I Say Sake, You Say Bomb

This weekend after being stranded in Atlanta due to inclement weather, I decided to spend the day with a good friend who had no work to do. Our journey began with a trip to purchase some electronics. Upon returning to the car from the store, we found it unwilling to start. Given the combination of our insurmountable intellects we surmised that we could fix the car, and though we found what seemed to be the issue (the starter), we failed to consider one almost embarrassingly obtuse variable – the security system’s effect on the starter. Result – the car would now only start via jerry rigged connection between the starter and a golf club…

While waiting for the tow truck to come along and transport the now fully debilitated car, we made our way to a local sushi restaurant to make light of a frustrating situation. Sake bombs were first introduced to me in college. The “bomb” form of alcoholic beverage requires a shot of the featured libation and a base beer in which to drop it (hence the term, bomb”). Sake is an amazing treat originally created by the Japanese by fermenting rice in a similar fashion to beer . Historically, consumption of a beverage in the “bomb” family requires multiple drinks expeditiously consumed, providing at the very least, hours of good times.

I prefer to take sake at a lukewarm temperature, preferably near body temp (98 degrees Fahrenheit). The traditional serving style of sake in itself is a highly social ritual, requiring that companions refill each other’s cups as soon as they are empty. This is becomes applicable to anything involving sake, including the sake bomb.

9 bottles of sake later…

I returned to my home in NYC Sunday morning, feeling refreshed. Despite being out all night, and drinking heavily, I thoroughly recharged my social batteries. Not because I had a good night of rest (which was clearly not going to happen after the first beer). No, I had the chance to spend a day with a good friend, and in light of all the negative things that could have brought the day to a crash and burn ending, we amassed a treasure of all the silver linings we could find. I met some new, very interesting people, and spent the evening rolling in laughs and stimulated by provocative thoughts. I learned 2 things this weekend. 1) That I have friends who will continue to give me the strength to fight the good fight to grow into the person I was blessed with the gifts to become and 2) positive thinking will find serendipity in calamity.

-The UE