After living in Dubai for a year, I finally got around to doing up my home in view of some transiting aunties. I had to ensure tak drop waterface la ... I mean Malaysian hospitality at it's best.
So off I went, bought a bed for the 2nd room, moved the existing sparse furniture around, threw in a shelf fro IKEA that doubles up as a TV stand and collectibles, and bought rugs for the hall floors ... a bit of creative arrangments and I had a cozy hall going, and guestroom for the 3 aunties.
They were not just fairly impressed but VERY impressed with my humble home away from home and my version of George hospitality here in the sandpit. I had a lovely weekend with them before sending them off on their next leg of the trip to Italy and onwards to Edinburgh. Even my little garden on the balcony got it's fair share of compliments.
I was proud as hell ... in fact I feel I've just the right mix and match that makes me feel like going home to my place and vegetating in my silence :) and am sure the girls when they come here for their initial visit which I plan year end will like this home too :))
So having passed with flying colours on the 3 aunties outing, I decided to try and be a little more bold and with a fellow suspect Siny, agreed to co-host a little do in my place of a few select colleagues whom I feel some affection towards. Naturally this being DXB there was just Siny and myself and the rest were all chaps.
We had a small group of 16, I cooked 6 dishes, the guys had been warned this was a BYOB&B party - booze is a little too costly for my pockets. Which I have to say, everyone came with a little something and the little do that was meant to kick off from 7pm started warming up by 8:30pm - by Dubai standards - I guess I arm twisted everyone on being timely with threats to give away all the food to the guards if people didn't show up on time.
We ended the evening somewhat closer to 2:30am the next morning with some really spirited souls and all round good laughter, jokes and friendship.
There was no special reason for the dinner gathering other than we'd been talking about something like this for so long that it seemed timely to finally get down to actually doing it and with the right mix of folks.
At the end of the night it felt like one of the typical Georges Christmas parties, food abound, spirits, someone or other giving the laughs and some unforgetable gems like unicorns have 2 horns after looking at a really suspect tripod someone was using that evening - it alludes to some more kinky looking toy than a tripod - if you follow the meaning here.
I have to say even though my feet were killing me from standing from 8:30am cutting dicing chopping marinating cleaning and cooking - the whole afterglow of a successful evening of throwing people together was such a satisfaction. The 2 office boys that came were so touched to have been part of the group, we had managers,we had execs and we had the admin support as well ... in typical Georges parties, it is not what you are that matters but who you are as a person that does. And I think I had a really great group over.
And I think everyone else as we sit here laughing over and over again about all the nonsense from that evening, I gather they all also had a really good time. I might do some more sporadically over the coming months.
In Dubai going out is such an expensive affair and this small gathering was a welcome respite from the monotony of working life. A chance to kick-back and relax with friends.
It almost made me feel like home ... let's see if there's another round of this gathering.
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