Pub Therapy and My New Korean Friends

Posted on 2008/11/08 19:06:20 (November 2008).

[Wednesday 29th October]
When women are feeling down in the dumps they go shopping - this is often referred to as "retail therapy". Men, on the other hand, generally prefer going to the pub and sharing their woes with their fellow drinking companions. I haven't heard an epithet for this behaviour yet, so I shall coin the term here - "pub therapy".

I was still reeling somewhat from the previous day's completely unexpected verbal assault by my manager, and, on Chie's suggestion, determined what I really needed was a chance to chew it over with my peers. So, very kindly, two of the chaps I work with agreed to go to the pub at very short notice at the end of the working day today.

The three of us headed over to the Antelope near Sloane Square, and therein I recounted yesterday's traumatic and frankly bizarre events to my colleagues. This made me feel hugely better about the whole thing, and I am forever indebted to the two chaps in question for indulging me for an hour or so to just get it all off my chest.

Emboldened as a result of this therapy session, I decided we should go and find something to eat, and so the three of us went for a wander. On our way we met three Korean tourists, one of whom asked me directions to the nearest station. It turns out what they were really looking for was a place to eat, so I rattled out my only phrase of Korean: chogoomhegopaiyo (which means "I'm a little bit hungry") and rather wonderfully we ended up inviting them to come and have dinner with us.

Unfortunately most of my favourite places to eat in the area were full up, but I did eventually managed to get us a table at a new Italian-ish restaurant. The food wasn't that marvellous, but we had a fun time getting to know our new found Korean friends.

It was fantastically random, and exactly what I needed to cheer me up after the awful day I'd had yesterday.

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