We recently hired a new manager at work and, for a little team bonding, we all went out for drinks. We decided on a sports bar called “The Sports Bar” on the 4th floor of the GIP mall. This was about the coolest sports bar I’ve seen (not that I frequent many, but still.) It had three giant stair-step levels of tables overlooking a large projected screen. The inner row of tables each had individual TVs. If you are serious about watching and eating, this is the place to go. Assuming you want to watch cricket, of course. Because the “IPL” is the thing to watch. (Indian Premier League)
The Sports Bar
We had a lot of appetizers for dinner, the most mouth-watering being this lamb kebab thing (served on a metal grate with still-fiery flames underneath.) Delicious! Less impressive was the plate of “nachos.”
Enough to feed a fraction of an American
Had two mojitos and a sangria! That’s way a lot for me. Tried to not think about the ice factor. Most of the others just had a beer except for the other gal who had the same drinks I did. The beer to drink in India is “Kingfisher.” There is also Kingfisher airlines! According to Wiki, the parent company’s “core business includes beverages, aviation, electrical and chemicals.” Odd mix indeed.
I almost ordered dessert because just the concept of an “oozing warm chocolate effect” was almost irresistible.
Tell me more about this effect…
The music selection here reminded me of when I went to The Big Chill several weeks ago. It was nostalgic 70s and 80s western music. We heard Take On Me. (I asked if anyone at the table knew the song. No one from India had!) Then YMCA. My coworkers just looked blankly at me doing the YMCA dance. Then Hotel California (which I can’t hear without quoting The Big Lebowski in my head), Stayin’ Alive, Video Killed the Radio Star, Dancing Queen, Faith (George Michael), and La Isla Bonita. At some point, they switched it up and it was 2000s music like Green Day and Coldplay. Random. Awesome for me, of course, but random.
And, as only people who have had too many mojitos do, we took silly photos with Pete’s sunglasses.
Sunglasses at night
The day after that, I did something I’ve never done before. I ate lunch from the market. There is a street market right outside our building complex that serves quite a variety of food. Although I’ve gone out there many times with the gang for a chai after lunch, I’ve never had more than a bite of the stuffed paranthas (fried bread) available at the same stall. I either eat from one of the three places within the cafeteria (which I discovered are subsidized which is why it is so inexpensive) or just bring leftovers. With the help of a member of the team, I got an entire potato and onion parantha from the street market for lunch. It was very hot (even after I brought it back to the building’s cafeteria to consume) but I enjoyed it a lot. And I did not get ill afterward. Chris calls street food “Street Meat” even though most of it doesn’t actually have meat in it. So, this was my first “Street Meat” meal (though my co-workers assure me that the yellow-tarp place has a higher standard of hygiene compared to the other places. Notably, I am the one who calls it the yellow tarp place since it was how I recognized it at first. No idea what they call it.)
I also discovered that the lassi I’ve had there on occasion has crushed ice in it (to keep it cool, I’m assuming). Chances that the ice here – as opposed to The Sports Bar or other restaurant – is made from filtered water is Not High I am thinking. I can’t believe I haven’t gotten sick. But I’m now nervous about having another one, despite that they are quite tasty.
Enjoying yellow-tarp-booth chai at the market outside my work
I must be homesick. I listened to Midnight Oil, my official homesick music, for about an hour. Must have been ’cause of the Skype fail this weekend. And, like happens to me at least when I revisit songs I haven’t listened to in years, but used to know note-by-note, it has now been stuck in my head for a week.
And, nothing to do with anything, I was at work, looking into a currency-related bug and found the currency code mapping. You know how “USD” is US Dollars? And usually, there are similar abbreviations for other countries and their currencies? Some funny ones I noticed:
- “ESP” Spanish Peseta
- “MAD” Moroccan Dirham
- “YUM” Yugoslavia New Dinar
- “COP” Colombian Peso
- “EEK” Estonia Kroon
- “BOB” Bolivian Boliviano
I didn’t realize BOB was legal tender! In any case, I promise that I’m plenty busy at work, not just scrolling through code looking for YUM! Our daily taxi keeps me from working overtime, which is good, though it always seems to come just as I’m getting going solving something.