Virtual Explorers: Russian Nonfiction Writing Program Student Anthology - Class of Fall 2020

My life behind my bar Alexander Tsiryulsky Do you have something in your life that makes you yourself? Something that you can't imagine being cut out of your life?

Let me quote Nabokov for a little bit in a very rough and cruel way.

Light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. It takes only a slight movement of lips and tongue to form a word "Bar".

Imagine a fashionable restaurant with a classical music playing in the background. You can call it fancy. Every little detail in the interior fits its place. There are beautiful paintings on the walls, the fireplace quietly crackles. Sleek waiters fly around like feathers, bringing in more and more dishes of high kitchen. Well-dressed and well-perfumed ladies and gentlemen are pretentiously talking about their riches while carefully sipping on a glass of a classy red wine. Looks like some kind of a paradise for a snob, doesn't it?

Let's leave it be, and let me take you to another place. The view drastically changes. Let your eyes and even ears get used to the change of scenery. Let it sink in, don't hurry up, or it might even hurt. Hell on earth greets you. The soft classical music is replaced by a hard rock. The paintings have now turned into the vivid writings on the walls. The interior that had once been moderate was knuckled down by the ferocity of different colours and became inferior. There are ladies and gentlemen too, but those of a kind that drink bottles of cheap beer one by one while screaming louder than human's ear can even bear without bleeding. They can easily punch you right in the face if you dare to take a look too close.

I guess you'd like to transcend to a better place. Here it is. A pub that is filled with a friendly atmosphere. You are welcome here. The scent of tasty food and beer makes you feel like you can stay here forever or make a visit at least twice a week. Everything inside or outside seems suitable, not more or less. Feel free to join, they have a bonus card for their regular clients.

But who is that person standing in the dim lights behind a bar in all of those scenes and many more places? Hello, it's me. I've been there standing with a smile or a grimace of disgust, whether it was fake or true. Don't let my facial expressions distract you - I enjoy being part of this.

Let me introduce myself. I am Alexander. I've been working as a bartender since I was 18.

How did I choose this specific job? Well, it was kind of an obvious choice for a young lad like me. I still remember the first day of probation and especially the eyes of my mentor when i looked at the menu and said, "Yeah, I know the most of these beverages, hire me 58