Operation: Make New Friends! Status: Successful!

When is a Monday not a Monday? When you treat it like a Friday! I've said it before, that I easily get bored when not completely occupied with work or something else I am doing. I still feel a bit isolated, not seeing my friends every day, and for the first time here in Queenstown I decided to brave the bars on my own and explore the evening-life of this town. I normally have to venture out to the bars on my own when I get to a new town, but here I had the luxury of being constantly surrounded by good friends, especially when I wasn't working. Here is my adventure, Operation: Make New Friends!
After work at about 5:30pm I ventured off out the Mountaineer Building into the twilight setting over downtown Queenstown. For a holiday week I would have liked to see more of both families and young people milling about, though there was a fair number. Skiers, snowboarders, visitors and outdoor adventurers alike were strolling through town looking at menus in front of the myriad of restaurants and smoking cigarettes on the front porches of pubs with evening beers in hand. Groups of friends and families on holiday were gathering inside fire-warmed establishments, savory with the scents of freshly cooked meats, chips or curries. The smoke of burning firewood gives this quaint yet prosperous New Zealand town its character and comfort.
I first stopped into Surreal, a recommendation from Sophie, who said the bartenders there were always friendly and the atmosphere was lively. So early in the night it had more of a relaxed family atmosphere so I decided to move on. I weaved my way through the mall to Searle Lane to remind myself of the price of the venison steak I had wanted to order at some point, then poked out the other side to Monty's. I didn't see anyone I knew so I looked in Dux and didn't see anyone there either, though both bars had a fair number of people. I was searching for a place with a relaxed but good atmosphere, a place where I could start talking to people I didn't know and not feel like I was the only one there without a group of people to be with.
I walked down by the water to Pog Mahones, another nice pub filled with groups of people having dinner and a full bar, not the best environment for making new friends. I made my way to the Wharf, hoping that one of the bars there would have the type of atmosphere I was looking for, and by atmosphere I mean a personable male bartender or two who could either keep a conversation or help to liaison a conversation between me and other people in the bar. I finally found what I was looking for at Fraser's, two guys behind the bar and absolutely no patrons. It may seem a bit awkward or pathetic the way I present my strategy here, but in effect I wasn't really paying for a beer – I was paying for attention. The no-tip thing isn't very conducive to conversation and bartenders here might as well talk to each other rather than the people in the bar. I did feel just a touch awkward, but I did get to try a Singapore beer called Tiger, poured into a tall glass with the Tiger logo on it, Fraser's being one of the few bars to have it on tap, and made a fair bit of conversation with the Irish guy behind the bar.
A few other patrons came in over the next little while, and I stayed for almost an hour, texting friends and watching formula 1 racing on the TV. On Mondays they have a great special where you get a steak dinner and two pints of beer for only $20. After the roast on Sunday I really wasn't in the mood for steak and didn't want to eat alone, so I enjoyed my after-work beer and then moved on to explore town.
It was getting on to 7pm when I made my next lap around town, stopped into Pog's again to use their nice warm bathroom, and checked Surreal, but I guess it was too early for it to be interesting and was still well-lit and patronized by families having dinner. I took a peak into Brazz, Speight's, Guilty and Pig & Whistle, but all were bustling with a hungry dinner crowd. I knew Red Rock was known to have a younger patronage and God help me if I ever go to Altitude or World Bar. Right outside of Red Rock I saw Noah and Bri, who I swear I had seen before but maybe didn't ask her name. I was a bit appalled that Noah wasn't invited to be an instructor but was offered a job as a lifty but he didn't seem to mind. I'm not sure if he took offense or just didn't care much but he wasn't particularly warm to that comment. I met a ski instructor whose name is either Matt or Marcus – I couldn't hear very well – and followed them in to Buffalo Club, another bar that I would rather not frequent. Bri asked if I wanted to head next door to Harry's for 2 for 1 pizzas so I followed them over. Apparently NZSki employees get 2 for 1 pizzas every night, making them 2 for $16. I told Noah and Bri I had pizza'd myself out on Saturday night but I'd hang out over there.
As soon as we reached the bar I began talking with Nat, who told us about his vendetta towards ski instructors who put 20 kids in a big snake expecting them to learn anything, and about one in particular who followed another instructor's class with 20 kids of her own, thus taking up the entire M1 run, as if it isn't a complete shitshow on the M1 as it is.
I was so caught up in my conversation with Nat that I didn't even realize my friends hadn't ordered pizzas until quite a few minutes later when they said they were heading back over to Buffalo Club. I told them I would be over there soon, but my night actually took a turn for the more interesting and I never made it over.
Nat, I will say, is a true bartender, not a backpacker working behind a bar, not a Aussie or Kiwi bartender who doesn't know what service is, I mean a real bartender, though he was born and raised in NZ. He has the personality and qualities that make a bartender what they're meant to be, not just a trained monkey serving a mixed drink. It may be all the seasons he's done in Austria, because it isn't really something you become in this part of the world. A real bartender should look like they enjoy being there, and drinking, and make you feel welcome and comfortable and want to keep drinking as well.
The whole time I was standing there chatting I truly did intend to go back to Buffalo, so I didn't order a drink. Sadly, the lightweight that I am, I was still a bit buzzed from the one beer I had started over an hour ago. I hadn't really had much to eat though, and settled for a veggie samosa from one of the fast food curry places after dropping off the mail so I would still be hungry if I ran into someone to have dinner with. Jared stopped by not too much later and commented on how high the heat was on the mulled wine and how strong it was. He let me taste it, delicious, and when they went to throw away the fruit I asked if I could have it. Unfortunately I was only able to make it through two small slices of pear and a small piece of orange because all the sweetness in the fruit had been replaced with the astringent flavor of cloves, and I left the rest to the rubbish bin.
After Jared left Rochelle came in with her boyfriend Chris and their friends Charlotte and Marcus, who work at NZone. The other thing about Nat that is a great quality in a bartender is the fact that even though he may have just met the person in front of him, he would introduce me as well, to make me feel like part of the group. A social bartender is always a high-ringing bartender, and is generally having much more fun at their job.
Rochelle had offered to buy me a beer on her work tab, but I was feeling a bit dried out from the alcohol-infused fruit and the second “tasting” of the mulled wine that Nat had given me. It was great to be out meeting new people and still feeling a connection to the rest of life by seeing people from work. I think my job as the Good Group receptionist is a great connection to Queenstown in general – I mean, I work for the same company, and being in the head office gives me a certain mystique and authority as well!
After Rochelle left I stayed to chat a bit longer and Nat's engaging conversation managed to hold my attention long enough to make friends with the next group of people coming in! I had already chatted a bit to the two Aussie guys, slightly older than me (maybe mid to late 30's?) before Rochelle had come in, and this time I made friends with Bart, his sister Maya, Freya and Stuart, all on holiday for two weeks from Perth. They had just arrived this morning, were staying in one of the hostels, and were not afraid to get straight to business partying in Queenstown.
Bart and Maya were born in Poland, and have lived in Perth since Bart was 7. He's an engineer who works for the mines, and designs ways to explode tunnels and such – he loves his job. Too engaged in conversation with him to be aware of what was going on, and after having tasted some of the delightful Manuka honey vodka from -42 (supurb flavor but I wish the quality of the vodka were a bit higher – it was a little like Absolut, where the flavor is great but it isn't smooth enough to sip), Bart told me that I was in on their round of shots. They had asked Nat to be creative and make something sweet and flavorful. He asked Sophie, the other bartender, to get a plate of sugar, and cut some fresh lemon slices. The shot itself was mostly the honey vodka with a splash of chambord, and the sugared lemon to bite on after the shot.
Somehow we managed to drink 4 more rounds of shots, with increasing vigor and complete with action photos, though the last two rounds were a bit hazy! It wasn't so much that I was drunk at that point, but I truly was interested in talking with Bart and wasn't really paying attention to what went into the drinks. The second round was more of a dessert shot with frangelico and kahlua, and I was expecting it to be the last, but not long aftwards we were shooting something citrusy with Absolut Orange. The next one had a berry taste to it, and we finished strong with a shot similar to the first, but there may have been one more ingredient, and he set the sugar on the lemon slices on fire to caramelize them and add to the presentation!
Lost in our conversation I noticed after quite some time that Bart's friends and sister had gone back to the hostel. I told him I was still keen on a bit of dinner, and was actually curious if the kebab shops were open late in Queenstown. I actually never had a kebab in Australia, and when I finished the second half of the kebab when I arrived home I realized why it was drunk food – this particular kebab had the worst quality meat of any mediterranean food I've ever had. I tried the chili lamb, and the salad ingredients were fine, but the meat wasn't very good. Then again we did get there at 5 to midnight, when the closed sign was already up and the man was about to go home. I suppose he wanted to sell to me because it may have been his only sale in the last few hours! Oh, the things you just don't care about when you're drunk.
I told Bart about Fergburger as well, and expressed my distaste for their dry, flavorless beef patties, but wholeheartedly talked up their onion rings and suggested that the chicken patty options come highly recommended. I was a bit cold, mostly from exhaustion, but I wanted to show Bart around a bit, and I think he enjoyed my company enough to put up with my willy nilly shenanigans of wandering about. After our little walk I told him I was going back to Harry's to have them call me a cab and bid him farewell, exchanging numbers.
I actually stayed a bit after that and watched Nat play pool with some of his friends and chatted more. He called me a cab, which cost $6.60 to the intersection of Dublin and Edinburgh – I really do like walking that last little bit and warming up my body – and as I waited for the alcohol to wear off a bit (just lucky the room wasn't spinning otherwise work would not have been pleasant today) I ate the rest of the kebab and fell asleep quickly around 1:30am. All in all I achieved my goal of making new friends, and Nat even offered to meet me Thursday at 5pm at the office to go for 2 for 1 curry with me before he heads into work.
I definitely don't waste any time having a Friday on Monday. I was never much of a procrastinator anyway.