I failed to blog Friday or Saturday but I don’t feel like its a full fail, just a gap. I was feeling very under the weather Friday, thankful that I didn’t have to be at work because I had a long mid-afternoon nap and went to bed early. Saturday was a rare social day for me — midday we went to a friend’s daughter’s first birthday party, and later in the evening I went to a “Ladies’ Tweetup” which was one of those dark side of the moon moments (mixing in a world I normally don’t see).
The Tweetup (an in-person meeting of people on Twitter) was held at Clive’s Classic in the Chateau Victoria. I know a lot of the people who attended are fans of Clive’s and of the whole “cocktail culture” that it promotes but frankly, I’m not likely to go back. I don’t drink a lot and trying to figure out what the heck was in each $10 drink was more of a challenge than I was looking for. Is it really so hard to make something everyone does, like a crantini or a sea breeze?
I was seated next to someone who knew her way around the menu and asked her to suggest something. She pointed me toward the Buffalo’s Roam which the menu lists as, “Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka, Giffard Pink GrapefruitLiqueur, Fee’s Peach Bitters with muddled cucumber” — I suspect it was the bitters that set my taste buds on edge. I drank it but didn’t really enjoy it. My next drink was the only other one on the menu that looked like it might be tasty, a Rhubarb Fizz which is a new enough creation that it isn’t on the online menu. It contained something called “Pisco” which is a grape-based liquor, kind of like a brandy but also fruit syrup and soda so it was closer to the kind of cocktail I normally drink.
I also felt bad for our server — there were at the peak 25 of us there in the back area of Clive’s (a reservation had been arranged) but only one person to serve us. Amazingly, when one woman approached the bar to buy a drink (with cash even) she was turned away. She came back and asked, “What bar in the western world won’t take cash for a drink at the bar?” We were equally puzzled. At one point our server smashed her leg on an errant chair but managed to not spill any of the drinks on her tray. I asked if she was OK as she was rubbing her leg and she said she’d be fine but I’ll bet this morning she has a wicked bruise. I made sure to tip her well when I settled up.
At least I ended up having some interesting talks with people — about jobs, interviews, Twitter itself, and the Pirate Party. I left at 10:30 which was early enough to head for the bus instead of a cab.
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Today, I will be frantically preparing for Tuesday’s Hearts and Hands craft fair before and after attending my niece’s 18th birthday celebration. Phew!