I’ve Had Enough Of Staying At Home, And Here’s Why I’m Going Out Once I Can

With the lifting of restrictions come a thirst for freedom.

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Let’s be real here, we’re all getting really sick and tired of our own kitchen. We’ve all been fantasising about going out and eating out with friends again. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

Sure we’ve all had online “gatherings” and virtual “meetups”, but it’s just not the same sitting in front of a screen. It’s different, like being in a long-distance relationship or online shopping. Sure, it works; sure, it’s a suitable substitute.

But it’s missing presence. And I, for one, am looking forward to experience life in the physical world again.

1. Friends

Online meetings may be fine when in real life meetings are helmed by a speaker at a time.

A social gathering, on the other hand, works with much looser rules and can have multiple strands of conversation happening all at once.

Even in small groups of 4-5 friends, it often breaks down into smaller clusters of conversations but leave plenty of opportunities to be aware of other topics of conversation, or join in, or make additions of your own before returning to your original conversation.

There’s nothing like the conversations you get around the drinking table.
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You can talk about parenting with one friend and turn around to discuss climate change with another, then jump into a group-wide conversation about the latest Marvel movie. You can decide that you’ve tired from one topic and kickstart another one immediately with someone else.

But it’s also more than that.

It’s that fuzzy feeling when everyone is laughing around the table together, that pleasant warmth from good food and good company, and the way time seems to stand still and your troubles disappear, just for a bit, when you’re with friends.

2. Fresh food, fresh drinks

All of us have subsisted on take-away food at some point, and while it’s good enough, it’s rarely ever amazing. It may scratch an itch, but it’s almost never that sink-into-your-chair, overwhelming satisfaction from eating hot food that makes your belly warm and happy.

Like a piping hot burger paired with piping hot fries. What’s better than this?
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Or while you can pop open a can of your favourite drink, it never holds up to that freshly brewed and served-immediately taste. Like a hot cup of coffee, or a cup of teh tarik at the mamak.

Or a glass of smooth chilled beer, the kind that feels like crisp rain on a hot day, that you can never really get elsewhere. Anyone who drinks beer will tell you that beers on tap is a whole experience in itself, and with it comes the sort of refreshing weekend feeling.

The smooth draught beer on tap is particularly smooth.
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And while I’ve missed the freshness of draught beer, I’m even more excited to try the new Carlsberg Smooth Draught beer on tap with my friends, which was introduced at bars and pubs nationwide recently. The new draught beer is super smooth and crisp, with a refreshing aftertaste that even casual drinkers will find extremely palatable.

The Carlsberg Smooth Draught is named as such because it’s brewed to be super smooth. The draught is brewed longer for a signature smoothness that goes down easily, and leaves you smacking your lips in satisfaction.

Hops, the special flowers added in the making of beers for their flavourful taste and aroma, are also doubled in the Carlsberg Smooth Draught for a refreshing hoppy taste.

If you think this is smooth, imagine what it tastes like.
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3. No clean up

Cooking at home is far too romanticised at this point. Yes, it was great while it lasted, and it’s comfortable, but too many people forget that there is a “hidden labour” associated with cooking at home. (This is when I grumble about not having a live-in maid.)

To cook one meal, you usually need to wash at least 5 different things after. More than just dishes and cutlery, there’s also washing the pots and pans, wiping down the counters, cleaning up the stove, throwing out the trash before it smells.

I honestly don’t remember what meals I’ve cooked throughout this whole MCO. What I do remember is the dish-washing. Every day, every night.

Who even has time to do all the dishes??
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If you don’t do it, then you’ll have to end up putting your Maggi in a big cup because you’re out of bowls. If you leave it alone and let it pile up, it will fester in the sink like a malevolent being, taunting you with unpleasant smells and the threat of unwanted pests.

You can have the most pleasant of evenings with a meticulously-planned dinner date at home with your spouse, and then still have to do the decidedly unpleasant chore of cleaning up after. (There’s no better way to ruin a romantic moment than someone saying, “We gotta do the chores”.)

If I dine in at the restaurant, I can have all the food I want… with zero washing up to do. There are at least like 10 things to wash here, at the minimum!
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So yes, in the interest of keeping my relationship alive and sanity intact, I am looking forward to dining out just so no one will need to do the dishes. And if I have my way, no dishes for a month.

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