The other day, the office went for drinks after its very first team meeting. Everyone was already holding a beer or a glass of wine by the time Maria and I arrived so we ordered our own drinks as well. Mine came in a sexy glass, blue liquid swirling lazily while the lemon slice sat stoically on the rim. Someone exclaimed, "Ooohh, that's a fancy drink with sugar coating the edge of the glass!" It was salt actually. I smiled and sipped a little. The cool blue color was deceiving, it seemed, for the mixture left trails of heat in my throat. I loved it!
Soon, people began to notice and ask, "What's that you're drinking?" One of the directors asked if he could taste it. He must have probably regretted it as his smooth face crinkled like he tasted some acid poison. "What's in there?" "Oh, just two shots of tequila, one shot of gin, lime juice and blue curacao.", I replied coolly. Look of shock. Someone got the glass and sniffed it. "Oh, it's terrible!" She hands it to the next girl and she does the same. "How can you put such a terrible thing in your mouth?" I look at Maria and we exchange smiles. These people don't know how Filipinos drink.
Midway through my drink. Somebody comes over and asks if I'm tipsy yet. I say no. Another look of surprise. The talk then shifts to finding a boy for me. They ask if I found anyone cute in the pub. I say no. Someone points to a guy playing pool. "How about that?" No. "Why?" Cos he reminds me of Simon Cowell and he's got man boobs! They laugh. I return to watching the guys playing pool. The director pokes me and asks, "Are you talent spotting?" I say no (Hell no, there aren't good-looking men here except for you and a few of the guys from work - hahaha! Seriously, the place was filled with fat old fogeys and scrawny yuppies.). Someone prods me again for my type. I tell them I like guys who are tall, has broad shoulders and closely cropped hair. As if that wasn't specific enough, she asked which color I preferred. I said I like the fair-skinned and the brown ones. Another look of mild surprise. I silently wondered why. These people don't know that those are typical Pinoy preferences, tsktsktsk.
We revert to the topic of alcohol. Maria and I get a lesson on Drinking in the UK 101. I make notes in my head. Everybody seems to dislike tequila except for one who confessed that he was once a member of a tequila association in the UK. We tell them that we have Red Horse, a Philippine beer which tastes stronger than whatever it is they were drinking. We managed to convince one director to try it so Maria will bring him some next week. I wonder how he'll find the only beer that I seem to like. :)
Then it was time to say goodbye. The same director asked if I could still walk after drinking the blue margarita. I enthusiastically said, "Of course!" Subtitle: "Hello, that's just two shots of tequila...not enough to make me crawl! hahaha!"
On hindsight, I am amused at how they reacted strongly about drinking my margarita. These are people who enjoy a drink and end up drinking a tad too much most of the time. Perhaps it's just another cultural difference. I grew up in a nation which loves to drink too, only our alcohol is much more potent. We are a nation whose first taste of alcohol would either be Ginebra San Miguel (gin) or San Miguel Pale Pilsen (beer) or a local beer called lambanog, a type of wine made from fermented coconut. I am definitely sure those have higher than 5% alcohol content. Perhaps it is another facet of our macho culture. The girls I know are also mostly hard drinkers, preferring tequila and vodka over beer. Being a third world country with no extra cash for fancy stuff to spare, drinking is kept very simple. Sometimes we only have water as a chaser, soda or powdered juice mix if you have a little more money, hehe. The blue margarita is already too posh for this girl's tastes but one glass of it is hardly enough to make her even tipsy just the same. As for me, I'm always just happy to have a drink. After all, the goal is not to get drunk but to chill out. That is exactly what happened last Thursday night.
Cheers!
Soon, people began to notice and ask, "What's that you're drinking?" One of the directors asked if he could taste it. He must have probably regretted it as his smooth face crinkled like he tasted some acid poison. "What's in there?" "Oh, just two shots of tequila, one shot of gin, lime juice and blue curacao.", I replied coolly. Look of shock. Someone got the glass and sniffed it. "Oh, it's terrible!" She hands it to the next girl and she does the same. "How can you put such a terrible thing in your mouth?" I look at Maria and we exchange smiles. These people don't know how Filipinos drink.
Midway through my drink. Somebody comes over and asks if I'm tipsy yet. I say no. Another look of surprise. The talk then shifts to finding a boy for me. They ask if I found anyone cute in the pub. I say no. Someone points to a guy playing pool. "How about that?" No. "Why?" Cos he reminds me of Simon Cowell and he's got man boobs! They laugh. I return to watching the guys playing pool. The director pokes me and asks, "Are you talent spotting?" I say no (Hell no, there aren't good-looking men here except for you and a few of the guys from work - hahaha! Seriously, the place was filled with fat old fogeys and scrawny yuppies.). Someone prods me again for my type. I tell them I like guys who are tall, has broad shoulders and closely cropped hair. As if that wasn't specific enough, she asked which color I preferred. I said I like the fair-skinned and the brown ones. Another look of mild surprise. I silently wondered why. These people don't know that those are typical Pinoy preferences, tsktsktsk.
We revert to the topic of alcohol. Maria and I get a lesson on Drinking in the UK 101. I make notes in my head. Everybody seems to dislike tequila except for one who confessed that he was once a member of a tequila association in the UK. We tell them that we have Red Horse, a Philippine beer which tastes stronger than whatever it is they were drinking. We managed to convince one director to try it so Maria will bring him some next week. I wonder how he'll find the only beer that I seem to like. :)
Then it was time to say goodbye. The same director asked if I could still walk after drinking the blue margarita. I enthusiastically said, "Of course!" Subtitle: "Hello, that's just two shots of tequila...not enough to make me crawl! hahaha!"
On hindsight, I am amused at how they reacted strongly about drinking my margarita. These are people who enjoy a drink and end up drinking a tad too much most of the time. Perhaps it's just another cultural difference. I grew up in a nation which loves to drink too, only our alcohol is much more potent. We are a nation whose first taste of alcohol would either be Ginebra San Miguel (gin) or San Miguel Pale Pilsen (beer) or a local beer called lambanog, a type of wine made from fermented coconut. I am definitely sure those have higher than 5% alcohol content. Perhaps it is another facet of our macho culture. The girls I know are also mostly hard drinkers, preferring tequila and vodka over beer. Being a third world country with no extra cash for fancy stuff to spare, drinking is kept very simple. Sometimes we only have water as a chaser, soda or powdered juice mix if you have a little more money, hehe. The blue margarita is already too posh for this girl's tastes but one glass of it is hardly enough to make her even tipsy just the same. As for me, I'm always just happy to have a drink. After all, the goal is not to get drunk but to chill out. That is exactly what happened last Thursday night.
Cheers!
1 comment:
LOL make them try lambanog! :P
But Red Horse, now that's the best. And btw, try pala mixing absolut citron with coconut juice (as in buco juice if you can find some there) and lots of ice. Traydor na drink. Di mo mapansin na nalalasing ka na pala!
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