hollywood grill

20th october

the much planned and replanned and delayed and postponed batch iftar FINALLY happened…but *surprise surprise* it took on the most dreadful turn of events…

till thursday morning everyone was telling me, oh we’ll make it abeer…ur such a doll we’re going to come only for u…n we need an outing we must go! then there was the onslaught of excuses: – work at home, family dinner, afraid to take permission, granddad’s death anniversary, too many evneings out….*sighs*

come thursday evening i started txting ppl….jst to confirm how many were actually making it…so i would know how many seats to set aside…ammar and i were in the car..we were picking up bilal and khushboo…by the time we picked up bilal, it was clear tht only about 6-7 people were going to be there from our class…i was soooo pissed off…fit to blow at the time…if it werent for bilal and ammar the day wdve been a disaster…ammar *pessimistic as ever*, wanted the whole thing called off…*bura lagta hai yaar..chillar awaam ki batch iftar* [ doesnt look nice, turning up at a party ur arranging with loose change..] bilal was really looking forward to the thing…and he kept giving us reasons to go ahead…i was being stubborn and had decided that i was going to have fun NO MATTER WHAT…so i talked to fariya..and she sed tht she wont come cz ayesha isnt coming….desperate times…we told fariya tht we were outside her house and tht she had no other option but to come join us for iftar…i hadnt met fariya since her birthday around 6 months ago…while fariya was taking her sweet time..and bilal with his nonstop commentary..ammar PISSED OFF at the way nabeel and bilal were acting…we called up the section one people and they could muster just about the same…then poor baba txted, ke when r u picking me up?…he’d told us earlier tht he was waiting for us at Aghas…we assumed he was referring to agha’s supermarket…it was only when we were outside fariya’s that it occured to ammar that he ws talking about Agha Juice …it was too close to iftar time for us to go back and pick up Baba, so we had to ditch him *sowwwyyy baba*

outside fariya’s we also decided tht instead of having a lame iftar now, we would have a better dinner after eid *sighs, postponed AGAIN*…fariya came out and said that we had to pick up ayesha z, by this time, we’s all gone mad…with ammar seething in the driver’s seat *poor thing had been busy all morning…going to uni, dropping me home, taking a 2 hr class at anees hussain’s, and then resuming the role of driver for all of us*..bilal playing the craziest possible songs…and fariya and i getting all hyper…outside ayesha z’s it was way too quiet…so we turned up the volume and played the james bond theme and cracked up when he went *BOND, JAMES BOND!* hehe…was a moment right there!

so there we were at 5.45, trying to figure out where to go after we’d droppd nabeel at zamzama…we still had to pick up khushboo *who was very distressed as it was almost maghrib time and we still hadnt picked her up…poor thing thought it was a ditch scene*…so there we were lost in the banjar sunsaaaann roads of phase 6 looking for khushboo’s graffiti’d house…cursing at the area cz it smells foul and yet is considered an elite part of the city..can u spell FUMIGATION?? =P

anyway it was maghrib when we got to her place…so she got us a bottle of water and dates so tht we could break our fasts….and it is here that we discovered that shias dont have the problem roza’s being makruh [invalid]..they can wake up at 11 in the night and eat, and their fast would still stand…shucks! we spare a second and our roza is being labeled makruh!

we picked up khushboo and driving along seaview to hollywood grill…the beach is ALWAYS inspiringly beautiful…we walked into the plaec VERY impressed by the fact tht we were welcomed by the sight of angelina jolie and brad pitt…hehe…great decor and ambience…unlike most karachi eateries, it wasnt cramped…and open in spite of the fact that it was PACKED at the time…luckily we got the last table…which was already set with complimentary roohafza, fruit salad and good samosas…we were so hungry we didnt even ask and jst started eating..it was then that the VERY pierced waiter came up to us and started explaining things..by this time fariya and i were already in love with the place..come the uber stylish menu cards, and we were goners! hehe we went for their iftar deal which was all u can eat baked chicken, pizza and drinks…a cheap deal for 350 plus tax

the place was great, the food was great, but their service was slow..so i had a brainwave to speed up their service..hehe…the menu card and placemats told the story of the eatery, and attributed a Mr Manzur Riaz to being the mind behind the place…the next time the waiter passed by, i casually said to ammar..”Riaz saab se baat karni hogi” [we should talk to Mr. Riaz about this]…he was a bit lost initially then him and bilal picked up and carried on the conversation, with us pretending that we knew the owner..hehe..in 2 minutes we had a steaming hot pizza on our tables and our drinks refilled!!

it was a fun evening out…from the food..to our jokes about *liz aunty* a portrait of elizabeth taylor was up on the wall in front of us, and she was looking in bilal’s direction..we were convinced tht she was smitten by his george clooney patch =D]

smitten were fariya and i…making wild birthday plans..to come to hollywood grill again hehe

whoever missed out, YOUR LOSS!

the ride back home involved mellower music…and ayesha and ammar and i bonding while standing in the LONG cng line…nabeel and bilal pushing cars around there..and ammar’s car finally giving up on him* naraaz ho jaati hai [she gets angry] =P*

anyway…i had a great day…but it was a lil disappointing tht the rest of the class people couldnt make it…primarily cz theyre of herd mentality..depending on each other for their entertainment…and going back on their commitments when they see that their friends arent coming..oh well…THEIR LOSS..i know now that there is NO point in trying to convince our class to do anything cz they find a way to weasel out

next time its open invite…whoever wants to come is most welcome, but never am i going to actually pay individual attention, cz it doesnt pay off whn u have sheep staring back at u

this blog dedicated to: my chums who turned up and made sure that we had fun ; the waiter who was in the grooooovveee hehe

song of the day: tokyo drift ( fast and fullliious ) *poor jap chick cant pronounce the R*….cz dj tal made me listen to it..and i sumhow got hooked to a song i find soooooo annoying…now can anyone tell me wht tht ting ting sound is in the background? talal insists tht its a cowbell..i think its a triangle…but since we’re both pretty much lost about the instrument, we’re open to suggestions =D