Might as well get on the bandwagon and have my say about the World Cup. Last Sunday, I got up early - yes, 8am is early on a Sunday - so I could go to a bar and watch the Netherlands v Mexico game. It started at 9am and since my getting up early plans didn't quite pan out, I was there by 9:30am. Which is actually pretty good. Unfortunately, when I arrived, all of Mexico was already there. They let me squeeze in since I was wearing very neutral colors and I ended up jammed in a corner standing next to an Israeli who is still very angry about the fact that Israel has not been in a World Cup since 1970. I tried to commiserate by pointing out that New Zealand hadn't made it through either but might have ruined it by saying that we didn't care because we are number 1 in rugby. I said they were number 1 in Kibbutzes. That was the end of our conversation.
Going in, I wasn't really sure who to support - I have very close ties with both countries. Once I worked for a company whose European HQ was in the Netherlands. And I like Mexican food. Being so connected made it very difficult to choose. So I decided to go with the winner and had to change horses in mid-stream but I don't think anyone noticed.
Later I went to a different spot to watch Greece v Costa Rica. Again, I was torn by who to support. Both colors look good on me and I have been to Greece and I want to go to Costa Rica. Very difficult to choose with such strong affiliations. Ultimately, I went with Costa Rica as there was a very good looking Costa Rican* on the other side of the bar and I thought I might get points with him. Sadly, he did not notice my mildly vocal support.
I think it's very important to drink the drink of the teams that are playing as a sign of support. At 9:30am I was really wishing England was playing as I fancied a nice cup of tea but settled for a Corona. I was a bit afraid to ask for a Heineken, the Mexican fans were considerable in number and due to the large number of tequila shots I saw consumed, did not seem in the mood to be reasoned with.
Imperial is the only Costa Rican beer I know and my second bar had a selection of Budweiser and Miller which was a bit limiting. I'll be honest, I wasn't about to drink Retsina or Ouzo so settled for Cider. If you're wondering about the connection to both countries? Well, I like apples.
I can't wait to see who I'll be supporting next weekend and what I'll be drinking. Oh, and who wins of course.
*Probably.
Showing posts with label Cider. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cider. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Oh, Who Are The People In Your Neighbohood, In Your Neighborhood...
Oh, right like you don't know that song.
This past weekend, I did something very brave. I organized a neighborhood get-together. It was very brave of me. Mostly because I don't like people. But I belong to this things called nextdoor.com which might just be for the West Hollywood area or it might be world-wide. Basically people post comments/advice on what things have been stolen from them*, the best dog walkers, painters, house cleaners and call out people who have parked badly. And it seemed a little ridiculous that with all this sharing going on, no one has actually met anyone else and we should all get completely hammered together**. So I did. They weren't as good as it as me.
I gave everyone 3 weeks notice so no one could come up with a lame last minute excuse. Not that it bothered some people. I would like to thank all the elderly people that came out. Young people these days have no manners. OId is where it is. It's because they don't have cell phones so they feel like they have to show up.
It was an ok turnout for a first meeting. Not as many hot single guys as I'd been hoping for. But you can only go up from zero, right? A lot of single older women, think they had the same idea as me but everyone knows that as host you get first pick. First pick of nothing is...well, that's a lot of math but I think 8.
As I sat there nursing my cider***, I congratulated myself on doing this and getting it out of the way. Time for someone else to take charge, I'd done my bit for community spirit. These people will get no more out of me. I was quite firm on that, as only I can be. So next month I will be organizing a pot-luck BBQ at a park.
*I am surprised that people are suprised that the unlocked bike that they paid thousands for so that they could be Ironman champion of the world has been stolen from their backyard. Maybe it's because here this is a nation of people shooting people whereas New Zealand is a nation of people stealing the rug out from under you. That was my little soapbox rant about the ridiculous gun laws and amount of unnecessary shootings that there are in this country. Honestly, theft is a much better problem to have. I'm also surprised that thieves are perfectly ok with just getting a portion of the bike. There are a lot of extra wheels out there and I'm thinking a lot of burglars that use a unicycle to make their getaway.
**This used to be my brother's approach to a new job, get hammered the first week with your new co-workers, show them your break-dancing moves and act like nothing happened on Monday.
***I'm on a cider kick this summer. Despite being there for 3 hours, they all only stuck with the one drink so I had to strike a deal with the waitress that involved slipping me ciders on the sly. Apparently it was because they had to walk home. Exactly the opposite reason why I thought having more than one was a good idea. Drinking and walking totally mix. I looked both ways when crossing the road and only had a conversation with one inanimate object.
This past weekend, I did something very brave. I organized a neighborhood get-together. It was very brave of me. Mostly because I don't like people. But I belong to this things called nextdoor.com which might just be for the West Hollywood area or it might be world-wide. Basically people post comments/advice on what things have been stolen from them*, the best dog walkers, painters, house cleaners and call out people who have parked badly. And it seemed a little ridiculous that with all this sharing going on, no one has actually met anyone else and we should all get completely hammered together**. So I did. They weren't as good as it as me.
I gave everyone 3 weeks notice so no one could come up with a lame last minute excuse. Not that it bothered some people. I would like to thank all the elderly people that came out. Young people these days have no manners. OId is where it is. It's because they don't have cell phones so they feel like they have to show up.
It was an ok turnout for a first meeting. Not as many hot single guys as I'd been hoping for. But you can only go up from zero, right? A lot of single older women, think they had the same idea as me but everyone knows that as host you get first pick. First pick of nothing is...well, that's a lot of math but I think 8.
As I sat there nursing my cider***, I congratulated myself on doing this and getting it out of the way. Time for someone else to take charge, I'd done my bit for community spirit. These people will get no more out of me. I was quite firm on that, as only I can be. So next month I will be organizing a pot-luck BBQ at a park.
*I am surprised that people are suprised that the unlocked bike that they paid thousands for so that they could be Ironman champion of the world has been stolen from their backyard. Maybe it's because here this is a nation of people shooting people whereas New Zealand is a nation of people stealing the rug out from under you. That was my little soapbox rant about the ridiculous gun laws and amount of unnecessary shootings that there are in this country. Honestly, theft is a much better problem to have. I'm also surprised that thieves are perfectly ok with just getting a portion of the bike. There are a lot of extra wheels out there and I'm thinking a lot of burglars that use a unicycle to make their getaway.
**This used to be my brother's approach to a new job, get hammered the first week with your new co-workers, show them your break-dancing moves and act like nothing happened on Monday.
***I'm on a cider kick this summer. Despite being there for 3 hours, they all only stuck with the one drink so I had to strike a deal with the waitress that involved slipping me ciders on the sly. Apparently it was because they had to walk home. Exactly the opposite reason why I thought having more than one was a good idea. Drinking and walking totally mix. I looked both ways when crossing the road and only had a conversation with one inanimate object.
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