with us, we would urge them to contact us via one of our websites.”

Train to Gain can be contacted at info@traintogain.com.au

Check out what they do at www.qldrsa.com.au or www.traintogain.com.au

Information about the AMCS can be viewed at www.amcs.org.com.au

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Whining & Dining

November 1, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

“Excuse me miss, do you think you could turn the station, I don’t like this music.”

“Excuse me sir, do you think you could give me a taller glass I don’t like short rounded ones.”

“Oi, could I have at least an inch of foam in my pony mate?”

“Do you think you could only use 3 ice cubes in my Squash?”

“Would you be a doll and bring this back to the kitchen and ask them to remake it with ______ add more ________ and then a dash of _________ oh and sometimes my nanna adds ___________ and my cousin says to put in ____________ and then reheat it so it’s not cold? Ta!”

“The table has a wobble.”

“This one Table is dirty, but we want to sit here, can you clean it a.s.a.p?.”

“Can you smoke out here, since it’s like you’re practically outside anyways?”

“If you don’t open a toilet I’m going to pee on the bar!” (and they did)

“How am I supposed to drink a Cosmo from a plastic martini glass?”

We understand that legitimately there are somethings that warrant a complaint, like if you didn’t receive the food that you originally ordered. Tell us. If your food is cold when we serve it to you. Tell us. But if the food is cold a half hour after we’ve put it on the table and you’ve just been telling your mate about your scandalous evening in Broady, that’s not our fault. We’d be more then happy to help, but food does get cold! We will be happy to reheat it for you, just ask nicely.

Not sure if it’s been the full moon, or the lack of sunshine in the Goldie but seems as though all the Wendy whingers have been “whining and dining” A LOT!

We’re not trying to say that if you “want it your way” you have to go to Macca’s but eventually at some point… we have to say we just can’t do it.

We can’t make your pasta like your nana’s first cousins, flat mate from Uni’ in the 60′s. We can’t change the weather, whatever Mother Nature gives us is gonna be the special for the evening, if the table is dirty and there are 15 other clean ones, that just means you are more then welcome to sit at one of those, we probably just had a massive rush and as soon as we can we will clean that table but you may have to sit at the one next to it if you can’t wait 5 minutes for our staff to get the dishes outta their hands.

We’re sorry that your cold, but if you’d like to sit inside where its not windy and raining that might be best for you? We’re terribly sorry that Mother Nature has inconvenienced your evening, however we have no pull upstairs we’ll just have to go through it like all the other restaurants…

If the table has a wobble of course it’s nothing personal we will get it sorted for you. If you’re sitting in the bar section and get served with a plastic glass it’s probably because people tend to drop a copious amount of glasses when they’ve been on the piss all day. Just because we’re a mediterranean restaurant does not mean we endorse breaking stuff. It’s really just for your own safety.

As always thank-you for your patronage.

The Complaints Department

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SWEET RELEASE!

October 3, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Getting ‘Cheeky’ for Charity…

Nude Calendar 2011

Getting Cheeky With IT!

If you’ve been out of town, or hiding under a media free rock – the owners, managers, chefs and staff from Sage Cafe, Yellowfin Seafood Restaurant and 1two3 Dining & Lounge Bar have stripped down and bared their souls (and some cute bottoms as well) to pose for nude photos for their first ever charity calendar.

The 2011 NUDE Restaurant Calendar features employees of the 3 restaurants (with ages ranging between early 20s to late 40s) strutting their stuff in the restaurants and kitchens, using fun props in strategically placed positions to cover up their naughty bits. Shot over three days the result is a collection of fun, vibrant, and cheeky photographs that all the participants are very proud of. Now lets get down to the bare essentials, we need YOU to purchase them so we can help support our 6 very lovely charities!

How can you help? Well glad you asked!
The calendars are now available for purchase directly through the restaurants and on-line via their websites!

Check out :
http://www.1two3restaurant.com.au/charity to purchase one of these fab calendars featuring our birthday suited beauties!!

The Charities:
The following organisations will all receive a share of the funds raised by the sale of our calendars.

Dreamworkers – this is a GC fund raising organisation that raises money to support the community by supporting local charities and individuals needing assistance http://www.dreamworkers.com.au/

Transformations – They are a Gold Coast organisation that offer counselling and recovery programs that assist sufferers of drug and alcohol addiction, grief, depression, post traumatic stress disorder, divorce and abuse. http://www.transformation.net.au/

The GC Community Fund – they organise community fundraising projects to raise money for distribution to local charities and individuals in emergency need http://www.gccommunityfund.org/

Pulmonary Hypertension Australia – this organisation provides hope, support and education for sufferers and carers of people with Pulmonary Hypertension. http://www.phaaustralia.com.au/

Beautiful You Foundation – this is a QLD based charity for women going through the journey of cancer. They organise complimentary mornings for women such as makeup, skin care, art classes, craft and jewellery making and they are now fund-raising to set up a special retreat for cancer sufferers and their families. http://www.beautiful-you.com.au/

Hannah’s Foundation – Drowning Prevention, awareness and family support based in QLD started by Andrew Plint (A QLD Police Officer) and his wife after losing their daughter, Hannah to a drowning in 2007 http://www.hannahsfoundation.org/

The Launch Party
Thursday 16th September 2010 was the date for our official launch party for the calendar – the charities all sent representatives and we all had a great night – check out the party video!

The organisers of the calendar wish to acknowledge a number of sponsors who donated time, props, products and expertise towards the making of the calendar; a huge heartfelt thank you to Fotoforce photography, Allure Hair & Makeup, Bliss Tanning in Broadbeach, Nonstop Adz, Retro Chef & Amore Coffee.

For further information or high resolution images please contact:
Justine Clarke
Marketing & Functions Manager
0404 118090

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter: @1two3dining
OR on Facebook : Justine Onetwothree Bar
Social Media friends enjoy a 30% discount off your ENTIRE bill!If

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One Night Stands…

September 10, 2010 By admin 5 Comments

Just wanted to say I’ve been noticing a trend with the people who give our bloggy a lookey-loo here and there, you guys seem to love the relationship/sexpert stuff so we’ll stick with what works. Also big shout out to everyone who’s commented and put in their opinions, we love the feedback and the conversations. ;)

For many a single on the Gold Coast, One Night Stands have become as common as going to the gym, or going grocery shopping. To class it up a bit, I like to call em “One Hit Wonders”, makes it sound a bit more sexy, like a ruby red juicy strawberry doubled dipped in chocolate. No? Ok, so maaaybe just me then? I understand. Moving on.

Last night I was racking my brain to see how bars influence relationships and my eureka moment came when I walked past the bar and saw what appeared to be a “walk of shame” couple eating breaky at our fine establishment. Had a giggle cos it looks as though the one hit wonders had returned to the scene of the crime. ha. Good on us for being a full service resto/bar/lounge-y!

So I chatted around and got the low down on what others perceived of “one night stands”. Most who’ve never dabbled in the daring do-its, seemed to think that if you did do the dirty deed you were shamefully lowering your standards and can’t understand how something “like THAT” would be fulfilling?

I picked the brains of some of the couples I know, some said they “had their fun” back in the day, but racey romps are best when you get frequent repeats from the same partner. You get to try the kinky fun stuff, squishy sounds and emissions aren’t as embarrassing, you learn how to work your partners pink- parts like a champ, AND you don’t have to give them cab money in the morning. :P

Then I chatted to people in my parents generation, they were brought up on “free love” weren’t they, surely they could tell me what hippy lovin’ was all about? Turns out that was mostly just a Californifabrication, most got married at a young age and now 20 – 30 years later have only had 1 or 2 partners in their entire lifetime, they find sex boring and routine. i.e. – birthdays, holidays, special occasions ORRR they’re newly divorced and are experiencing love in the fast lane but it goes against how they were brought up.

Then there’s the hard core singles. Hey- OOO!!! Shout out to my peeps!

When you’ve been single for longer then 6 months you suddenly find your “care-factor” takes a swan dive off of the Q1 (really high building for non GC’ers) and it’s back to basics! It’s meat hunting time!

There’s a certain power hour at the bar, pub, or club when you look around the room and take inventory of what’s available.

It’s always the same, you look for the really hot dude/chick you wanna get sweaty and pretzel with, then loosely monitor their state of willingness and or availability. Then you look over yonder to boozely gaze at ones you’d consider turkey slapping… butttt you need a few more bevvies and or shots to seal the deal.

Then EEEchh, BBlah, SShazzzam you lock eyes accidentally with a lounging lizard, and quickly look away then silently wonder what bridge or sewer that troll crawled out from, OR covertly cock your head sideways viewing from a sly safe peripheral angle and amuse yourself by trying to envision which earthly creature best suits their facial structure and movement.

Once a hardcore single has their target locked and loaded, its pretty much a done deal and its over before you know it. This sentence pretty much sums it up: “OMG, I was SO drunk-one minute we were kissing, then the next thing you know I slayed a hottie and we had a skintabulous time – then I left right after.”

If you are a promiscuous promenader, its pretty much cut and dry. Most people don’t spend the night, or cuddle, and most people don’t call you or friend you on Facey. If the night was naughty and noteworthy you might get a future booty call but to assume exclusivity or “relationship status change” after one saucy sexventure you’re setting yourself up for serious disappointment and awkwardness.

I think since the debut of Sex and The City, sexy solo soiree’s are less tabu for women of my generation or this era in general. We can have sex like a man, and yes sadly the more partners you have the easier it gets to be less and less emotionally attached. Not that I’m saying everyone should become 7 Elevens and be open for business at all times, but if you want to have fun “practicing” your skills or just need some lovin’ you don’t have to feel guilty about it. As for the boys, ahhh well…. “boys will be boys” that never changes. :p

As for one night stands I do agree that yes repeated sexcapades with a partner does fine tune your skills, but there’s definitely something mysterious and sexy about a random rooting. Best believe if you’re a hot guy and we’re stuck in an elevator … I’ll know what buttons to push. ha!

Got a funny story about a One Night Stand? Have views that don’t collaborate with mine? Write in and tell us what you think!

In the meantime follow us @1two3dining on Twitter and on Facebook @ Onetwothree Loungebar

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Yes, you CAN walk from Sydney to Perth!

August 21, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Another beautiful sunny day in the Gold Coast and it’s Jazz & Food Fest weekend… which means – MORE tourists! Normally the Westies are the most entertaining but I have to say some of the other tourists we’ve had from Asia, U.S.A., and Germany take the cake for asking stupid fudgin’ questions. Sorry to sugar coat it, but at least we have more tolerance then Chopper Read!

Normally I’d laugh it off, and say something like “Ah mate whomever told you that is just takin’ the piss”, but today, I dunno what it is, I felt like being the “piss taker”. I am takin the piss!

So here’s a list of some of my all time favorite questions tourist have asked and here’s the answers I WISH I coulda said:

1. At breakfast time, I approached a couple from Indiana U.S.A. and there were quite a few tables around them, so I asked them if I could start them off with anything to drink and handed them some menu’s. Then they looked around and asked “So do you serve coffee here? Can I have 2 sugars and some cream in it. Like a regular?” I then asked them which coffee they wanted, and they said just regular coffee? “Sooo…. what kind was that mate?” Then they spoke slower like I didn’t understand english and they were like “r-e-g-u-l-a-r”. I wanted to tell them they should check out Robert Timms, but instead just gave em a Flat White.

2. I had a group of backpackers from Germany, and Sweden. Gorgeous looking boys but dumb as nails. Guess you can’t be blessed with both unless you were fat as a kid. But anywho, they took out a map and they asked if they could walk to Perth from Sydney? I wanted to look into their beautiful blue eyes and be like “no wukkin furries mate 3 or 4 days should do it”. But I told them they might want to consider flying, probably the only time they’d get to ride a “Virgin”. (Virgin Blue) You know how backpackers get after slappin’ some Goon.

3. A group of girls from Texas were down for a convention, and apparently some of our boys told them all about “Drop Bears” the night before. So after breaky they were trying to sort out a hike to Mt. Tambourine and asked “what parts of Australia are Drop bears indigenous to?” I just shook my head and told them the same parts as the Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus. – I still to this day, don’t think they got it.

4. A couple from Canada sat down on the patio part for dinner a few nights ago, they came in singlets and boardies, and wanted to know if we could turn on the heaters? I asked them if they wanted to sit inside they might be warmer? They insisted they wanted to stay outside. Fine. Then they said “I had no idea it was so cold here, I thought it was 40 C all year round eh?” First off, if you’re traveling to a new country wouldn’t you do some research? So I smiled “politely” of course, and wanted to say ” nah mate you really must be disappointed hey, Oi are you homeless when your igloo melts in the summer?”

5. The question I get asked most by ALL tourists though is do you see Kangaroo’s, Koala’s or Dingo’s in the street? To which I almost always respond, “well depends, if you’re on a road trip you might see them on the “side of the road,” but you definitely won’t want to take pictures then.”

To whomever said there are no such things as “stupid questions”, you must be daft mate.
Seriously.

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The art of Picking Up!

August 11, 2010 By admin 1 Comment

After writing my blog last week, I received a numerous amount of feedback especially from the guys! Thanks so much for writing in!

Apparently my “buy her a drink” line… was NOT the Golden Rule of the Gold Coast! In fact quite the opposite, and to some I came across as rude and pushy. I have to say I was a bit taken a back, so sorry, I truly had no idea guys could be so sensitive!

So I did a proper interview with 2 very different guys, each were honest and candid and the parallels were entertaining to say the least! Let’s meet the contenders!

Champ #1 – Mr. X
Mr. X is a well known club goer that hits the GC scene (and the ladies) on a regular with his bro-tourage, and is a firm believer in NOT buying girls drinks! “After all, you should be able to sell yourself and not have to buy a ladies affections”. He’s 23 years old, he has a wicked white collar kinda job, a candid personality, a mischievous twinkle in the eye, the charm and allure of a jungle cat, and his personality/looks Doppleganger would HAVE to be hands down Barney Stinson from the show How I Met Your Mother. When this boy suits up, it’s going to be ….wait for it…. Legend… wait for it… Dary! LEGENDARY good times.

Champ #2 – Mr. Diablo
Mr. Diablo is your typical chillaxed t-shirt & jeans kinda guy. He goes to bars to listen to bands (when he’s not playing in one), he occasionally goes to clubs, was in a serious relationship for a long time, but needed to explore before settling down. He’s about to turn 30, is a successful skilled trade labourer, been around the block, he’s that “Best friend/Funny Guy” guy… non-threatening, not sleezy, but can still throw ya down and slap skins like champ, devil of a good time. His Doppleganger looks/personality wise would have to be Gerard Butler circa. The Ugly Truth, maybe a bit less crass though…

SO ladies hope you’re wearing you’re spanx, cause it’s going to be tough holding all this candid information in!

DING DING!

Round #1 – Question: When you go to clubs are you solely going to pick-up?

Mr. X – Depends on the night, sometimes guys just DO go to hang out with guys and have some beers. But if you see a 9, then ya for sure I’d try to hit that, but that’s not the only thing that’s on my mind. If it happens cool, if not, whatever- I’m more interested in having a great time.

Mr. Diablo – I don’t go to clubs, I go to bars, normally just to drink beers and listen to music, but maybe I might get a “half stock” if a decent chick looks my way, if I DO go to a club, it’s only to pick up, but I don’t think about that. The chicks are usually way hotter at clubs though.

Round #2 – Question: Do you buy chicks drinks if you’re interested in them?

Mr. X – NO. Never. Why would I buy my way into a relationship when I should be able to sell it myself? If a girl expects me to buy her a drink I walk away and get the bartender to send her water. If they’re REALLY arrogant, I buy the whole table tonic water.

Mr. Diablo – Ya, I’m old fashioned that way I guess. Plus drunk chicks are hilarious.

Round # 3- Question: When you go out do you place importance on your appearance?

Mr. X – Always. 10% of what you say is the language you speak when you communicate with the opposite sex. Body Language is what really sells it. When I go out I look like I can afford to be at the place I’m at. I normally get ready at a friends house and bring 3 different “looks” to choose from depending on the night. The important thing is to stand out. If you dress like everyone else, you might as well be like everyone else. How you look is just as important as having fresh breathe, no B.O., and a personality.

Mr. Diablo – I shower and I make my bed everyday. Being clean – that’s important to me. I normally wear a t-shirt and jeans. I’m just that kind of guy. If I’m going to a club I might have to wear black pants, I have a natural man scent so no cologne, shoes I wear whatever. If I’m going out to pick-up then ya I put more effort into it, I groom, maybe do some manscaping…

Round #4 – Question: Do you prefer hitting on women or when women hit on you?

Mr. X – I find it flattering when women come up to me and hit on me. The fact that someone else is sexually attracted to me and wants to hit on me is exciting.

Mr. Diablo – YES! I love it when women are forward. I find that really attractive when women make the first move. But I like to plan the actual date.

Round #5 – Question: What in your definition is a 6,7,8,9,10?

Mr. X – 6-7 are normally not hot but not ugly. They’re shy, take some work, and don’t really stick out from the crowd. 8′s are better then average, couple things that could be fixed, some are “Prawns”… nice body but could do without the head. 9 – Almost perfect, they’re the 10 but they don’t want you, high maintenance, they make you work for it. A 10 is perfect in your eyes and your buddies! They had a smoking bod, fun personality, and they are into you! (would you ever go for anything under a 6? – No. But who am I to judge my version of 6 could be someone elses 10)

Mr. Diablo – 6 – are 1 night stands, can turn into 5′s in the morning. 7′s are fun to date, they are the average chicks, 8′s are the ones you want to take home, they’re naturally beautiful, fun to be around and not full on themselves, 9′s are outta sight the model chicks, and 10′s don’t exist because no one is perfect. (would you ever go for anything under a 6 – Not intentionally.)

Round #6 – Question: Do esthetics REALLY matter?

Mr. X – I think it’s important to look your best. Your presence is determined by your presentation. But I HATE when Gold Coast chicks think they’re all that and they’re just plastic.Those are the girls you just ignore and be rude to. It’s the only way to get through to them.

Mr. Diablo – I like boobs of all sorts so if they get a boob job, that’s ok. The tans, extensions, fake nails, clown make-up doesn’t really appeal to me. But a french manicure and nice hair works for me.

Round #7 – Question: What’s your “It’s only a one night stand” code? Sleep-overs, number exchange, and cuddling? Pro or Con?

Mr. X – Well it all depends. Normally you can’t just kick someone out of bed, but I’d prefer not to have them there when I wake-up. I usually get the number before I “pick-up” so it’s not awkward afterwards, and definitely no to cuddling.

Mr. Diablo – Lol! Usually I sleep over cause I’m too drunk to drive. If I remember if the night was fun then I’ll ask for her number. Absolutely NO cuddling for one night stands!

Round #8 – Question: Are you intimidated by older women, successful women, or women who are more intelligent?

Mr. X – Older women are fun, my only friends that are girls are older women. Successful women and women who are intelligent don’t bother me I like someone who can hold and intelligent conversation, its just when they get high on themselves I find it irritating and annoying. My biggest pet peeve is when women judge you without even getting to know you. I don’t care how amazing you are, if you snub me from the get go, you won’t get my respect.

Mr. Diablo – Older women are best from experience! There’s No Bullshit. College and University type women are fine by me too, I think brains are attractive I love when they can carry a conversation. After all aren’t women supposedly smarter then men anyways?

Round # 9 – Question: Blondes v.s. Brunettes?

Mr. X – Both can be bitches. Hair colour doesn’t matter. It just matters how you present yourself and your body language.

Mr. Diablo – I dated a Brunette for a long time, so I’m going through a Blonde phase. But I’d take both home for dinner, and my Dad would high 5 me at the table! Seriously it doesn’t matter.

Last Question: What advice do you have to others going to clubs?

Mr. X – If you’re going to a club, don’t just try to play the game and give up after 1 person rejects you. Be the game. Go get the first rejection outta the way from someone who you know probably isn’t interested. (Oh like cleaning the pipes before a big date? – Laughs… I guess so, weird) Just be natural, don’t go in there thinking you’re going to pick-up, think about all the awesome things you have going for you, and have fun with it. Before you go out, see if your friends think you look good, and have confidence. When you look good you feel good, and you’ll have a good time.

Mr. Diablo – I don’t know. I just don’t think about it. If I’m going out to have fun, I have fun. If I’m going out to pick up, I’ll pick-up. I don’t really put too much emphasis on a strategy, I just do whatever.

MR. X’s – Last word: GUYS LEARN HOW TO DANCE! It’ll increase your game. Best defense is Offense. Annoy and Conquer. Works EVERYTIME!

After speaking with both guys, it was interesting to see that overall they had the same point of view, but the younger generation, or the Gold Coast version of clubbing places far more emphasis on looks, and not just the female appearance, their own as well. Whether that’s just a GC thing, or a conditioned thing I don’t know.

But when I asked why guys were mean here, and why they make rude comments, Mr. X just smiled and said that’s how Aussie boys flirt. They aren’t doing it to be mean, they are doing it because that’s the only way they can get through to women these days… ouch. The truth can be ugly.

What are your thoughts? Love to hear em!

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From the Man’s Point of View

August 5, 2010 By admin 4 Comments

From the Man’s Point of View:

I was recently chatting to a male friend about the club culture in the Gold Coast and the battle between the sexes, I nearly pissed myself laughing so hard when I heard his take on “getting ready for the big night out”.

Usually when guys go to a club, they dress to impress (or Peacock) but their main motive is: Banging Chicks. That’s it.

You’ll never meet a group of guys, who have a sausage fest a couple hours before to pick out each others outfits, pre-drink and do each others hair, then get to a bar after ALL that prep time and tell chicks  ”sorry sweet cheeks it’s boys night”.

You’ll never hear “Hey Luke, like my new tight shirt, I think it really shows off my pecks, the chicks are gunna go ape shit for these puppies!” OR  ”Oi Nick, what do you think of these jeans – do they say “meat in the front, heat in the back”? Or Matty do you think these jeans are baggy enough for chicks to think, “I’m swimming in them, go for a deep dive darling and you’ll find my electric eel baby!?”

I was in hysterics laughing at the scenario he just reenacted!

Fair enough it’s true…

Women DO like to get ready with their friends, yes we do have pretty parties where we pre-drink, we do each others hair & make-up and yes of course there IS the pre-parade fashion show. This is how you know your friends like you. So what. It’s what we do.

So then he began to rant about how evil women are…  He said his biggest pet peeve was when he’d just try to talk to a girl and she’d say the infamous line “No – sorry I’m just here to dance with the girls.” Before he could even get out his name she’d shot him down. Shaved 3 inches off his manhood with that one little phrase! He couldn’t believe it!

I tried not to snicker, but bit my lip instead, because I too, have been guilty of saying that ever popular penis deflating line!

I tried to ease his ego, I explained that maybe she RREEAALLLYY was just out there to dance with her friends? Coulda been a birthday party, hens night, break up party, friends coming from outta town… probably nothing personal.

He called BULLSHIT! Wide-eyed I asked why he thought that?

He said this, “Really? You really expect me to believe that that girl was wearing hair-extensions, a massive push-up bra, hooker shoes, and a short dress to go out ‘dancing’ with her friends”? Not to mention the stripper moves and grinding up on her friends in a drunken stumble. Was that REALLY just how girls act? Or is it a clever ploy to peek a mans interest and get free drinks for the rest of the night? It’s amazing how many broke women suddenly turn bar-time-lesbo for free drinks and male attention.

FROM THE GIRLS POINT OF VIEW!

Ok, SO at this point I have to come in and defend the ladies!

Fact: Women like to share clothes, shoes, make-up and whatever else is new and fun to play with that our friends have. You might be bored of your wardrobe, you might want to “get in the mood” by having some pre-drinkies, and listen to some ultra-girlie tunes. There’s nothing wrong, or homo about it.

Fact: IF a girl is in a relationship OR doesn’t want to be molested she will dance with her friend, it doesn’t always mean girls are doing it for attention or free drinks. Sometimes we’re just dancing with our friend so
no Sneakies come in and try to dry hump us on the dance floor.

Fact: Sexy Stripper Dancing is what’s in. If you started dancing some weird 80′s metal thrashing, or 50′s Sock-hop bop people might look at you like your a mental case and you left your “special helmet” at home.

Fact: Just because we might dress like sexy vixens doesn’t mean we want you to grind up behind us. We are NOT horses, we do not want “your little man” riding up on our backside like some Jockey! It’s like the song says “Stand BACK you’re dancing kinda close, feel a little poke comin’ through on you…”

Then he blurted out: “FACT: YOU ARE SO FULL OF IT! You’re signature move is the booty bounce!” Then he started to do the best lap dance impression I’ve ever seen!

Busting out in what could only be described as rib tickling donkey-like laughter I had to admit I have done the “giddy-up” a few times!

Ok, so agree to disagree I guess! Rule of thumb: If you want love up in the club, buy the girl a drink first (without spilling it on her) and maybe she’ll dance with your little man instead of just her girlies!

Don’t hate the playa, hate the game!

*the views expressed in this blog do not directly reflect the views of the men in the pictures of this blog. They are purely there for esthetic reasons, and should hereby not be pinched, grabbed, smacked or lectured by friends, family, or social media friends that they may have never met in real life (or maybe they did but they just wouldn’t know, cause who would introduce themselves as @princessbuttercup81 or @mogspaceballz at a casual chat-up).

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Social Media – Use it or Lose it!

August 4, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

About 18 months ago we were scratching our heads…what is a Facebook and why do we need one—what on earth is a ‘Tweet’…and does anyone over the age of 13 really do it?? My-space, your-space, apparently everybody needs their own computer ‘space’…or do they? Fast-forward to today and WHOAAAAAA…guess what? – the bulk of our restaurant marketing is conducted on-line with a major focus on all things ‘SOCIAL MEDIA’. We cottoned on quickly and covered the basics – all of our restaurants have facebook pages, twitter accounts and we regularly communicate with our database via email newsletters. But there is so much more out there in the world of cyber-marketing and we are embracing it with open laptops!

We now also have a presence on Foursquare, the popular iphone app that allows people to ‘check-in’ to our venues and broadcast their locations and our special offers to their friends. Enough ‘check-ins’ with us and they could become the virtual ‘Mayor’ of our restaurant too. In addition to uploading our videos to YouTube, we are also broadcasting our footage on Vimeo (website) and Vidcall (iphone app), we upload weekly venue photos to our websites, facebook, restaurant blogs and Flickr. Then there is Digg – a site for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web – naturally we DIGG it!

Our customers can come in for dinner and drinks, have their photos taken or feature in one of our videos; they are then given one of our new social media cards and are directed to check out all our footage from the weekend on a variety of different on-line sites within a day or two.

One of our customers FRIENDS with our Social Media Card tucked away in a safe place…

Without a doubt one of the major benefits we have found from using Social Media is the amazing rapport that we have been able to create with our customers almost overnight. We are communicating on a daily basis with real people who we already know like our businesses via a variety of different mediums (we like to think we have got most bases covered). In addition to letting them know our specials and different events we might have coming up, there is now a two-way communication whereby we are chatting with them about things that interest them, we are contributing to random on-line conversations, they are commenting on our updates and our customers are beginning to relate to us as our friends rather than our patrons – a WIN/WIN situation! We get to chat with our ‘friends’ and hear their honest opinions about our businesses and they feel a new sense of loyalty towards us and are able to help us by referring their on-line friends to us. We know for a fact that this new rapport has already increased our customer base – what were once just happy customers are now very good friends…and we all like to see our friends succeed, don’t we?

Yes, the times are changing at a rapid rate, instead of spending thousands of dollars printing flyers and delivering them to 10’000 local letterboxes on a one-off basis (that is so 2009!!) we are now spending virtually nothing and communicating to potentially hundreds of thousands of people on a regular basis and in real-time.

A great example of how we have recently used the awesome power of Social Media is creating a pre-launch buzz for our Nude Staff Charity Calendar, check out our YouTube video of the calendar’s creation!

With no physical calendars to actually sell until they come back from the printers at the end of the month, we have already spread the word via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and our blogs and have begun to take pre-orders and create a lot of interest with still a month to go.

We have already hosted some fantastic “Tweet Ups” – special dinners in our restaurants just for our Twitter followers and last year we more than half booked out one of our restaurants for a special event before we had even had the posters printed or started the usual promotional ring-around and all it took was creating an event on Facebook!

In addition to this, our campaign to once again be victorious in the Lifestyle Chanel’s I LOVE FOOD AWARDS (1two3 Mediterranean Restaurant was voted Australia’s Favourite Mediterranean Restaurant 2009) is off to a flying start with Facebook et al paving the way for thousands of our new best friends to follow a link here, click a tab there, register their vote, pass go and potentially win the $10’000 up for grabs just for voting in just a matter of minutes. Hey don’t just take my word for it – here is the link http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/ilovefoodawards see how easy it is for yourself

(1two3 Mediterranean – ‘Flavours of the World’ category…hint hint)

We feel that we are a great example of how businesses can utilise these fantastic new social media tools, we devote a lot of time and focus towards communicating via many different on-line mediums and it has really paid off for us. For any further information regarding how we are making social media work for us, feel free to contact me via email (or even better, look for us on Facebook – we would LOVE to be your friend!!)

Find our URLS to all things Social Media related below…happy Tweeting!

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