From Damascus to Baghdad
Sunday, April 01, 2007
I am not writing about either one of those cities, as I know how depressing my writing has been lately.
Instead, I want to write about an excellent Friday and Saturday evening I had last week with Renée, a dear friend visiting from Ottawa. Renée was in town visiting a friend, so we got together at Orienthe and chatted for a while, sharing our own romantic dramas and issues. I, of course, said my most popular sentence ("Read my blog to find out more!" about five times.
Following Orienthe, we went to Renee's friend's house, who was expecting us along with his friend/girlfriend/other (Renee seems to be confused as to the kind of role this person/woman plays in Rihan's life) to go out for dinner.
We went to a restaurant on Prince Arthur street (a wide selection of restos for all tastes, if you're ever looking for a place) that Rihan had chosen. "From Damascus to Baghdad" had lighting that made me think of basements of Iraqi homes at wartime. It was so dim, I had difficulty reading what was on my menu.
Nonetheless, it was clean, busy and the staff were friendly (though I assume, new to the job, as the waitress who served us was pretty clumsy…She mistook an order for something else and just seemed like she was out of it…but she was still friendly).
Before I'd met Rihan, Renee had suggested that he was attractive for a straight guy. I thought about it and the minute I saw him, I knew he had betrayed his own kind. He, my loved ones, was a friend of the Dorothy. Well, if not a best friend of hers, then at least a very close acquaintance.
I don't know how, but we got talking about the topic of sexuality. I mentioned how in some Muslim countries, men resort to having sex with other men because they can't have sex with women until they marry them. So, I thought it was slightly strange that a men would have sex with another man until it was time to marry and then say "ciao ciao" to his male lover.
Rihan didn't see anything wrong in this. In fact, he admitted he didn't believe that humans could be heterosexual. Just like him, every human being has a tendency to be bisexual, said our sexual pariah who devours men and women alike. I looked for an approving look in Renee's face, but she was looking ways away, as if she hadn't been in the room.
The rest of the night was spent discussing politics, which Rihan sounded so passionate about. The part that was passionate was his strong will NOT to vote. When I told him if he doesn't vote, he has no right to complain for the government elected, he pretty much exploded. He was pretty passionate, so I just let it go :P
The girl sitting next to me must be pretty smart, as she's doing a Phd in genetics, but her people skills were slightly on the side. She talked about things I didn't find interesting and just had a super girly way of talking, which was kinda bothersome after a while… So, since I had to get up super early on Saturday, I ran out the door as fast as I could and made a date with Renee to meet the next night to go to Kermit's (one of the professors I work for) post-St.Patrick's Day party.
The night of the party, Renee decided she wouldn't show at my place, so she'd meet me at the party itself. Miranda Bradshaw canceled on me as well, so I was left with none other than Leonard, "the white Arab". I invited him to come to my apartment , but before I did that, I removed any signs of gay existence in the room (I'm not out to Leonard because I want to get to know him a bit better before I come out to him…coming out to fellow Kosovars is slightly more challenging than to other Canadians).
Leonard came in and settled while I changed and prepped myself up. He asked if he could check his e-mail. I said "of course! Go right ahead!"…and then it struck me: I had dozens of gay torrent and gay chat links under the address bar of my browser. Oh, well, I couldn't tell him: "wait, I have to do something for a second". He noticed them and said "wow, you have many gay links on your browser." I just said "umm, yeah, I know" … Three minutes later, we headed to the party as if nothing had happened. We talked about silly things while in the subway. He is a fun guy to talk with, for sure.
We got to the party. Being the non-drinker I am, I had taken a two-liter bottle of Tropicana mixed fruit juice. I thought Leonard could share in. Instead, he decided we should go get booze. So I asked him "So, you drink, eh?" and he replied "ya…I mean, I try to pray and all, but I'm not too good at it. I do have to say, though, that I am the most religious one in my family." I held myself from laughing once again, for the second time in two days.
The party was fun. I discovered Massive Attack, though I had heard one of their songs long time ago in a movie soundtrack. I also saw my Newfoundland compatriot Deborah, who shares in the same passion of social justice as I do, whom Leonard seemed to have fallen in love with, as all night, all they did was talk.
I left at around 3:30 am, only to go home with a girl. Dat's right, Renee came home with me that night and we talked until I fell asleep on her. That was apparently a first for her. Five minutes later, I shouted out "do you need a sleep mask?" and then went back to sleep.
It was kinda cool, though, only my second sleepover ever.
In the morning, I was late to work at 8 am (Renee asked what time I was supposed to be at work at 8:10), so she gave me a ride. When I came home that night, I had the following note from her:
Ah, women… you never CAN please them...
Labels: food, friends, Montreal, party, restaurant
