Wednesday 4/3/03 Ladies’ Night at the Infamous Carnegies

Since Jonathan’s leaving for a month this Thursday, we decided it was high time we all went to East Asia’s infamous expat bar (chain, think it started in HK). When Niclas and I had first talked about it, he said he heard it’s a “scary place.” I said, “Yeah of course, scary for an Asian girl, because when you walk in you get attacked by white guys!” He said, “No, the opposite. Scary for a white guy, because when you walk in you get attacked by local Taiwan girls!”

At first I was skeptical but after asking around I hear both are true. We decided to get ho-ed up and act the giggly local girl part. Might’s well make the most of it, since none of us planned to go there ever again. But since I still have eye allergies, I had to wear my glasses and be a nerdy ho.

We got there early (9:30) to avoid the cover for guys that starts at 10PM, but they were still checking ID at the door (25+) and we worried about Jon (not about Ginger, who was ho’ed out. If I forgot to mention.) After lots of strategizing on what to do (“We’ll say we’re just here for dinner. We’re going to spend LOTS of money on dinner. We’re going to spend lots of money on drinks AND dinner…”) we finally went up and they asked him for ID, he said he forgot it. They asked, “Are you over 25?” He said, “Um…yes?” So they shrugged and let him in.

All the tables were taken and people were standing around, but it still wasn’t crowded and all eyes turned toward anyone walking in the door (that meant us, and we were ho’ed out, by the way). We had to walk down a strip in front of the bar, which was lined on both sides with middle-aged white guys. As Trish, Gin and I walked down in single file, their heads all turned in perfect time one after another, like their necks were all attached to one string and someone gave a tug. Jon said I should have put up my hands and high five’d them on both sides while running down the line.

I went up to the (female) bartender and asked if they had any drink specials. She gave me a look like I was asking something ridiculous and shook her head. When I told Niclas he asked, “Did you ask in Chinese?” I said No and he said that was my big mistake. Oops, forgot to keep up my local girl act.

The crowd was very entertaining. There was definitely a foreign white guy/local Taiwanese girl um, interchange going on everywhere. Next to Jon was a pair of local girls freaking each other, probably trying to get his attention, and behind Niclas all night was a girl all alone nursing a huge bottle of Absolut looking alternately like she was about to 1) puke or 2) have an orgasm. Yeah, the local girls tried to dance really sexy, which looked kinda funny especially since some were wearing really conservative outfits.

Apparently the bar is only for dancing on, when it gets to the later hours. One pony-tailed local guy tried to start it off, gleefully gyrating by himself, and looked so pitiful that no one wanted to join him for the first hour. Finally a couple girls got on, staying as far from him as possible, and gradually over the course of the night more and more joined. We three got up sometime in the middle (waited forever for a good song and finally Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me” seemed appropriate), danced a few songs (put Jon on camera duty), and I was glad to get (and stay) down.

The music was really fun—lots of 80’s and early 90’s songs that made you say, “Oh my god!! I haven’t heard this song in forever!” when you heard the first few notes. Ginger made us feel old sometimes especially when she didn’t know some Michael Jackson songs (though Jon was very adamant at pointing out he knew them).

We ordered fries which were really good and decided to come back for lunch sometime. Then I can also get a Carnegies T-shirt.