cafe 1001

last week was a whirlwind of fun! (exclamation mark for extra emphasis)

thursday
bought the most amazing oversized knitted shrug from a REISS sample sale at brick lane - it was exactly what i was looking for. we just so happened to be there, whereas others were physically hunting it down. twice, people ran up to me asking where the REISS sale was (having seen the bag in my hand). ooh knowledge is power. fyi: the shrug was originally £95; the sale price was written as £20, but it could have easily been a squiggly £10. when i brought it up to the till, the guy was making small talk and throughout the entire transaction i was still thinking: let it be £10. please, let it be £10. he charged me £15!! carla and i kept very quiet/calm, but the second we stepped out the store, we both turned to each other and exclaimed: he charged you/me £15!! i did a little jig on the spot.

lunched at cafe 1001. i had heard about it so many times by so many different people that it had practically been drilled into my subconscious. NGR and i always walk past and sniff at the aromatic burger/hotdog stand whilst checking out the colourful crowd seated at the benches but we never properly ventured in before. by the way, it is fantastic.

upstairs is chock full of comfy sofas, chilled out music playing, people sitting crosslegged on armchairs with their laptops, in their laps. an example of just how chilled out the atmosphere was; some guy started playing the saxophone (out of nowhere!) carla and i were chatting over our food when we heard the sound of a saxophone. we turned around and there he was, surrounded by his friends. totally and completely out of the blue. how random is that huh?

the rest of the day consisted of: running around london on errands, meeting up with carla's friends D and J, back to cafe 1001 so they could have dinner. J was a blast. she whipped out 2 bottles from her bag; one was vodka and i'm not sure what the other was. we all had drinks. then we headed off to UCCA's graduate photography exhibition, which was located somewhere in brick lane/shoreditch.

i surprised myself; i had such a good time socialising (that i made a deal with myself not to be holed up in my room and to make a conscious effort to mix around [next year]). i conversed with some of the seniors from my course and other people i'd never spoken to before. sure, meeting new people for the first time is slightly strange/awkward for me, but hey, alcohol always helps. they were serving red/white plus stew (the name of the exhibition was called stew), so it was fitting.

i stopped drinking after a few glasses, because i know myself *the look* but D and J were such a riot! firstly i noticed that D was started to sway and the wine in her glass was sloshing out at random intervals, then they started banging on the piano when the sign in front of them read "please keep quiet" hahaha. we left as the exhibition was clearing out, owen the dancing queen wanted to party into the night but we went back to cafe 1001 instead (yes, again) to meet J's boyfriend and grab some food. after a bit, carla and i bravely decide to leg it, from brick lane to shoreditch/old street.

on the way home, carla gets hungry. so we make a pit stop at some shop along the street. while we're there, i notice the dapperly dressed indian guy next to me picking up his wrap and telling his similarly suited friend 'not to leave alex alone.' i turn and see his friend (let's call him B) leave the shop and stand next to 'alex'. oh, who am i kidding? i noticed alex even before we entered the shop, he was really cute :) but weirdly enough, he was talking to a bunch of filthy looking guys, probably drunks. so B positions himself next to alex, and it seems like they're saying goodbye when suddenly i see alex raise his third finger and go "fuck you!"

uh-oh.

it was like the gates of hell were opened. cans came flying at them like missiles and their suits were completely doused in beer. they were standing outside the shop, the other two trying to break up the fight while alex stood there dumbstruck. the drunk was shouting "don't EVER tell me to fuck off!!!!" but after some convincing, he and his posse walked away, kinda. i reached out to offer the suits tissue when another guy walks in with two girls. he's not a drunk but he IS drunk (get it?). he notices the suits and yells, "don't offer them anything! they don't deserve it. where are you from?!?!... goldman sachs!? BASTARDS! i'm a bartender, i should know!"

in my head i'm going: damn straight but i say nothing because a) they may not be from goldman sachs b) even if they were, i'm sure A SELECT FEW are actually decent human beings. plus i felt sorry for them. before any of us could react. the drunks come back, kick alex once or twice and run away. all that comes to mind is the fight scene between hugh grant and colin firth at the end of bridget jones diary. it's such an un-manly way to fight, come on, kicking someone's leg?? all this while, the italian guy behind the counter tries to open the door and bring the men in, to keep them safe from the drunks but the IDIOT bartender is holding it shut, telling him not to help them. asshole. why are men so idiotic? it's always about them and their bloody egos.

out of the blue, alex breaks from his reverie and runs after the drunks. the italian man is yelling, "don't let him go after them. it's dangerous out there!" carla and i are terrified, being caught in the middle of a fight, it was really quite scary when the drunks came back because we were just about to leave but had to retreat into the store once again to keep out of harm's way. the second alex ran off to chase the drunks, carla and i left, without buying anything. the stupid bartender told us not to be afraid, but i felt like saying "ignorant people like you are reason enough for us to be afraid."

he had absolutely NOTHING to do with the fight but was simply adding fuel to the fire. we need less of these kind of fools around. tsk. all they do is cause additional trouble. them plus those drunks and maybe alex, for being dumb enough. good god.

friday, to be continued...