Value of Money

Last night was definitely one of the more active nights I've had in London. Started with a few drinks after the training programme (who can survive a full day of analysing a company's balance sheet and remain sane is beyond me) at a nearby bar. A few is an understatement. We averaged two pints every half hour, and we were there from 5pm to 8pm before heading off to dinner.

We arrived at a Turkish restaurant just south of the river near Southwark, by a classmate's recommendation. I don't even know what Turkish food is! Apparently it is quite similar to Greek (I guess they have the same climate and are relatively close to each other), and the favourite is lamb and chicken dishes. A few of us started with some Yeni Raki, affectionately known as "Lion's Milk", a traditional Turkish drink. It tasted a lot like Sambuca, with a slightly harder edge to it. Definitely not for the faint hearted! I ordered a Lamb Moussaka, which was done to perfection. A few of the starters were great also, gratitude to my Turkish classmate. The dinner ended with a nice cup of Turkish coffee. It was served in a cup smaller than an espresso cup, and the edge is a bit more pleasant. It does leave a strange after-taste in my mouth which I was not too fond of.

Towards the end of dinner, we realized that it was raining outside and therefore it limits the locale of our next event. We stopped by another bar to wait for the rain to slow a bit. Ended up ordering two full bottles of Absolut and getting a good deal on it, and drinking it all within two hours. A few other blokes showed up from the other class, and we ended up going to another club after the rained stopped. Another two hours and several rounds of drinks (and some craziness that's rated R), a handful of people left while a few ventured onto an all-night club for more craziness.

The total damage of the night? Let's just say I didn't pay for much more than my dinner. The places we visited tonight must have made a fortune from us. I start to wonder what that money bought me? Eight hours of temporary happiness and escape from my everyday problematic life? Not to mention that my generous friends paid for a lot of the entertainment, and I didn't dip into my wallet for those. My classmates spent more than I did, more frivolously, and without remorse. Does the value of money degrade itself when you own a large sum of it? I hope I never become like that if I ever make that much.