Serves You Right

🍺 Ever heard of Lithuanian pickle beer? Join us for an epic chat with Chris Campbell, a veteran of Santa Fe’s vibrant bar scene, in this must-listen episode! 🍸 From slinging drinks at high-end restaurants to managing the bar at Susan’s, Chris spills the tea on surviving the pandemic, pivoting to a dream schedule with weekends off, and stocking wild brews like that pickle beer. 🌵 Discover how he’s thrived in the quirky, challenging world of Santa Fe’s hospitality industry, found love, and built a life he loves. Perfect for foodies, bartenders, or anyone curious about life behind the bar!

🔥 Highlights:

The scoop on Lithuanian pickle beer and other crazy brews 🍻

How Chris went from bartending grind to work-life balance

Navigating Santa Fe’s unique restaurant culture

Heartfelt reflections on longevity and love in a tough industry

I talk to people in and around the service industry space, trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life. You can find more of my work at ⁠⁠my blog⁠⁠, and all my social links are at the bottom of that page.

As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.

Cheers

What happens when a pioneer in mixology decides to walk away from booze—and starts writing about mythical cats instead? This week, I sit down with Natalie Bovis, aka The Liquid Muse, and it’s a wild, funny, deeply heartfelt ride through festival burnout, artistic rebirth, and the unexpected magic of letting go.

Natalie is a true force to be reckoned with. There's no way I could capture everything she does in just one description, so I’ve linked to her About Page—make sure to set aside some time to really take it all in, it is a LOOOOT!

Natalie’s journey takes us from the heights of the mixology world—creating the first cocktail festival in New Mexico —to the quiet clarity of pandemic reflection, full-time caretaking, and rediscovering her creative soul. She opens up about leaving the alcohol industry, grappling with its dark undercurrents, and channeling her energy into something radically different and more fulfilling: writing about cats, gods, and the mystical intersections of art and nature.

Expect to learn about:

• How the pandemic helped her reset her life

• The evolution of her Cocktails & Culture Festival (and Taco Wars!)

• Starting Mind, Body, Spirits to promote balance in hospitality

• Writing “Cat Gods, Goddesses, Deities & Demons”—and launching a deck of oracle cards!

• Her upcoming children’s book and a retreat in Spain rooted in culinary and cultural healing

This is an episode about identity, transformation, and what it means to live in alignment with who you are—not just what you’ve done.

🎟️ Check out the Cocktails & Culture Festival and NM Cocktail Week HERE
📚 Get “Cat Gods, Goddesses, Deities & Demons” and the oracle deck
🐾 Learn more about Natalie at The Liquid Muse

If this kind of conversation speaks to you, please like, share, and subscribe—it really helps.

I talk to people in and around the service industry space, trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life. You can find more of my work at ⁠my blog⁠, and all my social links are at the bottom of that page.

As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.

Cheers

What happens when a former executive chef walks away from the kitchen—and realizes she never learned how to take care of herself? When she brings up mental health the response is a best lukewarm, and at worst dismissive???

Link to transcript here.

This week’s episode hit me hard. Jasmin Parks-Papadopoulos brings honesty, depth, and a kind of courage you don’t hear every day. And, I’m very excited to say, a vision of a better possible future and hope. She’s part of CHOW!—Culinary Hospitality Outreach and Wellness—and her story is one so many of us in the industry will recognize: long hours, blurred boundaries, trauma bonds, adrenaline highs, and a haunting quiet once the shift is over.

We talk about what it means to lead with empathy after years of leading with fear. About how dysfunction can feel familiar—and even comforting—if you grew up in chaos. And about the brilliant, deceptively simple power of asking someone how they’re feeling... on a scale of rare to well done!

Expect to learn why so many of us mistake survival for strength. Expect to hear about the cracks in the system—and the real work being done to fix them. And expect a conversation that might just make you rethink what hospitality could be.

Link to the organization HERE!

If this kind of honesty speaks to you, please like, share, and subscribe—it really helps.

Thanks for being here. I’m Andrew.

I talk to people in and around the service industry, trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life. You can find more of my work at my blog, and all my social links are at the bottom of that page.

As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.

Cheers

What exactly happens when one jumps ship and goes from working on the floor to distribution? This week I had the pleasure to catch up with a tour de force in the Santa Fe Community, James 'by the glass' Selby. This episode explores what kind of life you can expect as a wine and spirits rep.

Link to transcript.

Expect to learn just how powerful a trip to the Loire Valley can be. How much you might expect to work as a liquor rep. What kind of service James actually gave at the compound, and how James sees the future prospects of the industry as a whole.

If this sounds like your kind of conversation, please like, subscribe, and share—it really helps!

Some links for things we mentioned in the show:

Court of Master Sommeliers

La Playa

Compound

El Farol

San Francisco Street Bar and GrillAldo Sohm

Storyworthy Book

And…that’s it for this week! Thanks for listening! My name’s Andrew.

I record strange, fun things and try to make sense of this weird, beautiful life. You can find more of my written work at ⁠⁠⁠my blog⁠⁠⁠. All of my social links are at the bottom of that site. You also have a contact page there. Please let me know if you have any comments, suggestions, or notes for improvement!

I’m just here, taking notes as I go, trying to figure out what it all means.

Cheers!

What happens when two bartenders reunite after a decade…and finally talk about a night when things went sideways? This episode dives deep into the highs, lows, and healing of life behind the bar

Link to transcript.

This week, I was truly lucky. This is an episode near and dear to my heart. Chris Milligan is a force to be reckoned with. He has more depth and encyclopedic knowledge of bar lore and mixology than any human I have ever met. Here is a glimpse into how everything started for me. Secreto bar, my time as a barback. We don’t hold back from nodding to our booze consumption back then, and we finally get to make amends for past disagreements.

Expect to learn just how working in a busy bar doesn’t mean you’ll be happy. Expect to hear how life often does seem sweet on the other side of a bottle. And expect to hear what happens when success, ego and alcohol mix…and why some of the most respected people people in the industry feel at a loss sometimes. 

Notes:

Chris mentions Reiki and Ho’oponopono. 

If this sounds like your kind of conversation, please like, subscribe, and share—it really helps!

And…that’s it for this week! Thanks for listening! My name’s Andrew.

I record strange, fun things and try to make sense of this weird, beautiful life. You can find more of my written work at ⁠⁠my blog⁠⁠. All of my social links are at the bottom of that site. You also have a contact page there. Please let me know if you have any comments, suggestions, or notes for improvement!

I’m just here, taking notes as I go, trying to figure out what it all means.

Cheers!

What are the long-term risks of drinking all the time? What’s the real value of family and loved ones? And how do you work 100-hour weeks without falling apart?

Link to transcript.

This week, I had the honor of sitting down with Shane Alexander—a monster in the kitchen and one of the most genuine people I’ve met. You’ll hear me gush about the burger he made back in the day at El Farol… and yes, I still think about it.

Shane and I both helped renovate the new El Farol on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We had a wild time, and in this episode, we get to reminisce about what that meant to both of us.

If this sounds like your kind of conversation, please like, subscribe, and share—it really helps!

Thanks for listening! My name’s Andrew.

I record strange, fun things and try to make sense of this weird, beautiful life. You can find more of my written work at ⁠my blog⁠. All of my social links are at the bottom of that site. You also have a contact page there. Please let me know if you have any comments, suggestions, or notes for improvement!

I’m just here, taking notes as I go, trying to figure out what it all means.

Cheers!

What you need to know about the power of viewing yourself as below average.

What it means to embrace being a mortal human being, the power of simplicity and consistency in everyday life, and much more.

Thanks for listening. My name’s Andrew.

I record strange, fun things and try to make sense of this weird, beautiful life. You can find more of my written work at my blog. I’m just here, taking notes as I go, trying to figure out what it all means.

Do you ever feel like life is happening around you, and you’re just drifting through it? Like you should be doing something—something more, something better—but you’re not sure what?

My name is Andrew, and I’ve been there. Like so many in America, I found myself aimless, uncertain, and stuck in the cycle of service industry jobs. Until one day I found the courage to write post on simple thing online. "I'm still trying to answer the question of whether or not I can be happy working in a restaurant."

Join me on this journey as I explore what it all means—how we got here, what we can do about it, and how to turn struggle into progress with hard work and clear goals.

This episode is just the beginning. 

Today I be musing on St. John's College, friendship, booze, and a whole lot more. See you on the way!

Books Mentioned by me:

The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM) by Hal Elrod.

The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco.

If this is the kind of content you love, please like, subscribe, and share with someone this could be of interest to.

You can find my writing at my blog if you want to find some of my crazier thoughts.

This episode explores the real emotional machinery behind restaurants and why they remain one of the last places where genuine human conversation still happens. Author and theorist Brian Duff pulls from years of restaurant work, sixteen years of criticism, and a lifetime of studying how people talk, listen, and connect. What starts as a book discussion turns into a deep dive into modern communication, the collapse of in person dialogue, and why the dinner table still carries a kind of ancient power. Pull up a chair, grab your favorite snack, and listen to two people talking about human interaction.

We explore how restaurants both soothe and provoke us, why people react so strongly when food is wrong, what happens when technology creeps too far into hospitality, and how a simple meal can expose the inner child in all of us. Brian also shares the wild story of how early QAnon believers misread political emails and accidentally turned restaurant chatter into conspiracy fuel.

It is a conversation about culture, care, fear, pleasure, community, and everything we hope for when we sit down to eat.

Expect to Learn:

• Why restaurants are one of the last remaining human spaces
• How technology is quietly eroding real conversation
• Why diners react so emotionally to mistakes at the table
• The childhood instincts that shape adult dining behavior
• What COVID accelerated inside food culture
• How restaurant criticism shapes a city
• Why hospitality feels therapeutic
• The surprising link between QAnon and Restaurants
• How to think about dining with more presence and curiosity

Links:

• Maine by Foot (the hiking site created by Brian’s partner)
• Restaurant, in the Object Lessons series
• Amazon Link
• Brian’s New Yorker humor piece on birding

Service starts now.

Follow the show:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

I talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website ⁠Here⁠ and get in touch with me!

Classic Episodes You May Like:

• #22:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Doug Frost MW MS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• #23:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jeffrey Morgenthaler⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• #31:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• #38:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron Goldfarb Hunting for Ancient Booze⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• #39:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• #46:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Andrew Hurley of Vegas.Wine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.

Cheers

Heather Melville walked into engineering school to escape a toxic relationship. Instead, she found the clarity that finally saved her. Today she teaches people the truth most of us avoid. You are not stuck because you are weak. You are stuck because your brain has learned to mistake danger for connection.

In this conversation, Heather explains why smart people fall into toxic relationships. And, more importantly, why they stay. How the brain gets hooked on emotional chaos. And how you can rewire yourself so you stop settling for partners who drain your life.

She also reveals the surprising habits that rebuild confidence. The exact moment she realized she was already alone. And what you must fix inside yourself before you can ever choose a healthy relationship.

Stay to the end. The last twenty minutes will change how you date, how you trust, and how you see yourself.

We talk about the difference between self esteem and self worth. How emotional turbulence becomes addictive. Why people misread red flags as butterflies. And how your nervous system can trick you into staying with someone who is hurting you. Heather shares the exact steps she uses to coach clients who have left abusive relationships and are terrified of repeating the pattern.

If you’ve ever wondered why you attract the same type of partner, why you ignore your instincts, or how to rebuild your confidence after betrayal, this episode gives you a roadmap.

Expect to Learn

• How toxic partners train your brain to crave chaos
• Why self worth is the root of every healthy relationship
• The subtle early signs most people ignore
• How to rebuild trust in yourself after abuse
• Why loneliness keeps people trapped\
• How to date again without repeating your old patterns
• Why your energy at work collapses when your relationship does
• How to know when conflict is healthy and when it is manipulation

Links

• Heather’s site

Service starts now.

Follow the show:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

I talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website ⁠Here⁠ and get in touch with me!

Classic Episodes You May Like:

• #22:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Doug Frost MW MS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• #23:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jeffrey Morgenthaler⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• #31:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• #38:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron Goldfarb Hunting for Ancient Booze⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• #39:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• #46:⁠⁠⁠⁠Andrew Hurley of Vegas.Wine⁠⁠⁠⁠

As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.

Cheers