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Baa Baa Brunch and why it is unlucky to be my villa 11/30/2014

Let me start off by telling you this...

This just about sums up my mood right now.

I don't go around bragging about myself.

I don't tell people I am super cool.

I really don't like to show off.

But there are some things you can't hide.  Some things will always come to light no matter how badly you wish they would just not do that "coming to light" thing...and that is my almost impossible to comprehend unlucky streak.

(You will get the "light" joke in a bit...it is so totally worth the wait!)

So let's start off with the goodness.  

Thanksgiving came to Bahrain!

There was a lovely dinner at my bosses place, but I had something else important I had to take care of.  My friend came in from Australia and I had to be at the airport to pick her up.  Believe it or not, everything went perfectly.  She arrived on time, got through customs relatively easily, and all of her luggage showed up.

I must admit, Bahrain nailed it!

We had a great time on Thursday catching up and watching bad movies - and prepared ourselves for the brunch on Friday my friend had found.

I had never heard of this restaurant, but once we got to the hotel I knew the place.  I had been lost there before, so I knew exactly where it was without knowing where I was.  Turns out this is quite a lovely little spa. 

It even had the one thing that will make me want to get into a pool...


No, YOU didn't zoom in well enough...

Let me try this again with a little help from a top notch photo editing program I like to call MS Paint...

DO YOU SEE IT!!??  Isn't it gloooooorious?

Now, we didn't go to the pool bar.  It was raining and I didn't want to get wet by sitting outside...

Ahem.

At the pool bar...

Didn't want to get wet...

I am NOT sorry about that joke.

So we went inside this place called Zytoun.  It was a self proclaimed Mediterranean Grill and seemed to look the part.  We got there just as it opened and they were setting out the food.  This giant silver bowl with lid sat in the background.  My friend said it was rice.  I made the comment, "That makes sense, but that is a lot of rice.  I just didn't want to open it and find a whole lamb curled up inside haha"

And, that is when I knew there had to be a whole lamb inside.

And you know what?

There was a whole freakin' lamb inside.

I think lamb are cute little critters.  I mean here is one taking a selfie:

Even sheep are using SnapChat now...

However, there are some instances where these little adorable creatures look less cuddly and more bubbly...like when they are laying on a bed...

...OF RICE!!

I was going to eat the eyes but then I thought why not save that treat for someone else?  Someone like, oh I don't know...SATAN!?

But, apart from the delicious murdered lamb the brunch was satisfying.  Something about triple-fisting wine, beer, and champagne all at once while having unlimited food around just makes sense to me.  And, they served coffee in these teeny tiny little coffee mugs that didn't fit into my pocket as well as the cheese knives did.

We left Zytoun feeling fat full and happy.  Caught a quick cab to Domain to show my Aussie friend the sunset from the top of Bahrain - as well as enjoy a few 4 BD (about $11 USD) Heineken.  

That place isn't pretentious at all.  

Not pretentious.

Maybe a teeny bit...

But I suppose the view really makes up for all that:

If you're into that sort of thing, I guess it is "okay"

My other friend, (the one that is SO SUPER EXCITED about the snowflakes) met us for a few drinks, and after trusting our GPS like a bunch of fools, we ended up at the Sherlock Holmes Bar instead of Kicks, but all was well.

A nice little place, but it became fairly obvious I had had too many when I played an entire game of pool and only sank one of my own balls accidentally.  I like to leave people impressed with me.

We cash out and make our way home.

Ah, home.  There is something really satisfying about home.  That is, of course, unless your home was victim to a power surge that not only blew all the fuses and shut off all your appliances and electronics, but also will cost you hundreds of dinars to replace the equipment that was destroyed by the jolting electricity.

That is the home I came home to.  

Just like the zombie chicken smell, I was the only one lucky enough to have this happen.

Now, don't get me wrong, I would rather it happen to me than a villa with a family and kids and all that, but at the same time it would be kind of reassuring to know that this stuff doesn't always have to happen to me.  Other people can have stuff happen to them as well.

But not this time.

The crews worked on my villa from 11 AM to about 10 PM with zero progress.  One assured me they would be done by the time they left.  The next one assured me it would be fixed by tomorrow.  And the last one assured me they would try to get the Ministry involved because this is a pretty big problem and it won't be resolved any time soon.

But, even though my stereo is melted, my PlayStation is burnt up, my laptop is dead, and all my food is ruined I was still able to find a way to make it all bearable...

Thank you to my neighbors for not thinking I was crazy when I showed up at their door with 30 foot of electric extension cord...

The TV was off when the surge hit so it survived.  The PlayStation and Laptop, as I mentioned earlier, have ceased to be.  I mentioned these to my boss in the hopes that he would take pity on me since they put me in the cursed villa, but I got no reaction that would indicate any help replacing the items that were destroyed.  I will try again but I think this one will just have to come out of my pocket.

It is a good thing I am making good money, because I couldn't afford to be this unlucky otherwise.  I am grateful it is cool enough outside not to die without the AC, and for a friend from Australia who is entirely more tolerant of this situation than I am.

Oh hey, does that "light" joke make any more sense now?

Nailed it.

All in all we got by just fine and had some good times watching more bad movies from my USB drive, and then ended up watching some of those marvelous Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes shows from the 1980's.  So even though I didn't have any turkey, I am still thankful for good friends and for my villa not catching fire and burning us alive.

It's the little things...







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