bayaw brew, episode ii

so thursday night arrived. and all i could think of was the ipa (indian pale ale). it was turning out to be my favorite beer here.

first we had dinner, a small group composed of ida, monica, mary, and jon. i had this bison burger, with fries (half sweet, half salted), and i keep forgetting that i was in the states, where everything is served big. so my burger arrived, and yeah, it was big. the damn burger patty was so thick, and so stocked with bison meat, that it was a monumental effort just to chew. i wasn't even halfway and i was full! i gave up on the burger about 75-80% of the way. and i didn't even partake of the sweet fries (monica took over the fries).

with dinner done, we went up to the second floor (the name of the place is abc) because we couldn't bring any food or drink upstairs. jon was telling me that massachusetts has the strangest rules when it comes to booze and bars. like, this one: you can't bring the beer you're having in the first floor up to the second floor--finish your glass where you got it, then go up/down.

so anyway, we went up, where we played pool. the place was packed with mostly college students (they look like college students), but we managed to get a table. we played with another group, and well, i tried to shy away from playing. i ordered an ipa (yeah baby!) and started to enjoy it (wasn't the same as last night's brew but it's still ipa). when i returned to our table, our team was on the losing end of a game of eight ball. they took turns, and i just enjoyed my ipa (aah...). then i found myself holding the stick. eh, what the heck, might as well.

i got to the table and found that we still had to sink about 5 balls as opposed to our opponent's two (or three). i lined up for the easiest ball, struck, sank the ball, but prepared poorly for the next. our opponent sank a ball, missed the next. then our luck caught up. after trading misses and a few scratches (we were up against sharks), i managed to even the count. then our luck ran out... temporarily.

our opponent managed to sink the rest of the balls and was lining up for the eight. at that point, i just put the stick down and grabbed my glass, fully knowing that the guy on the table has enough skill to sink the last ball. guess what, he missed! monica and mary called my attention to it (hmm, beer... oh, wha'?), so i picked up the stick.

fortunately, the cue ball stopped at a very good position for all three balls (our last two stripes and the eight). one striped ball was at the other end, close to a corner pocket, the other striped ball was on the opposite end, a bit farther from the other corner pocket, and the eight ball was somewhere in the middle and can be pocketed at any of the four corners. lucky. very lucky. any novice pool player can sink these balls with no english necessary.

so i lined up, used the necessary english (naks) on each shot, let the natural trajectory of the cue ball dictate where to sink the next one... and before i know it, the eight ball was right there for the picking. the cue ball stopped at a not so natural angle with the eight, but i figured i could sink it at the upper lefthand corner pocket with a slight top english. i usually hesitate after establishing my bridge and practicing my swing, but at that point, i knew luck was on our side. so i struck. and the ball glided diagonally across the table, straight towards the designated pocket. jordan fakes, shoots, swish! and that's the game!

hehehe.... balik sa beer....

i went back to my beer and we had to play a mandatory second game. i let them play that one, so i can savor the victory kunyari. we lost the next one badly, but i still had my ipa. like the other night's ipa, this ipa shot to my head (just one glass). after finishing my glass, we stepped out for cigarettes (ida and i), and right on cue, the others joined us, and we called it a night.

inside the bar, my head had alcohol in it midway through my only glass of ipa. but once i stepped outside, it was gone. the damn cold air snuffed out the alcohol in me. and i was just freezing. if i remained stationary, they would have to carry me home! bayaw, hindi tayo sanay sa lamig, namputsa! making it inside mary's car was just a relief, especially when the heater was turned on. i never thought i would love heat coming out of aircon vents.

i got to ken's and we had a bottle each for nightcap. well, he was in the middle of his sierra nevada pale ale, and he gave me a different beer (pilsener, uhm, palm victory i think is the name?). that was my third (we had sierra nevada before i left for abc). and for the first time, may pulutan bayaw. we still had some bratwurst sausage left, and i just have to have it. di kasi uso pulutan todits, bayaw.

ken called it a night moments later, as he has an early morning class, and i lounged around with my pilsener, bratwurst, and cable tv until about 3am. i didn't get drunk, but the new beer experience was just great. hehehe...

a few minutes ago, during lunch, we (well, julie actually) shopped the idea of one last drinking night with yours truly. that's next monday night, eve of my flight. we gathered the troops, and it was set pretty much right away. monday night, julie's place, rob's brew (yeah!), and mostly everybody from work.

episode iii coming soon... (cue music here)