The boys' night out

For the first time after I came to America, we had a stag party. I started it all. I don't even know why I did it. Out of some crazy impulse I sent off a mail to all the office guys in crowne lake apartments and windsor lake (Columbia, SC), calling them for a get together in my apartment on Saturday. I had told them I'd take care of dinner, and that they had to bring in their own booze. I had a few enthusiastic responses. And the headcount was pointing to 10-12 people. Why did I do it? Well, I am gonna be leaving America in mid-february. I didn't want to be in such a state where you can't recall anything special, because everyday was the same, the grind and all. The guys liked the idea; no one likes to cook on weekends. I love cooking. And a get together was long overdue. So on d-day I got up at 1300 hours thanks to some heavyduty rum-drinking overnight. I lazed, watched tv, made lunch and by the time I got the CDs from amazon from the mail box it was 1800 hours. I realised I didn't have potatoes. So I call one of my colleagues and he agreed to bring them over. By 20:00 hours I had half the crowd and a couple of us were cooking. I was handling rice, sambar, sabji for roti, and baking the rotis. While another friend was making the dough. A few beers and after a few noisy card games I stepped out into the balcony. It was freezing, some where around -1 I guess. And I asked myself again, 'why are you doing it?' Not that all of them are thick friends; infact none are! But why this community building ambition? I think I was bored to death here. So much so that anything different would bring welcome relief. But when the guys said 'lovely sabji man! food is great!' I was gushing inside. I think I am like this Monica babe in the TV show friends; a compulsive 'host' that goes out of the way to please its immediate society. Man I am weird. Is this attention seeking? I mean why the hell would you wanna please a bunch of people? Well, it is confusing. I am actually a 'nice' guy, in the sense, I normally go out of my way to help people; strangers and friends alike. Anyways, we had a good time. So after a few more card games after the dinner, they wanted to go get some cake from walmart. We went. And they bought me a book for being such a nice host. That was sweet of them. I enjoyed the drive back home; through a side-road, thorugh tall trees, and the winding road gleaming in the moonshine. It was beautiful. There were quite a few houses where the lights were still on. Parties? Or just husband and wife sipping wine and watching TV? I don't know but it was dripping-wet melancholy. The bright lights putting up a brave front in the bone-freezing cold, a foggy-aura around the lights made it look so romantic, you know it was like the matt finish, dull yet glazy; subtle yet strong. The car cut through the silent night, negotiating the seemingly treacherous bends, conquering the overwhelming up-gradients. Everyone in the car was silent. We reached this friend's place in windsor lake (next to crowne lake which is my place). We had cake there. The black forrest melting in my mouth was titillating. There was talk about how we should do it everyweek, this get-together thing that is. Well, I don't know if I would do it again, but I'll tell you what, I am one helluva cook. My girl friend is beaming, yea baby, I can see and I know. I know. I got it. I think it is my passion for cooking. Nothing else. :) Phew! And I had to blog this now at 2:00 am! I simply had to.

Add to:del.icio.us| Digg| Reddit| StumbleUpon| Technorati