A day in office sometimes can seem like eternity. Sometimes it just blinks away. Today was something in-between. Highlight was the group lunch in an Italian joint down the road. I was trying to get my pronunciation of the dishes right and checking the ingredients to avoid anything resembling animal/bird flesh. Settled with Tuna salad. Is fish an animal? Bird? Hope not. Think not.
We started at 1PM and the lunch was supposed to be for an hour, strictly to end at 2PM but of course went on till 3.30PM. Its a culture thing. People don’t go to an eatery to merely eat. Its to meet, discuss, plan, laugh, share, argue, fight and in some cases, murder(bad bad teenager!). Luckily, we just discussed. About a lot of things in the world. His life, His wife, His kids, His grandsons, His music, His paintings, His girlfriends, His vacations, His next vacation plans, His plans for His next birthday and other mundane concepts like gays and lesbianism.
Ofcourse there were some active participants, some passive and some semi. Yes, I was one of the passive ones. Probably due to my gender. Cant help it. Can I?
After a few too many drinks, He was flowing. Favourite subject- making money in London. I hate to say but I did get fascinated. "London is the best city to make tons of money. People are lazy and not too much inspired. Befriend them, drink with them, go to pubs with them, talk business and they would like you to do everything on their behalf". Advocacy of capitalism was unabashed. "One has to enjoy every comfort money has to offer. Best of homes, best swimming pools, flying to exotic locations with even more exotic company and what not. These things are here to be enjoyed and one can only enjoy these when you have sacks of money. So go solo. Be your own boss. Kick your job and boss. Only then you can make it".
Sipping my Latte, I was admiring His honesty and frankness. Though I might not buy his theories of blatant materialism, how many bosses tell their handful of employees over pasta and digestive cocktails to quit their jobs and start something on their own? Recession notwithstanding.
Rest of the day was dull. Back home, mates had plans for… er.. late night visit to a well-known Gentlemen’s club in central London. For anyone who has never been to one, well, whatever you have heard is true! Somehow people like me, like us have no place there. Awkward and uncomfortable, we ran away, strolling through Piccadilly Circus we hailed a cab and got home.
Hey, central London glows in the night! Though I do not think I will venture out when I am alone. A museum, library or river bank will do much better. Hell! Its weekend already. Assignments!!!
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