Bar-red!

Disclaimer: This post is in jest... You Mo-Towners, I loved every moment of it (well, almost!) and don't mean to hurt you.. This is just a girl's perspecive of an evening at a bar...

Bar-ring(v): The act of sitting at a bar with a huge group of friends and drinking the night away

OK, so last week was a friend's graduation party which I'd happened to grace... I would guess its customary to visit a bar once the ceremony is over... to celebrate, to get drunk, to get high and to make complete fools of yourselves... What better opportunity and what better ambience than a sports bar, called "Gibbies" where we'd informed the waiters n waitresses that this was an important day for some few (4 out of 30!) and we were going to bring the roof down and that they couldn't object to it.

I am not a habitual(or even an occassional) drinker(?!?) So, when the first round of drinks were being ordered, I politely declined the alcoholic stuff and stuck to a coke. Beer was the choice of the night as pitcher after pitcher arrived and I slowly, but steadily I witnessed the transformation of men into pigs! And soon, as the quality of the drink improved (increased), the quantity decreased and the intoxication increased... With every drink after the initial 4, their speech started slurring, their movements jarring, topics deteriorating, repetitions aplenty(!), vocal talents exposed (read singing after drinking!!) and what not!

Having read about this scenario in countless books and seen representations in movies, I thought I was prepared to watch this out. I was I guess... But what I wasnt prepared for, was what the practical implications of being present there... My drink became a refill of the coke and then a "Sex on the beach", a simple cocktail, with the alcoholic powers of vodka.. It was a rather interesting drink. I sipped a couple of times and thats all I could take. I mean, drinking for me has its limitations... No more than 2 sips at a time! Which would explain why I ever havent gotten "high". Next up, someone got some vanilla-rum-coke combo which tasted very interesting too... For 2 sips once more... And last but not the least, whiskey - Jack Daniels with coke... For allll that people had raved about whiskey I had to try it out... Even in their drunken state, the boys seemed to realize that it was maybe a bit too much of a drink for an amateur and so watched carefully as I tipped the glass into my mouth and took one sour sip (I must emphasize I hated it.. It was bitter and disgusting and no matter what "high" it gave people, one sip was too many for me). The boys' concerned expression turned into hurt as my face turned into disgust! That was enough alcohol for me and I demanded pineapple juice. The bar for all its fame couldn't gimme a decent pineapple drink. It was thick and gooey and more concentrated than what natural pineapples can ever produce. Nevertheless, a welcome change from the alcohol!

Apart from that, I spent the night fighting (verbally), flirting (generally) and scolding (those who couldn't take their ears off my conversations with others!) I discovered many kinds of people, made a lot of friends (though I bet some were soo drunk they wouldnt recognize me the next day if I walked past them!) As I waded out to take a phone call and back in, I had an American dude ask me "Can I buy you a drink?" Having seen Joey do this in F-R-I-E-N-D-S, I almost burst out laughing but somehow managed to mumble straight-faced that I was "with friends" n get away! Another practical reality- I won't go into the gross details: Don't drink too much... You'll wanna pee.. and the restrooms in bars are not functional, let alone clean!

All said n done, if you haven't done it at all, I would suggest you should go barring with a bunch of friends.. Its fun... (to do it once in a while). I wonder how the boys do it on a weekly basis... But I guess boys will be boys and maybe a li'l bit of alcohol in their system in the weekend evoked the required guilt to multiply efforts through it to do some productive work.. I'll never know... But maybe its best left unruffled. :-)