Archive for August 12th, 2009
Park 888 on Bliss Street
Posted by: adonis49 on: August 12, 2009
Park 888 on Bliss Street; (August 11, 2009)
From my diary: It is 5:15 p.m. on Friday, August 8, 2008.
The Lebanese Parliament is discussing the government program and over 55 deputies out of 128 have asked to speak because they were on live TV.
I had tanning around 10:50 a.m. Adrea was still sleeping and I had a cup of ice cream. Raymonde is now helping mother with the falafel.
I had lunch and then went up and watched a DVD movie at Raymonde’s and then I enjoyed a short nap till 2:30.
I removed to my study and William, David, and Elias were at work: tonight is the due date for a project. I flipped through the encyclopedia of inventions and started reading an Arabic book “The little mountain” by Elias Khoury.
Ashley came with Sandra whom I met for the first time.
I watched part of the news and had supper. William and David finished the DVD that Ashley was to carry to a public music party in Beirut.
I was reading when William, guessing that I would like to get out of home tonight, asked me if I like to join them. We left around 9 p.m.
I still was in the dark of the purpose of the outing. I ended up entering a wild and dusty small park at the end of Bliss Street named 888.
Five separate bands were to play. For the moment, single players and singers were taking turn; sheltered under a flat tent stretched under large high trees.
You cannot get lost in this makeshift park but love birds never give up flushing out isolated dark corners; that is the best way to discovering parks by following the trails of love birds.
David and William showed their short animation clip that they worked hard during the last 3 days without sleep just for this event. We were about ten friends of William and Ashley.
Volunteer girls, or maybe not, were selling beer cans 961 and digging them out from a large chest box filled with ice; they were charging 3,000 LL for the can.
There is an old crumbling house in the middle of the undomesticated park and I tried to locate the staircase to the roof where a few individuals were watching the event; I failed to find any staircase inside or gave up quickly for lack of light.
When I asked people on the way up they replied that it was forbidden for safety reasons; but people kept showing up.
I met one of my university students who changed major from Industrial Engineering to business administration. I liked the atmosphere where mainly in Lebanon you find respectful and polite youths who can have fun without getting drunk or rowdy.
We left the park around 1:15 a.m.
After much palaver they decided to meet for a bite at Reguso on Hamra Street. Why Reguso? Is this place supposed to prepare fancy Italian special dishes? Not at all.
Why all that palaver if salad and French fries will do? Anyway by the time the sole server woke up and realized that he is not about to close early, most of us were dozing on the table.
Ashley left earlier to give ride to Sandra. I left with William around 3:10 a.m. and he was so sleepy that I had the impression that he dozed off frequently during parts of the drive.
William was shaking his legs and knees and rubbing his face. It was sort of a scary trip because William tended to drive in the middle of the road and suddenly slow down to a stop at turns or when the light was not sufficient. William had not had a proper sleep in the last two days and would not let me drive.
I was in bed by 3:45 a.m. and had dreams.
A night at Jamal restaurant in Betroun; (August 11, 2009)
Note: Story extracted from my diary of Saturday, July 26, 2008
The weather is cloudy and slightly windy this afternoon. Hanane left early. David slept over and is helping William with a project.
Adrea left with Elie (the driver of Victor) to open the dress shop. Chelsea is watching cartoons and Victor is sleeping. Ashley has finished taking a shower and is getting dressed.
Victor wanted to take Chelsea with him to work, but Chelsea would not miss her scout meeting this afternoon.
David and Ashley are assembled in William’s study (on the ground floor and I was using the other half). A girl is honking for David to chase away the dogs in the courtyard. Tony has joined the gang of three in William’s study.
I sat on my computer (that William has assembled for me) and resumed writing my diary. Victor and Raymonde left at 5:30 p.m. for the wedding around Betroun.
Ashley brought down a few pieces of “gateau glace”: they had purchased two large pizzas from Pizza Hut.
A discussion was floating around “where to spend the night?“.
Romie, (a friend with David and Ashley) strongly suggested Jammal Restaurant in Betroun; she said that she was familiar with the owner and the restaurant is inviting a band. Nobody offered another alternative, so Romie’s option was agreed upon by default.
Betroun is a coastal town, about 75 minutes drive, and it has been experiencing some attraction with its nightlife and bars: there is a powerful rumor that the USA intended to establish a maritime base around Betroun.
These are pure chimerical dreams in Lebanon: even if the US wished to have a base in Lebanon with all its heart, it cannot happen.
Around 8:30 p.m. Ashley asked me if I would like to join them for a night out in Batroun and I accepted. Elie brought Adrea around 9 p.m. and she was satisfied with the selling of clothes: she had cashed over 200,000 LL.
We drove off around 10:30 p.m. in two cars; Romie and David went with Hanane; the second car was driven by Fadi (friend of Tony). Ashley, Tony and I went with Fadi. Ashley stopped at the Byblos bank to get cash and we met at Antelias public parking lot.
We met Habib and then we dropped Hanane’s car in the parking lot of the supermarket Aoun in Zouk. Hanane drove with Habib and we stopped in Jubail (Byblos) to pick up Youmna (David’s girlfriend); she was wearing high shoes and hanged a long face to prove to David that she is very upset with him; probably David failed to provide details on how to dress according to the event.
We arrived at Jammal Restaurant by 11 p.m. as Fadi realized that he is running out of gas for the return trip. Fadi decided to check a gas station to fill his car tank.
We had to cross the dense main street of Betroun in this crowded Saturday night. I guess we found no gas stations around; Fadi ended up consuming more gas and we got in the restaurant pretty late.
The entrance fee to Jammal’s was $20, including two drinks.
Many were swimming in the sea and there was a firework in the nearby beach. Hanane and Habib were already enjoying a swim in the sea; we had hard time finding an empty table by the sea.
There were many foreigners in thongs and swimming trunks. Most of the girls were drunk or getting there fast.
It was not just an impression; my walk to the isolated far end of the beach showed me the precarious barefoot steps of the girls, and their need to get hold of arms and waists.
I ordered vodka and cranberry juice because I like sour cranberry. David danced for an entire hour with Romie, uninterrupted, and in lascivious contortions. I joined them at the outside ring of the open “dancing floor” along with Ashley, Hanane, and Habib.
The tiny passage to the bar was blocked by the dancing area. Fadi was bored; I am not sure if he is on a short vacation or he is leaving shortly to France for a job.
A Capella Lebanese band started playing after 2:30 a.m. I decided to have a swim but the beach was filled with rounded stones; the waves made it even more uncomfortable to reach the deeper part.
At 3 a.m. everyone in our group decided that it was time to leave and it was a let down for me because I felt that this is the best moment for the party.
My getting wet was not worth it. What with these people? If they were already worn out before going out then why force it?
Habib dropped David and Romie at Aoun supermarket and we picked them up; it was an occasion for me to piss “en plein air”.
We arrived home by 4:30 a.m. Tony decided that he was in an adequate form to drive home to Furn El Chebbak. I backed my car to let Romie drive to Beit El Kiko. I ate a small “fatayer bi lahm”. I had many dreams by 6 a.m.
Adonis Diaries 