5 bombs and three idiots*
Stupid stupid stupid day! It all started when my friend, Suzanne, could not find her wallet. We spent hours searching her entire apartment. As she was canceling her credit cards a tuk tuk driver arrived. She had left her wallet in the back of a tuk. Initially everything appeared to be intact in the wallet and we gave the driver a hefty reward. However upon closer inspection Suzanne realized that nearly $100 was missing!
We were so traumatized we put our work on hold and headed for drinks and lunch at the gallery cafÈ. I stopped at my flat on the way to pick up a few things only to realize that I had left my keys at Suzanne’s and was locked out. We continued on to the cafÈ and had a few cosmopolitans since the gallery is one of the few places where you can get cranberry juice.
A little sloshed but feeling much more relaxed after the events of the day we headed off to do some shopping, Suzanne making purchases with the only credit card that she had not cancelled. We stopped for groceries on the way home and when we were at the till, Suzanne realized that her one last remaining credit card was missing. While she scrounged up some cash and searched for the card, I retrieved her shopping bags that she had checked hoping that she had slipped the cards in one of the bags. I was right – the card was in a Paradise Road bag. Whew. I handed the bags to Suzanne not realizing that one of her bags had not been retreieved.
Now late to meet Rob and his friend who was visiting from England, I hopped in a tuk, leaving Suzanne desperately looking for the missing bag which contained her house keys! Eventually she realized that the bag was still a the grocery store and was able to get her keys, access her flat and meet us at Galle Face Hotel for more drinks (which again we desperately needed).
All was well and we had an enjoyable time slipping gin and tonics on the patio while watching the sun set over the ocean. Then we grabbed a cab and headed off for dinner at Cheasa Swiss, a lovely European restaurant. We were just finishing our dinner when we got a text message from Suranga saying that not to worry but he wanted us to know that there had been two minor bomb blasts in Nugegoda. We asked a waiter if he knew anything about the recent events. Almost instantaneously the restaurant erupted into a flurry of activity. Everyone was madly texting and receiving messages on their cell phones, passing on little bits of information they heard. (As Rob pointed out, this was rather ironic since Gordon was in Sri Lanka to help set up an emergency warning system utilizing cell phones, as a result of the Tsunami.) The waiter returned to tell us that there had been 5 bomb blasts throughout the city. We conveyed the news to Suranga Who wrote, “Really. Don’t go out tonight. I hope peace talks will start soon. Take care. If u need anything anytime call me ok.”
We tried calling a cab but no company could send one in less than an hour’s time as with the news of the bomb blasts everyone was now rushing home. Suzanne, Rob and I could have walked home, however Gordon was staying at Mt. Lavinia, which was a 30 minute drive from the restaurant. We called our friend Indika, who owns a van and asked fi he would come pick us up.
A woman dinning alone called me over to her table. She asked what I had heard and I reported the information from Surganga and the waiter. She said that she had received an SMS message informing her that there had been 3 bomb blasts. She said, “ Well my three bomb blasts, and your two bomb blasts, equal the waiter’s five bomb blasts!” I asked where she was heading since we had a driver coming and there were no taxis were available. “Trincomoli!”, she replied in a cheerful voice. (There is currently a travel advisory against traveling to this town). “Can’t help you there,” I said.
I texted Suranga to let him know that we were out and couldn’t get a cab but that Indika was coming for us. Suranga, who is very protective of us, immediately got on his bike and headed towards the restuarant. In the mean time Indika arrived, which was when we realized that Rob had left his computer in the trunk of the taxi that dropped us off at the restaurant! Indika dropped us off and Suranga met us at the apartment. He immediately called the cab company trying to retrieve the lost computer. Suranga not only located the computer, but arranged for the cab driver drop it off at our flat.
* title by suzanne
We were so traumatized we put our work on hold and headed for drinks and lunch at the gallery cafÈ. I stopped at my flat on the way to pick up a few things only to realize that I had left my keys at Suzanne’s and was locked out. We continued on to the cafÈ and had a few cosmopolitans since the gallery is one of the few places where you can get cranberry juice.
A little sloshed but feeling much more relaxed after the events of the day we headed off to do some shopping, Suzanne making purchases with the only credit card that she had not cancelled. We stopped for groceries on the way home and when we were at the till, Suzanne realized that her one last remaining credit card was missing. While she scrounged up some cash and searched for the card, I retrieved her shopping bags that she had checked hoping that she had slipped the cards in one of the bags. I was right – the card was in a Paradise Road bag. Whew. I handed the bags to Suzanne not realizing that one of her bags had not been retreieved.
Now late to meet Rob and his friend who was visiting from England, I hopped in a tuk, leaving Suzanne desperately looking for the missing bag which contained her house keys! Eventually she realized that the bag was still a the grocery store and was able to get her keys, access her flat and meet us at Galle Face Hotel for more drinks (which again we desperately needed).
All was well and we had an enjoyable time slipping gin and tonics on the patio while watching the sun set over the ocean. Then we grabbed a cab and headed off for dinner at Cheasa Swiss, a lovely European restaurant. We were just finishing our dinner when we got a text message from Suranga saying that not to worry but he wanted us to know that there had been two minor bomb blasts in Nugegoda. We asked a waiter if he knew anything about the recent events. Almost instantaneously the restaurant erupted into a flurry of activity. Everyone was madly texting and receiving messages on their cell phones, passing on little bits of information they heard. (As Rob pointed out, this was rather ironic since Gordon was in Sri Lanka to help set up an emergency warning system utilizing cell phones, as a result of the Tsunami.) The waiter returned to tell us that there had been 5 bomb blasts throughout the city. We conveyed the news to Suranga Who wrote, “Really. Don’t go out tonight. I hope peace talks will start soon. Take care. If u need anything anytime call me ok.”
We tried calling a cab but no company could send one in less than an hour’s time as with the news of the bomb blasts everyone was now rushing home. Suzanne, Rob and I could have walked home, however Gordon was staying at Mt. Lavinia, which was a 30 minute drive from the restaurant. We called our friend Indika, who owns a van and asked fi he would come pick us up.
A woman dinning alone called me over to her table. She asked what I had heard and I reported the information from Surganga and the waiter. She said that she had received an SMS message informing her that there had been 3 bomb blasts. She said, “ Well my three bomb blasts, and your two bomb blasts, equal the waiter’s five bomb blasts!” I asked where she was heading since we had a driver coming and there were no taxis were available. “Trincomoli!”, she replied in a cheerful voice. (There is currently a travel advisory against traveling to this town). “Can’t help you there,” I said.
I texted Suranga to let him know that we were out and couldn’t get a cab but that Indika was coming for us. Suranga, who is very protective of us, immediately got on his bike and headed towards the restuarant. In the mean time Indika arrived, which was when we realized that Rob had left his computer in the trunk of the taxi that dropped us off at the restaurant! Indika dropped us off and Suranga met us at the apartment. He immediately called the cab company trying to retrieve the lost computer. Suranga not only located the computer, but arranged for the cab driver drop it off at our flat.
* title by suzanne
posted by ~chill~ at
1:05 AM
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