Erik and Helen had us over for a great Thanksgiving day at their beautiful villa in Whitefield. It was a perfect day for a picnic, the sun was out, blue skies and a cool breeze! Almost the entire DWA family was there and it was to be a fun and eventful day!

Beer and cocktails flowed freely, there was amazing food and snacks, a variety of sports were being played by children of all ages, people were taking PK's new Bullet for test rides; all in all a great day! Things got really interesting when the caterer managed to spill some fuel and set Helen's drawing room on fire! Fortunately, I was at hand to turn saviour and rescued the home and the party! My extinguisher of choice - a 2L bottle of Sprite! No bakwaas!

The turkey dinner, catered by my favorite Bangalore restaurant, The Only Place on Museum Road, was delicious! It was the first time I had an authentic Thanksgiving turkey and I loved it!

Unfortunately, Uma could only join us at around 7PM after work, by which time most people were really tired from all the volleyball and were ready to head home.

I had a great day, thanks to the efforts put in by Helen and Erik, so a big Thank You! goes out to them! I'm really looking forward to other holiday celebrations in a similar fashion, especially Holi!

1:56PM, Bangalore

What a night! Not that my friends and I need much reason to have a party but two birthdays are more than enough reason to have an absolute bender! The venue was J's beautiful home and the guest list was a cultural mix of Americans, Frenchies and of course, Indians! Most of us were DWA employees with spouses. MP was brave enough to bring his 1 year old son. Start them off early is what I always say.

Soumi wanted a Black Bucket party. I was designated barkeep. A high level meeting was called and Soumi, J and I agreed that my version of Long Islands were in order for the night. Soumi promptly forgot to bring a bucket so the party quickly morphed to a steel jug do. Not one to back away from such trivial setbacks, I set upon creating my masterpiece. We had already sourced many bottles of white spirits - namely Smirnoff vodka, Blue Riband gin and Bacardi Blanca rum. Add to that some Sweet and Sour and Triple Sec as mixers and a splash of Coke and there it was.

Things started well. I'm not sure how well they ended. All I know is, everyone loved to hate me at the party. They swore it was a great cocktail, but the wise ones (who have, at some point in their lives, had too much drink and turned their intestines inside out in the loo) knew that the cocktail was potent. It reminded me of a cocktail I once had called an Arrowhead. A cute pink looking thing in a small martini glass. Thinking nothing of it I gulped two or three down and was out like the proverbial light. This Long Island reminded me of the Arrowhead in some ways.

As the party progressed people started dancing. That soon went away, and was replaced by what can best be described as a preparations for a tribal war. In the mini-garden out back, EV was trying to pick fights and wrestle with anyone who dared challenge him. That didn't last too long either when some of the guys decided to tag-team him. It wasn't pretty.

Pizzas were ordered for dinner while my cocktail and the beers continued to flow freely. The more people drank the more they continued their love-hate relationship with me. I'm not new to this feeling though. Last time I went drinking with Tim and Don, I managed to get happy hours extended at my local watering hole to 11PM. They thought I was their hero and Tiger flowed freely. Come monday, they both stand in front of my desk, with pure hatred in their bleary eyes. Both were fuming about how much they hated me and my awful friends who extend happy hours at my every whim. I think this hatred stems from the fact that I don't get hungover even after a night of madness and so don't end up having a morning-after breakfast consisting of Tylenols or Asprins.

Don went away to California but Tim stayed back and after his display last night, he obviously hasn't learnt from his past mistakes.

All in all a good night out. We got back home past two am and my poor wife had work the next day. I hope everyone enjoyed the party and my abomination. Thank yous are in order to Mira, Soumi, Uma and J for the arrangements. For those who found it difficult, remember to drink lots of water and keep nibbling while you drink.

I'm sure two days will be enough for people to recover. I'm looking forward to the next party. I've been planning a little something-something with Tequila too.